MentalPolyphonics » Movies

God Bless America

Jack — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:16:15 +0000

A new film from Bobcat. I think he’s awesome, and getting better (via Dutchman, without his endorsement):

Republican presidential heaving always gives me a similar sense of epic bleakness.

Gilliam on Difficult Films

Jack — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:01:51 +0000

I feel less bad now about making a film the actors, themselves, didn’t understand. Via BB.

The Coming VideoWeb

Jack — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:02:01 +0000

HTML5′s video and canvas elements combine to produce something amazing. If you’re a web coding person you should check it out — shit is about to get real.

What’s Wrong With Android

Jack — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:53:17 +0000

Via BB, here’s a great list of way Android could compete with the iPlatform, and is failing. My old Zire 71 Palm Pilot could control my TV via IR. Why can’t my smartphone?

Another example: which of these two commercials hits the widest market?

Drive

Jack — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 22:31:44 +0000

Drive harks back to the existentialist action films of the 1970s, particularly Vanishing Point and The Mechanic…

… except not. Everything in it is hyperreal: the sound effects highly emphasized, the lighting obvious, the action perfectly cut to the music.

The film is quite good. It’s plotted like the Greeks would have, and only the very end seems rough.

The action closes in around the characters surrounding the protagonist because of his withdrawn anonymity, and it’s that which draws him out into action. Most characters jump into action because Syd Field told their writers to make it so.

One other thing about the writing: almost the entire film happens in subtext, at least until the character begins to take action. It’s a very good performance by the principals and a nicely self-restrained writer. Gosling’s portrayal tips his man’s emotional hand just enough to convey a thought with a look underneath the normal pleasantries.

The film gets nicely surreal in places, often (always?) around an act of violence — the surprising, weird ugliness of a horrible assault is (almost?) always heightened by its juxtaposition with beautiful photography.

Johnny’s Specs in The Rum Diary

Jack — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:38:05 +0000

I “need” some new shades, and I’m looking for these:

There’s a rumor they’re Raleighs from the 50s. Ibid claims that Ray-ban RB4109 Olympians are similar, but they’re not gold enough…

[Update: Supposedly they’re “Spectaculars by Renauld of France, circa 1964″.

Pontypool

Jack — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:34:40 +0000

This might be a late Movies for Halloween. Anyway, it was one of Jared’s suggestions. Bruce MacDonald apparently had it written as a radio play in the vein of Welle’s War of the Worlds as well, and I definitely got the feeling it would work as such.

Basically the English language becomes infected with a memetic virus that makes everyone play the “Stop Repeating Me” game until violence ensues. It’s set in Ontario, so at first they try to get everyone to switch to French and when that doesn’t work, the Prime Minister takes drastic action.

Stay to the end of the credits, the very last minute of the film is sweet.

Cinematographs

Jack — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:52:44 +0000

Via Mashable, some really effing cool animated gifs are being used in fashion photography:

Take This Lollipop

Jack — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:56:21 +0000

Holy shit Take This Lollipop is good new media! Watch it tonight or Hallowe’en night before you go out.

Movies for Halloween

Jack — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:55:50 +0000

Here’s the review summary. Jared asked me to review some movies, and I fear that list is way better than mine. So start there. Here are the three scariest of the crop I harvested:

Psychological horror pick: Buried. Summary: society is unbelievably cruel.
Pop horror pick: The Woman. Summary: feminist vengeance cannibals.
Subtitled horror pick: Captifs. Summary: society is unbelievably cruel.