NPR had a good report this morning on an issue that was discussed earlier (see here and here) that looked the dire straits that the visual special effects (VFX) industry is in, even though the films that they make possible make a ton of money. For example, Life of Pi has made $600 million dollars …
Category Archive: Films
Mar 18 2013
Was the destruction of the Death Star an inside job?
This video makes a compelling case that the official story as told in the Star Wars saga was a lie to cover up the much darker truth of exactly who was behind that event and why they may have done it.
Mar 16 2013
Film review: The Campaign (2012)
I watched this film last evening and it was good fun. It stars Will Ferrell as the incumbent congressman of a North Carolina district who is expecting to run unopposed until a misstep by him suggests weakness and prompts two wealthy brothers (thinly disguised versions of the real life Koch brothers) to back someone who …
Mar 06 2013
Film review: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
While not deep or demanding, this comedy touches on some serious issues and makes for enjoyable watching. It tells the story of seven aging English people each of whom is in the twilight of their lives and trying to come to terms with that brute fact. One has unresolved issues from his boyhood in India …
Mar 02 2013
The intriguing world of visual special effects
I have not seen the film Life of Pi and am probably not going to. I read Yann Martel’s book some years ago and what I liked most about it were the opening chapters of the boy Pi simultaneously following the religions of Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam, unbeknownst to his parents or to the clerics …
Feb 28 2013
Visual special effects industry in trouble
I didn’t watch the Oscars. I never watch these awards shows as they seem to me to be incredibly boring. But I did read about the fact that the company Rhythm & Hues that won the Academy Award for special effects for their work on the film Life of Pi had filed for bankruptcy, making …
Feb 17 2013
Ron Moody reviews the situation
Growing up in the pre-internet (and indeed pre-VCR) age, one could only see films when they were still in the theaters and so had only one or two chances. So a great performance would have to be savored in one’s memories. The arrival of the VCR and videocassettes changed all that, giving new life and …
Feb 15 2013
Good analysis of The Birth of a Nation
Via reader Walter, I came across this excellent review by Richard Brody of D. W. Griffith’s 1915 film The Birth of a Nation. Like him, I was both appalled at the racism of the film (especially in the second half that traced the events following the Civil War and dealt with the period known as …
Feb 11 2013
Review: House of Cards (US and UK versions) and A Very British Coup
Netflix has produced an original series of programs called House of Cards. It is a story of the seedy political wheeling and dealing and backstabbing that goes on at the highest levels of government, the The West Wing with all the feel-good, warm and fuzzy elements stripped out, and in which none of the principal …
Feb 05 2013
The greatest film never made
Movie: The Movie has everything and everybody to satisfy every filmgoer. I showed earlier the story behind the making of this film but did not realize that there was a long form trailer trailer that shows more clearly what the movie is about, or at least would be about if it ever got made.
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