Did you see Warm Bodies? Because you really should. It’s a great movie (and has zombies). And I mean a really great movie. We’re talking that sucker gets added to my BluRay collection the day it comes out. Of course, the comparisons to Zombieland are inevitable and rightly so: both have the same ‘genre’ and… Continue reading Earn Your Ending
Tag: Movies
The Unncessity of Dialogue
I’m in a filmmaking class here at NYU that focuses on visual storytelling. That is, no dialogue. At first that sounds like quite a challenge since it’s the script and speaking that tend to carry a story. So that got me thinking: what’re the benefits when we don’t have dialogue? Anyone remember the video game… Continue reading The Unncessity of Dialogue
Why Abrams Is The Man For Star Wars
A little more than a week ago it was officially announced that JJ Abrams would be directing the new Star Wars. Some people met this news with a measure of caution. Myself? I think Abrams is the person to direct it. Look at Mission: Impossible III. Abrams made his directorial debut with the sequel to… Continue reading Why Abrams Is The Man For Star Wars
Broken Pieces
I saw Silver Linings Playbook the other day and loved it (it is currently my favorite of this year’s Oscar nominations). For many reasons, really. Like the brilliantly intelligent script that doesn’t talk down to its audience, some great cinematography, stellar acting and so on. But what really got me was how the protagonists were… Continue reading Broken Pieces
Old Made New
So y’know how Les Misérables came out over Christmas? Of course you do: your neighbor’s been singing it incessantly since (which song? All of them, duh). While musicals are nothing new, Les Misérables was special because they recorded the actors singing live on set and added the orchestration in post-production. Usually, the songs are recorded… Continue reading Old Made New
Villain Protagonists
I’m gonna preface this essay (that’s not a rant) by outright saying that I love Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. One of the many things that makes it so wonderful, though, is its deconstruction of its villain protagonist. But I’ll get to that in a bit. Villain protagonists are fun. Whether it’s light like someone with… Continue reading Villain Protagonists
Final Exam: The Hobbit
It’s finals time at NYU. Folks are churning out essays and cramming a semester of information in their heads. So here I’ll be doing something different (but not really): let’s look at The Hobbit. I saw The Hobbit’s midnight showing at the IMAX here. It was good, clearly. Perfect, nah, not quite. Not Return of… Continue reading Final Exam: The Hobbit
Throwing Burritos
One of my courses this semester at NYU is one on Science Fiction. In this particular class we had read and were discussing Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? One of us commented about how Rachael pushing the goat off the building reminded him of that scene in Anchorman where Baxter gets… Continue reading Throwing Burritos
In Defense of Science Fiction
You ever caught yourself explaining the conceit of a piece of science fiction and, halfway through, realize how stupid it sounds? No matter how cool it is, it just sounds silly on its way out of your mouth? Compare these two ideas: • A group of kids make a movie and wind up learning about… Continue reading In Defense of Science Fiction
Protagonists and Such
Call him the main character, the lead, the hero, the player character; most every good story has a protagonist. He (or she) is the person we follow. Either because they provide the viewpoint and let us into the world or because they’re out on a grand quest. A lot of stories rise and fall based… Continue reading Protagonists and Such
Essays, Not Rants! 