A Baraka for ’80s nostalgia
Here is that nostalgia you ordered. Don’t worry, there is more than enough to go around. Skinemax (by Smash TV) (Source: http://player.vimeo.com/)
How to get people psyched for your Halo adaptation
Three easy steps for creating excitement for your low-budget Halo adaptation, courtesy of Wilfrid Laurier University’s student paper interview with director Jared Pelletier: 1. Stress that the project is about the power of art and storytelling: “The idea came from seeing the success of other films based on popular video game content,” said Pelletier. 2. … Continue reading
TIFF, Days 7 and 8: Your Sister’s Sister, The Lady, Chicken With Plums, Dark Horse, Twixt
There’s a good amount of movies to catch up on here, so apologies for the excessive brevity. Today’s the last day of industry screenings, so barring any attempts at rushing public screenings (a bit of an ordeal, but usually worth it for the crowd’s energy), this is the last batch of reviews. YOUR SISTER’S SISTER … Continue reading
TIFF 2011, Day 6: Generation P, Death of a Superhero, Into The Abyss, Trishna, Urbanized
GENERATION P I have a few friends who may take this as more of a recommendation than is really intended, but Generation P is basically what you would get if you took Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles, moved it to Russia, and swapped the super-heroes for advertising creative types. In other words, it’s a bit of … Continue reading
TIFF 2011, Day 5: The Day, Killer Joe, Hysteria
THE DAY For as little attention as The Day gives to its backstory, it might well be set in the same universe as The Road. Like that film, there’s not much left in the way of plant or animal life, though it’s never explained why, and the few survivors have either banded up into roving … Continue reading
TIFF 2011 Day 4: Damsels in Distress
DAMSELS IN DISTRESS An unexpected delight. Odds are I wouldn’t have seen this one had its screening time not been swapped with something I was more interested in — watching the petty problems of the beautiful and privileged isn’t something I actively seek out. The film’s introduction does little to dispel this concern, as three … Continue reading
TIFF 2011 Day 3: The Odds; Jeff, Who Lives At Home; Keyhole
THE ODDS A Canadian analogue of Rian Johnson’s Brick, The Odds similarly cross-breeds film noir and high school drama, this time focusing on high-stakes gambling instead of drug dealing. And while it doesn’t make the same impact as Johnson’s film — writer/director Simon Davidson doesn’t have quite the same ear for slang or eye for … Continue reading
TIFF 2011 Day 2 – Killer Elite, Drive, The Kid With A Bike
KILLER ELITE I’m really not sure what strategy Robert Deniro is using to pick his roles these days, but if Killer Elite is any indication, he’s putting a premium on cliches. Not that he’s the central attraction — most of the film has him relegated to the sidelines, leaving Jason Statham to do the heavy … Continue reading
A morbid distraction: Fallen Art
Shorts have been on my mind lately, given that my day job has me watching a seemingly endless stream of them. But, since most filmmakers wouldn’t appreciate me leaking their festival screeners, I figured I’d share a dark gem that I saw at the Melbourne International Animation Festival back in 2005, a fine festival that … Continue reading
Don Hertzfeldt’s Wisdom Teeth
In honor of my screening Everything Will Be OK in my film 201 class today — Don Hertzfeldt is a genius. He’s best known as the crass mastermind behind the ridiculous and brilliant Rejected, a collection of “commercials” that devolve into absurdity before collapsing on their own non-sequiters. That particular short was much-loved in my … Continue reading
The Consumption 