Movies are all about us, ultimately. Our stories, our environments, our reactions, our emotions, our loves, our losses - and our lack thereofs. These are the reasons we love films, and why we lose ourselves in front of glowing screens against dark rooms where we could be almost anyone and it wouldn’t matter, because the focus of everyone else in that room is on the action ahead. When I set out to write about my own personal cinema experiences, I wanted to be sure to capture the organic, human quality of film in all its forms. Of the many ways we go about making films, I can think of few more organic or more human than a short film going from concept to wrap and share in just one day.

UK filmmaker Robert Harper set out to make a short film - concept to production to editing to sharing - in a day. This venture alone would prove worthy enough for our attention. It is Harper’s choices, however, of themes and environments and (admittedly) soundtrack which makes his end product so relevant, pointed and just plain enjoyable.

Choosing The Jam’s “The Bitterest Pill” for our listening pleasure was right move number one - though I’m not sure of the order of decision making, I just like referring to it as the first perfect move. This music is still trapped in my head, and it’s transported me to a different time altogether. Were it not for the time and place setter of Twitter’s incorporation into this film, I may have continued on in my late 1970’s bubble, singing along.

Into cyberspace - well, into Twitterspace - Harper fires a statement declaring his current (lack of?) stream of thoughts. The best thing about this is his followup, declaring he’s declared it just for declaration’s sake. Brilliant? Brilliant. We all do it. And if you say you don’t, you’re lying to yourself and everyone you deny it to. What else is the purpose of social networking base concept, of diary keeping, of self expression but to say what’s popped into our heads, be that life altering or seemingly completely insignificant? Not to be missed in Procrastination are cameos from two fellow twitter users who responded (rather brilliantly themselves) to Harper’s planted thoughts.

The title itself: Procrastination. Something each and every one of us is familiar with, and often the vehicle for both our lousiest and brightest creative attempts. Here, it certainly serves as the latter for Harper.

Not least of all is the appeal guaranteed by the genuine accessibility of this film. Harper seems like a guy you’d be not good but great friends with. He’s the guy you’d have a coffee or a drink with and find yourself chatting for hours about the philosophy of our not-so-exotic yet humbly adventurous and (hopefully) honest lives. Rightfully, the responses Harper receives are equally diverse: one philosophical and an attempt at answering the question which may or may not have lied beneath the original bait entry…the other a simple expression of empathy.

Watch and enjoy and SHARE Procrastination, a new short from Robert Harper via the link above. Also, keep tuned in to his next big project - a collaborative effort at a road movie: @UKRoadMovie

I have nothing but great expectations from UK Road Movie and Harper. The greatest approach, in my opinion, to telling a great story is living one. Robert Harper certainly seems to be willing to live a story worth telling, and ones which has proved thus far to inform his work quite well.

To find out more about Robert Harper’s work and UK Road Movie, check:

http://www.robert-harper.co.uk/

It’s true. I haven’t actually blogged since early February. I’ve popped in and out of @CinemaMemoirs, and I’ve certainly been watching films. I did follow the wrap up of Awards Season, as well, despite the temptation not to. But, I digress. Back to my original point, which is my absence from this blog.

I don’t believe in owing explanations, as a general rule, but given a few inquiries from supporters I feel compelled to offer something to that effect.

One of the worst things that can happen to any art form is that it becomes too self involved, or that we become too caught up in it and all of the obligations we create within the things we love. Film is, as I can only imagine you must know, the great love affair of my life (and on that note, if you’re not following http://cinematicloveaffair.tumblr.com/ and on twitter @CineLuvAffair, you should be). I think that any good story, especially one told through the art of the moving image, should mirror actual life as it could be - better or worse. I also believe the art we create and engage with becomes, intermittently perhaps, a reflection of and impacted by the events in our lives.

In short, most of the last two months of my own life (due to a series of both rather unfortunate and rather fortunate events) have consisted of my own self renovation - or, at least, the planning of such a renovation. My assumption and hope is that the new experiences I’ve gained give me fresh perspective and new motivation to dive back into sharing accounts of my personal film experiences with you.

I’d like to thank those of you who have been incredibly supportive and given me endless enjoyable banter, brilliant reads and viewings of your own work, the opportunity to share experience from the world of filmmaking, blogging and beyond and, above all, inspiration. You know who you are.

I have films lined up, pen, paper and laptop at the ready, and some new and - I can only hope - exciting ideas for where to take Cinema Memoirs. Happy to have anyone reading this along for the journey.

(In case you’re wondering, I do plan to watch another 24 SCI-FI/Fantasy films and share my thoughts on each and every one as soon as possible.)

I usually make it a point not to get too caught up in awards season, but there’s one thing I simply cannot wrap my head around: how on Earth (or any other planet, for that matter) Sam Rockwell’s performance in MOON has gone all but unrecognized by either Academy? Thank you, BAFTA, for recognizing Duncan Jones’ glorious debut and also for nominating MOON in the Outstanding British Film category. But really AMPAS? No nod? None at all? Sony Pictures Classics - no campaign to speak of or did I miss it?

Okay, I’m past it, though I remain confused as to how such an incredible film and such a spellbinding centerpiece performance could have gotten past these folks.

Yet again, I went into this film with a flurry of mixed expectations. Lots of buzz, lots of people screaming at me to see it immediately, but no detailed knowledge of the story. This is not a film that’s easy to talk about without every other sentence being jam-packed with spoilers, but I’ll do my best.

Writers Duncan Jones (story) and Nathan Parker have given us a candid, intuitive, heartbreaking and yet, quite often, hilarious story about a man on the moon. Sam Rockwell exquisitely plays the part of Sam Bell, said man. Sam works for a company who uses the Moon’s resources to save Earth’s own. He’s been alone for years, save for the company of a talking, seemingly sympathetic robot (aptly voiced by Kevin Spacey). Slowly, we watch Sam appear to come unhinged in a mind-boggling chain of events which reveal the many facets of an individual’s memory and reality.

I came to love Sam Bell - all of Sam Bell -and my heart both broke and filled with hope alongside his. I was left with the painful concept of the ground being ripped from under our feet, leaving us with nothing but memories of what was, and then the terrible realization that that memory is created. Maybe what was never existed. And the worst part? Perhaps there is no future.

But I didn’t come away from MOON hopeless, I was left with hope for the tenacity of the human spirit. Even when all we thought we knew is lost, we are a species which perseveres. We keep going. We keep exploring. We keep loving. We keep questioning. As a result of all these qualities, we keep living. For me, MOON is about that struggle - the constant drive to find oneself and never lose curiosity for that which we know not of, and yet believe in. These qualities brought man to the moon to begin with.

CONCLUSION: The hardest thing to face is always yourself, and MOON proves that no matter what you find, it’s worth the journey.

MOON: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/

*For a list of the recognition MOON, Duncan Jones, Sam Rockwell and the team have received (including two BIFA wins!), see this page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/awards

Any film featuring Helen Mirren riding first on a motorbike, hair blowing wildly in the wind from beneath her over sized, vintage goggles and then on a unicorn, pitchfork in hand, ready to save the day WINS.

“Every story ever written is just waiting to become real.” - so reads the tagline for INKHEART, the third film in my twenty-eight days of Sci-Fi/Fantasy films, and one which lands safe and sound on the Fantasy side of the genre. I can’t think of a truer statement: every story ever written is just waiting to become real. We spend our lives absorbing the stories of others through print material, film, spoken word, music, and yet we only arrive at the substance of life when we create our own. INKHEART is a story about the middle ground - the mix of our own paths in life with the predetermined course of others.

Going in, I was aware of the three book series, originally penned by German author Cornelia Funke. I was also aware of a film adaptation made early last year, starring (and these are the two names which stood out to me) Helen Mirren and Paul Bettany. These two names and the idea of a Fantasy film anything to do with literary adventure had me at hello.

INKHEART introduces us to a gray area - a magical existence where fact meets fiction, and to a man (Mo ‘Silvertongue’ Folchart, played by Brendan Fraser) and his daughter (Meggie, played charmingly by Eliza Bennett) embarking on an adventure to save - well - their world. Along the way, we meet a slew of magical characters and creatures, all trapped in this realm not their own. Paul Bettany is at one turn despicable and the next a completely sympathetic Dustfinger, one such character. The real scene stealer - and this may come as a shock - is Helen Mirren’s performance as quirky, feisty, Great Aunt Elinor. Most of my laughs were thanks to Elinor, and in no small part due to the fact that Mirren seemed the only choice for this part. (Please see the very first sentence in this entry.)

I try hard not to compare films unless absolutely necessary, but there is something I must say here in order to convey my adoration for this lovely film and be clear about what it does best:

1. I’ve recently seen through the last installment in the Harry Potter series of film adaptations with the notion of seeing the films first and then reading the books. While I enjoyed many aspects of these truly magical stories brought to life onscreen, they did not inspire me to pick up the books straight away. I have, in fact, found it difficult to make my way through even the first print installments. INKHEART left me wanting to grab the first book in the series and spend the rest of the night turning pages. Mission #1 (make us want to read the books and find out the rest of the story) accomplished.
2. This film is story-telling at its best. It begins and ends with a narrator, but we aren’t force-fed throughout. There are characters we love and characters we hate, but few if any we are indifferent toward. Personally, I laughed, I cried, and I laughed again. Visually, INKHEART is a delight start to finish, and around every corner is are little finds and grandiose panning shots of a world fully imagined, one might think, much like what you’d see in your head as you read. Mission #2 (brilliant story-telling) accomplished.

CONCLUSION: INKHEART is something like the best bedtime story every written - possessing just enough suspense to keep our eyes wide, but delivering that tricky, happy ending which just may warrant shedding a tear. But, as Great Aunt Elinor reminds us, “It’s so stupid to cry at happy endings.”

INKHEART: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0494238/

PS: The entire cast in this film is fantastic, including Jim Broadbent and a surprise quasi-cameo by someone whose name I won’t reveal because it should remain a surprise.

Note: I’ve avoided some key spoiler-type facts about this film so as not to ruin it for anyone who hasn’t seen it (which, I hope, shall be remedied).

Bridget Jones. Love this moment.

brightlywound:

taleeroe:

(via piers-polkiss)

I’m sitting here, staring at this screen, overwhelmed by the feeling that nothing I could say about DISTRICT 9 could possibly do it justice. I sit here in shock. I sit here awed. I sit here pondering on how many levels a film can possibly affect a person.

A few things I must get off my chest:

• NONE of the press I’d read for this film came close to preparing me for watching it.
• NONE of the conversations I’ve had with those who have seen it gave me the slightest hint of its intensity and force.
• Its place in the list of Best Picture Academy Award nominations is 110% earned, and I think I’ll be cheering for this one on the night.

I’ve read the reviews, and I can only echo the WOW sentiment of so many others. The first few moments of DISTRICT 9 resulted in my feeling responsible, guilty, burdened by the similarities in the story presented onscreen to so many of humanity’s own. None of the world of post District 9 Johannesburg is far removed from those where war, genocide, and weapons trade have ripped apart the very core of civility in human civilization. Footage, reports and testimonies are all eerily similar to those we know from the second World War, or places like Rwanda, DRC and Sierra Leone. Those images which have been immortalized in history books and most recently recreated in film after film about the breakdown of what puts the human in humanity.

It didn’t take long for me to forget I was watching a story about human beings and aliens failing at any sort of coexistence. By that, I mean I became only secondarily conscious of the fact that the ones I was pulling for were the aliens. The aliens - yes, representative of every forgotten people, every group labeled the “other.” What starts out as a mission for aid, reform and betterment with time becomes an excuse for violence, ill treatment, and an outlet for crime.

Because the subjects in question are aliens, my truest thoughts on DISTRICT 9 are that it challenges us to wonder where this thought process - the process of creating “others”, of forcing other beings not so unlike ourselves into existence on the fringes, the process where we stop considering right and wrong - will stop.

The film itself is non-stop, edge of your seat, nail-biting, sweaty palm action and suspense from about fifteen minutes in through the last few moments. While I did cringe repeatedly, shield my eyes a few times even, in reflecting on this action I find none of the violence to be simply gratuitous. For an audience to believe that dehumanization is the enemy, rather than one side or the other - rather than aliens vs. humans - we must be exposed to the brutality of that dehumanization. Director Neill Blomkamp meticulously strips us of any innate sympathy for fellow man and instead instills in us - through the journey of Wikus Van De Merwe - disgust for fellow man and respect for an aesthetically repulsive set of aliens.

I say “the journey of Wikus Van De Merwe” because that is one of the things this film does perfectly: show us a complete transformation in a single character, courtesy of a phenomenal performance by Sharlto Copley. Though I didn’t hate Wikus in the beginning, I did see him (as I assume was intended) as the stereotypical naive, over confident white man in Africa. By the middle of the film, I was so unnerved by what happens to Wikus I wasn’t sure how to feel. By the time just a few minutes remained, I was all but screaming for Wikus - standing behind him and the chance he may have for redemption completely.

Ultimately, I’ve said very little of the jumble of thoughts and feelings still swirling around in my head after watching this film. As expected, I’ve probably not done it justice. What I have done is share my honest reaction to - let’s face it - probably the most intense film I can remember seeing in a very long time. It’s a harrowing yet sensational film experience, and will be difficult to top in my remaining twenty-six days of Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

CONCLUSION: DISTRICT 9 is a dizzying, in-your-face commentary on the best and worse man is capable of. Limitless and yet accessible scientific possibility is thrown in for good measure, and there’s even a bit of a love story. If you haven’t seen this film, what are you waiting for?

District 9: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/

PS: Palms still sweaty.

A Note to the Academy: THANK YOU for placing this film in the Best Picture nominations list.

I’d like to start with saying two things:

1. I’m a DIE HARD Bruce Willis fan. He’s done very little wrong in my book. I actually say “Yippie-Ki-Yay” in real-life situations where I deem it an appropriate expression of emotion or reference to an event something like the film(s). I even loved the last one, with the Mac guy. Okay, I don’t just love his Die Hard films. But I’ll get to that…
2. I had no idea what to expect from this film. Almost every review I’ve read was less than stellar, and it didn’t stay at the cinemas long. BUT, from the beginning, I was ready to be a fan. This mostly due to my first point, and also the fact that Elizabeth Banks is one of the producers. Elizabeth Banks. Elizabeth Banks producing a Sci-Fi thriller flick. With Bruce Willis. And Rosamund Pike (another favorite).

With the two afore-mentioned points in mind, I went into this film with as open a mind as possible.

In short, I loved this film.

Bruce Willis is the John McClane (and no, I’m not suggesting he was typecast, nor that he didn’t develop the character - I found him perfectly suited to this part and found nothing lacking in his performance in particular) of a world where the human desire to incessantly seek better has resulted in a world so far removed from humanity it wouldn’t recognize itself. Within the first fifteen minutes, I asked questions not only of the themes presented in the film, but also of myself. Where are we to draw the line between our own identities and the ones we create - or wish to create? Are we so different - we, who exist in a world full of social networks, pseudonyms, and celebrity where appearances are everything and nobody minds whether those appearances are what they seem. The world of SURROGATES is a world where every faux pas attached to being someone you’re not is stripped away from the human conscience. From the start, the film asks us the right question - yes, I’m arguing that there is only one question: right or wrong?

All science, because it is practiced by human beings, is confronted by ethics. How far is too far? Exactly what sort of sacrifice is acceptable in the name of a better future? SURROGATES poses all of these questions, but answers none of them universally. We see the advantages, risks and moral concerns of surrogacy through the eyes of a man who has suffered human loss, felt real pain, and who struggles daily with the complications of a life where those closest to him are no longer human.

Aside from the fact that this film poses important queries into the human condition, it is well-paced and boasts a few impressive chase scenes to boot. A point of interest was my realization about 2/3rds of the way through the film - during one such chase scene - that what I was watching didn’t necessarily have to be physically plausible. This was an average Joe confronting a larger, nearly impossible enemy of modern science gone bad. But we weren’t watching average Joe, we were watching his surrogate. I never questioned the logic of “human beings” jumping from building to building, moving car to moving car, or dodging bullets from semi-automatic weapons because they weren’t human beings. In a way, I feel this was the icing on the cake for this film. It possesses all the wonder of well-imagined science fiction and yet stays grounded in resourceful ways so as not to lose our attention or our identification with who we’re following.

If you haven’t seen this, I won’t spoil it. I do recommend it. Bruce Willis turns in an expected and yet faultless performance as “good cop” Tom Greer, and Rosamund Pike is stunning as his distant, broken wife Maggie who - despite the skeletons in her own closet - shows us a hopeful, almost childlike side to what remains of humanity. Other performances of note here were from Ving Rhames and James Cromwell, though I must say Willis and Pike steal the show in this one.

CONCLUSION: SURROGATES was an intriguing start to twenty-eight days of Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

Surrogates: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986263/

PS: I’m working on a non-review-esque rating system. I’ll go back and edit any past entries once the details are ironed out.

—

A Note: My goal is to share my personal reactions to films - good or bad - with fellow audience members, keeping in mind that my own definition of audience is made up of almost everyone involved in the making and viewing of those films. I’ve not set out to write traditional reviews, nor comment on what I’m expected to.

Today is the 1st of February, 2010. I’m not sure what I’m getting myself into. I’m about to spend the next twenty-eight days watching twenty-eight Sci-Fi and/or Fantasy films.

That’s right, one new Sci-Fi/Fantasy film each day. Afterward, I’ll be writing my most sincere responses: thoughts, reactions, emotions, the lack thereof. I’ll write about my excitement and hopefully very little of my boredom.

I will be honest before I begin. I’m not really a huge fan of Sci-Fi (Fantasy is closer), and would certainly never call myself a Trekkie. I have had my share of friends, family and significant others who do, however, fall into these categories. I do love Star Trek, and I’ve seen each of the Back to the Future films more times than I can remember, I’ve seen the the entire first season (err, was there more?) of the newest installment in the Battlestar Gallactica series - this is something I am quite proud of. I’ve seen, though admittedly with arm twisted to begin with, each of the Lord of the Rings films on opening night. I never tire of my own ideas of classics like The Neverending Story, The Abyss, Labyrinth. I can create - without much forethought and (most of the time) without the use of a second hand as aid - the Vulcan symbol, and I understand the significance.

But let me be clear: Sci-Fi/Fantasy is not my thing. I’m much sooner found watching (and rewatching) war movies, westerns, cult favorites and - yes - romances. I do acknowledge, though, that Sci-Fi and Fantasy films quite often (most often?) incorporate all of these things.

I feel, in a way, as though I am exploring new worlds, charting uncharted paths, plunging head-first and wide-eyed into the unknown. I desire to be shown worlds, characters and ideas as unlike my own as possible. That, in my opinion, should be the aim of every great film, and if the majority of fans of this genre are correct, I shouldn’t expect to be disappointed.

If you need a reminder on the premise of this project, you may find that here http://tinyurl.com/28dayscm

The first film of this adventure of mine is Surrogates (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986263/). I’m about to begin, and I must say - I’m a bit intimidated, but I suspect adrenaline will soon kick in.

Before I go, here’s a list of films on the list so far. Please contribute any and all ideas you have! In particular, I would like recommendations on which of the following to watch (old or new versions - the best):

1. Star Wars
2. Star Trek
3. Battlestar Gallactica

And here’s the running list so far:

• The Fifth Element
• 9
• District 9 
• Dune
• Night Watch
• Day Watch
• Brazil
• Moon
• Inkheart
• The Omega Man
• Code 46 
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
• Starman
• Westender
• Blade Runner
• Waterworld
• THX1138 
• The Man Who Fell to Earth
• The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
• Metropolis
• Alien
• The Thing
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind
• Event Horizon

Also, before I begin, thank you to everyone who contributed genre ideas and who may or may not be reading these memoirs over the next twenty-eight days and beyond.

filmquotes:

crabcakes:

Bart: Frank, let me tell you something my father told me. A man only gets a couple of chances in life. If he doesn’t grab ‘em by the balls, it won’t be long before he’s sitting around wondering how he got to be second rate.

Revolutionary Road

I was (am still) completely enamored with this film. I was, in fact, so moved after the first screening that I saw it THREE times at the cinema. And what a perfect cinema it was - tiny, independently owned and operated, intimate, dated - just the right spot, I believe, to connect with such a searing portrayal of the differences in the lives we hope to lead, the lives we’re meant to lead, and the ones we do lead. Each time, others in the tiny audience audibly sobbed where one should, and we shared laughs with one another, too. If a cinema experience could be recreated anew each time, much the way a staged production is, this was it. We, the audience, were fully connected with the characters only a few feet from us on a crackling projection screen.

Sam Mendes, you’re a genius storyteller and you guided a splendid cast in this one. Thank you.

makingofmovies:

Warner Bros. has yet give us official word on this, but it looks like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts I and II are going to be released in 3D.  I never read these books (start the stone-throwing), but I do think the movies have all been pretty good.

Part I is set for release November 19 and part II should hit theaters July 15, 2011.

Do you think 3D can contribute much to these films, or is this just part of a larger gimmick in the cinema world?

My thoughts: I believe this to be part of a larger gimmick in the cinema world. I believe that with the technology available already, and such source material, 3D shouldn’t be needed to do what a filmmaker should be doing - telling a story.

I’ve recently seen a few films released theatrically in 3D, and I can’t say any of them were a phenomenal experience. My reaction was either “well, there was really no point to that being in 3D, it wasn’t that awesome, and it kind of made me feel sick” OR “lucky thing they did that in 3D, because the story didn’t stand on its own and if it weren’t for the lovely visual stimulation I might have nodded off and spilled my popcorn.”

Mind you, these are just my opinions, but I do think that generally speaking there is a line not to be crossed between enhancing your ability as a storyteller and destroying it.