Cloverfield Online

Ain't it Cool has five minutes of Cloverfield online right now. I started watching it but I'm going to try and be patient for 1.18.08

It's Christmas Time!

My good friend, Mike Timm, made this short a few years ago for christmas. I didn't even realize he had it online until tonight so I figured I'd post it to get everyone in the holiday spirit and see what a brilliantly clever guy Mike Timm is. Enjoy!

There Will Be Blood - Deleted Scene

Gotta love the internet. You can now watch a deleted scene from a movie whch hasn't even been released yet. www.littlebostonnews.com was the first official website for There Will Be Blood, while it was shooting. There now is only a deleted scene up. Check it out.

See Real Ten Eyck: Really See Ten Eyck

See Real Women: Really See Women - Watch more amazing videos here

I met Carla Ten Eyck this summer at my first and sadly to date, only PUG Meeting. We became fast friends, breaking balls, trading movie quotes, pop culture references and the like. She expressed an interest in doing a video about her for her wedding photography business. With my workload at the time, I wouldn't have been able to pull it off. She also had mentioned a project that immediately intrigued me. She had posed the question "How do you feel most beautiful?" to numerous women and then photographed them according to their response. The result is a beautiful book filled with powerful images and wonderful words and stories to accompany them. The idea of "beauty" is interesting to me and I was even more interested in someone as cool, and well, interesting as Carla had vaulted such a cool project. Personally I thought it was a perfect idea to be captured in a documentary style. Also, this was a much more managable project than a video based on her business- one day of shooting and then the editing- so Carla bravely agreed to hire me.

2 months ago I had the pleasure of interviewing, Carla and three of her subjects- Jean, Marsha, and Susannah. Then we attended and shot the official opening of the project at the Hartford Public Library, where her pictures are still hanging and will be until December 15th. I highly recommend getting up there and checking them out.
We had a great time shooting, at least I did, and then we capped the night off with some beers and food and a big group of great people who all turned out to support Carla and her fantastic project. Now Carla is not done yet- she wants to take this idea and project international- photographing women all over the world! If you've met her you have no question in your mind that she will accomplish this and then some! Here's to the person who's smart enough to fund it for her!

I want to thank Jean, Marsha and Susannah for their time and wonderfully candid remarks. You all are very natural and relaxed on camera and made job so much easier.

Big up yourself Bob 2.0! Can't thank Bob enough, once again for his hard work on and off the set, as well as being a good, super supportive friend and fellow collaborator. Bob is a utility guy in every sense of the word. He ran sound, operated second camera on the interviews and shot b-roll with me at the opening and he also does all the graphics and photos. Thanks Bob, I couldn't have done it without you!

I want to thank Carla for her kindness and patience with my busy schedule- allowing me to finish at my own pace and trusting my vision. She was trusting (or psychotic) enough to believe in our work and see what we came up with. Mostly I want to thank her for her beautiful project and I hope it inspires you as much as it inspired me.

There Will Be Bloody Good Music!

Shutter Island

Word is Mark Ruffalo is very, very close to signing on as Dicaprio's co-star in Shutter Island! Good news in my opinion as I'm a big fan of Ruffalo. Eternal Sunshine, You Can Count on Me, Zodiac...the list goes on. So the question is, who is going to lens the film? Scorsese goes back and forth between Michael Ballhaus and Robert Richardson. He used Roger Deakins once, maybe he'll go back. Personally, I'd love it if he grabbed Rodrigo Prieto.

Digg This Shit!

Head on over to digg.com and check out Potty Boy's new video. It's hilarious and you'll get to meet the incomparable Grace! Go now.

No Country for Old Men

I'm a big fan of the Coen Brothers, but I wasn't exactly a huge fan of their last two films. Their latest, is easily one of their best, and that's saying something. No Country for Old Men is told in a very simple, straightforward, and clean way. That's why it's so effective. Also, as the film progresses they make some choices that will surprise you and I found them invigorating. The story is simple; A man, Llewelyn Moss is out hunting and he comes across a bloodbath, a shitload of heroin and 2 million dollars in cash. He takes it. The Coens have made a few movies about people who take something that doesn't belong to them and the consequences they face. Moss faces one of the most memorable screen villians I've ever seen. Played to perfection by Javier Bardem, Anton Chigurh, is a cold, relentless killer sent to track down the money and the man who took it. Their cat and mouse chase is taut and nail biting. The film is quietly simmering. You can smell the violence and danger and you fear for Llewelyn immediately because you know, as well as he does actually, that he is, in a word, fucked. I saw this film a week ago and their are scenes that have not left my brain and lines of dialogue that echo in my head. The work in and on the film is terrific. The Coens adapted the screenplay from a book by the same name from author Cormac McCarthy. Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Kelly MacDonald and Tommy Lee Jones are give excellent performances and as usual, one of my favorite DP's shot the shit out of this film. Roger Deakins work is striking and the visuals are a character of their own in the film.

I truly can't recommend this enough.

Cloverfield

Okay here we go. Small but important tidbit.

The Wonders of the Internet

I'm flattered. And excited. I just found this.

Someone found my short film Edit This and posted it on youtube. I have no idea who this person is but I can only assume that they liked it and that's why they posted it. Made my day.

Thank you cyberdelicamusic!

I said "arigato" to a Korean man.

There is a terrific interview with Paul Thomas Anderson over at cigarettesandredvines.com. They discuss There Will Be Blood (can't fuckin' wait), Robert Altman, shoes, sandwiches and some other cool stuff.

Cloverfield

It appears thats the title. Works for me...not that I have a choice. I like that it isn't a direct (as far as we know) reference to a monster or event, i.e. Godzilla or Independence Day. Better than the title is the new trailer. This trailer shows, however fleeting, much than we've seen yet so if you want to remain completely in the dark about the film don't watch it. Not that it gives much away but some people don't want to know anything. That being said, it's a kick ass trailer.

Of note...look at the page the trailer is on. NYC smoking in the background of a headless Statue of Liberty. Spiderman 3 also had the floor of a building, in NYC, destroyed with people falling out. Why is that okay, but the film United 93 was deemed "too soon?" Just curious...

Sicko

Sicko will fucking piss you off! It will also unsettle, unnerve and upset you more than, quite possibly, any other film you've ever seen. Why? Because it's true. Because it has happened to people like you and me. The movie will also make you laugh because it's made by Michael Moore, who always infuses his films with humor. Thank Christ, because if not they would make audiences monumentally depressed.

I'm a Michael Moore fan. Big time. I've seen all of his movies and every episode of his, sadly, short-lived TV show, The Awful Truth. I realize not everyone feels this way. Moore divides people. He's a "you either love him or hate him" kind of guy. I think people misunderstand him.

The style he uses in his films makes his vision clear. In my mind at least. He's telling you, through his film, when he's making a funny or when he's having fun with the material. Listen to the music he uses, or the images he shows. This is what you do when you make a film, you use image and sound to get your point across, to manipulate the viewer. Manipulate? Sounds bad, right? Well it's true. Have you ever seen Psycho? Chinatown? The Usual Suspects? The Sixth Sense? See what I’m sayin’? The reason I’m explaining this is because Moore gets accused a lot, by Republicans or neo-con big mouth talk shows "hosts," of manipulating things. I've been hassled for liking his films and challenged by people, angry people, about how honest he's being and what his motivations are. I think he's being honest. I realize that he's being completely one-sided in some cases. The same big mouth blowhard fuckhead talk show "hosts" are one-sided. I feel Moore's trying to prove a point. And he does. Quite effectively. Whether you like his approach or him as an on-camera personality, there's one thing you can't deny, he's out there for the better of this country and the people who live in it. He's asking questions that no journalist will ask. He's bringing up hypocrisies in politicians, and policy. People are scared of him and that's why they don't like him. There's a scene in Sicko that proves this. I won't spoil it.

Whether you're liberal, conservative, extremist or somewhere in between, this movie will scare you, move you and even make you laugh. You may laugh because of misplaced anxiety though because what's going on with our Healthcare is downright frightening.

Usually, Moore is front and center in his films, on camera and interacting with his subjects. He lays back a bit in Sicko. Especially at the beginning. He doesn't need to be front and center, the stories do. He slides in at just the right time because I needed a break from the stories. They were that upsetting.

This is the kind of film which should be shown in classrooms across the country. Kids need to see this film and understand we need change. They're going to be the ones to save us, to carry the torch that will hopefully be lit in the very near future, burning for everyone's right to live a healthy life, unburdened by the threat of getting sick and not having a chance to be taken care of because they aren’t “covered.” But I shouldn't just place it on the kids. Everyone should watch this film.

Is Daniel LaRusso the Most Hated Man in the World?

I was 9 years old when The Karate Kid was released in theaters. I loved it. My father took me on opening night and I saw it 2 other times in the theater. I think Elizabeth Shue was my first crush. I remember the crowd cheering when Daniel crane kicked that fucking prick Johnny, snapping his head back, thus winning the championship. The Karate Kid epitomizes "crowd-pleasing." It's a completely memorable movie and much like everyone else my age I can quote the movie up and down.

However after watching it one night my freshman year of college I had a different outlook. I laughed more. A lot more. By the time Daniel flipped out and threw his bike in the dumpster ("I hate this friggin' bike") we were on the floor in hysterics. When Miyagi got drunk, the chopsticks & the fly, anytime Daniel got beat up, the music, "Just like grape" we cracked up...the list goes on and on.

I suppose this happens- we grow out of our adolescent loves and see how much we've grown. Of course one could argue my laughing at a poor kid getting picked on and beaten up shows my immaturity but that's besides the point. And anyone who knows me could tell you that anyway. The point is through the tears (of laughter) I discovered something- Daniel LaRusso may be the most hated man in the world. Yes I said world, but I'll get to that. Maybe hate is a strong word and maybe all of the so called "bad guys" are just misunderstood. Maybe Daniel is just an insufferable little shit who instills a rage in the people he meets whereby they whip his ass. Take Johnny for example. One could argue that Johnny was a bully. But one could also argue he was just sticking up for his girl. Some punk from "The Dirty" (new jersey for you westcoasters- thank you jason) was trying to get my woman, I'd kick some ass too. Especially for Elizabeth Shue. Let me rephrase- I'd try to kick some ass. Accomplishing would be another story.

But that was how it started. Daniel tried to nicely help a girl from being taunted and humiliated by her boyfriend and his got his ASS HANDED TO HIM. Even his new friends ditched him. In fact when he bumped into them next they gave us the title of the movie in dialogue form "hey Karate Kid, got any cool moves?" Then one of Johnny's buddies- a fellow Cobra Kai student- went after Daniel in soccer tryouts. Daniel got a nice punch in but got kicked out of the tryout claiming that the school "sucked" and causing Allie to do her cheerleading routine half-heartedly as she watched him walk away. This fight caused the Cobra kai to try and kill Daniel. In the dark of night, on their motorcycles, versus Daniel's bicycle (see the symbolism here) they ran him off the road, down a steep hill, sending him flipping along until he smashed his head on a rock or something. It was after this that much hilarity ensued when he threw his "friggin" bike out and yelled at his mother about how much the place "sucked" for him (there's that word again). I think Daniel was projecting his anger on his mother, and his poor bike, over his inability to win over the girl and not be able to handle himself against the thuggish Cobra Kai. Maybe he's the problem, not the place. I mean it is California after all.

Miyagi had overheard the fight between Daniel and his mother and we know this because he poked his head out of his apartment after they left and stared contemplatively. I wonder if he thought Daniel was projecting too. Oh well, who knows, on to the next ass-kicking for Daniel.

At this point, one would think Daniel had learned his lesson, but no. He went to the Halloween dance dressed as a shower, thanks to Miyagi, and even got Allie to dance with him in the shower. Keep in mind he had a great, private place to make his move but the sadomasochist in him prevailed. Not only did he soak Johnny with water but he ruined a perfectly good joint that Johnny had been rolling. By the way, if Johnny smoked pot I doubt he'd be picking fights with people, but I digress. So Daniel inevitably gets chased out of the dance, all to an appropriately written pop song called "No Shelter." The Cobra Kai catch his sorry ass and take turns demonstrating their karate skills on Daniel's face and body. Johnny is ready for the kill strike but one of his Cobra Kai-ians stops him. "He's had enough." Johnny disagrees. "The enemy deserves no mercy!" This was the tipping point for me. "The enemy." "No mercy." Johnny really does want to kill him. And he would've if it weren't for a super slow moving old man from Okinawa who saves Daniel's ass. After this we the audience, along with Daniel, are schooled by Mr Miyagi. We learned lots of ways to fix up the house, wax our cars (in the literal sense) and how to get stinking drunk (the funniest part of the movie), but sadly there are no more beatings. Miyagi takes Daniel to the Cobra Kai Dojo to face his attackers. He quickly realizes they are not welcome there and that the Cobra Kai Sensei, now, also hates Daniel. For no other reason than- well I'm not sure. Because he's a wuss maybe? No, because Miyagi beat up his students who were beating up Daniel. So everyone hates everyone. But Miyagi smoothly arranges a "hands off" policy for Daniel while he prepares for the tournament. Which brings me to...? Yup. The tournament.

Everyone remembers the tournament. "Put 'em in a bodybag-yeeeaaahhhhh." It's classic. The best song in the movie- "You're the Best" is set to a montage of Daniel beating opponent after opponent. Then- "Sweep the leg." At this point Johnny is confused and expresses concern. Where the motivation for that comes from I don't know. On his own terms Johnny wanted to fucking kill this kid but once his Sensei tells him to "sweep the leg" he's all concerned about Daniel. Any-who he sweeps the leg, Miyagi performs some magic on Daniel and then he cranes kicks Johnny in the face and wins. It doesn't happen that quickly but it's close. Hurray. Everyone loves Daniel now, I mean it is high school so people are easily swayed. Annnnnnnnd movie over. Everyone loves him- Johnny, the Cobra kai gang, even his old "new" friends- there's even a freeze frame goddamnit! They don't end sad movies about hated characters with freeze frames! So why is Daniel the most hated man in the World not just California? Duh the sequel.

This kid travels across the fucking global to Miyagi's homeland and what does he do there? Hooks up with a girl which pisses another guy off and he and Miyagi are practically chased out of the country. A) How is this different than the first Karate Kid and B) Didn’t this little shit learn his lesson? I suppose it’s slightly different than the first one, I mean they gave Miyagi a love interest. This time though, they literally try to kill Daniel because his last fight is on a little island where only the winner comes off. The crowd even played little hand drums. That is serious shit. My favorite part is when the Father of the bad guy (kid in this case and yeah I forget his name) comes around to be on Daniel’s side. First of, didn’t the Father “raise” him? He probably raised him to be an asshole so who the hell does he think he is turning his back on his shitty son for some little non-lesson-learning puissant from California (formerly New jersey)? As we all know Daniel survives and even has a cute little moment where he honks the bad guys nose instead of killing him. What happened to the bloodlust of the crowd by the way? They were beating drums and everything. No crowd in a Jean Claude Van Damme movie would let that happen! P.S. I love that Daniel’s girlfriend is face face (hahaha) on the ground, cold-cocked and not moving. I don’t maybe it’s me but that added a whole level of humor to the whole thing. P.P.S. Wouldn’t it be great- for movie-going shock value alone- to have Daniel get killed in the end? Imagine the dead silence in the theater is Daniel was beaten to death, the bad guy leaves the island and we FADE TO BLACK. That would be sweet.

I haven’t the second Karate Kid in more years than I can count and really didn’t give a shit when the third one came lout. If I remember correctly the Sensei from the first movie comes back with an angry friend to get Daniel. They really lost steam for that one. They should’ve had Daniel be a drunk who forgot his karate skills and has to have Miyagi’s grandson teach him the way again after Miyagi is killed in a fight at a classic car rally and Daniel wants to avenge his death. But that’s just me.

Ralph Macchio thought better of starring in the 4th Karate Kid, convienently titled The Next Karate Kid, so they hired a Million Dollar Baby before she was a Million Dollar Baby, Ms Hilary Swank, Chad Lowe's ex-wife. I don’t even think I saw this one. What’s the point?

All right so maybe I overshot with most hated in the world, I mean there's plenty of other people to hate but let me ask you this; Have you ever moved somewhere or left the country and had people want to see you DEAD? I hope not. In the end, I suppose the lesson is if some greasy faced, obnoxious little punk from New Jersey one day, be nice to him because chances are some half-in-the-grave, slow moving old man from Okinawa may teach him how to fight and he could humiliate you in front of all your friends. Oh and steal your hot girlfriend.

Please enjoy:

I found this a few months ago and it seems like the perfect time to share it.

This video was directed by none other than William Zabka, aka Johnny Lawrence. Try and spot some of the cameos.

Bodyrock Ya'll

I've been a fan of Moby since the first time I heard his music, but now I love him. Check this shit out! Certainly would be nice if more artists did this. It takes an enormous amount of generosity and trust to lead this charge. Thanks Moby! He's a Connecticut boy to boot!

"Damn it feels good to be a gangsta"

Gangsters are easy to glorify and glamorize. It would also be pretty easy to make a vapid, wanna-be cool gangster film by simply being violent and using badass music. Go peruse the “Action” section at your local Blockbuster and you’ll see dozens of B gangster films all trying to be Goodfellas. Everybody wants to be Goodfellas, but Goodfellas is only Goodfellas because it wasn't trying to be something else. The film tells it’s story, we get to know the chararcters and come to care for them. All the while Scorsese throws his camera flourishes out there and his direction is beautiful, but it never gets in the way of the story. Ridley Scott has done the same with American Gangster.

American Gangster is an extremely involving film about cops, drug dealers and NYC in the 70’s. Clocking in at 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film feels like 5 minutes- there is no fat on it- everything counts. As usual, I’m not going to go to heavy into plot- one day I may and start putting “SPOLIER WARNINGS” on my “reviews” but not now. The film is based on an article titled “The Return of Superfly” which appeared in New York Magazine back in the summer of 2000. The film and article tell the untold story of Frank Lucas, a low-key man in a high profile world…drug dealing. Lucas enters the world of drug dealing through the backdoor and before Harlem knows what hit it, he has taken over. Poised to take down the drug trade is Richie Roberts, a cop so honest he turns in $1 million dollars in unmarked bills he finds in a drug bust. He’s also studying for the bar exam. These are two smart, determined men, working at opposite ends of the spectrum and you know they are going to collide because two people rising that fast are going to meet along the way.

One of the things Scott does so well is production design. Think about Blade Runner and Black Hawk Down. He’s a visionary. Here he recreates the 70’s so well you don’t even think about. The look and feel of this film is soaked in the 70’s. It’s isn’t just the production design though- it isn’t just the clothes, cars, music, and décor. It’s Vietnam, Ali vs Frazier, police corruption, and the casual mention of the French Connection job. It’s also the clothes, cars, music and décor. This film is about a time and a place and you never for one second even question that.

Both Russell Crowe (Rickie Roberts) and Denzel Washington (Frank Lucas) give terrific performances as one would expect. Crowe's character has much more to him than at first glance- he's flawed, like any human being and while he does right morally at work, he may not do so at home. Also, with the headlines Crowe makes in his personal life (i.e. throwing telephones at hotel clerks or biting people’s ears in bar fights) he brings some raw baggage with him. When you see him charging someone, or getting ready to break a door down to go after a suspect you know this guy is going to kick some fucking ass. Denzel gives a great performance as well. I’m never disappointed with him- he’s always good. He’s calculating here. Quiet. Strong. Ferocious, at times. When he lays down the law you best get out the way. Josh Brolin, who also has the lead in No Country for Old Men has nice supporting turn as a greasy, corruptest of the corrupt, NYC cop.

Ridley Scott is an excellent director- Alien, Blade Runner, Black Rain, Thelma & Louise, White Squall (highly underrated) Gladiator, Hannibal, Black hawk Down, Matchstick Men, and now American Gangster. I haven’t seen Kingdom of Heaven, but I’ve heard the directors cut is the version to watch. That was a huge film. Huge in everyway possible- big battles scenes, cast of thousands, sets, production design…While prepping that film, he made Matchstick Men. Yeah, he made that in the middle of producing a fucking epic. Have you seen Matchstick Men? It’s exceptional. He should do films like that more often. The point is, he’s at the top of his game. And American Gangster is the sum proof of that fact.

Of special note, Harris Savides shot this film. He has been doing exceptional work for awhile and the look he creates here earns a special spot at the top of his already illustrious list. Zodiac being another notable achievement,from earlier this year. He’s shot music videos for Madonna, Michael Jackson and such visionary directors as Mark Romanek and Michael Gondry. Slowly but surely he crept into film work starting with Heaven’s Prisoners and then onto The Game with David Fincher. Beautiful work…

Few New Reviews

Even though it's a cool picture, I actually saw the following films from the comfort of my own couch.

I’ve seen a few movies over the last week or so that I figured I’d weigh in on, but not too heavily. The first is Reign Over Me starring Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler. Don Cheadle plays, Alan Johnson, a happily married, successful dentist, who reconnects with his college roommate, Charlie (Sandler) who lost his wife and three daughters on 9/11. The film isn’t about 9/11, it’s about a man who isn’t able to deal, and ultimately function, with the loss of his family. I liked the film overall, it’s a little heavy handed at times and could’ve been better by laying off some of the schmaltz, but Cheadle and Sandler are good and there’s some nice moments so I think the film ultimately succeeds.

Next I saw The Invisible, which was a nice surprise. The film is about a bright kid who’s about to graduate high school and has aspirations of being a writer. One night on his way home from a party, he is attacked, beaten brutally and left for dead. Thing is, he turns up in the morning, walks into to school only to discover no one can hear him or see him- this is were the title comes from- He’s invisible (clever, huh?). He has to convince one of the living, or pray to God, that someone finds his body before he dies. The film goes into a direction I couldn’t have possibly imagined from the previews and I liked that it had more on it’s mind than a revenge thriller or some stupid seen-it-all-before bullshit. I recommend this one too. The film stars Justin Chatwin, who has been in The Chumscrubber and War of the Worlds and seems like a pretty promising young actor. Another find is Margarita Levieva who is very good and also very pretty- I’m sure you’ll see more of her in the future, starting with Noise, a movie starring Tim Robbins, which has an interesting concept- a man living in NYC is overwhelmed by the noise and takes a vigilante approach to solving it. Check out The Invisible.

Have you ever seen Shaun of the Dead? Oh for real? Well go rent it right now because it’s friggin hilarious! And so is the latest from the same filmmakers- Hot Fuzz. Both films star Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and are directed by Edgar Wright. Here’s the drill: Hot Fuzz is about a policeman who gets reassigned to the quiet country because his arrest re cord is too high and he’s making the other cops look bad. He relocates to the quiet country and finds out it’s not so quiet. I watched Hot Fuzz for the second time this past weekend and found myself laughing even harder than I did when I saw it in the theater. Same went for Shaun of the Dead. Both films start out by poking fun at the genre their films take place in but they do it in a very underhanded, unassuming way and before you know it the film turns into just the thing they were initially making fun of. Very, very, very funny…I highly recommend them both.

Finally, I saw Spiderman 3 this weekend. Frankly I’m not sure what to make of it. I loved the first 2 Spiderman films. Solidly acted, and very well directed by Sam Raimi, the excellence of the first 2 made me think the third would be another out of the park home run. Not necessarily so. I didn’t hate the film, but it felt unfocused and certainly bloated. It bit off more than it could chew and then tried to swallow everything quickly. In between were varying degrees of tone which didn’t switch as deftly as they should’ve. Whether they’ve or not is beyond me because I wasn’t sure what Raimi was trying to do. Anyway, the jury is still kind of out for me because of how I felt about the first and how I feel about Raimi as a filmmaker. But at this point the film was a bit of a letdown. The action scenes were incredible as usual but I think the franchise has run it’s course. Of course they are making a fourth one, but without the help of any of the actors or director…so far at least. I have Sicko, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and Ratatouille on the way from Netflix so I’ll drop a note about those when I watch them.

My excitement lays upon more emotion than words can express- my good friend, and incredibly talented DP- Adrian Correia- just landed the head DP (Director of Photography) job for a documentary, which will carry him around the country and air on the WE channel. He was one of two candidates up for the job, the latter of which being a 30 year experienced DP in documentary work, and he fucking won out! The director/producer chose Adrian based on his “work” and “personality.” Clearly this woman is intelligent. Adrian is one of the most genuinely sweetest, kindest, nicest person(s) (did I write that right?) I know and his work is one of a true artist. This is a major break into the broadcast television world and I don’t know of anyone more deserving. Adrian is an artist. Plain and simple. Period- end of fucking story. On top of which, as I stated, he is also a top notch human being. Being on set is very stressful and all one can ask for in a DP and friend, beyond natural talent, which he has in spades, is a calming, ‘I’m-all-for-it’ attitude and he has all that and MORE. His work and attitude are unparalleled. I can’t express my happiness for him in words- as I would want to, but I can offer him all the best wishes I can possibly muster. Say goodbye to the dayjob, Sir, and say hello to everything you deserve- CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!

No Country for Old Men

Not sure if this movie is on anyone's radar yet but it's released next friday and I can't wait. This is the new Coen brothers film, based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy. I've yet to read the novel but the trailer looks great and the early word is very good.

I'm a big fan of the Coen brothers. Raising Arizona is one of all time favorites and I still laugh my ass off when I watch it no matter how many times I've seen it. Miller's Crossing is a truly underrated film and it's hard to fully appreciate until watched it a few times. Blood Simple, Fargo, Barton Fink, O Brother Where Art Thou (just revisited this film on sunday), The Man Who Wasn't There, The Big Lebowski...impressive stuff. Sadly their last 2 films The Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty have disappointed me. No Country looks to be a return to form, of sorts, for the Coens. Although their films are fucking hilarious, their films can also be brutally violent. Watch the trailer and see if you sense the doom for poor Josh Brolin's character.

Another thing I like about them is that they've employed my favorite cinematographer, Roger Deakins, for almost 20 years. Good trivia question...What now famous director was the Cinematographer for the Coen's in the early days. Same said director also shot some pornos on 16mm back in the day. Start googling...

One Flush at a Time

In a you-tubed world we all strive for funny online videos and it's just not always the case. One can only hope for some truly dedicated individual to come along and not only sort out the "crap" for us, but create his/her own entertaining videos for us websurfers to enjoy. Well, look no further. My good friend Michael Berndt has launched a new website for the world to enjoy. www.pottyboy.com is poised to be the ultimate online video vestibule. He and the incomparable Justin Starr are out in the crazy concrete jungle of NYC constantly looking for new material to film. They shoot and edit their own work and are two truly talented guys who settle for nothing less than top of the line content. Potty Boy will be posting at a consistent rate so be sure to keep checking back. Enjoy!

Ladies & gentlemen...Potty Boy Productions

Hey more Lehane & Cloverfield to boot...

The NY Post had some info via Brad Grey yesterday. Brad Grey currently runs Paramount. He's a force in Hollywood. I'm a fan because his taste is right in my wheelhouse (that’s disgusting) and he supports people and projects I want to see get made. Check out his imdb page. You may recognize a few titles, like, um, oh I don't know, The Departed, a little show called The Sopranos and dozens of others...Well he spilled some beans recently. He stated that Leonardo DiCaprio is starring in Shutter Island, a Dennis Lehane novel I've been anxiously awaiting to be brought to the big screen. Guess who's directing? Scorsese. Um, hi, can someone knock me out? I never in a million (years that is) would've guessed he would be behind it. Let's hope it stays that way. Apparently they're set to roll cameras in March. Who'll play opposite Leo is the question? I love Billy Crudup. He rules and he hasn't gotten the recognition he truly deserves. Either way, being that it's Scorsese, I'm sure it won't be tough to get an excellent actor in the role.

Before I move on I need to express my love for Shutter Island. I take the train to work everyday so it affords me the time to read a lot of books, which is nice. It’s practically the only thing I enjoy about the commute. I read Shutter Island on the train. One night as I was coming into my station, I was like 40 pages out from the end. Got off the train, raced home and immediately sat down and started reading. Couldn’t put the fucker down. I dare say it’s my favorite Lehane book. So that’s where my excitement started.

Cloverfield. Grey spilled that it is a "classic monster movie" Either I missed something along the way or he didn't realize there is a big internet movement drumming up buzz about this film by not exactly saying what it's about. I know that it's been hinted at severely by several sources but this is a major player, who would know, saying it is a monster movie. So there's that.

Gone Baby Gone

I'm a big fan of Dennis Lehane. His books are heavy subject matter with lots of moral questions and they don’t offer the easy way out. They also have sharply drawn characters and excellent dialogue (“I hate Coors light, it’s like sex on a boat. It’s fucking to close to water.”) so you get the sense they’d translate well to film right off the bat. I read Mystic River before the movie came out and I thought it was an amazing adaptation of a fantastic book. Gone Baby Gone is another amazing adaptation of a fantastic book and I think it’s a better film- no small feat.

Gone Baby Gone is my favorite book in a series of five novels centered around private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro so I went in with a certain anticipation as well as loaded gun ready to fire in the direction of any discrepancy I had with the movie in regards to it’s treatment and faithfulness to the book. By the time the introduction to the story had started - about 3 minutes into the film - I had a sense I was in for something special. Ten minutes later I was enthralled. Enthralled is one of those words that gets tossed around recklessly when describing movies- I’m sure I’ve done it myself – but this film is truly deserving of the word. My fiancé turned to me about 30 minutes and said, “It’s so good.” So true. She loved the books too so we were both super amped.

The film is about a little girl, Amanda McCready, who is kidnapped right out of her mother’s apartment. Her mother may or may not have been drinking and doing coke in a bar. She doesn’t seem to be too concerned that her daughter is gone. Baby. (sorry I had to do it.) The girl's Aunt & Uncle do care and they hire Kenzie and Gennaro to supplement the investigation because they will get info on the street and through the neighborhood unlike the cops. The film wastes little time getting into the meat of the story and letting us soak in the locals and locales. The film was shot in and around Boston, mainly in Dorchester where the film took place and you get an immediate sense of time and place thanks to the use of real locations and actual people from the neighborhood. I don’t want to get into the plot anymore as it’s better to discover it as you watch the film.

The acting is terrific across the board. Casey Affleck is perfect in the role of Kenzie and so is Michelle Monaghan as Gennaro. Again, they are sharply drawn in the book so I had a clear idea in my head of all the characters. Both Affleck and Monaghan are exactly what I pictured and they nail the roles. Casey Affleck is having a helluva year. I’ve heard his performance in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is incredible. And his work here is nothing less than exceptional. Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman are great as usual but some of best performances come from Amy Ryan, as the girl’s mother and Titus Welliver, as the girl’s uncle. Their characters are complex and three dimensional and you never doubt them for a moment. Welliver has a pivotal scene that I won’t soon forget. Of special note, John Ashton is in the film. Anyone who is a fan of Beverly Hills Cop or Midnight Run knows who I’m talking about. He’s a gem and he’s great in the movie. Why he doesn’t get more work is beyond me. The film is beautifully shot by John Toll and perfectly cut by William Goldenberg. This is the type of film that needs to be spot on editing-wise because if there’s any lag or confusion you’re done for. The pacing in this film is not your normal type where there’s a constant build to the ending. It makes you work and think. Which leads me to my next point.

For those of you that didn't already know this, Ben Affleck directed the film. Yes the same Ben Affleck who starred in Armageddon, Gigli, Surviving Christmas, Jersey Girl and Daredevil. He’s also the same Ben Affleck who wrote and acted in Good Will Hunting. He’s smart guy. I’ve never had a beer with him but I’ve seen him on Bill Maher a few times and he’s clearly very intelligent. But I also think he gets a bad rap for his acting. He hasn’t made some of the best choices but he also has done some very good work. Have you ever seen Changing Lanes? How about Dogma, Chasing Amy, Boiler Room, Going All the Way or Smokin’ Aces? I liked him better than Matt Damon and Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting. His speech about “You’re sitting on a winning lottery ticket” is great and it’s what gets us to the end of that film, another scene he nails. He gave the best performance EVER as the typical “dick” in high school in Dazed & Confused. Given the right role, the boy can act. Gone Baby Gone proves he can direct. Really, really, really well. He co-wrote the screenplay and the choices he makes there are perfect but to translate it to the screen is a whole different ballgame. He pulls it off but at the same time he never takes the easy way out. The film is a huge moral question and it doesn’t let you off the hook. There are no simple solutions in life and this film understands that and doesn’t feel the need to interject a neatly wrapped up little package of them. Again, it makes you work and think. Where do you stand?

As I mentioned earlier, the pacing is way off from you’re normal thriller, but it works. Really fucking well. There is a documentary feel to a lot of the street scenes- it feels authentic yet self-contained- it doesn’t take you out of the film. Tone and pacing are paramount to making a good film. If you don’t have it you might as well pack up and go the fuck home. Gone Baby Gone has it in spades but the tone and pacing they created must’ve been a challenge. I can’t wait to see what Affleck directs next. I hope he does something soon.

I need to see the film again, but there may not be anything wrong with it. That’s pretty back-slappingly impressive.

All right then

I wanted to check in, it's been quite awhile, with all 4 of my readers...Things have been busy and it's been hard to find time to post stuff but I have some good things coming in the next few weeks. Aside from work-work, I've been working on a mini-doc for my friend Carla Ten Eyck. For the past 2 1/2 years Carla has been working on an amazing project titled See Real Women: Really See Women and a few weeks ago we conducted some interviews and shot broll at the show opening. We had a blast and I'm in the middle of putting the piece together. Keep your eyes peeled.

I'm still editing Okay Great and I'm getting ready to cut a trailer for my friend Mike Timm's new webisode show. This past weekend I saw Gone Baby Gone and all I can say is it's incredible and I'm going to post a full review, plus thoughts on it and Ben Affleck's directing career in the next few days. More to come...

Okay Great we're done shooting. Now it's time to edit.

It was a long weekend. Really long. 44 hours in 3 days. That doesn't include travel time and everyone was coming from at least an hour away. I can't thank my cast and crew enough. A majority of them gave up their entire weekend, as volunteers for this film and I'm forever indebted to them. The rest gave up huge chunks of their friday, saturday or sunday to act in the film. I'm indebted to them as well. On top of all that the enthusiasm and energy was palable on set. Every person broke their ass to make this project work. It's very humbling to have so many people be there for you. That was my favorite part of the shoot- the comraderie. Hopefully one day I will get a budget for one of movies and be able to pay all these people. Pay them and pay them back.

I love shooting. It's stressful and exhausting to say the least but I love it. You watch the scenes you wrote come alive and you watch the actors performing them take the scenes to new heights- far beyond your imagination. It's exhilarating. Now it's time for me to start editing. I need to make this movie memorable, not just for movie-making sake, but more importantly for all the people who contributed their time, effort, energy, and creativity to make it possible.

Cast & Crew:
Michael Berndt
Jamin Bricker
Adrian Correia
Joe Chasse
Nick Genchi
Tim Hotchner
Lynn Mancinelli
Ashley Pagano
Jon Pascale
Dan Ramirez
Joe Reilly
Pete Reilly
Erin Rosa
Bob Sylvia
Carla Ten Eyck - who also put up an awesome slideshow from the final day of shooting. Check it out on her blog.

Here are some stills from the movie & shooting.

3:10 to Yu-must Go See This Movie

Just got back and Wow. I'm knocked out by it. The directing, cinematography, writing and especially the acting were outstanding. Well done, and well worth the wait. Can't wait to see it again.

On a side note, I get infuriated with people who talk loudly during a movie. It's a movie. Listen and watch and shut your fucking mouth. If you want to talk, go to a restuarant, or stay home. I find theres usually at least one per movie. Today took the cake. A man (I use that term loosely) took his 3 children to the movie. Well, sorry, one of the kids looked to be 14 or so, then a 4 year old and the other child was a baby. Even if I hadn't seen this asshole and his kids after the movie I would've know it was a baby because it cried and ga-ga-ed it's way through the movie. The man left with the child for about 10 minutes and then came back. Aside from disrupting the entire audience through about 85 percent of the movie, what on earth would make someone think it was a good idea to bring 2 young children to a violent R rated movie with lots of loud gunfights and action scenes? I wanted to drown the guy in my 57 gallon soda but instead I'll congratulate him. I'd say he's due for Father of the Year.

Shooting - Okay Great

2 weeks from today I will be on my 3rd and final shoot day for my short film "Okay Great." Last October I started writing a few scenes that I had in my head. I wanted to do something different, something weird and kind of out there. I wrote about 17 pages but I had no ending, I had 2 ideas both of which I hated. I gave it to my friend Dan Ramirez, who is playing the lead and he liked the script but didn't really know how to end it either. Then another friend suggested the same ending I originally had in mind. I still didn't like it. Then about a month or 2 later I got one. It's been twisted and rearranged and changed a few times and after constantly revising the script here we are finally ready to shoot. I can't wait. It's by far the most ambitious thing I've ever attempted. We have 12 pages to shoot on saturday and if you've ever made a movie you probably just fell off your chair laughing at me. It's going to be stressful, but again, I can't wait.

It's fun to watch a movie progress. Writing is one thing. You can envision everything perfectly and it all sounds right on. Then you get on set and start shooting and the movie starts to take on a life of it's own. Things start to happen. Actors bring things to the performance you could've never imagined and it elevates the part and the work. You have to scrap shots and that you really wanted and are secretly praying that the film will work anyway. You can't get the angle you want and you have to try something else on the fly. It's invigorating. It's also nerve-racking. Then when you come into the edit room, the film takes on another life. Scenes play out funnier than you thought they would or more intense. They start working. Things are falling into place. You put music in, the scene becomes so much more than you thought it could be. On the downside you could get into the edit room and nothing is working and you have to revise the whole plan. To me thats what's exciting about making movies, things can change at anytime and there are hundreds of variables that can kickstart those changes. Happy accidents arise. Hollywood has called it movie magic. Whatever it is, it's fun to watch unfold, especially when you're right in the middle of it.

If you're interested, the still I posted below was taken when we were looking at locations. The scene in the movie that takes place in this bathroom was the first one I wrote.

Trailer - There Will Be Blood

Sweet Jesus! I don't know if I can wait another 4 months.

The Wolfman

Benicio de Toro, one of my favorite actors, is set to play The Wolfman. The film will be directed by Mark Romanek from a script by Andrew Kevin Walker. Romanek recently sent Aint it Cool News this photo below. Of note...Benicio has no makeup or anything it is purely his expression. This movie seems destined for scary greatness.

There Will Be Blood (and there better be)

My friend Adrian just emailed this poster to me. My anticipation and excitement for this film cannot be measured in words. I also read that the trailer will most likely be attached to 3:10 to Yuma (even more of a reason to see this film this weekend) and/or The Brave One.

"What did that guy say when I said, 'What did that guy say?"

I finally saw "The Simpsons." I've been a diehard fan of "The Simpsons" since they aired on "The Tracey Ullman Show." The last 5 plus seasons I've become kind of disenchanted with the series. In general a lot of repeat jokes and gags, along with seemingly uninspired plotlines. In its prime there wasn't better television and few will replicate their genuis. That being said, I had not the highest of expectations and I was pleasantly surprised. The genuis was back and it had a nice, thrice-episodic feel to it, even alluding to the story thread with a joke in the middle (I won't give it away). I laughed alot and thoroughly ejoyed it. The movie's days are numbered in the theater, but if you're a fan who became unenthusiastic about the show in the last few years or even if you didn't, go see it.

Tagged

Senor Steve Depino tagged me. Informally, so did Carla "ten what I like about you." Here goes.

THE RULES:
1. Post these rules before you give the facts.
2. List eight (8) random facts about yourself.
3. At the end of your post, choose (tag) someone and list their name (linking to their page.)
4. Leave them a comment on their blog letting them know they've been tagged!

1. The name Face First Films comes from a long history of passing out. And I don’t mean from being knee deep in alcohol, I mean fainting. The first time I can remember passing out I was in 4th grade. I had poison ivy so badly my face was totally swollen- my eyes dwollen shut, and went down as a result. The next year I was at summer camp and passed out in an extremely hot room. Through my athletic years I had problems passing out usually with high physical exertion and heat. Since I became more lazy I haven’t had as many problems but last December I got up in the middle of the night to go pee and passed out knocking out the bottom half of a front tooth. Being that the toilet is between a vanity and bathtub I’m lucky I didn’t smash my face in much like a friend of a friend did. About a month later "face first films" popped into my head.

2. Believe it or not I was a quarterback in high school. I also played baseball, ran track and wrestled. I was also an avid baseball and football watcher. I hardly ever watch sports anymore and if I do I’m not the one who puts them on. Aside from going to the gym the only exercise I get is running to Wendy’s to get the Baconinator Value Meal.

3. I had to be vacuumed from my poor mother’s womb, a practice which has long since been abandoned due to the fact that it can cause brain damage. Pretty much explains everything about me.

4. I’m a packrat. I keep far more shit than I need or will ever use. Every few years I throw a bunch of it out but continue to accumulate other stuff.

5. I was so obsessed with movies as a young lad that when I got into trouble, if at all possible, my punishment would be a ban on which ever movie we were going to see that day or my dad was bringing home that night. Summer School and Watership Down standout. Ended up seeing Summer School, but still haven’t seen Watership Down.

6. Depino mentioned that Robert Norman was an over user of paper towels. Me too Robert. The amount I unspool to dry my hands could clog a sprung leak in the Hoover Dam.

7. I hate roasted red peppers. I mean I hate them. I can’t even remove them from a meal and enjoy it. I’d rather eat a live animal.

8. I used to be a long hair

and now I have none.

I don’t know who to tag since I don’t really know anyone else, so I’m going to tag a friend and fellow filmmaker whom I’ve tried to convince to blog. Maybe this will get him going. I tag Adrian Correia.

Depinot Grigio

Steve Depino tagged me last week and I haven't had a chance to respond yet, but I promise I will. Check back.

Superbadass

I posted about Superbad a few months ago which much anticipation. Well I saw it last weekend and it's easily one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. No kidding. Just go see it. Now. Go.

"May the good Lord-

-Shine A Light on you"

UPDATE: Looky what dropped on youtube a few days ago.



Being a HUGE fan of Martin Scorsese and The Rolling Stones it's an understatement to say I'm over the muthafuckin moon about their new documentary, Shine A Light. The film will document a concert the Stones put on at the Beacon last year. Scorsese assembled some of the best DP's working in the movie business today to shoot it. Looky here. He also documented the lead up to the concert including preparations. Scorsese has already made the single greatest concert film ever - The Last Waltz, and the Stones are the greatest rock 'n roll band ever so this destined to be nothing less than beautiful and brilliant. Yes I love The Beatles too, but the Stones exemplify everything good, great, wonderful, decadent and perfectly imperfect about rock 'n roll. They've also been around longer and their longevity means a lot to me in terms of their status of greatest rock 'n roll band ever.
Had John Lennon not been killed it might be a different story but this argument is for another post. A brief but somewhat insightful article was recently done with Scorsese about the film. He's a longtime, die hard fan of the Stones and his use of their music in his films are nothing if not inspiring and ingenious. He was also one of the early adopters of using current pop/rock music in films. See Mean Streets.(and if you do take notice of Robert De Niro's attire in the film. Sylvester Stallone clearly ripped it off for Rocky 2 years later. But I digress, as usual)

Of note, The Last Waltz is a great film documenting The Band's last performance. Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, a very young Neil Young and many more grace the stage. The way he shot this film set the stage for the way every concert was shot since. Although I doubt anyone has ever approached it the way Scorsese did. He contacted each band, found out which songs they were going to perform and then he made a shot list on a music sheet- each lighting and camera angle motivated by the lyrics and music within the song. Yes he did. There's evidence too. Pick up the DVD. You'll be dancing in your living room.

Shine A Light was supposed to come out this fall, but recently it was pushed to the fall as Scorsese is still editing and mixing. I'm disappointed only because I'm anxious and you should be too!

Zodiac

With much anticipation, I watched Zodiac over the weekend and it was worth the wait. I'm a big fan of All the Presidents Men and also, The Insider, as I've mentioned. They are both thrillers, but not really in the conventional sense. They are thrillers with drama cranked up a few notches. Zodiac is very much the same type of movie. All three involve men who are obsessed. Obsessed to the point where it consumes their lives. In the case of Zodiac, it is the infamous Zodiac killer who murdered 5 people, frightened countless others, and in the end, was never captured that obsessed such men. The first third of the film has some intense and hair-raising scenes involving some of the murders. It then settles into a film about process and obsession as different investigators and newsmen try to solve the crimes and it is engrossing.

The performances are excellent across the board. Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gylenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, Anthony Edwards, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, Dermut Mulroney, Chloe Sevigny and Brian Cox are all wonderful. Ruffalo particularly impressed me. So did Chloe Sevigny, but I'm a fan of them anyway.

David Fincher, the director, delivers one of his best films date (Fight Club is still number one in my book.) His attention to detail is impressive in all of his films but here it really shines in a period that has always appelaed to me. It looks like it was shot in the late 60's/70's. They even used the old paramont logo. Fincher is very restrained here. He has a few camera tricks up his sleeve and some very complex moves, as usual, but nothing overly flashy. As he said, "Two guys walk into a room, sit down over a cup of coffee and then proceed to rip through six pages of dialogue."

The film was shot in HD (High Definition) all recorded directly to a hard drive. The video I just shot for Steve Depino was recorded in a similiar manner (see a post below). We didn't record to hard drives, we recorded to what is called a P2 card. Either way, it's interesting to me because this is the new trend and I'm excited. Michael Mann shot 85% of Collateral in High Def and recorded directly to a hard drive. Fincher is doing his next film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the same way. As an editor, I can tell you firsthand that digitizing (loaded the footage off tape and into your computer) sucks. It's boring and frustrating for someone like me because once I start seeing footage I start getting ideas for cutting and get even more impatient. Now you can import or copy/paste the files and find something else productive to do rather than babysit the ingest of footage. Granted, I'm sure problems can arise this way, but so far so good for me and hopefully the more the workflow is ironed out, the less the problems will be. That being said, Zodiac is a very good film and well worth checking out.

The Truthiness of SteveDepino.com

Steve Depino is a truly gifted photographer. One of the things that impresses me most about him is that he is constantly pushing himself and his style. You look at his work over the last few years and you see growth. Impressive and amazing growth. Growth that didn't need to occur because his work was so strong to start with. You see the growth of someone who is driven to change, adapt and break new ground, whether they need to or not. His photos consistently blow me away and the fact that he has the balls to always be pushing himself and not be content- to always be restless- is very admirable and most of all, inspiring. Very few artists, in any field, push themselves when they are already working at the top of their game, but Steve does. It's not just something to be commended, but to be emulated. Go to his site and check his work out. You'll see. Check out his blog too, he posts more than the Drudge Report, but he's struggling for readers, unlike this robust site, so help the brother out. Any-who, I decided to hitch my horse to his wagon, literally, not figuratively, and make a mini-documentary about him. We shot for 2 days. One day was interviews and the other was shooting Steve shooting a wedding. Then I tucked away into the edit room to try to piece together the puzzle that is the Steve Depino Photography experience. The result is below. Feel free to make any comments - good or bad - I welcome all.

I want to thank a few people who helped me immensely with this piece. I want to thank Adrian Correia, who is a superbly talented Director of Photography, for his time and beautiful lighting. Also, Mary, Brian, Jeff & Dawn, who all gave up a saturday in april to sit down with us and put up with my questions, requests and admittedly diva-like behavior. I want to thank Kelli & Petter who were kind enough to let me follow Steve around at their wedding. Thankfully, they have accepted my apology for knocking over their wedding cake. It was an accident, no matter what any of their guests say. Carla ten eyck, another amazingly talented photographer and super cool person, lent me some incredible photos of Steve rolling around in the grass taking pictures, all from her own collection of work. This was not something she had to do- she just did it out of the goodness of her heart and the segment wouldn't have been the same without them. She also took the photo of Steve featured at the top of this post. Sonia Baghdady was generous enough to also give up her saturday to do makeup for our interviewees as well as Steve. I think she'll agree with me when I say that Steve got a little carried away with the makeup. Some touching up is fine, Steve, but purple lipstick and neon yellow eyeliner is just way over the top, and frankly not very becoming on you. Speaking of Steve, I want to thank him for his patience with my busy schedule this summer and understanding that filmmakers need time to procrastinate and self-doubt. Actually, I think he was patient, I mean he swore up and down it wasn't him who slashed my tires, sugared my gas tank and spray painted "dick" on the side of my house, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Last but certainly not least I want to thank Bob Sylvia. His help was invaluable. He gave up 2 of his saturdays to help me on this project as well as many hours on graphics. He also listened to my bullshit on the train in the morning. "The stupid HDV footage is breaking my balls" "I need to find more music" "The room I edit in at home has no AC and it's hot as hell" and so on. Bob is also responsible for the presentation of Steve's photos in the video and he had the great idea of scanning Steve's business card to capture his signature graphicly so we could use it in the video. He was also responsible for animating that signature. He shot second camera, ran sound and transferred all the files on set. To say he's an exceptional utility man is a massive understatement.

Thank you again to everyone.

Am I hallucinating?

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the director of Daddy Day Camp. Shocked? Yeah me too. I'm always fascinated to see who directs these kinds of movies and why. And by "these" I mean movies you would typically expect to go straight to video or simply be amazed they were able to secure a budget, cast and crew. So everytime I see a movie like Daddy Day Camp or Who's Your Caddy come out I always check to see who the director is. Ironically my fiancee asked me the other day if I had a chance to direct Who's Your Caddy (or something like it) would I? I think I would. If for nothing else I would do it for the experience. Even the best directors have made shit films. Who cares if you have some crap movie you're not proud of. Maybe you would be proud of it- who knows? At least you could say you directed a feature, and hopefully from there you'd get better work. Seeing Fred Savage's name as the director shocked me though for a few reasons. One, I had no idea he was directing. Two, it was the last name I expected to see. Looking at his imdb page, he's been directing ALOT. So if you've been wondering whatever happened to Kevin Arnold, he's directing Daddy Day Camp, among other things.

ps Cuba Gooding Jr. needs to have a serious discussion with his manager and agent.

New Cloverfield Poster

The film is still shooting in NYC so they're going to have a short time in the edit room. Actually they're probably editing as they shoot, but for a film with appears to have a lot of cgi they're going to be busy. On the poster, notice the wake left behind by whatever storm in the city destroying everything.

The Dark Knight

I learned my first lesson about over-hype when the first Batman came out. My friend Jon and I were beyond pumped to see it. We went the first weekend to a sold out theater. Too excited for words. When the movie over people STOOD UP and appaluded like crazy. Jon and I looked at each other and said "let's get the fuck out of here." Didn't really get into any of the other sequels that followe either. Joel Schumahcer's 2 versions were a fucking embarrassment.

Any-who, when I heard Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale were making Batman Begins I was intrigued. I'm a huge fan of Nolan's work. Memento. Nuff said. And I loved Batman Begins. Rooting the story in reality was the smartest thing they could do. Giving the movie an overall toughness and making Batman a bad motherfucker and a mean go-getter was an even smarter thing to do. Watching him train and learn to fight you knew right away that this guy was going to dismantle people quick. Two times. You believed it. Now compare that to Chris O'Donnell as Robin.

Please... That guy would get a black eye just watching a fight. In any case, there is a teaser up for The Dark Knight and it is just that- a teaser, but it's got me pysched. Listen for Heath Ledger as The Joker. Inspired casting if you ask me.

Here it is. It takes awhile to load so grab and beer while you wait. You deserve it.

Cloverfield aka 1-18-08 aka Monstrous?

Dig this.

3:10 to Yuma

This film is coming out in September. Originally it was supposed to come out in October, but it was just pushed to the beginning of September. Whether it was general buzz around the film, the studios belief in it or an unrelated decision, I don't know. I do know that I can't wait.

The director: James Mangold. His writing compliments his direction so well and in such a subtle way. He's responsible for Heavy, Copland, Identity and Walk the Line. Also, Kate & Leopold, which I've never seen. But the man's got talent. I hold Copland in the highest regard, but that's for another day.

3:10 to Yuma stars Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. Ummmm- I'm in. Christina Bale is easily one of the most talented guys working. So is Russell Crowe. I've written about The Insider and his performance is a big part of what's so great about that movie. Bale never ceases to amaze me and he put every other Batman performance to shame. Take a look at The Machinist, American Pyscho and The Prestige. If you haven't seen Batman Begins, you should.

Here's the trailer for 3:10 to Yuma.