I was able to catch quite a few movie previews during this year’s Comic Con. And while Avatar wowed me with it’s eye candy, it wasn’t the movie that I responded to the most. That honor would have to go to Kick-Ass. The red band trailer featuring Hit-Girl best exemplifies with. It quite simply kicks ass.
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You can’t accuse David Lynch of is selling out. Just don’t take him to Souplantation. While Return of the Jedi is the weakes of the original three movies, I’m not sure Lynch would’ve been right for it. I mean, look at what happened to Dune. There’s one thing that Lynch said that struck me. George Lucas doesn’t really like to direct. It showed in the Star Wars prequels.
There is a misperception that Clint Eastwood has been on a directorial streak as of late. The truth of the matter is that he hit a slump in 2008. It started with the muddled and overblown Changeling; a film that while it featured an intensely emotional performance from Angelina Jolie and an oppressively bleak tone, felt oddly flat and impassive. And although Gran Torino was a definite fan-favorite, it was another step backwards, undoing all the work that Unforgiven had done to rebuke Eastwood’s action-hero image. The performances of the Hmong kids in particular were embarrassingly amateurish. Unfortunately, Eastwood’s slump continues with Invictus. Based on the book, Playing the Enemy}, by John Carlin, Invictus has all the earmarks of a classic crowd pleaser. It’s a no-brainer. Disappointingly, so is the filmmaking.
Yeah, I know. What do two television stars have to do with a blog about cinema? Well, one of my early (and thankfully aborted) film projects was inspired by Curb Your Enthusiasm (Okay, so I ripped it off. I told you it was thankfully aborted). Years later, I made a short film that was a homage (yeah, another ripoff) of The Office. The two preeminent masters of cringe humors got together for a BBC special in 2008 to discuss just about everything under the sun. Thanks go out to the kind souls who put this video on You Tube. It’s broken up into six parts, so there’s more hilarity and comedy insight after the break.
This short film helped convince me to go to film school. I rue the day I saw it. Haha. Anyway, I was drawn to how it tells the story visually. There is no soapboxing. The simplicity of the story drives the theme home more.
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Okay, I figured out how to embed the video (Duh, use Vodpod). Anyway, here’s filmmaker Jon Reiss (Bomb It) speaking about the new ways to think about theatrical release. This is an essential for any independent filmmaker. The market is rapidly changing, most say dying, and if independent film is to survive, the traditional paradigms, particularly of distribution, must change. Anyway, it’s a fascinating listen, or watch, if I embedded it properly this time.
I tend to avoid movie theater popcorn for different reasons. It’s too noisy and distracts from the movie. It’s overpriced and I’m cheap as hell. I’m the kind of guy that goes to matinees and uses a student discount even though I haven’t been a full time student in years. Hey, a regular movie ticket is about $11. A regular popcorn and soda is easily another $12. But the main reason I avoid popcorn is because it’s so damn unhealthy. And popcorn looks so harmless that it’s so easy to fool yourself. How much can a few kernels of popcorn hurt?
Well, according to the CSPI Newsroom, a medium popcorn and soda combo at Regal theaters is 1,610 calories and three days worth – 60 grams – of saturated fat. That’s the equivalent of three Quarter Pounders with 12 pats of butter! I mean, it’s no surprise that the chemical sludge we put on our popcorn isn’t doing us any favors, but the numbers really put things into perspective. You can read more here.
It would be easy to dismiss Sword of Doom as just another violent Samurai movie. It is definitely not without its flaws. Just the same, the film’s strengths beg for a second look. During the 60s, there was a break in the tradition of classic heroism and a trend towards the cynical antihero. Sergio Leone’s the Man with No Name is a perfect example. Sword of Doom does those films one better. The protagonist isn’t just an anti-hero. He is unrepentantly evil, a demon warrior in human form. Sword of Doom’s hyper-stylized violence is a precursor to the suicidal glory of such blood ballets as The Wild Bunch and Taxi Driver and the heroic bloodshed of Hong Kong cinema. The bloodletting functions as something more than just violence for violence’s sake, but as an outward expression of character.
As an avid fan of Korean cinema, I have to say this is spot on. Pure genius.
