The Oscars

OK… so the Oscars were last week. I didn’t watch them, I never do (I’ll get to that later), but I did manage to see the cool Horror Montage the morning after. Very cool.

A couple of days later, my buddy Cinesthete, at Reel Friction posted his thoughts on the Oscars. Upon reading it, I felt that I had express some of my own thoughts… mostly as rebuttal to his thoughts, and adding a few of my own.

I reproduced most of his article here, at least the parts that I had felt the need to comment. To read the whole article, go here. There were a few things that I had no thoughts or cares about.

Here goes:

I don’t pretend to understand cinematography (anyone who has seen my films can attest to that), but does lighting generated on a computer count? I’m surprised Avatar won.

I won’t even claim to understand any cinematography (at least you made a few films, Cinesthete), but as a 3D artist and animator, I can say that lighting is one of the most challenging aspects of the job. Every aspect of lighting is translated through hundreds of parameters that we take for granted. Positioning, intensity, and attenuation are just a difficult to determine in a virtual scene as it is in real life. And then there is the whole science of Radiosity (shadows and light bounces) that need to be configured… otherwise you’ll end up with something like a scene in the original Tron (they may have been ground breaking in 3D, but we have gone a long way since then).

Once you tweak all the parameters in order to imitate real life, you then have to marry it to actual real life footage. Granted, on many of todays sophisticated computers and equipment (thanks to George Lucas), this is not too difficult. But trust me, it takes damn near rocket science to figure out how to use all that equipment and programs.

So “lighting generated on a computer” is really putting it lightly. It’s like saying anyone can pickup a camera and become a James Cameron. It is, after all, just “looking through a lens”, right? I’m not shocked that Avatar won that award. As a matter of fact, I am shocked it didn’t received more technical awards, but thats how the Oscars work…
Read the rest of this entry »

Daybreakers (2009)

Directed by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig

Starring Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, Willem Dafoe, Claudia Karvan, and Isabel Lucas

Finally, a movie that goes back to the basic concept of vampires being bad! It’s a bit refreshing to the recent releases of movies and TV show that make cool to be a vampire. HELLO! Vampires are evil. They feed off human blood! How can that be good? Nothing good can come of it. And that’s where this movie goes.

It’s the future, and vampires have basically taken over the world. They control the media, the politicians, and the private sector. Normal humans have become the commodity (the food). And the supply is running dry… but the demand is still rising. There is hope however, and it all lies in a vampire that, somehow, managed to turn himself back into a human again. And that’s were the story starts to fail. Read the rest of this entry »

The Wolfman (2010)

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Directed by Joe Johnston
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Starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving
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Typically, when an older movie is remade for a newer generation, it is modernized. Whats the point if it isn’t, right. Well, that’s not the case for this remake of the original based from the script that was made back in 1941. There is nothing new here, it’s not even scary. Sure there were some jolted moments (more like “caught you snoozing” then anything else) and they kicked it up a bit with violence and gore. But the violence was not nearly enough to compared to some of the ultra-violence that you find in today’s horror movies. Even though I have not seen the original in a long time, Read the rest of this entry »

Legion (2010)

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Directed by Scott Stewart.

With Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Dennis Quaid, and Kevin Durand.

Who knew Angels could be so bad ass. I mean, really. And the Angels in this movie were the bad guys… or the good guys? I know, it’s confusing.

God loses faith in man. One Angel, Micheal, does not. Another Angel, Gabriel, follows orders and takes his army of angels to kill the one unborn child which is humankind’s only hope. You know how the movie is going to end, so you are watching just for the thrill ride.

Actually, it was less thrilling, and more hilarious than anything else. Read the rest of this entry »

Exhumed’s 24 Hour Horror Fest

The third annual 24 Hour Horror Fest by Exhumed Films happened in Philadelphia last weekend. I got the chance to go with my fellow movie enthusiast Cinesthete (see his take on the films at Reel Friction). I had a blast. It was really awesome to see some classics in the big screen, and I got to see some new stuff that brought me to a new level of appreciation for films.

One of the unique things about this festival is that you don’t know the list of movies before hand, not even when you get there, too. They hand you a program, but instead of titles, they present you with clues or hints. Visit my friend’s site, above,  the descriptions from the program (and links to the IMDB site).

Here is the list of films presented, and my thoughts on them: Read the rest of this entry »

Acid and Evisceration

Just got back from Philly to watch a double feature of classic horror film presented by Exhumed Films. The two films were Blue Sunshine and Just After Dark, both directed by Jeff Lieberman. The experience was new for me and it was just awesome. It reminded me of the days when my parents used to take me to see the double features at the local drive thru. Oh, how I miss the drive thru… now that was fun. The first time I ever saw Star Wars (when I was 6) was at a drive thru, and I will never forget it. But, point being, I had a lot of fun.

Apparently, Exhumed Films does this often. I have to thank Pat (Cinesthete of Real Friction) for inviting me. I will be attending more of these in the near future. But one event that I am excited for is the 24 Hour Horror Film Fest. It is exactly what it sounds like: 24 hours of back to back horror films presented on the large screen (13 films total). This is crazy enough for me to just do it.

I will write some words about the two movies that I just saw, as well as some other films that I caught recently (including District 9). I know that I am behind, but I will try to be better.

Rise of the Scarecrows

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This is an extremely low budget film that got 1 star just for their effort… and a half a star for some entertaining value. It is, after all, a zombie flick.

There is nothing I can really say about this film. It was filmed with hand held cameras, the actors seemed like they were pulled off the street (with maybe an exception), and the story is as typical as any “revenge from the grave/town has a secret” story can get. Read the rest of this entry »

Død snø (Dead Snow)

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Ein! Zwei! Die! March, Nazi Zombies!

Finally, it takes Nazis and Norwegians to make old school zombie flicks awesome again!

I love zombie flicks… there is no question about. But, lately, the genre has been getting a bit dry and the movies were no longer captivating. So, when I heard about this one, I was skeptical about seeing it. But, I was drawn to it never-the-less (I’m usually helplessly drawn to these movies, regardless), and giving the fact that its Nazi zombies (something new) and made by an upcoming Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola (again… fresh blood), I decided to give it a try.

And I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised… Read the rest of this entry »

There’s something wrong with Esther.

“After their unborn baby dies, Kate and John Coleman decide to adopt a child as a hopeful way to bring some joy and normalcy into their lives. Enter the seemingly perfect Esther, who’s angelic facade might mask sinister intentions.”

Oh, yeah…. creepy.

Sam Raimi is back to old school

Most people who know Sam Raimi know him from the Spiderman films. Those of you that know him from the old Evil Dead days will be happy to know that he will returning to horror with his latest: Drag Me to Hell.

It kind of reminds me of Thinner (a Stephen King adaptation), but looks to be more intense (not mention the demons and all).

“A loan officer ordered to evict an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse, which turns her life into a living hell. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.”