Oh, and take the poll to the right!
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
The '95 Ladies Are On Their Way...
...but until then watch the category being presented and the eloquent Mira taking the gold.
Saturday, 27 August 2011
JUDITH: A Halloween Tribute Film -- a brief review
* Click on picture to watch the full movie *
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A while back I did a post about a Halloween fan film that caught my attention, and even despite it's flaws, oddly interested me with a subtle charm and genuine (though not always precise) nostalgic dedication. Not too too long ago I had heard about a tribute/fan film with an interesting title and twist: Judith, a "prequel" to the original film which gives us a little more than a glimpse into the older sister of Michael Myers who's infamously murdered in the opening sequence. Directed by Josh Hasty and written by Kenny Caperton (the man who lives in the replicated Myers House, which he built himself, that's becoming just as famous as the original), the film is only about an half an hour long, and is basically set up to let us witness a somewhat alternative opening to this series (as opposed to jumping right into the murder). It's the few brief hours and minutes before the climax finds its way into Judith's room, that shows a little bit of the town we will explore in scope in the later films, but mostly of the Judith character and her friend who plan a camp out with some people in the back yard.
I went into this very excited, that someone had come up with an original idea that would be interesting to explore. The trailer looked gorgeous -- professional, clear, well staged, and ruggedly retro -- and it had been shot at the Myers House NC with sharp cinematography and lighting. But I'm sad to say that the actual piece is a work of style over substance, even as a short film within a wide cannon of dense plotting throughout the franchise. This is a clearly a labor of love, as most tributes are, but the love doesn't really extend to actually crafting an essential/thought provoking entry to deepen Carpenter's intricately subtle masterpiece. Not that this film needs "more" (it's simplicity follows the same lane as the original), or that it needs to be as brilliant, but working as more of a character study, it falters in its clarity. Judith stays on its polished surface when it should be trying to sculpt something a bit deeper; such as an illumination or an expansion on the enigmatic mythology of the many themes of darkness embodied by Michael Myers and the surrounding characters. And the title character herself, played by an appealing Sarah Stephenson, is nevertheless a cipher (as Michael should be) that doesn't contribute to opening up interpretation on the Boogeyman or her place in his story.
I appreciate the vivid technicalities Hasty imbues his film with, but I only wish that the subtext was as clarifying and engaging -- as a few stringed, substantial glimpses can resonate in surprising, memorable ways.
I went into this very excited, that someone had come up with an original idea that would be interesting to explore. The trailer looked gorgeous -- professional, clear, well staged, and ruggedly retro -- and it had been shot at the Myers House NC with sharp cinematography and lighting. But I'm sad to say that the actual piece is a work of style over substance, even as a short film within a wide cannon of dense plotting throughout the franchise. This is a clearly a labor of love, as most tributes are, but the love doesn't really extend to actually crafting an essential/thought provoking entry to deepen Carpenter's intricately subtle masterpiece. Not that this film needs "more" (it's simplicity follows the same lane as the original), or that it needs to be as brilliant, but working as more of a character study, it falters in its clarity. Judith stays on its polished surface when it should be trying to sculpt something a bit deeper; such as an illumination or an expansion on the enigmatic mythology of the many themes of darkness embodied by Michael Myers and the surrounding characters. And the title character herself, played by an appealing Sarah Stephenson, is nevertheless a cipher (as Michael should be) that doesn't contribute to opening up interpretation on the Boogeyman or her place in his story.
I appreciate the vivid technicalities Hasty imbues his film with, but I only wish that the subtext was as clarifying and engaging -- as a few stringed, substantial glimpses can resonate in surprising, memorable ways.
Monday, 15 August 2011
Cinema Snapshot: Death Proof (2007)
"You saw my car, I saw your legs"
-- Stuntman Mike from Death Proof.
Sunday, 14 August 2011
The Supporting Ladies of 1995
I have been in talks some people about a continuation of the Supporting Actress feature on MovieMania, but with a little twist to open things up for others to contribute. It's been a dry summer for me (literally and figuratively) but not really a bad. The blog has been sitting for a bit due to mainly my mild writer's block and the preparation for college in a few weeks. It's exciting yet a bit nerve-racking as it's a big step for me, but one that I will hopefully benefit from in different ways. But, I hope to post whenever I have free time starting in the fall (I have no classes on Tuesday's or Thursday's!) and I'm not sure how much the workload will be -- does anyone know from experience of freshmen year? -- but I'm dedicated to the blogging world and hope to stay so.
Anyways...Robert of His Eyes Were Watching Movies and I are getting together the SA 1995 crew, with five of us each doing a profile on one of the nominees of this popular year. Then when all is complete the profiles will be combined and posted on our individual blogs. If you have any overall thoughts on this year or want to contribute any kind of your own profiling on a performance, let me know and I can post the link!
Oh, and can you guess which nominee I'm focusing on??
Oh, and can you guess which nominee I'm focusing on??