Archive: Film

February 27, 2008

Clever Veggies

As I stood on the subway platform the other day, zoning out at the posters that line the walls, I snapped to attention as a most peculiar thing caught my eye: a poster for a movie called The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie. I can honestly say I don’t know much about VeggieTales (the TV show… more »

October 23, 2007

Monster Mash

With the scariest of seasons upon us, there is no better time to partake in some scary movies. Unfortunately, most scary movies dodge the month of October—*cough*shitty Halloween remake *cough*—as though they’re ashamed to tread on such hallowed ground. Even if the first-run theaters can’t scare up some good thrills, there’s plenty of stuff on the small screen all month… more »

March 15, 2007

Bye Bye, South By

Once again we arrive home from a whirlwind SXSW not quite knowing where all the time went. I laughed and learned with good friends I don’t get to see nearly enough, and met so many more new people who will have to tell me their names again next year due to my sieve-like brain. The conference itself seemed to… more »

November 28, 2006

Season’s Gleanings

It always amazes me what drivel the studios turn out at year’s end to scrape a few more bucks together. I often think that I should just make a indie Christmas film, which I gotta believe would be at least five times as good as what currently serves as cinematic cheer. The plan would be to make it on a… more »

October 27, 2006

Trick-or-Treat

The candy bowl is full and we’ll be decorating our house this weekend. Horror films are usually playing at night, and The Misfits remain in heavy rotation. What’s that mean? Well, I guess it means we are horror nerds. But it also means it’s nearly Halloween! As always, here are your yearly batch of seasonal tricks and treats. On Screen… more »

July 27, 2006

Thursday Ephemera

Letterpress Printing: Expanded Version The follow-up class to the Letterpress class I took this summer at UArts. It’s 10 weeks of typesetting by hand! Don’t worry if it’s your first time, the class promises to cover the basics and build up to more advanced techniques. If you are in the Philadelphia area, and have a love for type, I highly… more »

April 10, 2006

The Descent

I only got to see one film in this year’s Philadelphia Film Festival, and luckily it was damn good. The film is a UK horror movie called The Descent—from Dog Soldiers director and scribe, Neil Marshall—and screened as part of the Danger After Dark showings. On the surface it bears a similar direction to last year’s snore-fest The Cave,… more »

October 5, 2005

Mayhem

Because I have such a deep, deep affection for you all and this most blessed holiday season, I have collected a heap of bloody good links to get you in the mood. Feel free to add your own in the comments. Around the Web Friends: A few friends are dressing their sites up to celebrate this most festive season, Sutter… more »

March 17, 2005

Roundtrip From Austin

Here I sit, home again, with South by Southwest weighing heavy in my heart. Over the last five days I met some amazing people, and finally put faces to many names. The magic of SXSW lies in the attendees, and this is the reason I only made it to one film. When you see someone, you simply go introduce yourself.… more »

January 25, 2005

Pollinate

Wow. I just watched Belief’s presentation, Pollinate Chain Reaction, from Promax/BDA 2004 in New York (via Mr. Sutter), and I feel like staying up for a few days straight to create something. The video from the lecture, is 45 minutes long, but it will be some of the best 45 minutes you’ve spent lately. Watching this really hit home for… more »

December 14, 2004

2004 Favorites

I realize Jon may have beat me to it by a bit (we’ll just chalk that up to the time difference ;D), but I figured I would throw this out there anyway. It’s been a good year to have ears and eyes, so here is a brief celebration of the best of what the year had to offer. These are… more »

December 1, 2004

National Treasure

Yes, I am a glutton for punishment. With the hopes of having a good laugh and getting to see Philly on the silver screen, I went and saw National Treasure. You really have to hand it to Jerry Bruckheimer. The man has made his career (and a very profitable one at that) on pure mediocrity. Whenever you see his name… more »

November 15, 2004

Recommending

Two quick recommendations for you. Go see The Incredibles. You like animation right? Of course you do. And you know that Pixar has consistently turned out some of the smartest feature-length animated films in years? Of course you do. The Incredibles marks their first genuine attempt at a film about people, not animals or toys, though still not entirely normal… more »

October 25, 2004

For Entertainment Purposes Only

Your guide to my tastes! This is how I like to get in the mood for Halloween. These are not best-of lists, these are just some of my personal favorites, so don’t yell at me if you favorite movie sucks and didn’t make the cut. Also, I don’t claim to be well read (or listened), so if you think me… more »

October 19, 2004

Rustlin’ Up Respect

Well, we did it again. The National Film Challenge rolled around two weeks ago, so we got the gang together and made another film during a sleepless weekend. It was the usual deal, at 7pm on Friday your team is given a genre, character, line of dialogue, and a prop, all of which must be represented in a 4-8 minute… more »

September 23, 2004

CAmm Slamm Films online

Here we are! That didn’t take too long, now did it? The two films we made for CAmm Slamm this past weekend, Night of the Science and Day of the Meth, are both online. Keep in mind, the competition called for one film; we shot two with the idea to surprise the audience during the competition screening by having two… more »

September 20, 2004

CAmm Slamm 2004

This past weekend found us all in Baltimore to take part in CAmm Slamm, another weekend film competition. We are starting to become weekend film regulars; Dial-a-Spy last year, Lunch Break earlier this year, CAmm Slamm this past weekend, and the National Film Challenge in two weeks… who the hell needs sleep anyway! Luckily this time we were only going… more »

September 6, 2004

Shaun of the Dead

Shaun is not having a good day. It’s bad enough his girlfriend dumped him due to the lack of adventure hanging out at The Winchester Pub every night entails, but now his town is overrun with zombies. Odd how in Shaun’s day-to-day life as a go-nowhere electronics store clerk he is very much a zombie himself, but the sudden outbreak… more »

August 11, 2004

Garden State

Garden State is the debut offering from Zach Braff (best known from the funny TV show “Scrubs”) who skillfully juggles writing, directing, and acting credits. This is easily one of the most beautiful films of the year, and manages to come off pleasantly sincere without becoming cheesey. Braff plays Andrew Largeman, Large to his old friends, an aspiring actor (known… more »

August 9, 2004

The Village

M. Night Shyamalan is at it again, this time in ye old thriller, The Village. I am not going to bother spoiling it for you, there are plenty of reviews out there for it already, but I will tell you that its not worth the price of admission. While the movie remains a treat for the eyes, and Shyamalan proves… more »

July 11, 2004

Not Dead

Though the lack of updates might suggest I have run off with the circus or perhaps some hot design groupie, but the truth is I have been busy as hell. Part of that is work and part of that includes my attempts to have a life away from the screen in front of me. Work has reached a fever pitch… more »

June 10, 2004

Napoleon Dynamite

Man, this film is just plain quirky. I realize how silly it is to use such a stuffy word to describe a movie. People who say things are quirky are people who usually don’t understand what they are looking at. But, this film is just that. Napoleon Dynamite is the film equivalent of a song comprised of one note, bland… more »

June 2, 2004

Summer-esque Slothdom

Isn’t it amazing how productivity comes to a grinding halt once the first hint of warm weather rolls around? The most puzzling part about it is that I hate the summer (I know its not summer yet, so lets call it summer-esque). Well, in a manner befitting of summer-esque slothdom, here is a loosely joined collection of miscellanea. To help… more »

April 20, 2004

Kill Bill, Volume 2

The second installment of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, doesn’t pick up entirely where we were left off in Volume 1. Instead we are treated to a look behind what happened on that fateful day during the Bride’s wedding. This film has a much different visual feel from the first installment (which lingered mostly around a glitsy and colorful Japan) keeping… more »

April 12, 2004

Philadelphia Film Festival 2004: Part 1

Last night our short film Lunch Break screened as part of the Philadelphia Film Festival in the “Best of the 48 Hour Film Project” (which also included nine other films from the competition). The film went over very well, and we even picked up an award for “Best Editing”, though the thumbs-up for that really goes to Josh Meyers and… more »

April 5, 2004

Hellboy

Hellboy has finally made it to the big screen, and I am happy to say, it’s pretty good. The film is brought to life from Mike Mignola’s amazing comic series of the same name, and the film is based on the character’s first story arc, Seed of Destruction. Even though Sony gambled with Guillermo del Toro, the director of those… more »

April 1, 2004

Fun With A Purpose

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is yet another superb outing from Charlie Kauffman, penman to such personal favorites as Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. Favorably, Eternal Sunshine comes in just as twisted as his predecessors, blending great character and dialogue control while injecting a realistic human element absent from most fare these days. Pair this with Michael Gondry’s fantastic… more »

March 16, 2004

I, Asimov?

You have got to be kidding! What the fuck is this trailer?! I, Robot is one of Isaac Asimov’s (and Science Fiction’s) most quintessential tales (actually a series of short stories). The main character (which there really wasn’t one of in I, Robot) isn’t a tough guy, wise-cracking, one-syllable detective, he doesn’t participate in motorcycle chases, and he certainly doesn’t… more »

February 26, 2004

Brains… Braaaiiins… Uhggghhh

The original 1978 Dawn of the Dead by granddaddy to the zombie genre, George Romero, is easily one of the best zombie movies ever. The (then) proven setup; Zombies kill Kill KILL all of the non-zombies and the continuation of infection and infestation in Pittsburgh from the first installment Night of the Living Dead (literally one of the catalysts for… more »

December 27, 2003

Return of the King

Just a quick bit, since praise of all shapes and sizes has already been dolled out. Return of the King marks the conclusion of one the most ambitious works in film history. The three Lord of the Rings films were shot at once combining enormous scale in terms of sets, props, and detail, as well as groundbreaking special effects (not… more »

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November 7, 2003

The Matrix Revolutions

Sometimes being an optimist can really be a bad thing. After the rather lackluster Matrix Reloaded, I had very low expectations of what the third chapter in this trilogy would entail. Though, spurred on by some positive reviews which placed it above its predecessor, I became excited to see The Matrix Revolutions. The original Matrix was a great exploration in… more »

October 30, 2003

Scary Movies

In line with reading some good frightening tales, this is also the perfect time to watch some great scary movies. Tonight I got to watch the latest dvd edition of The Exorcist. This time out it’s The Version You’ve Never Seen, which in my case, was correct. I haven’t seen the film in many years, and before viewing it was… more »

October 21, 2003

Dial-a-Spy

This past weekend, along with 15 other individuals, I took part in the National Film Challenge. The challenge consists of this: Participating teams are given a genre, character and occupation, prop, and a line of dialogue which must all be represented in a short film ranging from 4-8 minutes in duration. The assignments are sent via email at 7pm on… more »

October 12, 2003

Kill Bill, Volume 1

I am a fan of Quentin Tarantino films, if for no other reason than because they standout from most other Hollywood fare. Whether it’s the dialogue, the characters or his signature non-linear storytelling style, his films give you something you don’t see every time you go to the theater, and recall a long gone golden age of films. Kill Bill:… more »

September 25, 2003

Lost in Translation

I liked Sofia Coppola’s first film, The Virgin Suicides, on some levels and disliked it on others, however, Lost in Translation really shows her growth as a filmmaker mixing the always winning combination of great characters with an equally great setting. Bill Murray plays Bob, an American movie star who comes to Japan to film a whiskey commercial for local… more »

September 17, 2003

Cabin Fever

Right to the chase; blah. Initially, Cabin Fever had me pretty excited. I can never help but be optimistic when a horror movie looks like it may be good. I love the genre so much that I can easily get swept away by wishful thinking. Sadly, Cabin Fever doesn’t deliver much; a few laughs, a few mouthfuls of blood, and… more »

August 26, 2003

American Splendor

American Splendor tells the true tale of hero-of-the-average, Harvey Pekar, a man wasting his life away as a hospital file clerk with no money, barely staying afloat in his own misery. A chance meeting with the then unknown Robert Crumb turns things around as the two start up American Splendor, a comic book based on Pekar’s day-to-day banalities. Pekar takes… more »

August 20, 2003

Freddy Vs. Jason

Well, I got to see the much anticipated (ok, not really that much…more on a “you’ve got to be kidding” kind of level than anything) Freddy Vs. Jason last night. In one fell swoop we get to see two resurrected (sorry) franchises again, but this time, pitted against each other! Hollywood once again earns it’s collective marketing degree. What results… more »

July 18, 2003

28 Days Later (Alternate Ending)

Apparently the ending to the much enjoyed movie, 28 Days Later, was not the only one in the can. Not only is there an alternate ending, but they are going to attach said ending to all prints of the film in the US starting on July 25th (after the credits). I have already seen the film twice, and don’t really… more »

July 3, 2003

The World’s Tallest Midget

Ever since I began listening to music, They Might Be Giants have been a staple. As a creative person, their quirky personalities, inventive songs and trend-setting style made them instant role models for me. After many failed attempts at instant rock stardom, I gave up on trying to follow in their footsteps and abandoned all hope of ever opening up… more »

June 30, 2003

Weekend of Mirth

What a spectacular weekend. Kicking off Friday with yet another birthday party in honor of your’s truly (my birthday refuses to die this year) this time at the over-priced (yet, fun as hell if you don’t go too often) Dave & Buster’s. This marks the first time I have ever been thrown a surprise party. Thanks to Liz and countless… more »

May 18, 2003

Karaoke and Kung Fu

Friday night I got to partake in some karaoke action with some friends at a sports bar called Mad Anthony’s (which was conveniently located beneath a nearby hotel). Now, as much as I like to frequent sports bars and yell at the TV therein as I spill beer on those around me, I must give the place credit. As far… more »

May 15, 2003

The Matrix Reloaded

I took in a showing of the second Matrix film last night, The Matrix Reloaded. I must say, going into it, I wasn’t expecting too much outside of some fun fight scenes. In that sense, it delivered in spades. Some of the action sequences were astonishing (albeit very video game esque at times) and will surely set a new standard… more »

May 13, 2003

Place Your Bets

Horror movies have long been a great form of escape for me. I have been watching the best and the worst of them since I was knee high to an axe murderer. With their inherent gore and he’s-not-dead-yet storylines, horror movies will have forever left their mark on me. In 1980 fear was born. In 1984 the nightmare began. Horror… more »

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May 5, 2003

X2

I got to entertain the comic book geek in me this past weekend by going to see X-Men 2. It was unfortunately titled “X2” to appeal to the Mountain Dew drinking generation, and further unfortunately titled “X2 : X-Men United”. I just don’t get that…the X-Men are already a team. They thwart evil-doers together. Isn’t the “United” part implied? Is… more »

April 6, 2003

A Re-Animated Weekend

This past Saturday afternoon I had the extreme pleasure of seeing the third installment in the Re-Animator series, Beyond Re-Animator. It was showing at my new favorite Philly theater, the Bridge, as part of this year’s Philadelphia Film Festival. By far the best part of the screening was the appearance of the series’ star, Jeffrey Combs. Also, being that I… more »

March 26, 2003

The Good Girl

I had the great pleasure of seeing The Good Girl last night. Liz’s roommate Marc decided to get it off of Pay-Per-View and her and I subsequently decided to tape it and watch it tonight. I made the mistake of watching the first few minutes that, before I knew it, quickly turned into the first hour. You know how that… more »