Archive for December, 2005

Happy birthday, Voldemort

Published by Administrator December 31st, 2005 in Digital Technology and News bits. 2 Comments

Ralph Fiennes as VoldemortYep, it’s the Dark Lord’s birthday today. He’s been a jolly good fellow for 79 years (wow!).

He was born in a lonely orphanage in London on December 31, 1926.

Next year, there will be a Harry Potter anniversary and all are invited to the party granted they dress as death-eaters.

Speaking of the devil, Ralph Fiennes does a pretty good impression as Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Ralph Fiennes tries a Voldemort costumeI recognized him solely because of his voice though as there aren’t any visual clues.

The mask, the make-up and the robe will pretty much destroy all hope for the legions of English Patient fans.

I do like the mask and the robe though. I wish they include it in the official Harry Potter merchandise. I would wear it day and night (if I were 25 years younger that is).

My review of Revolver

Published by Administrator December 30th, 2005 in Film School and News bits. 5 Comments

Guy Ritchie's Revolver ft. Jason StathamIt seems that my review of Revolver, Guy Ritchie’s latest movie, is causing a stir.

Most critics seem to agree that Revolver is not on par with Ritchie’s previous crime flicks: Lock, stock… and Snatch. Yet, there’s a handful of fanatic Ritchie’s fans that troll forums and sites defending the movie.

Now, I’m not Ebert but I am entitled to my opinion anyway. My opinion is that there’s no Revolver explanation because there’s no Revolver mystery and (as some fans would claim). The con of all cons is the movie itself although I doubt Guy Ritchie intended it.

Remake of “The Producers”

Published by Administrator December 29th, 2005 in News bits and Storytelling. 0 Comments

The Producers RemakeEveryone who knows me from school knows that I worshipped Mel Brooks.

Ever since I saw his History of the World, part I, I was entralled by his sense of humor. I spent YEARS (no exaggeration here) looking for History of the Worlds, parts II and III. I know it sounds stupid but hope is a tough thing to kill.

Moving on - The Producers. Does it need a remake? The 1968 version still seems good enough to me. I have yet to see the new version but the reviews seem like a mix bag. Ebert who loves the original has give the new version 3 stars so maybe I’ll see it.

Once done, I’ll probably need to see my 1968 version DVD again so it could be a good thing. The question of poor remakes of good originals remains though. I could understand Peter Jackson’s pitch in King Kong’s case - the 1933’s claymation was outdated by any standard and the 1976 version had a man in a monkey suit play Kong. The characters in The Producers though didn’t need any CGI improvements… unless there’s a hysteria plugin for Maya.

Note: I hope no one is considering remaking This is Spinal Tap - this will kill me!

Review: King Kong

Published by Administrator December 28th, 2005 in Film School and Movie Reviews. 5 Comments

Production diary for King KongI finally got to see Peter Jackson’s King Kong. I’ve been reading his production diary and I also saw the trailer but nothing can prepare me for “the eight wonder of the world.”

Although the new King Kong is identical in size to the original (20 feet = 6-7 meters), it’s still a lot larger than life. As such it calls for a director that’s larger than life. Although Peter Jackson lost some 80 pounds during the production and post-production of King Kong, he remains a larger than life director.

King KongRe-making King Kong has been Jackson’s childhood dream. As far as Chinese proverbs go, making your dream come true is a misfortune on a gigantic scale. Fortunately, the Chinese are not always right. Although King Kong is probably not on par with the LotR trilogy, it’s still an excellent movie. It takes the best from King Kong’s 1933 and 1976 versions and adds a ton of special effects.

Most of you are familiar with the story - the one that beauty killed the Beast. The scenes between Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and King Kong definitely stand out. Jackson has poured enormous resources into making King Kong look alive … more so than any of the previous versions. Compared to Kong, some of the other actors seem a bit lacking.

The filmmaker, Carl Denham (Jack Black), hires a ship to Skull Island. He manages to get his stars - Ann Darrow and Bruce Baxter (Kyle Chandler) on board. His screenwriter Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) joins them too although he gets to share his quarters with the exotic animals that the captain (Thomas Kretschmann) transports to the new world.

When they finally reach Skull Island and we get to meet King Kong, it’s been a record 70 minutes of setting up characters. King Kong’s first act could have been a feature-long piece by itself, if it had any kind of development. Unfortunately, it stays at the introduction level.

Speaking of unnecessary sequences, there were three other sequences that I had problems with - the Brontosaurus chase, the T-rex fight, and the insect fight. All of you 3D fans will probably kill me now as these are ALL the CGI sequences in the movie. You forgot one thing - Kong was superb and he’s 3D but totally believable. As are some of the “scapes” - I loved them.

King KongBack to the 3 sequences though (SPOILERS). The brontosaurus chase was totally wrong - there’s no redeming factor here. Suspense of disbelief or not, you cannot have a party of 10 run under the Brontosauruses’ bellies and not get stomped.

The insect sequence had the same credibility issue although only for a moment - when Jamie Bell saved Jack from the insects by shooting at him with a Tommy gun. Compared to the previous two, the T-rex fight had the right balance of CGI vs. credibility. The only wince that I had was when they were all falling down and got stuck in some vines.

All things considered, King Kong is a movie extravaganza and I don’t see a lot of people who would be disappointed leaving the theater. It’s a must see on the big screen. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of action fans go for the King Kong DVD (extended edition) to see more of the CGI stuff. Not me though. I’ll be waiting for a shorter version.

Info: King Kong
United States/New Zealand, 2005
Running Length: 3:07
Cast: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Andy Serkis, Jamie Bell
Director: Peter Jackson
Producer: Jan Blenkin, Carolynne Cunningham, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh
Screenplay: Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson
Cinematography: Andrew Lesnie
Music: James Newton Howard

Review: Garden State

Published by Administrator December 27th, 2005 in Book/DVD Reviews, Film School and Movie Reviews. 5 Comments

I hate to repeat what other critics have already said so that’s why I quote. Here’s what James Berardinelli said in his review:

Garden State is one of those movies that fails to stay with the viewer for an extended period of time. It’s a forgettable film featuring a throw-away story with unmemorable characters and unremarkable performances. That’s not to say it’s bad, because that would be an unfair description. But it’s hard to figure out why this movie caused such a stir at Sundance.

The story is about a guy who went to LA to become a big movie star but ended up waiting tables (at a Vietnamese place). His mother dies so he needs to go back home to the “garden state”. There’s no specific feel for where this garden state is although one would assume it’s New Jersey.

Garden StateMy interpretation of the “garden state” title however is not linked to a place. Maybe I got it wrong but I think it’s related to Largeman’s (Zack Bach) emotional numbness. In other words, garden state = vegetative state.

When Largeman comes back he meets a ton of people who haven’t seen him for 9 years. Some of his school mates have struck it rich, others dig graves for a living. It would’ve been surreal if it was more visual or symbolic. The movie stays close to the ground though.

Largeman goes to see a doctor (he stopped taking his medication) and meets Sam (Natalie Portman). There are some moments between them but the affair lacks passion. To compensate for it, there’s a ton of COMpassion - the cliche that two misfits equal a tight fit.

The ending has a twist but it’s somewhat abrupt and lacks credibility. Then again, the whole movie is disjoined and doesn’t have a smooth flow. Maybe it’s the editor, maybe it’s the story itself.

In many ways, this movie reminds of The Graduate where Dustin Hoffman plays a similarly “numb” young man. The ending is similar as well in terms its “openness”. There’s no similarities in the middle though. There are no good laughs and certainly no Mrs. Robinson.

I rented Garden State because of its success at Sundance. Previous favorites like El Mariachi, Run Lola Run, or American Movie made me believe that Sundance can’t go wrong. They can and they did.

Info: Garden State
USA, 2004
Running Length: 1:49
Cast: Zach Braff , Ian Holm, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard
Director: Zach Braff
Producer: Pamela Abdy, Gary Gilbert
Screenplay: Zach Braff
Cinematography: Lawrence Sher
Music: Chad Fisher

Panasonic HVX200 - footage at 60 FPS

Published by Administrator December 25th, 2005 in Digital Technology, HD Cameras and Video Production. 2 Comments

The DVXuser site has been a source for all things HVX200. Jarred Land has posted some more HVX footage, this time he shot cheerleaders (wow!) at 60 FPS.

Panasonic HVX200 (Front): offers variable framerates at 720pRemember that HVX200 specs stated that the camera will support a variety of frame rates at 720p: 12, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 30, 32, 36, 48, and 60 FPS.

The main advantage of shooting at speeds above 30 FPS is that when you play the video at 30 FPS (or 24 for that matter), it will have a slow motion effect similar to what you have when you shoot film at higher speeds.

Without further ado, here’s the forum link to the footage. All in all, I think Panasonic has done an incredible job with the HVX200. I would love to see them follow up with a bit higher-end model that offers what Canon XL H1 does, i.e. interchangeable lenses.

My review of Half Light

Published by Administrator December 24th, 2005 in News bits. 0 Comments

I was going through my web logs and I see a lot of people coming from the official Half Light site. Going to the homepage, I saw they’ve linked my review of Half Light.

Half Light ft. Demi MooreThe surprising bit was my review was described as positive… talking about wishful thinking.

It’s not that I didn’t like the movie, it was OK. I did mention however how much I hate dead kids that re-appear. They should’ve mentioned that!

Anyway, kudos for the link :)

Casting virtual actors

Published by Administrator December 23rd, 2005 in Digital Technology, Software and Storytelling. 5 Comments

Virtual EveA new breed of actors has emerged with Gollum, King Kong, and all the guys from Final Fantasy. That new breed is usually born and bred in Sillicon Graphic servers and released to the unsuspecting public. This pretty much means real actors are still a lot cheaper but of course, a lot less perfect.

If you do have the money, you could do some shopping for virtual actors using Exotique: the leading book title devoted to showcasing the finest character creations from digital artists worldwide. Here’s what you’ll find inside:

Exotique:EXOTIQUE presents 228 examples of exceptional character artwork by 113 artists from 37 countries presented over 192 pages of the highest quality production. In addition to exhilarating character artwork, EXOTIQUE features the profiles of eight prominent character artists working within the digital arts community.

All “actors” are fully developed 3D model so at least in theory you could get them into the action relatively quickly. I bet most of the artists utilized the latest iMac G5 / PowerMac G5.

Apple PowerMac Quad

Published by Administrator December 22nd, 2005 in Digital Technology, Software and Video Production. 0 Comments

When I recently reviewed Apple’s new iMac G5, I was impressed with it’s performance. As a sort of disclaimer: I’m a PC-person really so although I love Macs, I’d rather have a more open system.

Naturally, I wanted to check out the beast inside Apple’s PowerMac Quad. It has two dual core PowerPC processors running at 2,5GHz. Here’s a benchmark test:

PowerMac Quad performance

Definitely has the WOW effect in terms of Gigaflops but what’s the improvement for the applications you’ll be using:

Final Cut ProPowerMac Quad performance - Final Cut Pro
After EffectsPowerMac Quad performance - After Effects

All in all, the improvement over Apple’s PowerMac G4 is about 3.7 times. Considering the video coming out of the new Panasonic HVX200 is 100Mbps DVCPRO HD, you’ll definitely will need this additional horsepower.

Even if you stick to “regular” HDV cameras, you’ll find it a lot faster to edit on a dual core PowerMac G5. Most of us are no Walter Murch but if you spend 6 months working on the edit, you’ll be able to save substantial time if you upgrade to the new beast. Starts from just $1,999!

Update: Jonathan at VFCPUG Online has already ordered one, so I’m harassing him to do a review :)

Wedding Videography 2: Dude, where’s my Dad?

Published by Administrator December 21st, 2005 in Film School, HD Cameras and Video Production. 3 Comments

Yesterday I reviewed several HD cameras with a specific regard to shooting wedding videos in HD. Thinking about it again, I’m not sure it’s such a good idea… here’s why:

HDV has native support for 16:9 and naturally wedding videographers would want to utilize that. This might lead to the problem once you transfer to SD for those relatives that still don’t have Blu-Ray. I’ll call it:

Dude-where’s-my-Dad-syndrome

Wedding videos in HDThe syndrom is most pronounced when guests tend to line up in a way that’s very horizontal (see ancient photo on the right).

I’ve put question marks where all the missing relatives will be… once you transfer your work to SD.

There are two “solution” that are equally unacceptable: use a pan-and-scan transfer or put your picture in a letterbox (black bars above and below).

Fortunately, you won’t have to consider these post-production options, if you’ve done some pre-planning. On shots where the guests have lined horizontally, you can do a pan making sure you got everyone (at 4:3). If you’d like to avoid pans (amateur look), you might do two shots: one at 16:9 and one at 4:3. The 4:3 might be a pan. When you later edit the video, you’ll be able to create a 16:9 and a 4:3 version.

Wedding videos in HDJust for the record, the question mark on the left (see arrow) is her Royal Majesty, the Queen (UK!). If you could go back in time, and you were invited to the wedding, and you had an HDV camera, and you’ve read this post, you might have done a shot that includes the Queen. Voila.

Later, when doing the sound track, you might put Sex Pistols singing “… God save the Queen, she ain’t no human being…” Gotta love punk rock.

If you have any questions or comments about wedding videograhy and HD, post them below!

Wedding Videography: to HD or not to HD

Published by Administrator December 20th, 2005 in Film School, HD Cameras and Video Production. 3 Comments

Wedding videos at HDWedding videography is a tricky business. I mean all video productions are tricky but stuff that you can’t reshoot and you can’t do ADR is scary in this day and age.

Considering it’s a one time event, you need the best acquisition as most of the wedding videography decisions are based on hype (i.e. what’s the best and latest). At the same time, the HDV format (read on how to burn HD to DVD) is not yet widely adopted, so what do you do with the relatives who want to see themselves on tape but have nothing but a VHS player.

Here’s my shortlist of cameras you might want to to get:

1) Sony FX1 - a penny saved is a penny earned. You can have it for $3,000 or less. Here’s the list of advantages:

  • Affordable (Canon XL H1’s price is almost 3 times higher)
  • 1080i support (actual chip is 1440×1080)
  • Vibrant video with some low light capabilities (3 lux)
  • Long battery life
  • Standard HDV, i.e. using MiniDV cassettes

I’ve always loved Sony’s picture but most importantly, most of my clients love vibrant colors. So the Sony gets the first choice for normal weddings.

2. Fancy weddings require a different beast so if it’s all looks and money’s no object, I’d recommend getting Canon XL H1. It’s a very impressive camera in terms of design and definitely has the WOW factor. The wedding will look expensive although the quality of the video (and maybe not just the video) will be similar to Sony FX1 .

3. Geek weddings … hmm, never been to one of those but one would assume that geeks marry too. If you’re hired as a videographer to shoot a geek’s wedding, I suggest you get a Panasonic HVX200. The camera isn’t particularly sexy but you can spend a DAY just talking about HVX200’s specs. Believe me these guys LOVE specs and they will be one of the few who would actually comment that “if DVCPRO HD is 100Mbps then it should offer 4 times the quality of regular HDV!” Wow, never figured out that one before.

Maybe I come back to this topic, I feel I didn’t cover it properly. I did a much better job describing HD cameras for guerilla fimmaking …

Canon XL H1 - 24F and more

Published by Administrator December 18th, 2005 in Digital Technology, HD Cameras and Video Production. 0 Comments

Now that Canon XL H1 is finally out (it’s been out in Japan for a month), we’re able to see some test footage.

Canon Lenses availableCanon’s flagship HDV camera offers a variety of features - the most important of which is the XL mount which supports interchangeable lenses. Right now, there are only 2 lenses specifically designed for the Canon XL H1 but filmmakers can use Canon’s impressive line of EF lenses (right).

The most important question for the H1 though was about its 24 frame mode, called 24F. Some has gone so far to call it 24 “Fake” because the video doesn’t look filmlike at all. Most experts have agreed that Canon’s 24F is not that much different from Sony’s CineFrame which produces equally poor results.

Based on a review of Panasonic HVX200 footage, it would seem that none of the HDV cameras offer an acceptable 24P mode. HVX200 utilizes a different standard (DVCPRO HD) with rates of up to 100Mbps. It’s doubtful that any of the HDV-based cameras will offer something remarkably different.

It’s not cheap either - Canon XL H1 price has been pegged at $8,999. All of the other HDV cams are lower - some like the Sony FX1 cost 3 times (!) less.

Tarantino’s Hell Ride

Published by Administrator December 17th, 2005 in News bits. 0 Comments

Quentin Tarantino’s next movie will be a biker flick. Reportedly, the movie just got greenlit which means in a year or so there will be another bloodfest on a big screen near you.

In all honesty, I liked Kill Bill (I liked II more than I liked I). QT has a way of mastering certain aspects of the genre and make them bigger, better, faster. Biker flicks are not exactly Oscar material although Easy Rider did score a few nominations.

According to Michael Madsen, the movie will have 3 protagonist: Madsen himself, Larry Bishop, and QT. The three will have some “deadly unfinished business among them.” You don’t say…

Review: Serenity

Published by Administrator December 16th, 2005 in Book/DVD Reviews, Film School and Movie Reviews. 4 Comments

Serenity is an OK movie. A bit too small for the BIG screen but overall it’s OK. All the Firefly fan boys give it so much credit, however, and no movie can live up to this much hype. It’s still waaaay better than Doom though.

There are no stars to talk about in this movie apart from the writer/director, Joss Whedon, who’s the guy behind TV shows like Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. His vision and dialog are good enough for the TV screen but frankly, he doesn’t quite measure up when projected on the big screen.

SerenitySerenity is the name of the cargo ship inhabited by the captain, Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), and his motley crew. The Firefly TV show and this movie are both set in a kind of Western Sci-fi world. The ship and its crew are brigands – taking different jobs, some more honest than others. The central parts of the system are ruled by the Alliance but the rim is pretty much left to its own means.

There’s just one significant source of menace, the Reavers, who are cannibals drifting in big ungainly ships painted in red. Their appearance is explained later in the movie but till that point they seemed to be based on the Native Indians. Judging from the portrayal though, Wheldon probably calls then Injuns.

SerenityIn addition to the regular crew, there are two passengers on board as well: Simon and River Tam (Sean Maher and Summer Glau). River is a psychic brainwashed by the Alliance and her brother Simon is the one who bailed her from the Alliance lab.

Hot on their trail is the Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an assassin and a believer that certain people need to do the Alliance’s dirty work so that the others can live in peace.

It sounds complicated but it really isn’t. Some reviewers called it “the intelligent man’s action movie” but I didn’t find particularly engaging. The plot moves from one action scene to the next until the captain and the operative meet at last, the future of the multiverse in their hands.

If you haven’t seen a good sci-fi movie in a while (I haven’t!), Serenity is an OK choice. Don’t let the fan boys tell you otherwise though – it’s a just a 2 hour pilot. The lighting, the set designs, the performances all vary from OK to pretty bad which is OK for a TV show but hardly enough for a 40 Million dollar “epic.”

Note for indie producers: Serenity still has to break even. The movie made barely 25 million domestically and its international proceeds don’t look too good either. My guess is that its appeal is limited to people who have liked the Firefly TV show. Most of the other movie goers probably felt a bit cheated because of all the hype. A bit of suspence (e.g. The Descent) should’ve added to the action scenes.

Info: Serenity
USA, 2005
Running Length: 1:55
Cast: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Summer Glau
Director: Joss Whedon
Producer: Barry Mendel
Screenplay: Joss Whedon
Cinematography: Jack N. Green
Music: David Newman

Peter Jackson - Kong is King but what’s next

Published by Administrator December 15th, 2005 in Film School and News bits. 0 Comments

Peter Jackson at the King Kong PremiereI’ve been following Peter Jackson’s King Kong for some time now. I went through the production diary and the trailer but now the movie’s made it into theaters.

I’ll do a King Kong review when I see it over the weekend. I don’t have 3 hours to spare during the week.

Peter Jackson’s next project is will be based on a book by Alice Sebold called The Lovely Bones. The book is a bout a 14-year-old girl, Susie, who is raped, murdered and dismembered.

The story’s told from her perspective as she watches from heaven over her family which is trying to cope with what happened.

The major challenge for Peter will be to visualize Heaven which is left pretty vague in the book itself.

WETA people - go back to work!

Review: Timeline

Published by Administrator December 14th, 2005 in Book/DVD Reviews and Movie Reviews. 4 Comments

A bit of background: I read Michael Crichton’s bestseller a while back and was eagerly waiting for a faithful adaptation. Well, was I screwed?

Richard Donner helmed the project. In better times, he directed classics such as Lethal Weapon and Superman. He basically sat down and waited for 5 years for a come back. Enter Timeline.

Serving Richard the whole guilt thing will be unfair though. Paul Walker (the car driver in The Fast and the Furious) deserves as much credit as Richard. His performance needs to be seen to be believed! Unless you decide to skip the movie completely. I’ll understand.

The time line, er… I meant, plot line seems complicated but it’s not. Time travel is complicated for some people - I don’t see why. It’s been in a 100 movies already, including Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Timecop. I’d accept any (even completely prepostoreous) premises in my hope to get a good 90 or so minutes.

Timeline based on Michael Crichton's bestsellerBack to the plot: a greedy corporation, ITC, develops a way to go back to the past. Their plans: create AUTHENTIC theme parks in the past (that’s what the “good” book says). The protagonists are a bunch of college professors mingled with grad students for good measure. They digging an ITC sponsored site along the Dordogne river in France. Eventually, the Professor (Billy Connolly) goes to ITC HQ and is … gasp … beamed back. Since he doesn’t come back, the evil corporation turns to his students for help and beams them too. All credit about this thoughtful setup goes to Michael Crichton: if the students find the professor - great, if not - we have no witnesses to bother us.

Quick forward to Castelgard on the Dordogne, anno 1357. An evil English Lord by the name of Oliver (no relation to Oliver Cromwell or Stone) is about to be besieged by the brave and fair French resistance … knights. Donner’s sympathies are clearly on the side of the French, the book doesn’t paint them in black and white.

Another fast forward to our protagonists changing sides and taking part in a real medieval siege. There are no important relationships developed or severed. The movie tries to develop an “amour” between Marek and the Lady Claire which is OK. If Marek is to stay in the past (as it’s his wish), he needs someone to cook, clean the house, and even teach him French.

I recently read the book again and I didn’t feel great about it this time. Maybe it’s a book you’re supposed to read only once. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the movie. If you’re a history buff and you’d like to know what the Middle ages were like, you’re steer clear of this one. I mean Monty Python and the Holy Grail may not be as believable but it’s certainly more fun!

Info: Timeline
USA, 2003
Running Length: 1:55
Cast: Paul Walker, Frances O’Connor, Gerard Butler, Billy Connolly
Director: Richard Donner
Producer: Richard Donner, Lauren Shuler Donner
Screenplay: Jeff Maguire and George Nolfi (based on Michael Crichton’s novel by the same name)
Cinematography: Caleb Deschanel

Review: Lord of War

Published by Administrator December 9th, 2005 in Film School and Movie Reviews. 4 Comments

Lord of War starring Nicolos CageLord of War is not the kind of movie that I’d normally review. It has a big movie star, Nick Cage, and quite a sizeable budget. Normally, I’d like to review indie flicks Broken Flowers or Lost in Translation.

The reason I sit down to write something about it is simple: it’s a Cinderella story for the director.

The director, Andrew Niccol, is a New Zealander who moved to London and started producing TV ads. He wanted to do movies that “are longer than 60 seconds” so that’s how he ended up in LA. His first screenplay was The Truman Show. Adding Jim Carrey to the roster boosted the budget to over $60M so Niccol had to step down as director. His next screenplay was the modest Gattaca which he got to direct because the budget was about $20M.

Obviously he’s proven a lot with Gattaca because Lord of War has a 40M+ budget. You might think there’s plenty of action to be bought for 40M+ but you’ll be wrong. The movie is not so much about violence as it’s about the middle man in arms dealing.

Enter Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) and his cocaine-addicted brother, Vitaly Orlov (Jared Leto). At the beginning of the movie they’re spending time in their family-run restaurant in Little Odessa. Little Odessa is too small for Yuri so he moved from food to arms. He quickly moves from Uzis to AK47s and then come tanks and attach helicopters.

There are some interesting “encounters” with an FBI agent (Ethan Hawke). “Encounters” because they seem to be there for purely illustrative purposes: here’s three ways to dodge an Interpol team that’s after you. None of these is very suspenseful or new. Rotating the French flag 90 degrees so it becomes a Dutch flag is the only fun bit about these and it probably belongs to the Pirates of the Caribbean.

The movie follows Orlov’s career as he becomes every dictator’s favorite supplier. At one point, Andre Baptiste Sr (of Liberia) says:

Andre Baptiste Sr.: They say that I am the lord of war, but perhaps it is you.
Yuri Orlov: I believe it’s “warlord.”
Andre Baptiste Sr.: Thank you, but I prefer it my way.

The ending (which I won’t reveal) is anti-climatic and takes us to the beginning. Morale of the story: middle men are always in short supply (big demand) in the gun running business. Time for your next career move.

Roger Ebert classifies the title sequence as innovative but frankly it seemed very fake to me. It’s obvious the bullet is a fake because there’s simply no way for it to be in focus without any barrel distortion from the wide-angle lens. Anyway, Andrew Niccol is probably holding his breadth. The movie has yet to break even. It made 24M in the USA and is slated for world-wide release. I suggest you rent it when it comes on a DVD (or search for the Lord of War torrent).

Info: Lord of War
USA, 2005
Running Length: 2:02
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Ethan Hawke
Director: Andrew Niccol
Producer: Nicolas Cage
Screenplay: Andrew Niccol
Cinematography: Amir M. Mokri

Panasonic HVX200 - Release date

Published by Administrator December 8th, 2005 in Digital Technology, HD Cameras and News bits. 1 Comment

Panasonic HVX200 (Front): offers variable framerates at 720pFinally. The wait is over. Panasonic has announced the release date for the Panasonic HVX200 - December 29. Ever since they released the final HVX200 specs a month ago, there’s been a lot of talk but most doubted that Panasonic will make their self-imposed deadline - 2005.

Along with the date there’s plenty of HVX200 related news as well.

First of all, actual footage from the HVX200 has been released. You can visit DVXUser or go directly to the download link.

HVX200 frame rates have been confirmed for 720p: 12, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 30, 32, 36, 48, and 60 FPS.

P2 memory has been confirmed as the only format cabable of handling DVCPRO HD and the various frame rates. There’s some hope that as early as Spring 2006, there will be hard drives that will be able to handle it. Right now, an 8GB chip will store about 20 minutes of 720/24p. (USB 1.1 vs USB 2.0 speed comparison).

True 24P: this is the best feature for indie filmmakers. Instead of the 3:2:2:3 pulldown, the HVX200 uses true 24p (or more accurately 23.98 fps).

For additional info, read the FAQ at Panasonic.

I’d say we got a winner!

Review: Half Light

Published by Administrator December 7th, 2005 in Book/DVD Reviews and Movie Reviews. 11 Comments

I have a soft spot for movies about writers. If I have a choice in the matter, I’d rather be presented with someone who’s a complete failure as a writer. Like Miles (Paul Giamatti) in Sideways.

Guess I’m not so lucky with Half Light. It’s about a successful author, Rachel (Demi Moore), who loses her son by the 8th minute of the movie. That’s a pretty good timing for the inciting incident.

Rachel leaves her husband who is an unsuccessful author who naturally gets my sympathies for the 80 seconds of screen time that he has. She also leaves Little Venice (London) and retreats to a cabin in Scotland. She’s alone and haunted by her guilt (she was the one who left the door to the canal open).

Half Light ft. Demi MooreBy the end of Act I, it’s clear that’s NOT the only thing that will haunt her. On the positive side, Scottish people have such funny accents which balance the spooky bits nicely. Eventually, Rachel meets a psychic (every town has one) and an attractive lighthouse keeper (every lighthouse has one).

Half Light ft. Demi MooreAct II starts with a hair raising (re)appearance of the dead boy. God, I hate kids who come back from the dead (yes, I hate Steven King’s Pet Cemetery). Thankfully, we’re soon back to the romantic sub-plot with Angus. Good thinking. Two dead kids at time is my limit.

When Angus is giving Rachel THE tour of the lighthouse, I felt a bit disappointed. This was begging for a little Vertigo moment (Hitchcock). I felt even more disappointed by the “love” montage that followed. Riding horses against the sunset, admiring the view from atop of the lighthouse…

Half Light ft. Demi MooreNevertheless, the second act stands out with one good scare after another. Things go from bad to worse (although I won’t spoil them for you). Unlike The Descent, the ending is conventional.

Half Light is a good movie shot with a modest budget (no idea what Demi’s fee is thought). The end credits had a dozen people listed. The movie will not get a theatrical release in the US, although it’s not entirely clear why. Some say it’s due to the incomprehensible Scottish accents. Some say the producers already recouped their costs and were not interested in investing their hard-earned pounds in a risky US release.

You can get the DVD though or search for the Half Light torrent if you’re a real Demi Moore fan and you can’t wait till January. A funny bit of trivia, Demi Moore ordered 20 crates of beer for the crew and then gave them the next day off to recover. They probably loved her!

Info: Half Light
UK, 2005
Running Length: 1:52
Cast: Demi Moore, Hans Matheson, Henry Ian Cusick
Director: Craig Rosenberg
Producer: Garth H. Drabinsky, Andreas Schmid
Screenplay: Craig Rosenberg
Cinematography: Ashley Rowe
Music: Brett Rosenberg

Panasonic HVX200: Footage

Published by Administrator December 6th, 2005 in Digital Technology and HD Cameras. 5 Comments

The first footage from the Panasonic HVX200 is out. For those of you who have practically moved over to the DVX forum site (sleeping, eating, etc.) this isn’t much of a news.

Panasonic HVX200A production unit was showcased by Panasonic and Apple (their Final Cut Pro has built-in support for the DVCPRO-HD format).

One of the people attending the presentation commented on the amazing clarity of the outdoor footage that was shot at 720/60p. There wasn’t much of a difference between the footage coming out of the HVX200 and its $60,000 big brother, the “Varicam” (AJ-HDC27).

The indoors footage was a big DISAPPOINTMENT though. Reportedly, it was noisy and clearly not a match for the Varicam - even at 0db, the footage from the HVX was noisy. Naturally, there’s an intrinsic difference if you take a look at the HVX200 specs, the CCDs on the HVX are just 1/3″ so their low-light capabilities will be limited.

The presenter, David Craig explained that the camera is still a production version and will get additional firmware updates before it’s released. Hopefully the grainy indoors footage is just a software (firmware) issue and not a high S/N ratio of the electronics.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed on that. I’m so impressed by the frame rates supported by HVX200 so I’d hate to see the camera lose to the Canon XL H1 ($8,999) just because of a high signal-to-noise ratio.

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