Review: The Expendables

Went and saw the Macho-fest film The Expendables last night in a packed theatre. There were some ladies near me that had some of the worst smelling perfume I have ever encountered. It thought I was being poisoned. Terrible. Anyway, the action film is directed by John Rambo and stars Rocky Balboa, Ivan Drago, the Transporter, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Not Jackie Chan. There are also some good cameos by John McClane and John Kimble.

The story follows Stallone and his team as they get hired by Bruce Willis to go to the South American Island of Velena (don't bother googling that because the place is fictitious) to overthrow a dictator and of course kill a lot of dudes and blow shit up.



First and foremost let me just say Sylvester Stallone is my favorite of the 80's action stars. Rambo, hell yeah. Cliffhanger, awesome. Cobra, bad ass. Then there is the The Rocky series. I dedicated a good portion of my thesis film to it including driving to Philadelphia from Rochester to film for it. Rocky is the freaking bees knees. These past few years have been pretty awesome for movies with new installments of Rocky and Rambo. Both of which I really enjoyed as they were both great bookends for their respective series. Now we have The Expendables where Stallone plays an all new character in similar situations.

Sure nothing is really new or fresh about The Expendables but that's not what this movie is about. It's about seeing our favorite action stars together for the first time kicking ass, kicking each-others asses, and taking names. This movie does exactly that. A total throwback to the simplicity of the action movies of yesteryear where we have a problem and a bad ass dude goes and solves it. In this case we have a bunch of bad ass dudes that go solve it. There a some lapses in logic but whatever. Everyone on the film looks like they had a blast making it as it comes through in the final film.

There are some really nice stunts and fight sequences in this film. The fights are freaking brutal. They did a really nice job mixing in the different fighting styles of everyone into a mash up mix track of fighting mayhem with bone crunches as beats and gun shots as notes. It fully satisfies the modern American blood lust syndrome. Again with way too many films in this day and age this movie suffers from too much editing during the fight sequences. I know these dudes are old, but c'mon, stop cutting so much, its annoying.



My biggest gripe about this film is the use of CG Blood effects. I could rant on and on about this but I'll hold back and make this simple point. Unless your film is premiering on YouTube or Vimeo put some cash into your effects budget and use some god damn squibs. Dammit.

Overall it's really a joy to see all these guys kicking ass on the big screen in one movie. It's an entertaining genre film full of nostalgia and heavy hitting fights. This film is really the cinematic equivilant to a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger; you've eaten one before, it's nothing new or revolutionary to the burger world, but it's cooked just right, and the other ingrediants are pretty damn tasty, and it hits the hunger spot damn well. If you like Stallone or any of the other stars go see this film. If you like fighting go see this movie. If you like explosions go see this movie. If you abhor violence don't see this movie.

Animation Block Party

I went to NYC last weekend and checked out the Animation Block Party Saturday night at the beautiful Brooklyn Academy of Music building. It was pretty wicked fun.

Here are my two favorite films screened:

Milk Nasty from TJ Fuller on Vimeo.

Review: Inception

Saw that little flick Inception a few weeks back when I was in Los Angeles during my sabbatical.

The film is directed by Christopher Nolan whom many people forget is a Redcoat. Just sayin. It stars one of the many people who died in The Departed, an annoying pregnant teenager, that lady who won the oscar for best Actress and everyone was like "who the fuck is that?" but then she's been in some movies since so people are like "oh yeah, it's that girl, I don't know what her name is, but I think it's that girl", the kid from the third best kids baseball movie of the early 90's (1.The Sandlot, 2.Rookie of the Year), and let us not forget Bronson.

The story follows a dude who goes into other dudes dreams to steal ideas. But then some rich dude wants him and his co-workers to go into some dudes brain to implant an idea. But in order to do that they have to go into dreams inside of dreams, then inside other ones and his ex-wife haunts him through these..... and bullets and explosions of course!!!!!


I saw the 11pm screening on Friday after five consecutive 13 hour shoot days. To say the least I was psychically, mentally and emotionally drained. Barely keeping awake in the waiting line outside the theatre I did not know if I could make it through the entire film. I did. I think.

Initial thoughts after seeing it; I definitely had a good friggin time. Seeing it in IMAX was the way to go. It looked stunning. And the sound, whoah! Punch you in the face. There was applause after a particular scene and at the end of the film, I joined in as I was pretty darn entertained. Perplexed to exactly what the fuck I just saw, but still... entertained.

The scene in particular that received the rousing applause was the hallway fight scene between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and some bad dream security dude. It----was----bad-------asssss. The whole time watching it I was like "wuuuu theeee fuuuuuk!?" and I could feel the same energy from everyone else around me in the theatre without looking around to see their faces. Fantastic movie moment that put a nice big smile on my face afterwards.



Another high point of the film is the gorgeous cinematography by Wally Pfister. There is a great variety, vibrancy, color, and texture used throughout with the lighting that makes every scene a pleasure to watch no matter what's happening. The slow motion shots are wicked and supremely done.

I heard some people saying this is the greatest film ever made and that people won't even make films anymore because this was so good. That is stupid. Take The Dark Night out of your DVD player and update your Netflix Que.

The world created for this film is pretty darn interesting. Being able to go into other peoples dreams is a pretty cool concept. And the way it is presented in this film in a Bond/Bank Robber kinda way is also pretty cool. You get certain movie conventions with a nice fresh added twist that gives you a new dynamic that is fully satisfying to watch.

The problem is a lot of people critical of the film are taking it too seriously and trying to make sense of the world created for the film. The film takes itself very seriously, so why not us? Well... the fact is dreams don't make much sense. It's not an exact science as no one really understands what they are, how they happen, why they happen, and how they work to this day. Thus the physics and realities of how the characters perform what they do in the film don't make much sense, thus trying to make sense of non-sense is utter non-sense really. A lot of gripes can be made about the characters being thin and only there as plot devices and the story being too complicated but the overriding feeling should be "alright, just go with it!". Then you'll be fine. Watch it. Have fun. Repeat if necessary.

A little gripe I have with a lot of movies which this film suffered to as well was the trailers showing all the key scenes in the film. C'mon just stop that. It's annoying and lame.


I recommend this for anyone who enjoys Nolan's previous work, action movies, and films about dreams. Sure it ain't perfect, but nothing is. It still has quite a lot of cool shit going for it cinematically where it's well worth checking out on the big screen, IMAX it if you can.

Apparently I still have videos on YouTube

So I was on the internets..... again, I know, I know. But I found I had some of my freshman work up on my YouTube account I barely use as Vimeo and I've been going steady ever since we met.

Anywho, all of my YouTube videos had their audio stripped from them because of copyright-shmopyright music claims. As I was feeling around the new YouTube features for the first time I found they had this nifty little thinger called AudioSwap where it samples the music from some another sight and it's totally legit. So I put some new tracks some of my old projects.

RIP Delta Boy Smooth

I was making my new resume and searchin around the internets today and found this music video I worked on last summer back in the Roc, then saw that apparently the lead guy Delta Boy Smooth is now dead. He was a cool dude, it was a janky shoot but most of us had a fun time even when the cops came.

Review: Robin Hood

Went and saw Ridley Scott's latest film Robin Hood at a second rate theatre in Pasadena the other night.

The film takes on the origin story of Robin Hood. We start out in France as some English dudes attack some French dudes as Robin and his band of bros decide to ditch Croissant land to go back to Fish and Chips land. On the way back Robin comes across this dying English guy who's last wish is for him to return his sword to his father in Nottingham England. This sets off the "story" of what all happens next.




There is a great mystery to this film. It is loaded with talent on both sides of the camera yet the final product is anything but mediocre. Acting wise we have Oscar winners Russel Crow, Cate Blanchett, and William Hurt. And of course behind the camera we have the illustrious Ridley Scott known for some of the best films made within the past 30 years such as Alien, Blade Runner and Black Hawk Down. Plus you have the iconic Robin Hood story to go from with a 200 million dollar budget. But somewhere along the lines they forgot to get that important little thing called a good script.

The most crucial misstep in the whole picture is the weak story. It's a epic battle film that is simply not compelling and lacks any tension. It is really boggling how this film was actually made. All of the conflicts are easily evaded throughout the film. Not in a cool, "oh i just beat up 30 dudes with swords and i barely broke a sweat, man was that easy", more in a "oh all we had to do was fire some arrows at them from behind a tree, that only took 4 seconds of screen time, that was pretty easy" kinda way. Tension is what makes battles work, are they going to succeed? aren't they? No joke Twilight Eclipse had more tension than this. There seems to be a thread of "rising action" through act II but it barely gets anywhere and it just feels like you are strolling through the park as you watch this film. This fact was most prevalent during the "climactic" battle scene on the sea shore as French ship came to invade. As soon as we saw there was a huge cliff next to the shore where the English archers took their positions anyone who took Warfare 101 knew the battle was won easy as cake. Even without that knowledge the battle was poorly staged and lacked any drama on if Robin and his Englishmen were going to win or not. Bullocks!

The other main problem with the film is the pussy cop out PG-13 battles. This is not Chronicles of Narnia. When someone gets a sword in the face or shot with an arrow they don't just fall down. There is some damn blood. I'm not saying that it should be super gory Japanese Machine Girl style but there should be a level of reality presented in the damage done by these medieval weapons. The key part in showing this is to increase the tension and stakes during the battle as the audience see's "oh wow, this is some serious shit, i hope our hero Robin Hood doesn't get a sword in the face". Thus we connect more with our protagonist and are involved in the heat of the moment that is the battle scene.

Another major problem I thought was the casting of Russel Crowe. At 45 years old it's a bit of a stretch to be at the "beginning" of the Robin Hood mythology. I think the film would have had a great breath of fresh air and energy if they casted someone half his age. Instead we get a barely comprehensible Crowe who grumbles a one note performance through a non existent story arc for the "hero".


I'm even a little pissed I paid 3 dollars to go see this. Not even worth a DVD rental unless you are in love with Russel Crowe or have a hankering for bloodless battle scenes. Just watch Ridley Scott's Gladiator again or his far underrated 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven and make sure it's the extended edition.

Review: Toy Story 3

I saw Toy Story 3 last week. Like you've probably heard from everyone else who has seen it and other reviews, it's fantastic.

If you havn't seen it already. Get off the computer, and go.



What really surprised me about this movie was how intense it got during the climax. I was seriously scared for the main characters more than I can remember for any other movie in recent history live action and animation. A truly memorable sequence, to cap off a truly great film.

I'll keep it short as mostly everything has already been said about it. Recommended for anyone with a beating heart.

**Also seeing it in 3D is not necessary at all, especially if you already wear glasses and it just becomes wicked uncomfortable to wear both at the same time.

Review: The A-Team

Went and saw the newest TV Show to movie adaptation this past weekend, The A-Team. Directed by Joe Carnahan of Narc and Smokin Aces fame the film follows the exploits of an Army Rangers Alpha Team consisting of Liam "Qui-Gon Jinn" Neeson as John "Hannibal" Smith, Bradley "The Hangover" Cooper as Templeton "Faceman" Peck, Sharlto "District 9" Copley as James "Howling Mad" Murdock and MMA fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson as Bosco B.A. Barucus. The best thing is the film has more explosions than quotation marks.



The film begins with an opening sequence that brings the team together for the first time. We are then thrust years later into the Iraq War as the American troops are in the last days of withdrawal from the country. After one last Iraq mission our guys get set up for a crime they didn't commit and end up stripped of their ranking and thrown into separate jails. Now they gotta break out, clear their innocence, uncover the truth and take down the bad guys. There is no option B.

First and foremost let me just say this was the funnest time I've had at the movies this year by far. This film was an absolute blast from beginning to end. Pure summer entertainment.

One of the great things about the film is it's level of believable ridiculousness within the action scenes. The shit that goes down in the movie is nuts. The film takes suspension of disbelief and rides the line the entire time. It's just real enough where in the moment you don't second guess it at all.... slowing down a falling tank by shooting the cannon down towards the ground...sure why not, totally could work. Doing this really creates some original and amazing sequences that are really fun and purely cinematic to watch.

The other great thing about the film is the performances across the board especially by Liam, Bradley, Sharlto and Rampage. Their chemistry and individual character traits are really entertaining to watch the whole time.

I don't have any complaints. The film knew what it was and delivered.



I really recommend this movie to everyone. An incredibly fun ride from start to finish The A-Team is the most entertaining film I've seen this year.

TLA: INTRO SEQUENCE

Finally got to compressing and uploading the intro sequence to my thesis up on the Vimeo. Checkedy Check it out.....

The Last Actor: The Intro Sequence from Daniel Alexander on Vimeo.

The whole thing is to come soooooooooon, just gotta work out some sound bugs.

Review: The End of Suburbia

Watched another documentary concerning peak oil today. Directed by Gregory Greene, The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream (catchy title if I've ever heard one) focuses much more on the direct effect of peak oil and dwindling resources upon the massive suburban sprawls of America. Here is the trailer:



I found out about this documentary as I was watching this video on Vimeo about Transition Towns. In the 20 min video a professor mentioned that he showed his students this 2004 documentary which sparked them to pursuing more information on how to better suit a community for the future transition away from oil dependency.

Opposed to Collapse this documentary has a more straight forward style including interviews from many experts and most importantly focusing entirely on the issue at hand and not the characters of the people presenting it. It's not a breakthrough documentary stylistically by any hand but it covers the issue in a well paced informative manner. One of the interviewees who lends their voice is none other but Michael Ruppert.


The film clearly shows how the American Suburban lifestyle is wasteful, inefficient, unsustainable, and a completely retarded setup that has absolutely no future. All the while utilizing 50's era footage for ironic effect. Peak Oil is here if we like it or not. There are no quick and easy fixes. And most importantly we can't rely on the federal government or main stream media to guide us. The sooner one realizes there is a problem and that we can't all keep on living life the way we have been the sooner we can adapt into a new future. This film presents those statements in a well constructed manner as well. Most importantly unlike Collapse this film goes into what we can do as individuals and as community members to help better the transition into a non-oil dependent society. The main solution for a better future is more community centered living with all local bought and produced food, goods and services. Again it's addressed that this is not going to be solved overnight but must be met with a strong will of community members to evolve with the changing world.

This is a must watch documentary for anyone interested in having a better future for yourself, your loved ones, and your community.



Here is the main website for Transition Towns which already have a big following in the UK and Ireland but unfortunately haven't really caught on as much as it should in America........yet:

http://www.transitionnetwork.org/

There is really a ton of awesome information on the site that I urge you to check out and share with others. One of the best links is this downloadable 50 page pdf document that is really a must read.

Transition Initiative Primer





Personally I believe this is just the beginning to a better way of life. As Mr. Dylan said: The Times They Are A-Changin.