Shattered Keyboard

Cinema in 2011

2012-01-28T14:41:00.003-05:00

This is about the movies I watched or made in 2011. Not just movies released in 2011.

Partially influenced by the designer Nicholas Feltron's annual report series, but I will limit this cinema only.

I watched a total of 96 movies in 2011. That may seem a lot to some people, but I watch little television. If every movie was 2 hours long, that would be 192 total hours of media or 8 days of total movies in the last year.

According to Neilesen, the average person watches more than 34 hours of television per week, or more than 73 days of TV per year.

The movie release by year ranged from the early 1940's up to 2011, with the most watched release year 2010, followed by 2011 (obviously catching up on those releases from 2010 last year). There was also a spike of movies in the late 80's and early 90's.

There were three forms of media consumption, DVDs (including Blu-Ray), the cinema (movie theater), and one airplane ride (which is a special level of hell for cinema lovers).

Looking at genres, apparently I have passed into old age with drama and documentary contributing to more than half of the genres watched. Thriller, comedy, animated, sci-fi, horror, action, etc., contribute the rest.

Movies made:
Shorts: 3
48 Hour Projects: 2
Doc Challenge: 1
Directed: 2

I contributed to 3 shorts, all timed contests, 2 for the 48 hour, 1 for the Doc challenge. None are available online yet. All were frustrating due to all of the issues that crop up during timed contests.

Longer forms: 2
Doc in progress: 1
Shot and edited clip of haunted house walkthrough: 1

The doc is taking a long time due to unforeseen circumstances. The walkthrough was a collaborative projects intended for fans.

Machinima made: 0
Machinima festivals attended: 1

Not happy about the first, but the Machinima Expo was excellent as always.

That's the raw numbers.

I obviously cannot talk about the 'best' of 2011 as any sort of comprehensive review, as I only watched 19 movies released in 2011, however, I can talk about my favorites.

Best undiscovered country:

Certified Copy - Abbas Kiarostami - I talked about this in March.

Also:

Ivan The Terrible Part 1 Sergei Eisenstein
Ivan The Terrible Part 2 Sergei Eisenstein
Terri Azazel Jacbos

A Screaming Man Mahamat-Saleh Haroun

Best reach for the stars award that nails it:

Tree of Life - Terrence Malick - I talked about this in August.

Also:

Uncle Boonme who Can Recall His Past Lives Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Best reach for the stars award that misses:

Melancholia - Lars von Trier - discussed with a number of movies in November.

Best I want my money back award (with caveats):

A Man Called Sarge Stuart Gillard

Troll John Carl Buechler
Troll 2 Claudio Fragasso

The last two are required for Best Worst Movie below.

Best animated:

Rango - Gore Verbinski - discussed in March.

Also:

The Illusionist Sylvain Chomet - Feb.

Best video I watched that is not listed:

The External World - David O'Reilly - Feb.

A short animated film, truly bizarre.

Best Documentary:

Reurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles - Jon Foy - July.

I missed almost all of the nominees and big names in documentary this year, but this mystery was a fascinating journey.

Also:

Crumb: Doc Terry Zwigoff
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child Tamra Davis
TheCave of Forgotten Dreams Werner Herzog
Beats, rhymes & life: the travels of a tribe called quest Michael Rapaport
Confessions of a Superhero Matthew Ogens
Deep Water Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell
American Movie Chris Smith
Gasland Josh Fox

Anvil: The Story of Anvil Sacha Gervasi

Best Worst Movie Michael Stephenson

The last requires viewing Troll and Troll2 which are above.

Doc I walked out of:

Nostalgia for the Light - Patricio Guzman

Just became irritated and left.

Happy, happy, joy, joy:

4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days Cristian Mungui
Jonestown: The Life and Death of People's Temple Stanley Nelson
Incendies Denis Villeneuve

Movie I watched, that was disturbing, and that I cannot get out of my mind and hope I never see again

A Film Unfinished Yael Hersonski

Also:

Dogtooth Giorgos Lanthimos
The Skin I Live In Pedro Almodovar - Nov

Movies that disgusted me:

I Saw The Devil Jee-woon Kim

Funny:

Potiche Francois Ozon

Enjoyed:

Meek's Cutoff Kelly Reichardt - May
Moon Duncan Jones
The King's Speech Tom Hooper
Le Havre Aki Kaurismaski
The Apartment Billy Wilder
Midnight in Paris Woody Allen
My Winnipeg Guy Maddin
Paths of Glory Stanley Kubric
Brideflight Ben Sombogaart
A Scanner Darkly Richard Linklater
Prince of Darkness John Carpenter

Taxi Driver Martin Scorsese
Hunt for Red October John McTiernan

Goldfinger Guy Hamilton
Kill Bill Vol 1 Quentin Tarantino

Kill Bill Vol 2 Quentin Tarantino
Moon Duncan Jones
Apollo 13 Ron Howard
Predator John McTiernan
Saboteur Alfred Hitchcock
Like Crazy Drake Doremus

The special Nicholas Winding Refn award:

Bronson Nicolas Winding Refn - Sept.
Valhalla Rising Nicolas Winding Refn - Sept.
I'm the Angel of Death: Pusher III Nicolas Winding Refn

But NOT for Drive

Horror (comedy?):

Dead Snow Tommy Wirkola - Nov
Shaun of the Dead Edgar Wright

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil Eli Craig - Nov
Bruce Campbell vs. The Army of Darkness Sam Raimi - Nov

Several best of 2011 and/or nominee lists here:

http://www.thedocumentaryblog.com/index.php/2011/12/27/the-documentary-blogs-top-20-films-of-2011/
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/12/the_best_documentaries_of_2011_1.html
http://www.pbs.org/pov/blog/2011/12/documentary-year-in-review-countdown-10-life-in-a-day-a-documentary-culled-from-80000-filmmakers-premieres-online/

The POV Blog has better design skills than me

The Best Documentaries of 2011 from POV.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-57359896-10391698/download-scripts-of-award-contenders/
http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/2011/12/article-10-best-scripts-i-read-this.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Scriptshadow+%28ScriptShadow%29
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/movies/awardsseason/overlooked-movies-of-2011.html?_r=2
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/12/bridesmaids-wiig-lars-von-trier-nazi-year-review-movies-2011.html
http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/the-best-movie-posters-of-2011?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digest37
http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/the-top-10-top-10-lists-of-2011/

All Movies Watched in 2011:

Eyes Wide Shut
Paths of Glory
Killers Kiss
Crumb: Doc
The Way Back
4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days
My Winnipeg
Jonestown: The Life and Death of People's Temple
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
Brideflight
The Illusionist
Baraka
A Man Called Sarge
Shaun of the Dead
Close Encounters
Lessons of Darkness
The Red Shoes
Who killed the electric car
Ivan The Terrible Part 1
Ivan The Terrible Part 2
The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons
A Scanner Darkly
Rango
Terri
I Saw The Devil
Uncle Boonme who Can Recall His Past Lives
Fata Morgana
Nostalgia for the Light
Certified Copy
Incendies
Paprika
Potiche
The Creators
The Robber
3
Scientology: The Truth About a Lie
Paranoid Park
A Screaming Man
Meek's Cutoff
Major Rockstar
TheCave of Forgotten Dreams
Point Blank
Prince of Darkness
Taxi Driver
Beats, rhymes & life: the travels of a tribe called quest
Reurrect Dead: The mystery of the Toynbee tiles
Dragon Slayer
Life in Day
Hunt for Red October
Goldfinger
The Tree of Life
A town called Panic
Spike and Mike's Twisted Animation
Dogtooth
Kill Bill Vol 1
Kill Bill Vol 2
Moon
Apollo 13
The King's Speech
The Hangover
500 Days of Summer
Bronson
Predator
Valhalla Rising
Cloverfield
Old Joy
I'm the Angel of Death: Pusher III
KungFuPanda
Midnight in Paris
Drive
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Contagion
The Ides of March
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Melancholia
Dead Snow
Air Guitar Nation
Saboteur
Like Crazy
Confessions of a Superhero
Somos Buzos
Bruce Campbell vs. The Army of Darkness
Deep Water
A Film Unfinished
The Skin I Live In
Le Havre
American Movie
The Producers
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Margin Call
The Apartment
Troll
Troll 2
Best Worst Movie
Gasland
Anvil: The Story of Anvil

I covered best of 2010 here.

Goatman Hollow Video

2012-01-06T20:26:00.001-05:00

I am in the process of shooting a behind-the-scenes documentary of a local haunted house and all of the effort that goes into putting the show together. It is a large effort and in 2009 there were over 100 cast and crew: all of whom were volunteers. Part of the proceeds each year are donated to the local fire department.

Unfortunately, the house did not open this year.

Fortunately, a walk-through of the house was captured with three cameras on a closed set.

I helped shoot the walk-through and edited the 32 minute video below.

Handful of Hallowe'en Horror

2011-11-05T23:36:00.001-04:00

Handful of Hallowe'en Horror

Fun:
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Frat kids travel to West Virginia only to meet crazy hillbillies. OR, perfectly harmless country folk are harassed by suicidal college kids. Only you can decide the truth. I wanted to catch this at SXSW but missed it.

Fun:
Dead Snow
Norway. Dead. Nazi. Zombies. Snow. Lots and lots of snow.
This horror film follows some typical genre tropes, in fact reveling in some of them, but some of the scenes are very fun and impressive, especially all that costume and makeup in the snow. I can't imagine how long it took to do some of those scenes. May have to see the how did they do that behind the scenes at some point.

Blue:
Melancholia
Earth. Sister Planet. Armageddon.
Lars von Trier delivers an utter embrace of despair starting an impressive Kirsten Dunst who takes home an acting award from Cannes after the director is excommunicated due to his big mouth.. It is unfortunate that some of the bet ten minutes of cinema I have seen in a long time are split by 2 hours of rather pedestrian cinema. Watch back to back with the Tree of Life for true trip.

Gets under my skin:
The Skin I live In
Almovodar directs a horror/thriller that is unfortunately weak. This thing is full of poor decisions. Revenge? Sadism? Infatuation? Megalomaniacal? A lot of it makes little sense. The great thing is it stars one of the most beautiful actresses in a long time in Elena Anaya. Unfortunately....

Oldie but goodie:
Bruce Campbell vs. Army of Darkness
Some additional scenes that were cut from the US distribution and great commentary from Rami and Campbell. And hey, that Henry the Red guy kicks ass.

48 Hour Film Project Machinima Winners Announced

2011-10-03T22:07:00.001-04:00

Winners announced.

Congratulations to all.

Two Great Animations

2011-09-07T21:27:00.001-04:00

More fun with sound and minimalist animation.

Little Boat

Little Boat from nelson boles on Vimeo.

This one time...

This one time... from nelson boles on Vimeo.

Nicolas Winding Refn

2011-09-02T23:06:00.001-04:00

Two cinematic and surreal films recently appeared on my TV, both directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (Danish directory).

Bronson, a fictionalized portrayal by Tom Hardy (he of Inception cast fame), of one of Britain's most violent prisoners, a man who went to jail for the theft of less than 28 pounds from a UK post office and ended up spending a significant fraction of his life behind bars due to his extremely violent nature. The strangeness of the real life events is transformed into an even more surreal stage setting by Hardy and Refn that touch on an almost artistic expression through violence that is are worth the price of admission.

Valhalla Rising is an minimalist film of a Viking, also a violent prisoner, who is forced to fight by his captors. Earning his freedom in a violent escape, One-eye, the prisoner's name as given to him by his young companion, ends up joining a group of crusading Christians, who then find themselves in the new world among the natives, and not in the holy land as originally intended.

I first became acquainted with the director from his first movie Pusher. As the name suggests, the movie deals with a drug dealer. The realistic and brutal violence in this film shows a theme that continues in the director's work, but it's not the stylized cartoon violence of so many directors who ape Tarantino, but something else.

Highly recommended.

You Must Play The Stanley Parable

2011-08-21T22:10:00.003-04:00

You will download and install the Half Life mod 'The Stanley Parable'.

You will play the game.

Stanely did.

If You Watch Both

2011-08-04T07:46:00.003-04:00

The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick, and Dogtooth by Giorgos Lanthimos, in the same week, you will cover the entire gamut of family life, from the way of grace, the way of nature, and the way of the psychopath.

It is a strange juxtaposition.

Malick's fifth film in 38 years has already generated a great deal of press and opinions about what it is, what it means, and whether it is even worth seeing. Comparisons to Kubrick's 2001 have been made. Some theaters post notices that anyone leaving the cinema will not receive refunds. I suspect that many years from now a more definitive examination in retrospect will seal this film as either the work of a genius or an overreaching flop. The path to release has been long, and the film was supposed to have been released two years ago. Rumors of much footage cut have circulated. What is left is almost pure cinema, very little dialog, emotional images with whispering narrators who do not so much preach as opine. The beginnings of the universe, a family growing up in Texas, the death of a brother. A more serious A Serious Man? Perhaps.

It has already won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

I can't wait to see it agin.

Dogtooth was nominated for best foreign language film and is a much more straightforward examination of the extremes of family life with a patriach who lives in a gated estate. His three children are never allowed to leave the house and have grown up only under the twisted guidance of their parents who assert that they are protecting them from the outside world. Their world, a microcosm of the outside, has been altered in order to prevent outside influences from creeping in, but of course, creep in they must, to both horrific, comic, and liberating effect.

It is a fascinating look at family life at the extremes, but I do not think I shall see it again.

Silverdocs 2011

2011-07-01T21:25:00.004-04:00

Only managed to catch 4 docs this year.

BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

This is fan doc made by Michael Rapaport that starts with the band playing in LA in 2008, then traces their foundation with Q-Tip, Phyfe Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and sometimes Jarobi in Queens and tracks the band as they release innovative album after album only to have the band disintegrate in 1998. The tension between certain band members and the creative force that produces such innovative hip hop elevates this above most fan docs.

NPR mediator, director Michael Rapaport, and ATCQ member Phyfe Dawg at Q&A

DRAGONSLAYER

A year in the life documentary of skateboarder Screech. This won the grand jury prize at SXSW, but I was less than impressed. It uses imagery captured with a Flip camera given to the skater, and follows his breakup with the mother of his child, his journey of discovery, and eventual growth into something better.

Director Tristan Patterson

RESURRECT DEAD: THE MYSTERY OF THE TOYNBEE TILES

This one is really quite fascinating. A series of embedded tiles are found in the asphalts and streets on the east coast of the U.S. and few South American cities. The tiles typically say:

TOYNBEE IDEA

IN Kubrick's 2001

RESURRECT DEAD

ON PLANET JUPITER.

The strange message and link to a famous movie had me hooked. What does the message mean, who places the tiles, and why? The doc follows a trio of obsessive fans who are determined to solve the mystery. The surprising discoveries they make and the deeper meaning are satisfying beyond just the resolution of an unsolved puzzle.

Some of the mystery solvers and director.

LIFE IN A DAY

Producers Tony and Ridley Scott and directed by Kevin McDonald, the true star is the editor. The idea was that people all over the world would film themselves for one day, July 24, 2010, answer a few simple questions, and then submit the films. Screening 3500 hours of footage to find 90 minutes that can be put into a cohesive hole is why the editor and his team deserve some sort of superhuman award. There are surprising revelations, and the whole movie reminds me of Post Secret, the famous internet web site. But what really tweaks the imagination is what was left on the cutting room floor (the joke was that the DVD would have 3499 hours of 'extras'). A fascinating if not entirely random look at humanity.

Two contributors, editor Joe Walker, and Silverdocs personnel.

Team Fortress 2 Replay

2011-05-18T01:04:00.002-04:00

Valve enabled the TF2 replay editor and sponsored a contest.

A Saxxy award awaits those who win.

Two of mine are below.

Interesting to see how much more push there is into machinima tools from Valve.

Minimalist Meek

2011-05-11T09:02:00.003-04:00

Sparse.

Barren.

Quiet.

Hushed sounds.

Strained listening.

Did they say what I think they said?

Kelly Reichardt's Meek's Cutoff is not for everyone, judging by comments on the web. This western is based on the true story of a wagon train to Oregon that is led by a guide, Stephen Meek, who attempts to bypass the route through the Blue Mountains where an attack by Indians is rumored to await, leading the train into a harsh desert.

Things become desperate. Meek's leadership is question.

An Indian is captured who now becomes an enigmatic guide through the harsh terrain.

Michelle Williams plays a strong-willed woman, Bill Patton as her husband, and Bruce Greenwood as Meek in a small cast that reduces the true story's large group of hundreds of wagons to just three.

This reduction serves the story well and the cast does a great job with a sparse script.

As alluded to above, the sound design is purposefully designed so that dialog is difficult to understand in some cases. Meaning is what is made of words misheard. Or missaid.

The framing is 4:3, designed to mimic the women's bonnets and the wagons themselves, where a narrow field of vision is only available to the viewer.

This does not prevent some amazing cinematography being put on display of the barren Oregon landscape.

Much has been said of this allegorical tale on politics, untrustworthy leadership, and current events.

Everyone should see this movie.

Alternate Takes
imdb
official

Found this Atist in an Issue Of Super 8 Today

2011-04-17T07:45:00.003-04:00

I have no idea why I'm reading (on paper) a magazine about a dying technology, but this article on Martha Colburn had some striking images exemplifying her artistic style.

She has a video channel, and some excerpts are below:

Very political.

Some of her work has been shown at The Museum of the Moving Image among others.

International Documentary Challenge

2011-04-04T21:04:00.001-04:00

Congrats to the 12 finalists.

My film did not make it, unfortunately, so I may try to put it online at some point.

Or, I may actually edit it some more.

Certified Copy

2011-03-27T21:44:00.005-04:00

Sometimes when watching a movie, it's obvious when a scene is the focus of plot, or character development, or setting. However, in the hands of a master, all of those technical details recede and you realize that the brush strokes, real or fake, disappear, and you only see the whole masterpiece before you.

Kiarostami's Certified Copy is exactly such a movie. A pleasure to watch, especially after the last several movies that I had seen that were so laden with obvious intent as to seem the feverish workings of used car salesmen desperately trying to unload a carlot full of lemons.

Enigmatic, the twists that are revealed are never certified to be true. Certainties bring questions. Questions never bring answers. Statements made earlier are true, then false, then true again.

Juliete Binoche wins best actress at Cannes. At least that much appears to be true.

This is my first taste of Kiarostami and I need to see more.

Certified Copy at Indiewire.
imdb

Machinima/Animation Tools as Dollhouse Bitchfests

2011-03-13T19:42:00.003-04:00

Like kids working out interaction issues by playing with dolls or action figures. Instead of writing a letter to the editor, these played out scenes are definitely designed to make a point. The computed generated voices allows anyone to whip one of these up.

Normally this is something you would complain about to your friends or family (or complain ABOUT them to someone else). When you use an animation tool to complain about it to the world, what do you call it?

Complainimation.

One of the more famous examples, Cinematographer vs. Producer.
Discussed here.

Fireman vs. Cop

I tried to find some examples in other tools but had no luck.

Rango

2011-03-13T01:07:00.004-05:00

Is a damn fine animated movie (isn't it interesting that some of the best movies of recent years are animated?).

Surprisingly it's not Pixar nor Dreamworks, but Gore Verbinski and ILM (Pirates of the Caribbean director) and a great performance by Johnny Depp (how long before an acting award goes to an animated character?) that bring this movie to the stage.

The film was made in an unusual style with the actors performing ensemble-wise in a 'theater of the absurd' as opposed to the typical one person at a time in front of a microphone and served to capture great reactions. It blends the film together very well and I wouldn't be surprised if more animated films use this style.

Throw in a ton of movie references, one of the most unique beginnings to an animated film I've ever seen, some truly hallucinogenic scenes, fantastically detailed character design, and a great cast, and this could be the animated film to beat this year with Pixar releasing a cash cow in Cars 2. The king can be unseated.

IMDB
Official
Indiewire
Q&A With Verbinski
NYTimes

International Documentary Challenge

2011-03-01T21:33:00.003-05:00

I signed up for the Doc Challenge.

It is like the 48 Hour Film Project except that:

1) it's a documentary
2) it's 5 days

Depending on the genre I get and the theme, I may be doing this virtually. There, I may be knocking on some pixelated doors this weekend.

Academy Award Nominees - Short Form - Animation/Live

2011-02-14T23:02:00.004-05:00

Weak year for the short fiction categories (what happens if there's a short animated documentary - what category is it in?). Usually it's the shorts that show the most imagination, but this year it might actually be the full length documentary category. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to see any of the short docs.

The Confession - very heavy handed and I felt cheated by this one.
The Crush - somewhat funny, but could have been better.
God of Love - I predict/hope this one wins. It at least showed some originality.
Na Wewe - OK. Sure.
Wish 143 - Almost had me.

Really, I only liked two of them, God of Love, and Wish 143, and GoL is the clear winner IMO. A lot of fun, a decent story, acting, great composition, etc.

Day & Night - Pixar - 2D characters who's outlines reveal the background - interesting idea, but I get the feeling I've seen the idea before.
The Gruffalo - somewhat dry tale of a mouse in the forest chasing away predators by telling them of The Gruffalo (ie. The Jabberwocky).
Let's Pollute - ironic message, pollution is fun.
The Lost Thing - I liked this one, great style, story just ok.
Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary) - great tale of a trip to Madagascar with great flipbook style.

Pixar doesn't need anymore Oscars, so I hope Madagascar wins.

David O'Reilly's The External World

2011-02-09T22:20:00.002-05:00

Is 17 minutes of brilliantly demented animation oddness all packed full of irony (literally), pop culture, and moments of brilliant insight. I was laughing so hard I almost fell out of my chair but I am quite sure that this will offend many viewers.

The External World from David OReilly on Vimeo.

I've mentioned Please Say Something before, another very odd animation from the same creative mind.

David O'Reilly site.

The Illusionist

2011-02-08T23:20:00.003-05:00

Another fantastic animated film from Sylvain Chomet (whose last feature was The Triplets of Belleville ). The film is based on a story by Jacques Tati and is now nominated for an academy award (best animated feature). It is too bad that it is up against Pixar as this is a film worth seeing. The fantastic backgrounds and completely restrained animation coupled with the very sly humor lends itself to an appreciation of animation that is not all CG and bombastic over the top style.

The Illusionist
Uploaded by ThePlaylist. - Check out other Film & TV videos.

Go see this movie so more films like this get made.

Wikipedia

Official Site

IMDB

Fascinating Series On Machinima, Video Games, and Art

2011-01-23T18:11:00.003-05:00

Jenkins has three recent posts that come from curator Matteo Bittanti from the DIY Video 2010 event that was shown at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles LA consisting of selections of video game art, transformed video game art, and machinima. He is a research associate in humanities at Stanford and makes some fascinating remarks.

Did anyone within the machinima community attend this event? I do not recall any discussions on it.

Part One.

Part Two.

Part Three.

It is especially interesting as I had just watched this hour long performance art piece/stand-up comedy bit from the master of futurism, Bruce Sterling, at the Vimeo Festival, where his hour long diatribe on the future of video/internet/video asks and answers the question of what is coming next.

The Way Back

2011-01-19T10:46:00.005-05:00

Peter Weir's new movie, The Way Back is based on a novel of a group of prisoners who escape a Siberian prison and then trek all the way to India. An ensemble of actors, including Colin Farrel and Ed Harris, it's a classic tale of men against nature, men against themselves, men against men. Familiar territory, as the last movie Weir directed was Master and Commander.

Too bad they didn't have a communicator and a starship to beam up to.

The director had a Q&A after the movie and answered some questions. Apparently the novel's accuracy has been called into question, which is why it is presented as a fictionalized account and leaves a few narrative threads open ended. The fact that the events may not have transpired exactly as depicted does not impact the movie, which is filled with impressive images of harsh landscapes, and some decent acting, even by Farrel, who plays a Russian criminal.

A decent movie and the first fictional movie to be produced or co-produced by National Geographic, which is an interesting tidbit of information.

Filmmaker magazine interview.

The Trashmaster

2011-01-12T22:48:00.003-05:00

Of course is getting lots of notice, a feature length machinima shot in GTA:IV. How many full length machinimas is that now?

The filmmaker Mathieu Weschler is french, and this translated piece from a french website just kills me:

But of course once all these elements still had to add that the specificity of cinema, directing and editing of course! And there's the orgy, the film is a festival of all plans more inspired than each other, it's simple it never stops, tirelessly transcribing inner torments of his hero destroyed perfectly framed shot of plans of majestic shots ever free and zooms shattering when the action moves as it should be remembered that the film is a series of action scenes with dementia, of gunfights in the Heat of crossbred " John Woo-style " digested superbly (it honors, it is inspired, but never copy ...) of car chases race (the final sequence is unforgettable breadth, virtuosity and camaraderie ...) but also contemplative and dreamlike scenes to burst of beauty (the sequence of garbage collection , sublime!), all in an industrial environment blade-runneresque unforgettable ...

My kingdom for a babelfish...

I have only watched the first ten minutes, and I am really curious to know how it was made. So far it looks impressive.

The trashmaster (nouvelle version nouvelle voix-off !)
Uploaded by murakawa. - Check out more gaming videos.

2010 Movies

2010-12-23T08:38:00.020-05:00

Instead of a top 10 list of best movies for 2010, I thought I would simply rank all the movies that I saw (or remember seeing). This turned out to be a difficult but worthwhile endeavor with the top and the bottom easy to define, but all the stuff in the middle sort of sits there like a giant bolus. The movies include theatrical releases (film festivals, box office) even though some were released in 2009, and any 2010 releases I saw on DVD or Netflix.

Exit Through The Gift Shop (covered here)
Marwencol (covered in SXSW - see below)
Wasteland (covered in SilverDocs - see below)

Yes I am putting three documentaries (in some cases presumed doc) at the top of my best movies list. Yes, they all have to do with art and the power of the creative force. Yes, they are all better than anything that was created in Hollywood this year.

White Ribbon (covered here)
Black Swan (covered here)
Stone (covered here)

The next three movies are darkly psychological and disturbing movies, some with fantastic performances. I wish Stone was getting more award buzz because it deserves it.

The Social Network

Cracking good tale by Fincher and Sorkin.

True Grit
Winter's Bone

Compare and contrast the two young female protagonists in these two movies. True Grit remake by The Coen Brothers Inc. of the original book, not so much the John Wayne flick - a classic western, and Winter's Bone - a look at life in the Ozarks.

How to Train Your Dragon (covered here)
Despicable Me

Two best animated features I saw this year. Dragon is better than Avatar, fantastic animation and 3D, and a great story. Me is creative look at bad guys who are not really bad (this and Megamind reminded me of the video games Evil Genius and Dungeonkeeper).

Inside Job

This doc is about the real bad guys, aka Wall Street, and the corrupt financial system.

Mother

Joon-ho Bong plays with maternal instinct.

Toy Story 3

Pixar puts the toys to bed.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

Very topical with the WikiLeaks saga ongoing.

Winnebago Man

Internet fame, fall, redemption.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Have not managed to see the next two installments in this trilogy, but a great thriller from Sweden. If Fincher remakes this, I might have to see it.

RIP: A Remix Manifesto
Barbershop Punk

Copyright and creativity. Internet and rights.

35 Shots of Rum

Claire Denis, Paris, the ups and downs of a small intimate group of people.

All About Evil (covered here)

Hilarious horror movie. Some of the best one-liners since Schwarzenegger.

Into Eternity (covered in SilverDocs -see below)

What. Are. We. Doing?

Tangled
Megamind

Animated features that did not hit all the high marks.

The Road

Great book, ok movie.

MacGruber

Fun SNL character in a surprisingly fun movie.

Get Low

Robert Duvall.

Circo (covered in SilverDocs - see below)

Great intimate doc of a small circus in Mexico)

127 Hours

Bye bye arm.

Life 2.0 (virtuality)
Camp Victory, Afghanistan (it is not working - get out)
The People vs. George Lucas (this is a fan fic - the three part Red Letter Media deconstruction of the prequels is superior in every respect)
Richard Garriot - Man on a Mission (space tourists)
Saturday Night (behind the scenes of SNL)
Beijing Taxi (China)
Budrus (how peaceful protests in the occupied territories changed the Israeli's wall)

These docs were at SXSW (see below). I saw all of them there except Budrus which I saw later along with a discussion with the director).

Scott Pilgrim
Kick-Ass

Comic book tales (or video games, take your pick). A poor year for comic books. I saw Kick-Ass at SXSW.

Predators

Needed a real director.

Fair Game (the real story is more interesting than the adaptation - covered here)
Blue Valentine (I found this an incredibly boring tale of mediocre people (Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams) in a mediocre relationship - if you want to see passive aggressives get depressed -have fun)
All Good Things (really not liking Ryan Gosling who stars in another tale of another bad marriage, this one ending in the tragic disappearance of his wife - this one based on a real life story of real estate moguls in New York)
South of the Border (not very well told doc aboutSouth American leaders, especially Chavez, by Oliver Stone - covered in SilverDocs - see below))
Futurestates (made for TV - covered in SXSW - see below)
Cargo (low budget sci-fi - covered in SXSW - see below)
Freakonomics (a fun book becomes a not very well made doc by a mix of directors with only one standout part - the one on abortion - covered here)

Tron: Legacy in Wasted 3D
Ironman2
Inception

These last three were the worst movies I saw this year. Give me back my 6+ hours please.

Movies I Wanted To See:

The Last Station (China's far flung empire cracks at the seams)
The Secret of Kells (animated Academy Award nominee)
Hubble 3D (missed the start at SXSW due to traffic)
The Secret in Their Eyes (winner of Best Foreign Oscar last year)
Best Worst Movie (a look at Troll by one of the actors who made it)
Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo (bugs, and Japan)
The Trotsky (reincarnated Red Army hero)
Micmacs (also missed at SXSW)
I am Love (Tilda Swinton)
Cyrus (the mumblecore guys go big)
Dogtooth (sequestration)
Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno (self destruction)
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (the candle that burns so bright...)
The Tillman Story (about the manipulation of media by Dept. of Defense)
Machete (the fake trailers in Grindhouse come to life)
Waiting for Superman (from the director of An Inconvenient Truth - a look at the broken education system)
Four Lions (a slapstick look at a terrorist cell?)
Restrepo (a doc about one lone post in Afghanistan)
Carlos (the Jackal, the terrorist, the mercenary, the celebrity)
Buried (to see how it compares to 127 hours, plus the poster is brilliant)
Trash Humpers (because WTF is this?)
Enter the Void (surreal death)

Some of these films were shown at SXSW, and some at SilverDocs, which I covered:
SXSW
SilverDocs

There are lots of other lists out there:

Roger Ebert covers:
Best animated
Best foreign
Best features

Just do not ask him about best video games. Ask The Escapist instead for a year in review:
Escapist covers video games in 2010

Best Movie Posters:
Firstshowing covers best official
MUBI.

Lists:
Best Canadian
Best viral videos
NWN has best SL machinima (I have not seen other best of machinima lists)
DocBlogs top docs
NYT films worth another look
Filmoculus has lists of lists, including many for film and DVD
A.O. Scott from NYT discusses 2010 cinema
Tarantino's favorites

MUBI.com has pages and pages of links to other lists:
Dec 17
Dec. 18
Dec 30
Dec 30
Jan 1
Jan 4

Aronofsky's Black Swan

2010-12-05T13:35:00.003-05:00

Continues the director's exploration of the sacrifices made in the pursuit of the artifice of illusion and the toll those sacrifices take.

His last movie, The Wrestler, won great critical acclaim, especially for Mickey Rourke, and was a gritty portrayal of the abuse the body takes (here's my post on The Wrestler).

Black Swan continues this exploration of mind over matter, but incorporates some of the more surreal aspects that Aronofsky uses in some of his previous films like Pi, and Requiem for a Dream.

Natalie Portman gives a fantastic portrayal of the physical constraints that must be broken in order to dance ballet in the role of Nina, a young zealous ballet dancer who is given the lead role in Swan Lake, but is asked to convince the company's artistic director that she can play the Black Swan by letting go of herself during the dance. I suspect nominations are being prepared.

However, the psychological toll, and the presentation of that toll on the main character is not as convincing as in Aronofsky's other movies. I do not know if that is due to the actor, or to the director, but by the ending I was not entirely convinced. This may need another viewing before I fully decide.

Overall, the acting, not only Portman's but Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, and even Winona Ryder, are all excellent. The cinematography, especially during the ballet practices and performances really brings home what it takes to make it appear effortless (it would be interesting to compare them with The Wrestler, or even Raging Bull), and the story all come together to make a damn fine movie.