Monday, October 30, 2006

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Favorite Films #6

Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Wells, is thought by many to be the best American film ever made. I don’t know about that, but it is one of the greats. Orson Wells understood the importance of the details. For one shot Wells was said to have dug a hole in the stage floor to get the camera were he wanted it, all for just one shot. Orson Wells has a strange career in Hollywood, striving for greatness, but never quite making it. He went on to make many other films I enjoy, mostly for there strangeness, and non-Hollywood feel, Such as, The Trial, The Stranger, and Touch of Evil.

Tagline for Citizen Kane: Radio's Most Dynamic Artist . . The Man At Whose Voice A Nation Trembled . . . Now the screen's most exciting NEW star ! ORSON WELLES in the picture Hollywood said he'd never make
I also enjoy RKO 281. This is the story of Orson Wells struggle to make Citizen Kane. It is not 100% historically accurate, but a good movie and follow up to Citizen Kane. Often it seems that the story behind the story is just as interesting, and often more interesting than the story its self.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Favorite Films #5


I watch Jaws at least once a year. this is, in my opinion, the very best film Steven Spielberg has ever and most likely will ever do. Will ever, because while his technique is always improving, and his story telling is phenomenal, the man is a giant cheese ball. every movie he has done since jaws has been Spielbergized!

(Spielbergized: 1. to have a scene or section of a film, usually at the end, that makes everything OK, or is there not for the story but to tug at your heart strings. 2. dishonest film making designed to cause an extra shock or emotion at some point in the film. 2-1. See Saving Private Ryan, it has all this and more, the perfect example of Spielbergized.)

Jaws is pure, honest film making from a young director with nothing to loose, who took a lot of chances. Jaws has more themes running through it than i have time for here, but it is truly one of the best films in the last 50 years.

tagline for Jaws: The Nation's No.1 Best-Selling Book now the Screen's Super-Thriller

Monday, October 16, 2006

Favorite films #4




28 Days Later is a horror film that i like VERY much. The Director, Danny Boyle is another one of my favorites. His past films are shallow grave, trainspotting, A life Less Ordinary, the Beach, and Millions. His body of work ranges from horror to romantic action/comedy to almost family entertainment, but one thing remains the same; Boyles themes are always focused on human depravity. 28 days Later is no exception, which should not come as a surprise to anyone being that there is no better tool in film making to show the evil of man than the horror genre. 28 Days later is loosely based on George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, the follow up to his indy hit, Night of the Living Dead.

Tageline for 28 Days Later: His fear began when he woke up alone. His terror began when he realised he wasn't.

you can view the trailer HERE

I also recommend to ANYONE, especially those that think horror has nothing to offer then, to take a look at the documentary "American Nightmare". This film talks with many of the American filmmakers of the 60's/70's who were making horror films. They talk about there films and why they made them and why they think it was and is important to make these types of films. The documentary also does a great job of showing you what was going on at that time in history and how it directly influenced the film making of that era.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Favorite Films #3


Alfred Hitchcock's Rope is one of my all time favorite hitchcock films. Shot in a unique way, especially for 1948, there are very few cuts in this film. Hitchcock shot a whole magazine of film in one shot (about 10 mins) and then would run the camera into some back just before the camera ran out. The next shot would start on that same persons back and pull away, as if there was no cut at all. They say the floor on the set was covered with tape marking were the actors were supposed to be, and were the cameraman was. This film is one of Hitchcock's best.

Tagline for Rope: The guest who's dead on time

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Favorite Films #2

A Clockwork Orange is the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film made directly after his masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey. In A Clockwork Orange, Kubrick investigates Free will, and the what happens if you take away a mans ability to choose between right and wrong. A Clockwork Orange ran for years in theaters and was pull only after Kubrick demonstrated his unprecedented directors power, when he told the studio to stop showing it after receiving many threats against his family. you see, the "Utra Violence" in A Clockwork Orange had teens reenacting scenes on the streets, and several murderers said they got the idea to kill from the film.

Tagline for A Clockwork Orange:
"Being the adventures of a young man ... who couldn't resist pretty girls ... or a bit of the old ultra-violence ... went to jail, was re-conditioned ... and came out a different young man ... or was he ?"
You can see the Trailer HERE


Whether you like Kubrick or not, another great film is, "Stanley Kubrick, A life in Pictures". This documentary follows Kubrick's career from a teen taking pictures for Look Magazine, all the way to his death just before Eyes Wide Shut was released to theaters.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Favorite films #1

I thought I would take this time of not having anything to say, and list a few of my favorite movies.


Magnolia is my favorite film by P.T. Anderson (boogie nights, hard eight, punch-drunk love). Magnolia, like most of his films is pretty long (3+ hours), but worth the endeavor. Anderson seems to be struggling with predestination and that things happen for a reason, resulting in a things being connected somehow. I find it more miraculous to see a non-christian film maker (artist of any kind) struggling with these themes and coming to the right conclusion, rather than a Christian, who knows the answers and is just spreading the message.
Tagline: "Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours.
you can see the trailer HERE.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006