Archive for February, 2008

  • 29 Feb

    Posted by


    Category

    Site Upgrades Under Way

    13

    Just in case you are wondering I am currently updating the site with a new template with some extra features. If you notice that a post has gone missing or something looks strange or isn’t working hang on for a little bit and it should be all fixed.

    Update: I think I’ve caught most of the glitches but if you see anything that looks wrong then feel free to send an email to me at john@rowthree.com.

    Here is a list of what has been upgraded at Row Three:

    • No longer using Tables for layout. The site is completely CSS based now. This means quicker loading times.
    • Rotating Flash in the top bar which randomly displays the last 8 Movies reviewed here at Row Three.
    • New Podcast player added in the top bar. If you wish to listen to one of the shows simply click the podcast and then click the play button in the player. If you want to go to the show notes for the podcast then click on the little triangle to the right of the title.

    Thanks for bearing with us during the upgrades. If there is anyway we can make your visit to Row Three more enjoyable don’t hesitate to mention it in the comments.

  • 29 Feb

    Posted by


    Category

    Criterion Top Tens

    10

    Seven Samurai DVD CriterionEvery month, Criterion sends out their newsletter loaded with information on new releases, stuff on sale, contests and a few months back they added a new column titled “Top Ten Criterions” where they have someone famous list their ten favourite Criterion films with a little blurb.

    They’ve had some fantastic folks involved in this little project, folks like Guy Maddin who topped his list with René Clément’s Forbidden Games, Richard Linklater who topped his with Andrei Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev and Jane Campion who had Kurosawa’s Seven Samuari at number one.

    The newest installment arrived in my mailbox earlier today and it featured a Top Ten from Beastie Boys founding member Adam Yauch and I must admit, the reason for posting this is to share his explanations which put a smile on my face. His list breaks down like this:

    1. Seven Samurai C’mon, I gotta tell why this movie is good? You tell me!
    2. Walkabout Saw this one when I was in junior high school and it stayed with me. Glad to see it in the collection.
    3. Nights of Cabiria I don’t know what to write. I just love this movie.
    4. Yojimbo I guess you have figured out by now that I am really not going to review any of the films that I picked.
    5. Sanjuro But I do like the folks up at the Criterion Collection. Those are my people up in there.
    6. Rushmore They are a really great team that’s into some bugged-out, esoteric shit.
    7. And God Created Woman Peter is like the bigwig. He’s the head honcho.
    8. The Harder They Come Susan has her ear to the street. She always looks for some interesting stuff to put out.
    9. Rashomon When I was hanging out up there Heather was working on the audio. But now she switched over to some other department.
    10. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Sometimes I get free DVDs from Criterion, but not always. I wanted to get one of each, you know, like the whole collection, but they said, “No, Adam, we don’t do that.”

    If you’re curious about the other Top Tens, be sure to check them out at Criterion.

    Worth noting that Michael Bay’s The Rock didn’t pop up on any lists, I didn’t realize that Silence of the Lambs had a Criterion Edition and that I’ve now added Children of Paradise to my watch list because it came up on more than a handful of lists.

    Do you have a favourite Criterion DVD?

  • 29 Feb

    Posted by


    Category

    What we’ve got here is a semi-reasonable success to occasionally communicate

    3

    Road to 5000You like us! You really like us! Either that or you love to disagree with us; either way we’re making conversation.

    I think it’s fair to say that when we started Row Three as a place to write about and discuss film, we were happy to have one comment on an article, never mind 30. We hoped that as the site grew, we would bring more people into the conversation but it’s fair to say that we never imagined the site would be such a success coming out of the gate. Our site lives and dies by the discussion and the comments section is the most important aspect of the site which is why the contributors spend so much time commenting on the articles.

    Nearly five months since our birth and almost 500 posts later, we are also creeping on a new milestone: 5,000 comments.

    To celebrate this great achievement and to thank you for contributing to the discussion, we’re going to be giving the lucky 5,000th commenter a little prize – a DVD of your choice (up to $30 value).

    A few ground rules:

    1) No bullshit comments. If it’s just a comment to be a comment, it won’t count.
    2) Row Three writers are excluded from the contest. If it turns out one of us is the lucky entry, we’ll take 5,001 as the winner.

    Thank you again for making us a hit and just keep on doing what you’re doing. At this rate, we’ll hit 10,000 (and likely another contest) in no time!

  • 29 Feb

    Posted by


    Category

    Video Review: Be Kind Rewind

    16
    Be Kind Rewind poster

    Director: Michel Gondry (Human Nature, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Science of Sleep)
    Writer: Michel Gondry
    Producers: Georges Bermann, Julie Fong
    Starring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Melonie Diaz, Mia Farrow
    MPAA Rating: R
    Running time: 101 min

    check out the trailer after the jump…
    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 29 Feb

    Posted by


    Category

    Who is Your Favorite New Line?

    10

    NewLine LogoWith New Line Cinema recently being folded into its parent corporation and its founders being put to pasture after 40 years of running the company (!), I thought I’d offer out the question of what the row three folks favourite New Line offering is. But that may be putting the cart before the horse. Do folks out there pay attention to studio logos at the front of their films? (I’m asking you). In the early 1990s, seeing the Miramax logo pop up often meant something, same with the early 2000s with Lionsgate. I still get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I see the Focus Features logo, and lately Paramount Vantage has rocked, but I get cold and uncomfortable (usually) upon seeing many Sony Screen Gems features.

    Anyway, New Line seemed to be all over the place in their projects. Certainly their early claim to fame was the Nightmare on Elm Street films then the Austin Powers franchise before culminating with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy where it made history in terms of how to shoot expensive blockbusters, how to film a large book or series, how to keep putting out Special Editions (OK, that trick was taken from George Lucas) and ultimately how to get everyone on your back through bad accounting and dirty pool.

    But I digress. New Line may not have exactly been high brow as studios go, but they were more or less independent and autonomous for most of their 40 year life. The studio spanned the range from John Waters scat-spliotation to the Pleasantville; Evil Dead to Glengarry Glen Ross; The Hidden to The New World; and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Boogie Nights (and lets not forget the glorious Critters franchise!).

    Here are three of my favorites:

    Dark City
    Dark City Still
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Birth
    Birth Still
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Magnolia
    Magnolia Still
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

  • 29 Feb

    Posted by


    Category

    Short Film Spotlight: Whatever We Do

    0

    Here is a cool short film called Whatever We Do that I stumbled upon that was directed by Kevin Connelly (of Entourage fame) back in 2003 for Sundance. It stars the Row Three favorite Robert Downey Jr., as well as Tim Roth, Amanda Peet, and the always lovely Zooey Deschanel. It’s about a newly engaged couple who plan to spend a romantic day together, but those plans quickly change when the man’s childhood friend and girlfriend show up to have a little drunken celebration.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 28 Feb

    Posted by


    Category

    Doomsday Official Web Site Goes Live

    4

    These are my breasts. There are many others like them, but these are mine.Most of us around here tend to be big into the post-apocalyptic stuff. Even less than great films; as long as they are dealing with a world in decay after humanity has destroyed it for one reason or another, we’re happy. One of the better looking ones entitled Doomsday, has just opened the doors on its new web page. Most of the usual fare is there: some downloads, the trailer, production notes, a fun little mini-game, etc. A few weeks back, we posted the movie’s trailer, but what’s cool and different about the site is that as you click around, you get to see small, as of yet unseen, clips from the movie.

    I have to say after playing around in there a bit, I’m pretty damn excited for this movie. It looks like Escape from New York with higher production value, a hot chick in the Kurt Russell role and a dash of Mad Max thrown in for good measure. I can live with that.

    Anyway, the new site is over here. Check it out and then come back and tell us what you think.


    Fight!

     

  • 28 Feb

    Posted by


    Category

    Second Iron Man Trailer Revealed

    12

    downeyjrironman.JPGI‘ve been one-hundred percent behind the Iron Man movie ever since Robert Downey Jr. came on board. Talk about perfect casting. Throw in the fact that Jon Favreau has always seemed like a genuinely likable and cool guy, and I can’t help but root for this one all of the way. By the looks of the new trailer, this is going to be a whole lot of fun. Come on, admit it… even those of you that keep your nose raised at movies like this and are stubbornly skeptical have to admit your curiosity. There’s no shame.

    I’m particularly pleased how Downey Jr. did pretty much all of his CGI motion-capture work too (which took a few extra months after the initial filming to complete), because he didn’t want the movement of Iron Man to be “just some random stunt guy.” I’d expect nothing less from one of the most talented actors out there working today though. May 2, 2008 is the date. I’ll be there opening day.

    Proceed to check out the trailer!

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 28 Feb

    Posted by


    Category

    “Dark Matter” Trailer

    0

    Dark Matter: -noun; a hypothetical form of matter invisible to electromagnetic radiation, postulated to account for gravitational forces observed in the universe.

    I’m sure there’s a metaphorical message in there somewhere, but it’s probably pretty loose and way over my head. The point here is that this is a script I read about quite a long time ago (maybe 6 months or more?) and today I came across the newest exclusive trailer being hosted by comingsoon.

    Based on actual events, the story revolves around a Chinese university student seeking a PhD in Cosmology (the creation of the universe), who responds violently when his chances for a Nobel Prize are dashed by school politics. The cast is pretty interesting: Liu Xing (who was prety great in the mediocre, Curse of the Godlen Flower), Meryl Streep and Aidan Quinn. Quite a hodge Podge of actors at various stages in their fame and career. The story itself may or may not be compelling, but the trailer sure makes it look interesting. If nothing else it appears to be shot very nicely and if it is at all scientifically accurate, interesting and mind-bending, I’ll be involved in a screening for sure. But we’ll all have to wait until April 11th to find out, when Dark Matter get released to theaters every where.

    In the mean time, I shoved the trailer under the seat, so check it out…
    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 28 Feb

    Posted by


    Category

    Pfeiffer and Kutcher Lose Their Personal Effects

    2

    Personal Effects Movie StillIt’s commonly agreed that Ashton Kutcher isn’t a great actor and to be fair, Michelle Pfeiffer isn’t the box office attraction she used to be which raises the question: who thought it would be a good idea to put these two together?

    The film is Personal Effects and it stars Kutcher as a young man who returns home to ‘avenge’ his sister’s death only to fall in love with an older woman (Pfeiffer) who attends the same grief counseling group. No excitement here and when one considers that writer/director David Hollander is pretty new at this movie making stuff, things don’t get any more exciting. The one possible bright light in all of this is that the film is based on a story from Rick Moody who, for those keeping track, was responsible for writing the novel which was later turned into the brilliant The Ice Storm.

    At this point that comparison is pretty ludicrous considering that David Hollander has nothing on Ang Lee but one could hope for some goodness unfortunately, I don’t think Hollander brings it here. This looks awful. Maybe Pfeiffer needs a new agent.

    Vancouverites will recognize a number of the local attractions including the VPL steps featured prominently in the trailer. The film is scheduled to open in 2009.

    The trailer, care of our friends at TrailerSpy, has been tucked under the seat.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 28 Feb

    Posted by


    Category

    Behold! The Awesomeness.

    35

    Big Trouble - Alamo Promo One SheetIt is One Sheet day here at Row Three. I was over at the mighty fine Movie Poster Addict, and there was a tribute to Tyler Stout, the designer for the brilliant Hell Ride One Sheet who just happened also designed a brand new One Sheet for the recent AICN Butt Numb-a-thon Festival back at the beginning of December. I don’t know how I missed this when it was new, but since Big Trouble in Little China is a bit of a bond between many of the Rowthree writers. Let’s face it, as a genre-mashing goes, this movie is canon.

    You know what Jack Burton always says…what the hell.

    (See also The Lost Boys, and various Festival Posters from Stout over at /film)

     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
     

     
     
     

  • 28 Feb

    Posted by


    Category

    No Surprise: Madonna’s Filth and Wisdom Gets Noticed

    0

    Filth And Wisdom Movie PosterI‘ve always held great respect for Madonna. Though over the decades her music, pictures, books and shenanigans have been more hit than miss, I appreciate her devotion to creativity and her unapologetic push to make herself the most popular trademark in the world. She’s been successful in some of her endeavors (the children’s books are gorgeous even if the stories are a bit flat) while other have been disasters (her acting) but she continues to forge ahead, paving her way to the top.

    Considering the poor reception of Madonna the actress, she’s taken the Ben Affleck approach and retreated behind the camera to direct her first film Filth and Wisdom. Written by Dan Cadan (a regular Guy Ritchie collaborator), the film is a comedic romp through the lives of a group of Brits involved with the sexier side of life (strippers, sado masochists, singers).

    Apparently, Madonna had no interest in shopping the film around to any other festivals and instead has opted to go down the self distribution route and I can’t say I blame her. It’ll likely be easier to avoid the negative reviews that are bound to appear by putting on a strong face and playing it like an experiment though I very much doubt Madonna would put her name to anything she didn’t believe would further her career.

    According to the review over at Screen Daily, she’s taken the low budget approach and though it sounds interesting enough, I think it’s safe to assume that the only reason anyone is even remotely interested in this is because of Madonna’s involvement and my thought is further reinforced by a three minute clip which gives a bit of a taste of what to expect. I must say, I’m not at all impressed.

    Check out the clip under the seat.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

Page 1 of 1212345»10...Last »