This short from Wong Fu Productions is a pretty hilarious look at the kinds of racial stereotypes that still exist in the world. If you can’t beat it, make a joke about it!
(via)
May 072011
I know, I know, Frankenstein’s monster. Plus, it’s not really my idea, but an abandoned that was never made from the 1960s. What you see above is concept art from the idea. From that site, some history:
King Kong’s creator, famed animator Willis O’Brien, conceived a script (in the 1960s) that he called “King Kong vs Frankenstein”, planned second “sequel” to his original 1933 film. It was never made, though in the end, as “King Kong vs Prometheus”, it was sold to Toho Studios in Japan, who re-conceived the project as Kingu Kongu tai Gojira [King Kong vs Godzilla] (1962; dir. Ishiro Honda) — and then again, sans Kong, as Furankenshutain tai chitei kaiju Baragon [Frankenstein vs the Subterranean Monster Baragon] (1965; dir. Ishiro Honda) aka Frankenstein Conquers the World (US, 1966).
I got the link from @buzzsawbravado, who claims to have worked out a plot for the film.
Let’s see … two quasi-human, misunderstood “monsters,” looking for nothing but love, yet relentlessly terrorized at every turn by raging, panicked crowds … they fight because each one of them erroneously believes that by defeating the other, he will have proved his humanity.
It’s tragic, because they have more in common with each other than with the people they both believe they are fighting for. Perhaps that’s the end? When, exhausted, weary from the battle but neither one defeated, they come to some kind of a understanding …
… and that’s when, harassed by impatient biplanes and villagers, they turn their wrath, together, on the humanity that created and/or enslaved them.
Whaddya think? July popcorn feature?
When I started learned about journalism and newspapers and all the associated ephemera that comes with it, we were still doing paste-up layout, but the Linotype process was still in enough memories that it was taught — not always in a class, but almost by osmosis.
As Rob Beschizza at BoingBoing comments,
The characteristics of a production process often become desirable when the process becomes obsolete; “flaws” become symbolic of the good taste and expense that old ways acquire when freed from commercial significance. But it’s not just a cult of the hand-made. Even the heaviest and most unwieldy machinery can attain the same same cachet. Whatever the word for this technological nostalgia is, Linotype is surely the most extreme example.
You’ll see this in the recent resurgence of letterpress, as well. A good letterpress operator was once known for being able to just kiss the paper with the ink, leaving a perfect image but no indenting. Nowadays, people beg for and caress the embossing that a heavy letterpress strike will produce. The flaw has become emblematic of the process.
This is also true about leather. A true leather will have flaws because it is made from the skin of an imperfect animal. But “manufactured leather” which is made by bonding together tiny pieces of leftover leather, will have a perfect, flawless grain to it.
Once you know what to look for, you can see this in all kinds of products. Manufacturers know this, too, and that’s why you can buy fake plastic woodgrain that has knots in it.
Weird, it’s like an arms race between authentic and imitation, with the cutting edge being the reproduction of errors.
(“Linotype: The Film” Teaser from Linotype: The Film on Vimeo.)
Well, fancy gadgets and smooth moves wouldn’t pay off quite as well, at least that’s the subtext in this Stella Artois commercial.
It was co-directed by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola. Which is kind of awesome, but also kind of depressing. I mean, it’s great that there’s this fantastic new commercial to enjoy, and the presence of some top Hollywood talent really shows off how lazy a lot of ads are, but wouldn’t you rather they be working on something artistic, not shilling for brewskis?
(via Slashfilm)
That was the trailer (of sorts) for a new Mortal Kombat movie, subtitled “Rebirth.” No one is really sure where it came from, but some blogs are reporting that it’s a test clip to get funding for the actual film.
It looks bloody, dark and disturbing, just like the video game, unlike the first movies, which were terrible. Well, maybe not terrible. How about cheesy and so very ’90s?
Except, I bet anything Grant will tell me they were awesome.
I used to love playing Mortal Kombat when I was younger. Not that I was ever very good at it, but it was pretty fun, and had an extra “cool” factor for being so violent and gory (I was young, okay?).
It’ll be interesting to see if we can forget the past and have a decent film version.
Almost everyone has seen the classic movie, but when I was growing up, I also devoured the Wizard of Oz books. Not enough people know that L. Frank Baum wrote a baker’s dozen more Oz books, and they get weirder as they go on — including such themes as the humanity of a robot and transgender identity. I am not kidding.
One of the subplots that stuck with me was the backstory of the Tin Man. There’s not much in the movie about how he lost his heart, but there’s a bit more in the book, and in a later book, it’s actually explored in a little more depth.
And now, there’s a movie — a 22-minute Internet short done by Whitestone Motion Pictures:
They’ve also got a load of behind-the-scenes stuff on their website.
Apr 272010
In a story fit for Weekend Update, Paramount has announced that it will be going ahead with a third installment of “The Ring.”
In 3D.
Really, Paramount? You feel the need to make an unnecessary sequel to a decent film. In 3D. Really.
Ever since “Avatar” came out (and made a shit-load of money) studios seem to be scrambling to render every film they can into 3D, regardless of whether or not it actually looks good.
I recently saw “Alice in Wonderland” and the 3D felt like a lazy addition; it was kind of cool in places, but I would have enjoyed the movie just as much if it was in 2D. Considering that’s what it was shot in.
“The Ring” was actually a good movie. It was the kind of horror film I enjoy, full of atmosphere, tension, and the occasional moment that makes you jump. Making a third movie (which is itself annoying. Get over sequels, studios! Get over it!) in 3D is probably going to amount to cheap thrills with the creepy girl reaching out for you in your seat.
I know 3D has been around for awhile, but because of the success of “Avatar” it’s already becoming tiresome with how many films are eagerly pitched as “IN 3D, ZOMG!!”
UPDATE! Roger Ebert feels the SAME WAY!
Remember Keith’s and Amy’s posts about Calvin’s awesome snowman sculptures? I always wanted to try to make some of my own. Well, I started reminiscing about the glory days of Calvin and Hobbes. It’s hard to believe that this past New Year’s Eve marked 14 years since the final C&H strip — which only published for 10 years, and that was with two lengthy interregnums, too.
I guess I’m not the only one reminiscing. Some enterprising filmmakers are working on a movie they call a “thank-you” to Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes.
Check it out at DearMrWatterson.com. Here’s the trailer:
Of course, they’re looking for your support. But something like Calvin and Hobbes is bound to get a lot of attention and a lot of support. If you really want to make an impact, I’d urge you to check out ….
Imagine a world where videogames have evolved to the point where you can no longer tell the difference between the game world and the real world, where you can no longer discern who is playing, what the game is, or how to get out.
This is the premise of the short film Play. It was created through a project called Future States in association with the Independent Television Service. The goal of the Future States project is take current issues facing American society (they specify America, but it could easily include Canada) and imagine how they would look in the future.
Independent Television Service (ITVS) asked 11 renowned and up-and-coming filmmakers to take the current state of affairs in the United States, and extrapolate them into stories of the nation in the not-so-distant future.
…
Each episode presents a different filmmaker’s vision of American society in the not-too-distant future, fusing an exploration of social issues with elements of speculative and science fiction.
Which brings me back to Play. It is an interesting examination of how the landscape might look if and when virtual reality becomes, simply, reality:
Play has the structure of a puzzle, and is not meant to resolve into a single explanation or interpretation. Rather, the film is a meditation on our present day of hyperconnectivity and information overload, using videogames as the metaphor for the very human search for meaning and identity.
It is well worth watching, and I recommend checking out the other films at the Future States website.
Tavis Coburn, with design agency Dutch Uncle, was commissioned to do up some posters for the 2010 BAFTAs, which he did in delightfully retro style. I love this one for the Hurt Locker, which looks like it was ripped from the cover of a deliciously pulp sci-fi paperback that I might have purchased for 75 cents from a used-book store as a pre-teen:
He also did Up In The Air, Precious, and An Education, but I think my second-favourite was the one he did for Avatar.
Coburn’s bio, on the Dutch Uncle site, says that his “unique style is inspired by 1940s comic book art, the Russian avant-garde movement, and printed materials from the 1950s/60s.”
Why, I think that’s a recipe for awesome.
Feb 052010
Now this is a great idea for a news organization. If fewer people are reading your film reviews because there’s a glut of them online, let your reviewer loose on other videos! In this case, radio station WBEZ (I blogged about their Q experiment here) has sicced their reviewer on political advertising — with commendable results.
In this, the first of a series, critic Jonathan Miller takes on an ad that tries a little too hard to make its Ben Franklin association clear:
Professional golfer Padraig Harrington tests out the Happy Gilmore hockey-style swing when teeing off. The results are surprising.
(From Atomic Robot, via @mike_thomas.)
Dec 082009
Introducing, The Filminator. Built in the garage of a retired Kodak engineer, this project replicates, for small batches, the huge industrial machinery that would normally produce film. On the Flickr page which documents this DIY, he says:
Can’t buy the film you want any more? Just make the stuff!
Plastic and goop go in one end, and camera film comes out the other end. This is not a trivial undertaking.
I think I know a regular blog reader here who will have to go mop up that drool now.
(via Boing Boing)
Jul 022009
Aw, I remember seeing this on TV when I was a kid. I always felt that it was so poignant, even though at that time of my life, I didn’t know that particular word.
It’s a production of Canada’s National Film Board, which has a great track record of short films like these (a few stinkers, though — sorry, “Métis Coat“). The NFB has a huge archive of films on its site that I always mean to sift through.
According to the NFB, “In this animated short from the Canada Vignette series, learn how societies in evolution are often in danger of self-destruction.”
I didn’t get that from the film. I still don’t, not really. As a kid, though, I was fascinated by the many different shapes each egg’s construction took. I guess I got it backwards? Although each egg tackles the problem, apparently, in a similar way, they end up with crazy creativity nonetheless.
(Thanks Denise, for posting this to your Facebook!)