Monthly Archives: November 2006

Review: Eragon

12 Replies

EragonI can’t help but wince at the sight of Jeremy Irons and dragons. Personally, I love good fantasy, regardless of form but Dungeons and Dragons has to be one of the most repulsive movies I’ve ever seen. Even stupid sequels like Merlin’s Apprentice score higher than D&D.

Most of the criticism has been centered around D&D plot. It’s a common problem when (board) games turn to movies. Eragon has been out in book form, so at least the creators of the film has a substantial plot the base the movie on.

Here’s the plot (more or less):

Eragon takes place in a land called Alagaësia, which is ruled by the despotic king, Galbatorix (John Malkovich). Galbatorix, in his madness, crippled the order of the Riders, and for years, many believed that dragons were extinct.

Eragon is an orphan who lives with his uncle until one day he finds a dragon egg. Galbatorix minions are sent for the egg but the boy manages to escape, so they kill his uncle. Eragon, through his bond with Saphira (his dragon), becomes a Dragon Rider, and seeks to exact revenge on the Ra’zac, Galbatorix’s lieutenant. He begins a journey with Brom (Jeremy Irons), an elderly storyteller from his village, and learns swordfighting, magic, and dragonriding.

Eventually Brom is slayed, so Eragon and Saphira travel to Varden, a hidden rebel alliance. The final confrontation comes when the Varden, the elves and the dwarfs ally together behind Eragon in order to face an army of Urgals, let by a shade. Naturally, they win the battle.

I think by now you get the idea. There are elements from Star Wars (Jedi training by an old master), LotR and other fantasy/sci-fi works. These elements has served the author well because they’ve created a heated debate between critics and readers. The movie will hopefully strike a similar cord with audiences.

Review: Breaking and Entering

2 Replies

Breaking and Entering is directed by none other than Anthony Minghella, of The English Patient fame. That alone should signal a mature movie for adults.

The majority of the characters in the movie appear in the thirties (early forties). There’s a young boy who is crucial to the plot but he’s mature for his age.

Breaking and enteringThe movie starts with Will Francis (Jude Law) his partner Sandy (Martin Freeman) who have just opened an office in area of London (King’s Cross) that’s of bad reputation. As architects, it’s their task to embark on the biggest urban renewal project in recent London history, a task usually accomplished with concrete and a bit of greenery.

Just as their iMacs and iBooks arrive, they are robbed not once but twice. The boy who does the “breaking and entering” is Miro (Rafi Gavron), a Bosnian boy, living with his mother Amira (Juliette Binoche). During the second “breaking”, Jude Law follows the boy (in a feat resembling the early Rambo).

To cut the long story short, Will has an affair with Amira, which strains further his relationship with Liv (Robin Wright Penn). There’s a brief but memorable appearance by Vera Farmiga as a Romanian prostitute.

Overall, I liked the movie. Todd MCCARTHY from Variety sums it up better than me:

Entirely respectable in every way, it nonetheless has a very cool body temperature and thus likely will inspire polite admiration rather than excitement among viewers…

Definitely rent it as a DVD, I’m looking forward to any specials on the disc.

Protect the baby seals

Leave a reply

In something that could probably be described as citizen journalism, Rebecca Aldworth and HSUS are bearing witness to the needless slaughter of 300,000 baby seals.

Warning: Contains very graphic and disturbing images.

You can support the filmmakers who are determined to continue with their efforts. Donations here go directly to the team filming. Thanks for your support.

RED camera endorsed

5 Replies

Thanks to Mike Curtis, we get another endorsement for the amazing RED camera, slated for release in April.

Red Camera

If you can’t read the image, it says:

The RED Mysterium sensor has finally pushed digital acquisition past the timeless 35mm film barrier in resolution and clean color fidelity.

The endorsement is by David Stump who is not only a member of the ASC but is the chair of the Digital Camera subcommittee for the ASC.

BrightRoll – money for short films?

2 Replies

Gootube is the most popular video sharing site, so indie filmmakers flock it to it in droves. I ‘ve seen a couple of good shows on it, one is Ask A Ninja, the other is Chad Vader.

Now comes a service that could enable video content creators to monetize their shows. (I know Revver is allowing you to put ads but it’s not dynamic as far as I can tell.) Here’s the summary:

Just like how Google inserts dynamic ads into a web page, BrightRoll does all of the dirty work for inserting ads into video. The video publishers (that’s you) determines if they want the more lucrative (and more annoying) pre-roll/mid-roll or post-roll ad placement. The service doesn’t care what format you use whether Windows Media, Quicktime, or Flash though you will have to fill out a W-9 before participating.

You can read the press release for more details. It’s apparent it’s for US-based filmmakers though (that W-9 form goes to the IRS).