Cinema is Dope

::: Anime, KUROSAWA only! Nikkatsu’60s movies are popular in the U.S.
Yahoo! Japan

Marc Walkow of Outcast Cinema gets a glowing review of his Nikkatsu series in this Yahoo! Japan article. Apparently at the end they refer to him having “sparking eyes.” The Google English translation of this (view here) seems to get that part wrong.

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There really is nothing on the Internet or in any media like David’s great GreenCine Daily. It really is in most cinephiles top 3 scenarios - if you could only take 3 websites to an Island with you, what would they be? It has a firm pulse on the film world we all love in all its many facets, shapes and voices. Today there was an excellent mention that brought up the topic more or less of the current state of film criticism. What I find fascinating is often times we as writers change our voice depending on whom we are writing for. If we are writing for print we trim our voice to the alloted space (perhaps sometimes write longer and let our editors sort it out) and then hone in sometimes on the style the outlet is expecting. There is creativity to be had out there for sure, but there is also manufactured film writing going on where we are packaging up our voice on something. This really does vary from writer to writer how much this is all done. Some writers just have that one unmistakable voice that they constantly hone in on and it comes through regardless how short or what outlet they are writing for. These are often times the writers I am most drawn to.

There is writing for business. There is writing for art. There is writing that is personal.

To some degree we all perhaps float in between one of those three or are in many cases just doing one. The more we hit on all art and personal writing I think lends itself to writing the most compelling pieces out there, so long as they still keep some site of business (if they are writing to be paid).

The Internet and blogging allows us as writers to now stray away from the business side and just share our writings on art and who we are, our voice uncut. We aren’t often worried about commerce or making money. It bridges a new gap with people that might read us to hear how we really write without word limits or any silly guidelines. It gives us a work out gym of writing to hone in on our voice and dig deep for meaning, substance and the heart of things that sway and moves, the inner essence of what makes us feel alive and connected with the world.

So to this I say it’s always great to have a reminder that we need to throw away our boxes and things that hold us back from writing with our voice. It’s not just about being a cinephile, its also about writing with our voice and for art as well. Explore the world, meet new people and just get out.

There is nothing but ourselves to limit our writing and why limit what we love, why write about anything where you are trying to confirm.

The most important lesson in film writing is just be yourself and let the chips fall. And by this I don’t necessarily mean for you paid work, but on your blogs and other places. I’m tired of people saying that on any personal film blogs your writing should conform this or that way and follow this or that guideline. Screw that stuff. This is the space I can write without limits or rules and offer up my voice uncut. Anyone can write like all the other sheep’s out there, but honestly there are countless sites out there with people instead of writing with their voice, they write with trying to adhere to some kind of pre-determined guidelines or rules, when they should just throw everything out the window and write with their own voice.

Too many film writing sheep out there makes everything rather bland and makes reading rather dull as it is.

::: How to Write Film Criticism? Stop Reading It.
Karina Longworth

::: Curious but Vital
Hollywood Elsewhere

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I was shocked earlier today to learn of the unexpected passing of Linn Haynes who died in a car crash. I’ve known Mr. Haynes dating back to my BadAssMovieImages days. He was an amazing resource of film information, though I think it was our mutual love of all things 70’s cinema that was the bond. In addition to that he was incredibly supportive of all my endeavors over the year. He was one of the few that at random would drop a note of support just to say hi and to keep up the great work. The past few years we mainly chatted back and forth about Shaw Brothers films. Although we were born in the same year, it was like he had lived several lifetimes to know as much as he did about film in general and more specifically with Shaw Brothers and every kung fu film ever made. It was a great honor on occasion as well to be able to help him out with various film imagery he needed.

In the world of cinephiles he was a legend and a scholar. He was one of the few that seemed to have ascended all 37 chambers of film knowledge.

So to Linn, where ever you are out there, you are missed and thank you so much for your support and help over the years.

I was I could write more… still in shock.

Related Coverage:
::: Tribute on Mobius
::: Tribute on That Will Teach Them To Be Bad
::: Tribute on Kung Fu Fandom
::: Obituary

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In perhaps a really bad secret, I’m out at the Berlinale/European Film Market this year. Todd Brown at Twitch (trailer) posted the incredible trailer for the Thai film Chocolate. I was perhaps incredibly skeptical and hesitant if the film could out due its trailer. Some films just are great trailers and lousy films.

I can confirm with 100% certainty that Chocolate kicks unbelievable ass. At this point if this is the only film that comes out this year I’ll be happy. I haven’t gotten to see a movie that got me on such an euphoric wave in a good while. As far as females kicking ass movies, it’s the best one I’ve ever seen. I think my previous favorite female kicking ass movie was Yes, Madam with Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock.

The lead female actress forms some kind of hybrid between Tony Jaa and Bruce Lee (in spots). Mostly they play to her own strengths (which you have to see to believe) and really never tries to rival either Tony or Bruce. The story is slight, but the broad spectrum of characters and scenarios more than complete the film into an absolute marvel and one of the absolute treats of 2008 cinema.

The last action sequence of the film, which is only oh so slightly shown in the trailer is staggering and had me on the edge of my seat. I lost track I was only watching a movie as bad guys fall with next to no safety several stories to a hard pavement. It really reminds me of some ways of the earlier 80’s Jackie Chan films where pulling off cool fights and fight sequences trumped any form of safety. Even more so than anything in Ong Bak, this film puts action firmly in its sights and seeks to raise the bar and leave every damn action film in recent memory in the dust.

Luckily the trailer doesn’t give too much away, be prepared for Chocolate. I will rejoice and bask in this film again and again and again. Which is a welcome change with so many action films of late I forget the moment I walk out the door or instantly buy on DVD, to never watch again.

As a side note I was absolutely stunned at the amount of full on contact fighting that takes place in the film and the amount of real weapons and objects (like real locker doors) that are used throughout the film. I’m so used to films play fighting and having fake props, that it takes a film like this to wake me up to what an action film can be when all bets are off and everything is set within real fighting, places and objects.

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What a great review this one is! The only thing missing is where this places in Stephen Chow’s body of work. Of course this is a movie geek thing done by Stephen Chow fans like myself after we see a new film of his - immediately place it into his body of work on levels of how good it is and separately where it ranks among his funniest films.

::: CJ The Extra-Terrestrial - Review
The Storyboard

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Official statements from Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis that were just issued from Paramount Vantage on the 8 Oscar nominations for There Will Be Blood (see earlier announcement):

Paul Thomas Anderson
“I’m delighted that “There Will Be Blood” has been recognized by the Academy. These nominations are a testament to the cast and crew, who I am deeply grateful to, for their talent and collaboration. I am also very appreciative of the continued support from both John Lesher and Daniel Battsek and their staff. It’s a thrill to be in this.”

Daniel Day-Lewis
“YOU PUT ME SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH A GROUP OF FINE ACTORS. I’M PROUD TO BE IN THEIR COMPANY AND TO HAVE THE BROADER RECOGNITION FOR THE FILM IS A LOVELY THING. I COULDN’T BE HAPPIER FOR PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON TO WHOM WE OWE EVERYTHING.”

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Oscar nominations are in and “There Will Be Blood” has gotten 8 Oscar nominations! I can’t tell how great it is to see this film which debuted at Fantastic Fest rack up all these nominations, as well as be nominated for best picture! There is gonna be some Oscar magic!

Best motion picture of the year
A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production
JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Achievement in directing
Paul Thomas Anderson

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Daniel Day-Lewis

Achievement in film editing
Dylan Tichenor

Achievement in cinematography
Robert Elswit

Achievement in art direction
Art Direction: Jack Fisk
Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in sound editing
Matthew Wood

Adapted screenplay
Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

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On his MySpace Blog legendary Hong Kong Cinema and Shaw Brothers guru Frederic Ambroisine has posted the extended version of his Gu Long article that was originally published in the mystery issue of WestEast Magazine in 2006. Well worth the read for any Shaw Brothers fan!

::: GU LONG : INTERNATIONAL (SWORDS)MAN OF MYSTERY

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One of my favorite film writers Axelle Carolyn Marshall (whom I recently met at the 40th Sitges Film Festival) has a new horror column on IGN. Her new column is a two pager on the year of horror for 2007. Great read and definitely be sure to check in there every 3-4 weeks for her latest horror column.

::: Horror Year in Review - Our new horror columnist Axelle Carolyn Marshall looks backs at the year in gore.
Axelle Carolyn Marshall, IGN

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For those looking for a different kind of peace on Earth, AVP-R will be throwing some Christmas Eve screenings where fans can see the film early and get a swanky t-shirt. Certainly counter programming to everything else going on and perhaps fun for horror fans seeking some horror cinema bonding at Christmas time. I’m not sure myself what Christmas movie I will be watching this year. I plan to try and sneak in Hot Fuzz (yule tide YAAARRRP in effect) for family and strangely enough I haven’t seen It’s a Wonderful Life all over the cable channels (perhaps this will change with the weekend).

AVP-R INVITES N.Y. AND L.A. MOVIE FANS TO
A CHRISTMAS EVE MIDNIGHT MASS-ACRE

LOS ANGELES, December 18, 2007… This Christmas Eve, as millions around the globe raise their voices in praise at midnight masses, New York City and Los Angeles-based fans of the iconic Alien and Predator can experience a very different take on the ritual …at special Midnight Mass-acre showings of AVP-R.

The events follow on the heels of Twentieth Century Fox servicing to press a special holiday gift: an AVP-R Christmas ornament promising that “This Christmas, there will be no peace on Earth.”

There’ll be little peace – but much fan anticipation – at the two Midnight Mass-acre locations: Hollywood’s renowned Chinese Theatre and New York’s Regal Union Square Stadium 14. The first 100 diehards in line at each Midnight Mass-acre will get a special stocking stuffer – commemorative shirts emblazoned with “I Survived Midnight Mass-acre Christmas Eve 2007.”

Opening everywhere December 25, AVP-R sees the deadly beings from the two of cinema’s scariest film franchises wage their most brutal battle ever – in our own backyard.

About Fox Filmed Entertainment
One of the world’s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox Atomic, and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.

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::: Is “There Will Be Blood” Horror?
Matthew Kiernan, AMC Monsterfest

Oilmen as Monsters!

I definitely agree with Matthew and do check out his piece if you get the chance. I think the evil theme in There Will Be Blood is extremely fascinating to ponder over and discuss. In terms of movie monsters Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Mr. Plainview is absolutely evil to the core.

Just as fascinating to me is that the character is an oilman… an evil monster oilman. I think we all can relate to oilmen shown in the light of being evil and cunning. Not that the gas prices ever jump up for no reason but seemingly always in time with a big holiday. Surely no one can relate to oilmen shown as monsters in a film? I think this aspect alone will be hugely resonating with audiences. Getting to witness the origins of evil oil empires is amazing to see on the big screen. P.T. Anderson nails this perfectly as does Daniel Day-Lewis. I’ve heard a lot about the film not really having any one theme that could appeal to broad audiences. Hello? Anyone home? An evil oilman monster is in this movie. People can and will relate to that.

And of special note, I am just absolutely in love with the beautiful way the beginning and ending of the film strongly parallel each other. Though this parallel is more evident not on a first viewing but upon reflecting on the film afterwards.

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Good news for Austin fans of either P.T. Anderson or There Will Be Blood! This Friday with the release of the Coen Brothers’ NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz will be start screening before the film a 35mm trailer for There Will Be Blood that was cut by P.T. Anderson himself. And even better this is the only place you can see this trailer anywhere in the world! I’ll be down on Sunday to check it out for my own eyes and report back later that night!

First Big Movie to Hit the Ritz (Alamo Drafthouse Ritz Press Release)
Official Site

The Alamo Drafthouse Ritz theater is proud to announce the opening of the Coen Brothers’ NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN this Friday, November, 16th, against only one other theater in town. This tremendous privilege for our fledgling flagship theater has been made possible by the good people at The Weinstein Company and we wish to express our gratitude the way we always do- by sharing this incredible film the Alamo way.

As always, it’s more than just movies at the Alamo, and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is no exception. We’ll have onscreen Coen Brothers trivia before the show, a barrage of vintage 35mm Coen Brothers trailers and there’s even a rumor of a NCFOM-inspired skull-crushing piston, courtesy of the Austin chapter of DorkBot. Check back to the website (www.originalalamo.com) for more. We’ll also be the only theater in the country featuring a new 35mm trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson’s THERE WILL BE BLOOD. Unlike the other trailer, this one was cut by the director himself and is only available at Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz.

Grab your tickets online (here) and head down to the Ritz this weekend. You’ll thank me. You’ll thank yourself. You’ll thank the Coen Brothers. We’ll see you at the Ritz.

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Count me down as someone that completely doesn’t get or think there will be a big consumer rush to watch movies on cel phones. This isn’t to say someone could make an “all in one” media device that could pull off such a trick. I think with current cel phones the screens are so tiny that watching a movie on one isn’t very cozy or compelling. A trailer plays fine but sitting down and trying to watch a movie on one just doesn’t work.

One of two things I think need to happen to make this work.

One. Cel phones include a portable screen that can display the movie. Something that at least has the viewing screen size of a portable DVD player. The idea would be as cel phones become more and more merged with being an “all in one” media device that instead of trying to cram everything into one object there would be several parts that could be connected or detached from each other. No one wants to carry a giant or too large to comfortably carry media device of any kind, so having something that features several connectible/detachable parts seems more ideal.

Two. Micro-laptop media devices. This would be like a Blackberry on steroids. It would be roughly the size of a small portable DVD player and feature a keyboard, video cam, wi-fi, Internet browser, e-mail, media player for music and movies and a map application (among others).

In summation I just don’t see with such a small viewing area being offered on current cel phones and media devices a viable consumer need to purchase and watch movies on them. Until the viewing area can be put on mobile devices in larger fashion I don’t think there will ever be a craze beyond some initial overblown hype.

I also think in the future as hard drive space grows by gigs and gigs, alongside huge increases in memory, that we will eventually see something like iTunes but for all media where we can catalog and store any media we have. In this regard we can import movies that we store on our computers but have available for our large screen hi-def televisions and we can additionally port over to a cel phone/media device. As such I think the purchase model for a digital media item will be to buy one copy that a consumer can use in multiple ways. I don’t think digital items should be sold in each variance. Home video purchases at some point will be something downloaded and not something we buy shrink wrapped online or a store. PDF’s will shore up liner notes and cover art. This just makes sense the way hard drive space is becoming larger and easier to buy.

I can additionally see monthly subscriptions to have access to various DVD distributors catalogs (any entity with a film catalog). Any downloaded items would be set to only work on a given users system if fully purchased. Obviously something needs to be done so they can’t just be downloaded and then someone else throws them up on some file sharing site. The options would be two - you could purchase an individual film for good or you could rent it. The rent option would then have a file you could download but that expires on a certain date. The problem as it stands now is having sufficient technology that would prevent hackers from just pilfering through an entire catalog and cracking it. Just imagine if to some degree this could work? You could subscribe to Criterion or Nikkatsu for $20 bucks a month (or something along those lines) and have access to their film library. Purchase or rent movies as you need.

Call me crazy I know… but that’s my two cents.

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Over at the Daily Telegraph today they have a short interview with Quentin Tarantino:

“When it came to the chase I said to everyone who would listen, like, ‘I’m a little nervous about this because I want it to be one of the greatest chases in the history of cinema and, if it’s not, then I’m not as talented as I thought I was’.”

~ Tarantino on the car chase in Death Proof

::: Tarantino on Death Proof
Daily Telegraph

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BAY AREA CASTRO SCREENING - NOVEMBER 5TH

There Will Be Blood which world premiered at Fantastic Fest will be screening in the Bay area at the Castro on November 5th (details).

VARIETY REVIEW

Todd McCarthy reviews There Will Be Blood (read here) and he seems to on a technical and artistic level be highly impressed with it. However, he never seems to pin himself down to how good he thinks the movie actually is. We hear a good technical and artistic analysis of the film but I can’t seem to find any overall summation of it being good or bad. While I don’t necessarily always find the need for a critical review to be just a report card stressing good or bad, it’s nice when someone definitely says if they liked it and if so how much or vice versa. Perhaps he is trying to avoid such praising of the film and go the route of a more critical overview that is mixed with personal feelings. In that regard Mr. McCarthy more than succeeds. With such pre-existing glowing reviews his review certainly stands up as a strong echo of everything that has already been said. I can say mainstream reviews are rarely this well written and seem so vivid and alive with genuine thought and feeling. It’s nice reading something that stirred a persons film loving heart. Though if I did run across him I’d definitely have to ask, “So you liked There Will Be Blood… right?” My gripe as such is only a tiny one in an otherwise highly remarkable and exceptional review.

VIDEO CLIP OF P.T. ANDERSON @ FANTASTIC FEST

For those wanting the actual story of how the film came about screening at Fantastic Fest and to see the full Q&A can check out a video of it at (view here).

MY RESPONSE TO SOME OF THE REPORTS I READ IN REGARDS TO THE FANTASTIC FEST SCREENING

Everything is bigger in Texas, including our love for great cinema!

Despite rumors from various print press that weren’t at the Fantastic Fest screening, I can tell you the audience that saw it there was actually Austin’s most hardcore cinephiles (comprised of print press, musicians, artists, politicians, filmmakers, film crew of all kind, bloggers, AICN, some fanboys and various online film press). The audience was one of the most diverse and mixed I’ve ever attended in 10 plus years of attending film screenings in Austin. Some initial reports seem to falsely indicate the audience was 100% fanboys or overzealous online writers? Anyone that has been to or explored the Austin scene knows that it’s home to rabid cinephiles that judge a movie on its own merits that is independent of anyone other voices. Being a mad humping and screaming orgy of sheep that follow in unison is that last thing we are. Overzealous isn’t a phrase I would ever use to describe anyone in the Austin film scene. I know this is a hard fact that most people at the There Will Be Blood at Fantastic Fest somehow all seemed to nearly speak in one unison for a change to proclaim it one of the best films of this decade if not ever. This alone is no small feat and aside from the diversity, marks the only other film I can even recall having the same unanimous Austin “we LOVE this film” reaction was a retrospective screening of Gambit years ago.

The fact it was a world premiere was lost on most that attended, so that aspect of the films screening didn’t come into any post-thoughts or posted reviews in my opinion. Anything you may have read close to gushing or overly positive was the result of the audience not being prepared to see what for most turned out to be one of the best films they had ever seen in their life. When you walk into a surprise screening such as this and then see a film you really know next to nothing about it, there is a jarring aspect to it as it unfolds and you have no idea where it’s going and are loving every minute and second of it. You think a film like this might be good but when it transcends even that you get beside yourself as if you just got hit by a speeding car. If nothing else P.T. Anderson has crafted a film again that reminds us about the magic of cinema and why we even love it in the first place. It’s like experiencing first love all over again but with a film.

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