Archive for the 'News bits' Category

Review: August

Published by Administrator June 20th, 2008 in Digital Technology, Film School, HD Cameras, News bits and Video Production. 0 Comments

review augustI tried to enjoy August - it’s really the only portrayal of the dot com bubble I can think of.

I’ve read quite a few (good) books about it and I have been a part of it in a minor way, so I expected to empathize with the protagonists. It proved to be rather difficult as right from the start, Josh Hartnett is tough pill to swallow. He’s too good looking (too sexy for our lady viewers too) to picture him as a real CEO. Don’t get me wrong, there are good-looking CEOs but that happens only AFTER the VCs take over the company and put their own puppet to run the show.

Now, despite Josh’s appearance, you can tell she’s trying hard to pull off a convincing portrayal. My problem with the support cast is that as out of place as Josh is, there’s no one else that steals scenes. I recently saw Charlie Wilson’s War and I watched in awe how Philip Seymour Hoffman steals EVERY scene he’s in.

I guess the moral of the story is: no matter how sexy you make a business guy, he always falls short of keeping the interest in the cinema. If only I didn’t have Wallstreet as a perfectly good example of a business movie!

None: The movie looks good and has been shot digitally with a Sony CineAlta rig!

Dr. Uwe Boll’s Postal

Published by Administrator May 26th, 2008 in Film School, News bits and Video Production. 2 Comments

Postal is finally out in the USA! Unfortunately, it seems that no one cares much…

According to Los Angeles Times:

Boll, who said even his German investors were “80% upset with him when they saw it,” claimed “Postal” was too much of a political hot potato for AMC or Regal to touch (its opening sequence has two 9/11 hijackers arguing about the virgins coming their way and a simulated explosion on impact).

The IMDB forums are quite active, with some real doctors (MDs not Dr like Uwe) prescribing Venlafaxine so that Uwe can get over his most recent flop. They warn that the possible side effects could be: muscle twitching, weight gain, and finally, problems with orgasms.

I say No way!. This could very well affect Boll’s performance in the upcoming box match between him and Michael Bay.

Review: Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls

Published by Administrator May 24th, 2008 in Book/DVD Reviews, Film School, Movie Reviews, News bits and Video Production. 0 Comments

I have just seen it and I must say I’m not impressed. The two previous movies (with Richard Chamberlain as Allan) were not perfect but at least they have stuck to the original books.

If you have any doubt that this is exploitation film, supposed to ride on the back of Indy 4 - just check out the trailer. Even the title letters at the end copy Indiana Jones.

Back to the movie. Shot on location in South Africa with (mostly) local actors, Sean Michael is Allan. The sound mix doesn’t cut it - background noises often obscure speech because they are too loud.

The camera’s panning movement takes forever (the opening sequence and elsewhere). There are multiple repetitive shots, e.g. first guy riding, second guy riding after him, rinse and repeat 5 times.

The villain is ridiculous - and you know he’s the bad guy immediately because he’s showcasing a nasty grin and an ugly set of teeth. We’re 50 minutes into the movie before we see natives - and they remain on screen, singing and dancing, for at least 15.

Finally, at the end, when Allan finally finds the Temple of Skulls - guess what - it’s simply a cave with lighting that’s worse that most of tourist caves I’ve been too. A stalagmite and a skull next to it = Temple of the Skull.

Bad guy is there already - holding the girls as a hostage. Boom boom and the girl is reclaimed but the temple crumbles to pieces. Cue more native songs and dances.

THE END

Boll vs Bay

Published by Administrator May 2nd, 2008 in Film School, News bits, Storytelling and Video Production. 1 Comment

Uwe Boll has gone Postal. First, he goes to Blizzard, asks them for the movie rights to World of Warcraft. Then, he said Postal will beat Indy 4 at the box office.

Now, he’s fighting Michael Bay in a box match!

Uwe Boll goes Postal

Published by Administrator April 23rd, 2008 in Book/DVD Reviews, Film School, News bits and Storytelling. 1 Comment

Apparently, the much anticipated (not!) premiere of Postal, has made Uwe even more beligerent. An unfavorable review by Wired had him sent this email to the reviewer Chris Kohler (read the whole drama here)

chris
your review shows me only that you dont understand anything about movies and that you are a untalented wanna bee filmmaker with no balls and no understanding what POSTAL is. you dont see courage because you are nothing. and no go to your mum and fuck her …because she cooks for you now since 30 years ..so she deserves it.
people like you are the reason that independent movies have no chance anymore.
uwe boll
PS: POSTAL is R RATED . The MPAA understood the satire — you not — you dumb fuck

In a totally unrelated story, Uwe Boll has gone to Blizzard with an offer to purchase the movie rights for a World of Warcraft movie (source: WoW Insider).

Uwe himself quoted Blizzard’s response: “We will not sell the movie rights, not to you…. especially not to you.”

I wonder if Uwe had the brains to ask for the Diablo movie rights? Blizzard have all but forgotten the Diablo franchise, so maybe a handful of expensive euros will stand a chance.

Anthony Minghella RIP

Published by Administrator March 18th, 2008 in News bits, Research / Influences and Storytelling. 0 Comments

Anthony Minghella died earlier today. What a loss. He was only 54.

I loved The English Patient, I feel his treatment of the material has converted a so-so novel into a masterpiece.

Most recently, I saw Breaking and Entering which isn’t in the same league as The English Patient but it’s still an interesting and thought-provoking movie.

Goodbye and rest in peace.

RED Camera unboxing

Published by Administrator March 9th, 2008 in Digital Technology, Film School, HD Cameras, News bits and Video Production. 1 Comment

Mike Curtis has a sensual (no other word could describe it) unwrapping session with the unique RED camera.

Mike has endorsed the RED camera before but this time he actually gets to unwrap his very own RED cam.

Rambo is out!

Published by Administrator January 28th, 2008 in News bits and Storytelling. 3 Comments

OK, Rambo 4 is only out in the US, so for the rest of us, here’s the trailer:

Heath Ledger RIP

Published by Administrator January 23rd, 2008 in News bits and Storytelling. 1 Comment

Heath Ledger RIPHeath Ledger has been found dead in his New York apartment. This from the Telegraph:

New York Police Department said that the 28-year-old actor was found unconscious by his housekeeper at his fourth floor apartment in downtown Manhattan and pronounced dead at the scene. Police are investigating the possibility of a drug overdose.

It is not known if Ledger overdosed accidentally or committed suicide. However, police confirmed that prescription pills were found by his body.

Heath Ledger was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Brokeback Mountain (2006). Rest in peace.

Dr. Uwe Boll returns

Published by Administrator December 13th, 2007 in Film School, News bits and Video Production. 0 Comments

It looks like Uwe is on a mission to convert all video games into third-rate action flicks. This is the trailer for his next installment - this time it’s based on Dungeon Siege.

I wonder how he did the leveling aspect of it. All the boring grinding and farming and so on.

Review: Youth without youth

Published by Administrator November 5th, 2007 in Book/DVD Reviews, Film School, Movie Reviews, News bits and Storytelling. 4 Comments

Youth without youthI saw this movie last night, so I’m still pondering most of the unanswered questions.

Let’s start with the good news first. The craftsmanship of the people involved is amazing, considering the low budget. The camera work was excellent despite the obvious limitations - most shots were static, taking full advantage of the meticulous set designs. The supernatural moments (if you could call them that) were traditionally lit in what I call blue-moon glow which definitely added to the scenes.

Last but not least, the editing was superb - as you might imagine when you see it was done by Walter Murch, definitely not a stranger to Coppola movies. Considering the amazing work he did sowing together the different pieces The English Patient, he doesn’t disappoint even though the plot is convoluted.

Which leads us straight to the bad news: the plot. Youth without youth is based on Mircea Eliade’s novella about an old professor who is hit by lightning. This leaves him not only physically younger but also takes his mind faculty to a level beyond that of a mere human. The story is set in 1940s in Romania, so the Nazis get involved almost immediately. Our hero escapes them with the help of the professor who started the whole “healing process”.

At this point of the movie, all kinds of plot devices break lose. First, he meets the reincarnation (?) of his fiance of some 50 years back. In short order, the girl is hit by lightning (talking about lightning hitting twice!) and discovers her own talent - she is aware of her previous lives. In fact, she’s “possessed” by a 7th century Indian girl who only talks Sanskrit. She’s taken to the cave where that girl lived some 14 centuries before …

Now, I’m not going to spoil all the “fun” by revealing all the plot twists from this point on. Frankly, I tried my best to concentrate but the last part of the movie was such an uneven ride that all the craftsmanship in the world could not redeem it.

This is what Variety had to say about the final act:

By the time this stage is reached, the serial-worthy plot has moved through any number of genres without holding onto any of them. Perhaps Coppola’s affinity for a character obsessed by unrealized projects was too close to allow him to see the piecemeal nature of his script, bogged down by endless chatter. Immortality and the ramifications of eternal life, on both ethical and emotional levels, have been dealt with much more effectively in works varying from “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (referenced toward the end) and Janacek’s superb, emotionally resonant opera “The Makropoulos Case,” a far more powerful analysis of the cruelty of time.

Amen. Although I secretly hope this isn’t the last movie to come from Coppola.

WGA strike set for Monday

Published by Administrator November 2nd, 2007 in Digital Technology and News bits. 1 Comment

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is in all likelihood going on strike starting Monday. This from Inthenews

A federal mediator attended the eight-hour talks, with the writers’ union seeking extra revenue for the re-use of their work when reproduced on DVD, the internet and mobile phones.

But studios issued a statement confirming increased demands from the WGA had constituted a “complete roadblock to any further progress”.

Btw, the last WGA strike was in in 1988 and lasted 22 weeks. It cost Hollywood an estimated $500 million.

Conan’s amazing soundtrack

Published by Administrator September 19th, 2007 in Film School, News bits and Storytelling. 1 Comment

Conan composer - Basil PoledourisConan the Barbarian has one of the most amazing soundtracks. I was disappointed NOT to see it on this list of 100 Best Movie Soundtracks.

When I looked into it deeper, I found Conan on a a list of The 101 Great Film Score Milestones. This is an excerpt from the description, you can see the whole list here.

It was compiled by John Caps, in the November-December 2003 issue of Film Comment magazine in an article titled “Soundtracks 101 – Essential Movie Music: A Listener’s Guide.” The list was created to mark the 70th anniversary of the film score in 2003. The article also provided a brief history of film music in the introduction, and further details on each of the choices.

Predictably, one-fourth of the list was taken by the six giants of the Golden Age (Steiner, Waxman, Korngold, Newman, Rozsa, Herrmann). Yet the author also recognized some of the great, but seemingly forgotten, figures of the recent past: Laurence Rosenthal, Richard Rodney Bennett, Dave Grusin, David Shire, and Basil Poledouris.

OK, I feel better now.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Published by Administrator September 15th, 2007 in Book/DVD Reviews, Film School and News bits. 0 Comments

Indiana Jones 4 is still in production but now it has an official title. In case you’re wondering what it is… you haven’t read the title. OK, official title will be Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Although I find the title a bit long, you gotta love a descriptive title like that. Oh yeah, for those who loved Karen Allen in the Raiders, she’s back.

John Rambo trailer

Published by Administrator September 12th, 2007 in Film School, Movie Reviews, News bits and Storytelling. 0 Comments

There’s an improvised trailer from the upcoming Rambo 4 (officially John Rambo). It’s not an official Rambo trailer but I think it’s worth your 2 minutes.

Most of the Rambo fans who’ve seen it are raving about it. After all, it has the right mix of improvised weapons, blood & gore, and of course Sly Stalone! With the production over, the movie should be out by Christmas.

Canon HV20 Camcorder

Published by Administrator August 24th, 2007 in Digital Technology, HD Cameras, News bits and Video Production. 1 Comment

Although I’m not a big fan of “consumer” camcorders like Canon HV20, I’m always tempted to try them and see if they compare well to my preferred segment (that’s $3,000 to $8,000).

Canon HV20 CamcorderFirst off, the good news. It’s a small camera that you can fit virtually anywhere. It weighs less than a kilo (with battery), so you can CARRY it anywhere.


The sensor is a single CMOS sensor with over 2 million active pixels. That means a native support for 1080i format (1920×1080 pixels).

The bad news is its light sensitivity, mic inputs, and the battery life. Battery life can be extended by purchasing a better battery (BP-2L14) and you should definitely consider it if you’re shooting anything longer than an hour (which is most stuff).

DV.com’s Chuck Gloman has a more detailed review of the camera. Overall, he was impressed by the outdoors footage and the form factor. I’m still not convinced I’ll trade a small-factor Sony (like Sony HC3).

I’m considering switching from my web cam to this baby. Here’s a short guide on how to select a web cam.

Full HD projector

Published by Administrator June 14th, 2007 in Digital Technology, News bits and Video Production. 1 Comment

Now, this isn’t the first HD projector capable of doing 1080p. At the time of this writing, it’s arguably the smallest. It packs quite a punch when it comes to features. Check it out (courtesy of EngadgetHD)

Full HD projector

Touting an almost unbelievable assortment of niceties, this 3.7- x 9.2- x 10.8-inch DLP machine is reportedly the “world’s smallest” Full HD projector to date, and if that wasn’t inspiring enough, it also uses TI’s 0.95-inch 1080p DMD, the firm’s proprietary RealColor technology, and plays nice with home automation systems with RS-232 and IP interfaces. Additionally, it sports a 10-bit video processing engine, HDMI 1.3 compatibility, 1,000 lumens, and a even-segment, 5x color wheel.

I’ve tried my old (office) projector once or twice as a means to get a “movie theater” experience. Didn’t work. I’m willing to give projectiondesign’s new baby a try though.

Review: The Boss of It All

Published by Administrator May 23rd, 2007 in Book/DVD Reviews, Film School, News bits and Storytelling. 0 Comments

The Boss of It AllI like Lars von Trier’s new direction. The movie is a closer to The Idiots than Dogville, and I liked The Idiots a lot.

The premise of the movie is also close to my heart: the IT industry and how a potential acquisition can sour relations. The plot is straight-forward:

The owner of an IT company wishes to sell it. But, for years, he has pretended that the real boss lives in America and communicates with the staff only by e-mail. That way, all the unpopular decisions can be attributed to the absentee manager, while all the popular ones to him directly.

But now, the prospective buyer insists on meeting the big boss in person. In a panic, the owner hires a failed, over-intellectualizing actor to portray him, and the actor proceeds to improvise all his lines, to the consternation of both the buyer and the company staff, who finally get to meet their ghostly boss.

I’ve never seen any of the actors before, with one notable difference - Iben Hjejle. The acting is OK, granted you have Dogme sensibilities. I especially loved the two guys from “Iceland” who were a perfect match of ice and fire. Excellent performance from the lead character as well.

A few observations that really question Lars’s “growth” since the Dogme days. First, the narration attracts attention to the director, while Dogme postulated that the director should remain uncredited. Second, I couldn’t escape the feeling that some of the random compositions - sometime cutting faces in half - were done on purpose, to mock this style of “indie” shooting.

Lars never claimed he would stick to Dogme. In fact, this movie “patented” a new mathematical formula and a process he called Automavision. Here’s what he means by that:

This entails choosing the best possible fixed camera position and then allowing a computer to choose when to tilt, pan or zoom. “For a long time, my films have been handheld,” he explains. “That has to do with the fact that I am a control freak. With Automavision, the technique was that I would frame the picture first and then push a button on the computer. I was not in control - the computer was in control.”

I think THAT explains the erratic camera motions. Anyway, if you have a chance to see the movie, go and check it out, especially if you’re IT!

300 Soundtrack

Published by Administrator May 9th, 2007 in Book/DVD Reviews, Film School, News bits and Video Production. 8 Comments

I was very surprised when near the end of 300, I heard a very familiar tune.

In the 300 original soundtrack, the song is called Message for the Queen (number 24 out of 25). In fact, it’s a popular Bulgarian folk song from the Macedonian region called “Zaidi, Zaidi Iasno Slance”. I can definitely distinguish the words when I sampled it at Amazon.

Tyler Bates (the composer behind the soundtrack) has been accused of indiscrimate copying of the Titus soundtrack. Now, I can add Bulgarian folk music to the list as well.

Rambo 4 on location

Published by Administrator March 26th, 2007 in Digital Technology, Film School, News bits and Storytelling. 7 Comments

Rambo 4 has begun principal photography and there are a few photos leaked from Thailand.

I hope they use the body double a lot. Sly looks mean but old (and not in a good way).

John Rambo

By the way, the movie’s current title is John Rambo.

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