In lieu of a Friday update at the mothersite...- A super-sized update at FFC contributor Alex Jackson's homebase, including the site's first guest reviews.
- The trailer for Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind, a movie I can't believe actually exists.
- A guy who is restoring Star Wars on his home computer.
Discuss if you're so inclined.
P.S.: They're splitting Grindhouse into two movies for DVD. Bummer, huh?
30 comments:
Be Kind, Rewind looks fantastic (and not anything like Science of Sleep, thank god). I haven't been this excited for anything in ages.
The one fear I have is that they'll waste Paul Dinello. Whatever you think of "Strangers with Candy," he's surely delivered one of the greatest moments on television (that would be, when he told Helen Keller jokes to the curator of the Helen Keller museum).
Maybe Michel can work with Steve Carell next? All his upcoming projects look bloody awful. Don't believe me?
About the Grindhouse thing. In Germany, the movies came out separately (I'm not even sure whether Planet Terror already came out here), and at least for Death Proof, they added 20+ minutes of film. Of course, Tarantino claiming this was the version he wanted to make could very well be promo spiel, but not being able to compare the films, the longer Death Proof might actually be better. I liked it well enough, though I didn't think it great.
Plus, I've heard from a lot of people only liking one of the two films, so giving them a chance of only buying the ones they liked might actually be a good idea.
Then again, you know the studio just thought, "hey, we could cash in twice!"
What's worse about the Grindhouse dvds aren't just that they're being released separately and a month apart, but that the fake trailers won't even be included on either dvd.
You're best bet of taking in the full Grindhouse experience (outside of a random theatrical revival) is to catch it now on a cheesy hotel's PPV movie box - which would actually be pretty cool...
On Paul Dinello: the episode of "Strangers..." where Jerri hits Jellineck with her car and spends the entire episode trying to dispose of his face forgives most of those people any artistic sins.
I actually bought a bootleg of Grindhouse while on vacation in Beijing last year. The poor theater seat VQ actually makes the framing of shots and overall sleaziness of the films that much more effective and "authentic" looking. I'm pretty sure "Planet Terror" played chronologically as well. Weird.
Yeah, I'm going to hold out for the full Grindhouse even it takes years like Kill Bill has. I'll just content myself with BCI's fantastically sleazy Welcome to the Grindhouse series in the meantime.
Why are the trailers for every heartwarming comedy about middle-aged love set to the music of Peter Gabriel or Pete Townshend?
Grindhouse was fun, but hardly worthy of getting upset over a botched DVD release for it. It seems that for most people, the two halves were a love/hate affair, with very few considering the two equals, whereas I just thought they were both pretty good. I really didn't see the love or hate for either of them.
I loved Science of Sleep, so I hope Gondry keeps it up with Be Kind Rewind. The trailer is promising.
What blh said. "Let My Love Open the Door" does seem to be the most popular trailer song there is.
As far a Peter Gabriel goes, "Solsbury Hill" is a popular choice, but that was perfectly punctured by the Shining mock trailer.
Uh, has anyone else taken a look at Jason Statham's character name in War? Not only is it Jack Crawford, but FBI agent Jack Crawford! Uh, the name rings bells, yes? Like in Jack Crawford from the Hannibal Lecter series! I mean, using the same name isn't necessarily a crime, but having a character with the same name who works at the same place is more than a bit odious! Yet I haven't read any review thus far that's called attention to this. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I'm just dumbfounded over this. (Then again, maybe I just need to get laid.)
I wish Jean Baudrillard were still alive to see Be Kind Rewind. The fact that its considered acceptable for a so called "art" director to be making a film so steeped in zeitgeist is the ultimate proof that the world we are living in is nothing but a hollow simulacra.
I want movies about life, not about other movies. Is anyone with me?
I think I'll reserve judgment until I see the movie, Royce. So in that sense, no, I'm not with you. Yet.
I'm not sure where Be Kind, Rewind looks promising, but that may be an effect of me being not sure why there isn't as of yet a motion for movie trailers to only come out in quicktime format so the video quality might actually not suck.
I am so PO'd about the Grindhouse split. Weinsteins fuck up again!
I don't mind that they're splitting Grindhouse into two. I love Tarantino's film and have no desire to watch Rodriguez's ever again, so I'd be more upset for having to pay more for the entire set.
The only part of "Planet Terror" that I really liked was the opening credits sequence with Rose McGowan dancing to that cool theme music. I thought the rest was okay.
I'm definitely in the "Death Proof" camp, although I wish there had been a bit less chit chat and more Kurt Russell.
- Dexter Morgan
Bill is attending TIFF, excellent. I hope he manages to see Youth Without Youth.
Kudos on the Offside review, Travis. It ranks with The Taste of Tea as one of the best ('07 US release date) movies I've seen this year.
"I hope he manages to see Youth Without Youth."
Don't think it's playing, which is disappointing. Nevertheless, really excited about this year's lineup. New Coens, new Rivette, new Cronenberg, new Argento, new Herzog...ay-yi-yi.
For what it's worth, saw a superb TIFF flick last night called EL REY DE LA MONTANA, in which a couple of meet-cutes are stalked by snipers in a forest. Real white-knuckler from about 10 minutes in, and it never lets up.
For all you Ratner-haters out there, here's a little pick me up from the folks at McSweeney's.
"I'm not sure where Be Kind, Rewind looks promising, but that may be an effect of me being not sure why there isn't as of yet a motion for movie trailers to only come out in quicktime format so the video quality might actually not suck."
The HD options are quicktime.
Rewind looks decent, but a part of me is concerned that it'll just be like a Scary Movie sort of comedy, based mainly on easy references to better films.
It seems like the heart is in the right place here, since it's apparently commenting on the whole youtube/film piracy state of affairs, but good comedies in this particular sub-genre are pretty rare.
Also, the Grindhouse debacle is bad, even if a Kill-Bill-ish special edition is an eventuality. The problem is that PT doesn't interest me too much (besides seeing Michael Biehn get work), but the double-feature collaborative aspect feels pretty vital to the whole concept.
This bad news is overwhelmed by the good, though: Rodriguez is making Machete as a straight-to-DVD.
Bill, if you get a chance check out the new Lee Myung-se and Pang Ho-cheung movies, two guys who are big in Asian film nerd circles but don't seem to have the name recognition of--say--Wong Kar Wai or Kim Ki-duk.
I wonder who's presenting Flower Drum Song in the Dialogues series.
That McSweeney's bit is nigh on hilarious, but not quite. I've just finished The Road, and it's jazzed me for McCarthy the way his other pieces could not -- and as a consequence, of course, I've been thinking about a film version and just how badly it could be fucked up.
I may try No Country next.
From the Travis Rat link:
Will need good sound bites for trailer. Maybe at one point son is sad about something stupid and father says, "It's not the end of the world!" Then son gives him ironic look. Love it.
Hahaha, so genius.
I was expecting that Superbad would have received a 4 star rating, for the sole reason that the two dumbest characters were Attack of the Clones fans.
The HD options are quicktime
I only have a bare-bones computer which stalls when I watch HD trailers. So I can choose between good quality and stop-motion films or bad quality. Normal QT would work, wouldn't it?
Re: "Just Buried"
Oliver Whynacht, to a German, reads like Oliver Christmas, because "Weihnacht" is December 24th. Not that his name is any more sensible that way, but still.
I've watched the first two Mimic movies tonight, and I was disappointed (but not surprised given their release dates) to discover that only a review for the second is on the site. Given what Walter writes in his review for the second, it's clear that he likes the first a great deal, referring to "surprising depth" and "archetypal resonance." I'd love to read his defense on those grounds. The only depth I noticed was lots of religious imagery that didn't add up to anything, and its archetypal resonance is the very same that Aliens had to offer, as far as I can tell.
Just noticed The DVD Journal is shutting down. No reason given in the long mainpage essay, which spends huge paragraphs praising DVD and then buries the closure notice at the end.
Damn, I'll miss those guys. Whatever happend to Alexandra duPont anyway?
Not sure what happened to duPont, but I'm sure going to miss DVD Journal.
On a separate note, I've just spent some ill-advised time perusing the IMDB message boards for Cuaron's excellent "Children Of Men", and I was horrified at how often people were slagging it off for being "too dark" and having a "non-existent storyline". And of course, the requisite, "it was sooo gay." While dissent is always welcome, it should at least be well thought out dissent.
I was once of the opinion that your thoughts on the state of most modern moviegoers were overly pessimistic, Walter. My apologies....you're correct. Unfortunately.
Bon voyage, DVD Journal. They had a great run but I'd been noticing a decline in quality-control over there (I just randomly clicked on a review of TROG that erroneously claims the DVD is in fullscreen); better to burn out than to fade away, as they say. In a way I envy their newfound liberation from this online purgatory.
Please tell me that our Lord and Savior will do a Halloween review...
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