Cinema is Dope

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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Over at Twitch, Todd brings us some incredibly exciting news on Timecrimes! Not only that he drops first official word of Nacho’s follow up to the film (if this was a karaoke party we would be queuing up David Bowie’s Space Oddity to celebrate).

::: Magnolia Bringing Nacho Vigalondo’s TIME CRIMES To The World!
Todd, Twitch

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Over at Headquarters 10, Matthew has announced he will be doing a Dick Miller Blog-A-Thon for Tuesday, December 18th (he likes to plan in advance I take it)!

::: Announcing The Dick Miller Blog-A-Thon!!!

I should also be like Matthew (view here) wish Run Run Shaw a belated happy birthday. Also check out “Who Will Run Shaw Brothers After Run Run?” (view here) from Forbes last month.

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Zoe Bell who does some amazing car stunts in Quentin Tarantino’s latest “Death Proof” talks about the film in a new interview over at MegaStar.

::: Ring Our Bell
MegaStar

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