Archive for January, 2009

  • 04 Jan

    Posted by


    Category

    Seussian. Burtonesque. World of Goo.

    1

    goo2New Year’s Day is a quiet one in our household. A family day if you will. And with the boy, we decided to grab a cheap puzzle game for the Wii gaming system via their online “WiiWare” client. The bright bubbly graphic and fun problem-solving nature of World Of Goo was apparent from the quick blurb there, so it was a snap judgment, but quite a lucky one too. Now really, this is a video game, so what is it doing on Row Three?

    Well, besides a potential no-brainer film adaptation (which could make it one of the first truly good video game adaptations, another discussion which does not interest me so much), the raw cinematic nature of this video game is often breathtaking. This is in no small part due to a rich soundtrack (best video game soundtrack ever?) and visuals are clean and simple yet also silly and epic. Showing clear influences from Tim Burton and Dr. Seuss (and perhaps a bit of Neil Gaimen and Dave McKean) there is a narrative here that goes beyond puzzle solving and great game play. goo3Taking more-than-just-potshots at consumer culture and the recycling of ourselves into ourselves (reminiscent of the designer soap in Fight Club) malaise of youth and beauty obsession, World of Goo takes a big page out of The Lorax with its anti-corporate, growth-for-growth sake message. It also reminds of the gooier Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

    The game has a story (of sorts) that follows the downfall of civilization via consumer products in four chapters (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring) and an epilogue. There are similarities to Pixar’s Wall-E in that a man-made thing evolves out of consumer waste to a point to both collect and replace human endeavors. This makes for the third post-apocalyptic narrative aimed at the younger set (although City of Ember didn’t really light any fires in the pop culture) with enough wit to attract adults as well. goo4A chapter where the ‘goo’ go through the evolution of computers from NASA gravity simulations to social networking is particularly inspired both in terms of what can be done with puzzle game-play but also how diverse science and capitalism and human endeavor can play off one another in exciting ways. Kind of like the game itself. In terms of video game culture, I am no expert, but I know art when I see it. It is curious that this is a full ‘independent’ video game, rather than one of the monster video game studios (Electronic Arts, Blizzard, etc.). I find it most exciting that a game can be fun, deep, subtle, breezy full of sly wit all at the same time.

    goo1

    In accordance with the upcoming morePOP section of Row Three, this article will be cross published there as well. The strong cinema element to this particular game encouraged a little sharing.

  • 04 Jan

    Posted by


    Category

    Top Ten Films of 1998

    25

    Ten years ago today, had I even known what the word “blog” meant (much less wrote for one), I would have posted my favorite films of 1998. Of course, I didn’t see nearly as many films during the year as I do now, but still quite a decent sampling. Not to mention I’ve caught up with many since on video or DVD. So while this list may not be exactly the same one I would’ve posted ten years ago, rather it is representative of my feelings on that particular year as I am now… ten years wiser.

    UPDATED (1/4): I removed The Pianist from the list because it was the wrong The Pianist. But it worked out perfectly because Kurt pointed out (in the comments) that Happiness was a ’98 release which is an amazing picture.

    Out of SightTop Ten Films of 1998:
    10) Zero Effect
    9) The Thin Red Line
    8 ) Hurlyburly
    7) Out of Sight
    6) Rounders
    5) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
    4) The Big Lebowski
    3) American History X
    2) Happiness
    1) Saving Private Ryan
    – - honorable mentions (in alpha order):
    Blade, Free Enterprise, Half Baked, Pleasantville, Return to Paradise, Rushmore, There’s Something About Mary, John Carpenter’s Vampires, Very Bad Things, Wild Things

    Would like to catch up with (or rewatch to remember better):
    Buffalo ’66, Desert Blue, Next Stop Wonderland, Permanent Midnight, Your Friends and Neighbors

  • 03 Jan

    Posted by


    Category

    My Pick for Best Director of 2008

    8

    Alright, I suppose it’s not technically a 2008 picture as it played in quite a lot of festivals back in aught seven. Apparently though, Silent Light is getting some sort of nationwide release this month in The United States.

    This isn’t a review and these aren’t even extended thoughts on the movie itself. Rather (and I don’t know the eligibility rules of this particular film, so let’s put those aside), this is my plead to Academy voters (or whoever puts the nominations together) to nominate and award Carlos Reygadas with the best director Oscar for 2008.

    While I don’t think there is anything particularly groundbreaking about the directing style, it’s certainly refreshing and one that should hold the viewer in absolute captivity; nestled securely within the world that writer/director Reygadas has firmly planted us with the opening shot. Taking cues from the likes of legendary directors Terrence Malick, Kim Ki-Duk and maybe a dash of Werner Herzog, the film resonates with truth, life, spirituality and beauty. Maybe think Sam Mendes overdosing on Ritalin in an Amish community.

    Reygadas shoots for realism and impact of the world around us. The opening shot is a long, unbroken take of nature just waking up. The camera carefully and deliberately spirals downward from the starry heavens to reveal a marsh land just before dawn. As the camera slowly (I mean slowly) moves out of the marsh and into some sort of golden field, we can hear all of the sounds of the morning: crickets and bullfrogs slowly giving way to the sounds of distant roosters and the horrifying sounds of cattle bellowing. We’re totally immersed into this natural world until we see a farmhouse in the distance. This is all in the first ten minutes. From here, we meet our characters and start the day with them in near silence as we watch a typical breakfast of a Mennonite family.

    While there is very little to the general plot itself, it could be summed up in about two sentences, we instead rely on the joy of human emotion (both positive and negative), the beauty that can be derived from it and the natural world that surrounds it. The director’s restrained use of camera movement, lighting and angles to express these emotions is beyond glorious. We almost don’t need characters to convey thought or emotion. The camera seems to be able to do all of this on its own (in this way I was reminded a bit of Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi – though without being frantic).

    Watching a man slowly drive his truck in circles around the camera to convey joy, the deliberate use of sun flares to bring about warmth and romance, some (relatively) quick movements to show hard work and discipline or distancing the camera (or maybe even slightly hiding around a corner) from a scene to examine betrayal or moral deviance. Over and over again each shot is meaningful, deliberate and noticeably elegant. Beyond the shots in the fields, I particularly enjoyed traveling in cars with the characters. In one instance, despite which direction the car was traveling, the camera maintained its gaze due south; seemingly on a swivel. It’s small tactical elements of originality like these that keep the viewer invested in what the director is trying to accomplish – though admittedly it does not necessarily help one to be immersed in the story.

    This also seems to be a director who lets the chips fall as they may. Here is the shot he wants and he gets it; regardless of the actors’ movements or lines of dialogue. As an example, a woman must walk about fifty feet through a field with her hands full on the way to her truck. About 25 feet before she gets there, her hat accidentally falls off and she’s forced to leave it. After getting to the truck where there is written dialogue for the actors, she walks all the way back to her hat and picks it up and then goes back again to the truck to complete the scene. I find it hard to believe that this was intentional as it felt so real and natural – like it was a complete accident. Instead of calling “cut,” the director just lets it happen and works with what he captured.

    There is scene after scene of distilled, natural beauty everywhere our characters go. The good news is that it all seems like real beauty. It might seem a bit on the fake side, or something that doesn’t happen everywhere one goes, but either the weather of the region just happened to cooperate perfectly or Reygadas had some skillful cinematography on his side with Alexis Zabe. I tend to think it was the latter and the weather as it appears, just is. Reygadas took what he could from it and ran to get the celluloid.

    The entire movie ties itself up, cinematically speaking, quite nicely by coming around full circle as the day closes and we retreat back to the marsh with all of it’s wonderful sights and sounds. We once again ascend to the starry sky to ponder all that we’d just seen. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, Carlos Reygadas’ Silent Light is the finest crafted film I’ve seen on the year.

    stills and a clip from the film…
    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 03 Jan

    Posted by


    Category

    The Amazing Women of 2008

    21

    In a year when politics overshadowed films – the high drama of the American presidential election compensating for the lack thereof on the screen – going to the movies in 2008 has been a bit of a slog for me, truth be told. The perpetual closing of big studio ‘independent’ departments, with greater focus towards higher-ratio profits does not bode well for the near future; the American independent bubble that Tarantino helped kick start looks like it’s about to burst, if it hasn’t already. As the rally-cry in the political sphere is for hope and change, film in 2008 for the most part lags behind any such ambition. We still got a few years to wait before the impact of the Obama sensation and The Dark Knight sensation possibly inspire Hollywood to capitalize on the notion that boldly independent visions can bode profit just as well or even better than pre-packaged ones.

    In one noticeable regard, however, the state of cinema in 2008 could be characterized as progressive. Here I speak of the emergence of unusually strong female characters in stories that do more than tokenize their presence. Curiously, this occurred shortly after the internet rumour leaked that Warner Brothers was no longer going to finance films headlined by women due to their lack of profitability. While the Sex and the City film is not something I would celebrate as part of the spirit of this post, it does exist as an affront to that kind of backwards thinking. Clearly there is a market, but more importantly, there are stories to tell in which women are dimensional entities affecting the cinematic worlds they inhabit. Gender has also made a splash in politics this year with Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton vying for positions of hitherto unattained political stature; a coincidence, I’m sure, but it does add to this impression of the year being a change in the right direction.

    One may argue that strong female characters in film are not unique to this year particularly, and while I suppose if I were to look at films from a feminist perspective maybe there is a modest trajectory where 2008 may not seem to be much more significant then years past. To be honest, the feminist agenda has never interested me much, and so I feign indifference on this point. More important to me, and why indeed I do see a trend, is because my list of best film experiences for this year is populated with stories possessing fully dimensional female leads, the ratios may be more or less the same as far as quantity of these types of stories from years past, but never have they been so consistently stellar that they warrant such attention. From conversations on Row Three, its clear to me that this is not just a personal fixation, that something tangible is in the air. As Hollywood panders to both sexes, giving them Bond and Twilight simultaneously, the real story beyond the box office successes is that women in 2008 own the year critically, not because they fit some Oscar friendly category as yet another commodity, but because they out character anybody with a penis.

    NOTE: I have not seen Wendy and Lucy but suspect Wendy would fit nicely on my list.

    I give you a short list of the highlights below, these are the characters that own 2008:

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 02 Jan

    Posted by


    Category

    Screen Shot Quiz #123

    12

    If you’ve seen this one I’m sure this will be easy but I’ve always wanted the screen shot quizzes to be more about encouraging discussions on the movies I highlight than the challenge itself.

    screen shot quiz 123
  • 01 Jan

    Posted by


    Category

    Movie Quote Quiz #4

    15

    We’re back with round 4. The RULES are really difficult, so pay attention: guess the movie the quote is from and win the respect of all your peers. If you can name the actor and/or character you get extra street cred. And because it’s Friday, unlike the New York Times crossword puzzle, these should be relatively easy.

    Good luck and quit using the IMDb you wuss!

    1) “You see this jacket I’m wearing? You can have it. Cause I don’t really need it anymore. Because I am cloaked in failure!”

    2) “Bitch, what you don’t know about me I can just about squeeze in the Grand fucking Canyon. Did you know I always wanted to be a dancer in Vegas?”

    3) “Ooooh you wicked, wicked monkey!”

    4) “We used to come here for school retreat. We would swim to that island every day. I love the water. We used to lie out on the sand and let the sun dry us and try to guess the names of the birds singing.”

    5) “Thanks for finding my daughter’s killer, [name]. If only you’d been a little faster.”

  • 01 Jan

    Posted by


    Category

    Screen Shot Quiz #122

    6

    I‘m not sure if anyone will be reading the site today but I made a resolution to start the quizzes back up on the 1st so here it is. This one is from last year and it will likely be on my top 10 list.

    screen shot quiz #122
Page 8 of 8« First...«45678