With Criterion Collection moving its website and also changing warehouses in the process, they’ve decided to make things either on themselves by making things easier for you. EVERYTHING on The Criterion website is currently 40% off! That’s right. T-shirts, hats and most importantly ALL of their specially produced DVDs are damn near half off!
Help the economy by spending a little bit for yourselves or for family and friends this holiday by getting this frakking awesome deal at Criterion. Hurry though; this sale ends Monday, November 24, at midnight. I know I will be shopping there… right. now.
Jumping on the viral marketing bandwagon, Michael Moore latest documentary, Slacker Uprising, enters the world as a free download, clearly with the intent of reaching as wide an audience as possible prior to U.S. presidential election. The aw-shucks showman is of course known for such politically savvy tactics; the documentary itself is an account of his college campus tour in the months prior to the 2004 presidential election, where he visited twenty battleground states bearing clean underwear, romen noodles, and a lot of rhetoric to entice the notoriously lax voting demographic on campuses into the registering booths. Opinions aside, a certain reverence is owed this level of engineered activism, inspired stunts that have their roots in TV Nation, lifting the messages off the placards and onto the world stage in absurd confrontations with the status-quo.
Slacker Uprising, while of feature length, is a fairly slight and unusually humorless effort by the creator of such incendiary works as Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine. While it begins in the traditional way with a newscast montage to tongue-firmly-in-cheek music overlay (here recounting the rise and fall of John Kerry), it very quickly establishes a one note exercise of merely documenting the highlights of these campus encounters, an auditorium full of fervent fans and the man himself pontificating platitudes with the occasional quip. Every so often a celebrity is brought in to add his/her voice to the Democratic endorsement (a highlight being Eddie Vedder’s acoustic performance of a Cat Stevens song). The whole project is tinged with a sadness in the recognition that despite its best efforts to invigorate an anti-war campaign to get John Kerry into office, even the modest success it had with the young vote was not enough to make it happen. » Read the rest of the entry..
Good interviews are few and far between and interviews in which directors talk candidly about filmmaking are even harder to find but I stumbled onto something this morning which I can’t believe I’ve missed.
I’m a pretty big fan of the Fox Searchlight webpage. The distributor has put a whole lot of money and effort into bringing potential viewers to their site but beyond that, they’re always providing great “value added” content that makes them stand out. They’re not alone in their efforts, other distributors have similar operations, and their particular system isn’t perfect but they’re certainly putting a great deal of thought and care into it. One other way FSL is going above and beyond is by providing services that have little to do with the films they’re producing/distributing but which ingratiate the FSL name to fans. Searchlab seems to be one such project.
Using the Social Media lingo, Searchlab is an online community for “filmmakers on the rise and movie enthusiasts of all stripes.” I stumbled on the project today when I noticed that FSL had updated their YouTube channel with a two parts of a three part interview/lecture with director Ridley Scott. Looking around, I found that the Searchlab website actually has all three parts of the interview, along with talks with Bryan Singer, Richard Linklater and Frank Darabont among many others.
I’ve only seen the first part of the Scott talk and so far, I can say it’s well worth the listen for film fans and individuals interested in making films not to mention, fans of the director. I’m willing to bet that the other interview/lectures are just as good. And don’t worry if you don’t want to sign up – you can view (and embed! Bonus Points!) all of the videos, including shorts by members of the community, without creating an account.
Gotta admit; I love lists. Particularly movie lists. So here’s another one. Entertainment Weekly has released it’s list of the top 100 best movies of the last 25 years. I really can’t argue with #1 at all. According to the publication, the film “opened a new universe of mainstream storytelling”. A lot of great and ground breaking movies here and while it might be easy to quiblle about the order, it might be harder to argue that any of these titles shouldn’t be here. Oh wait… is that Casino Royale at #19!? Over Rushmore and Fargo!? WTF!!!!?
Readers here might be more interested in the “winner” for best book listed below.
1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03)
3. Titanic (1997)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995)
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Die Hard (1988)
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)
11. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
12. The Matrix (1999)
13. GoodFellas (1990)
14. Crumb (1995)
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
16. Boogie Nights (1997)
17. Jerry Maguire (1996)
18. Do the Right Thing (1989)
19. Casino Royale (2006)
20. The Lion King (1994)
21. Schindler’s List (1993)
22. Rushmore (1998)
23. Memento (2001)
24. A Room With a View (1986)
25. Shrek (2001)
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)
27. Aliens (1986)
28. Wings of Desire (1988)
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
30. When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
32. Fight Club (1999)
33. The Breakfast Club (1985)
34. Fargo (1996)
35. The Incredibles (2004)
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
37. Pretty Woman (1990)
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
39. The Sixth Sense (1999)
40. Speed (1994)
41. Dazed and Confused (1993)
42. Clueless (1995)
43. Gladiator (2000)
44. The Player (1992)
45. Rain Man (1988)
46. Children of Men (2006)
47. Men in Black (1997)
48. Scarface (1983)
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
50. The Piano (1993)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)
53. The Truman Show (1998)
54. Fatal Attraction (1987)
55. Risky Business (1983)
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
57. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
58. Ghostbusters (1984)
59. L.A. Confidential (1997)
60. Scream (1996)
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
63. Big (1988)
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
68. Witness (1985)
69. All About My Mother (1999)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
71. Unforgiven (1992)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)
73. Office Space (1999)
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
75. Out of Africa (1985)
76. The Departed (2006)
77. Sid and Nancy (1986)
78. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
79. Waiting for Guffman (1996)
80. Michael Clayton (2007)
81. Moonstruck (1987)
82. Lost in Translation (2003)
83. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)
84. Sideways (2004)
85. The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
86. Y Tu Mamá También (2002)
87. Swingers (1996)
88. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
89. Breaking the Waves (1996)
90. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
91. Back to the Future (1985)
92. Menace II Society (1993)
93. Ed Wood (1994)
94. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
95. In the Mood for Love (2001)
96. Far From Heaven (2002)
97. Glory (1989)
98. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
99. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
100. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)
25 New Classic Music albums:
• Purple Rain – Prince and the Revolution (1984)
• The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill – Lauryn Hill (1998)
• Achtung Baby – U2 (1991)
25 New Classic Books:
• “The Road” – Cormac McCarthy’s
• “Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire” – J.K. Rowling
• “Beloved” Toni Morrison (1987)
25 New Classic Death Scenes:
• Steve Buscemi and the woodchipper – Fargo (1996)
• The T-1000 in molten metal – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
• Bill Murray throws a toaster in the tub, steps in front of a moving truck, and swan dives off a bell tower. And he still won’t die – Groundhog Day (1993).
A growing collection of Movie Blog profiles (many of which are on our Blogroll sidebar), The Large Association of Movie Blogs is a site worth a gander. Don’t be sheepish or they will lamb-baste you. OK, there are lots of sheep-y puns over for your groan-worthy pleasure, but they outline some mighty fine movie blogs both big and small. The site was brought to our attention by Colleeny of 353 Haiku Movie Review and regular contributor to our own After the Credits Podcast. Check the L.A.M.B. out (and visit 353 for some finely crafted summations on old and new flicks.)
Just an FYI regarding the long running series over at DVD Panache entitled “Friday Screen Test.” Back in January, writer Adam Ross started this neat little series of posts each Friday that spotlights a different movie blogger/pundit and focusses on his/her personal interests when it comes to movies and cinema. This past Friday was my screen test and thought I’d make sure it was known more publicly.
Adam runs quite the fun site over there and answering the questions was a joy – although reading others’ answers to some similar questions (like what’s your favorite movie gross-out moment or pick one of these three titles and write two sentences about it…) is even more fun and interesting. Besides the Friday Screen Test series, there are plenty of reviews and oddball op/ed pieces (such as the relationship between shotguns and horror films) as well. Check out the site and leave your thoughts. I’d especially like to see feedback on some of my answers to his questionnaire.
I really have to figure out a way to easily reply to non-work emails while at work but since I can’t I’m going to let you all in on a new movie site that Jonathan just found that is easily one of the best sites out there for keeping up to date on the latest going’s on in the movie world. There are some great reviews, news about an upcoming Resevoir Dogs sequel and even an early poster of some character designs for Transformers 2.
I was a huge fan of the first Crank movie starring Jason Statham. It was the film that really solidified Statham as the new action hero for the 21st century. It’s a mile a second rush of a thrill ride that goes and goes and never once stops to catch its breath. I like movies like that – as long as they’re entertaining.
So this morning I was watching an interview over at Collider with Mark Neveldine, director of both Crank movies and the upcoming Pathology film. They talked a bit about 3-D technology and how they’d like to go there, but are waiting for the camera size to shrink down a bit. But they do plan on making the third installment all in 3-D.
When asked about how he would up the bar for Crank 2, he talked about this new rig they’ve got that’s never been done before and makes takes The Matrix-esque bullet time shot and ups the ante a bit:
“We’re going to be creating a ‘moving bullet[-time] camera’ that has never been done before. We’re putting about 15 cameras onto a piece of speed rail, all these super lightweight cameras that I’ll be holding on rollerblades flying around people. So you’ll have that image that you’ve seen in the Matrix, where they stop motion and the cameras spin around, except for the fact that our cameras can spin around and move while the actor moves.”
Awesome. That sounds pretty cool. After The Bank Job (R3 review) and Crank 1, I’m more than on board for this; if for no other reason than to check out the new technology. The link to the entire video interview is below. A lot of it is filled with a bunch of nonsense, but there’s some good stuff in there – like the part I already transcribed above
Surfing the usual spots today, I came across a new site maintained and written by fellow blog-o-sphere buddy and regular RowThree visitor, Matt Gamble.
Usually a writer over at the always terrific Cinema Fusion, Matt’s devoted some of his off-time to the new site. Where the Long Tail Ends is “a side project involving old, obscure, and occasionally awful films for me to review for your reading pleasure.”
Although still in its infancy, Where the Long Tail Ends already has a couple of pretty entertaining reviews and what look to be some great ideas for regular, weekly features. In other words, looks like a place to definitely bookmark and make part of your daily rounds. So drop on by and leave some feedback if you’re so inclined.
Really bored? Wanna see some free movies? I found this site today called Hulu. They have a whole bunch of shorts and old TV shows and other fun stuff (full seasons of Firefly, A-Team, Buffy, Simon & Simon and hundreds more!). But they also have quite a number of full length feature films. No sign up, no money. Just high quality videos. Yes, there’s a catch.
About every 15 minutes or so into each feature is a short commercial. I watched the first 20 minutes or so of Titan A.E. and only had to endure 2 commercials. The first one was only ten seconds long. The second was 30 seconds long; but hey, it was Beyonce dancing around preaching about something, so I can’t complain about that too much.
Just some of the movies they have to watch are: The Big Lebowski, The Usual Suspects, Sideways, The Jerk, Requiem for a Dream, Moonstruck, Master and Commander, Mulholland Drive, Quills and a LOT more. This is kind of cool actually. The more I play with this, the more I’m probably going to be using it. I’ve been wanting to watch Fierce Creatures again for some time. And look, I can embed an entire movie right here for you to get a sample.
The little dots on the playbar near the bottom indicate where the commercials are. Not available on this embedded version, but at the main site you can go full screen; which I tried and it looks pretty damn good. Although I assume the quality will depend on your connection speed.
If you’re interested in seeing the full line-up, head over to Hulu and pick out a movie to watch. And btw, yes, I like Titan A.E.
UPDATE: Looks like to watch some of the “mature” content, you do have to sign up. Still, answer a couple of quick questions and easy login and you can watch anything you like.
Well, here it is. It looks like my childhood is being raped again. Though it is nice to see the two Coreys back in action (other than that weird-ass, lame, reality show they’re in). Seriously though, while it still has the same camp and cheesy acting of the original, this sequel looks like it might have some cool vamp moments. It’s no secret I’m a huge lover of vampire flicks. I always have a good time with even the worst ones – gotta love Jahn Carpenter’s Vampires. This one looks like it might not be much different from something like that.
The embedded video below won’t play the trailer, but it’ll take you over to the MTV site where the trailer is located. If you play around with the controls below though, you can see Feldman discussing the “ins and outs” of this new sequel.
UPDATE: Thanks to Sean at FilmJunk for finding an embeddable trailer.
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.
