The War Room and 2008
I watched The War Room, the D.A. Pennebaker/Chris Hedges documentary about the 1992 Clinton presidential campaign yesterday. It’s a startling, intimate document of a group of cut-throat Democrat politicos. Considering the wishy-washy Dems we have in Congress today, it was a refreshing and a bit scary to see a team of Dems so passionate and so aggressive in their campaign for the presidency. For any person who isn’t rooting for Hillary to win in 2008, The War Room is like having a bucket of ice cold water dumped on you during a deep sleep. I keep hoping that Obama will play a little more aggressive as it gets closer to January. He can only rely on John Edwards as the attack dog for so long and Clinton isn’t one to hold back when she needs to be aggressive. The...
Read MoreAFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies 2007 Edition LIVE!
I can’t think of many movies from the first AFI 100 Years, 100 Movies list that should be replaced in the historical sense. But here we are 10 years later with a “Sight and Sound”-style update of the 100 Greatest Films list. All I know is if Citizen Kane isn’t number 1 at the end of the night, bad things will happen. The film gods will have surely provide Arthur Jenson-style smackdown on the AFI. 100. Ben-Hur-1954 (down from 72) 99. Toy Story-1995 (new) A good historical choice. 98. Yankee Doodle Dandy-1942 (up from 100) Still love this movie after all these years. Glad to see it didn’t get dropped. 97. Blade Runner-1982 (new) One of the great sci-fi movies 96. Do The Right Thing-1989 (new) Oh when Spike Lee Made great and important movies 95. The Last Picture...
Read MoreIn the Lyons Den: The Last Shot
Part Seven Seven months. Fifty single days. Hundreds of hours. On June 3, 2007, it all came down to one last shot. There was a decidedly cheery atmosphere at the nursing home location as director John C. Lyons and his crew filmed the last shot of Lyons’s dramatic indie Schism. Despite the upbeat mood, the simple zoom-tracking shot still had lighting director Michael Best moving lamps into the right position and sound recordist Kirk Daniels expressing concern over the air-conditioning noise. The film’s lead Terry Smith was in character as he sat hunched in a Geri-chair with assistant director Dorota Swies applying touches of make up on the top his head. They were still working, but the nervous, almost giddy energy on the set meant one thing: their months of toiling through weeknight and weekend filming sessions were over....
Read MoreVid Pick: Apatow/Cera send-up ‘Huckabees’
On the set of Knocked-Up, Apatow and the star of his upcoming comedy Superbad, Michael Cera (Arrested Development) make what will become a great DVD extra. Thanks to the Internet, you see it online first. [dailymotion...
Read MoreJune Summer Movies: Global Cooling
I guess North American audiences really were tired by time Memorial Day rolled around. Pirates 3 brought in an underwhelming $120 Million at the box office over it’s 3-day opening. People just got tired of going to the movies after Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third left audiences feeling a little let down. Pirates was the best of the lot, but not by much.Thankfully June is a break from May’s super sequels, starting with Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up on June 1. Apatow, the current king of comedy, follows up his sleeper hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin with a film about a one night stand that ends in a baby. Even though some are already throwing it in the “gross out” comedy category, this may be the only summer film to appeal to a more mature audience outside of art house...
Read MoreVid Pick: 1977 ‘Star Wars’ Trailer
On May 25, 1977, five and a half years before I was born, a little movie called Star Wars was released. It’s influence on filmmaking and popular culture cannot be understated. In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Star Wars release, I present the original trailer. [youtube...
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