The Happening (2008)

One of the worst movies I have ever had the horror to watch. It simply Sucks SUCKS!

Seriously, the whole idea is stupid, the acting is bad and the story makes no sense, plus the "message" at the end is just retarded.

Rating: * (One Star)

Alvas interview

1. What has been the best film you have watched because of IB Film this year?Smultronstället
2. Who or what is your favourite (ignore as appropriate): Director.
Scorsese.

Writer/Script
Tarantino

Cinematographer
Robert Richardson
Composer/Film Soundtrack¿?
ActorsRobert De Niro
Edward Norton
Denzel Washington
Morgan Freeman
Russel Crowe
Liam Neeson
Harvey Keitel
Gerard De Pardieu
Vincent Cassel
3. Describe your ideal film watching experience (where, when, who with, what are you eating and so on)
Home, mornings, alone, picada spiced with “So On”.4. What annoys you about other people while you're watching a film?Talkers, smokers.
5. What is your opinion of cinema in 3D? B.S.
6. What is the oldest film you've seen?Battleship Potemkin
7. Do you think your film watching, or your film taste, have changed through studying IB Film? If yes, please explain how. For example, will you watch the new Michael Haneke film?
I learned how to enjoy cinema, but as well discovered how crappy my favourite movies were before learning film. That was a bit disappointing. I’d certainly watch The White Ribbon.

8. What do you think are the strengths of the IB Film course?
Learning Film, cool interactive activities!

9. If you could make your own feature film, with an unlimited budget, what would you make, who would you cast, and what role(s) would you take?
A movie in Buenos Aires, with my favourite actors and I’d be the Director.
10. Finally, where do you think cinema will be in 5, 15 or 50 years?
The same.

Tulio is here

Well, Tulio is Here.

Watch it in Vimeo

Hope you enjoy it

Regards

Lucas

Tulio

You Might or might not know (I like how Might looks in capital letters) Tulio the short movie is in pre production terms, but in a matter of days YES, DAYS we will be shooting. Im not sure if you've read my synopsis:

Tulio is a short film that explores a woman's path through different stages of her life, as she encounters death, manifested through an imaginary friend, Tulio. The three scenes explore: awareness of mortality; experience of loss; and her own passing will be the defining moments both for the character and the audience.

Infomercial

Fun!

HERE

Camera Workshop

I am quite a photograph aficionado, and if you know me, you'd know that I go with my camera everywhere, despite this, i had never used my Nikon as a cam corder before, and I have to say that it was a nightmare. Lighting, lighting, lighting, think of lighting. I couldn't simply change the aperture or speed here, it was much more complicated, Flash? Yea, right. After about twenty minutes playing around with the camera, I simply quitted, It wasn't worth it.

So, We made our workshop with Alva's simple Samsung camera. The panning shots weren't as difficult as we thought they would be, we simply strapped the camera to one of those bos moving things with wheels and used that. Then we invented a panning device made with a tray and four tennis balls. The balls worked as bearings and the tray as a support.

Lighting, that what you have to have in mind.

Pirate Radio (2009)

Last night I enjoyed to watch "The Ship that Rocked" a great movie about a radio station located in a boat anchored in the coasts of britain transmitting Rock and Roll night and day. Some good comedy and adventure with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy, directed by Richard Curtis who is the fellow who made Love actually movie I haven't seen yet but Im told its pretty good.

So, really enjoyable, easy watching.

Rating: **** (Four stars)

Maia

This post is to congratulate DF for his daughter Maia, who was born the 23 of april.

So, Congratulations Dougal, I hope that everything works smoothly and I have no idea on how to write this so.

Basically,

Congratulations

Good Luck

Hope your wife and your baby are healthy

Regards

Lucas

Documentary

Made in 5 minute DVD cover to have an idea of the target audience and Tone.

H.A.L. 10000 Series in my Fridge?

So, I opened my fridge today, and as you'll see in the pictures, I have to go to the supermarket. The thing, is that the emptiness of the fridge allowed me to see a hidden treasure that lies within. I had seen this before, but never paid attention to it. Until today. What I am about to say is shocking. But, I've found H.A.L. 9000 series' daughter inside my fridge.

Is my fridge now going to poison my food now that I've discovered it's true identity? Are we all Samsung users doomed?

Here is a picture of H.A.L. so that the ones that haven't seen 2001 Space Odyssey can save the whole googling process.

Investigation

Some links on my investigation for the documentary.

Bullit

Wikipedia

Tomatoes

Roger Ebert

Ronin

Wikipedia

Tomatoes

CNN list

Director Role

The director is in charge of all the creative aspects of a film, as they decide the story line and the visual elements that will be in the movie, from pre production to post production. With the script on hand, its the directors' role to visualise and to get in touch with the producers to start the pre selection of cast and others such as the people in charge of: lights, camera, etc, all through the producers but always taking in consideration the Director's preferences.

There are some directors that are more collaborative than others, for example the Cohen brothers, who are well known for being really nice chaps to work with. On the other hand there's people like Hanke or Hitchcock who are much more precise and authoritarian with their work, as they know exactly what they want and how.

Profiles for 2 Directors (Pre 1960s and Post 1960s)

Sergei M. Eisenstein

An intellectual with an amazing variety of interests, both cultural and artistic, his directing has definitely have left a mark in the history of cinema. He began his career making films for the Soviet Government, which all tough allowed him to make "big" movies, he wasn't allowed to explore his different ideas as the target for this movies was really clear, get people to understand the Russian revolution and the new "government". Frustrated by the restrictions he had in his film making in The USSR, he moves to the US and shoots 30 000 meters of film for "Que Viva Mexico" in 1932, movie which he couldn't finish and was finished in 1979, 31 years after his death.

Although he was quite an artistic kind of guy, he used to be a control freak with every aspect of his movies. The editing, the art, everything. We can find evidence of this by comparing movies such as "Bronenosets Potyomkin " & "Ivan Groznyy I"

Stanley Kubrick

One of the biggest influences in the movie industry from the last

IB Role

Fran Guerini: Michel Bay -- Transformers (1 and 2)

Camila Brea: Tim Burton -- Alice In Wonderland

Inaky: Martin Scorsese -- Shutter Island

Lucas: Stanley Kubrick -- Clockwork Orange / The Shining

According to Fran, the importance of a director is directly linked with the box office production and so to the entertainment generated from this movie. Camila has a slighter different point of view, just like Lucas, she finds that this director reflects a certain part from herself and is due to that that they pick this director as their favourite. Inaky has a slighter mixed point of view, as he enjoys certain movies that at the same time reflect a certain part of his personality or taste.

We agree that the Director's role is both everything and nothing. If the rest of the team runs smoothly, the director's voice should be heard just for some personal touches. He makes the movie, but without an editor and script he is nothing. The director is the movie, as his makes the movie and extension of himself. This is why

In the cases we have selected for example Tim Burton or Scorcese tend to work with a very specific group of people, like being Leonardo Di Caprio, Johnny Depp, or Helena Bonham Carter.

Boogie, el aseitoso (2009)

Boogie, el aceitoso is a cartoon movie based in the marvellous "Negro" Fontanarossa comics. A mixture between comics, 3D, animation and lots of other techniques combine to make this extremely bizarre and fantastic. This is not for everyone, as critics are really deep and lots of people might be offended. A straight and euphemism less critic to the american warrior.

With quotes like: -Why does one create jobs for the poor?

- I am of that big racist culture, the one who hates the poor.

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Stuff Documentary

Books to read: Steve McQueen The Last Mile (2006) // The Greatest Movie Car Chases of All Time

Sites to visit: http://www.directessays.com (various) // http://stevemcqueen.com

Essays to read: (Above)

DVD with director’s commentaries: Bullit, Ronin, Gone in 60 seconds (original and remake)

People to interview: YTBS

Other: (youtube interviews, makings of…) : "The making of Bullit", "Steve McQueen the man behind....", "Gone in 60 seconds, the making of"

Oscar Predictions

I might not be Nostradamus, but this are my predictions for the Oscar winners:

Best Picture: Avatar

Actor in leading role: Colin Firth / Morgan Freeman

Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz

Actress in a Leading Role: Hellen Mirren

Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo'Nique

Animated Feature Film: Up

Art Direction: The imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Cinematography: Avatar

Directing: Up in the Air

Foreign Language: Un Prophete

Visual Effects: Avatar

Original Screenplay: A serious Man

Visual Effects: Avatar

Editing: District Nine

Bad Lieutenant (1992) (Column)

I saw the remake not long a go as you might have read, and I found this to be in some way Nicholas Cage redemption after movies such as Ghost Rider, Next and his economical breakdown. And I found that this was quite a respectable part of this movie. So, at the video store when I found the original Harvey Keitel Bad Lieutenant I decided to rent it right away.

I wasn't really sure what to expect, but when the movie started I realised what I should expect. In the first place, great acting, and great script. Harvey Keitel is the bad boy you want if you want a real crime movie. But this is not a crime movie, this goes far from Scorsese's mafia series (Goodfellas, Casino, etc.) it goes further than Tarantino, the director, Abel Ferrara, a pretty unknown director, but in other movies he got to the same place as he did in this one.

Bad Lieutenant is a movie about humans, its a movie about a circle of addictions and low lifes that takes the human as low as it can get. It's not an easy movie to watch, its not, but still I've seen it over 3 times now, and still have it at home. You have to stand there and watch a nun being raped or Harvey mentally raping two teens, its just so raw, so true that it scares people. It is a scary movie, but it is a really true movie.

Rating: ****1/2 (4 and 1/2 stars)

Avatar

I have to say that Avatar is the exact representation of today's world.

It represents people's concerns, it represents what people like and what they believe in.

Besides, it is made in such a way that it captivates everyone, me, gamers, people in general.

And seriously, graphically it just blew my mind, it was really something. The story is basically Pocahontas, and the acting is standard, but I have to five it a 5 stars because it represents the world in which we live in.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

A Perfect Getaway (2009)

This is a very nicely made thriller with an interesting but expectable ending. Some good techniques and entertaining. Regular to good acting from Steve Zahn, Milla Jovovich, and Timothy Olyphant's clasic face.

Rating: *** (Three Stars)

Picture

Hey, I've just seen this picture in the Philip deFranco show and was astonished by it.

Tell me what you think.

Lucas

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

James Dean is one of those icons in film history and when watching one of his movies, you realise why. Rebel Without a Cause has to be one of the greatest movies of the time. All though the message is over clear, this movie wins our hearts and minds. Natalie Wood's acting and Sal Mineo's were fantastic too.

Rating: ***** (Five Stars)

This Island Earth (1955)

This is just another one of those great early sci-fi movies in which the effects are just SO SO unrealistic that you just don't care. This is what makes old school sci fi so much better that the new one. Although fun to watch, it was really crap.

Rating: **1/2 (2 and 1/2 stars)

Blow Up (1966)

As a british classic, Blow Up has been forgotten lately, and I know why. Although it does contain some AWSOME lines and some great scenes, the acting is just SO BAD. David Hemmings' acting is just so bad that it becomes hard to watch the whole thing. Very representative of it's time and place, this movie is underrated and deserves credit for its social message and escenificacion on England in the 1960's

Rating: **** (4 Stars)

Bullit (1968)

Bullit is one of the most iconographic movies of all times for us the motor enthusiasts, and has to be one of Steve Mcqueen's best movies. Robert Vaughn's acting is particularly weak and the script is not brilliant, but still, much better that all o Hollywood's blockbusters nowadays. A very cool classic.

Rating: ***** (Five Stars)

The Bad Liutenant (2009)

The Bad Lieutenant is what we expected from the Nicolas Cage we saw in the late 90's.

Strange story with some surrealistic content and a good moral message. Movie for the open-minded.

Rating: ***1/2 (3 and 1/2 stars)

Into The Storm

This is a great historic movie, something that HBO knows how to do well and safe. Brendan Gleenson is for me one of the great Brit actors of this days. Much better that reading a history book.

Rating: ***1/2 (3 and 1/2 stars)

Magnolia (1999)

Magnolia has to be one of the best movies I've ever seen, Julianne Moore's and William Macy's acting are fantastic, seriously fantastic, and Philip Seymour Hoffman round's up the deal. A movie in which you can tolerate Tom Cruise. Great story and message.

Rating: ***** (5 Stars)

Scarface (1983)

Believe or not I had never seen Scarface before, so I rented it. Great movie, with a great moral message. Al Pacino's acting is "Top Notch".

Rating: ****1/2 (4 and 1/2 stars)

New System

Well, although my readership has fallen to about 0, I still try to keep things up, so Ill be employing a new system. This is gonna be separated in two parts:

Reviews

Which will be made of only 2-4 lines about a movie and a rating from one to five.

Columns

This are gonna be much longer and will contain information and my opinion about different movies and movements and stuff.

Hope you enjoy and see you all soon

Lucas