Rosebud

FEMALE REPORTER: If you could've found out what Rosebud meant, I bet that would've explained everything.

THOMPSON: No, I don't think so; no. Mr. Kane was a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn't get, or something he lost. Anyway, it wouldn't have explained anything... I don't think any word can explain a man's life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a... piece in a jigsaw puzzle... a missing piece.

According to Peter Bogdanovich, Welles' unreleased final film: The Other Side of the Wind, might finally get screened at this May's Cannes Film Festival! Mind you they've been making similar statements for years, but something tells me that it might finally be Orson's year. We will finally get to see/hear Welles' final statement as a filmmaker (dramatic pause) His cinematic rosebud.

*fingers crossed*

Feels Like The First Time

For much of my young life the music I listened to was my parents music. Meat Loaf and Queen were two early obsessions of mine. It wasn't until middle school that I really truly found a band that I could call my own and that band was Squirrel Nut Zippers.

While other kids were discovering punk, I was discovering dixieland. Man you should have seen me in middle school with creepers, khakis, a pocket watch with a chain and buttoned up paneled shirts. I even took swing dancing lessons with my aunt at the local community college.

Eventually I grew out of the style (much to the dismay of my intended) but the music never left. It's so fucking good! And the band still ranks in my top 5 where they stand out next to names like Radiohead and The Velvet Underground.

So it is with great pomp & circumstance that I announce:



I've seen them twice before and it is always a great show. Especially when they bust out the projector and start rocking this little ditty:

So grease up that pomp, put on your dancing shoes and grab your best gal and bring her on down cause this is gonna be one hell of a party!

"It doesn't matter what I think. It doesn't matter what I feel. The dead are still dead."

Most people already had an opinion about The Reader before a single frame of film had been screened. Whispers about behind the scenes politicking have been filling the blogosphere since early fall. Add to that the fact that many feel this film "stole" The Dark Knight's best picture nom and you have a pretty stacked deck. But in the end what is truly important is one simple question:

Is it best picture material?

My answer quite bluntly is NO. Now this is not to say that the film is completely devoid of admirable qualities. The cinematography is beautiful, the direction is assured and the performances (especially that of Kate Winslet) are astounding. So what is it then that trips such a potent blend of positives? One word - structure.

The latter half of the film is far superior to the first half. The first half is 100% exposition - a screenwriter's nightmare. Sure they have hot naked flesh to keep asses in seats, but other than that it is a rather hollow experience.

You can tell they knew this was a bit of a problem. The film's opening scene sets up a mystery in order to make the audience want to sit through the next hour, they even employ occasional flash forwards, but in the end it all results in making that first hour all the more agonizing. You just want it to be over so that you can find out what is going on at the start.

Once the film gets down to the brass tacks of dealing with the Holocaust and morality it becomes a whole new ball game. There are deep philosophical questions being addressed and I feel the film does an able job of grappling with them. There are no easy answers and that is what makes for great drama.

So why not just cut out that whole first part and make the film focus on the latter half? Because it's necessary. As dull as that first half is, it provides us with essential information towards understanding what occurs in the latter half. So what then could have been done? Should this film not even have been attempted?

No. I think there's a great film laying in there somewhere. It just needed some more time in the editing room to figure out all those structuring problems. Too bad someone rushed it through post. Oops! There I go bickering about studio politics.

Mahalo

Baadasssss!

A few weeks back at the New York Comic Con MTV hosted a panel to determine the Top Ten Movie Badasses. Since then a lot of hip celebrities have been posting their lists on their blogs. Since I like to consider myself a celebrity (in my mind) I will now bestow upon you all my personal list of Cinematic Badassery:

Walker (Point Blank)
John McClane (Die Hard)
Ellen Ripley (Aliens)
The Bride (Kill Bill Vol 1)
Lee (Enter The Dragon)
Pike Bishop (The Wild Bunch)
Doc Holiday (Tombstone)
John Shaft (Shaft)
Blondie (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)
Gny. Sgt. Hartman (Full Metal Jacket)

You are now free to return to your regularly scheduled lives.

King of the Jews

Though he didn't make my list of living filmmakers (cause he only has two under his belt) I do love me some Judd Apatow. I absolutely agree with all of those people out there who list him as the heir apparent to Woody Allen.

And today we have the premiere of the trailer to Judd's newest film Funny People.

In my opinion it looks pretty good.  Great laughs while at the same time letting a little more drama creep in.  I'm interested to see how people react to this.  It is definately not The 40-Year-Old Virgin but it is absolutely the next logical step in his evolution as a filmmaker.  This and Inglorious Basterds are definately my most anticipated films of the year.

Mahalo

Ciao Middleman!

Yet another brilliant and funny TV show has bitten the dust. According to The New York Post's Pop Culture Blog, ABC Family has decided to pull the plug on Javier Grillo-Marxuach's pop savy series.

This show was brilliant in so many ways. It was funny, filled with great pop culture gags and had an ass-kicking latina for a lead. I still need to pick up the comics on which it was based. Le sigh. I hope all of the talented people behind this show are able to find work that makes use of their awesome talents.

Let us at least take comfort in the fact that the season will soon be coming to DVD as well as a comic book realization of the unfilmed season finale.

Farewell Middleman - we hardly knew ye.

25 Storytellers

Entertainment Weekly recently made a list of the 25 greatest working directors. Lots of talented people on there and lots of “what the fuck?” James Cameron? Fella's only now making his first film in over a decade!

I’m gonna take this opportunity to come up with my own list of 25. EW limits their list to working directors. In my opinion this means their current films have to be of a consistent quality. No skating by on past glory. Sorry Woody, sorry Godard. Here (in no particular order) are the names that can get my ass in a seat:

Martin Scorsese

Steven Spielberg

Pedro Almodovar

Paul Thomas Anderson

Allison Anders

Clint Eastwood

Darren Aronofsky

David Fincher

Guillermo Del Toro

Alfonso Cuaron

Joel & Ethan Coen

Quentin Tarantino

Stephen Soderbergh

Wes Anderson

Jim Jarmusch

Lloyd Kaufman

Spike Jonze

Werner Herzog

David Cronenberg

Gus Van Sant

Spike Lee

Wong Kar-Wai

John Waters

David Lynch

Kevin Smith