KONG on DVD

Available March 28th according to Cinematical.

A Scanner Darkly

Richard Linklater has adapted the Philip K. Dick novel "A Scanner Darkly" into a rotoscoped trip fest, by the looks of the trailer (QT). I've not read the book - maybe I'll pick it up before seeing the movie. The film is coming out on July 7, according to Boing Boing.

Related to this -- I really liked Waking Life, but have been dismayed by the Schwab ads using a very similar rotoscope technique to that used in Waking Life. I did a bit of research and found that those ads were directed by Bob Sabiston, the same guy credited as animation director on Waking Life and now A Scanner Darkly.

Hrm...

Gypsy Swing

Update 3/7/06 -- changed link to film to a locally cached version.

A short (4 minute) film of Django Reinhardt and his band, including Stephane Grapelli is available on WFMU's Beware of the Blog.

A newsreel-style announcer introduces the band as they lounge around a room, smoking and playing cards while a young Django and Stephane Grappelli lightly jam. Then it goes into a full blown performance of the Quintet.

There's a short segment with really bad lighting in the middle, but it clears up quickly. The sound is good, and Django is, not surprisingly, awesome.

Found via BoingBoing.

Arnold and Sly, Together At Last

Just what we've all been waiting for, two erstwhile action stars together in a film called Brutal Deluxe (link to Google news). Funny commentary at Cinematical.

Often Plays Violent, Loud-Mouthed Individuals With Unusual Beliefs or Philosophies

Pretty good article/interview with Samuel L. Jackson in the Globe. The title of the post is the "trademark" of Jackson, according to IMDB. He's working the press at the moment to promote Freedomland. Hopefully, considering that according to the article, "Jackson's cred as a badass has helped the actor develop a Teflon-like ability to escape complete turkeys unscathed," he'll bounce back from this film, which is currently (albeit with only a few reviews in) reeking of putrescence at 14% rotten on Rottentomatoes.

From the Earth to the Moon

I've recently been caught up in HBO's From the Earth to the Moon, which they've been showing on demand. It's cheesy as hell, with lots of over-the-top triumphant music, but I've been digging it. Lots of good character portrayals, and the drama that's necessarily injected into the stories doesn't get in the way of the telling of the stories.

I just finished watching episode 10. They seem to have found a way of highlighting a different angle of the Apollo program with each episode: from the simple dramatic suspense of just getting to and landing on the moon, to training astronauts (erstwhile jet-jockeys, really) to not only be geologists, but to actually enjoy being geologists.

(I just realized that I've written two posts about Ron Howard productions in a row -- I think need to watch some Sergio Leone or something).

Curiously Decent?

I guess I'm a little surprised that Rotten Tomatoes is showing 71% fresh for Curious George as of this writing. Maybe I'm just jaded by the recent lousy adaptations of other iconic picture books from my formative years -- The Cat in the Hat (12%) comes to mind.

Gelflings, Skeksis, and Steven King

A Dark Crystal sequel is due out in 2007. Entitled Power of the Dark Crystal, it will be directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, who directed the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated TV series (which, by the way, is better than episodes 1-3, if you ask me).

Interestingly, Wikipedia states that "[Tartakovsky] has also been pitching a cartoon series of Stephen King's The Dark Tower to HBO." More wild and breathless speculation here: aintitcoolnews.com; and here TheDarkTower.net.

Unknown White Male

Update 2/18/2006: According to Cinamatical, the veracity of the story this film tells is in question:

Ever since the Oscar-nominated Unknown White Male (review here) premiere at last year's Sundance Film Festival, there have been rumblings that the story it tells about Doug Bruce's memory loss and subsequent new life is too strange to be real. Additionally, everyone in the movie is good-looking and smart, which is a little suspicious in a film that's supposed to be about real life. Some at Sundance went so far as to suggest that the film was an elaborate joke, much like Peter Jackson's cheeky Forgotten Silver, which fooled all of New Zealand before it was revealed to be a mockumentary. In a recent GQ article, Michel Gondry - who semi-seriously wonders if the inspiration for UWM came from his own Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - admits that he doesn't believe Bruce, but has never been willing to confront him about his doubts.

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From a review in Cinematical of the film Unknown White Male, a documentary about someone named Doug Bruce who has to rediscover who he is after finding himself riding a train with a nasty bump on his head and no memory of who he is or where he is going:

Rather than lamenting the loss of the “old Doug,” everyone still in his life - from Magda to his father; from his sisters to the friends with whom he partied and vacationed - eventually begins to accept him, though they’re disconcerted by what their friendship with the “new Doug” does to their memories of the person he used to be. As Magda - who, like almost everyone else in Bruce’s life, is uncannily wise and articulate - puts it, “By getting used to who he is now, he’s...undermining his previous self...Getting used to the new Doug...sort of erases the old Doug for me.” Despite their philosophical unease, however, one of the most fascinating developments in the film is that everyone who talks on camera envies Bruce on some level. Even the friends who come across as the most laddish and immature come to see his amnesia as a kind of opportunity. Looking at their old/new friend from the perspective of people just settling in to true adulthood (Bruce and most of his friends are in their early-to-mid 30s), they clearly ache a bit for the chance to start over; to redefine themselves. Rather than being stuck in a rut, Bruce is learning from the world every day, and is able to cut ties with the people from his previous life with whom he no longer feels a connection. Who among us wouldn’t relish a chance like that?

A documentary touching on the real life desire that many of us have to reinvent ourselves or start fresh seems like like an interesting take on the classic amnesia themes that we are used to.

Throttling Back on Netflix

An AP article has appeared (here it is in the Globe) that discusses Netflix's policy of penalizing heavy users using a technique called throttling, which gives priority to the light Netflix users who generate the most profits for the company. This is not news for most Netflix users. In fact, the article links to a 2003 informal side-by-side comparison of a heavy use account with a new account that I remember reading when it was new. A little over a year ago a settlement was reached, and Netflix changed its terms of use to disclose the practice of throttling in January of 2005. Evidently the settlement may be revised:

Without acknowledging wrongdoing, the company agreed to provide a one-month rental upgrade and pay Chavez's attorneys $2.5 million, but the settlement sparked protests that prompted the two sides to reconsider. A hearing on a revised settlement proposal is scheduled for Feb. 22 in San Francisco Superior Court. (From the AP article)

The article does not mention who the protesters are, or what, exactly, they are protesting.

Interestingly, the AP article also cites what it calls an "online forum" for "incensed [Netflix] customers" called Hacking Netflix, which posted the following in response to the article:

Netflix and Blockbuster Online are both incredible values, even if they "throttle" or have movie allocation problems from time to time. I now have access to more than 50,000 titles from each company, and I typically pay less than $2 per online rental vs. $4.99 at my local video store. Both companies have gone through "growing pains," but they still save me time and money (I subscribe to both).

The comments to this post are all over the map, including some by people who agree, and some by people who are clearly incensed (with a healthy number who obviously fall into the "lowest common denominator" category).

I was a very heavy Netflix user for a time and was frustrated that I was unable to get any of the titles at the top of my queue. This was before Netflix's disclosure, and there was a conspiratorial ring to the idea of Netflix throttling heavy users. Lately, largely due to my relatively recent acquisition of digital cable, I have been using Netflix a little less, and all the titles in my queue have been available. I suppose if I do become a heavy user again, I'll set up an account with Blockbuster and play the two services against each other in order to increase my chances of having the films I want available.

Hail Caesar

Has anyone heard anything further about the latest Coen Brothers film (in pre-production)? IMDB's plot outline: "A 1920's theater troupe stages a production of Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar'."

Bloglet

I've added the ability to subscribe to the blog so that you'll not miss any posts. The sign up form is at the top of the sidebar. Your email address will not be sold, held for ransom, given away, or shared with mafiosi, so there's no call for alarm. Just sign up! You'll receive an email per day with a summary of the day's posts.

Is it Baloney or Bologna?

Updated 2/15/2006

Welcome to Gaffer Tape. If all goes well, this will become a small community of friends and family exchanging reviews of films, TV shows, and other videocentric things.

There are a few people who've now signed on for this experiment in community blogging and I hope that more will. This should be a hell of a lot of fun. I'd like to propose some groundrules (to prevent complete chaos):

• All posts must be in some way related to movies, tv shows, videography or other mind numbing videocentric endeavors
• Any and all movies, TV shows, music videos (old, new, and anything in between) -- even stuff you find on YouTube -- are open for discussion
• The exception is pornography or anything that is patently offensive and/or hateful -- this will not be allowed
• Discussions about the greatest movies of all time (i.e., The Big Lebowski, The Seven Samurai) are encouraged
• Discussions about directors, actors, key grips, and gophers are also encouraged
• Discussions about cheesy and/or crappy movies (i.e. Manos: Hand Of Fate, Planet of the Apes) and/or TV shows (this is for Plonk) are encouraged
• Disagreements and arguments are expected and encouraged
• Mean spiritedness, trolls, trools, tools, and other such nonsense will not be tolerated
• Regular posting and commenting is most strongly encouraged
• Spoiler warnings are required for any and all spoilers

Really, (almost) anything goes -- and all this is open for discussion.

Also, any administrative suggestions for site improvements, links for the link list, invitations for new members, requests to become members, and other site-related stuff should be directed to gaffertape@sketchelement.com.

Sin City

I know (or knew) nothing of the Frank Miller graphic novels, but even with this lack of foreknowledge could see that Rodriguez took seriously his self-described task of "translating" Miller's books to film rather than creating a more conventional adaptation. From the first scene it looked like a comic book come to life. It was bloody as hell and chock full of stylish noir grit; I was immediately drawn in.

4 (Netflix) stars.

Mise en Scene

Welcome to The Gaffer Tape. If all goes well, this will become a small community of friends and family exchanging reviews of films, TV shows, and other videocentric things.