Thin Line Between Homage and Unoriginality

Posted on by HakSnider33

Zach Snyder

Mr Unoriginality Zach Snyder

by HakSnider33
In the year 2011, it has become very difficult to stay original as filmmaker.  Everything has been done before, so it is really difficult for director to come up something that feels fresh.  Often, the next big thing may end up just becoming a trendy short-lived gimmick such as the Matrix bullet time camera or the Saving Private Ryan strobe light battle scene effect, unless your name is Ridley Scott in which case ripping off Private Ryan becomes a way of life.   However, there is a way to redo ideas that have been done before in a stylish way, which reinvigorates the referenced material so much that the resulting end product feels like a classy homage or a new scene altogether.  Read More

Neill Blomkamp

Posted on by HakSnider33

Neill Blomkamp

Neill Blomkamp

Director Neill Blomkamp made a huge impact on the world of cinema in 2009 with his Oscar-nominated feature debut, DISTRICT 9.  How did Blomkamp go from being a virtual unknown to directing a science fiction blockbuster produced by Peter Jackon?  Well, it was a series of short films, including ALIVE IN JOBURG, the short mockumentary that ‘District 9’ is based upon and TETRA VAAL, a mock commercial for a real-life “Robocop”, that got him noticed. Read More

Who Handles a Superhero Best – Visionary or Hack?

Posted on by Mr Ridley

Kenneth Branagh, the filmmaker behind this summer's adaption of "Thor"

Summer is here and that means it’s time for popcorn fare.  This summer brings more than a few attempts to launch, re-launch (or continue) adaptions of some of our favorite superheroes.

This is big business, but can any of this summer’s interpretations hold a candle to modern day superhero classics, like Richard Donner’s “Superman” or more recently, Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight?” Read More

Wes Craven, visionary or hack? Some of us are not sure…

Posted on by Late Night

In the Lobby? Wes Craven

Okay, one of us is sure that Craven is a hack, but two of us have him in the lobby.   In perusing this brief retrospective of his career from Moviefone, I was reminded of Craven innovative approaches to advancing the art of boogey man movies.  He’s sort of the Michael Bay of the cheesy halloween blockbuster niche: he makes effective genre films that consistently draw big audiences and prove the studios investment in him to be sound. Read More

Sidney Lumet, Visionary: 1924 – 2011

Posted on by Late Night

 

Visionary: Sidney Lumet

Prolific director Sidney Lumet is dead, may he rest in peace.

Despite his success in film making, Lumet never won an Oscar.  From the SF Gate article:

His actors, with whom he always rehearsed for at least two weeks before starting production, were nominated for 17 Oscars for their performances in his films; several, including Faye Dunaway and Ingrid Bergman, won. The director was, in four nominations, always shut out until he was given a lifetime achievement award in 2005.

“I guess I’d like to thank the movies,” the director said in accepting the award.

Read More

David O. Russell on having a vision

Posted on by Late Night

In the Lobby: David O. Russell

Check out what Russell has to say to Moving Pictures Network:

I think being a community organizer and an activist, which I was, and being a writer, which I’ve always been, is all about having a vision. If you have a vision, you get to lead the parade. People want that. They want someone decisive. They can have their opinions and their creative input and their collaboration, but people need — and they want — a decisive arbiter, someone steering the ship. There’s nothing worse than when you can’t smell the vision.

Read More

A True Hero… A True Hack?

Posted on by Mr Ridley

Justin Lin: Hack

He arrived on the film festival scene with an original and daring look at the Asian American experience. “Better Luck Tomorrow” created waves of excitement and anticipation for the potential that was Justin Lin.

And what of Justin Lin today?

I’m just hired to make the movie and I love the idea that we have, but there’s no connection at all.

Later this month, Justin Lin proudly presents “Fast Five” – the fourth sequel to the popular “The Fast and The Furious” franchise.  Try not to think about what could have been.

One of the Most Anticipated Films of 2011

Posted on by Mr Ridley

Terrence Malick: Visionary

One of the most intriguing filmmakers of our time is Terrence Malick. In a career spanning decades as a filmmaker, screenwriter and producer, Malick has directed only five feature films – oh, but what films! Some consider Malick’s films to be masterpieces (even the greatest films ever made).

Read More

Will “Source Code” prove Duncan Jones to be the real deal?

Posted on by Late Night

"Moon" man on the rise?
“Moon” man on the rise?

Opening this weekend, “Source Code” looks like a promising entry in the time-shifting, crime-solving sci-fi subgenre.   I really enjoyed Duncan Jones‘ first feature, “Moon” (2009), an entertaining riff on the “man alone in space develops space madness” theme, and by the looks of the trailer, we may have another future visionary on our hands.