It gives me the impression of rediscovering fire...
If you follow my thoughts... :)
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Awards Watch: Directors Roundtable
Film directors often have interesting things to say.
So when you put 6 of them in a room, you're set for a good read.
And when those 6 are named Kathryn Bigelow, Lee Daniels, Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, James Cameron and Jason Reitman... Guess what... :)
Awards Watch: Directors Roundtable
So when you put 6 of them in a room, you're set for a good read.
And when those 6 are named Kathryn Bigelow, Lee Daniels, Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, James Cameron and Jason Reitman... Guess what... :)
Awards Watch: Directors Roundtable
Avatar
There was no real way Cameron would not deliver for this 10 years gestating project, but now we can finally say it: it was worth the wait. And then some.
Those who are slacking on the fairly unoriginal story are missing the point:
1) a good story doesn't get old and this one's good
2) when it's told that way, he could adapt a nursery rhyme I'd be in.
It's just awe inspiring.
Epic. Never seen before.
All those qualifiers take suddently a new meaning...
I would think that my mouth was gaping through at least half of the movie. I couldn't tell though, I was just absorbed...
As a matter of fact, 3D just disappears within the 1st few minutes. It delivers that much more punch and it's so well designed you just forget about it and get drowned in the experience. The focus guides your eyes so you always know where to look at, you're never lost... And also when you think about it, you just don't see the limit between CGI and real shots... It all forms a whole. Absolutely amazing.
But all at the service of the story...
And in a typical Cameron way, it's not all about action, you have some truly beautiful and poetic moments as well... But when the shit comes down, it does come down... :)
Under all the slick and cold technology, there's a heart beating. The Na'vis don't feel like they're just CGI artefacts. They live. You can see the actors working... Yet they move in a cat-like way that clearly isn't human.
Speakign about which, the fauna on Pandora is amazing as well. So many details, so many things to catch. Even if the Na'Vis could be suspiciously humanoid, they do have interesting twists...
You can see that Cameron wanted to create a "Star Wars" for our time and he did.
Yeah, well worth the wait.
I hope this movie will blow Titanic's record out of the waters. I mean it's much better than Titanic. It's also got a love story in it, and it got FRICKIN' BLUE ALIENS RIDING 6 LEGGED HORSES GOING UP AGAINST 10m HIGH EXOSKELETTONS WITH GUNS!!!
Sorry, that had to come out.
Now I hope he does that to Battle Angel Alita...
Those who are slacking on the fairly unoriginal story are missing the point:
1) a good story doesn't get old and this one's good
2) when it's told that way, he could adapt a nursery rhyme I'd be in.
It's just awe inspiring.
Epic. Never seen before.
All those qualifiers take suddently a new meaning...
I would think that my mouth was gaping through at least half of the movie. I couldn't tell though, I was just absorbed...
As a matter of fact, 3D just disappears within the 1st few minutes. It delivers that much more punch and it's so well designed you just forget about it and get drowned in the experience. The focus guides your eyes so you always know where to look at, you're never lost... And also when you think about it, you just don't see the limit between CGI and real shots... It all forms a whole. Absolutely amazing.
But all at the service of the story...
And in a typical Cameron way, it's not all about action, you have some truly beautiful and poetic moments as well... But when the shit comes down, it does come down... :)
Under all the slick and cold technology, there's a heart beating. The Na'vis don't feel like they're just CGI artefacts. They live. You can see the actors working... Yet they move in a cat-like way that clearly isn't human.
Speakign about which, the fauna on Pandora is amazing as well. So many details, so many things to catch. Even if the Na'Vis could be suspiciously humanoid, they do have interesting twists...
You can see that Cameron wanted to create a "Star Wars" for our time and he did.
Yeah, well worth the wait.
I hope this movie will blow Titanic's record out of the waters. I mean it's much better than Titanic. It's also got a love story in it, and it got FRICKIN' BLUE ALIENS RIDING 6 LEGGED HORSES GOING UP AGAINST 10m HIGH EXOSKELETTONS WITH GUNS!!!
Sorry, that had to come out.
Now I hope he does that to Battle Angel Alita...
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
10 years at the movies...
Back in 1999, I saw a couple of movies (including, of course, Fight Club) that made me realise that I wanted to push movie-going as a more regular activity as it was for me.
And I tried to keep every ticket ever since.
So now, 10 years later, it's time to scan them all and look at what has been accomplished!
Nothing much, of course. But certainly a lot of experiences.
It's actually funny how, looking through them all, I got a lot of memories coming back of the context I saw those movies in. People I saw them with. Reactions...
Quite a good trip down memory lane.
There were even a few I forgot I saw... Only a few seen twice.
I have to say I look at all of them and I stand proud that I minimised the number of crap films I went to see. Understand "films I didn't enjoy". Still, there are a few. I could have "forgotten" them, but hey I'm a honest man. Guess which they were!
In numbers, that's in excess of 275 movies seen (I'm quite sure I have lost a few "anonymous" tickets). About 2 movies a month in 10 years. Certainly not the best, but not bad either...
I have no intention of adding up how much it cost me.
Feel free to have a look! :)
A decade starting with Fight Club and ending with Avatar tomorrow... Not bad! :)
I wonder how the next one will look...
And I tried to keep every ticket ever since.
So now, 10 years later, it's time to scan them all and look at what has been accomplished!
Nothing much, of course. But certainly a lot of experiences.
It's actually funny how, looking through them all, I got a lot of memories coming back of the context I saw those movies in. People I saw them with. Reactions...
Quite a good trip down memory lane.
There were even a few I forgot I saw... Only a few seen twice.
I have to say I look at all of them and I stand proud that I minimised the number of crap films I went to see. Understand "films I didn't enjoy". Still, there are a few. I could have "forgotten" them, but hey I'm a honest man. Guess which they were!
In numbers, that's in excess of 275 movies seen (I'm quite sure I have lost a few "anonymous" tickets). About 2 movies a month in 10 years. Certainly not the best, but not bad either...
I have no intention of adding up how much it cost me.
Feel free to have a look! :)
A decade starting with Fight Club and ending with Avatar tomorrow... Not bad! :)
I wonder how the next one will look...
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Where The Wild Things Are.
The credits of this movie mentions the usual "all events and characters in this film are fictitious".
that made me chuckle actually, because I would think that everyone would have a connection to this. Everyone that has been 8 once...
It's a trip into a child's mind. Not an ADD child, just a normal one.
It's amazing how Jonze has managed to capture those perfect moments, all in nuances. It does remind me of movies like Lost In Translation that just seem to transmit sensations directly to your brain. Emotions are carried straight from the images.
A snowball fight. Running around in the woods. Cuddling in a "pile". Playing war. And going back to mum...
By extension, it's as much about being a kid than having a kid as well.
It's a movie that has its own mood, swinging from intense joy and jubilation to intense sadness or fear in moments. How play can (and often do) end up in tears.
It's wild, true, poetic, beautiful.
It's also got its own look, completely original and I would think it will stay unique. From a technical point of vue, the Wild Things are quite a marvel to look at. Half costume - half CGI (the faces), however you can't see the seams at all. They're incredibly expressive and as a consequence, they just exist on screen.
They're alive.
Definitely one of the most important movies I've seen this year. As vital for people who might have buried their inner child as those who nurture it, as it just let's it out.
2009 is almost over, still it's not giving up... What a year.
Avatar is the next one up. To finish with a bang.
that made me chuckle actually, because I would think that everyone would have a connection to this. Everyone that has been 8 once...
It's a trip into a child's mind. Not an ADD child, just a normal one.
It's amazing how Jonze has managed to capture those perfect moments, all in nuances. It does remind me of movies like Lost In Translation that just seem to transmit sensations directly to your brain. Emotions are carried straight from the images.
A snowball fight. Running around in the woods. Cuddling in a "pile". Playing war. And going back to mum...
By extension, it's as much about being a kid than having a kid as well.
It's a movie that has its own mood, swinging from intense joy and jubilation to intense sadness or fear in moments. How play can (and often do) end up in tears.
It's wild, true, poetic, beautiful.
It's also got its own look, completely original and I would think it will stay unique. From a technical point of vue, the Wild Things are quite a marvel to look at. Half costume - half CGI (the faces), however you can't see the seams at all. They're incredibly expressive and as a consequence, they just exist on screen.
They're alive.
Definitely one of the most important movies I've seen this year. As vital for people who might have buried their inner child as those who nurture it, as it just let's it out.
2009 is almost over, still it's not giving up... What a year.
Avatar is the next one up. To finish with a bang.
Friday, December 11, 2009
The Box.
I'm quite a fan of Richard Kelly's.
I mean Donnie Darko could be up in my top 10 favourite movies. And I absolutely love Domino which he wrote, while Tony Scott directed.
Anyway The Box only confirms what a talented artist he is.
Based on a Richard Matheson short story, it sees an ordinary American family, all happy, receive the visit of a strange character, who gives them a box containing a "button unit". If they press the button, they receive $1M, but someone they don't know dies.
On this "what if?" concept, unfolds a complex moral fable.
Firstly, the technical side is flawless. The direction is fluid and elegant. The special effects very well integrated and the reconsitution of the 70s (although I only shortly lived them) seems to have been given so much care that it almost feels like a period movie...
This gives the perfect based for a masterfully told story, reminiscent of a Twilight Zone episode. The tribute is paid as soon as the very first notes of the movie open (the score was handled by Arcade Fire's leading couple).
What starts like a family drama soon show signs of strangeness at every turn and goes into full blown SciFi at some point. However it has the very good taste to finish where it started. Which only makes the conclusion more poignant.
Judos have to be given to the interpretation here, with Cameron Diaz and James Mardsen portraying an awfully likeable leading couple. You're with them every steps of the way.
But the palm has to be given to Frank Langella. His Arlington Steward will certainly stay in a lot of memories as one of the most creepy baddies in a movie. Perfectly mannered, yet utterly creepy and unforgiving.
It's one of those movies that stay with you after the lights have come back, where you try to fit some small details back into place. The call for watching it again.
I was sick with a cold when coming in but even that couldn't prevent me from being stuck into yet another mindfuck from Mr Kelly...
I mean Donnie Darko could be up in my top 10 favourite movies. And I absolutely love Domino which he wrote, while Tony Scott directed.
Anyway The Box only confirms what a talented artist he is.
Based on a Richard Matheson short story, it sees an ordinary American family, all happy, receive the visit of a strange character, who gives them a box containing a "button unit". If they press the button, they receive $1M, but someone they don't know dies.
On this "what if?" concept, unfolds a complex moral fable.
Firstly, the technical side is flawless. The direction is fluid and elegant. The special effects very well integrated and the reconsitution of the 70s (although I only shortly lived them) seems to have been given so much care that it almost feels like a period movie...
This gives the perfect based for a masterfully told story, reminiscent of a Twilight Zone episode. The tribute is paid as soon as the very first notes of the movie open (the score was handled by Arcade Fire's leading couple).
What starts like a family drama soon show signs of strangeness at every turn and goes into full blown SciFi at some point. However it has the very good taste to finish where it started. Which only makes the conclusion more poignant.
Judos have to be given to the interpretation here, with Cameron Diaz and James Mardsen portraying an awfully likeable leading couple. You're with them every steps of the way.
But the palm has to be given to Frank Langella. His Arlington Steward will certainly stay in a lot of memories as one of the most creepy baddies in a movie. Perfectly mannered, yet utterly creepy and unforgiving.
It's one of those movies that stay with you after the lights have come back, where you try to fit some small details back into place. The call for watching it again.
I was sick with a cold when coming in but even that couldn't prevent me from being stuck into yet another mindfuck from Mr Kelly...
Interdire les drapeaux etrangers : l'UMP singe le FN | Rue89
Voyez les vieux cons vociferer...
Interdire les drapeaux etrangers : l'UMP singe le FN | Rue89
Un mariage dans le silence... Faut pas deconner non plus... Surtout si ce qu'ils ont vraiment derriere la tete c'est les mariages "d'etrangers"...
Desolant...
Interdire les drapeaux etrangers : l'UMP singe le FN | Rue89
Un mariage dans le silence... Faut pas deconner non plus... Surtout si ce qu'ils ont vraiment derriere la tete c'est les mariages "d'etrangers"...
Desolant...
Friday, December 04, 2009
Small Worlds.
A flash game, highlighted to me by Kotaku
I find it quite brilliant.
Minimalist would be the key word here. However, the game still manages to pack a story (through exploration, reminiscent of Metroids) and has a quite distinct atmosphere...
It's short, but it still manages to deliver a memorable experience...
Most impressive...
Here it is.
I find it quite brilliant.
Minimalist would be the key word here. However, the game still manages to pack a story (through exploration, reminiscent of Metroids) and has a quite distinct atmosphere...
It's short, but it still manages to deliver a memorable experience...
Most impressive...
Here it is.
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