The Sound and Fury of Kristopher A. Denby

School, some new reads, and news

2012-01-29T22:39:00.001-06:00

2011 has come and gone, and with it my first year back as a full-time student. It was a good year. A learning year. A year full of small triumphs and not a few minor obstacles. But with last year’s hurdles and celebrations behind me, 2012 has brought a fresh set of challenges and potential rewards with it. And so far, so good.

January marked the beginning of my first semester at the University of Texas (hook ‘em), and I have to say that I’m rather enjoying it. I’m finishing off the rest of my lower division course work this semester with Intro to Astronomy, Intro to Linguistics, Banned Books and Novel Ideas, and Russian Sci-Fi in Literature and Film. Not one of these classes have proven to be a bore yet, and I’m finding Banned Books and Russian Sci-Fi particularly interesting. These classes are right up my alley, and I’m excited to fill the voids between my ears with the kind of knowledge they promise to impart. Interesting as they are, though, they are going to significantly cut into my leisure reading. In fact, as near as I can tell, there will be no leisure reading to speak of for me this spring.

In all honesty, I’m looking forward to the required reading for Russian Sci-Fi and Banned Books so much that I don’t think I’ll mind deferring my To Be Read pile for a couple of measly months. Besides, the cool thing about these required readings is that, with the exception of a few, these are texts that I probably would never have sought out for myself. For anyone who’s interested in this kind of thing, I’m including the list of books I’ll be reading in the coming months below.

Banned Books and Novel Ideas

The Island of Dr. Moreau, H.G. Wells

Myra Breckinridge, Gore Vidal

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood

Beloved, Toni Morrison

Russian Sci-Fi in Literature and Film

We, Yevgeny Zamyatin

A Dog’s Heart (Heart of a Dog), Mikhail Bulgakov

Prisoners of Power, Strugatsky Brothers

There are several other short readings from medieval texts to Cold War era stories that we’ll be looking at in the Russian class, and I’m looking forward to all of them. The cool thing about this class is that I’ve been developing an interest in things Eastern European for a while now, and so studying the history of the region from the perspective of science fiction and fantasy, two of my favorite genres, is like having my cake and eating it too. And cake makes Kris happy. I’ll probably be posting very short opinions of these selections here at The Sound and Fury as the semester progresses, in case any of you are interested in giving them a try.

I fortuitously (finally!) finished reading King’s Magnum Opus, It, recently, which cleared my plate for all of these upcoming, required readings. It was an amazing feat of literature. To pigeonhole this book as a work of pop-horror fiction is criminally irresponsible and just plain short sighted. It took me forever to read, but I’d hate for anyone to think that this is a result of some defect in the writing. My attention span has been very short lately, and the time it took me to wade through It should be a reflection of my deficiencies and not held against the writer. I doubt I’ll ever get around to reviewing this book (the scope of the narrative is so great that I doubt I could ever adequately distill it into a cogent review), so I’ll just leave you with the knowledge that I thought/think very highly of it, and the book only solidifies the notion in my head that King is highly underrated and under-credited as merely a horror novelist. That isn’t to say that he hasn’t had his missteps, but the man deserves a better descriptor than Horrorist. I will be watching the film adaptation of It in the next week or so, and that might present a better opportunity for a review, perhaps as a compare/contrast review against the book. We’ll see.

Despite the mountain of reading that’s about to descend upon my head like an avalanche of bound, collected ideas, I’ve got the second volume of Y: The Last Man sitting on my nightstand patiently waiting to be cracked open. The graphic novel will probably be my one respite from required reading, and I think that’s practical.

Aside from school and books, an exciting new writing opportunity has presented itself recently, and I look forward to sharing the details of that here in the next week or so. Until then, friends and neighbors, see you ‘round the nets.

Kirk out.

‘Batman: The Dark Knight Returns’: A review

2012-01-19T23:58:00.001-06:00

I was contemplating Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns after recently reading it, and trying to remember the last time hype resulted in anything other than slight-to-severe disappointment. Sure, you get a pretty respectable mix of positive and negative experiences when plain-old, garden variety expectations precede said experience. But hype is different than the plain-old, garden variety expectation. Expectations are largely the product of your own prior experience or knowledge of a thing. If the experience fails to live up to your expectations, you have yourself to blame. Hype, on the other hand, is the result of media over-exposure, recommendations from friends and peers, internet memes, and/or the established, socially accepted notion that a thing is deserving of the hype it’s received because it receives hype. And even when a thing is so good that it warrants the hype heaped on it, it rarely, if ever, turns out good for the late-comer.

This is the boat I find myself in when considering the highly praised, often reverently spoken of comic pinnacle, The Dark Knight Returns.

Now, you might be thinking that I’m about to take a metaphorical bat to Miller’s landmark book based on what I’ve said so far, but rest easy, friends and neighbors. There’ll be no metaphorical batting practice here at The Sound and Fury tonight (besides, my wife doesn’t like me swinging things in the house), but I do have a few grievances to air before we get around to the part where I tell you that I actually liked the book.

Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns was published the same year as Watchmen (1986) and is considered by many to be every bit the landmark comic that is Alan Moore’s dark, gritty twist on the superhero genre. Set in a dystopian Gotham City years after Batman has hung up his cape for the last time, a new, more savage criminal element threatens to bring the city to its knees, and Harvey Dent, the ex-Gotham City D.A. otherwise known as Two Face, is set to be released from Arkham Home For The Emotionally Troubled. From the inside out, Gotham City reeks of trouble. It oozes fear and self-loathing, too full of modern sophistication to admit that it still needs the Caped Crusader. And on the outskirts, an aging Bruce Wayne, tormented by revenge and promises left unfulfilled, once again dons the cape and mask to haunt the rooftops of Gotham, and the hearts and minds of the criminals who prey upon those who live beneath them. Malcontents emerge from every walk of life (including The Joker, of course), and like dogs, take turns trying to bite off a piece of the noticeably older, less resilient Batman.

Sounds pretty good, huh? It is, I assure you. But it’s not without its faults.

For one, The Dark Knight Returns is confusing. The narrative switches clumsily between the main storyline and TV news segments where pundits and talking heads are depicted debating the events as they unfold within the story. I actually liked the use of the device as a means of giving the reader a social context for the events in the story and for building tension, but I felt like the writing and/or pencils could have made these transitions much smoother and easier to follow with a bit of skilful editing. On my first read through, I had to keep backing up and taking closer looks at and re-reading certain panels to understand what had just happened. I don’t think there’s any excuse for this.

I also thought the Superman subplot was mishandled. It felt tacked on, alien, and just disingenuous. And it led to a climax, and ultimately an ending, that didn’t seem worthy of either characters.

Admittedly, those are two pretty sizable complaints. Despite them, though, there’s plenty to like between the covers of The Dark Knight Returns.

The art is just…fascinating. Upon cracking open The Dark Knight Returns, the reader is immediately transported to a nightmare vision of Gotham City. Panel after panel of noir imagery, subverted and augmented by the rowdy, pastel influences of the 1980’s, leap off the page. Wispy tendrils of smoke and ground fog drift out of the panels as shadowy appendages drag the reader’s gaze into Miller’s Gotham, a Gotham that is comprised of as many shades of gray as the characters who inhabit it. This ain’t your grandaddy’s Batman, boys. And, obviously, that’s part of the appeal. Part of what made TDKR stand out above the rest of the comic stories that were still doing the same, tired, kid-friendly stories they’d been doing for nearly fifty years. TDKR reflects the pessimism, greed, and fear that permeated the Cold War society of people that had been living in fear of imminent nuclear attack since the sixties.

If, for some reason, the art doesn’t blow your cape up, the writing is sharp enough to make up the difference. Miller seems to hold a magnifying glass up to the darker, grimier corners of Gotham. He shines a light on corruption and greed and self pity as if he were on some crusade of his own. In any case, it feels honest. And honesty makes for easy reading. In this case, it also makes for really good reading.

The Dark Knight Returns, though a bit confusing at times, and lacking any real wind behind its sails by the time it gets to the climax, is a great Batman story. Is it more than that? Maybe. Is it the book to end all books? The final word on Batman, Robin, and even Superman? Nope. Not even close.

See you ‘round the cave.

Kirk out.

‘They Live’: A film review

2012-01-14T15:12:00.001-06:00

I watch movies for different reasons. Sometimes I just want to watch something that’s comfortable. You know, that movie that you can pop in and watch anytime and it never gets old? Sometimes I like to feel as though I’ve been enlightened, or that I’ve learned something. Sometimes I want to be creeped out, inspired, or moved to laughter. Occasionally I even watch movies to see things that I know will be upsetting, because to ignore them would be to ignore that those things exist. And ignoring a bad thing doesn’t make it go away. Ignoring a bad thing only gives it room to grow. Most of the time, though, I just watch movies to be entertained.

It’s for this last reason that I recently decided to revisit John Carpenter’s 1988 science fiction/horror film, They Live.

Right.

It would be easy to dismiss They Live as a joke. Unabashedly campy special effects, a ridiculously simplistic narrative filled with plot holes larger than the film’s budget, and a wrestler-turned-lead actor (Rowdy Roddy Piper) turning phrases like “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum.” would probably turn off most viewers seeing it for the first time today. Funny thing is, all of those things that should be negative strikes against the film are exactly the things that make it so enjoyable. Toss in an over-the-top, in your face social criticism about the rampant consumerism of the 1980’s (applicable, perhaps more so, today), and you’ve got most of the ingredients for a cult classic on your hands.

Piper plays Nada, a drifter looking for honest work and a chance at a better life. Shortly after jumping a train to Los Angeles, Nada finds a job at a construction site and hooks up with Frank (played by Keith David), a fellow down-on-his-luck employee, who invites him to a shantytown that provides shelter and food to society’s castaways. But Nada’s a suspicious fellow, and it doesn’t take long for him to catch a whiff of some funny business happening at the church across the street. And before you know it, the shit has hit the fan, and Nada finds himself in the middle of a horrifying conspiracy of alien world domination.

There are some great action set pieces in here, including a marathon fight scene between the film’s two protagonists that has made just about every “Greatest Film Fights” list every created, at least one plot twist you probably won’t see coming, and enough ‘80’s-style gun violence to satisfy even the most blood thirsty filmgoer.

They Live, despite its humble appearance, has left its mark on pop-culture, influencing the creators of popular video game series Duke Nukem, and inspiring street artist Shepard Fairey to create the viral propaganda parody “Obey”, seen plastered on city walls all over the nation beneath the image of Andre the Giant.

Still, you probably won’t hear Carpenter’s They Live mentioned in the same breath with Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. And Piper and David aren’t going to be mistaken for Newman and Redford’s Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. But neither of these facts should deter you from dusting off this old gem and popping it into the ~~VCR~~ DVD player, whether it’s your fourth viewing or your first. Despite a few plot holes and some shortcomings in the effects department, They Live is pure fun from start to finish. I highly recommend it.

Score: 4/5

Kirk out.

Ridley Scott returns to familiar territory with ‘Prometheus’

2011-12-22T14:28:00.001-06:00

You know, it’s funny. Just a few days ago, upon the debut of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey trailer, I remarked to a friend that there weren’t a lot of upcoming film projects that I was terribly excited about (outside of the aforementioned Hobbit film). Well, dear friends, this next trailer gives us a sneak peek at one of those few films that I’ve been quietly and anxiously awaiting.

Ridley Scott marks his return to the film franchise that began with Alien, and which should have ended with James Cameron’s superb sequel, Aliens. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the trailer for Prometheus.

Eh? What’d I tell you?

Prometheus is scheduled to release on June 8, 2012.

Kirk out.

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ trailer debuts, and a long awaited journey begins

2011-12-21T08:05:00.001-06:00

I’m not sure what sort of words that I could provide here to aptly convey my excitement, but take it on faith, dear readers; this is as about as excited as I’ve been for any movie since Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy began over a decade ago.

Enjoy, and feel free to share your feelings on the trailer in the comments section below.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will hit theaters on December 14, 2012, and is the first of two movies adapting J.R.R.Tolkien’s 1937 book, The Hobbit or There and Back Again. The Hobbit: There and Back Again will wrap up the adaptation and releases to cinemas on December 13, 2013.

See you at the movies.

Kirk out.

A night out at The Blue Starlight Mini-Urban Drive-In

2011-08-31T13:59:00.002-05:00

Well, kids, this week marks the 1 year anniversary of Austin’s only drive-in movie theater, The Blue Starlight. And being thus, I thought it’d be a great opportunity to share an experience that my wife and I had there recently.

Oh, what’s that? You haven’t heard of The Blue Starlight? You didn’t even know that Austin had a drive-in movie theater?

A bit of background, then.

The History

The Blue Starlight was founded by local author and screenwriter, Josh Frank, in a small lot on East Caesar Chavez. Since that time, the self-proclaimed mini-urban drive-in has grown such that a second Blue Starlight was opened on East 6th Street. The drive-in features a hodgepodge of older favorites (with a focus on the 1980’s), obscure films, and cult classics like Grease, The Goonies, and the original Creature From the Black Lagoon that are sure to delight any film fan.

A Night Out

Maybe six months ago, the wife and I were out tooling around on our bikes (hipsters, I know!), and stumbled across the East 6th Street location of The Blue Starlight. At that time we had no idea that Austin even had a drive-in movie theater, mini-urban or otherwise. But it sounded like a great way to spend an evening, especially with a confederation of trailer park eateries right next door. We filed it away in our to do list, and pedaled on our merry way.

We finally got the opportunity to check the place out a few weeks ago, and we jumped at the chance. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was showing and though it was hotter than tits on a beer outside, we were eager to have our first drive-in movie experience.

The Good

The Blue Starlight Min-Urban Drive-In is a laid back atmosphere. The gate attendant was super sweet, smiled, and thanked us for patronizing the theater. The lot attendant quickly directed us to a spot in the back where the trucks and SUV’s were staged. We backed into the spot, put the gate up on the 4-Runner, and headed next door to find some comida.

There were several choices at the trailer park eatery (not to mention The Blue Starlight has their own concessions, including smores that you cook on-site), but we settled on some fish and chips from Bits and Druthers, and a couple of Mexican Cokes. Audio at the East Sixth location plays through your vehicle’s FM radio, so after turning that to the correct station and volume we kicked back with our British fare and enjoyed the pre-movie entertainment.

The noise?

What might have been a negative actually turned out to be a positive. The lights from the skyscrapers downtown, the sounds of car horns, distant police sirens, and helicopters all added to the charm of the little East Austin drive-in.

With the city skyline as a backdrop, the friendly staff, the great movie, and BYOB policy, there isn’t a hell of a lot bad to say about The Blue Starlight.

But…I’ll try.

The Bad

Really, this is just nit-picking, so take everything that I’m going to say with a grain of salt.

The Blue Starlight has quite a few rules that are introduced to the patrons through some pretty awful, pre-movie, public service announcements. They’re just really poorly done, computer animated skits. Bad enough that the audience seemed to grow bored of them pretty quickly and tuned them out. The Blue Starlight needs to take a page out of The Alamo Drafthouse’s marketing playbook, and get on the stick with the pre-movie entertainment and PSA’s.

Which leads me to my next complaint. The car next to us, after ignoring the PSA’s warning that smoking and talking during the show were prohibited, proceeded to do both of those things with such vigor that we found ourselves wondering if they’d come to enjoy a movie at all (they were from Louisiana, after all). I’m not a smoker, and I don’t like to smell smoke, if I can help it. I would probably not have thought about it, if the theater didn’t have a rule prohibiting smoking on the grounds out of respect for non-smoking patrons. The thing is, the lot attendant knew these two were smoking, but never did anything about it. My point? Don’t have the rule, if you can’t or won’t enforce it.

Finally (and this is a very tiny complaint), there was a pretty annoying street light just over our left shoulder that we could have done without. This is probably out of the theater owner’s control, but elimination of that glare would make the viewing conditions a bit more favorable. It’s not a deal breaker, though.

The Final Analysis

Whether you’re a hard-core film fan, a casual movie-goer, have never been to a drive-in, or just someone who pines for the days of sock hops and B-movies,The Blue Starlight is worth checking out. Where the hell else can you take your friends, your beer, a blanket or folding chairs, and enjoy a movie all for $25? See you at the movies.

Kirk out.

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Photos courtesy Kelley Denby Photography.

‘Take Shelter’ wins Grand Prix at Cannes’ Critic’s Week

2011-05-20T13:37:00.001-05:00

Local filmmaker Jeff Nichols’s second film Take Shelter took the top spot yesterday during the Cannes Film Festival Critic’s Week. Take Shelter is Jeff’s second film behind 2007’s critically acclaimed Shotgun Stories. Congratulations Jeff!

Take Shelter is due in theaters on October 7, 2011 and stars Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain.

Kirk out.

Goings On

2011-04-05T17:29:00.002-05:00

It’s funny how quickly a month can pass when you’re really busy. Delusions of grandeur aside, plans for keeping up with the blog disappeared down a gravity well of books, papers, family commitments, and furniture building. It hasn’t been so bad to be away, really. I think deep down I’ve known for a while that I needed to begin supplementing some of the blogging for writing down some of the numerous fiction stories that swirl around in my head almost constantly. It was a break that had to be forced on me. I would probably have never taken it on my own. The monkey had gotten too big to handle on my own.

Having said that, I’ve not gone away forever. In fact, when I’m done boring you about what I’ve been doing for the past month I’m going to publish a small piece of fiction that I’ve been writing off and on since I went away. And that’ll probably be the blog’s modus operandi for the indefinite future: quick update posts about what’s happening here, peppered with short fits of fiction that loop endlessly in the maelstrom that is my brain.

(EDIT: Okay, that sounded braggy.) Suffice it to say that I am doing really well in school. I waited a long time to go back to school, and now that I have I am of a serious mind when it comes to learning and grade point average.

I’ll join my writing team in mid May to begin contributing to the screenplay for the movie that I told you all about a few months ago. I’m super excited about that, because it means experience actually working on a film!

I’m so behind when it comes to movie news, I couldn’t begin to tell you what’s happening out in the world of celluloid. Sucker Punch and Battle: Los Angeles have both come out to underwhelming reviews that haven’t made me all that excited to get out to the cinema.

I have been reading a lot more, and that is definitely a good thing. I finished Gibson’s Count Zero and couldn’t recommend it highly enough. I’m now working on Mona Lisa Overdrive with designs on a few other cyberpunk pieces to round out my experience in that genre.

And that’s about it, folks. Please, do chime in and let me know how things are going out there in cyberspace and in your own worlds. I wish you all the best, and I’ll see you on the flip side.

Peace.

Kirk out.

A few things

2011-02-19T14:42:00.001-06:00

“Success usually comes to those too busy to be looking for it.”

-Henry David Thoreau

“The busy man is troubled by but one devil; the idle man by a thousand.”

-Spanish Proverb

A brutally busy, but gratifying week of studying, tests, and landing a new part time job has come to an end. With these new (some temporary) demands on my time it’s been very difficult to write anything of any significance. I woke up this morning to about 150 unread posts in my feed reader, and I realized that I’ve been at Ron Paul’s slim volume, Revolution: A Manifesto, for over a month now.

I suppose, in some ways, life is about trade offs. One new thing supplants an existing one. Yin and Yang, and all of that higher philosophical nonsense. So while being away from the blogosphere for over a week does suck, the things that filled the time reserved for blogging were rewarding in their own ways.

I made a high A on my first Phys Anthropology test, and I think I might have made a perfect score on my US Government test. Math and Communications are early next week, but any kinks over that material will be worked out by the end of the weekend.

I’m working again. I lucked into working for a friend of ours (she owns an upholstery shop) building frames for furniture. I get to do it from my own home, in my own time, and it is very rewarding to earn money by creating something solid and tangible with my own two hands. I spent my spare time this week building a bed frame in my garage with the likes of The Pretenders, The Ramones, Blondie, and Journey for company (yeah, I was singing along). The weather was beautiful, with sunshine and temps in the 60’s and 70’s. It never once felt like work.

Between classes this week I began writing my first screenplay. I will say that it is based on an existing Hollywood property that is currently being revitalized. With two sequels in the works, and one of my new favorite actors set to play the lead role, it has no chance of seeing the light of day. But that’s not why I’m doing it. I’m doing it because it has worked its way into my brain like those damned ear burrowing, mind controlling critters that terrorized Chekov in The Wrath of Khan. Now there’s only one thing for it: that’s to write it and get it out of there. We’ll see what happens.

There’s all sorts of movie news and trailers that have turned up in just the week that I’ve been AWOL, so expect a few updates and another issue of Trailer Time! some time next week. Movie reviews alone could fill an entire week, if I had the time to spare to write them. Here’s a list of some of the movies I’ve seen recently (some of them might not get reviews) : Bronson, Centurion, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Valhalla Rising, True Grit, The Social Network, Videodrome, Batman, Batman Begins, Back to the Future, Badlands, The Fall, Catfish, Raising Arizona, John Rabe, and Winter’s Bone. Some of these are going back in time a bit, and perhaps too far for focused reviews, but there are definitely some films in this list that I am anxious to share my thoughts on. My cross examination of Batman and Batman Begins is still forthcoming. It’s just going to require a ton of focus and more brain space than I can spare right now. Videodrome, Valhalla Rising, Centurion and Winter’s Bone are almost definitely getting reviews, so keep your eyes open for those.

View Full Album

In the meantime, please click on over to my wife’s photo blog and see what she’s been up to. She’s been burning up her keyboard since she launched last week, and I’m very proud of her.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you are all in good health!

Kirk out.

Search word SNAFU

2011-02-15T16:43:00.001-06:00

For the record, there are no “naked Klingon women” here at The Sound and Fury. But here’s a little something to tide you over until you find them. Thanks for visiting.

Kirk out.

‘Batman: The Long Halloween’: A review

2011-02-08T17:34:00.001-06:00

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Batman: The Long Halloween marked my first foray into the comic book world of Batman. Had it been a lesser book, my interest in the Caped Crusader might have ended when I flipped the last page. But the book exceeded my expectations on every level and served as a spring board for further explorations of Gotham City and its crime fighting Dark Knight.

It’s not that I’m new to the world of the Bat. Honestly, that would be a bit un-American, wouldn’t it? It’s just that, by time I was a kid, Batman was already an institution that had spread from the comic world into television, toys, coloring books, clothing, and other merchandising avenues. You didn’t have to read Batman comics to know what he was all about. It’s odd to think of it this way, but ubiquity can almost render a thing irrelevant. Or, perhaps, the thing becomes so relevant that it is no longer noteworthy. As I said in my post a few days ago (Rediscovering Batman: A preamble), I’ve known the Bat in just about every other medium except the one where he originated. I don’t know why, but it was time I got to know the comic Batman a bit better.

The Long Halloween is a delicious, noir-style murder mystery that depicts the evolution of Harvey Dent from crusading district attorney to the fiendish, vengeful character Two Face. The Holiday serial killer has Gotham City’s criminal underworld clamoring for justice, while Batman and company attempt to uncover who Holiday is, and why he’s bumping off mob bosses and their associates. The Long Halloween is an inclusive, far-reaching story featuring series regulars like Catwoman, The Joker, The Penguin, Jim Gordon, The Riddler, and even lesser villains from the stable of Batman foes like Poison Ivy, The Mad Hatter, The Calendar Man, Scarecrow, and Solomon Grundy. (And what a great opportunity to plug a buddy’s film. Check out Mattson Tomlin’s non-Batman related take on the nursery rhyme, Solomon Grundy.)

Loeb and Sale hand out little textual and visual clues as the story progresses, and then proceed to use those clues against the reader. The story is a great whodunit that succeeds on confounding the reader and sustaining interest for its entire 370 pages. Repetition in story and visual elements drive home the themes of faith and trust in the face of an undercurrent of stagnant corruption, while introducing the reader to the rogue’s gallery of Batman foes. Loeb’s character dialogue is spot on, and perfectly cultivates the archetypes and stereotypes we’ve come to associate with gangsters, henchmen, cops, lawyers, and superheroes.

The art is bold, effecting a convincing noir-like comic world. Color is used sparingly, serving as punctuation for particularly important scenes and as a means to emphasize recurring themes. I cannot overstate how great Tim Sale’s pencils work with Gregory Wright’s colors to create a foreboding world full of shadowy, pensive, and well drawn characters. The settings are so convincingly depicted I sometimes felt like I was stepping through a door into another, alternate time and place every time I picked up the book. The brooding, blue and black, rain slicked Gotham alleys and streets, and the stalwart, heroic, and villainous characters seemed to breathe and sweat and steam on the pages as though they’d taken on the tactile quality of the real world.

If The Long Halloween is indicative of Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb’s work together as a team, count me in for subsequent trips to the trough. I’ve already got my eye on the sequel, Batman: Dark Victory.

On a side note, Batman: The Long Halloween served as one of a few different sources of inspiration for Christopher Nolan’s 2005 Batman reboot, Batman Begins. I’ll be dissecting that film and cross examining it with Tim Burton’s record setting, landmark 1989 film, Batman in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for more Batmania.

Kirk out.

Rediscovering Batman: A preamble

2011-02-06T12:26:00.001-06:00

I was never that in to Batman as a kid. Sure, I had the Underoos, some toys, and I watched the Justice League cartoons on Saturday mornings, but my interest in the character never extended beyond that into the medium where he originated. It’s been a sordid affair, my relationship with comics, but one I could never completely divest myself of. One of my best friends, David, was still pretty into comics by the time we were teenagers, and his devotion to the medium rekindled my interest. He turned me on to The Punisher, especially The Punisher War Journals, and I began collecting just about anything my small town convenience store would stock. It was hit or miss, but because the selection was such a hodgepodge, I developed a fearless attitude towards comic book reading.

I’d try anything, and my collection quickly swelled with titles such as Spider-Man, The Punisher War Journal, Green Arrow, Archie, Star Wars, Cable, and some offbeat titles that I can’t even recall now. Sadly, after moving from place to place in my twenties, that box of comics has been misplaced. I had the very first Dark Horse Star Wars comics, the Dark Horse reprints of the original Marvel Star Wars series (ugh) and two copies (including one sealed copy) of the #1 issue of Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man series, and the following four issues. I hold on to to hope that the box is sitting unmolested in my parent’s house somewhere, but as of this writing it is still at large.

Nevertheless, my love for comics as an adult continued as an on again off again relationship, largely due to the availability of the collected graphic novel. Oh, I still manage to pop into a comic store from time to time, but it’s hardly a regular event. Monthly subscriptions are expensive, and just not my thing. But the graphic novel allows me to get a good dose of the comic format from time to time, and since my neighborhood Barnes and Noble stocks a wide variety of titles, I’m able to keep up with what’s new in comics without having to run the monthly gauntlet of role playing aficionados. God bless ‘em, though. That lot is the staple of the comic book store, and without their patronage the brick and mortar comic store would probably go the way of the record store.

As an adult, my comic reading has largely stayed within the realm of sci-fi or fantasy, and over the past 20 years or so, Dark Horse Comics has become my favored comic publisher. Nowhere has their commitment to story and art been more apparent , though, than in their adaptations of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories. These books, usually borrowed from my dad, have been the cornerstone of my comic book reading for the past 5 years.

The world of the superhero, in all honesty, is a bit intimidating. Where does one start? Superhero series can go on and on for years, with multiple story arcs, reboots, and alternate timelines and universes. Which brings up another problem with the monthly comic format: When I have found something that looks interesting, it’s almost always right in the middle of the story arc. Who wants to spend their days flipping through stacks of back issues only to find that you’ve got issues #1-34, but you’re still missing #13, #17, and #23? I can’t stand coming in on the middle of a story. If I can’t get the whole thing, I won’t bother with it.

But some time in the fall of 2010, and for the life of me I still don’t know why, Batman began to steal his way back into my imagination. Maybe it was the impression that Watchmen left on me, when I finally invested my time in its pages, that reminded me that the superhero wasn’t just child’s play. I began to see titles on the shelves of comic and book stores that suddenly seemed so inviting to me, but my interest always seemed to run back to one title: Batman: The Long Halloween. For a lot of adult comic book fans, the modern adult-oriented superhero story begins and ends with the name Frank Miller. Frankly (heh heh), though, art has always been the first thing to draw me in to a comic story (isn’t that the point?), and the penciling and colors of The Long Halloween appealed more to me than did Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. Heresy, I know, but I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em.

So, I was quite excited on Christmas Day when I unwrapped a gift from my son, and found that it was The Long Halloween. My adult fascination with The Batman had formally begun. I finished The Long Halloween about a month ago, and I’ve since re-visited Tim Burton’s Batman, Batman Returns, and Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. And I’ve got designs on several other incarnations and adaptations including the1966 Batman: The Movie, Batman: The Animated Series, Nolan’s wildly revered sequel, The Dark Knight, Loeb and Sales’ sequel to The Long Halloween; Batman: Dark Victory, and Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One.

So I invite you, dear readers, to join me as I probe the dark Gotham alleys of midnight blue, purple, and gray in search of the mythos of the winged vigilante, Batman. While Batmania grips The Sound and Fury, I’ll be publishing my thoughts and reviews on the movie adaptations and graphic novels as I get them down on “paper”. Stay tuned to this bat channel and long live The Batman!

Kirk out.

‘Die Hard’: A film review

2011-02-03T23:04:00.001-06:00

“They don’t make ‘em like they used to.”

I’ve been hearing that phrase ever since I can remember. As a kid I’d hear the old farts go on and on about the decline of the car industry, or the home appliance (pick one). Even the clothes on their backs were subject to scrutiny, and more than likely the Chinese, Japanese, or the oft cited “younger generation” were going to get bandied about as likely culprits for the aforementioned decline. It wouldn’t surprise me if 100,000 years ago some knuckle dragging proto-human grunted his disapproval for the newfangled stone tools that had begun to replace the stronger, more reliable bone tools he was used to.

But it never stops. Things are never as good as they once were.

Take the action movie. Action as a genre was at the top of its form and popularity in the 1980’s. It was an era of unforgettable heroes, the likes of which haven’t been seen since. There was Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Norris, Van Damme, Lundgren, and Seagal, to name just a few. And though these larger-than-life heroes of the silver screen are aging into the grandpa bracket now, the legacies of the tough-as-nails characters they portrayed live on in film and are preserved as icons of a bygone era. The era of the action movie.

Die Hard redefined the action star. It put Bruce Willis on the map, and solidified John McTiernan as one of the go-to directors for Hollywood action films. In the fast paced 80’s when bigger was better and more, more, more was the expectation, Bruce Willis’s John McClane stood apart as an everyman’s hero. The little guy with a quick wit, big balls, and the expertise and downright determination to back it up. Sure, we had Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon series (one of my favorites), but Martin Riggs was crazy and seemed hell bent on suicide. John McClane had something to live for. Something every working stiff could sympathize with: a wife and kids.

New York cop John McClane (Willis) is flying out to L.A. for Christmas to try and salvage his failing marriage. His wife, Holly (Bonny Bedelia), has apparently taken a high paying promotion with the Nakatomi Corporation, and has been living out west for the past six months. But shortly after McClane is reunited with his wife at her posh, new Nakatomi office, a sophisticated group of European terrorists seize the building and take the entire floor of Nakatomi employees hostage. McClane manages to elude the bad guys and uses his free reign of the building to wreak havoc on their plans.

Die Hard is just a good, goddamned movie from start to finish. Bruce Willis plays the straight forward, wise cracking New York cop perfectly. There’s no distinction between actor and character. As far as the movie-goer is concerned Willis is McClane. And Alan Rickman, the “it” guy for 80’s villains, matches Willis stroke for stroke. Rickman’s head terrorist, Hans Gruber, is keen, funny, ruthless as hell, and likeable. Rickman’s got his work cut out for him, though, because he has to share the screen with a whole cast of character’s worthy of the audience’s disdain.

Die Hard is replete with quintessential 80’s bad guys. Paul Gleeson (Trading Places, The Breakfast Club) plays the bullying, bungling Deputy Police Chief, and William Atherton takes a turn as the amoral, opportunist reporter, Richard Thornburg. Toss in a couple of immature, testosterone-tweaked FBI agents played by Robert Davi and Grand Bush, and Holly’s slimy, coke-snorting coworker, Harry Ellis, and you’ve got a pretty rounded stable of jerk characters to jeer at.

How to choose?

Besides Die Hard’s perfectly executed action set pieces, the writing and interactions between the characters is the sweet spot of the film. The radio conversations between McClane and Gruber and McClane and Sergeant Powell (Reginald VelJohnson) are well scripted and perfectly timed. These exchanges punctuate the film with brevity and charm, and act as a siphon for the mounting tension between the film’s protagonist and antagonist. But they also cleverly serve as a way to acquaint the audience with our hero. We get to know him as the other characters do, and the more we learn, the more we come to like the caustic New York detective. We want him to save the day, even though he’s kind of an asshole.

Die Hard is a perfect time capsule for the decadent, cocaine fueled 1980’s. The Japanese preeminence as a business power house set against a puffed up American superiority complex is on full display here. And the seeds of the now prevailing European view of Americans as a morally bankrupt, movie fed culture are sown amidst the verbal skirmishes between McClane and Gruber.

Everything gets tied up in a nice, tidy Christmas bow at the end of the movie, and that would be my biggest complaint about it. The end is just too tidy, even for an 80’s feel-good action flick. By the time Powell resolves an earlier admitted gun shyness, the film’s climax has lapsed into the ether, and the whole “Surprise, there’ still one bad guy let alive!” bit lacks the emotional resonance intended.

Still, for my money, Die Hard is as good a movie as the first time I saw it. And I guess I’ll just have to keep watching it over and over again, cause they just don’t make ‘em like they used to.

Score: 5/5

Kirk out.

Mini Blog Milestone

2011-02-01T15:33:00.001-06:00

According to Site Meter, sometime yesterday The Sound and Fury logged its 10,000 th visitor. Now that’s probably not a drop of water in the vast cistern that is the greater blogosphere, but for me, for the few years I’ve been playing at this, it’s definitely a milestone.

I’ve found recently by checking Site Meter’s recorded traffic against Blogger’s analytics, that Site Meter is missing quite a few readers. But since it’s what I’ve used to track reader traffic almost since the beginning, I’m still considering 10,000 a significant number for me. As always, your readership is appreciated and necessary. Thanks to all of you loyal readers out there, and welcome to all of the new ones. And thanks, also, to the small network of genre-minded bloggers that I’ve met along the way. You guys have become a small cluster of friends and advocates, without which, this blog might never have seen the light of day.

Kirk out.

‘Battlestar Galactica’: Initial thoughts

2011-01-31T14:42:00.001-06:00

If you’ve been reading here a while, you already know that I’m pretty skeptical of remakes and re-imaginings. Especially when it involves something near and dear to my heart. Whether it’s music (The Foo Fighter’s cover of Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street) or movies (The Karate Kid), some things can never live up to the original.

And it’s a tricky path to find footing on when adapting, remaking, or covering another artist’s work. You get the marketing benefit of a built in fan base with a recognized brand name, but that can be a double edged sword if you alienate them by trying (and failing) to improve on the source material. Fans will turn on a franchise in a heartbeat. That’s evident over at the Conan the Movie Blog and other Conan related discussion boards right now in reference to the Marcus Nispel directed Conan the Barbarian movie that’s slated for release later this year. Let’s just say that, in general, I’m not a fan of remakes and song covers. Too often remakes and covers are convoluted and ruined by the egos of those involved or they are corrupted by visions only of dollar signs.

When I began seeing promos for the Sci-Fi Channel’s overhauled and updated Battlestar Galactica I wasn’t impressed. The first thing I noticed was that the clunky chrome plated Cylons from the 1978 original series had been transformed into human-like creatures, ala The Terminator. This sexed up version of the short lived TV series I loved so much as a child seemed to be trying to appeal to the lowest common dominator. I mean, come on, sexy Cylons? The list of grievances began to add up, and there was no choice left but to ignore the show. My pristine memory of the Battlestar Galactica of my childhood would remain forever intact.

Well, maybe not.

After finding the new Battlestar Galactica in Netflix’s Watch Instantly section a few nights ago, I decided to give it a try. That’s what I love about the Watch Instantly feature. No risk. If I hate it, I just turn it off. The thing is, though, I didn’t hate it. In fact, I was completely engrossed in the story almost from the start.

Almost.

I was reluctant. I still didn’t like that Cylons looked like humans and that the remaining Cylon robots and their Raiders had been rather lamely redesigned. Very lamely redesigned, I should say. Forgiving those two minor complaints, though, the series is quite astonishingly, amazingly amazing. Say that three times backwards.

First things first. Edward James Olmos as Commander Adama is outstanding. He broods. He simmers. And he emotes brilliantly with the slightest twitch of a cheek muscle or brow raise. The show is worth watching just to see him bring this character to life. One of the character changes I initially didn’t like has turned into a welcome surprise in actress Katie Sackoff’s turn as the sarcastic Viper pilot, Starbuck (no relation to the coffee shops). Sackoff is easy to like. She’s got a charming smile and is convincing as a rebellious, stubborn, antagonistic, and cocky young pilot. She’s no Dirk Benedict, but she chews the cigar almost as well. Mary McDonnell is good in every role I’ve seen her attempt. She brings a contemplative, reluctant, yet firmly resolved, manner to the role of President of the Twelve Colonies. The casting decisions for McDonnell and Olmos alone are strokes of brilliance, but they point to a broader purpose for this series. Which brings me to my next point.

The writing is superb. Uniquely well drawn characters are what drive the show, but the issues that the writers attempt to dissect and tackle in the format of a science fiction television show are brave, and probably the greatest thing to differentiate this show from other hollow, meaningless crap that Sci-Fi Channel tends to put out. Broad concepts like love, God, and community, which are difficult to address in an episodic format, are deftly threaded and woven into a coherent theme. The writers do not shy away from the delicate issues of the day, either. Battlestar Galactica is very much a running social commentary for the first decade of the new millennium, covering a difficult spectrum of micro-topics like terrorism, religion, science and humanity’s responsibility to and for its creations, war, human nature, and the implications of a global community.

The SFX and science for the show, to my layman’s eyes, seem a helluvalot more well thought out and better reasoned than the sci-fi space operas of my childhood. The ships, especially the Colonial Vipers, seem to operate in a more rationalized, realistic fashion within the context of a space battle, but don’t lose the cool factor while they’re at it. The space exteriors are all well conceived and used just enough to keep things interesting, while allowing the character interactions to drive the story from beginning to end. The show’s creators must have had military advisors from the Navy, because this is dead on too. Applying the age old template of a sea to space naval apparatus, Battlestar Galactica gets it right. Some of the actors really needed to learn how to salute, but in just about every way these characters conduct themselves as if they’d spent time on a modern naval vessel.

I’m only on the fourth episode of Season 1, so rest assured I’m not done talking about this. So far, though, I’m having to choke on the disparaging remarks I made about the series before I gave it a chance. And, hey, I’m only seven years late.

To be continued.

Kirk out.

File this under ‘Stuff’.

2011-01-27T20:46:00.001-06:00

Writers have to be good observers, don’t they? We have to note behaviors in people and animals and recognize the color, texture and shape of our surroundings in order to recall them for just about any kind of writing assignment. How can a writer write real dialogue, if he’s never paid attention to the nuances of the spoken language he/she is writing in?

It is in the realm of observations that I would like to dwell today. I’ve taken to jotting down some of the more interesting scrutinizations I’ve made as I adjust to this new, very youthful college setting.

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In cold-ish weather: I’ve always found it odd that some people choose to wear heavy coats with flip flops, or heavy coats with shorts. I saw both yesterday. It seems to me to be an awful conflict of interest.

Smoking and going to college. Not investing in the future, while investing in the future. Contradictory?

Fully 1/3 of the people asked in my US Government class admitted they got their news from the Colbert Report or The Jon Stewart Show. Ah, the future of America!

I saw a young, nondescript dude walk up to the front of class yesterday to get something from the professor, and he had his pants belted fully below his rear end. How is this comfortable? Why wear the pants at all? Can someone explain this phenomenon to me? I know it’s nothing new, but I haven’t really seen it done in a while.

Same class. Saw a young, sort of preppy-dressed fellow sporting the eraser. The eraser! Remember Kid from Kid ‘n Play? I guess the styles of the 80’s are now old hat, and we are turning to the 90’s for fashion guidance. We should turn back now. Now, I say!

And finally a movie related observation. My Anthro professor showed us a video from Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, which I’d seen before, and it was very interesting even the second time around. Sagan is an intense fellow and worthy of comment all on his own, but I was astounded at how much his mannerisms reminded me of Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith from The Matrix trilogy. See for yourself.

Sagan begins speaking on camera about 1 minute into the first video, if you want to get to the pertinent bits. But, by all means, watch the whole video. It’s interesting in its own right.

And now Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith. Excuse the subtitles. This was the only embeddable one I could find.

So, what did you think? I think the footage speaks for itself. Weaving must have used Sagan as a model for his characterization of Agent Smith. The similarities, to me, are uncanny.

That’s all I have today, folks. I’m still mulling over my thoughts on the Oscar nominations that were announced earlier this week, but I should have some thoughts up about those soon. Expect some ranting.

Kirk out.

Why I write

2011-01-25T20:42:00.001-06:00

The Sound and Fury has always been a place for me to discuss the things that I’m interested in while practicing at the craft of writing. Chief among those interests have been books, movies, and to a lesser degree, music. Movies, though, have been the giant crystal through which I’ve tended to focus most of my creative energies. When I was dispossessed from my job in early fall of last year I had a choice to make: return to school and build a stronger, more reliable platform of knowledge and skills that would, hopefully, afford me better career opportunities than I otherwise would have had without a degree, or find another dead end job, repeat the previous 10 years of my life, and pray to God that I could hang on and support my family.

Obviously, with help from my ever supportive, beautiful wife, I made the choice to return to school. But even then there were choices to make. Where to attend? How many classes should I take? Which classes should I take? What major should I pursue?

I considered the last question carefully. Part of me wanted to be practical. But part of me wanted to follow my heart. It was like those cartoons where the devil version of you and the angel version of you are standing on your shoulders having an argument over what you should do. I’m not sure which decision was represented by the horned version and which was represented by the haloed version. This I know: I chose, once again with help and support from an unbelievably encouraging wife, (who surely must believe in me to allow me on this damn fool’s errand) to follow my heart. And so I’ve begun my pursuit of an education and a degree in Radio, Television, and Film. Specifically, the film portion. And more specifically, screenwriting.

I’ve been creating for nearly as long as I can remember, whether by dressing myself up in costumes culled together from various items I’d found lying around the house and acting out scenes that I’d imagined, or through other forms of play with friends, my sister, or by myself with toys and other props. I imagined worlds through crude drawings, ever doodling in class when I should have been learning about such and such a treaty being signed or such and such amino acid responsible for such and such bodily function. Unfortunately, while the teacher droned on about these topics, I was in my head having adventures.

I began writing when I was around 14 or 15. I tried my hand at creating my own Star Wars story (which I found recently, and discovered that it’s really not that bad), fantasy stories, a tale about Vietnam, and I even did a stint at our High School newspaper, The High Standard. Some of the early stories weren’t too bad, but most of them went unfinished. They were clichéd, hackneyed stories that you’d expect from a kid, and they were sometimes poorly structured. But the message was clear: I wanted to tell stories. It didn’t really matter to me which medium I used (paper was the easiest to obtain). I just wanted to tell the stories that had been fermenting in my brain since childhood.

Movies quickly became a huge part of my life, and I often imagined my stories as though they were moving pictures. Movies seemed out of reach, though. Movies were in Hollywood, and Hollywood was in L.A., and I somehow always knew I’d never move to L.A. I’m kind of a homeboy, and I just love my family too much. But then my son came along and solidified it. Whatever I was going to do was going to have to be near him. I needed him as much as he needed me, and that’s just how it was going to be.

But Austin isn’t what it was when I moved here in 1996. This town has seen the rise and fall of the dot coms and the tech industry bust, and two real estate slumps. But the film industry is as alive as its ever been here.

Suddenly, in the early days of the fall of 2010, without a job and facing the prospect of returning to school, the idea of a career in film didn’t sound so silly anymore.

Thus I began the pursuit of a dream. A dream to tell stories. No matter how fantastical they may be. To see those worlds I envisioned as a child (and still do) realized and shared. I finally came to believe that dreams are only as real as we believe them to be. And I believe. I really, truly believe.

"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us pause."

-from Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Thanks for reading.

Kirk out.

Spotlight on Short Film

2011-01-21T18:03:00.001-06:00

Every now and again I like to take a little peek at what’s going on in the world of the short film. With Hollywood paying more and more attention to the products of unknown filmmakers posted on video hosting sites like YouTube and Vimeo, due in large part to the success of Neil Blomkamp’s District 9, it seems that the path towards getting a film green lit is changing. And changing fast.

Pixels, The Raven, Blinky, and Panic Attack have all drawn interest from studios (some of them have already been picked up)looking to produce their own low budget District 9. This is not meant to take away any credit from these filmmakers. These films are all creative and interesting in their own ways. And I’m glad to see these filmmakers getting their shot at the big time, but I think possibly (hopefully) the most positive lesson to have come from the success of District 9 is the idea that budget has very little to do with how entertaining or good a film can be. It’s all about the creative drive behind the film itself.

I like the idea of a director and crew working within the constraints of a tighter budget. How many of history’s most memorable and successful films have involved some kind of desperate struggle, or strife on the part of the crew? Star Wars comes immediately to mind. The hardships that the characters endure in that film are quite possibly the perfect parallel to the struggles of the crew working behind the scenes, and within a very constrictive budget, to get the film realized. It’s the hero’s journey personified. Francis Ford Coppolas’ Apocalypse Now is another example of tenacious filmmaking overcoming great difficulty and personal hardship (famously chronicled in the documentary Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse) in the pursuit of great cinema.

The lesson seems to be: Nothing worth doing is ever easy. I like the idea of struggling filmmakers getting a chance to show the world what they can do when they are so dedicated to a vision that they’ll do nearly anything to see it through to fruition. True art is almost never aware of its value or the value of the work that took to produce it.

But enough of my pontificating. On to the films.

I’ve spotlighted more than a few of these short films over the past year or so, but there were some pretty good ones that I missed as well, and I’d like to share them here now. I hope you enjoy them.

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Samurai is a proof of concept trailer by Jerry O’Flaherty. It kind of reminds me of Zach Snyder’s upcoming fantasy film, Sucker Punch.

Panic Attack by Frederico Alvarez isn’t all that inventive from a story point of view, but it sure is pretty to look at.

Yet another proof of concept trailer continuing the samurai theme. Gary Shore’s Cup of Tears blends a manga look at samurai with a strange, but very interesting science fiction angle. I’m not sure what kind of mythology Shore is working on here, but I like it. Definitely shades of Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City here in terms of the visual style.

What happens when you mix great dialogue with odd, stop-motion visuals, a kooky concept, and brilliant voice talent? You get something akin to Marcel the Shell With Shoes On by Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I like variety in my movies. If you do like this sort of thing, check out the gorgeous short film, Out of a Forest, and the quirky Czech film, Kooky’s Return.

Adam Berg’s Carousel used the single take shot to great effect in this The Dark Knight inspired commercial for Philips Company. Philips has been responsible for several terrifically composed short films this past year, including Carl Erich Rinsch’s The Gift and the very Blade Runner-esque short, Dark Room, by Johnny Hardstaff (gosh I hope that’s not a made up name from a previous movie career), which also employs the single take shot very effectively.

Daniel Mercadante and Will Hoffman’s Words is oddly moving. The film uses words as interpreted through pictures to create a flow of images and scenes that explore the beauty of the human condition. This film isn’t particularly aground breaking in its message, but it is creative and wondrous in its ability to move the viewer through the use of everyday images and themes.

This proof of concept animated short by creator/director David Weinstein, like Panic Attack, doesn’t offer much in the way of story, but the visuals are more compelling than almost anything I’ve seen in a big budget Hollywood film lately (with the obvious exclusion of Tron: Legacy). And to these filmmaker’s credit, these proofs do not really concern themselves with story, as that’s not really what these trailers are trying to sell. The visuals are key to stories like these, and that’s what the footage focuses on. All we can do is hope they put enough work into the screenplay, if these films ever get made. Check out Azureus Rising.

I cannot overstate the wealth of impressive, inventive filmmakers that are out there just hoping to be found right now. You can find them on sites like Vimeo, YouTube*, Viewfinder, and Kickstarter. If you enjoy creative filmmaking unimpeded by the homogenization that has become the hallmark of the mainstream film industry then go. Seek them out. Find them. You can immerse yourself for an entire day in the content on Vimeo, let alone the other sites that are out there, and still not have scratched the surface of the incredible work that is being done in independent film right now. It’s an exciting time. Let’s just hope that big business and dollar signs don’t ruin it.

Kirk out.

*YouTube is mentioned in the interest of fairness and thorough reporting. It’s wide use makes it attractive for any filmmaker wanting to get their movie in front of people, but it also attracts the lowest common denominator. Comments sections are cesspools of negativity and foul language, and it’s very difficult to find the quality work buried beneath all of the nonsense and spam. Use at your own peril.

‘The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension’: A film review

2011-01-20T20:21:00.004-06:00

Before Peter Weller fought crime in Old Detroit as a cyborg cop in Paul Verhoeven's Robocop he saved the world from imminent destruction by two warring factions of shape shifting, inter-dimensional aliens called Lectoids.

Sound ridiculous? It is ridiculous. And it's meant to be.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is a campy, silly, satirical, ‘80’s sci-fi film centered around the titular Banzai and his motley band of tag-alongs (also his back up band), The Hong Kong Cavaliers (Clancy Brown, Lewis Smith, and Jeff Goldblum, among others).

Banzai is a physicist, rock star, neurosurgeon, comic book hero, race car driver, and, lately, an intergalactic hero. When Banzai and his team successfully attempt to drive a jet truck through a mountain, he inadvertently passes through another dimension and…You know what? It doesn’t matter.

It’s ‘80’s sci-fi schlock. But it’s inventive, and with an ear for comedy that many other films of this era and budget do not have. The production values may be low, and the plot convoluted, but the interactions between the characters, the hilarious names of the aliens, and the impressive cast of actors (John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, and Clancy Brown, and the very hot Ellen Barkin*) employed here practically guarantee that you will be entertained.

Put The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension in your Netflix queue, pop a bag of popcorn, grab your favorite beverage, sit back and enjoy the show.

Score: 3/5

Kirk out.

*Edited to include Ellen Barkin. Thanks to fellow blogger Alex for pointing out this oversight.

Nichols’ film ‘Take Shelter’ picked up by Sony Pictures Classics

2011-01-19T14:37:00.001-06:00

Writer/director Jeff Nichols’ second film, Take Shelter, premiers this Monday at Sundance. For a filmmaker there must be tons of emotions wrapped up in landing a film at such a prestigious institution. Pure elation and joy, I’m sure, are among them. But anxiety and stress over the film’s acceptance probably take up their fair share of mind space as well. But acceptance and accolades, fear and doubt have probably taken a temporary back seat to the news that Sony Pictures Classics have purchased the film in advance of this Monday’s screening.

Here is a synopsis of the film from Sundance’s website:

Following his acclaimed debut, Shotgun Stories, writer/director Jeff Nichols reteams with actor Michael Shannon to create a haunting tale that will creep under your skin and expose your darkest fears.
Curtis LaForche lives in a small town in Ohio with his wife, Samantha, and daughter, Hannah, a six-year-old deaf girl. When Curtis begins to have terrifying dreams, he keeps the visions to himself, channeling his anxiety into obsessively building a storm shelter in his backyard. His seemingly inexplicable behavior concerns and confounds those closest to him, but the resulting strain on his marriage and tension within his community can’t compare with Curtis’s privately held fear of what his dreams may truly signify.
Take Shelter features fully realized characters crumbling under the weight of real-life problems. Using tone and atmosphere to chilling effect, Nichols crafts a powerful psychological thriller that is a disturbing tale for our times.

Check out this link to the Sundance site and a video of the director talking about the film, the inspiration for the story, and some production info.

And thanks, Dad, for giving me the heads up on this little bit of news.

Kirk out.

What it is

2011-01-19T10:05:00.001-06:00

Okay, I’ve got just a few minutes to get a quick post in so please excuse my brevity. Lots and lots of new and exciting things have been happening for me lately and I wanted to take a minute to share some of them with you all.

First off, the most obvious item, and one I’ve already mentioned a few times: I finished my first day as a full time college student. I’m going to keep my declared major to myself for the time being. Suffice it to say that it is very relevant to my hobbies and interest.

I really like the professors and I’m very interested in the topics of the classes I’m taking. The two professors I met yesterday are both young, open minded, and encouraging of debate and dialogue. Great stuff! This is why I’m going the traditional route instead of the online option. I really enjoy lecture courses.

I met the campus editor for the school newspaper in my communications class, and she said they need writers. We spoke after class and it looks like I’ll be tackling writing some articles. This made my day, as it was a goal of mine to write for this paper. It turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be to get the chance. Now all I have to do is try and not write a shite article.

The stars must have aligned this week in just the proper way for the above news and the following news to have happened so close together (at all, even!). I joined a local group of filmmakers (at just the right time apparently) at one of their meetings last week and they announced that they will be writing, producing, screening, and distributing a feature film this year. I was hesitant to throw my lot in with theirs because, even though I write fiction, I don’t know anything about writing a screenplay. Not enough to actually write one, anyway.

Not to be deterred, I went to this week’s meeting and introduced myself to the group’s organizer (a very nice young woman), and explained my ignorance and my ambitions. She asked me what I was interested in, and I responded, “Everything!” Proving her prowess as manager and diplomat (Hey, she’s a director--these are good traits to have.) she smiled and asked me to outline the parts of the filmmaking process that I am most interested in. I told her that I would be most interested in writing and editing. She said that she could find a use for me in both cases, and that a willingness to be a part of it was all I needed to be considered. I’m so excited and scared that I can’t even begin to form meaningful thoughts on either of the aforementioned bits of news.

Inhale.

I joined a tennis team. We play on Saturdays. I haven’t played competitively since (gulp) High School. Hang in there, knees.

I won a blogging award for Top Creative Writing Blog of 2010. My blog was chosen along with about 40 other blogs. I still have no idea who nominated me, and I’m still a little…unsure about it all. I guess I’ll have the badge up soon to prove it. Whatever the reason behind it, it’s nice to be chosen for top anything of 2010. Well, maybe not anything. But you know what I mean.

I attended the Governor’s Inaugural Ball last night with Kelley and our neighbors. That was…interesting.

Anyway, thanks for listening to me blather on about my bits of good news. And for those of you that bothered to read all of that nonsense, I reward you with a very cool new trailer for an indie movie called, Love.

As always, thanks to all of you who read loyally. I truly appreciate it. I encourage those of you who have never commented to join in on the discussion. Please let me know what you’d like to hear more about, or what you would rather here less about. Tell me your cat’s name and the color of your favorite pair of socks, if you want. Let there be discourse!

Kirk out.

‘The Burning Land’ by Bernard Cornwell: A book review

2011-01-17T10:24:00.002-06:00

Oh, Bernie. Yet again, you’ve caught my mind in a time machine and swept it away to the muddy, war torn shores of Anglo-Saxon England.

It seems the Danes are at it again. They are plundering and pillaging, raping and enslaving, murdering and maiming their way across Wessex. A new Dane, Harald Bloodhair, has come to claim the throne of Wessex with the help of a mighty Viking fleet and his witch, Skade. But Uhtred of Bebbanburg, King Alfred’s reluctant champion, rides against him.

Outnumbered by Harald’s Danes and despised by Alfred’s top clergymen, Uhtred skillfully weaves the threads of Saxon politics to engineer a tactically brilliant (and lucky) route of the Danish force at the hill above Farnham.

Uhtred has once again proven his worth as Alfred’s war hammer. But when he is provoked into accidentally killing a mad priest by Alfred’s scheming Welsh Bishop, Asser, his lands and holdings become forfeit. But the scorned Uhtred has grown tired of fighting Wessex’s battles. He longs for Northumberland, and his fortress by the sea, and he decides to break his oath to Alfred. He flees to the north with a small crew of loyal men, and takes refuge in his brother’s (the Dane, Ragnar Ragnarsson) stronghold at Dunholm. There the two Warlords plot with the other Danish Jarls of the north to destroy Wessex, and with it Christianity, once and for all.

But, as Uhtred is fond of saying, wyrd bið ful aræd. “Fate is inexorable.”

Uhtred is once again drawn south by an oath he’d sworn to Alfred’s daughter, Aethelflaed, the princess of Mercia. His plans to fight with the Danish forces, and thereby accumulate enough wealth to take the mighty Bebbanburg, are once again put aside, and the entire book culminates in a climactic battle for the Danish held fortress of Benfleet.

The Burning Land is every bit the equal of the four preceding books in The Saxon Stories, and probably a bit better than the previous book, Sword Song. The formula is familiar, yet somehow not stale. Saxon England is painted with an impeccable attention to detail, and with a mind for history. Some things are embellished, but rarely are things changed, and even then the author includes a historical note explaining the changes against what actually happened.

Out protagonist, the aging Uhtred, narrates the story as he has with the previous four books with a gritty realism that is necessary for the subject matter. He is a likeable character, but he is far from perfect. His commentary is acerbic at times, and he is no lover of Christians. But in making Uhtred a Pagan Saxon, Cornwell has torn his narrator between loyalties, and this device allows the author to describe each side of the battle of Dane against English in a more unbiased way.

The overall plot of The Burning Land is a little disjointed at times, almost as though Cornwell changed his mind about halfway through the book. But this uneven narrative structure keeps the reader on unsure footing and further illustrates the series’ theme that fate cannot be decided or foreseen by man. It also serves as a way of keeping the hero in check. Uhtred isn’t infallible, and Cornwell does a great job of interrupting his youthful boasting with the pessimistic sarcasm of the older, narrator-Uhtred.

The Burning Land is an easy read, especially if you enjoy historical fiction, and it ends with several plot threads untied; fodder for future books that Cornwell plans to write. For folks who are interested in Anglo-Saxon England, Vikings, or for those of you who enjoy movies like Gladiator and Braveheart (with perhaps a little more historical accuracy), you cannot go wrong with this series of books. The mud, the blood, the guts, the political intrigue, and religious maneuvering are all captivating reasons to pick it up and go to that war stricken land. And they’re also all reasons to be thankful that you can close the book and be back in the dry warmth of your peaceful home.

I highly recommend all of the books in The Saxon Stories, and The Burning Land is no exception.

Kirk out.

Starz’ new series ‘Camelot’ holds promise…maybe

2011-01-16T20:35:00.002-06:00

Niall over at The Speculative Scotsman put up a post about the prequel second season of Starz’ Spartacus: Gods of the Arena a few days ago, and while I’m not exactly terribly excited about the show, his post did provide an excellent segue for a bit of news on another Starz historical drama series.

You all know the basic story of King Arthur either through books, movies, or television. So when a new adaptation of a very old source material rears its ugly head, I have to stop and wonder what this new incarnation will do that others have not. Camelot picks up where many other Arthurian tales have, with the death of Uther Pendragon and the installation of a new, previously unknown king: Arthur.

Have a look.

Camelot

In the wake of King Uther’s sudden death, chaos threatens to engulf Britain. When the sorcerer Merlin has visions of a dark future, he installs the young and impetuous Arthur, Uther’s unknown son and heir, who has been raised from birth as a commoner. But Arthur’s cold and ambitious half sister Morgan will fight him to the bitter end, summoning unnatural forces to claim the crown in this epic battle for control. These are dark times indeed for the new king, with Guinevere being the only shining light in Arthur’s harsh world. Faced with profound moral decisions, and the challenge of uniting a kingdom broken by war and steeped in deception, Arthur will be tested beyond imagination. Forget
everything you think you know…this is the story of Camelot that
has never been told before.

The trailer begins with several plusses on its side.

First, I like what they’ve done with the costume and set designs, steering clear of the medieval romances for an attempt at a more geographically and historically accurate adaptation. Of course, this is all a guess, and really open for interpretation given that texts used as historical basis for a real King Arthur wildly contradict one another. As far as I’m concerned, though, Dark Ages Britain (Wales more to the point) is the best possible guess for Arthur's time and locale, which would make him a Celt, of sorts. The setting and Romano-British costumes all point to a more…believable reality for Arthur and his “knights”.

Second, casting seems strong. Eva Green looks the part of Arthur’s sister Morgana, and she just evokes power. (On a side note: Green would make the perfect actress to play the character Skade in a screen adaptation of the Bernard Cornwell book that I just read, The Burning Land. Not that any of you would know what the hell I’m blathering about, though.) Joseph Fiennes takes a different turn as the scheming Merlin, and I swear I saw James Purefoy in there somewhere, which is a bonus.

And then about halfway through the trailer, it all goes in the shitter.

What in the blazing saddles was that atrocious music that began around the midpoint of the trailer? Though it’s doubtful this music will make it into the actual series, when coupled with some of the trailer’s more romantic scenes, I was reminded of some awful teen soap opera I’d expect to see on the WB. It could be argued that a trailer is only a trailer and shouldn’t be used to judge the potential of the actual product, but such dreadful music makes me question the series creators sensibilities. Who are they appealing to? Because if they’re trying to get at the MTV demographic, then it’s a near guarantee that it won’t appeal to me.

My only other complaint would be the casting choice for Arthur. He seemed to be a bit of a sissy, and not at all what I’d expect for a gallant king that unites the land. This one complaint could be easily forgiven, so long as that terrible music stays in the trailer and away from the actual show.

We’ll see. Adapting the Arthur legends is a tall order. And with so many adaptations in literature (Bernard Cornwell’s The Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur) and film (John Boorman’s Excalibur), it will be that much more difficult to impress me. And I gotta call foul on the catch line, “Forget everything you think you know…this is the story of Camelot that has never been told before.” Seriously? Like I said before, it’s going to be very difficult for an adaptation to be original and not derivative of other adaptations.

But, crappy, poser rock music and silly tag lines not withstanding, this might just be the second reason for me getting cable again. HBO’s A Game of Thrones being the first.

What did you think? Would you watch Camelot?

Camelot premiers April 1st on Starz network.

Kirk out.

Star Wars lives

2011-01-14T15:43:00.001-06:00

2010 was a banner year for Star Wars related art and merchandise, and the juggernaut that is Lucasfilm LTD shows no signs of stopping. With the upcoming release of the Star Wars saga to Blu Ray, the continued success of The Clone Wars TV series, on again off again talk of a live action TV series, and rumors of more movies; Star Wars seems…unstoppable.

But nowhere is the undying love for things from a galaxy far, far away more obvious than in fan created art. I hope you enjoy these Star Wars bits and pieces that I’ve been collecting over the past few months. Long live Star Wars!

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Mondo Tees, a division of the local Austin theater chain, Alamo Drafthouse, ran a series of officially licensed, limited edition, Star Wars inspired posters in the second half of 2010. Sadly, most of these are completely sold out, but you can check them all out here. I didn’t bother posting them when they were available for sale, because they typically sold out within minutes of their release. These are gems, and I wish I had gotten my hands on some of these. Here’s a few highlights.

Tyler Stout’s movie posters are nearly legendary by now, and these Original Trilogy movie posters are a pretty solid indication why.

I love Dan McCarthy’s minimalist painting “Hoth”. Don’t see the Star Wars connection? Look closer.

It’s amazing how much mileage one throw away line from a Star Wars movie can get. “Sanctuary Moon” by Daniel Danger is no exception. The title is taken from a line from Return of the Jedi. Can any of you guess who said it?

It’s a tough call to make, but I think I might like these movie posters by Olly Moss better than the Tyler Stout versions. What do you think?

Ken Taylor’s “Bounty Hunters” are vividly rendered character studies. His work is amazing, and I suggest you hit his link to check the rest of it out.

Remember the scene that changed the way you looked at Darth Vader? It left a big impression on a lot of us, and apparently on artist Frank Stockton, too.

But enough with officially licensed stuff. Let’s get to the nitty gritty, eh?

These minimalist, mash up movie posters by Matthew Ranzetta are as unique and creative as they are beautiful to look at. (Thanks to my son for finding these and sharing them with me.)

In keeping with the mash up theme, artist Adam Watson imagined what might happen if Star Wars had been done Dr. Seuss style. I laughed out loud at these when I saw them.

Art comes in many forms, and the snow storm this winter in the north east compelled sculptors and photographers to join in on the Star Wars fun.

The sculptors of this snow Jabba and crashed AT AT are unknown, but both are well done.

Brooklyn resident Henry Hargreaves is responsible for the Empire landing in New York City. You can find more of his photos over at /Film.

I’m sure you will all sleep better tonight now that Jon Wollack has answered the burning question, “What would Boba Fett have looked like as a Spartan warrior?” Am I right, or am I right?

Teefury’s original t-shirts are available for one day only at a very low price, and the subjects are typically pop-culture references. Star Wars is featured in one form or another almost every week. These are a few of my favorites.

This design by AJ Paglia mashes up two of my favorite things: Star Wars and samurai. It’s a great nod to the influence of Kurosawa’s films on Lucas’ space opera.

Chris Wahl mashes up Calvin and Hobbes in this sweet-natured reimagining of Han and Chewie.

Football fan and Star Wars fan? No problem. Teefury’ s got you covered with this riff on the Oakland Raiders and Tusken Raiders from Star Wars.

A quick Google search will turn up a plethora of fan made movies as well. Just don’t expect the amount of love that goes into them to affect the quality of the resulting product. Most of them are fun, and the worst of them are laughable.

Whatever your take on fan made art, or the quality of the pieces themselves, there’s no denying that somehow, against all odds and in the wake of the disastrous prequels, it is cool to be a Star Wars fan again—even if one does qualify it by saying, “…but the prequels sucked!”

That’s it for today, folks. It’s back to working on the office for me.

Kirk out.

Trailer Time!

2011-01-11T12:59:00.002-06:00

A few months have passed since the last trailer time, and though this issue isn’t what I’d call a bumper crop, I think you’ll find a few items worth your attention below.

The Trailers

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Blurb:

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" captures the fun, adventure and humor that ignited the hit franchise --this time in Disney Digital 3D(TM). In this action-packed tale of truth, betrayal, youth and demise, Captain Jack Sparrow crosses paths with a woman from his past (Penelope Cruz), and he's not sure if it's love--or if she's a ruthless con artist who's using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship of the formidable pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn't know who to fear more: Blackbeard or the woman from his past.

Sound and Fury Verdict: Did I just hear a collective groan? I really did like the first POTC. It made pirates interesting and very fun again. The second one jumped the shark, and I never saw the third one. Hmph. I’m not sure I even realized that a third had come out.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides sails into theaters on May 20, 2011.

Water For Elephants

Blurb:

Based on the acclaimed bestseller, Water for Elephants presents an unexpected romance in a uniquely compelling setting. Veterinary school student Jacob meets and falls in love with Marlena, a star performer in a circus of a bygone era. They discover beauty amidst the world of the Big Top, and come together through their compassion for a special elephant. Against all odds -- including the wrath of Marlena's charismatic but dangerous husband, August -- Jacob and Marlena find lifelong love.

Sound and Fury Verdict: This movie seems to have the sensibilities of films like Big Fish and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and which could be bad or good, I suppose. I haven’t read the book, but I’m keeping this on my watch list.

Water For Elephants is due in theaters April 15, 2011.

Hannah

Blurb:

The title character of this adventure thriller, filmed in Europe, Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is a teenage girl. Uniquely, she has the strength, the stamina, and the smarts of a soldier; these come from being raised by her father (Eric Bana), an ex-CIA man, in the wilds of Finland. Living a life unlike any other teenager, her upbringing and training have been one and the same, all geared to making her the perfect assassin. The turning point in her adolescence is a sharp one; sent into the world by her father on a mission, Hanna journeys stealthily across Europe while eluding agents dispatched after her by a ruthless intelligence operative with secrets of her own (Cate Blanchett). As she nears her ultimate target, Hanna faces startling revelations about her existence and unexpected questions about her humanity.

Sound and Fury Verdict: Movie trailers are an art form unto themselves. They set the tone and expectation for the final product. I think this trailer fails as a piece of stand alone art, in that sense. The font used at the beginning is so contrary to the images on screen and the ending music is ironic and does not fit with the tone of the piece at all. Whether the irony is intended or not, it just gives the viewer the sense that the film isn’t quite sure what it wants to be. Therefore, it should be a testament to the source material that I still find the film Hannah compelling. I’ll see it and try not to cringe at the terrible Southern accents.

Hannah is out April 8th, 2011.

Limitless

Blurb:

Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro star in Limitless, an action-thriller about a writer who takes an experimental drug that allows him to use 100 percent of his mind. As one man evolves into the perfect version of himself, forces more corrupt than he can imagine mark him for assassination.
Out-of-work writer Eddie Morra's (Cooper) rejection by girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish) confirms his belief that he has zero future. That all vanishes the day an old friend introduces Eddie to MDT, a designer pharmaceutical that makes him laser focused and more confident than any man alive.
Now on an MDT-fueled odyssey, everything Eddie's read, heard or seen is instantly organized and available to him. As the former nobody rises to the top of the financial world, he draws the attention of business mogul Carl Van Loon (De Niro), who sees this enhanced version of Eddie as the tool to make billions.
But brutal side effects jeopardize his meteoric ascent. With a dwindling stash and hit men who will eliminate him to get the MDT, Eddie must stay wired long enough to elude capture and fulfill his destiny. If he can't, he will become just another victim who thought he'd found invincibility in a bottle.

Sound and Fury Verdict: I can’t make up my mind how I feel about Limitless. I don’t much care for Bradley Cooper, but then there’s De Niro. The premise is okay. Not very original, but where they go with it might be interesting. This will probably be relegated to a Netflix night.

Limitless hits theaters on March 18, 2011.

The Beaver

Blurb:

Two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster directs and co-stars with two-time Academy Award winner Mel Gibson in The Beaver – an emotional story about a man on a journey to re-discover his family and re-start his life.
Plagued by his own demons, Walter Black was once a successful toy executive and family man who now suffers from depression. No matter what he tries, Walter can't seem to get himself back on track... until a beaver hand puppet enters his life.

Sound and Fury Verdict: Every time Mel Gibson does something stupid in his personal life (which I could really care less about) that seems to threaten to end his professional one, he miraculously rebounds by reinventing himself. And Hollywood loves a come back story. I suppose, in a way, Gibson’s professional career kind of embodies the historical character of William Wallace he played so famously in Braveheart.

While watching the trailer for The Beaver I had that weird, heavy feeling you get when so many feelings jumble up and crowd together to form a lump in your throat, and you’re seconds away from having a chick moment and crying for absolutely no reason. I can’t explain it, but The Beaver just…moved me. And why not? It’s got funny. It’s got sad. It’s got happy and it’s got mad. Two different kinds of mad, really. I very much look forward to seeing this at The Alamo.

The Beaver does not have a hard release date set yet, but look for it in Spring of 2011.

I Am Number Four

Blurb:

John is an extraordinary teen, masking his true identity and passing as a typical high school student to elude a deadly enemy seeking to destroy him. Three like him have already been killed ... he is Number Four.

Sound and Fury Verdict: I think I just set the record for most yawns during a trailer. I’m not sure I’ll even bother with this on video.

I am Number Four is out in theaters on February 18, 2011.

Kill the Irishman

Blurb:

Over the summer of 1976, thirty-six bombs detonate in the heart of Cleveland while a turf war raged between Irish mobster Danny Greene (Ray Stevenson) and the Italian mafia. Based on a true story, "Kill the Irishman" chronicles Greene's heroic rise from a tough Cleveland neighborhood to become an enforcer in the local mob. Turning the tables on loan shark Shondor Birns (Christopher Walken) and allying himself with gangster John Nardi (Vincent D'Onofrio), Greene stops taking orders from the mafia and pursues his own power. Surviving countless assassination attempts from the mob and killing off anyone who went after him in retaliation, Danny Greene's infamous invincibility and notorious fearlessness eventually led to the collapse of mafia syndicates across the U.S. and also earned him the status of the man the mob couldn't kill.

Sound and Fury Verdict: Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer, and Ray Stephenson. What the hell else do you need to know about it?

Kill the Irishman is slated for a March 11, 2011 release date.

Tree of Life

Blurb:

From Terrence Malick, the acclaimed director of such classic films as Badlands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line, The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950's. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith. Through Malick's signature imagery, we see how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life.

Sound and Fury Verdict: I can’t seem to watch this trailer enough. And it’s got to the point where I’m not sure the actual film could live up to the beauty of this single, short piece of artwork. I admit that I know absolutely nothing about Terrence Malick other than what other people have told me. I skipped The New World because my dad said it was awful, but he said he remembered The Thin Red Line being pretty good. To hear filmmaker Jeff Nichols tell it, Badlands is cinematic perfection. But admits that Malick is a pretty polarizing director. So, yeah, I’ve never seen a single one of his films, but I’ll remedy that soon as Badlands is in route from Netflix as we speak.

I can’t really say what it is about this trailer that chokes me up, but it does. I think it does a good job conveying the sense of loss one feels when you reach adulthood. The innocence and raw beauty of the world is replaced by ugly truth. But it’s really not. It’s up to each and every one of us to see past the harshness of the world, to overcome inner demons and find beauty through the most natural of human emotions: love. At least that’s what I think the film is saying.

A few side notes:

I had the chance to meet Terrence Malick at a screening I went to (thanks Jeff!) for the film The Road (apparently Nichols and Malick share a producer in Sarah Green), but being ignorant of his work I just stayed off to the side while Jeff did his thing. It was interesting, in retrospect, to be that close to a Hollywood legend, and I wish that I’d at least taken the time to meet the man. Ah well. You live and you learn.

Jessica Chastain plays the mother of Sean Penn’s character and she is also in Nichols’ film Take Shelter, which should begin screening at The Sundance Film Festival on January 24th, 2011.

And parts of The Tree of Life were filmed in my hometown, LaGrange, Texas. See? I’m just too invested in this film to miss it.

Tree of Life is due out May 27, 2011.

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What didn’t make the cut

These posts take longer to edit together than you might think, and as such I usually weed out stuff that I just don’t feel like talking about. But some of you may be interested in these films and see the trailers for yourselves. In the interest of disclosure I present to you the list of flunk outs. The ones that did not make the cut. Click the links to go straight to a trailer so you can decide for yourselves.

The Green Hornet

Green Lantern

Mars Needs Moms

Paul

That’s it for Trailer Time for now, folks. But stay tuned. This year is purported by critics and movie people to be a better year for film than last year, and I’ll be following the trailers and adding them as they come out.

Kirk out.

The Star Wars Saga gets a Blu Ray release

2011-01-08T14:28:00.001-06:00

Throughout the history of television and film the question, “Whodunit?” has been the subject of more than a few friendly debates, discussions, and arguments amongst fans. Eventually the arguments and debates became pop-culture catch phrases shared with a wink between fans with common knowledge of the subject, some of which spawned an industry of slogans distributed through licensed merchandise in the form of t-shirts, bumper stickers, and coffee mugs. But as more and more time passed, and the decades of TV and film history accumulated, a few of those phrases themselves became their own pop-culture memes. The original debates became secondary to the associations of the phrases themselves. It didn’t matter whether you’d seen the television show or film where the phrase originated. You either got it, or you pretended to get it.

In the ‘80’s people collectively wondered, “Who shot J.R.?” Similarly, in the early 1990’s David Lynch’s Twin Peaks left people even more dumbfounded and asking the question, “Who killed Laura Palmer?”

But no on-screen gunfight, murder, suicide, or mysterious accidental death has caused as much controversy as the one that spawned the fan declaration, “Han shot first!”

Unless you spent the cold war tucked away in a fallout shelter, you’re probably all too aware of the furiously contested change made by George Lucas to a scene from his 1977 film Star Wars, in which the rough and tumble smuggler Han Solo shoots the alien bounty hunter Greedo in cold blood. The change (among many others) to a more kid-friendly, morally centered outcome with the 1997 Special Edition re-release left fans of the original theatrical releases feeling bitter and a not a little betrayed.

To make matters worse, in addition to the changes to scenes, whole additions of new scenes, and revisionist alterations of the names of the original movies themselves, Lucas further alienated the original fan base by refusing to release the cleaned up, THX versions of the theatrical releases on DVD.

Well, it seems old Uncle George (as he is affectionately called) is at it again. On the heels of news of a possible 3D conversion of all six films and a theatrical re-re-release, 20th Century Fox announced late this week that the entire Star Wars saga (including the universally panned prequels) will be released to Blu Ray in September. The news caused a small stir on movie blogs and message boards amongst fans when the press release failed to mention a possible inclusion of the theatrical releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.

Every angle of this debate has been covered and fans have shouted their disdain from the rooftops, but it seems that Uncle George is no longer listening. But Star Wars isn’t going away. It’s popularity seems to grow everyday with some new piece of tribute art or viral video popping up on the internet every other day.

And though it’s been discussed to death from here to Tatooine (yeah, I did just do that), I want to know how you feel about it. Will you buy these Blu Ray versions, even with rumor of more changes and additions of new SFX? How do you view the ever changing canon of the Star Wars universe? When you watch the films, do you drag out the VCR or Laserdisc player, scrape off the dust, and settle back into your recliner with the old THX versions and a sigh of familiar satisfaction? Or do you prefer the Special Editions from 1997? Are you for further changes to the Star Wars saga? Would you like to see newer filmmakers get the chance to play in the galaxy far, far away? Perhaps you’d like to see the originals remade with today’s SFX and new actors in place of the old ones.

In the comments section below you get to play writer, director, producer, distributor, and critic all at the same time. Tell us what you’d do with the future of Star Wars.

The Star Wars Saga on Blu Ray is available for pre-order on Amazon.com and other on line retailers.

Kirk out.

‘Thor’ film adaptation comes under fire for…racism?

2011-01-07T09:43:00.001-06:00

I’ve been idly following news of the movie adaptation of the Marvel comic Thor for the past year or so. Honestly, very little about this movie interests me except for the fact that Kenneth Branagh is sitting in the director’s chair. I’d be more interested in seeing a truer adaptation of the Scandinavian mythology, but c’est la vie. Hopefully Branagh will bring a more Shakespearean, theatrical sensibility to this rather than a smash-‘em-up, Michael Bay interpretation.

The Controversy

One of the more interesting bits of news about this production to come out in the last few weeks concerns the filmmakers’ decision to cast English actor Idris Elba (The Wire, The Office, and Legacy) in the role of the Norse God Heimdall. The casting decision was met with protests by the Council of Conservative Citizens, and ultimately resulted in a boycott by the group.

Why are they so upset?

Well, as it turns out, Elba is black. I know! Who’d a thunk it? The CCC is calling the move to cast a black actor in the role of the mythological Norse God a revisionist attempt by Marvel to make the story more multi-cultural, and thereby more appealing, to a broader audience. They are suggesting it’s reverse racism (recall the controversy that blew up around The Hobbit a few months back), and an indication of the larger problem that white people are no longer entitled to anything that appeals specifically to them.

So what have we got here, folks? Reverse racism by Hollywood and the comic industry? Greed? Or just a really cool bit of casting of an awesome actor, who just happens to have a really intimidating, captivating stage presence? Is the Council of Concerned Citizens pushing a racist agenda, or is it trying to preserve cultural heritage?

My Take

Look, I’m all for fairness when it comes to celebrating one’s cultural inheritance. Sometimes it seems like the see-saw of political correctness has swung a bit too far in the direction of extremity. Nowadays pride in one’s cultural identity can sometimes be mistaken for racism. And that’s sad. But in this case I don’t feel sorry for the CCC. I’m just not buying it.

Idris Elba is a solid actor whose presence commands attention. When I saw the trailer it never occurred to me to be upset at the fact that the role of “the White God”, Heimdall, had been filled by a black man. I was too busy thinking that he looked freaking awesome for any such notion to worm its way into my brain.

Besides, Thor (the comic) is not an exact account of the Scandinavian mythologies. It’s a comic. Furthermore, the Thor in question is even further removed from the original as it is a movie based on a comic book based on a mythology. Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? The point is it doesn’t have to be 100% true and faithful to the mythology it’s based on because it is only based on it. It’s a fantastical, vague adoption of the myths and some of their related characters, and it’s okay if they look differently than they’re pictured in your Nerd’s Guide to Norse Gods and Mythology.

Now, this Council of Concerned Citizens is being described as a white supremacist group. I haven’t looked at their website or read their mission statement to make up my own mind (I know, I know--lazy journalism), but feel free to do that if you want. They have the choice to boycott the film, if they want. We all have the right to exercise that power when we disagree with a film’s premise, politics, or message. But I also defend the filmmakers’ right to interpret the source material however they see fit, and I’m genuinely okay with it. Similarly, I would be okay if all of the Aesir Gods in Branagh’s adaptation were white. I don’t think it’s a racist move in either case.

By the same token I am not offended that the producers of The Hobbit only sought to cast “light–skinned” people to fill the roles of Hobbits. Again, it’s the filmmakers’ choice how they decide to interpret the source material. Now, I’m not sure how much care went into the casting call for Hobbits, and I think it was incredibly stupid of the casting director (who was subsequently sacked) to tell one Pakistani woman that she was too dark to be considered. Nevertheless, it begs the question of what is appropriate in a casting call and what is not. I’m not sure how this works in Hollywood, let alone in New Zealand, but perhaps someone can fill me in on how this is handled when specific races/cultures are required.

Conclusion

Does any of this amount to racism on the part of these two film’s producers/directors?

I don’t think it does. I am inclined to think that a really good film trumps skin color. In some cases its relevant, but mostly it’s not. Draw interesting characters and pair them with an exciting, compelling plot, and I’ll probably enjoy your film regardless of what the actors look like. Besides, Idris Elba is just bad ass!

Marvel ambitiously plans to tie Thor into the wider story arc of The Avengers, which would crossover characters from Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and the upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger, all of which hold the promise of big box office returns. I’m pretty sure that the CCC’s petty complaints are falling on deaf ears over at Marvel.

Check out the trailer for Thor below and then share your thoughts in the comments section.

Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment present the epic adventure, Thor, which spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and is forced to live among humans. A beautiful, young scientist, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), has a profound effect on Thor, as she ultimately becomes his first love. It's while here on Earth that Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

What do you think? Do you support a multi-cultural film adaptation of a comic book that is based on the characters and events rooted in traditional mythology? Concerning Hobbits (see what I did there?): would it upset you if the role of Bilbo Baggins had been filled by someone of color, or (gasp) a woman? I’d like to hear your opinion, and you can share it below in the comments section.

Be forewarned: keep it respectful. I’ll delete racial epithets quicker than you can say cracker!

Thor is slated for a May 6th, 2011 US release date.

Kirk out.

‘Stone of Destiny’: A film review

2011-01-06T13:14:00.002-06:00

Ah, Scotland. How I long to visit thee. From John o’ Groats to the Firth of Forth and all of the craggy peaks, castle ruins, pubs, churches, Pictish standing stones, and deep, dark lochs in between; the place is a veritable wonderland to me. Having that kind of bias surely doesn’t hurt the chances of a film who’s plot and setting just happen to be (would you guess?) Scotland.

Stone of Destiny is the story (based on true events) of a small group of Scottish nationalists who set out to return (or steal, depending on how you see it) Scotland’s greatest national symbol, the Stone of Scone, to its rightful place in Scotland. University student Ian Hamilton is tired of failed political attempts to restore home rule to Scotland, and he’s saddened that being Scottish in 1950’s Britain is something to be ashamed of rather than be proud of. He sets out, with the help of a friend, to give back his fellow Scots their pride. But in order to do that he must concoct a way to get the 336 lb. rock out of Westminster Abbey, in the heart of London, with no money, no car, and very little support.

Stone of Destiny continues on for a while like the typical heist film. Ian and his accomplice Bill Craig (played by the reliably jovial Billy Boyd of The Lord of the Rings fame) spend weeks planning the details of the heist, studying layouts of Westminster Abbey and its surrounding grounds, but when Ian decides to set the plan in motion, Bill gets cold feet and decides he has too much to lose to risk capture and imprisonment for what seems like a pipe dream.

With no help and no hope of bringing the Stone back by himself, Ian appeals to the politically active and well established John MacCormick (Robert Carlyle) for support. MacCormick is skeptical at first, but he eventually sets Ian back on track with new accomplices Kay Matheson (Kate Mara) and Gavin Vernon (Stephen McCole). Together the trio set out to do what others had only ever dreamed of doing.

Along the way we learn a bit of Scottish history, soak in the gorgeous, green Scottish countryside (including a scene of a train ride that looks like it was lifted from the Hogwarts Express part of one of the many Harry Potter films), and strain to understand the thick Scottish brogues of the characters.

Charlie Cox is charming and endearing as the determined nationalist Ian Hamilton, even if his Scottish accent does seem a bit dodgy at times. Kate Mara as the female accomplice-cum-love interest matches Cox’s charm and manages to pull of a strong female character without making a statement of it. Stephen McCole plays the typical hard-drinking, strong man out to prove he’s got a brain, but he’s likeable and adds to the comic moments in the movie.

Stone of Destiny isn’t an original story. You’ll recognize comedic bits and plot devices from a dozen other movies. Its spoon fed, hit-me-over-the-head, nationalist ideals are sometimes a little too obvious for my tastes, but this movie isn’t trying to be Michael Collins (yes, I know this one’s not about Scotland) or even the historically, um…romanticized Braveheart. Stone of Destiny is a cute, cheeky dramedy, and if you’re okay with a little bit of revisionism in your based-on-a-true-story movies and more than a little bit of convenient plot maneuvering, then you you should enjoy the film for what it is: a fun and sometimes inspiring film about the indomitable human spirit and the power of pride.

Score: 3.5/5

Kilted Kirk out.

‘Black Swan’: A film review

2011-01-04T20:12:00.002-06:00

“How was Black Swan?” asked a text message from a good friend of mine.

I struggled with what to say for a minute before typing in my answer.

“…compelling,” I said.

He gave me a little bit of shit for that answer when I saw him later that evening, assuming I was being deliberately obtuse for the sake of trying to sound intellectual. But how would you sum up a film like Black Swan within the body of a cell phone text? "Compelling" was the best I could do considering the restrictions, and I don’t think the film deserves anything less.

Black Swan is a psychological thriller about a ballerina, Nina (played by Natalie Portman) whose obsessive quest for perfection turns into a paranoid descent into madness.

There are so many things going on concurrently in Black Swan that it would take multiple posts to examine them all. I’ll do my best to summarize them without devolving into incoherent drivel, but I make no promises.

Hey, it’s me we’re talking about, right?

Black Swan’s plot loosely follows the plot of Swan Lake, the in film ballet that Nina’s company has just announced as its next production. Nina covets the lead role of the White/Black Swan, and when the dance company’s star performer (played by Winona Ryder) is given her walking papers, she sees her opportunity. But the director (Vincent Cassel) thinks that Nina is too tight and sexually repressed to take on the role of the Black Swan. He provokes her to action, and when she lands the role unexpectedly she is unprepared for the pressures suddenly heaped on her by herself, her side show freak of a mother (Barbara Hershey), the ballet’s director, and by the threat of the new, free spirited dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), who may or may not be gunning for Nina’s role.

The film explores themes of internal struggle, obsession, repressed sexuality, and vicariousness. For my money, the most horrifying and sobering statement the movie makes is concerning parents and how our pasts affect the development of our own children. Barbara Hershey as Nina’s mom is a terrifying force to be reckoned with. She dominates Nina’s world like a passive/aggressive puppeteer. Her face trembles with rage at times, and her contempt for the accidental child that ruined her shot at glory is barely concealed behind the mask of a twisted smile. Nina’s entire identity is completely tied up in her mother. Everything she is and has become is a result of her mother’s aborted and lamented ambitions. The tiny ballerina in the music box that sits on Nina’s nightstand is a beautifully simple metaphor for her life: Nina is a toy. Frozen in time, reality held in check by the sheer desire of her mother to keep the toy in its box forever. Much has been made about Portman’s portrayal of Nina (and it is well deserved), but I think Hershey’s turn as her control freak mom has been seriously overlooked.

Mila Kunis flawlessly executes her role as the uninhibited Lily. She could be a figment of Nina’s imagination—the Black Swan incarnate and representative of all of the dark, sexual repression that Nina realizes she must let go of in order to truly embody the role of White/Black Swan. Vincent Cassel as the ballet director Thomas Leroy, explains that the Princess Odette in Swan Lake becomes trapped in the body of a swan, and in order to obtain freedom she must first find love. But when Odette’s lover is duped by the evil Black Swan/Odile, she realizes that only in death will she find true freedom. Aronofsky does a wonderful job illustrating Nina’s pent up sexual feelings, but he also subtly ties Odette’s lack of freedom to Nina’s in a couple of scenes where she has to bar the door to the bathroom and her bedroom just to get a moment of privacy.

With Lily’s help, Nina eventually begins to let go and explore her darker side. But when she cuts the metaphorical puppet strings her mother has held for so long, the innocent Nina flounders and starts down a path to insanity. Sabotaged by a parent that has ridden roughshod over her emotional development for so long, Nina struggles to find an identity she’s never been allowed to develop. In the end, Nina finds freedom, perhaps in the most obvious and unfortunate way.

Black Swan commands the viewer’s attention from start to finish. Employing a visually stunning tapestry of monochromatic blacks and whites to emphasize the subconscious struggles of the main character with her alter ego, an eerie score that only adds to the visceral feeling of terror, and the careful placement of some of the creepiest imagery I’ve ever seen in a movie Aronofsky and Co. manage nothing short of a masterpiece. I could hardly bare to look down to jot notes, so captivated was I by the events unfolding on screen. Black Swan is bold movie making at this level of the game, and it must have been a risk for the studio. But the strangeness of it all and the unexpectedness of it only makes it that much more of a cinematic marvel. One that will no doubt be the subject of study for future film students.

I’ll see this again when it comes out on Blu Ray and DVD.

Score: 4/5

Kirk out.

A Sound and Fury ‘Year in Review’ (2010 Edition)

2010-12-31T16:21:00.001-06:00

It is once again that time of year, folks. Time to reflect on what has passed in the old year and to look ahead at what’s to come in the new one. At some point today most of us will ruminate on the victories of 2010 and lament the defeats. Most of us will lay plans for 2011, set new goals, and maybe get on that diet we’ve been putting off. TV will run its typical slew of newsworthy moments as a video collage set to a sweeping musical score, and you will be inundated with clips of war and famine, and reminded to be thankful and ashamed (in some cases) for what you have. And perhaps we should be ashamed.

But here at The Sound and Fury we’ll have no such commie talk. We remain steadfast in our dedication to frivolity and things that keep us in good humor. It’s not that we are turning our backs on the uglier side of human society. We’re simply content letting the professional media handle the nasty bits. Besides, negativity is all around us. We know that the ills of the world exist. We are saddened by them. But we’re still entitled to a little bit of fun now and then, aren’t we? Now, on with the show!

Let’s talk books, shall we? It’s a good place to start and should be a short subject to tackle considering the abysmally small amount of them I actually managed to read this year. Even if the quantity of books read found itself to be lacking, certainly the quality of the ones read made up for it.

Ken Scholes’ debut novel, Lamentation, restored my interest in the fantasy genre in much the same way that Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind did in 2009. Some of the more seasoned genre bloggers might chide me for the above statement considering my narrow scope of experience with fantasy, but I stand by it. My attempts at reading some of the more popular fantasy series’ (Jordan’s Wheel of Time, Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant, and Abercrombie’s The First Law to name a few) didn’t turn out so well. Scholes, however, eschews the black and white of the typical fantasy tropes (the hero’s journey and the quest) for a grayer look at political intrigue and incestuous aristocratic in-fighting. Lamentation (the first of five books in the Psalms of Isaak series) is also notable for answering the burning question “Whodunit?” at the very beginning of the novel, while still managing to be suspenseful and interesting throughout. It takes a skillful writer to let the cat out of the bag that early and still hold the reader’s interest for the duration of the book.

For fans of science fiction and fantasy (there’s some blending of the two here) there is no better bang for your buck than Ken Scholes’ Lamentation. I only hope the next four can maintain this level of awesome.

Watchmen, the film, made last year’s list, and so it is only fitting (and in keeping with my hesitance to jump on bandwagons and thus always ending up late to the party) that Watchmen, the book, make the list this year. A friend loaned this gem to me after we discussed our shared love for the movie (Thanks, Andy. You’re one of the only other people I know that liked it.), and I simply ripped through it. Watchmen spoke to me on so many levels it would have been hard not to like it. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ cynical look at the Cold War era is so densely layered with 20th century nostalgia, social commentary on a myriad of hot button issues of the time, comic book in-jokes, discussion of nuclear armament, and the violent tendencies of man that it would be an insult to try and review the thing in a paragraph.

If you’ve never read a comic book, or even if you’ve read a thousand but never have read this one (I’m talking to you, David), pick it up. The ending is…less inspiring than the rest of the book, but it’s not enough to capsize the thing as a whole. I’ll read this one again and again.

I opened myself up even further this year to different movie genres, exploring foreign films and film noir more than ever before. I got caught up with some old films that I’d never seen before, some of them memorable and some not, and I discovered the world of Asian cinema. I know, crazy huh? If it weren’t for the internets and Netflix, foreign film in the States might still be relegated to people who hang out in coffee shops and wear black beanies, goatees, and tinted eyeglasses.

The Good, The Bad, and The Weird is a fun, violent, Korean take on the spaghetti westerns of old. That’s right, I said Korean. Trust me, within minutes you’ll be laughing hysterically at the antics of The Weird, and wondering why you never knew that their were Asian counterparts for Prince (The Bad) and Lou Diamond Phillips (The Good). It’s always a little dicey stepping outside of what you’re accustomed to. The quickest way to ruin a foreign film for me is to dub in American voices over the real actor’s lines. This never turns out well, and fortunately The Good, The Bad, and The Weird does not fall into that trap. It’s good fun, and well worth the time to find it and watch it.

I got my first real taste of film noir courtesy of a pre-requisite for a book on screenwriting that I was reading. I had never seen Casablanca, and I don’t think I have ever watched a film and had so many “Aha!” moments. You almost have to see this movie to even get the references and jokes that so many other films have used to allude back to it. Films like Sin City, Cypher, Blade Runner (the only film in this list that I didn’t see for the first time in 2010, and a favorite of mine), and Goddard’s Alphaville (which in turn heavily influenced Blade Runner and others of its ilk) owe some debt to this film and to the genre of noir. Casablanca is as good as everyone makes it out to be, and should be required viewing for any self-respecting film fan.

Director Nicholas Winding-Refn has the distinction of having two films on the list this year, but for very different reasons. His crime/biopic, Bronson, has to be the most original movie I saw in 2010, and is a study in tension building. It’s a tight rope act that threatens to snap just as soon as the viewer thinks it’s safe to relax. Slick and atmospheric with a heavy, electronic soundtrack, Bronson is one to see. Winding-Refn’s Valhalla Rising, on the other hand, is a strange, disturbing picture that I might have liked, if I hadn’t already seen the earlier, much smaller film Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America. The films are so similar in theme and style (even the ambient soundtrack is similar) that it is hard not to come to the conclusion that Winding-Refn stole copiously from director Matt Stone. With that conclusion in hand, I’d have to declare Valhalla Rising the least original film of 2010. Having said that, it is worth noting that directors notoriously beg, borrow, and steal from one another. Tarantino has shamelessly admitted to doing this many times, and it’s apparent in so many other works that the only reason it’s more damning in the case of Valhalla Rising is that it’s borrowing so heavily from a film that’s only been out for a few years (Severed Ways came out in 2007). I’m not sure how much time needs to pass before stealing becomes borrowing, but three years seems to be cutting it pretty close. And as much as I seem to be knocking Valhalla Rising and Winding-Refn, I recommend that you rent both films and decide how you feel about it. Valhalla Rising left me pondering its vague implications for days afterwards, and that’s gotta count for something.

Mark Romanek’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go is an unflinchingly beautiful look at isolation, love, and the human condition through the eyes of characters that have been deemed by society to be unworthy of the term human. It’s haunting in it’s austerity, and it’s sad. But it asks us to question the morals behind our science, and it makes us think. And any movie, good or bad, that can make us stop and think has merit. (Valhalla Rising?)

I feel like any discussion of films from 2010 should include at least some mention of Tron: Legacy, Black Swan, and True Grit. Tron: Legacy I’ve seen, and I recommend it. I think it makes this year’s list on the sheer spectacle of the thing. But unlike last year’s Avatar, I feel like Legacy has a little more merit in terms of the overall theme and philosophy of the film. As for the other two, I haven’t seen them yet. Rest assured, thought, they are on the list!

When I was a wee high school lad I was in a rock band, and had aspirations and delusions of grandeur. I knew we’d hit the big time. There would be cars, girls, and money. But then reality set in, and none of that really happened at all. Even if I had been talented enough (and I wasn’t), though, now I realize that I could never lead the life of a rock star. But music is ever a part of my daily life, and I try to be as open to new artists and genres as I possibly can.

I have my son to thank for the first CD in this short list. He introduced me to the world of Celtic Punk Rock with a burned assortment of Flogging Molly songs and then really broke me in at one of their concerts. I was a convert after that. But in 2010 he gave me the Pogues’ album, Pogue Mahone, and it has since become one of my favorites. Pogue Mahone is punk. It’s rock. And it’s folk. But really, aside from all of that category nonsense, Pogue Mahone is just good music.

I flirted around with bluegrass for quite some time before I really gave it any real consideration. The musician in me recognized the relationship between bluegrass and the traditional Celtic music that I’d been listening to for the past 5 years, but I just never got around to giving it a real chance. Freshman singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Jarosz’s album, Song Up in Her Head, was just the push I needed to dive in headlong. Jarosz’s voice is like the church bell to the sinner, offering musical redemption at just one listen. The string instruments are arranged and played so deftly that they sound like silver captured in an MP3 file. Taking cues from influences as disparate as The Dixie Chicks and The Decemberists, Jarosz and company manage to craft a debut album that couldn’t be any better than it is. I highly recommend it.

On a personal note, I’d like to add that this year has been as challenging as it has been rewarding. I was laid off from my job in September and am now registered as a full time student for the Spring semester. I never saw that coming. I feel truly blessed to have this opportunity, this life, and the people around me to share it with.

This year I am the father of an amazingly talented, wonderful 16 year old young man. I can’t wait to see this kid set the world on fire. You inspire me to keep learning and doing the things I love, son.

I am also in the third year of my marriage to a gorgeous, enormously gifted (check out her website here), and hard working woman. Without her, I’m not sure where I’d be. But I know where I am now, and that’s lucky.

My parents celebrated 35 years together, and they are an inspiration to me in my relationship and in my life. Thanks to them, and to all of the friends and extended family who have been supportive this year. You guys are awesome.

So that’s it, folks. The end of the line. The last of the Mohicans. I hope you enjoyed my Year in Review. And whether you agree with my picks or not, please share your point of view in the comments section below.

Sláinte!

Kirk out.

‘Sabriel’: a book review

2010-12-26T22:12:00.002-06:00

How quickly (or slowly, as it were) I manage to read a particular book is often a pretty good indicator of how much or how little I enjoyed it. It took me an inordinate amount of time to read Sabriel by Garth Nix, but in this case the supposition that I did not enjoy the book based on the above statement would be…less than accurate.

It’s a difficult task reviewing something that you don’t feel passionately one way or the other about. Movies and books that are polarizing are easy to review, I suppose because intense dislike or intense like are emotions more easily conveyed than their watered down cousins. It’s the nuance of ambivalence that’s difficult to express. But as a writer who reviews things with some regularity it seems like a cop out to only review those things that I find terrific or terrible. It’s just too easy, and therein lies the danger in it. Vanilla needs reviewing just as much as chocolate with sprinkles. Whether its a fun task or not, it’s got to be done.

Sabriel could be summed up pretty neatly as a rite of passage tale. We meet our protagonist and the subject of the title, Sabriel, and learn just enough about her to accompany her on what seems a monumental task that has been set before her. In the first few pages of the book our heroine learns of her father’s death (a state of being that is somewhat less permanent than it is in our world), and that she must take up the mantle of Abhorsen (the title of necromancer or magician that dear old dad held before her), and cross the wall that separates Ancelstierre from the Old Kingdom, and the dead and free magic creatures that roam uninhibited since the station of Abhorsen became vacant. It seems that an evil has been building in the Old Kingdom and now it has been set loose upon the land. Sabriel soon learns that she is tasked with setting things right in the old land once again, reluctant though she is to admit it. Along the way she meets a talking cat, a prince, a slew of undead, and learns a bit about herself, her past, and about duty and sacrifice.

Confused?

Don’t be. Sabriel is a pretty straight forward quest tale that mixes elements of the horror genre with fantasy. The resulting conflagration, odd though it may sound, is an adequate, if not convincing coming of age story not unlike the Harry Potter series (the similarities between these two stories are pretty abundant, but can probably be chalked up to coincidence--for the record, Nix’s tale was published before Rowling’s Potter series).

When I said that Sabriel learns a bit about her past, I meant a bit and not a pinch more. Garth Nix plays his cards a little too close to the chest for the first half to two-thirds of the story, allowing the reader only small hints of back story, and critical character background. I felt at times like an eaves dropper; catching snippets of a whispered conversation that could never really be understood. This goes back to an earlier argument I made concerning trilogies. As far as I’m concerned, whether you’ve got a great story that needs telling over one book or seven, it is the task of the author to weave the threads of plot such that the reader is encouraged to keep reading. If a story drags because the author is holding back information for later books, then clearly some editing needed to be done in order to preserve the momentum of the narrative. Fortunately for Nix, I was just interested enough in what is to come in the next two books in this series to continue reading. But only just.

Garth Nix’s prose is as clear and purposeful as one of Sabriel’s bells. It’s neither flowery nor bland. I really appreciated the way Nix illustrated and defined his two invented worlds and the rules of the magic that is used within the context of the story. It’s as creative as it is unusual (to me at least), and it served the story well without being too derivative of other more popular quest-oriented fantasy stories.

The story begins in Ancelstierre where Sabriel grew up and received her training as a Charter Mage, but the action quickly shifts as she makes her way across the wall (think Hadrian’s wall—it’s located in roughly the same part of the fictional island as it is in Britain) into the Old Kingdom. I found both settings to be interesting in their own right; Ancelstierre is an oddly skewed version of early twentieth century Britain, but details of it are kept largely a secret from the reader. This seemed an interesting counterpoint to the medieval-like Old Kingdom, which while physically shrouded in mist and mystery, actually yields more information and back story than its modern counterpart.

Sabriel as a character leaves quite a bit to be desired. She falls flat on the page, and failed to inspire anything more than idle curiosity in what would become of her. Fortunately a few interesting characters jumped on the wagon (or paperwing as it were—you’ll understand when you read Sabriel) and helped to keep it on a straight course towards the finish. Without the knightly Touchstone or the illusive free magic creature known as Mogget I’m not sure I would have cared enough about the fate of the Old Kingdom or Ancelstierre to tag along and find out how it all turned out.

I cannot tell you how close I came to putting this one down, and I stand by my feelings on trilogies and series’ here. I have one real requirement from a novel: a good story. If that story is contained within the middle of a front and back cover, then it needs telling it well enough that I feel satisfied when I flip that last page. If it’s told over the course of three or four books, that’s fine. But if the story sags under its own weight of “what if’s” and “maybes” before I even reach the end of the first book, then something is wrong.

Fortunately, though, Nix’s prose, likeable supporting cast, and the well imagined magical world he’s created kept me reading just long enough to get me interested in the arc of the entire trilogy. I will read Lirael and Abhorsen, and hopefully be rewarded with a story worthy of such an investment of time.

If you’ve read Sabriel or any of the other books in the Old Kingdom trilogy, please feel free to share your thoughts below. And even if you’ve never heard of Sabriel or Garth Nix, I appreciate your input.

Kirk out.

‘Tron: Legacy’: A film review

2010-12-20T23:13:00.002-06:00

I’ve been known to change my mind about movies after a bit of time has passed. Like that time I stood in line for this little film called Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and convinced myself that I liked it enough to go and see it again. And that other time I stood in line for another tiny, little movie called Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and was absolutely positive that it was better than its predecessor (even though I spent nearly half of the movie cringing any time Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman were on screen together). And then there was that other time I stood in line for another Star Wars film…well, you get the point.

Sometimes it takes a little time to process what I’ve just seen in a theater before I can truly make that thumbs up/thumbs down decision. Especially when it comes to tent pole,summer blockbuster films that are marketed endlessly and rabidly looked forward to by fans like myself.

The marketing of a film is a very delicate thing. Obviously the producers want to get their movie in front of as many people as possible. But sometimes movie advertising can go a little awry as it attempts to navigate the treacherous waters between too much and too little. Tron: Legacy, in my opinion, is one of these movies. Disney hyped this film so much that it couldn’t possibly live up to the expectations it created among the built in fan base or even the average movie goer. After spending over two years and a shit-ton of money (that’s an exact figure from Disney) trying to generate interest in this movie, insider analysts began speculating that the movie would tank at the box office. With rumor widely circulating film blogs and industry websites that the movie would probably be a financial disaster for Disney, and at least one very negative early review, things were not looking good for Tron: Legacy.

Fortunately, I know myself. I didn’t let the hype get me. I had already re-watched Tron (the 1982 film that Tron: Legacy is a direct sequel of) in early fall, and that did a good bit to dispel any misplaced, nostalgic notions I held that it was anything other than a neat science fiction film from my childhood. I began to ignore all news items, clips, behind the scenes vignettes, and/or official trailers that seemed to hit my RSS reader every hour. I dialed down my excitement and anticipation for the movie to a more normal level and decided to go see it without any expectations. Now that’s arguably impossible after looking forward to a film for so long, but I think I gave it a reasonably good try.

Tron: Legacy picks up 27 years after the events of the first movie, and introduces us to Kevin Flynn’s (Jeff Bridges) son Sam. It’s explained that the elder Flynn disappeared about 7 years after the events of Tron, and little Sam has had to grow up without dear old dad. The years without the elder Flynn have made Sam bitter and he expresses his resentment at his father’s disappearance by pranking Encom, the very company his father built into a success.

He’s sure his father had some sort of emotional breakdown and abandoned him for a relatively stress free life on some South American beach, but Flynn’s old pal and partner Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) doesn’t think so. And when he gets a page from Kevin’s old office he decides to pay a visit to Sam to try and bring him around.

Sam reluctantly decides to cruise by the arcade and see what he can find out. One thing leads to another and (spoilers ahead for those of you that have been living under a rock) before he knows it he is in The Grid being disrobed by some nano-hotties. As it turns out dear old dad didn’t abandon little Sam. While Sam was at home sticking pencils up his nose and sucking his thumb, daddy was spending his evenings in the Grid attempting to build some sort of digital Utopia. When the natives began to get a little restless, and before he could do anything to stop it, his digital creation, Clu, had staged a coup and trapped him in the digital world.

The rest of the film is spent in Grid with Sam and company as they attempt to overthrow Clu and his minions, rescue the elder Flynn, and restore peace to The Grid.

Bridges conjures The Dude from The Big Lebowski a bit too much here for my taste, even if the two character’s quasi-hippie philosophies do seem in line with each other. And never mind what you’ve heard about Garrett Hedlund’s portrayal of Sam being flat and emotionless. This is simply nonsense from fanboys predicated on trailer footage alone. He holds his own both in the digital world of The Grid and in the real world. Olivia Wilde as Quorra, the last of a species of digital beings, is the stand out of this film. Michael Sheen is very fun, but his part of the story felt like unnecessary exposition and ultimately could have been left on the cutting room floor. And this is the crux of my biggest complaint about Tron: Legacy. The pacing through the second act is slow and a bit tedious and could have benefitted from a bit more critical editing.

The Grid is gloriously rendered and has to be one of the most interesting interpretations of a fictional world I’ve ever seen on film. The CGI young Kevin Flynn looks fake, but everything else is so much fun to look at that even the most disparaging FX fan will have their attention diverted long enough to forget about the digital Bridges’ floating head. Vehicles are all really cool, chases are exceptionally well done, and there is just so much to look at. Odds are you already know that a lot has been done on this film to satisfy the FX quotient, so I won’t spend anymore time here.

Much has been said about the Daft Punk soundtrack to this movie, and I have to agree that it was spot on for the pervasively dark, yet glitzy retro ‘80’s inspired moods and themes used throughout the film. It’s punchy and bass heavy where it needs to be, but strangely (considering the source) symphonic and elaborate in just the right places. Daft Punk manages to tie the two films together musically without seeming like homage and without ripping off the original score and 80’s electronica in general.

The story of Tron: Legacy actually had a bit more emotional resonance than the first film. Characters are developed better and the writers try to convey something a little more deep about our changing world than Tron did in its own time. Granted, the philosophy in Legacy is pretty typical Hollywood, pseudo-hippie/Asian bullshit, but at least they tried to say something more about our world than “Look! We’re inside a computer! Isn’t that cool?”

Legacy has been compared to Avatar probably because they are both effects heavy films that take place in a completely alien world (though Legacy’s world is arguably a lot more alien), they are both 3D, they both had bloated budgets, and were over-hyped. Fair enough. Avatar, however, delivered a pretty cynical (and predictable) commentary on the future of mankind, while Legacy seems to have a more upbeat take on the human race. And even though Legacy’s philosophy starts out looking like a pretty cold piece of liberal Hollywood nonsense, I took away from it a much more positive message that seemed to hint at a higher power and intelligent design. The film draws more than one parallel between it’s story and popular religious ideas (Clu smashing the apple in Flynn’s cliff side home shades of Adam and Eve?). Taken as a whole, I felt like the themes and philosophy behind the movie were well thought out and fairly well handled.

Tron: Legacy is a good movie. Period. It’s not Dr. Zhivago, but it’s not 10,000 BC either. It is at times visually and audibly stark and eerily reminiscent of the original Tron. The story is neither groundbreaking nor is it a bore. Legacy is a thrill ride, and at times emotionally engaging. In this way it is the perfect sequel to 1982’s Tron. It manages to be like its predecessor, and yet a better film over all.

And for the record, I think 3D is a silly gimmick. But it works here. Trust me, folks.

Score: 3.5/5

Kirk out.

‘Real Steel’ Trailer

2010-12-18T13:18:00.002-06:00

This one’s for you, Dad. You were always a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots fan, and I seem to remember you saying that you’d like to see the game turned into a movie. Well, now you’ve got it.

Real Steel is Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots : The Movie in all but name, and I have to say it looks like a lot of… fun. The movie probably won’t offer anything more than that (reference cringe-worthy line from Jackman’s character--you’ll know it when you hear it), but I can live with that as long as it entertains me. I go to the movies for a variety of reasons. But I think from an early age movies as fun entertainment preceded my appreciation for them as pieces of art. Watch below and let me know what you think.

Real Steel
A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future, where the sport of boxing has gone hi-tech, Real Steel stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

One of the interesting things about this movie is that they used real, animatronic robots (19 of them were built) for the non boxing scenes (motion capture was used for the boxing scenes).

So, what did you think?

Kirk out.

The state of things

2010-12-17T14:10:00.001-06:00

Winter break is here. Finals and placement tests are done, tuition secured, major declared, and I am registered for full time classes. In short, dear readers, I are a college student. In the Spring I’ll join the fray with the mostly young, zit popping student population and attempt to pick my way through the mind boggling modern collegiate system that should eventually (hopefully, anyway) lead to a Bachelor’s degree that I can hang on the wall. At least it’ll be something to look at while I’m trying to think of things to write.

Anyway, I’m looking down the barrel at quite a bit of free time, and I plan on filling it up with some blogging, some fiction writing, and with finishing the office project I began this fall.

What office project?

I hoped you’d ask. Last Summer, my wife and I purchased our very first home. It’s a fine home, but it was pretty vanilla. Cold and stark. We needed to warm it up and make it our own. Fortunately with Kelley’s terrific eye for design, and our combined handy-ness and willingness to attempt some pretty daunting projects, the house began to take on a shape that we were proud of. With one exception.

Our front room is a huge, high-ceilinged behemoth that currently holds my Grandma’s old organ and not much of anything else. The size and shape of the room just made it a total loss and a colossal waste of space, and so we decided to sub-divide it into a dining room and an office. That I would build.

Yeah. You read that right.

I’m not an un-handy fellow when it comes to wood working projects, minor carpentry and the like, but I’d never done a room remodel/addition by myself. This was going to take a lot of patience that I wasn’t sure I had. But things have come along quite nicely, and I am pretty happy with the progress (slow though it’s been) I’ve made.

So, without further adieu, here’s a sort of visual status update on what I’ve been doing between going to school part time, being a dad and husband, following movie news, and chumming around here with you people.

This door surround kind of became the focal point for the office, and set the tone for the rest of the room. We knew we wanted to incorporate stained/art glass into the office, but this was an awesome find. We fell in love with it instantly. This upside down “U” shaped unit was once a complete door frame in a wall. But the *ahem* fine gentlemen that removed it from whatever wall it had once occupied cut it out with a saws-all and managed to do so very unevenly. A few trim pieces were damaged at the bottom of the unit, and that presented the most challenging problem. This damaged trim, along with a few minor cracks in the glass, had to be repaired by yours truly, and I can honestly say that it was the most tedious work I’ve ever done. Besides removing ages old trim and rusty nails bit by bit, piece by piece, I had to do it all without slipping and cracking a piece of the glass, or damaging any of the leaded edges of the glass. Whew!

In the end, though, it was well worth the work-- as a learning experience, and an exercise in cultivating patience and an attention to detail. You can see the damaged piece in the lower right hand corner of the above picture, if you put your face up to screen and squint your eyes together really tight.

Yeah, kinda like that.

Here are some others for further examination.

Once I’d gotten past that hurdle, I had to build legs for the unit. You see, Kelley and I can’t do anything the easy way, and we decided to use the opening in this unit as our entryway to the office. Building the legs was a bit easier than I thought it would be, but I ended up having to rip the built in door stop off of the unit with my Skil Saw so my 2’6” door unit would fit in the opening. I also had to think of a different way to trim out the bottom pieces. Still working on that bit, though.

With the planing, and the ripping, and the sanding done, I had to stand it up in the wall and see if everything fit. Fortunately, there were no major hiccups. You can see it below with the construction door installed in the opening. We’re still not sure what the final door will look like.

At this point, everything was just mocked up, so I could ensure that everything was plumb and square. It also gave me some breathing room, and some thinking time. The more you can ponder something like this and walk around it, the more things you can foresee going wrong. This came in handy because I finally figured out that the legs on my stain glass unit were the incorrect length, which in turn put my header height too low. This was easily corrected, and now I am ready to put in my 2x8 header. Then I’ll be off to the drywall/plaster stage.

Yay for me.

Based on the mock up and how everything looks when lit, I am pretty optimistic about how it’s going to turn out.Thanks for reading and following along with my weekly, sometimes daily shenanigans. I hope you all are doing well.

Kirk out.

Happy 35th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

2010-12-12T20:43:00.001-06:00

December 12, 2010

Dear Mom and Dad,

First of all, a letter of this nature wouldn’t be complete without saying congratulations on 35 years of marriage! More than that, though, this is a letter of thanks. Thank you for meeting each other. For loving each other, trusting each other, and learning to grow together while accepting each other’s faults and celebrating one another’s strengths.

Thank you for raising me up in this world with love and affection. There has never been a day of my life (teen years not withstanding) that I have ever felt unloved by at least two people in this world—regardless of my faults and missteps. You taught me that nothing is insurmountable in this life as long as two people love one another. Thank you for forgiving each other. Nobody is perfect. When we’re children we assume that our parents have all of the answers. That their parents imparted upon them the knowledge and wisdom of generations and generations of parents before them. But as we get older we learn, unfortunately, that in this world things are often more gray than black and white. I realize now that you didn’t have a road map to guide you through the early (often times probably scary) years of raising a child. But you had love and you had a shared commitment. And that was enough of a light to guide you down those sometimes unlit paths of matrimony and parenthood.

Thank you for supporting me as a boy and even now as a man in my interests and pursuits. Thank you for attending all of my basketball, football, baseball games, and tae kwon do events.

Dad, thank you for teaching me how to throw and catch a baseball and a football, how to shoot a basketball, shoot a rifle, throw a punch, take a punch (you know what I’m talking about), play tennis, and for showing me how to be a man. I know there were days when it would probably have been easier for you to come home and rest after working 12 to 14 hours a day than to go outside and play catch or 1 on 1 basketball. But you did it. And I’ll never forget. You were and always will be my hero.

Mom, thank you for encouraging me to read, to make believe, and to imagine the fantastic and unbelievable worlds I could see so clearly in my mind. Those worlds have grown with my imagination because of that consistent support. Thanks for allowing me (and even helping me) to build tents in the house on rainy days. Thank you for letting me explore the world outside and be a boy, even though I know I scared you sometimes when I’d show up long after the street lights had come on. Thank you for being the loving, caring, always involved and always interested mom that every kid wishes for. Everyone I know who meets you loves you. You have an unbelievably big heart, and I thank you for passing that kindness on to me.

Thank you both for giving me a sister to love and be proud of. She was often a shadow and a built in play mate, and I am forever grateful for that. I tried to teach her lots of stuff when we were kids, but I’ve learned so much from her as an adult.

Thank you for teaching me to stand up for myself and those weaker than me. Thank you for teaching me how to treat a lady, how to respect my elders, and to help people who sometimes can’t help themselves. Thank you for working so hard at jobs that weren’t always glamorous to provide Kim and me with the things we needed and wanted in this world. Thank you for showing me how to be a good parent. I try my hardest to honor that every day.

A miracle happened the day Deby met Charlie. A kind of magic. And that magic continues to grow in us, in our marriages, and in our children. The spirit of that magic will live on as long as we honor the most important thing you’ve taught us: Love.

With all of my heart, I love you both.

Kris

‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’ teaser trailer

2010-12-10T11:34:00.002-06:00

Let’s be honest, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was an awful movie. There seems to be a requisite amount of shark jumping required of sequels of popular Hollywood film franchises, which include (but are not limited to) The Matrix Series, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Star Wars Prequels. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was not immune to this unfortunately. The film played like one big action scene—so much so that the action itself and the imminent danger it put the characters in completely lost its dramatic tension.

After a while I found myself yawning and wondering if Shia LaBeouf’s character might die so I could be spared from hearing anymore of his horribly written, cheesily delivered one-liners. I mean, seriously, that guy is like the albatross of Hollywood film franchises (see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). Of course I’m not blaming him for the downfall of these films (I’m looking at you Mr. Bay, Mr. Spielberg, and Mr. Lucas). It just seems like hiring him is tantamount to calling the harbinger of doom down upon your formerly successful movie franchise.

I digress.

The point is, I was not looking forward to the third Transfomers movie. Besides a few minor design gripes I had about the first film (Transformers), I thought it was a pretty damned good action movie. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, however, soured my expectations for the whole kit and caboodle. But after watching the teaser for the upcoming third film in the series, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, I have to say that my interest in Shia and Optimus’ further adventures is running once again at near full capacity. The teaser is just that good, folks. Watch and see.

I had to wonder to myself, though, as I watched what things might have been like if the first film had used this angle. And then I couldn’t help but imagine how cool it would be if someone used this storyline for a straight up science fiction film that could explore the fascinating and myriad conspiracies surrounding these lunar missions. (Check out the film Hoagland’s Mars if you’re interested in this sort of thing. Go ahead and click the link, wacko. You know you want to.)

Well, folks, as it turns out some other people thought the idea was cool too. And in typical Hollywood fashion there are currently two films in pre-production that are based on the aliens-on-the-lunar-surface premise.

Apollo 18 treats the moon mission (which was canceled in real life) as something that actually happened in secret. According to the official website “There’s a reason we’ve never gone back to the moon.” I’m guessing from the tag line and the teaser poster that we’re in store for another silly, horror/sci-fi movie. Which does nothing to excite me about the film. Oh well. Next?

Dark Moon (cheeky name, eh?) essentially follows the same storyline from what I can gather, but there’s really very little official information out there to go on at this point. I’ll cross my fingers, but I’m stopping short of holding my breath.

Rumor has it that both films will employ a mockumentary style, which leads me to believe the advertising and marketing will follow the Paranormal Activity, Blair Witch mode of attempting to fool the public into believing the canceled Apollo 18 mission actually took place and that the American public has been lied to for 40 years.

Swell. I love mockumentaries. (insert sarcastic face).

What did you think about the teaser for Transformers: Dark of the Moon? Tell us in the comments section below.

Kirk out.

Currently listening to Sarah Jarosz’ debut album ‘Song Up in Her Head’

2010-12-08T22:22:00.001-06:00

Sarah Jarosz is a 19 year old multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter. And if that wasn’t enough, she’s also a local. I’m currently enjoying her debut album Song Up in Her Head, and I am positively obsessed with her cover of The Decemberists’ Shankill Butchers. I’ve included the lyrics and a wiki-link to the story behind the song. Enjoy.

The Shankill butchers ride tonight
You better shut your windows tight
They're sharpening their cleavers and their knives
And taking all their whiskey by the pint
'Cause everybody knows
If you don't mind your mother's words
A wicked wind will blow
Your ribbons from your curls
Everybody moan, everybody shake,
The Shankill butchers wanna catch you
Awake
They used to be just like me and you
They used to be sweet little boys
But something went horribly askew
Now killing is their only source of joy
'Cause everybody knows...

The Shankill butchers on the rise
They're waiting till the dead of night
They're picking at their fingers with their knives
And wiping off their cleavers on their thighs
'Cause everybody knows...

The Shankill butchers wanna catch you
The Shankill butchers wanna cut you
The Shankill butchers wanna catch you
Awake
Awake
Awake
Awake

Read about the real Shankill Butchers here.

Sleep tight.

Kirk out.

The Legacy of ‘Mad Max’

2010-12-03T12:26:00.001-06:00

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Well, that’s what they say anyway.

The Mad Max series is one of my favorites of all time, and that includes the sequel The Road Warrior and to a lesser degree Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. And though the films are among my favorites, I’ve always found it interesting how ingrained in our culture the mythos of Mad Max has become. I mean, everyone knows that when the world falls apart due to nuclear war and climate change all of the people that are left will instantly transform into S&M clad gear heads with punk rock hair cuts. Right? And don’t forget the football shoulder pads. Sporting goods stores would do well to stock up on them when things start to get hairy.

All jokes aside, though, no matter how you slice it the influence of Mad Max (released in 1979) is seen in movies to this day (not to mention comics and video games). And with recent news that Miller will be continuing the series with rising star Tom Hardy (Band of Brothers, Bronson) stepping into the leather, steel shod boots of the character that Mel Gibson made famous, I think it’s a subject worth your your consideration. Below is a short list of some of the films that have borrowed (or stolen) elements from George Miller’s Mad Max series. Watch them at your own peril.

------------------------------------------

The New Warriors aka Warriors of the Wasteland (1982)

Blah, blah, blah evil and aimless band of white-clad bikers blah, blah, blah nuclear holocaust…

Sound familiar?

Stryker (1983)

The world's water supply has dried up due to some sort of apocalypse.

‘Nuff said, huh?

Wheels of Fire (1985)

The Future is now. There are no rules and no place to hide from the deadly Highway Warriors who ravage the roads in machines of destruction.

Future? Check. Destruction? Check. Highway warriors in leather and spikes? Check. Muscle cars? Check.

Land of Doom (1986)

Earth has been ravaged by a nuclear war, and a feminist warrior is forced to join up with a soldier of fortune in her journey to find a rumored "paradise" as they battle gangs of rampaging bandits.

Ooh…this one has feminists in S&M gear!

Steel Dawn (1987)

In a post-apocalyptic world, a warrior (Patrick Swayze) wandering through the desert comes upon a group of settlers who are being menaced by a murderous gang that is after the water they control.

Post-Apocalyptic? How refreshing! This came out the same year as Dirty Dancing. “Nobody murders Baby in a corner” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, does it?

Cyborg (1989)

Gibson Rickenbacker (writer is a guitarists also?), played by Jean Claude Van Damme, battles a gang of murderous pirates (and his own conscience) down the devastated Atlantic Coast in an attempt to rescue a cyborg that may carry a cure for the plague that has wiped out civilization.

This late 80’s sci-fi/post-apocalyptic/martial arts film by B-movie director Albert Pyun was responsible for creating a sort of sub-genre, if you will. There have been two direct sequels, and not a few imitators. Pyun continued the cyborg theme in other direct to video releases like Nemesis and its sequels. I actually own this movie and quite like it.

What are you laughing at?

Waterworld (1995)

In a future where the polar ice caps have melted and most of Earth is underwater, a mutated mariner fights starvation and outlaw "smokers," and reluctantly helps a woman and a young girl try to find dry land.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “But Kris, this movie isn’t like the Mad Max movies at all. They’ve traded desert for water. That’s, like, the opposite of the Mad Max movies. Right?”

Riiight.

At least the above movies have cool posters. This movie doesn’t even have that going for it.

Doomsday (2008)

Future. Action. Destruction of human race.

Check, check, and check. I haven’t seen this one, but it’s going in the queue. I’d actually forgotten all about it. Neil Marshall directed, and I have his Centurion in the instant queue now.

Kirk out.

Jeff Nichols’ new film ‘Take Shelter’ competing at Sundance 2011

2010-12-01T23:19:00.001-06:00

The Sundance Film Festival announced its list of 58 films today that will be competing for awards for the 2011 festival. Ordinarily I wouldn’t post on this sort of thing, but this year one of the films on the list is written and directed by a friend of mine, Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories). The film is called Take Shelter, and stars Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road, Shotgun Stories). Check out the synopsis (in bold print) and the list from Sundance, and keep your eyes out for Take Shelter. Shotgun Stories was a damned good film, so I have high expectations for this next one.

Kirk out.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

This year’s 16 films were selected from 1,102 submissions. Each is a world premiere.

Another Earth (Director: Mike Cahill; Screenwriters: Mike Cahill and Brit Marling) - On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, a horrible tragedy irrevocably alters the lives of two strangers, who begin an unlikely love affair. Cast: William Mapother, Brit Marling, Jordan Baker, Robin Lord Taylor, Flint Beverage.

Benavides Born (Director: Amy Wendel; Screenwriters: Daniel Meisel and Amy Wendel) - A high school senior in a forgotten town has earned admission to the University of Texas at Austin but can't afford to go. Her one shot is a scholarship for winning the State Powerlifting Championship. Cast: Corina Calderon, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Joseph Julian Soria, Julia Vera, Julio César Cedillo.

Circumstance / U.S.A., Iran (Director and screenwriter: Maryam Keshavarz) - A wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's dangerous obsession. Cast: Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, Reza Sixo Safai, Soheil Parsa, Nasrin Pakkho.

Gun Hill Road (Director and screenwriter: Rashaad Ernesto Green) - After three years in prison, Enrique returns to the Bronx to find his wife estranged and his teenage son stumbling towards a transformation that will put the fragile bonds of their family to the test. Cast: Esai Morales, Judy Reyes, Harmony Santana, Vincent Laresca, Miriam Colon.

HERE (Director: Braden King; Written By: Braden King and Dani Valent) - On assignment to create a new, more accurate satellite survey of Armenia, an American cartographer forms a powerful bond with an Armenian expatriate and art photographer. Cast: Ben Foster and Lubna Azabal with Narek Nersisyan, Yuri Kostanyan and Sofik Sarkisyan.

Higher Ground (Director: Vera Farmiga; Screenwriters: Carolyn S. Briggs and Tim Metcalfe) - A frustrated young mother turns to a fundamentalist community for answers, but after years of dogma and loss, she must find the courage to ask the questions that will help her reclaim her life. Cast: Vera Farmiga, Joshua Leonard, John Hawkes, Dagmara Dominczyk, Norbert Leo Butz.

Homework (Director and screenwriter: Gavin Wiesen) - Quirky, rebellious George has no ambitions other than to cut his next class. But one day, one girl gives him the perfect reason to figure out who he really is. Cast: Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Elizabeth Reaser with Rita Wilson and Blair Underwood.

The Ledge(Director and screenwriter: Matthew Chapman) - Perched on a ledge, a man says he must jump by noon, while a cop races against time to get to the bottom of it. Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson and Terrence Howard with Christopher Gorham.

Like Crazy (Director: Drake Doremus; Screenwriters: Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones) - A young American guy and a young British girl meet in college and fall in love. Their love is tested when she is required to leave the country and they must face the challenges of a long-distance relationship. Cast: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston.

Little Birds (Director and screenwriter: Elgin James) - Amidst the stark landscape of the Salton Sea, two 15-year-old girls test the limits of their friendship when one follows the other to Los Angeles. Cast: Juno Temple, Kay Panabaker, Leslie Mann, Kate Bosworth, Kyle Gallner.

Martha Marcy May Marlene (Director and screenwriter: Sean Durkin) - Haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, a damaged woman struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult. Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Brady Corbet, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson.

On the Ice (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean) - On the snow-covered Arctic tundra, two teenagers try to get away with murder. Cast: Josiah Patkotak, Frank Qutuq Irelan, Teddy Kyle Smith, Adamina Kerr, Sierra Jade Sampson.

Pariah (Director and screenwriter: Dee Rees) - When forced to choose between losing her best friend or destroying her family, a Bronx teenager juggles conflicting identities and endures heartbreak in a desperate search for sexual expression. Cast: Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, Aasha Davis.

Take Shelter (Director and screenwriter: Jeff Nichols) - A working-class husband and father questions whether his terrifying dreams of an apocalyptic storm signal something real to come or the onset of an inherited mental illness he's feared his whole life. Cast: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon, Kathy Baker.

Terri (Director: Azazel Jacobs; Screenwriters: Patrick Dewitt and Azazel Jacobs) - Terri is a story about a big boy who feels alone in a small town. After his high school's vice-principal takes Terri under his wing, he comes to learn there are others that feel the same way he does. And when Terri defends the honor of his secret crush, lonely worlds collide. Cast: Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, Creed Bratton, Olivia Crocicchia, Bridger Zadina.

The Untitled Sam Levinson Project (Director and screenwriter: Sam Levinson) - A pair of reckless siblings are dragged into a chaotic family wedding by their overwrought mother. Cast: Demi Moore, Kate Bosworth, Jeffrey DeMunn, Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn, Thomas Haden Church.

U.S. Documentary Competition

This year’s 16 films were selected from 841 submissions. Each is a world premiere.

Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (Director: Michael Rapaport) - The story of the rise and influence of one of the most innovative and influential hip hop bands of all time, the collective known as A Tribe Called Quest.

BEING ELMO: A Puppeteer's Journey (Director: Constance Marks) - The Muppet Elmo is one of the most beloved characters among children across the globe. Meet the unlikely man behind the puppet - the heart and soul of Elmo - Kevin Clash.

Buck (Director: Cindy Meehl) - In a story about the power of non-violence, master horse trainer Buck Brannaman uses principles of respect and trust to tame horses and inspire their human counterparts.

Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology (Director: Tiffany Shlain; Screenwriters: Tiffany Shlain, Ken Goldberg, Carlton Evans and Sawyer Steele) - Connected is an exhilarating stream-of-consciousness ride through the interconnectedness of humankind, nature, progress and morality at the dawn of the 21st century. For centuries we've been declaring independence. With insight, curiosity, and humor, the film explores whether it's time to declare our interdependence.

Crime After Crime (Director: Yoav Potash) - Debbie Peagler is a survivor of brutal domestic violence incarcerated for her connection to the murder of her abuser. Two decades later a pair of rookie land-use attorneys cut their teeth on her case, attracting global attention to the troubled intersection of domestic violence and criminal justice.

Hot Coffee (Director: Susan Saladoff) - Following subjects whose lives have been devastated by an inability to access the courts, this film shows that many long-held beliefs about our civil justice system have been paid for by corporate America.

How to Die in Oregon (Director: Peter D. Richardson) - In 1994 Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. How to Die in Oregon gently enters the lives of terminally ill Oregonians to illuminate the power of death with dignity.

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (Director: Marshall Curry) - The Earth Liberation Front is a radical environmental group that the FBI calls America's 'number one domestic terrorist threat.' Daniel McGowan, an ELF member, faces life in prison for two multi-million dollar arsons against Oregon timber companies. But who is really to blame?

The Last Mountain (Director: Bill Haney; Screenwriters: Bill Haney and Peter Rhodes) - A coal mining corporation and a tiny community vie for the last great mountain in Appalachia in a battle for the future of energy that affects us all.

Miss Representation (Director: Jennifer Siebel Newsom; Screenwriters: Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Jessica Congdon) - Miss Representation uncovers how American mainstream media's limited and disparaging portrayals of women contribute to the under-representation of women in power positions - creating another generation of women defined by youth, beauty and sexuality, and not by their capacity as leaders.

Page One: A year inside the New York Times (Director: Andrew Rossi; Screenwriters: Kate Novack and Andrew Rossi) - Unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom yields a complex view of the transformation of a media landscape fraught with both peril and opportunity.

The Redemption of General Butt Naked (Directors: Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion) - A brutal warlord who murdered thousands during Liberia's horrific 14-year civil war renounces his violent past and reinvents himself as an Evangelist, facing those he once terrorized.

Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles (Director: Jon Foy) - An urban mystery unfurls as one man pieces together the surreal meaning of hundreds of cryptic tiled messages that have been appearing in city streets across the U.S. and South America.

Sing Your Song (A film by Susanne Rostock) - Most people know the lasting legacy of Harry Belafonte, the entertainer; this film unearths his significant contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and to social justice globally.

Troubadours (Director: Morgan Neville) - A musical journey tracing the lives and careers of James Taylor and Carole King, pillars of the California singer/songwriter scene, which converged in and around LA's Troubadour Club in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

We Were Here (Director: David Weissman) - A deep and reflective look at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco and how individuals rose to the occasion during the first years of this unimaginable crisis.

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

This year’s 13 films were selected from 1,073 international narrative feature submissions.

Abraxas / Japan (Director: Naoki Kato; Screenwriters: Dai Sako and Naoki Kato) - After botching a speech on career guidance at a local high school, a depressed Zen monk with a heavy metal past realizes that only music can revive his spirit. Cast: Suneohair, Rie Tomosaka, Manami Honjou, Ryouta Murai, Kaoru Kobayashi. International Premiere

All Your Dead Ones (Todos Tus Muertos ) / Colombia (Director Carlos Moreno; Screenwriters: Alonso Torres and Carlos Moreno) - One morning, a peasant wakes to find a pile of bodies in the middle of his crops. When he goes to the authorities, he quickly realizes that the dead ones are a problem nobody wants to deal with. Cast: Alvaro Rodríguez, Jorge Herrera, Martha Marquez, Harold Devasten, John Alex Castillo. World Premiere

The Cinema Hold Up (Asalto Al Cine) / Mexico (Director: Iría Gómez Concheiro; Screenwriters: Iria Gómez Concheiro and Juan Pablo Gómez) - Four childhood friends in Mexico's Guerrero colony toy with the idea of robbing a cinema. Each hopes that the heist will hurtle them past life's obstacles, only to realize that the caper risks the only thing they have: their friendship. Cast: Gabino Rodríguez, Juan Pablo de Santiago, Ángel Sosa, Paulina Avalos. World Premiere

A Few Days of Respite (Quelque Jours de Repit) / Algeria, France (Director and screenwriter: Amor Hakkar) - A pair of gay men who have escaped from Iran seek safe harbor in a small French village, where a lonely middle-aged woman offers aid. Cast: Marina Vlady, Samir Guesmi, Amor Hakkar. World Premiere

The Guard / Ireland (Director and screenwriter: John Michael McDonagh) - A small-town cop in Ireland has a confrontational personality, a subversive sense of humor, a fondness for prostitutes and absolutely no interest whatsoever in the international drug-smuggling ring that has brought a straight-laced FBI agent to his door. However, a surreal chain of events pulls him into the action. Cast: Don Cheadle, Brendan Gleeson, Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Fionnula Flanagan. World Premiere

Happy, Happy (Sykt Lykkelig) / Norway (Director: Anne Sewitsky; Screenwriter: Ragnhild Tronvoll) - A perfect housewife, who just happens to be sex-starved, struggles to keep her emotions in check when an attractive family moves in next door. Cast: Agnes Kittelsen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Maibritt Saerens, Joachim Rafaelsen. International Premiere

Kinyarwanda / Rwanda, USA (Director and screenwriter: Alrick Brown) - Based on accounts from survivors, Kinyarwanda tells the story of Rwandans who crossed the lines of hatred during the 1994 genocide, turning mosques into places of refuge for Muslims and Christians, Hutus and Tutsis. Cast: Edouard Bamporiki, Cassandra Freeman, Cleophas Kabasiita, Hadidja Zaninka, Kennedy Mazimpaka, Hassan Kabera. World Premiere

Lost Kisses (I baci mai dati)/Italy (Director: Roberta Torre; Screenwriters: Roberta Torre and Laura Nuccilli) - A 13-year-old girl in the deprived outskirts of a sprawling Sicilian city becomes a local celebrity to her needy community when word spreads that she just might be able to perform miracles. Cast: Donatella Finocchiaro, Pino Micol, Giuseppe Fiorello, Carla Marchese, Martina Galletta, Tony Palazzo. International Premiere

Mad Bastards / Australia (Director: Brendan Fletcher; Screenwriters: Brendan Fletcher in collaboration with Dean Daley-Jones, Greg Tait and John Watson) - In a frontier town of northern Australia's Kimberley Region, an urban street warrior meets his match in a local cop. Performances and stories from real people in Kimberley are woven through the music of legendary Broome musicians, The Pigram Brothers. Cast: Dean Daley-Jones, Greg Tait, John Watson, Ngaire Pigram, Lucas Yeeda. International Premiere

Restoration (Boker Tov Adon Fidelman) / Israel (Director: Yossi Madmoni; Screenwriter: Erez Kav-El) - Aided by a young and mysterious apprentice, an antique furniture restorer struggles to keep his workshop alive, while his relationship with his own estranged son, who is trying to close down the shop, begins to disintegrate. Cast: Sasson Gabay, Henry David, Nevo Kimchi, Sarah Adler. World Premiere

The Salesman (Le Vendeur) / Canada (Director and screenwriter: Sébastien Pilote) - Car salesman Marcel Lévesque operates by the rules of a bygone era, turning on the charm to make his quota. But the increasing decline of his fading industrial town threatens to plummet this peddler of dreams into an unfriendly reality. Cast: Gilbert Sicotte, Nathalie Cavezzali. World Premiere

Ticket to Paradise (Boleto al Paraiso) / Cuba (Director: Gerardo Chijona Valdes; Screenwriters: Gerardo Chijona Valdes, Francisco Garcia Gonzalez and Maykel Rodriguez Ponjuan) - A teenage girl running away from her father's sexual harassment meets a young rocker who has escaped to Havana with his misfit group of friends. Set in 1993, during a period of acute shortages in Cuba, the local AIDS hospice begins to look like an unlikely refuge to the hopeless teens. Cast: Miriel Cejas, Héctor Medina, Dunia Matos, Jorge Perugorria, Luis A. Garcia. International Premiere

Tyrannosaur / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Paddy Considine) - For Joseph, a man plagued by self-destructive violence and rage, a chance of redemption appears in the form of Hannah, a Christian charity shop worker with a devastating secret of her own. Cast: Peter Mullan, Eddie Marsan, Olivia Colman. World Premiere

Vampire / Japan, Canada (Director and screenwriter: Iwai Shunji) - On the surface, Simon seems like a fairly normal, average young man, devoted to his teaching job and ailing mother. Secretly, he is compelled to hunt through online chat rooms and message boards, searching for the perfect girl who will ensure his own survival. Cast: Kevin Zegers, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rachel Leigh Cook, Kristin Kreuk, Aoi Yu and Adelaide Clemens. World Premiere

World Cinema Documentary Competition

This year’s 12 films were selected from 796 international documentary submissions.

An African Election / Switzerland, U.S.A. (Director: Jarreth Merz) - The 2008 presidential elections in Ghana, West Africa, serve as a backdrop for this feature documentary that looks behind the scenes at the complex, political machinery of a third-world democracy struggling to avoid civil war and establish stability for good. North American Premiere

The Bengali Detective / India, U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Phil Cox) - Chubby, dance-obsessed private-detective Rajesh Ji and his motley band of helpers tackle poisonings, adultery and the occasional murder on the frenzied streets of Kolkata. World Premiere

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 / Sweden, U.S.A. (Director: Göran Olsson) - From 1967 to 1975, Swedish journalists chronicled the Black Power movement in America. Combining that 16mm footage, undiscovered until now, with contemporary audio interviews, this film illuminates the people and culture that fueled change and brings the movement to life anew. World Premiere

Family Portrait in Black and White / Canada (Director: Julia Ivanova) - In a small Ukrainian town, Olga Nenya, raises 16 black orphans amidst a population of Slavic blue-eyed blondes. Their stories expose the harsh realities of growing up as a bi-racial child in Eastern Europe. World Premiere

The Flaw / United Kingdom (Director: David Sington) - Within a few months in 2008, several American financial institutions failed, and before you knew it the U.S.A. was in the red. An imaginative blend of archive, animation and personal stories delivers a devastating indictment of the unfettered capitalism which has led to crippling, catastrophic income inequality in the land of the free. North American Premiere

The Green Wave (Irans grüner Sommer) / Germany (Director: Ali Samadi Ahadi) - Animated blogs and tweets tell the story of democracy under fire and hopes dashed as protesters are arrested, tortured and raped during Iran's tumultuous elections of June 2009. North American Premiere

Hell and Back Again / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Danfung Dennis) - Told through the eyes of one Marine from the start of his 2009 Aghanistan tour to his distressing return and rehabilitation in the U.S., we witness what modern "unconventional" warfare really means to the men who are fighting it. World Premiere

KNUCKLE / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Ian Palmer) - An epic 12-year journey into the brutal and secretive world of Irish Traveler bare-knuckle fighting, this film follows a history of violent feuding between rival clans. World Premiere

Position Among the Stars (Stand Van De Sterren) / Netherlands (Director: Leonard Retel Helmrich) - The effects of globalization in Indonesia's rapidly changing society ripple into the life of a poor Christian woman living in the slums of Jakarta with her Muslim sons and teenage granddaughter. International Premiere

Project Nim / United Kingdom (Director: James Marsh) - From the Oscar-winning team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who was taught to communicate with language as he was raised and nurtured like a human child. World Premiere

Senna / United Kingdom (Director: Asif Kapadia; Screenwriter: Manish Pandey) - The story of the legendary racing driver and Brazilian hero Ayrton Senna takes us on the ultimate journey of what it means to become the greatest when faced with the constant possibility of death. North American Premiere

Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure / Australia, U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Bate) - When two friends tape-recorded the fights of their violently noisy neighbors, they accidentally created one of the world's first 'viral' pop-culture sensations. World Premiere

HBO’s releases third trailer for “Game of Thrones” adaptation

2010-11-29T16:11:00.001-06:00

There are a few genre enthusiasts out there that might find this new trailer for HBO’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s bestselling book A Game of Thrones (first in the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire) to be of interest. I haven’t read the books yet, but maybe this series will be the catalyst that can move me to try it. This is the second of three teaser trailers released thus far, this one being the most revealing.

Watch and share your thoughts below.

What did you think? Will this be another Band of Brothers quality series for HBO in the fantasy vein? I have to admit that the production values look top notch, but the tone of the trailer didn’t move me the way I’d hoped it would. Still, this series could be a good reason for me to get HBO. And hey, it’s got Sean Bean (not a word from you Niall). We’ll see.

Kirk out.

Sad news…

2010-11-29T11:27:00.001-06:00

On the heels of the news of Leslie Nielsen’s death last night comes another bit of sad news. Irvin Kershner, director of The Empire Strikes Back, died this weekend at the age of 87 after a battle with what is simply being described as an “illness”.

My son and I were fortunate enough to see a video greeting from a few big names that had been involved with The Empire Strikes back at a Celebration V panel called The Masters of the Empire, among them was Irvin Kershner. His portion of the video was heart felt and warm, and the man seemed in good health. Even though we didn’t get to see him live, it was nice to see and hear so many people’s reactions when his face appeared on the jumbo screens.

His directing credits include Robo Cop 2 and the Bond film Never Say Never Again, and the television show seaQuest DSV (which I just watched a few days ago).

Both of these film legends will be missed, but their legacies will live on in the body of work they leave behind, and in the future filmmakers who will undoubtedly continue to be influenced by them.

Kirk out.

‘The Eagle’ trailer warrants revised opinion*

2010-11-27T14:16:00.002-06:00

I posted about The Eagle back in January when it was still titled Eagle of the Ninth after the classic Rosemary Sutcliff novel (The Eagle of the Ninth) it was adapted from. At the time we had no trailer and I have to admit my enthusiasm for this type of film was tempered by some of the casting choices. Channing Tatum has done little to impress me, and Donald Sutherland (and his bumpkin American accent) seemed completely out of place. At the time I was actually quite a bit more excited about Centurion (until I saw the trailer), which followed the same storyline, but looked a little more gritty and realistic. I have yet to see Centurion, but my dad has and he likened it to the 2004 film King Arthur, and that’s not a good thing as far as I’m concerned. That damning tidbit and other things he told me about it (plus things I’d already suspected) knocked Centurion a bit further down on my Need to See list. Eagle of the Ninth fell off my radar as a result, thinking that both adaptations were probably lost causes. Then I found the trailer below and I have to say that I’m (once again) eating hasty words and swallowing hasty judgments.

Little is known about the people that lived north of Hadrian’s wall in what is now modern day Scotland. The Roman’s dubbed them Picts, and since they were the only ones keeping score on paper at the time, the name stuck. We don’t know what they actually called themselves or even what language they spoke, although it is popularly held belief they were Celtic and probably spoke a language similar to the insular Celtic that the Britons to the south spoke. Their art survives in the form of large, intricately carved standing stones that dot the Scottish countryside, which have been the clearest window into the culture of this vanished people. One thing is certain, though: Scholars still argue over who these people really were, who they weren’t, where they came from, and where they went.

The Eagle seems to approach the subject with a perspective that is, at the very least, visually different than most other movies that involve the northern tribes of Scotland. According to the film’s director Kevin MacDonald, Sutcliff’s novel refers to the tribe as the “seal people”, an ancient, indigenous people far older than the Celts. They are described as small and dark. A people that lived on seals, using the animals as a source of food and clothing--not unlike the Inuit tribes of the Arctic. I find this interpretation particularly interesting and eerily familiar. R.E. Howard’s (creator of such pulp characters as Conan and Solomon Kane) imagination was fired by the mysterious Picts, and referred to them as “small dark Mediterranean aborigines of Britain”. He wrote of his fictional version of these people in his Bran Mak Morn stories. I find the comparison of descriptions eerily similar and I like the ideas because they challenge conventional thought on a subject that, until someone invents a time machine, we may never have a clear view of.

The filmmakers did use information gleaned from scholarly works on the Neolithic settlements of Skara Brae and The Tomb of the Eagles in the Orkney Islands as visual cues for their on screen Pictish tribe, and Scots Gaelic was used as a stand in for the Pictish language.

If you’re interested in this kind of thing, I highly recommend Jack Dixon’s debut novel The Pict.

For now watch the trailer for The Eagle, and please share your opinion in the comments section below.

Movie Blurb:

In 140 AD, two men - master and slave - venture beyond the edge of the known world on a dangerous and obsessive quest that will push them beyond the boundaries of loyalty and betrayal, friendship and hatred, deceit and heroism... The Roman epic adventure The Eagle stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell and is directed by Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald.
20 years earlier, Rome's 5,000-strong Ninth Legion, under the command of Flavius Aquila, marched north carrying their treasured golden Eagle emblem. They never returned; Legion and Eagle simply vanished into the mists. Hearing a rumor that the Eagle has been seen in a tribal temple in the far north, Flavius' son Marcus (Tatum), determined to restore the tarnished reputation of his father, is galvanized into action. Accompanied only by his slave Esca (Bell), Marcus sets out into the vast and dangerous highlands of Scotland - to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father's memory, and retrieve the hallowed Eagle. Along the way Marcus realizes that the mystery of his father's disappearance may well be linked to the secret of his own slave's identity and loyalty - a secret all the more pressing when the two come face-to-face with the warriors of the fearsome Seal Prince (Tahar Rahim).

So, what did you think? At this point I’m more interested in The Eagle than I was before I saw the trailer. I do worry, though, that the film will portray the Picts as the bloodthirsty, mindless cliché that other films of this genre have made them out to be. I’ve had enough Romano-centric historical pieces to last me a life time.

Kirk out.

***Editor's note: I unwittingly reverted back to using the old title Eagle of the Ninth somewhere after the first paragraph and even mistyped it in the title of the post! The film’s title is The Eagle and it is based on the Rosemary Sutcliff novel The Eagle of the Ninth. I am sorry for any confusion that stemmed from these typos.

‘Storm Front’: A book review

2010-11-26T21:07:00.002-06:00

I’ve seen Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files novels in book stores many, many times over the last several years as I’ve perused the stacks of science fiction and fantasy, but I was never tempted to pick one up and try it. I can’t say that I’d ever heard anything bad about them. I honestly didn’t know anything about them except that they were popular. And it doesn’t take a genius to realize that a series is popular when it takes up nearly two shelves.

No. My avoidance of The Dresden Files was based on a few shallow, ill-informed impressions I held concerning the books. Impressions based on two insignificant things that I should be absolutely ashamed to have used to base judgments on.

Right. It was the covers.

And the sheer number of books in the series. And when I think back on all of the times that I saw those books in stores and made that split second, almost unconscious decision not to pick them up, to sneer at the thought of reading something so popular, so trite, so silly, I’m reminded of another time that I looked down my nose at a popular book series and swore in the name of all that is holy (or unholy) in publishing that I’d never taint my library with its silliness. Yes, dear readers, I’m talking about Harry Potter. The one and only. Hard to believe, huh? That I could find something so loathsome and now cherish it so completely. Well, let’s not get carried away.

Anyway, the point is that I’ve always had a hard time jumping on the bandwagon with certain things. There are probably a variety of reasons for this, but chief among them is a simple disdain for joining. Conforming. My disposition tends toward the cynical, and I’ve often thought that the fact that so many people can like something so much, and the fact that most people are idiots adds up to the approximate answer that said liked thing must equate to total nonsense. There’s a pretty simple formula you can apply here when in doubt and it goes something like this: idiots+shared interest=total nonsense, or A+B=Crap. I told you it was easy.

It’s an elitist, highbrow philosophy that I’ve had to realize is flawed (well, mostly) and illogical. And if there’s one thing I am besides cynical it’s logical. By my reckoning, if logic cannot be applied to a something, then the it deserves little consideration. So, my widely held view that popular things are akin to something brown you leave in the toilet had to be revised, rethought and redressed.

Replete with a new perspective on life I charged out into the world and proceeded to apply the very same snobby views to nearly anything popular I encountered. Hey, I’m a work in progress. What can I say?

Anyway, back to Jim Butcher and Harry Dresden and those abominable book covers. I find them awful mostly because I don’t think they represent the quality or the style of writing that hides behind them. The covers are so resplendent in their simpleminded conveyance of the subject matter that I can only hold them in the highest contempt. If it weren’t for my good friend Andy, I might never have gotten past them.

It is perhaps a little ironic that the copy of Storm Front that he loaned me was an older edition that featured a more subtle take on the world of The Dresden Files, and I found that, along with Andy’s description of the writing to be reason enough to give Storm Front a try. And I’m so glad that I did.

Harry Dresden is a wizard, you see. And a smart-assed private detective for hire. He’ll find lost items, lost people, investigate your boogie men, and he even helps out the police with the odd paranormal related murder case. For a fee, of course. In Dresden’s world magic is very real. Vampires, werewolves, faeries, and wizards roam freely among the ordinary citizenry. And occasionally they misbehave. That’s where Harry comes in.

It seems a dark wizard is loose on the streets of The Windy City. He’s already killed two people, somehow remotely ripping their hearts from their chests. Lieutenant Karrin Murphy, Director of Special Investigations (which roughly translates to the weird stuff), has been tasked with finding out who, how, and why. Harry is Detective Murphy’s ace in the hole when it comes to the weird, paranormal, and unexplained. She’s called him in to help, and as bad as he needs the money he isn’t turning his nose up at any job. But when it rains, it pours. And when Harry lands another badly needed job finding a desperate woman’s vanished husband, the killings, the missing person’s case, the Chicago mob, and the local Vampiress-operated brothel all seem to converge into a series of strange coincidences that land Harry in hot water. With the cops, the mob, the Vampiress, and the mysterious White Council hot on his heels, Harry realizes he has to crack the case, or he’s finished.

The characters in Storm Front are pretty stereotypical for noir and crime fiction. You have the tough, female police detective that’s out to prove herself. She needs Harry, so she works with him. But somewhere along the way she’s started to care. She just can’t be overt about it. You see, she’s a tough girl. Showing emotion wouldn’t fit the mold, now would it? You’ve got a damsel in distress that may or may not be what she seems, and the stereotypical sexy reporter who’s always trying to get the next scoop. She flirts with Harry and pretends that she’s only in it for the story. And despite Harry’s aloofness, obvious poverty, and occasional disregard for good hygiene, nearly all of the women that he comes in contact with seem to be at least a little bit attracted to him, and almost always disarmed by his sarcastic wit and good humor. Don’t let this deter you, though. The typical characters lend themselves to the story and the world they inhabit. The mean (and cursed) streets of Chicago are well defined. The characters seem to fit comfortably into the environments that Butcher has drawn for them to live in and it’s easy for the reader to feel fully immersed in the story. I’ve never been to Chicago, but Butcher does a damned good job of convincing me that he has.

Storm Front is part crime noir and part fantasy, with a dash (a scoop really) of comedy thrown in for good measure. Butcher combines these ingredients to formulate one of the most fun books I’ve ever had the good fortune to read, crappy cover art not withstanding. The writing is straight forward, engaging, and at times hilarious. Not many books make me laugh out loud, but this one did. I flipped pages so quickly sometimes I felt like I was almost being unkind to Butcher’s skill with prose. But I was possessed of a need to get to the end. To find out whodunit. And this is where Butcher really excels. He writes a damned fine murder mystery that is completely unencumbered by all of the usual trappings of fantasy literature, even if he’s traded them for noir conventions.

In this case, dear readers, there has never been a truer application of the cliché “Never judge a book by its cover”. Storm Front is worth your dime and your time.

Until next time, Kirk out.

Trailer Time!

2010-11-22T22:02:00.003-06:00

It’s been a while since we’ve had a round up of trailers here at The Sound and Fury, so I thought I would take this time (I’d be sitting on my ass anyway) to present to you, dear readers, in one place and in the highest possible quality (that part’s not really true) some of the more salacious (and not) trailers that are floating around the internets at the moment. So, grab a favorite beverage, sit back in your dark computer room, and enjoy.

First up, Source Code. The blurbage:

When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.
In an assignment unlike any he's ever known, he learns he's part of a government experiment called the "Source Code," a program that enables him to cross over into another man's identity in the last 8 minutes of his life.
With a second, much larger target threatening to kill millions in downtown Chicago, Colter re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack.
Filled with mind-boggling twists and heart-pounding suspense, Source Code is a smart action-thriller directed by Duncan Jones (Moon) also starring Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye, Due Date), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, The Departed), and Jeffrey Wright (Quantum of Solace, Syriana).

Source Code is out in theaters April 15, 2011

Sound and Fury Verdict: Yes, please!

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Next up, we’ve got Red Riding Hood preceded by some more blurbage.

In “Red Riding Hood,” Seyfried plays Valerie, a beautiful young woman torn between two men. She is in love with a brooding outsider, Peter (Shiloh Fernandez), but her parents have arranged for her to marry the wealthy Henry (Max Irons). Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter are planning to run away together when they learn that Valerie’s older sister has been killed by the werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village. For years, the people have maintained an uneasy truce with the beast, offering the creature a monthly animal sacrifice. But under a blood red moon, the wolf has upped the stakes by taking a human life. Hungry for revenge, the people call on famed werewolf hunter, Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), to help them kill the wolf. But Solomon’s arrival brings unintended consequences as he warns that the wolf, who takes human form by day, could be any one of them. As the death toll rises with each moon, Valerie begins to suspect that the werewolf could be someone she loves. As panic grips the town, Valerie discovers that she has a unique connection to the beast–one that inexorably draws them together, making her both suspect…and bait.

Red Riding Hood arrives in theaters March 11th, 2011.

Sound and Fury Verdict: A serious adaptation of the fairy tale made famous by the Grimm brothers is an exciting premise. This, however, despite the inclusion of the über-talented Gary Oldman looks like some kind of horrible mash up of Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow meets Twilight.

We respectfully decline.

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Our next trailer is for a film adaptation of a graphic novel called Cowboys and Aliens. Here is some very lengthy blurbage:

Blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau directs Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in an event film for summer 2011 that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way: Cowboys & Aliens. Joined by an arsenal of top moviemakers—Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci—he brings an all-new action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world.

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents—townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors—all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival

Cowboys and Aliens is due out July 29, 2011.

Sound and Fury Verdict: I have to admit that I’ve completely ignored news on this one simply because the title sounded too ridiculous to even waste time considering. I mean, throwing two anachronistic things together with some VFX does not a good movie make. (See Will Smith and Kevin Kline in the 1999 film Wild Wild West for more on this.) But when you start tossing out names like Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard, and you manage a trailer like the one we just saw, then I say we should have gotten E.T. and Josey Wales together sooner! Yippee-ki -ay, Yoda!

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Season of the Witch sounds like an interesting movie. Check it, and some requisite blurbabe, out now!

Oscar winner Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman star in this supernatural action adventure about a heroic Crusader and his closest friend who return home after decades of fierce fighting, only to find their world destroyed by the Plague. The church elders, convinced that a girl accused of being a witch is responsible for the devastation, command the two to transport the strange girl to a remote monastery where monks will perform an ancient ritual to rid the land of her curse. They embark on a harrowing, action-filled journey that will test their strength and courage as they discover the girl's dark secret and find themselves battling a terrifyingly powerful force that will determine the fate of the world.

Season of the Witch will open in theaters January 7, 2011.

Sound and Fury Verdict: Nicholas Cage has to be the richest, most famous con artist of our time. This guy lands roles in big movies like they’re handing them out down at the unemployment line. I mean, come on. He is either: A) the world’s greatest shyster, B) a very skilled conjurer, C) or a man who knows the dirty, little secrets of many-a Hollywood mover and shaker. How else could he pull the wool over so many casting director’s eyes?

I would be excited for this film based on this trailer if it weren’t for Nic Cage. You’ve got Ron Perlman, medieval battles, the forces of darkness, cool VFX… But among it all, you’ve got the drawling, droning Nic Cage who delivers his lines with all of the passion and conviction of a piece of driftwood. (My apologies to any and all offended pieces of driftwood that may be reading this post.) Do we always have to have an American lead, even when the character is clearly British? I’m reminded of Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and Gere in First Knight. Ugh.

Anyway, Season of the Witch reminds me of another supernatural movie set in the medieval period that seems to hold promise. And it stars Sean Bean. So there. Check out the trailer for Black Death here. I posted it a while back. No telling when it’s being released here.

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I’ve already posted the trailer for the next film, but I thought it deserved inclusion here. In case you missed it here is the trailer for Battle: Los Angeles. And some blurbage.

For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world – Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world's great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It's up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they've ever encountered before.

Battle: Los Angeles is due in theaters March 11, 2011.

Sound and Fury Verdict: We likey!

Kirk out!

‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I’: A film review

2010-11-22T15:36:00.002-06:00

A-MAZ-ING (uh-maze-ing)!!!

There now. Now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s get down to my review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, shall we? And just this once, since all hope for professionalism has flown directly out of the window, I’m going to cut straight to the chase. A sort of stream of consciousness review, if you will.

Well, we waited until Sunday to let the crowds die down a bit. I bought the tickets early, and we showed up at The Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar about an hour and a half early (don’t worry about the wait, they serve beer!). We managed first position in the queue (yeah, our means of getting there were a bit dodgy) and ordered a pair of beers (see, I told you we had the wait covered). I ordered an appropriate English Dark Ale called Hobgoblin for myself, and a Blue Moon for Kelley.

They let us into the theater pretty early, and we enjoyed the typical pre-show entertainment that The Alamo is famous for while we decided what to order to eat. We decided on the green chile cheese fries as an appetizer, ordered refreshers for our drinks, and settled in for the show.

I never get very excited about something until it sure to happen (isn’t that pessimistic?), and my excitement swelled on cue when that trademark Warner Bros. symbol floated towards us from the screen and those familiar first notes from John Williams’ score came tinkling out of the surround sound speakers. The roller coaster ride had begun.

First of all, if you’ve never read a Harry Potter book or seen a Harry Potter movie, then you’re out of luck. I’m not going to summarize six book/film plots just because you’re too stubborn to get on the bandwagon. Now, for those of you that are up to speed, but haven’t yet seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, let me urge you to buy tickets as soon as possible, and see it. From start to finish, this is a beautiful film. And as far as I’m concerned, the best Potter film yet.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I has it all. It has happy. It has sad. It has funny, silly, drama, action, chases, magical shoot outs, anger, betrayal, redemption, daring rescues, and so much more.

Did I mention that it has sad?

Yeah, Harry, Hermione, and Ron have grown up. They have real issues to contend with in addition to all of the odd stuff the wizarding world is throwing at them, and all of those real human emotions and human situations create an environment that allows these characters to really stretch their legs and walk around in who they are as people, not just who they are as wizards and witches. So the movie has drama.

Check.

One thing that I think this film does better than any of the Potter films is action. The action scenes are well planned, well shot, and well written. The kind of magic these kids are tossing out is more likely to result in severe laceration than a bad case of acne. The sound effects and VFX used to convey the use of magic onscreen are some of the best I’ve ever seen. Make no mistake: the magic in this movie is to be taken seriously, and so are the people using it.

The shooting locations in this film are breathtaking, and provide some seriously juicy fodder for the cinematographer, who handles them brilliantly. The sets never feel grandiose just for the purpose of being grandiose. Every step in this film has been carefully planned, well thought out, and executed with the intention of bringing the ending of one of the most important book series’ of our time to life. From the direction to set design, to VFX, the film score, cinematography, acting, comedic timing, to the adaptation of the screen play; everything is spot on.

And if that isn’t saying enough, I have these closing remarks:

The last time I found myself thinking before a film was even over that I wanted to see it again was with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings adaptations. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I has taken its place amongst those movies in my mind. This is why I go to the movies, kids.

Score: 4/5

Kirk out.

Teaser trailer for ‘Blinky™’ and other related bits

2010-11-17T14:52:00.002-06:00

A lot of odd, seemingly unrelated bits of news seem to have come together this week, and I’m going to try to lay them out here without too much confusion.

I did a quick post on the subject of Miguel de Olaso’s (aka “MacGregor”) teaser for a project titled KOR3 about a year ago, with the intention of following up with a lengthier article based on an interview I was then pursuing with the mysterious MacGregor. Well, I got in contact with Miguel, but things got a bit weird from there. Suffice it to say that his answers to the questions didn’t shine a lot of light on the subject of the man’s career (future, present, or past), but really only served to further confuse things. Especially when I was informed that MacGregor isn’t one man, but two different people.This could be due to a language barrier, but I got a weird sense that the man (or men) was either uncomfortable answering questions, or being purposefully obtuse to add more mystique to his online persona. Who knows? I could be projecting. I’ll let you decide. The transcript of the interview is below. Please note the names that appear (Zac and/or Mac) before a few of the quotes were added by the interviewee(s).

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First of all, since there seems to be very little available information online, can you tell me a bit about yourself?

We are Zac&Mac. We first met 5 years ago at dvxuser.com. We chatted a little with private messages and we realized that we were living within 20 minutes from each other…

Why do you make films?

Zac: We don’t know yet. But we make films to try to find out.

What themes interest you the most when it comes to telling a story with film?

Love.

Which film makers, if any, have influenced you?

Argg! so many that it would be unfair to mention only a few.

What types of films do you like to see when you go to the cinema?

The kind of films that take the risk of tell a story in a different way.

Have you seen any lately that you particularly enjoyed?

We have been working too much lately…

I’ve watched just about everything that’s on your Vimeo page. Can you tell me a little bit about KOR3 and Similo, and explain how they relate to each other?

They both are sci-fi films. Similo is a 25 min short film and KOR·3 a feature film under development. [sic]

I noticed that you edited out a bit of the rape scene from your show reel. Can you talk about your decision to do that?

Mac: Well, I edit my show reel very often, so I change these things again and again without thinking much about it.

Speaking of that rape scene, it seems to be a part of something called Uyuni. What is Uyuni, and is it available to view anywhere online?

It’s a shortfilm called “Uyuni”. And you can see the first 2 minutes at www.uyuni.eu. It’s currently being screened in film festivals, so we can’t have it online yet. [sic]

The teaser for KOR3 has been compared to Neil Blomkamp’s District 9 and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. What do you think about those comparisons? Do you enjoy the works of these directors?

Comparisons are odious.

It looks like you have done some work in commercials. Do you feel comfortable in that medium? Would you like to move on to feature length films?

Zac: Yes, of course, we feel very comfortable with the money we make directing commercials. Feature length films? We are on it.

How did you get the nickname MacGregor, which is obviously a Scottish surname? Is there any relation to director McG?

Mac: Frankly speaking, it’s a long long story and I plan to tell it when I write my memories. I want to earn a lot of money with them… It doesn´t have anything to do with McG. [sic]

What can we expect from Miguel de Olaso in the near future?

We are currently developing a scifi feature film, which is different from the visual style of Similo. It´s a dark and dirty thriller set in an overpopulted New York. [sic]

Any final words for the folks following your work?

We are working hard to show them more things.

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Clear as mud, huh? Granted, a monkey could probably handle an interview better than me, but I still think it was a bit odd. Miguel de Olaso, as near as I can tell, is from Spain, was living on a farm in Poland, and, according to his website, is now living on a farm in Iowa and wishes people would leave him in peace. Although I doubt there’s any truth behind where he claims to live, I do think the man values his privacy. And in an age where the idea of online anonymity has been exposed for the fallacy that it is, I can certainly appreciate the notion of privacy.

Anyway, this all came to mind again when I spotted the trailer for an upcoming feature film by Irish writer/director Ruairi Robinson (Robinson’s film Fifty Percent Grey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2002) over at my favorite movie news site /Film. It’s currently titled Blinky™, and is the result of an earlier seed project called Bad Robot.

The connection? Migeul de Olaso (aka “MacGregor”) is listed as Blinky™’s director of photography.

Let me tell you, these guys know how to do believable, gritty science fiction. If you read my last post and saw the teaser for Battle: Los Angeles, you already know that science fiction being treated with seriousness is something that I genuinely care about. After I watched the teaser for Blinky™ I started checking out some of Mr. Robinson’s other stuff, and I found a short film called The Silent City. I think it’s worth sharing here, and I also think it further displays the wealth of untapped talent that’s out there just waiting to burst onto the scene. Lord knows Hollywood needs some fresh ideas. Even if they’re really just old ideas in new packaging.

I’ve embedded quite a few videos for you to check out at your leisure. They are in descending order as follows: Miguel de Olaso’s two teasers for related projects KOR3 and Similo; Ruairi Robinson’s The Silent City, Robinson’s Bad Robot concept video, and the teaser trailer for the feature that’s based on Bad Robot, Blinky™. Watch for Irish actor Cilian Murphy’s (Batman Begins, Inception) cameo in The Silent City.

That should keep you people busy for a bit.

What are your thoughts? Did that Bad Robot concept teaser freak you out as much it did me? Shirley Temple singing in the background chilled me to the bone. Max Records (Where the Wild Things Are) seemed a bit dry in the Blinky™ teaser. But it is just a teaser. Comments, as always, are highly sought, solicited, and appreciated.

See you at the theater.

Kirk out.

‘Battle: Los Angeles’ trailer hits the mark

2010-11-12T09:50:00.002-06:00

There have been news bits knocking around for a while about Battle: Los Angeles, but it’s difficult for me to get excited about a film until I’ve seen a trailer of some kind. Well, I’ve just seen the teaser trailer, and I am now officially excited about this movie. I’d hate to jump the gun, but it seems like we might actually get to see a sci-fi/action film that takes itself seriously. Great effects, acting talent, and what appears to be a serious, emotional plot almost seem too good to be true. I can’t speak for the director’s past credits, but I would give him a chance based on this footage. Take a look, and let me know what you think.

What are your thoughts? Are you excited to see a genre film carried by a credible, serious actor like Aaron Eckhart? Or were you hoping to see Will Smith ride in on a gun ship with guns blazing, cigar clenched between his teeth, and howling “Yeehaw, bitches!”?

Kirk out.

Thank you, Veterans.

2010-11-11T08:08:00.001-06:00

On the Idle Hill of Summer

by A. E. Housman

On the idle hill of summer,
Sleepy with the flow of streams,
Far I hear the steady drummer
Drumming like a noise in dreams.

Far and near and low and louder
On the roads of earth go by,
Dear to friends and food for powder,
Soldiers marching, all to die.

East and west on fields forgotten
Bleach the bones of comrades slain,
Lovely lads and dead and rotten;
None that go return again.

Far the calling bugles hollo,
High the screaming fife replies,
Gay the files of scarlet follow:
Woman bore me, I will rise.

Kirk out.

Check out artist Steve Thomas

2010-11-02T13:12:00.001-05:00

When I stumble upon something on this vast network called the internet that I find merit in I feel obliged to share it with others. Such is the case with Steve Thomas’ art work. My son pointed his Star Wars travel style posters out to me this morning and I thought they were some of the most creative, colorful pieces of art that I’ve seen on the web. And there’s a lot out there. I dug around a bit at his website and found several pieces outside of the realm of Star Wars that I thought included mentioning here as well. He seems to have his finger on the pulse of retro pop culture art with forays into such subjects as The Lord of the Rings, Tron, the previously mentioned Star Wars and various 80’s arcade games. Check some of the examples out below, and then head on over to his website or blog and check out all of his stuff. I think it’s well worth passing on to others.

This is only a sampling of what he has at his site. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. And thanks to Ethan for pointing them out to me.

Kirk out.

Feel the burn!

2010-10-26T21:12:00.001-05:00

Being unemployed has its drawbacks, sure. But just like anything in this world, there are always positives to contrast the negatives. Where there is now less money, there is now more time. More time to think. More time to do homework. More time to complete projects around the house. More time to write. And more time to think about all the things that I should be doing to take advantage of the fact that I have been blessed with all of this blessed time.

One thing I tried to do straight away after being laid off was to exercise. I was having a pretty good go at running for a while, but it got boring the way running always does for me. So, inevitably, I fell off the exercise wagon, and came to a point where I was reassessing my goals. What did I want from a fitness program? Ripped abs and arms like Conan the Terminator? A clear head and more energy? Strength?

Yes, yes, and yes, please.

Alas, though, I was far from any of these things, and worst of all my motivation and clear sense of purpose was starting to sag like bags of fat beneath the arm. I needed to snap out of it and start getting something done. This was my chance, right? I thought, I am never gonna have this much time again!'

I needed to get my ass in gear, and fast.

Since we’d canceled our gym membership (you know how it is, no job=budget reevaluation) pumping iron Arnie-style wasn’t an option. Fortunately I had a back up plan. A cheesy, spray on tanned, annoying one. But an option nonetheless.

Enter Tony Horton and P90X.

Kelley and I bought P90X a little over a year ago. Several of our friends were getting on board and thought highly of the program. One of my best friends, Russ, has been a trainer for years, and he couldn’t find fault with it, so we entered the fray. And quickly exited the fray. It seems our sense of timing is a bit off. We purchased the program right before we were set to move into our newly acquired home.

Verdict?

We did about three days worth of P90X before we had to begin packing up the house. Let me just tell you that packing and trying to do a home based workout do not mix. I don’t care who you are. So P90X faded into the sunset like so many other failed work out plans, and we didn’t think about it much anymore for a year.

When I began to tire of running, I started to try and think of another option, and lo and behold P90X came right up to the forefront. Why not? It was paid for. I had all the equipment and space that I needed to do the workouts right there in my own living room. And I had the time. Conditions were perfect.

It was business time.

So late last week marked my reemergence into the insanity that is P90X (if you haven’t heard of it, then clearly you never watch TV early on Saturday and Sunday mornings or late at night), and I have decided to blog about my experiences with the program here at The Sound and Fury.

So sit back. Chuckle at my mishaps and missteps. Witness the pitfalls. Say “I told ya so” (when appropriate), if you like. But feel free to get inspired, if you’re moved to. Take the challenge to do something more than sit on the couch and allow life’s real pleasures to pass you by. Stand up and put on your jogging shoes. Make a goal to lose a few pounds, increase your strength, or just tone up so you can take off your shirt at the beach next summer. Whatever you decide to do, I appreciate your feedback and your readership.

I’ll post my preliminary thoughts and criticisms after I’ve completed the first week.