Memoirs of A Videophile

With Ledger dies the newest Gilliam film.

2008-01-24T12:44:00.000-08:00

The more I learn about film, the more I realize how difficult it is directing films. Directors face pressure from producers, investors, critics, and fans throughout their entire careers. With deadlines set, directors often find themselves fighting weather, local political turmoil, and even their own actors. No one in Hollywood seems to have experienced these pressures more than director Terry Gilliam.

Gilliam made a name for himself working with the British comedy group “Monty Python”. As a director, Gilliam’s films have been plagued by production problems. Gilliam has spent most of his life fighting with studios over his films. Many of his projects were shut down early in production. Gilliam’s films have also been plagued by disaster. In 1999, Gilliam attempted to film “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” which had an original budget of $32.1 million, but in the first week of shooting, the actor playing Don Quixote (Jean Rochefort) suffered a herniated disc and a flood severely damaged the set. Despite setbacks such as these, Gilliam has still managed to bring us some incredible films, such as “Brazil,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “12 Monkeys,” and “The Fisher King”.

Sadly, though, with the death of Heath Ledger, tragedy has struck Gilliam again. At the time of Ledger’s death, Gilliam and Ledger were about halfway through filming Gilliam’s newest film “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”. Ledger’s death was a tragedy. Actors always seem a bit larger than life. Anytime an actor like Ledger dies, it reminds us that actors are, like us, just human beings and that the studio system can be as fragile as life itself.

Art imitating life

2008-01-07T19:58:00.000-08:00

Years ago I watched a movie called “The Last Man on Earth”. This film, originally released in 1964, tells the story of Dr Robert Morgan, a scientist who is the the sole surviving human of an apocalyptic epidemic. In the film, those humans who did not die from the epidemic have mutated into vampire zombies. “The Last Man on Earth” closely follows the plot line of the 1954 novel by Richard Matheson called “I Am Legend”. Both the 1964 film and the original book end pessimistically with the human race dying.

Over Christmas break, joining most of America, I watched Will Smith’s new blockbuster action/thriller “I am Legend”. This film, a remake of the novel by the same name, took a much more optimistic approach. Without divulging too much detail, in the newest version of Matheson’s science fiction classic, the “last man on Earth” manages to save humanity.

I have yet to decide whether or not I liked the new ending, it does, though, beg an interesting question. I believe that art imitates life. If this is true, I can’t help but wonder if Americans are more optimistic than we were 40 years ago. Both the book and the original movie were made in the wake of World War II. WWII crushed the naive dream that the world was becoming a progressively better place. Mass genocide and the invention of nuclear weapons destroyed any hopes Americans perviously had about the inherent goodness of mankind.

What has happened since then that has regained America’s optimism in humanity? Perhaps Americans are just sick of pessimistic movies...

A new idea for Hollywood.

2007-11-25T23:55:00.000-08:00

Today I watched the movie “Hitman”. It was horrible. Really horrible. I don’t know what I expected. Has there ever been a good movie made based on a video game? I think I was tricked into watching it by the trailer. Trailers always make movies look more entertaining than they are. Marketing companies cut out the bad story line in action movies and just show you the five minutes of exciting scenes from the movie when they make trailers. Without the horrible plot and depressingly bad acting, movies like “Hitman” look really entertaining. Maybe what hollywood should do is make thirty hour long movies, give the movies to the marketing companies, have them cut out all the dialogue and plot, and leave us with two hours of non-stop action. Maybe that would be worth watching... a two hour long trailer.

Earth in HD

2007-11-23T14:13:00.000-08:00

It’s Thanksgiving break and I’m currently housesitting. I should be working on one of about six papers I have due before the end of the semester, but instead I’m watching an incredible TV series called “Planet Earth”. The creators of this series have travelled around the world capturing images of our planet using high-definition photography and ultra-high speed cameras. It’s nothing short of spectacular. The cherry on top is that I’m watching the series on a large flat-screen HD TV.

I love housesitting for wealthy people.

Documentary or screen savor?

2007-11-23T13:23:00.000-08:00

What’s the difference between a silent documentary and a screen savor? A few months ago I read the following about a documentary called “Into Great Silence”:

“INTO GREAT SILENCE fits neatly into the sub-category of films that need to be experienced rather than just watched. Over 162 minutes director Philip Groening films a group of monks who dwell in the Carthusian monastery of the Grande Chartreuse in the French Alps. The monks have taken a vow of silence, and live life at such a gentile pace that it took them 13 years to respond to Groening's request to make a film about them. The subjects of Groening's film fill their days with slow and highly repetitive routines, so the director shoots at a suitably slow pace, highlighting simple tasks such as praying, gardening, cooking, and doing laundry. Groening lived with the monks for four months and worked under strict conditions dictated to him by the order; no voiceover, music, or interviews were to be included in the film, and Groening was to be the sole crew member on the shoot.” - synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/into_great_silence/about.php

I was curious as to how a documentary of this sort would have ever been made. Could you imagine Groening trying to pitch his idea to a producer for the first time?... “Check this out, I want to make a documentary about the most mundane group of people on this planet. These guys all dress the same, do the same thing every day, never leave their home and never speak. There will be no explosions, no fast cars, no impressive special effects, no catchy songs, and no girls.” Somehow, though, Groening was able to make his film. What’s more, he was able to make a beautiful film that was met with critical acclaim.

“Into Great Silence” is not an easy film to watch. It’s long and, as the title reveals, It’s almost completely devoid of sound. Watching the film takes patience and, for me, it took several sittings and more than a few cups of coffee. Watching the movie, though, was an incredibly rewarding experience. “Into Great Silence” is a movie about subtlety and reflection. Groening’s filming style invites his viewers to go beyond voyeurism; to participate in the monastic life.

“Into Great Silence” raised theological questions in my mind. Is there a place for monasticism in the Church? Are these monks fulfilling The Great Commission in which Christ commands his followers to “Go into the word and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation”? The answers to these questions may not be as clear in your mind after seeing the devotion these men men have to the life of prayer.

I wouldn’t recommend this film to you if you’re easily distracted or easily bored. But if you’re up to the task, it’s definitely worth your time.

Escapist America

2007-10-21T18:24:00.001-07:00

CNN ran an article today with the headline “Vampires and fun top the box office this weekend.” The article points out that Americans are choosing to watch “escapist” films as opposed to movies that might have “serious” content.

“Audiences continued to choose merriment over misery as the latest crop of sober Academy Awards hopefuls, among them Ben Affleck's "Gone Baby Gone," Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal's "Rendition" and Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro's "Things We Lost in the Fire," debuted with so-so to dismal numbers.

Whether it's the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, deadly news out of Pakistan and Myanmar or Friday's stock market tumble, moviegoers seem disinterested in more bad news at theaters with films about child-kidnapping, torture, widowhood and heroin addiction.”- CNN

Full story: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/21/boxoffice.ap/index.html

At first, reading this article made me angry. I would like to think that film is (for the most part) art, not mindless escapism. On the other hand, I admit that there are times, at the end of a long week, when I have wanting to sit in from of a screen and watch something that isn’t going to make me think or depress me.

I think escapist movies are a little like junk food - alright to consume sometimes, but not on a regular basis. We all saw “Super Size Me” right? I would like to see someone do a documentary on what would happen if a person watched nothing but mindless-blockbuster-action-flicks for a whole year. Would their brain starve? I wonder...

Watch more Bergman

2007-10-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

Just in case you haven’t heard, Michelangelo Antonioni and Ingmar Bergman, two of the greatest filmmakers in history, died this summer on the same day (July 30, 2007). One of my favorite magazines, “Paste” recently ran an article on these two directors which pointed out that:

“...both men lived long a fruitful lives, so it’s hard not to enjoy the sudden interest in their work and the vigorous debates - unthinkable just a few months ago - among people people now eager to compare the opposing styles of these two giant filmmakers...”

I couldn’t agree more. I think that the best way to honor any great artist when he or she dies is to revisit the art that the artist left behind. When I discovered that Bergman (my favorite of the two) died, I spent the next several days watching his films (keep in mind I was on summer break). I had seen many of Bergman’s films in college. Films like “The Seventh Seal,” “Wild Strawberries,” “Persona,” and what has been called “The Spider-God Trilogy” have had a lasting impact on me. I re-watched these films and enjoyed them as much as I had the first time I saw them. I didn’t stop there, though. I scoured local video stores for any Bergman films I hadn’t seen. This summer was the first time I saw Bergman’s “The Virgin Spring,” “The Magic Flute,” “Fanny and Alexander,” and “Scenes from a Marriage.”

I came away from this experience being as convinced as I ever have been that Bergman’s films are some of the most important films for Christians to be watching. Bergman’s father was a clergymen, and many of Bergman’s films deal with questions concerning God and the Church. Furthermore, Bergman’s films have had a lasting influence on many of the directors we know today.

If you have never seen a Bergman film... now is that time.

Where to start? I would start where I started:
“The Seventh Seal,” and “Wild Strawberries.”

I would also recommend, especially if you are married, or are ever interested in getting married, watching “Scenes from a Marriage”.

Beautiful films.

2007-10-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

Alright. So here is the list we have come up with so far (see last blog + posts). What’s interesting, but not so surprising, is how many of these films are foreign. Are we happy with this list?

10 most beautiful films of the last fifteen years (in no particular order):

Amelie (France, 2001)
The Princes and the Warrior (Germany, 2000)
Lagaan (India, 2002)
The Thin Red Line (US, 1998)
The New World (US, 2005)
Blue (France, 1993)
Heaven (Germany, 2002)
Girl with a Pearl Earring (US, 2003)
Hero (Hong Kong, 2002)
The Fountain (US, 2006)

“i fought piranhas” suggested “2046” (China, 2004)
“nomad” suggested “The Red Violin” (Canada, 1998)

Where has all the beauty gone?

2007-10-13T18:31:00.000-07:00

Not long ago I recommended the film “The Princes and the Warrior” to a friend. I described this film as being one of the most beautiful films to have come out in the last fifteen years. My own comment got me thinking, are people even making beautiful films anymore? It’s rare to hear someone describe a film as being “beautiful”. Instead, most film critics might describe a beautiful film by saying “It has great cinematography”. The words “cinematography” and “beautiful” are certainly not synonyms, though. strictly speaking, the word cinematography simply refers to the discipline of making lighting and camera choices. One could refer to a particularly dark and ugly film as having good cinematography... for example, most of Tim Burton’s films. Or, one could refer to a film as having good cinematography if it has creative and unique shots or camera angles.

But what about beauty? Many of the films I have seen in the last several years have had interesting cinematography, but I would call a depressingly few beautiful. Where is the color? the wide angle shots? The attention to detail that has set so many great films apart as being beautiful in the past? Maybe it’s just my imagination. Perhaps I’m watching the wrong films.
Thoughts?

Films about race

2007-10-08T19:46:00.000-07:00

So, blogging about “American History X” (see last post) got me thinking. What are the most powerful/eye-opening films about racism? The following list is an attempt to answer this question. The list is a work in progress.

Am I missing anything? Should any of these films be removed?

10 most eye-opening films about Racism (in no particular order):

Schindler’s List (US, 1993)
American History X (US, 1998)
Crash (US, 2005)
Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (US, 1967)
Do the Right Thing (US, 1989)
The Color Purple (US, 1985)
Babel (US, 2006)
Hotel Rwanda (US, 2004)
Amistad (US, 1997)
Malcolm X (US, 1992)
* “I Fought Piranhas” suggested the film “Gandhi” (UK, 1982).

P.S. Don’t even think about suggesting “Borat”.

The battle over "American History X"

2007-10-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

The history of film making, especially in America, is chock-full of battles between directors and producers. Some directors, like Hitchcock, win their battles and earn the right to make films the way they want to. Others, like Terry Gilliam, spend their entire careers fighting for their vision with only some success. Sometimes these battles make for more interesting stories than the movies that are created out of them.

One such story is currently being turned onto a documentary. In 1998, director Tony Kaye battled New Line Cinema over the release of his film “American History X”. It was a battle that Kaye lost resulting in the release of the current theatrical version. As it is, in my opinion, “American History X” is a great film. One of my favorites. But what could it have been? Is this film just a rare incident in which the producer had a better vision? The documentary is being called “Humpty Dumpty”. Currently it does not have a release date, but I imagine it will be released on DVD soon.

Please stop kicking this dead horse.

2007-10-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

Dear Alien/Predator Franchise Owners,

Please stop. For those of us who grew up watching and enjoying the original Alien trilogy and the first Predator, this is getting really painful. We suffered through the second Predator and “Alien: Resurrection,” do you really need to keep kicking this dead horse? Didn’t you learn your lesson the first time you combined the franchises with “Alien vs Predator”? This horse is dead. It’s not even a corpse anymore. It’s completely disintegrated. There’s no more horse to kick. You’re just kicking mud. “Alien Vs Predator: Requiem” isn’t even a funny idea. It’s just sad.

Sincerely,

Adam J. Porcella

The Church needs an answer to this one.

2007-09-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

"Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate?

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival, Dan Karslake's provocative, entertaining documentary brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based almost solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible. As the film notes, most Christians live their lives today without feeling obliged to kill anyone who works on the Sabbath or eats shrimp (as a literal reading of scripture dictates)."- First Run Features

Read more: http://www.forthebibletellsmeso.org/index2.htm

Rookie director Dan Karslake is tackling a subject that is splitting the Church apart all over the world. The topic of homosexuality is one of the most important issues that the Church will encounter this century... it is also one of the most taboo. Recently, Archbishop Desmond Tutu commented on the topic of homosexuality saying, "The Church has been fiddling whilst, as it were, our Rome was burning".

This documentary is not going to support the “traditional” views of the Church. The Church is going to need a damn good answer to this documentary and others that will, undoubtedly, follow.

This is a “must see”.

Coppola's script stolen

2007-09-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

"Thieves in Argentina have stolen a computer from US film director Francis Ford Coppola, which contained the script for his new production.

It was reported that five armed robbers raided Coppola's house in a wealthy neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, and took computers and camera equipment.

Saved on one of the computers was the script and pre-production work for his forthcoming film, 'Tetro'." - BBC

Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7017433.stm

This story made me angry. Who would steal a script? This obviously wasn’t a random house robbery. My opinion... Robert De Niro is responsible. But in all honesty, It has been a long time since Coppola directed anything worth watching, so I don’t think the world is missing out on much.

Ben Stein, hero of the faith?

2007-09-25T10:51:00.001-07:00

I don’t know if I should get excited or depressed about this upcoming documentary. Ben Stein, known for his role in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and for his Murine Clear Eyes commercials, will star in a documentary that defends Intelligent Design. Now I know that Intelligent Design doesn’t necessarily mean Christianity, but Stein’s documentary is being marketed by the “Christian friendly” company Motive Entertainment, the company responsible for marketing such films as “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “The Passion of Christ”. So far, the movie is really only being marketed in Christian circles, but keep in mind it’s still early in its production stages. I must say, though, that I would rather have Ben Stein representing Christianity than Mel Gibson. One can only hope that Stein discussing Intelligent Design is more interesting than him discussing “Voodoo Economics”.
“Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” opens in 2008. Check out the website: http://www.expelledthemovie.com/

Bender’s back baby!

2007-09-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

Fox, the station that has become infamous for having no clue what its audience likes, the station that has canceled great cartoon classics like Family Guy, has swallowed it’s pride once again. Matt Groening’s Emmy Award-winning cartoon Futurama is scheduled to return in 2008. Groening is also creating four straight-to-DVD Futurama movies to hold us over until 2008. For all you Futurama fans, this is probably not new news. What may be new to you is that the first of these movies “Bender's Big Score”, featuring the voice talents of Mark ‘Luke’ Hamill and Professor Stephen ‘The Hawking-Hole’ Hawking, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Death of the Western

2007-09-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

The Western has been one of the most important genres of film in America’s history. Actors like Roy Rogers, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood have become American icons. The image of a white clad cowboy on a horse riding into the sunset has become a symbol of American justice and Manifest Destiny. Simple and predictable, Westerns have always been a staple of American film making, but has the Western died out? The 2005 film “Brokeback Mountain” showed us a different kind of cowboy, a far cry from Roy Rogers and John Wayne. This week's Time Magazine ran a story titled “Too Tough to Die.” The article discussed the upcoming movie “The Assassination of Jesse James” and the currently playing “3:10 to Yuma”. The article cited these two films as evidence that the American Western is still alive:

“Maybe these movies will grant the genre a stay of execution and ensure that the western will damn well not ride of into the sunset or be carried off in Django’s coffin.” - Rebecca Winters Keegan (Time Magazine, Oct 1, 2007)

It has been a long time since the good guy dressed in white and the bad guy dressed in black, but something about the American Western still fascinates us. I hope that Keegan is right and that the Western isn’t dead. I hope that Americans haven’t completely lost their appreciation for emotionless bearded men wielding six-shooters. And I hope that Brad Pitt makes a better cowboy than Heath Ledger.

Unrated DVDs and director's cuts

2007-09-22T00:32:00.000-07:00

I have grown up believing that a director almost always knows what is best when it comes to cutting his or her own movie. Consequently, when presented with a choice, I will almost always choose to watch the “director’s cut” of a movie. In the last few years, though, “director’s cut” movies have been replaced by “unrated versions” of movies, and I’m not so sure what to do anymore. The “auteur theorist” in me wants to watch as much of the directors work as possible, but sometimes I’m not even sure what the term “unrated” means. I know what it means technically (that parts of the movie, previously unreleased in theaters, have not been reviewed by the Motion Picture Association), I just don’t know what I am supposed to assume I’m getting with an “unrated” version. Is it the directors cut? A more complete movie? The same movie with different packaging? Or a version with unnecessary and superfluous sex and/or violence. It seems like every hollywood movie comes out with an “unrated” version these days...

Comic book movies

2007-09-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

Why have super-hero movies done so well in the last five years? Comic books had all but died out by the year 2000, and action figures had almost been completely replaced on the shelves of toy stores by "Dora the Explorer" dolls when comic book movies started to appear. Do kids even read X-Men and Spider-man comic books anymore? What is it about comic movies that appeals to people so much. I doubt it’s the salvation theme that so often permeates these movies... am I wrong? Whatever the reason, Hollywood is running out of heros, and last I checked, Stan Lee isn’t coming up with anything new these days.

Fun with flesh eating zombies

2007-09-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I watched “Resident Evil: Extinction” (I know, the movie wasn’t in theaters yesterday. I went to an advanced screening). I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I love zombie movies. Why is grotesque blood and gore so appealing when it’s in a film? Watching Milla Jovovich hack the limbs of flesh eating zombies doesn’t get old. I couldn’t watch someone pull a splinter out of his or her foot without cringing, how can watching someone being decapitated be so easy and even entertaining when it’s projected on a massive screen?

“Ten movies everyone should see before they die.”

2007-09-21T14:07:00.001-07:00

Several days ago I added a section to my Facebook profile that read “Ten movies everyone should see before they die.” This list was received with mixed reviews. Here is the list I came up with:

1. Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal”
2. Andrei Tarkovski’s “Andrei Rublev”
3. Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window”
4. Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai”
5, Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Blow-up”
6. Frederico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita”
7. Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane”
8. Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “Red”
9. Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather”
10. Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil”

Thoughts? Anyway I can improve the list?

Statement of purpose:

2007-09-21T13:57:00.000-07:00

This is a blog dedicated to film. My hope is that this blog will serve as a means for me to sort out my own thoughts on film through my posting and through the advice and wisdom of anyone who might stumble across this blog.