Thursday, April 30, 2009

Born Ready: Something in Brighton Beach's water



For years, Coney Island has produced some standout talent in high school basketball; Stephen Marbury and Sabastian Telfair just to name a few... As a matter of fact, Spike Lee's He Got Game , is about a high school player hailing from the legendary black top of Coney Island, USA. With the launch of Fader Films' Born ready web series, It seems that Fiction is not to far from Fact. This web based documentary follows the life of basketball prodigy Lance Stephenson on and off court. Enjoy.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Trailer Park- Retro Edition



Taking Woodstock (Directed by And Lee)

Woodstock was not only the "greatest concert" of all time but a culturally significant event in American history as well...

This film is purported to be based on the actual events surrounding Woodstock and how the land became available. It focuses on the local's and their reaction to the counter culture hippies coming into the town. On a more personal scale, this film looks into sexuality and drug use in this generation defining time period.

I have not seen much from Director Ang Lee... But this film catches my attention because of the nostalgic feel of the cinematography. It has a low saturation and low contrast feel that mimics the film stock of that period. With such attention to detail, I think this film will speak volumes for an aging generation.





The Informers (Directed by Gregor Jordan)

I think I see a pattern here... First sequels and campy super hero flicks are presented to induce a sense a nostalgia amongst movie goers, now all out retro films for certain sub cultures are being made to capitalize on the market.

This film, set in 1980's Los Angeles club scene will be a must see for 80's niche. Upon watching this film, I was intially turned off. It seems to focus on it's star appearances and retro style. However, after reading more about the project, I am interested in how they are going to weave all the separate stories together. This is completely lost in the trailer... But as discussed in a previous blog, you cant judge a film by it's trailer....






Moon (Directed by Duncan Jones)

This is the least retro of the bunch, but it draws inspiration from the classic space films of the 70's. Has Space Odyssey 2001 and Solaris finally meet? It seems so with this tale about an astronaut stranded on the Moon...

When I was 10 I had seen an episode from the television program "The Cape" entitled "Buried in Peace." In this episode, a crew of astronauts go into space to fix a satilite but while in orbit, they come across an old Russian capsule with dead cosmonauts inside. This imagery has stayed with me since. There was something lonely and freaky about dying in space. It would'nt shock me if there was some truth behind it.

I am interested in Moon. It has done well in the festival circut, but Im not sure if it will latch on to American Audiences. I also predict an M. Night Shyamalan esque ending. This is a film that I look forward to reviewing...

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Driller Killer (Directed by Abel Ferrara)



The Driller Killer is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Enough said.