by Cineleet on March 13, 2009
This is a guest post written by Regan Payne. Mr. Payne is president of Omnipresent Productions, a fully functioning production house in Vancouver, BC
I began hearing the cries and caterwauls several years ago. It’s a familiar sound to most, a high-pitched rhythm, lined with the sardonic shades of a half-conceived argument. Otherwise known as whining. And not just any old whining, no, the whining of that much-derided, multiplex malcontent: the cineaste. Every group of friends has one, that veritable fountain of nonplus theorizing about this, that, and anything film. I should know, I am this person amongst my unfortunate group of friends – though this particular grievance is not part of my usual repertoire, that consisting of the sacrilege of film remakes (God, please not Metropolis too! Or, Metropolis 2 for that matter, I don’t want to see either one) and the long lost art of actual film editing. [click to continue…]
by Cineleet on March 2, 2009
This is a guest post written by Greg Davies. Greg is known in social media circles as cGt2099, and runs the sites The-TrukstoP.com and WallabyDown.com. We’ve previously featured his inestimable talents on the post:
Before the Galaxy Far, Far Away: Influences on ‘Star Wars’
© Annie Leibovitz for Vogue
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One of the most expected movies of 2008, Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, also turned out to be one of the most polarizing. When the film was finally released, it was subject to a wide range of reviews; from positive to neutral to negative… it was unmistakable that the movie would not be universally loved as the hype before release had many people believe. [click to continue…]
by Cineleet on January 28, 2009
The 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder highlights an inconvenient Hollywood truth: Oscar loves mental disabilities. In the film, Ben Stiller’s action hero character, Tugg Speedman, wishing to expand beyond his stereotype, attempts to court Oscar sympathies by playing a mentally challenged farmhand. It ends up being a critical failure. This is because, as Tugg’s co-star Robert Downey, Jr warns him, “You never go full retard”. And he has a point. [click to continue…]
by Cineleet on January 5, 2009
Miracle Mile is a fantastic thriller born of the apocalyptic paranoia of the late eighties — the last vestiges of Reagan-era Cold War. It’s directed by Steve DeJarnatt (whose previous film, Cherry 2000, is a futuristic romance about a guy who discovers love while on a journey to find a replacement for his sex robot) and stars a pre-ER Anthony Edwards and ‘brat packer’ Mare Winningham.
Edwards plays Harry Washello, a young trombone player who “meets cute” with Winningham’s Julie. Harry and Julie have the kind of whirlwind all-in-one-afternoon storybook romance montage that only occurs in movies rapidly needing to get to their Inciting Incident. After museums, carousels, and lobsters, Harry decides Julie’s “the one” and vice versa. They plan their first real date, later that evening. Harry decides to get some shuteye before picking Julie up at the diner she waits tables at, so he sets his alarm clock. [click to continue…]
