Man did not invent the wheel. Man invented the hot stripper pole. Aw yeah!
Runtime: 29 sec
First Male Engineer
July 6th, 2007Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome
July 6th, 2007
George Clinton and Parliament rolled out this way funky spot for their album Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome back in the day.
Runtime: 59 sec
Michel Gagne: Ratatouille Taste Visualizations
July 6th, 2007If you’ve seen Ratatouille, then you’ve marveled at the expressionistic motion graphics sequences that accompany Remy (and later Emile) as they exalt the subtle pleasures of tasting food. The sequences were the product of animation black belt Michel Gagné, who’s also worked on The Incredibles and The Iron Giant, where he collaborated with director Brad Bird for the first time.
Gagné has posted his creative process for the Ratatouille taste visualizations on his site. Some of the Quicktimes can be a little slow to load, but they’re worth the wait.
This type of work always reminds me of Oskar Fischinger’s beautiful animations from nearly 80 years ago. The marriage of abstract visuals and music is, for me, a simple and compelling combination that gets at the core of motion graphics. As such, I think Michel’s work is worth studying with more than just passing interest.
Via the excellent resource, Drawn.ca.
The Rap Cat
July 6th, 2007
Aw yeah everybody, it's time for Rap Cat. This feline can spit hot fire!
Runtime: 30 sec
Ty’s movie picks for Friday, July 6
July 6th, 2007
The "Independents Week" series continues at the Harvard Film Archive: Tonight, the deadpan teachers'-lounge satire "Chalk", tomorrow Joe Swanberg's "Hannah Takes the Stairs," to my mind the best film yet to come out of the so-called MumbleCore scene.
"License to Wed" has the worst reviews of 2007 so far (Wesley hated it, and the Times' A.O. Scott held it out on tongs), so entertain yourself by reading them instead of paying good money to see a bad movie. "Transformers" and "Ratatouille" will likely dominate the weekend box office, attracting (respectively) 8-year-old boys of all ages and foodies of all sizes.
Mostly there's a new bunch of arthouse movies hitting town and most of them are at the Kendall Square: the sprightly zombie comedy "Fido" (in photo above, and, yes, that's comedian Billy Connolly in the middle); the pretty okay hitman comedy-romance "You Kill Me," which you should see for Ben Kingsley and Tea Leoni but probably on DVD; and "Gypsy Caravan," a soul-lifting music documentary that's not just for world-music followers or Gipsy Kings freaks. (I.e., if you liked "Buena Vista Social Club," you'll like this.)
The omnibus film "Paris Je T'aime" returns to the Coolidge and the Kendall today after a brief appearance in May: here's Wesley's review. 18 short stories, one per arrondissement, with a roster of directors that includes Alexander Payne, Olivier Assayas, Wes Craven (!), and the Coen brothers, and a cast that includes Juliette Binoche, Steve Buscemi, Marianne Faithfull, and Elijah Wood. Admit it, you're curious.
The Brattle has "Broken English," which is a feast for Parker Posey fans, but save your Brattle-bucks until next weekend, when the Werner Herzog double-bill kicks in. You really need to see "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" on a big screen.
Retromercial: Grace Jones and Adam Ant for Honda Scooters
July 6th, 2007
Club queens Grace Jones and Adam Ant appear in this totally '80s ad for Honda Scooters.
Runtime: 30 sec
Danny Boyle Kicks Eli Roth When He’s Down
July 6th, 2007Filed under: Horror, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand
I'm starting to feel a bit bad for Eli Roth, because I don't think he deserves all the negative vibes being thrown his way. Granted, I haven't seen any of his films, but I respect the fact that he's clawed his way to the top and, at the same time, managed to make films his way. He understands the business better than anyone (having worked practically every Hollywood job there is), knows which battles to fight ... and almost always wins. Unfortunately for him, Hostel: Part II arrived at a time when R-rated horror films (specifically those in the "torture porn" genre) were beginning to cool off. Add to that the fact that they took a huge chance releasing it right smack in the thick of summer blockbuster season -- coupled with a ton of illegal downloads -- and it was simply destined to fail. But taking a hit and moving on to bigger and better things was not in the cards for Roth, as a number of film personalities have taken cheap shots at the guy for no apparent reason.
The latest in a long line of folks eager to say something bad about Roth is 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle. Out promoting his latest flick Sunshine, Boyle told The NY Daily News that he isn't too fond of Roth's films. "His movies aren't even particularly well done," he says. "They're not even scary. They're horrible, but that's not scary. It's not suspense. And if you watch my films in detail, there's actually not a lot of violence in them. You get numb with violence very quickly." Of course, The Daily News does not provide the question which led to this answer -- I can't imagine the guy just began ripping Roth a new one out of the blue. But I am surprised to hear Boyle (a director I admire, and one who also happens to be a very nice guy) blatantly knock a fellow director. It makes me wonder whether there was ever any bad blood between the two.
Following the Hostel: Part II box office meltdown, Roth has decided to take a breather, recently saying that he won't be directing Cell (the Steven King adaptation reportedly scheduled to begin shooting later this summer) anytime soon. He added: "... I most likely will take the rest of the year to write my other projects. Which means I wouldn't shoot until the spring and you wouldn't see a film directed by me in the cinemas until at least next fall." What say you -- does Boyle have a point? Or is it unfair for all these people to knock a guy who's just trying to give fans what they want?
Permalink | Email this | CommentsBaby Boss
July 6th, 2007
This guy's boss is an adorable baby, and he rules with an iron fist.
Runtime: 20 sec
Broken English – Trailer
July 6th, 2007 | Broken English - Trailer In a startling mature and nuanced performance, Parker Posey plays Nora Wilder, a thirty-something Manhattanite who is cynical about love and relationships, in this astute collaboration with first-time writer/director Zoe Cassavetes. Nora plugs away at her job in a posh downtown hotel and can’t help but wonder what it is she has to do to find a relationship as ideal as her friend Audrey’s (Drea De Matteo) “perfect marriage.” It doesn’t help that her overbearing mother (Gena Rowlands) takes every opportunity to remind Nora that she’s still unattached. After a series of disastrous first dates, she meets Julien (Melvin Poupaud), a seemingly devil-may-care Frenchman with a passion for living. Expecting another disastrous ending, Nora tries to avoid making the same mistakes. She finds herself in Paris looking to break old patterns. Inevitably, Nora has to look inward before she can find a new outlook on life and most importantly, love. Directed by: Zoe Cassavetes Starring: Parker Posey, Drea de Matteo, Gena Rowlands, Melvil Poupaud |
The Invasion – Trailer 1
July 6th, 2007 | The Invasion - Trailer 1 The Invasion tells the story of a mysterious epidemic that alters the behavior of human beings. When a Washington D.C. psychiatrist (Nicole Kidman) discovers the epidemic’s origins are extraterrestrial, she must fight to protect her son, who may hold the key to stopping the escalating invasion. Directed by: Oliver Hirschbiegel Starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jeffrey Wright, Malin Akerman |
