Review: Midnight in Paris

After watching this I feel like I should be reading some great American literature

Box Set Binge: Pushing Daisies

I love DVD and film boxsets. I have this thing where if I buy a series on DVD, every subsequent series must have the same cover art or they won't look right on my shelf (pause to shakes fists at the Buffy the Vampire Slayer distributors!) and is also extends to books.

This introduces a new feature: Box Set Binge. Herein, I watch a box set and comment. It's pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. Up first, Pushing Daisies, Series One.

Review: Hamlet 2 / Bridesmaids

Comedy films are a good bet in the current financial climate as they appeal to wide audiences, are comparatively cheap to make and everyone needs a laugh right? Over the past few days I've seen two comedies from the past few years.

88:88

I found this amazing short film today that I just had to share with you guys. It's shot beautifully in HD with very little dialogue but the cinematography and special effects are awesome! The film has a website here.

Review: Rock of Ages

Hands in the air, I didn't know what to expect with this one.

Troma's 40th Birthday

The first book I ever read on filmmaking wasn't Bazin or Bordwell, it was a book titled "Make Your Own Damn Movie" by a guy named Lloyd Kaufman. I was still at school and someone somewhere (obviously without knowing who this guy was) had put the book in our school library. I hadn't decided to study film yet but I loved the book. It had chapters with names like "500 useless screenwriting books boiled down into one short chapter", "raising money or mastering the ancient art of fellatio" and "stunts and special effects - how to simulate and violent death and stay out of jail". None of this was covered during my three years at university and this book made filmmaking seem FUN!

I later learned the Kaufman was co-founder of Troma Studios, one of the oldest independent film studios that recently turned 40.

A charming little film to brighten your day!

Courtesy of Sean Mullen comes the Pixaresque The Artists. It is beautifully animated and wonderfully funny!

David Cronenberg

The latest in Film School rejects "6 Filmmaking Tips From..." series is David Cronenberg and is well worth a read! Now go and watch Dead Ringers or Eastern Promises...

The Purple Rose of Cairo

I heard about this film a few weeks ago and subsequently added it to my LoveFilm request list. I always enjoys films about films and this one was no exception with its delicate examination of fantasy and reality.

"I just met a wonderful new man. He's fictional but you can't have everything"

Shameless Self Promotion

This is My Sad Night:



It is indeed my student film! It was my final independent project and it is online for me to share with you!

Tim Burton: A Filmography

Hot on the heels of my Dark Shadows review from last month, I rediscovered this little gem of a film by animator and film maker Martin Woutisseth:

Echo Chamber

I'm a big fan of the TV Tropes website and they have just released the first two episodes of the second series of Echo Chamber, the show made by tropers for tropers.

Basically the story is this: A guy named Tom has been tasked with making videos about certain tropes (for those who don't know a tropes are "devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations"  (according to the website) for a mysterious employer. Along with his snarky producer Dana and his cloudcuckoolander cameraman Zack, he struggles to complete videos, the subject of which always seems to relate to whatever they are doing.

Show Within a Show is the first episode:

Obviously the show relies a lot on meta humour and reflexivity and is a must for anyone who has so much as glanced at the main site. I sat and watched all twelve episodes today and I am hooked. It's updating every Tuesday and Thursday and the videos can be seen here along with the relevant tropes!

Trailer Blaze

Some people spend their bank holidays at the beach, visiting culturally significant areas, having picnics or visiting relatives. My family went and saw two films in a row at the cinema which may go some way to explaining how I am the way I am. The two films were Prometheus (see yesterday's top ten) and Snow White and the Huntsman (I want to do some special blog posts on fairytale films soon).

It's a running joke in my family that my favourite part of the cinema is the trailers which is secretly partly true.

100% Spoiler Free Prometheus Top Ten

Go and see this movie people.

Jesus Henry Christ

Jesus Henry Christ (Dennis Lee, 2012)

A cute film about a child prodigy who goes in search of his father.

March Round Up

Hello June and a happy extended bank holiday weekend to my fellow Brits! Here is my brief round up of May:

Top Film: Avengers. An obvious choice but what can you do. A special mention also goes to Stolen Lives which I watched one afternoon while skiving off from important essay work.but didn't have time to write about.

Worst Film: Faces in the Crowd, which I didn't write about due to sheer frustration. Bad story, bad acting, bad everything.

Most looking forward to in June: A toss up between Prometheus and Snow White and the Huntsman at the cinema. I've also stockpiled a collection of DVDs that I need to watch including those oscar darlings The Artist and War Horse and as nerdy as it sounds I'm actually looking forward to the DVD extras (don't shoot!)

Sarah x