tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post6220085406179811620..comments2024-02-23T05:17:08.682-05:00Comments on The Film Freak Central Blog: Professional Commentary on the Oscar NominationsBill Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14011398543859221282noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-62872703148669187052010-02-19T15:22:10.313-05:002010-02-19T15:22:10.313-05:00@Shilpa: May your children be born blind and hunch...@Shilpa: May your children be born blind and hunchbacked.<br /><br />Fucking spambots. I really don't want to have to start moderating comments.Bill Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14011398543859221282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-26842010177587005892010-02-16T01:30:39.423-05:002010-02-16T01:30:39.423-05:00okay, yes, 'it'd be cool' is a reason....okay, yes, 'it'd be cool' is a reason. perhaps i should've added that that's not a good or justifiable reason.<br /><br />and i suppose it's possible that i want to 'philosophize about how gauche it is for a film not to follow structural rules' but this wasn't something that i thought of after the movie ended or that i read about in a review. it was somethingjohn mirabellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00056008828410042571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-38010100220542814662010-02-16T00:57:53.081-05:002010-02-16T00:57:53.081-05:00"It seemed like it'd be cool."
Soun..."It seemed like it'd be cool."<br /><br />Sounds like a reason to me, but if you need a better one, it's to tell a story from beginning to end by giving you all the information you need at the moment you need it and without contriving exposition or back story in any omniscient footage.<br /><br />What issue was confused by this supposed change of tense? What didn't you O'JohnLandishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15560571840235787129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-26461440280280989352010-02-15T01:52:39.488-05:002010-02-15T01:52:39.488-05:00oh, and in my opinion @Patrick, season two of TRUE...oh, and in my opinion @Patrick, season two of TRUE BLOOD is some of the silliest television out there.john mirabellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00056008828410042571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-73089406986006013332010-02-15T01:51:34.347-05:002010-02-15T01:51:34.347-05:00it appears that the conversation has moved on at t...it appears that the conversation has moved on at this point but just in case it hasn't, here's my two cents:<br /><br />the shift in perspective halfway through DISTRICT 9 was distracting and bothersome for me not so much because it changed the perspective of the storytelling but because it changed the tense. the fake documentary footage was clearly meant to have been shot well after thejohn mirabellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00056008828410042571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-11464798802791534682010-02-10T12:13:27.841-05:002010-02-10T12:13:27.841-05:00Given the quality of the writing at both the site ...Given the quality of the writing at both the site and even in the comment section here at the blog, I thought this might be a good place to pass this call for papers on to:<br /><br />+++<br /><br /><b>Directors Spotlight: Oliver Stone<br /><br />Pitch Deadline: 23 February 2010 <br />Final Deadline: 2 April 2010 <br />Contact: Matt Mazur and Sarah Zupko <br />Email: mazur@popmatters.com AND jer fairallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16032172895204505671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-74611574910878922382010-02-08T04:03:09.412-05:002010-02-08T04:03:09.412-05:00@Patrick: True Blood S2 is more fun than S1 (overa...@Patrick: True Blood S2 is more fun than S1 (overall), but once the show returns to focus on one storyline in Bon Temps for the final 4 episodes, it turns very silly and they don't quite know what to do with half the characters who spent the majority of the season in Dallas.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05821524840819117719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-13949685029919920442010-02-08T00:23:54.628-05:002010-02-08T00:23:54.628-05:00Just wanted to say that I've been following th...Just wanted to say that I've been following the debate on District 9 with great enthusiasm; I felt similarly ambivalent after seeing it in theaters, but I think Mike A's analysis helps neutralize some of the drawbacks I had with the film. <br />I, too, am still rooting for Inglourious Basterds, although I wouldn't mind a Best Picture win for Precious. I agree with Alex in that it'MichaelLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-47238279106210341862010-02-07T18:57:48.827-05:002010-02-07T18:57:48.827-05:00Okay, so I got hooked on True Blood in early seaso...Okay, so I got hooked on True Blood in early season 1, then kind of turned off at the end of it. Now, being sick, I decided to watch Season 2, and by episode three, I'm hooked again. So, just as a general question, is S2 better than S1, i.e. can I hope for the best?Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08178910224548079394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-24793743023807358882010-02-06T18:31:39.543-05:002010-02-06T18:31:39.543-05:00Mike A's given the best off-the-cuff assessmen...Mike A's given the best off-the-cuff assessment I've read on <i>District 9</i> so far. My compliments.<br /><br />DaveA: Anna Paquin has never looked more gorgeous than in that shot, not even all <i>True Blood</i> nekkid.Jefferson Robbinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05356665406917571985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-33576220077537763262010-02-06T13:13:46.180-05:002010-02-06T13:13:46.180-05:00Thanks for reading, Alex.
I think I should clarif...Thanks for reading, Alex.<br /><br />I think I should clarify by pointing out that the cues used to tell the types of footage apart in District 9 do contribute to the overall aesthetic differences. The news footage is detached from the action, shot from helicopters and given labels. The intercutting of those shots with the chaotic ground-level action is similar to the style in 28 Weeks Later, Mike Anoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-70230085558336015282010-02-06T12:54:09.288-05:002010-02-06T12:54:09.288-05:00Bill: Because I can't stop looking at it and i...Bill: Because I can't stop looking at it and it gives me a queasy feeling in my stomach. I mean, the shot from Mulholland Drive was hard enough, but this...DaveAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-77074417040001133722010-02-06T12:30:18.839-05:002010-02-06T12:30:18.839-05:00I think it's a little weird even assuming that...<i>I think it's a little weird even assuming that mock would have a part of speech in this context, so I default to the original meaning without anything else to go on.</i><br /><br />I don't know what "have" a part of speech means, but if a word isn't a part of speech then I don't know what it is. <br /><br /><i>Obviously when I call a narrative structure a primary Alex Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13028946403342782184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-90737906196013474872010-02-06T10:48:00.181-05:002010-02-06T10:48:00.181-05:00@DaveA: Why?!@DaveA: Why?!Bill Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14011398543859221282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-17656182922706737282010-02-06T09:08:23.443-05:002010-02-06T09:08:23.443-05:00Remember, I think Cloverfield is a bad film. But ...Remember, I think Cloverfield is a bad film. But the main difference is it wasn't supposed to be a documentary (with a film crew) at all--a guy was filming something else and a monster attacked New York. There's a tiny sliver of credibility as to why a story (with incident and feelings and shit) might organically be captured on video under those circumstances. The Blair Witch O'JohnLandishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15560571840235787129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-84334938156035723472010-02-06T06:08:19.707-05:002010-02-06T06:08:19.707-05:00God, Bill, could you please, please switch the ban...God, Bill, could you please, please switch the banner?DaveAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-4584065162975617932010-02-06T02:18:22.067-05:002010-02-06T02:18:22.067-05:00As for District 9, I appreciated Mike A.'s def...As for District 9, I appreciated Mike A.'s defense and I'd probably have to see the film again to give a stronger argument. I probably went too far in saying that it lacked a clear line of demarcation, but I really liked Bill's description of how the documentary format never "looses its grip on the aesthetic of the thing". That sounds more appropriate. I don't really seeAlex Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13028946403342782184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-62492473500783527752010-02-06T02:17:59.874-05:002010-02-06T02:17:59.874-05:00I don't find primary document sexy or unsexy--...<i>I don't find primary document sexy or unsexy--I find it accurate. I'm not opposed to sexy language. What is Cloverfield mocking? I know what Spinal Tap is mocking.</i><br /><br />Time to drag out the dictionary. Primary in its adjective form means "basic", "firsthand" or "original". I feel that this is a misleading way to describe "fictionalized Alex Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13028946403342782184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-83919144757013155822010-02-06T00:56:05.120-05:002010-02-06T00:56:05.120-05:00I think characterizing District 9 as a racist film...I think characterizing District 9 as a racist film is superficial and inaccurate. <br /><br />"Muti murder" is an extant cultural phenomenon which, in the film, is directly compared to the (white) corporation's illegal organ harvesting. In both cases, the point is the catastrophic consumption of of the individial, which is contrasted with the gradual 'contructive decay' of Mike Anoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-24654352236805217122010-02-05T20:34:34.713-05:002010-02-05T20:34:34.713-05:00@The Voice: You are correct.@The Voice: You are correct.Bill Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14011398543859221282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-17292978087432162262010-02-05T19:30:49.556-05:002010-02-05T19:30:49.556-05:00I don't find primary document sexy or unsexy--...I don't find primary document sexy or unsexy--I find it accurate. I'm not opposed to sexy language. What is Cloverfield mocking? I know what Spinal Tap is mocking.<br /><br />You can't suspend disbelief if perspective switches? (I think you actually mean something different, but I don't want to dwell on this point.) But I can't suspend disbelief if the documentary footageO'JohnLandishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15560571840235787129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-64563031831997380962010-02-05T19:14:06.717-05:002010-02-05T19:14:06.717-05:00Did the banner just roll over? Looks like Anna Pa...Did the banner just roll over? Looks like Anna Paquin in <i>25th Hour</i>, but I don't play the "name this screencap" game often enough.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-52434556859948930932010-02-05T11:47:18.084-05:002010-02-05T11:47:18.084-05:00No, I'll modify my self-criticism about the ca...No, I'll modify my self-criticism about the capsules to say that festival coverage is most appropriate in the capsule format and I'm right in the thick of it as of the moment so I'm not really in an objective frame of mind. <br /><br />I think that the quality of my coverage is improving every year and I'm pretty embarassed about much of what I wrote in 2006 and possibly 2007. ButAlex Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13028946403342782184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-68480160872972835392010-02-05T10:04:12.180-05:002010-02-05T10:04:12.180-05:00A film either defines its camera or it doesn't...<i>A film either defines its camera or it doesn't. Most films don't and no one complains. Why is a clean line of demarcation better? Were people concerned for the safety of the documentarian?</i><br /><br />A clear line of demarcation is better in that there is an overarching objective perspective that doesn't really change. In Citizen Kane we know that the newsreel isn't "Alex Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13028946403342782184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9668842.post-51826467900109963322010-02-05T08:48:48.397-05:002010-02-05T08:48:48.397-05:00"Kim said, "Even after the switch was cl..."Kim said, "Even after the switch was clear..." That really suggests to me a problem with theory more than a problem with the film. I have no patience for theory."<br /><br />I have no theory. About anything.<br /><br />I mean, sorry, even during the action scenes, I was waiting for someone to turn back to the cameraman and start talking. In the world of District 9, that wouldAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com