Archive for the ‘General Ramblings’ Category

  • 05 Aug

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    Friday One Sheet: Tinker Tailor Soldier Quad

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    We don’t often post Quad style posters on Friday One Sheet, but the new one sheet for the Gary Oldman starring 70s spy throw back, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is far better than the American version.

  • 04 Aug

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    Oscar By Ratner

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    Looks like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has their Bad Idea jeans on again. They have selected Brett Ratner to co-produce the show (with usual producer Don Mischer) which will be aired in 2012. Hmmm, so this is what the Mayan calender points to.

    Either way the show will likely be better than that awful looking Tower Heist movie he has coming out. The only silver lining in this is that Ratner may bring back Hugh Jackman, who worked for him in X3: Franchise Killer.

    Moron…er…More on this at the Hollywood Reporter.

  • 14 Jul

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    Screen Shot Quiz #277

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    The goal of the screen shot quiz it not to just guess what the movie is that the screen shot is from but to encourage discussion on the film. Feel free to shout out in the comments what the movie is and then provide an opinion or some thoughts on the movie. Oh and the first person who gets the movie right wins our respect.

  • 08 Jul

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    Review: Ironclad

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    [With all the talk on this weeks cinecast about Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins and its DVD release, it is fitting that Iron Clad is getting a theatrical bow in the US, as it is like the a very British take on the 'small band vs. big army' story. And it is really, really good. I caught the film at Actionfest a few months ago and my review is republished below.]
     

    “What a tedious little man!” snarls Brian Cox after dealing-slash-politicking against Paul Giamatti for the hearts and minds of the British peasantry. Far from it, to enjoy Ironclad is to embrace one of the most ridiculous, yet delightful moments of over-the-top royalty since Graham Chapman and the Pythons (clearly a film that Ironclad is subtly nodding at while its plethora of arterial sprays and limb severings, even as it plays everything else decidedly straight.) Giamatti and Cox join a host of celebrated english Capital-A actors such as Charles Dance and Derek Jacobi along to occasionally bark at each other through its orgy of violence. The film is hilarious, yet deadly earnest, the type of bloody heroic wet dream of 14 year olds, with the type of posturing put forth by the WWE or Mel Gibson.

    Without missing a beat, Johnathan English’s Ironclad picks up right where Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood left off. It is certainly not an official sequel, but golly, it could be the swaggering, slightly drunken, trashier sibling if you swap in a scowling James Purfoy for a scowling Russel Crowe. King John (Giamatti) has signed the Magna Carta, but at the behest of the Pope in Rome has declared the document invalid and is marching across the land with a small army of Danish mercenaries, killing all the Barons who signed it. In the meantime, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dance), orders one of the few remaining Barons (Cox) and the best Knight Templar (Purefoy) in the land and orders them to defend Rochester Castle at all costs. (As Rochester goes, so goes England). Failing to raise an army, only a few ragtag adventurers and scoundrels (from the Office’s Mackenzie Crook to the ubiquitous Jason Flemying who seems contractually obliged to be in all of these types of movies), they arrive at Rochester just as John and his army show up. Thus for well over half of the two hour duration, the film is an action packed castle siege film that pits about 20 men against several hundred, and bravery, blood and battle over anything resembling restraint or good taste.
    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 07 Jul

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    It’s in the way that it moves…

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    The first thought I had when a designer friend pointed me to this article about a new approached to creating animated gif files (or at least a much more artistic way) was “So that’s how we’re going to implement those moving Harry Potter pictures and newspaper photos…” As you can see by the moving cab above and several other of their “cinemagraphs”, there’s a much more delicate feel to these – they focus on a small portion of the picture moving and have a much smoother feel than any random “best of the day” animated gif you’d care to mention. It’s more then simply stitching together frames from a video and allows for the focus to be on the photography. They wanted to create “something more than a photo but less than a video” and I’d say they were pretty darn successful.

    Of course, when you see something this cool, you tend to click on the links the article provides and prowl around a bit. In so doing, I found a spiffy tumblr page called If we don’t, remember me and found a huge selection of animated gifs of small clips from films. Though these seem to use the old style of just taking frames from the film and collecting them, each image tends to focus on more subtle movement – either a very specific person or thing or, even more effectively, some glimmering of light or the breathing motion of a person. Here’s a few selections, but check out the site for a whole whack more…

    I’ll leave out the film titles to see if anyone can guess them (make your guesses before you go to the tumblr page as the film titles are provided there). As they get answered, I’ll put the film titles into the post.

     

    1. Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick – 1987)

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    2. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola – 1972)

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    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 04 Jul

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    *SPOILER ALERT*: A Manifesto

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    If you don’t want any spoilers whatsoever, maybe you should stop reading for good. Gawker offers this bon mot and others in their manifesto piece on the scourge of web (and not in-print) writing, the dreaded *SPOILER* Note in the intro to this piece, they actually spoil with out warning, a major event in HBO’s Treme, which is kinda weird, gauche and annoying, but we are talking Gawker.com here, so fair game.

    We’ve had previous discussions here on Rowthree on the sensitivity of what is a spoiler, and how often to issue warnings. Too many and you are in the crazy land of John Malkovich’s head, but too few and you tend to piss off people reading. We issue a blanket all bets are off spoiler alert when we review films on the cinecast, other podcasts dance around the issue without being able to really talk about a movie. The point has been made in several places that something like Tree of Life is almost independent of spoilers due to the nature of the film, but the ending of Chinatown or Empire Strikes Back is one that I certainly wouldn’t want being told to me before I see it. Too late if you watch a lot of pop culture mash-ups I’m afraid. It’s a balance.

    Here are some of the highlights of the the manifesto article which postulates no spoiler-warning be necessary while writing about the Movie/Show/etc. on the web. I’ve cropped out the highlights because in the article they illustrate each point with a major spoiler:

    Time limit for a theatrical movie release until spoilers are fair game: The DVD release. (Movies that are overly formulaic are exempt from this clause.)
    Time limit for a TV show Cable/Network from initial broadcast: One week.
    Time limit for a Reality TV fodder/crap from initial broadcast: One day.
    None of these time limits apply to anything that appears in a movie trailer or season preview.

    Anything that happened in previous films in a franchise or previous seasons/episodes is fair game.

    Basic information about the characters, setting, and plot details are permissible.

    Nothing in a movie or TV show that is based on the life of a famous person, or history can be a spoiler.

    What consists of a spoiler to you? How careful/sensitive are you when reading movie news or review online? Do you like spoilers during podcast discussions of films? Who Shot JR (hint, see above)? Discuss.

  • 04 Jul

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    Angry Birds: The Movie

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    It was only a matter of time, I suppose, that Hollywood moved from board game and video game movie adaptations (announcements mind you, few of these seem ever see the light of day) to mobile phone App-games in its ongoing quest for franchise potential and brand recognition. Angry Birds is perhaps the biggest behemoth in the $1 App-game market appearing on all phones and even embedded in Google Chrome browser. Angry Birds was already tied into that animated Rio movie with a themed version of the physics-game, but it looks like they will be getting their own feature, with out any connection to Alfred Hitchcock’s original angry birds movie, or its long-delayed remake.

    Rovio, the Finland-based digital production house that launched the game in 2009, is celebrating its success in poaching David Maisel, who has already converted Marvel Comics characters such as Iron Man and Thor into hit movies.

    The Independent has more, but the article is just one more depression-inducing decision for people who love movies without all the synergy-hoopla.

  • 29 Jun

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    Michael Bay loves Coen Brothers Supporting Players

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    At an entertaining and boisterous drink-up in a Toronto pub with an eclectic mix of film fans, filmmakers and writers last night, Mamo! Matt Price lamented that while there are Lebowski Fests all over the world, there are no Miller’s Crossing fests, and that started not only the germ of an idea. After all, it is a toss up behind Lebowski which is the more all-out quotable Coen Brothers movie – O Brother Where Art Thou?, Fargo or Miller’s Crossing – but I tend to side with the latter (and don’t you dare give me the high hat!) Nevertheless, there was a lament also that Jon Polito has not shown up in a Coen Brothers joint in some time, and that, kind moviegoers, is a damn shame.

    Maybe Michael Bay will hire him to wear a G-String and be peed on or something for his next movie.

    Huh? That’s a hell of a non sequitur there, isn’t it? Maybe not.

    It is no secret, albeit I have heard no compelling explanation why, that Michael Bay tends to pilfer top notch character actors and then make them ham it up with bad dialogue (big air quotes around the d-word which is uttered with the utmost caution on a M-Bay set) and drops them into embarrassing situations to strip them of any dignity, joy or shame. Many folks have probably noticed that he is particularly fond of taking Coen Brothers regulars and dropping them into his film. For instance, Transformers 3 has no less than three actors: Frances McDormand, John Turturro and John Malkovich which ties Armageddon (Billy Bob Thorton, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare (the latter two who have a very good, but very distinctly Non-Fargo or Big Lebowski, scene together, but these two actors prolific as they may be – this might all be coincidence – but they also appear in several other Michael Bay features (Buscemi in The Island, Storemare in Bad Boys II). Also, William Forsythe (John Goodman’s highly amusing prison-pal from Raising Arizona) also shows up in The Rock.

    All this to say that I’m not the first to notice this, and getting back to Jon Polito for a moment, this MovieLine article suggests that yea, if The Coen’s can’t find work for the man, then at least he should draw a big paycheck to stand in front of some Bayhem.

    In the meantime, who wants to help get a Millers-Con off the ground? Hey, what’s the rumpus?

  • 27 Jun

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    Arthouse Handholding: Tree of Life

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    I am sure Mr. Gamble will have something to say about this bit of decision making that has been circling the web regarding Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life (Kurt’s Review). Has the arthouse fallen into such a rut in terms of audience awareness and open-mindedness for cinema sacrificed for safe feel-good adult dramedys? (Call it the Bottle Shock effect.) Or is this simply a ‘it doesn’t hurt to warn people?’ preemptive thinking? When David O. Russell’s Three Kings came out, some cinemas (and eventually the DVD release) had warnings that the colour palette of the film (desaturated and grainy) was intentional and not a flaw of the projection, so this sort of precedent is not unheard-of . Even if you want to just talk about content and not technical aspects, I’m sure there were warnings on Enter The Void and Irreversible in North America during their runs, and that is probably a good thing. Examples of cinema-goers being warned about unusual content or style beyond the simple rating system warnings of extreme violence or harsh language are unusual, but by no means unheard of, but still worth examining why some theatres might be proactive about informing their customers, particularly when the films have huge Hollywood stars in them, which may draw some folks that might not be aware of what the film is actually about (in terms of Brad Pitt, see also The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford). Here is the Avon Theatre notice:

     

     

    Jim Emerson over at Scanners Blog probably has the best summation. Halfway down his piece is probably the best example of a warning/disclaimer that plays like comedy, yet was posted at Cannes of all places.

    Back to Tree of Life, from an IndieWire interview with an Avon Theatre executive:

    “The overwhelming response to the film was, in fact, positive. There was a small but vocal minority of patrons who walked out of the film, but there were a few individuals who were fairly nasty and belligerent towards the management staff, demanding their money back. There have been a significant number of people who were fascinated by the film and there were plenty of individuals who have written to us to tell us that they thought the film was a masterpiece.”

    and

    “The combination of walkouts and isolated instances led us to take our approach with the memo. We always want to be as direct, open and transparent as possible with our patrons and potential filmgoers. If they’re not totally informed about the movie’s stylistic approach, then they might want to take a moment to read up on it and decide whether or not it’s something they might want to see. We wanted to keep customers aware while preemptively diffusing instances like what happened last week when customers got up in the faces of our kind and caring staff.”

    This sort of ‘belligerent behavior’ this was spotted by Rowthree pal Jason Gorber (thanks to Mamo! Matt Brown for the heads up on this one) as a touch of passive-aggressive graffiti in the Bell Lightbox (The TIFF group multiplex in Toronto) washroom:

     

     

    Got an opinion? Got a Tree of Life cinema story? Chime in in the comments section.

  • 11 Jun

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    Footloose is Actually Starting to Excite Me

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    The remake of Footloose has started to pique my interest. Got word today that the musical artist of the past decade, Jack White and his stripes, is headlining in some of the music in the OST. As well as rap recording artist, David Banner. Just throwing in a White Stripes song isn’t really what excites me – although that helps. What excites me is the fact that it’s Craig Brewer directing the film and if there’s anything he seems to pull heart out of for his movies, it’s his musical selections.

    Now me personally, I can’t stand rap. I’ve tried to listen to so many varieties, artists and sub genres and I can never seem to grasp what the flavor is (except for The Beastie Boys). That changed in 2005 with Brewer’s Hustle and Flow and took the heart and soul of rap and exposed it nobody less than the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, who bestowed upon it an Oscar for best song in a motion picture. Next up for Brewer was one my favorite soundtracks of 2007 in the fabulously gritty Black Snake Moan. The sweaty blues and healthy doses of soul pulled you into that world so effortlessly it gives me goosebumps.

    Footloose was the first soundtrack I ever purchased and if memory serves, it was only the second cassette tape I ever bought for myself with my own money (after MJ’s “Thriller” of course). Footloose just about lives and dies by it’s soundtrack and its “angry dance” sequence. It was an HBO/Showtime favorite for pretty much everyone back in the 80′s. Hearing that it would be remade gave me kind of a “meh” attitude. But now with all this great music being poured into it, and with Craig Brewer really knowing how to get soul from his movie through the music and his interesting eye for everything Southern States culture, I’m really looking forward to this film and also to see what other musical tricks may be coming down the pipe. Can you see Kevin Bacon finishing off the film dancing to The White Stripes’ “Catch Hell Blues?” Me either. But it won’t be Kevin Bacon Dancing and this won’t be your papa’s Footloose. This will be Craig Brewer’s Footloose and sweat will fly.

  • 08 Jun

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    Banned Films in UK / Canada / United States

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    I thought it might be interesting to take a quick look at what films have been banned in North America and also in the UK in light of the British Board Of Film Classification refusing to rate Human Centipede: The Full Sequence

    My favourite banning in the entire list is from 1918 in Manitoba when they banned comedies. I also enjoy the banning of Monty Python’s Life of Brian in the United States. What is really striking about the list though is how often a banned movie has the ban removed at a later date.

    I continue to stand by my position that as long as a film is not made in illegal ways and that everyone involved is able to legally make the decision to be in the film that it should not be banned. Appropriate warnings should be given and the responsibility should be placed on the audience to make the decision to watch the content. Provide us with the knowledge and let us make the decision whether to watch. If you must also provide a rating that is fine but I get much more benefit of simply knowing that they used the f-bomb 32 times.

    The list of banned films is below the seat.
    Source: Wikipedia

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 06 Jun

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    Cinema Etiquette in the Magnited States of America

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    All I have to say is Tim League and the folks at the Alamo Drafthouse, you guys rock!
     
     
    We wish more multiplexes were as proactive as you about dealing with the issue of bright white lights in the cinema from texting or web-browsing ignoramuses while the movie is playing.

    This customer reaction (voicemail to customer service) to not being indulged with their digital device and overall rudeness is golden. The audio is embedded below, with text enhancement. Priceless.

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