Just came back from watching Beowulf in Imax 3-D - it was a great experience. It was really well done and 3-D pulls you further into that world rather than distance you from it. If you watch this movie then watch it in 3-D.
Also a fresh review has come in for FIVE from Hollywood Bitchslap and it is a mixed review but a good one nonetheless - or atleast I took with me the good bits while committing the bad bits to heart to rectify in future projects.
Something that Yann Martel wrote in the preface of 'Life of Pi' has just got me more centered - "If we , citizens, do not support our artists, then we sacrifice our imagination on the altar of crude reality and we end up in believing in nothing and having worthless dreams."
FIVE got a mini review from AROVIDEO and they have called it a potential cult kiwi film. Other than that life is at a standstill right now - I don't mind it - need a little time for reflection and see if I am still on the right path.
I watched 'NO END IN SIGHT' and it is a good documentary. The subject matter is explosive and the interviews are amazing but not sure if it is deserving to be on the Academy Awards short list for Best Documentary.
Well the reason it has been so quiet at this end is because I have been taking it easy. With FIVE almost out of the way [the only things remaining are ntsc dvd authoring and international sales], I decided to take a good couple of months off from every project that I am doing. After I finished 'Memories' there was a sense of uncertainty and a period of heavy introspection but after FIVE - I don't feel that - I am feeling motivated and charged to keep making movies [ hopefully with a small or a decent budget from now on instead of the 'no budget' approach - until ofcourse there is no other way :-) ]. A pleasant surprise was getting a text message from a friend who was visiting Christchurch, who told me that they were looking at a copy of FIVE at the local video store there. It put a grin on my face for the rest of the night.
The only major change that did happen this week has been the change in flatmates. Benji has moved out of the flat. And now Lance is my new flatmate - which is fantastic.
The theme for this post is time travel and here area couple of pics I took using my cellphone camera - all of them are as they were taken - no digital manipulation.
Time travel initiation sequence activated
I can't see the future, so I will go there
Time-space vortex burning the past and the present
The future is all pervasive. It is beautiful
I am not crazy, I just have a different point of view. :-) Peace, Amit
'The Warriors' was a fantastic movie that I watched on recommendation from someone. I would never have picked up the movie otherwise but it turned out to be a great viewing- even though the movie was made in 1979. It holds up pretty well and there is something more to the movie than what you can see. The plot itself is really simple but it is the execution that kicks arse.
'Deliver us from evil' was one of the few docos that sent a chill down my spine. It is extremely well made and the way it is put together you go on this incredibly hard journey with the victims of child sexual abuse by priests serving under the catholic church.
'3:10 to Yuma' was an epic movie and it is beautifully shot and acted but it is the final 10 minutes that keeps the movie from becoming good to great. The performances from everyone involved is outstanding but the 2 people who really stand out are Ben Foster and Russell Crowe. Ben Foster's character is completely bad ass and terrifying while Rusell Crowe's character is a charming but dangerous nonetheless.
'The Cave of the Yellow Dog' was a mixed experience. It is beautiful and has moments of profound philosophy but the thing that didn't work for me was that it was a little too slowly paced. I don't have problem with slow paced movies but when it becomes excruciatingly slow is when I can't handle it.
'American Gangster' was a really well made movie. Great performaces and beautiful art direction combined with solid camera work. It is different kind of movie - it is more like a 'commercial' art movie {what an oxymoron!!!!} as there are no massive shoot outs or big action sequences. Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington give performances that are rivetting to watch.
So that's me over the past few days. Till later, Amit
The 60 second version of the Xbox 360 advt that I recently acted in found it's way onto youtube and is screening in US at this point (I think)..The video encoding on the advert for youtube isn't great and the colours and the quality is off by miles but still gives you an idea. :-)
The NTSC DVD for FIVE is being designed by Lucas, so that can self-distribute it internationally through b-side.com. Plus the movie will be available for online viewing through either Cabinetic or www.film.com sometime soon. Let's see how this method goes for making money from the movie.
I went and picked up my Wii on Saturday. Lance came over yesterday evening, so we could have a few rounds of the game. It is a great gaming system - my body is aching from all the physical exercise - especially from the boxing game. I am hooked and so is anyone who plays it. Ande Schurr (the foley recordist on FIVE) came over to pick up his DVD copy of the movie and got roped into playing the game with us. In his words it is the first time he has fallen in love with video games - ever since his childhood. And it is easy to believe that - playing wii is an experience. Here are some pics from a boxing match between Lance and me (courtesy: ande)
Lance and me in an intense boxing match (I am smiling because I am winning)
Wireless motion control enabled games are the future of gaming
That game is physically exhausting
Another review for FIVE has come through from Extra Ordinary Movie & Video Guide. It is a positive review and it doesn't have any rating system plus it also contains minor spoilers.
the next review has POTENTIAL SPOILERS (even though some of the plot interpretations are liberal and not necessarily true). PLEASE AVOID READING THE REVIEW IF YOU WANT TO ENJOY THE MOVIE ON IT'S OWN MERITS. The reviewer did not know how to review the movie and thought that writing out the storyline from start to end would be a good way to introduce the movie. You've been warned - here it is: a 3 STAR Review from Slasherpool
In other random things - I went ahead and bought a Nintendo Wii. I guess what tipped me over was the fact that the console sacrifices superior graphics for interactive motion controlled game play making you do stuff physically. Let's see how the console holds up against my expectations of it. I will be picking up the console sometime next week.
Benji is moving out of the flat as he goes on his trip to China and it looks like Lance is going to move in. I am excited for sure. At one point I was tossing between going flat hunting myself or keeping the current flat and getting a flatmate in. The few flats I looked at weren't as nice and had even smaller rooms but were charging about the same amount, so decided to stuff it and just get a flatmate since my current place of residence is spacious and beautiful. Lucky for me that Lance has just come back into the country and was looking for a place to stay. At this point, just trying to sort things out with the landlord's son about the excessive moisture in the house and the landlord's responsibility to make sure that the mould growth is fixed. I went ahead and cleaned most of my room yesterday - I will finish off the cleaning today with only bits and pieces left to sort out but it never stops to amaze me as to how much junk accumulates over a period in time without even realizing it.
Anyway - time for me to cook some bacon and eggs for breakfast and then get back to cleaning. :-)
