I recently had the opportunity to purchase the beautiful book pictured above. From the introduction: We asked the artistic directors of ten prestigious film festivals to nominate ten of the best emerging film directors working today. The participants are: Cameron Bailey and Piers Handling, Toronto I[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
How Not To Make A Short Film by Roberta Munroe
Buy it on Amazon. The Sundance shorts program began as a box of VHS tapes in 1989. In 2010 there were more than 6,000 short films submitted. For her five years as a shorts programmer Roberta Munroe was responsible for wading through them, deciding which ones would make it to Sundance. I recently att[...]
April 18th, 2010 - 4:28 pm § in Contemporary Short Films, Reviews
Hello, Thanks
Hello, Thanks is a wonderful little short film by Andy Blubaugh, which premiered at the 2006 Sundance film festival. Andy was recently written up in Indiewire’s recently revived Futures Column, which looks at up and coming independent filmmakers. Blubaugh is based in Portland Oregon. Hello Tha[...]
September 3rd, 2009 - 8:34 pm § in Filmmaking, Reviews
Marketing to Moviegoers by Robert Marich
“Major studio releases in 2007 averaged $35.9 million per film in total spending for consumer marketing in the United States, according to the MPAA.” This book looks at how, where and why those millions of dollars are spent. I finished this excellent look at studio and studio-independent[...]
July 14th, 2009 - 7:15 pm § in Reviews
Review: Free, The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson
I’ve been listening to the copy that I downloaded for free from Wired this week. Chris Anderson practices what he preaches, offering the book free to US users on Scribd, in the aforementioned free audio format, and in a paid book form on Amazon. Anderson, the editor in chief of Wired magazine [...]
Review: On Film-making, by Alexander Mackendrick
The road of the novice filmmaker is paved with thorns. There is an extremely apt metaphor used in the last edition of film school confidential: “Far more people are making low-budget independent films today than the market for such films can sustain. It is said that during the California gold [...]
July 5th, 2009 - 10:43 pm § in Reviews
Great Movies: Last Tango In Paris (Bertolucci, 1972)
99% of people will never experience this sort of passion in their lives. Its mere presence makes them uncomfortable. When I left the theatre, I watched as the only couple I was with instinctively held hands, making small criticisms to cast off the demons brought forth by a film which by all standard[...]
June 27th, 2009 - 2:29 pm § in Reviews
Great Movies: Punch Drunk Love (Anderson, 2002)
I don’t get excited about many movies anymore. When I watch them with friends I am relieved to know that their presence will keep me there for the whole film. Not so with Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love. I felt like a little child watching it three nights ago. It is hard to conta[...]
June 22nd, 2009 - 10:18 pm § in Reviews
Eastern Promises (Cronenberg, 2007)
I finally got a chance to see Eastern Promises. I’m very disappointed. After two years of having it recommended to me, perhaps I had built up too many expectations. A few comments; 1. Vigo Mortensen did a great job with a great role. It held the film together. 2. Naomi Watts did a terrible job[...]
April 1st, 2009 - 11:11 am § in Reviews
Great Movies: No Country For Old Men (Coens, 2007)
I made the mistake of watching this film for the first time on a plane. Planes can never do justice to any film, and is only better than watching a film on an ipod. That said, I finally got a chance to rewatch it last night. The Coens have achieved a great feat in adaptation. [...][...]