If you happen to be graphic designer, a fan of fonts, or just a fan of movies, you will appreciate the following video. It’s amazing how pervasive one font can actually be and how overused it can become. There’s a lesson for the kids out there. Be willing to do something different to help you or your client stand out.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=8c32ac25-d759-4f72-8896-d98657ae4440)
If you watch a lot of movies, you will soon pick up on certain devices that are used over and over again, like a car that won’t start when the killer is closing in on the main character. One of the cliches that I’ve noticed is often used during a dramatic scene between two characters. Usually, the characters are at odds with each other and the scene is tense, filled with a lot of dialogue. Inevitably, Character #1 will end the conversation and then dramatically walk away from the confrontation. However, just before he/she leaves the room, Character #2 will stop Character #1’s exit with one last word. You might see this play out in an FBI office when the young, brash agent starts to walk away from his supervisor. Just before getting to the door the supervisor will say, “Agent Pearson.” At which point, the young agent will turn around. The two lock eyes for a moment and the supervisor adds, “Be careful out there.”
What other movie/TV cliches have you noticed?
Guest Review By Troy Wagner
Sometimes movies completely surprise you. They leave an impact that you never saw coming. Perhaps it’s because you go in with lowered expectations, believing that what’s to be on the screen will be nothing more than a formulaic summer movie with some explosions and, get this, aliens. While District 9 has both of those things, there’s no way you will be calling it formulaic, and is likely to be one of the best movies you see all year.
Okay so, movies about aliens. That should seem pretty familiar to most people up to this point. We’ve seen them terrorize countless space crews, attack arctic research labs, and outright invade on plenty of occasions, be it on patriotic national holidays or not. The main problem with these, however, is the fact that they’re not all that rooted in reality. What would realistically happen if aliens were to come to Earth? District 9 has a pretty good guess.
The aliens, later known as the “prawns”, have arrived. Their enormous mothership comes to a stop over Johannesburg, South Africa. Once the millions (yeah, MILLIONS) of prawns are taken off the ship, they are placed in holding areas sectioned off by the government, the eponymous district 9. Time passes and these areas soon become slums, occupied by the prawns, who have now become dirty, diseased foragers. The government decides to rellocate them to a more isolated area to appease the paranoid public. A beaurocratic pencil-pusher named Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copely) is appointed to lead the massive undertaking.
In all honesty, that’s all you should know when going into the theater to see District 9. It is made all the more fantastic the less you know beforehand. This could be said for any given movie, but it really needs to be emphasised in this case. It’s inspiring to see how the filmmakers turn such a simple premise into something pretty remarkable.
Essentially every aspect of District 9 is masterfully executed. It’s director Neill Blomkamp’s first feature, yet it easily excells above other, more well-established films of the genre. However, while nearly all of it deserves praise, lead actor Sharlto Copely is the centerpiece that holds everything together and makes it work so well. He’s the lead amongst very few flesh-and-blood counterparts, and plenty of CGI prawns (not to mention the fact that many of his scenes are improvised AND District 9 is Copely’s acting debut). Wikus is a very complex character to watch on screen. He goes from being despised, to tolerated, to loved, and back again multiple times. It’s just staggering to realize that Sharlto Copely had never truly acted for the camera before until District 9. His performance is incredibly powerful at points. It really just blows you away.
District 9 is right on the verge of being revolutionary. But it’s not flat out perfect. Jumps from the documentary style to being behind the fouth wall can be jarring, and the CGI is dodgy in rare instances. But those are relatively small blemishes on an otherwise amazing film. As long as you’re not squeamish about intense violence, of which there is only a handful, District 9 is a fresh and exciting film that absolutely deserves to be seen.
9 1/2 out of 10
In 2003 director Lexi Alexander teamed up with Hunter Films to produce Johnny Flynton, a short-film that went on to receive an Oscar nomination. Now, Alexander returns to Alabama to shoot Lifted, a feature that centers on a young boy striving to make life better for himself and his family through his passion for R&B music. This production will be taking advantage of the filmmaker tax-incentive legislation that was recently passed by representatives in Montgomery. Hopefully, Lifted will mark a new surge in film production across the state.
The film starts shooting today and will run for the next three weeks. I will be on set for at least four days shooting behind-the-scenes footage that will ultimately be used in the film’s marketing efforts. Our goal is to capture the southern flavor of the locale and highlight the capable and talented Alabama crew that will be working tirelessly to see this film through to completion. Not only do we hope to promote the film as a whole, but we want to promote Alabama as a great place for filmmakers.
Johnny Depp as John Dillinger
Throughout 1933-1934, the United States fell under attack not to any foreign power, but to a host of notorious gangsters. For 18 months, these criminals wreaked havoc on cities throughout the country, robbing banks and killing dozens. The individuals responsible for such acts would become legends in American folklore: Machine Gun Kelly, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie & Clyde, and John Dillinger.
The film Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, gives us a glimpse into the lives of two men, both headed on a course that will lead them to inevitable confrontation and infamy. In one corner is the notorious John Dillinger (Depp), “Public Enemy Number One” - a thief and a murderer at the height of his career. In the other corner is Melvin Purvis (Bale), the FBI agent given the task of bringing Dillinger’s reign to an end.
For those already familiar with the historical accounts of Dillinger and his exploits, the events in the movie will come as no surprise. Ultimately, this is Dillinger’s story and so the film spends much of its time focused on his actions. But its attention to the events comes at the price of character development. Insights into the man behind the legend are just as interesting as the historical facts, but this film provides only a few glimpses into Dillinger’s humanity. When we do see those moments, they are compelling. We watch as he struggles with the realization that gangsters like him are finite and that more sophisticated crimes make his bank robbery methods obsolete.
In contrast to the recklessness and charm of Dillinger’s character is agent Melvin Purvis, the man in charge of the Chicago field office. Bale’s Purvis is a man with razor-sharp focus and unquenchable determination. Although Purvis is mostly one-dimensional, we are exposed to his imperfections. His impatience often leads to errors in judgment, which gives Dillinger opportunities to esacpe apprehension.
From a story perspective, Public Enemies is a solid gangster film, not lacking in the type of action one expects from the genre. Its focus, however, mainly centers on historical fact at the expense of well-rounded characters. From a technical standpoint, the movie falls short. The video shooting format was not handled well in some places. Although it did provide some nice deep depth-of-field compositions, some interiors were flat and underlit, and I couldn’t help but compare some action sequences to re-enactments one might see on TV documentaries. Good film, but it could have been incredible.
6 out of 10
There’s no doubt that Will Smith has impressive range as an actor. His emotional performance in The Pursuit of Happyness is one to be remembered, and I suppose he was hoping to capture lightning twice with last year’s Seven Pounds
The film is a very weighty drama, in which Smith plays Ben Thomas, a broken man seeking redemption for a past mistake. The ideas explored in the film (redemption, goodness, selflessness, sacrifice) are all valid and the story does a good job of promoting all that is good with humankind. However, the biggest failure with Seven Pounds is that it gives away too much too soon, and it’s attempt at a foreceful one-two emotional punch falls flat.
The ending is given away at the onset of the film and then quickly we are rushed back to the beginning to see all the events in chronologcal order. The hope is that viewers will sit on the edge of their seats, waiting to see why Smith’s character made that phone call in the first scene. However, because of what we know in that opening moment, Ben Thomas’ ultimate plan is known a little less than half-way through the movie. We are left to watch as Ben goes around meeting a host of characters upon whom he can impart his goodness, in an ongoing effort to ease his own guilt.
Seven Pounds is certainly an emotional film, but one that lacks any serious impact.
4 out of 10
Guest Review By Troy Wagner
The Taking of Pelham 123 is a wrong-place-wrong-time hostage thriller involving public transportation. Think Speed
Remakes have been the Hollywood house special for a while now. This isn’t news to anyone. The Taking of Pelham 123 follows the trend. It’s based on the 1974 movie of the same name
It exclusively tells the story of New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington), whose normal day at work is made a little more complicated when a subway train, Pelham 123, is hijacked by four men. The head man, Ryder (John Travolta), demands ten million dollars in one hour, after which he will, surprise surprise, start killing hostages. Garber becomes the middleman between the gunmen and authorities, of which include a hostage negotiator named Camonetti (John Turturro) and the conveniently unnamed mayor of New York himself (played by Tony Soprano…no wait, I mean James Gandolfini).
The pacing of the story can best be described as “boiling water.” From the get-go, the tension steadily increases, leading to the inevitable confrontation. The film is most enjoyable during these tense moments of conflict and violence, but these moments do little to balance out the overall slow pacing of the film.
The performances are competent, with Denzel Washington doing the most with what he is given, becoming the likable, flawed everyman stuck in a hostage stand-off. John Travolta, unfortunately, seems to have lost his action movie edge. I felt as though I should feel sympathy for his character, but Travolta’s performace made it difficult. He hams up the “tough guy” routine so much that I could have served it for Christmas dinner. There’s an inconsistency in his portrayal, shifting quickly from the smooth criminal to the F-bomb-laden frenziness of a guy on the edge. The supporting cast is solid, but ultimately forgettable.
Pelham 123 also seems to have a bit of an identity crisis. Mix equal parts drama, action, and comedy, let bake for 106 minutes, and you get one confusing little package. The banter between Garber and Ryder becomes outright philosophical at points, questioning religion and morals, which feels about as out of place as it sounds. This is made all the more disorienting when the comically inept police force join in the fray. They’re on screen for no other reason than to offer director Tony Scott more ways to insert outrageous and unrealistic car wrecks and carnage.
The Taking of Pelham 123 isn’t awful, but it’s not particularly engaging either. There are scenes when I felt completely in the moment, but there were simply too many flaws to overlook. This movie doesn’t rank at the top of the “Worst Remakes” list, but don’t expect any Oscar material.
You can follow Troy Wagner on Twitter at Twitter.com/WhatATroy
For the record, Rescue Dawn
Christian Bale plays Dieter Dengler, a Navy pilot stationed on an aircraft carrier just off the coast of Laos in 1965. The story follows Dieter’s first mission, subsequent capture by the Vietnamese, and his life in a makeshift POW camp deep in the jungle. Director Werner Herzog made this film as a follow up to his 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly
The film itself is honest in its approach. It’s incredibly genuine and we feel as though we are watching actual events as they unfold. Bale’s dedication to the role is admirable and the investments he makes in his portrayal pay dividends in the final cut. Bale and the supporting cast of fellow POW’s (including Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies) succeed in developing a level of realism that fills in the for the lack of action and digital effects.
The biggest problem with Rescue Dawn is the fact that it has no real emotional impact. It fails to create a level of intensity that is to be expected from this type of story. At times the narrative seems content just to flow along slowly, like the lethargy of a meandering river. Therefore, it’s hard to connect with Bale’s character. You want to commit to the story 100%. You want to cheer for Dieter. But in the end you just sit back and say to yourself, “Whatever. If he makes it, he makes it.”
4 1/2 out of 10
Bill Simmons competes in the Wing Bowl
SnagFilms is an excellent place to find documentary films, including the one I saw over the weekend - Swallow Your Pride, a story about the rising popularity of competitive eating. What I love about documentaries is their ability to expose viewers to subcultures that the general public doesn’t notice, like a group of people totally committed to eating as much as humanly possible.
The film follows five competitive eaters as they prepare for and compete in Philadelphia’s annual Wing Bowl, an event wherein contestants eat as many wings as possible within a certain amount of time. The winner receives a crown and a brand new car.
The important thing about this documentary is that it avoids becoming superficial. The upcoming Wing Bowl drives the movie forward, but directors Josh Camerote and Brian Dwyer do a nice job of rounding out the story with great character insights and solid subplots. The film resolves around issues such as the motivations driving each eater, the impact on their health long-term, the credibility of eating as a sport, and the organization and governance of competitive eating. And all of the above is portrayed in an entertaining, humorous, yet honest way.
Swallow Your Pride has all the right elements - a good pace, a strong story arc, firm direction, unique and off-beat subject matter, and interesting characters. Anyone else craving chicken wings?
7 out of 10
Before director Danny Boyle was winning accolades for Slumdog Millionaire
Damian is an imaginative little boy, always conscious of others and always willing to help. So, when a duffel bag full of British pounds literally falls into his lap, he’s motivated to use the money to help as many people as possible. His brother Anthony, in contrast, wants to keep the money to himself and use it for his own benefit. But complicating their situation is the fact that England will switch over to the Euro in only 14 days, leaving their cash worthless.
Millions is told from Damian’s perspective, and the fanciful special effects and vibrant colors throughout reflect Damian’s imagination and his view of the world around him. Each scene becomes a visual treat, especially the opening sequence when the two brothers venture on to the empty lot of their soon-to-be-built house. They start to imagine what the house will look like and as they dream, the house builds itself around them.
The film has a distinctive charm that’s brought out both through the wonderful visual elements and the performances. Alex Etel’s portrayal of Damian is heartwarming, and although the character is naive and innocent, he teaches us a lot about humanitarianism. Overall, Millions is a delightful story with identifiable characters, a solid plot, and an emotional appeal that doesn’t become overly sweet.
7 out of 10 stars
