Film Club

Hello all, film club will be here before we know it. This month, we will be meeting on Thursday, April 21 in the big room upstairs, at 6:15pm.

This month we will be watching the film Baraka, directed by Ron Fricke. The film was made in 1992 and is a non-narrative film. What this means is that the film follows no particular story, and contains no dialogue. The film is more of a visual documentary that takes the viewer on a journey across different cultures and locations, to be specific, 152 locations spread out over 24 different countries. This film was the first film in over 20 years to be filmed in the 70mm Tod-AO format (technically filmed on 65mm then printed on 70mm), a format that allows for extreme widescreen film format. The result is a "journey beyond words" that will leave you awe-struck. You will not want to miss this one-of-kind film experience.

Check out the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO1nSVy8q8I

"A million dollars isn't cool, you know what's cool? A billion dollars." ( A review of The Social Network)

From the moment I saw the teaser trailer for The Social Network, some time last year, I was hooked. Over a black screen we hear some choice bits of dialogue while words like "Punk" "Prophet" "Traitor" "Billionaire" slowly come into view with a soundtrack of drawn out musical pulses that gradually build in intensity as the trailer unfolds, when it reaches it's conclusion we are shown a picture of Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg) and then the words "The Social Network" presented in the style of the Facebook logo. This was just a taste...then they released the trailer, utilizing similar bits of dialogue except now with the footage that accompanies them, all set to a chilling (near, save for a piano) a cappella rendition of Radiohead's "Creep". I was amazed, to but it bluntly, this is how trailers should be made: It gave nothing away and barely gave you an idea of what the film would be. The idea was at first ludicrous, when I had heard the rumors, a film about Facebook? What next? But this trailer changed my mind. When I finally saw the film several months later, my anticipation was well rewarded. The premise is simple: A retelling of the conception and subsequent birth of what is now arguably the king of all social networks, Facebook, and the lies, the genius, the inspiration that surrounded it. Oh, and the lawsuits. We witness two different depositions as Zuckerberg is being sued by two different parties. This is the first mechanism used to further then story. The second is the use of flashbacks to reveal how, and why, the whole Facebook phenomenon started. In my personal opinion I believe the choice to unfold the story in this manner was a great choice. The pace is quick, concise and clear, never dragging, never allowing itself to drag, it kept me interested, kept me wanting to see more, and I can tell you I was never bored.
We can argue about the legality of what Zuckerberg did, about whether or not the site should've been allowed to continue functioning considering his, as the movie states, "intellectual property theft", but it would be irrelevant. Regardless of your opinion, what Zuckerberg did, what he created, was nothing short of genius. Whatever truly fueled him, whatever his motives really were, he saw something more, knew something the Winklevoss twins did not. Facebook may've appeared to be a simple social networking site among the ranks of Myspace and Friendster, but it was something far more important, to the online community in general and specifically our generation. Something that continues to change and adapt to the ever-shifting, often fickle social scene.
What makes this film work is a masterful combination of very important elements. First, the strong leading actors. Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justing Timberlake and Armie Hammer, all of whom embody the characters they are portraying with a deft sense of realism and finesse. Second, the witty, intelligent, fast paced and razor sharp writing of Aaron Sorkin, who's script leaps off the page onto the screen with a clarity that is near unparalleled. Third, David Fincher (the director). Fincher has come a long way from his feature film directing debut, Alien 3. Fincher proves he is worth his salt and worthy to contend with the best of the best (consider his latest films: Panic Room, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and now The Social Network), with his adept control of the actors' performances, taking the script and making it his own, he has become a force to be reckoned with within the directing community. Fourth, and by no means the least, the fresh, original, often haunting score composed by Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails fame) and Atticus Ross. This score won Reznor the Oscar at the Academy awards for best original score and he deserves every bit of that honor. Sorkin took the source material and made a screenplay that was his own, the actors interpreted it in their own way, Fincher molded it into his style, and Reznor made it into something all together different than all the others before him, and yet, it all comes together, it all works as a whole, a wonderful piece of cinematic art that I am proud to have witnessed, a film with a beautiful sense of humanity and depth. I have seen the movie countless times now and I find myself discovering something new about it every time I watch it, maybe nothing substantial, or even important, but things that make it a thrill to watch with every subsequent viewing.


THE BOTTOM LINE:
This film should've won best picture at the Oscars (granted The King's Speech was a great film as well), and I will stand by that. I think this is a film that will be remembered for generations to come, because it captured something great, something that could've been lost in a single moment of hesitation or doubt. Was Zuckerberg wrong for what he did? Maybe, probably, but does it matter in the long run? He's worth upwards of 40 billion dollars now, I believe, but I don't think it was ever really for the money, not saying he doesn't enjoy it or would give it all away, but I think he truly saw something, something that was important, something that was "cool", and that was a priceless asset he wasn't going to give up. I'm glad he didn't.
See this film.

Film Club

Film Club is approaching....

This month's film club will be on Thursday, March 17 at 6:15 PM, which happens to also be St. Patrick's Day. In honor of St. Patrick's Day we will be watching My Left Foot, directed by Jim Sheridan, starring Daniel Day Lewis as the main character (a role for which he won as oscar) Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, misdiagnosed as mental illness for the first 10 years of his life; brown eventually learned to write with his left foot, the only part of his body he could control. This movie is at times funny and at times sad but always affecting, this is a film you shouldn't miss. Hope to see you all there!

Check out the trailer:

http://www.fandango.com/movie-trailer/myleftfoot-trailer/54816/

OSCARS

It's very short notice, but this coming Sunday, Feb. 27th, Oscar night, the Hollywood Palms theatre in Naperville is hosting it's annual Oscar party. It's like $22.00 and it all goes to charity, you can dress up and you get champagne and a gift bag and what have you, and you watch the oscars on the big screen, it's a pretty good time...This will be my second year attending, and I can tell you, it's definitely worth it, a good time all around. Hope to see you there if you can make it!

Here's the link

http://www.hollywoodpalmscinema.com/

Villain of the Week

I'm going to be putting up pictures and blurbs about my favorite movie villains for at least a while, (until I get lazy and don't) we'll see how it goes...got a favorite villain? Let me know.

A Word About Remakes....

I mentioned the film Let Me In over in my Two Second Reviews, and that it was a remake of Let the Right One In (a film from Sweden about which you may have never heard) and that it was pretty good, which is was. That said...Let the Right One In is much better. This is seems to be the fate of remakes, and rightly so. I will watch a remake, I have watched a lot of remakes and there are very few that I find to be watchable and nearly as good as the film they are emulating (Dawn of the Dead, The Omen, The Amityville Horror and, as I mentioned, Let Me In come to mind, horror being the most remade genre out there, probably because the genre of Horror is essentially the star itself, it doesn't matter what actors paticipate in them), but then there are films, sadly the majority, that are just utterly atrocious, simply garbage. TANGENT! I brought it up so I'm going to continue with it. Horror is, simply put, the easiest genre to tackle for beginner filmmakers looking to get their name out there, but also one of the easiest to completely ruin by falling into the cliched pitfalls (which happens most of the time.) Another interesting thing to note is that fans of Horror, die-hard fans, are among the most forgiving fans of any genre ( I know, because I am one), it can be horrible, it can be a half step up from crap and they will forgive and more than likely see another by the same director, or another in the same series. Too few actually understand horror as it should be understood, the nuances, the atmosphere, it's not all about the blood and guts (but it can be), it's about what isn't seen onscreen as much as what is. ANYWAY...back on topic.

Even with the decent quality of Let Me In, I'm reminded constantly of how good Let the Right One In was. It was just better. While watching this one I couldn't help but notice how much they tried to make it like the other one while maintaining some sense of originality, but like I said, it was really good, just not the same kind of good as the original film. I've come to really dislike the remakes and re-boots and re-imagining that have plagued our day and age. It seems like all the movies that are made these days fall into those categories. It seems to me that originality has gone out the window (not completely but...) at least for the most part.

For me, personally, it's exceptionally difficult to put up with remakes because I am a firm believer in originality and the quality that comes with something truly original. I will always like an original song or movie, or what have you, better than any cover or remake that is made, even if the new one is better...it's a matter of respect I guess. I respect the artist for making something that hasn't been made before, when someone remakes that, regardless of intent or admiration (you could argue that they are even more of a die-hard fan than I am, which is why they choose to make the remake, OR you could argue that they are just riding someone else's coat-tails and banking on the fact that people like something so they will like the remake...this could all be purely speculation but it's what runs through my head) I maintain my respect for the original work.

It's not that I don't like to see someone else's perspective on something (some people can add an interesting twist or spin on a story), but that's not really the issue. This is actually stemming from some incident I had with a friend of mine (I shouldn't say "stemming" from, but rather "reminds me of") when we were discussing the film Across the Universe (very good movie) and he said he liked some of the songs in the film, sung by the actors, (all Beatles songs) better than the original Beatles songs themselves. I had to disagree. For me, it doesn't matter how good they are, the Beatles are always better, end of discussion, and that's really how I feel about all the others as well...

To summarize, or if you are to take anything from this, I believe the original work or material is the superior product always, without challenge, if not because of actual quality then because of originality, that said, it should be understood that this does not necessarily make the remake "bad" just less than the other.

Thanks for your time.

....and that's it.

Film Club

Film Club is approaching....

We will be meeting Thursday, Feb. 17th in the large meeting room. This month we will be watching Ingmar Bergman's- The Seventh Seal. Set during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death, who has come to take his life. The film is considered a major classic of world cinema. It helped Bergman to establish himself as a world-renowned director.

This is probably my personal favorite of Ingmar Bergman's films, right up there with Persona, Wild Strawberries, Hour of the Wolf, and The Silence (all of which are worth checking out if you have a chance). If you are feeling adventurous and don't mind a little subtitling, come and join us, and be ready for some discussion!

Here is the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPxp757lW3E