Un Prophete

This year at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival "Un Prophete" made a big name for itself winning the Gand Prix Award. The award was well deserved, and if you ask me it is a superb film. Thirty minutes into the story and my heart was racing faster than a reel in a film projector.
The story follows a nineteen year old Malik El Djabena, a young Arabic boy who is convicted with six years in a violent prison. In the prison there are rules, and these rules don't make themselves, they are enforced by violent mafias. Malik soon finds that he has no choice but to do what he is told. As the years pass, Malik will realize he can make rules of his own.
The classic story of the underdog rising in power has been told for many years, but "Un Prophete" has told it in a very unique way. There is a contrast in Malik's mind between the joy of violence and control, and the disguised need for a normal religious life. He is a good man, but somewhere inside there is a violent beast, a leader, and a prophet. Malik El Djaben was played by actor Tahar Rahim, although a new face in cinema, he put on one of the best performances I have ever seen. With just a look Tahar Rahim can make you understand just how he feels, and what he is thinking. His mentor, "Cesar Luciani" played by Niels Arestrup was a genius character with an outstanding performance. With little dialogue in the beginning, Niel Arestrup displayed who was in charge with a brilliant act of body language. The tension filled chemistry between the two actors in truly a work of art with a strange balance of hate and a father-son like relationship.

The Cinematography and direction of the film is very professional. The camera in the film almost seems to be a prisoner watching everything, or perhaps an imaginary character that follows Malik. The change from real to surreal filming gives the movie a sentimental side, a chance to slightly break away from the chaos and violence, letting us see inside Malik's mind with just a filming technique. Much of the camera work relied very much so on the actors performances, same can be said about most films, but the background of the prison left little room for a landscape advantage. This is a hard thing to do, when you cannot rely on background to make up for you film, you really have to get in, connect with the actors, while still disguising the camera in tight corners. The director, Jacque Audiard should be respected and recognized for his amazing work.

The DVD should be released early February of 2010 so keep your eyes open. If you wish to see the film I have a copy. you can contact me by going to my profile. Enjoy the film and be ready for an amazing ride!

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

Barry Lyndon

Watching "Barry Lyndon" is like stepping foot into an 18Th century painting with pastel colors, rosy cheeks, and ruffled blouses. The film might just be the most visually beautiful picture in the world. Just four years after the release of "A Clockwork Orange" Stanley Kubrick embarked on a new adventure. Like most Kubrick films it was a challenge to find a way to master his perfect vision. Kubrick wanted to capture the true light and color of the 18Th century, to do so he had to light most of the film with candles as they would have in the past. Kubrick began to research on low-light camera lenses that had very high speed and apertures, he later discovered a lens that was used by NASA during the Apollo moon landings.Extraordinarily, he managed to get his hands on this high performance lens and developed a way to mount it to a camera. The result was outstanding, beautiful images with a high quality pastel-like colors. Deciding to light the film with natural light was a genius idea, it gave a sense of softness and reality that audiences had never seen before and it added a beautiful touch to the film. At the 48Th annual Academy Awards "Barry Lyndon" won four Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Musical Score, and Best Art Direction . Everything that was created was obsessively overseen by Kubrick in every detail, this gave the actors medium on which to submerge themselves in the world that was so well created. When you watch the film it is as if a man with a time machine and a camera found himself in the middle of a beautiful 18Th century story. The story is based on a novel called "The Luck of Barry Lyndon" written by William Makepeace Thackeray in 1844. The film tells the story of a smart, tricky boy named Barry Lyndon. As Barry grows up, he finds himself in many dramatic situations due to his schemes and lies. It is more of an adventure than a story, and adventure of this mans life from rags to riches, from a nobody to a man with power, a story about love and hate and war.
Overall the film was well received, but like many of Kubricks films it did not get it's full respect until much later. Today it is considered a masterpiece and it has been recorded as one of the best films of all time. The film is beautiful, it is a ride of emotions, a moving painting, a collaboration of art beyond perfection, I recommend this movie to anyone who has the patience to let an amazing story unravel with time, leading to a very satisfying ending. Enjoy!

A Clockwork Orange

"A Clockwork Orange" is a masterpiece. It is a film that shares a perfect balance of beauty and terror, similar to a tornado. The tornado itself is beautiful, but it comes with the terror of destruction and death. Same can be said about Alex and his "droogs" with their fabulous outfits, and devilish makeup. Their acts and literature are outrageous, and criminal, but the genius cinematic framework makes it all so interesting to watch. The man responsible for the beauty and genius of the film is no other than Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick is a remembered legend, with films like "The Shining", "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Spartacus", and many more. Kubrick set a high standard of professionalism and artistic capability in the industry, and when "A Clockwork Orange" was released in 1971, nobody had ever seen anything like it.

The film was adapted from Anthony Burgees's novel "A Clockwork Orange", which was released just nine years before the film in 1962. Burgees created a unique, sophisticated, well structured language for the novel which would later be used in the film. In the beginning it was a mistake, screenwriter Terry Southern gave Kubrick the novel as a recommendation, not knowing that Kubrick would go on to make the picture. Kubrick thought is was genius, the unique characters with their psychological dream-like worlds and well thought out literature. At first author Anthony Burgees did not like the idea of the film at all, but when it was released, he thought it was a masterpiece. Although it was shocking, the film was well received by critics and audiences, but as it grew in popularity, it became controversial. As the picture slowly became a cult classic, young men began to mimic the characters in the film, dressing like them and performing acts of violence in a similar fashion. This became a big problem for Kubrick, in March 1972, several criminal cases were held in court, blaming the film for an influence in violence due to "copycat behavior". Later that month Stanley Kubrick stopped the distribution of the film in England and removed it from the shelves. Despite all of the problems, the film was later released and has since become a masterpiece classic around the world.


The story takes place in the future. It is based on a group of young men called the "droogs". Their leader Alex Delarge (Malcolm McDowell) is a violent deranged boy who happens to have a strong appreciation for the beautiful things in life, particularly Ludvig Van Beethoven's music. They spend their time at the "Karova milk bar" a place where you can indulge yourself to a mescaline-spiked milk, a psychedelic drink that should prepare you for a night of what they call "ultra-violence". They wear white overalls with black bowler hats and thick mascara, holding little baseball bats ready to pound away at any gang or target. Throughout their nights they randomly cause terror to whatever or whomever comes along. Thier days consist of violence, sex, and beautiful music. After a series of events trouble comes along and AlexDelarge finds himself in a tight spot between the police and the local religious groups. What follows can only be described by actually watching the film, I don't want to ruin it for you so I urge you to see it.
To sum things up, this film is a masterpiece, a painting of moving pictures that so well tells the story of an amazing novel.

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain

"Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain" is a wonderful film.
Originating in France, it somehow made its way to the U.S with much popularity. It is one of those films you love and you don't know why, and you can't seem to find anything quite like it. There is something fantastic about Audrey Tautou, the well known French actress who starred in the movie as Amelie Poulain. Her cuteness in the film is well balanced with a touch of mystery and intellectual curiousness.
Audrey Tautou plays as a twenty three year old waitress at a little restaurant in Paris. She has a regular routine life, until one day she discoverers a little box hidden in her apartment. She does some investigation and finds out the box belongs to a little boy who lived in the apartment years before she did. When Amelie finally finds this man, she places the box inside a phone both, she then calls the number when he is passing by. The man soon discovers the box from his childhood, Amelie watches with infatuation as tears of joy begin to roll down his face. After the incident, Amelie once again tries to find that feeling inside herself, the feeling of satisfaction that she brought joy to someones life. Her life becomes a fun ride of secrecy with a sole purpose of bringing joy to others.

Director Jean-Pierre Jaunet was well known before "Amelie". In 1991 he released his successful film "Delicatessen", he would later release his masterpiece "The City of Lost Children" in 1995. Jean-Pierre is well known for his camera movement, in "Amelie" the cinematography is unbelievable. It is an amazing feat to move the camera so much, yet have it be so well camouflaged, blending into the story as if it were a character itself. Another amazing aspect of the film is the consistency of the colors. After the filming process was over, Jaunet and the crew picked out a beautiful pallet of colors to be used during the entire film, primarily green and red, an unusual Christmas-like combination that somehow fit the film perfectly. The creativity in "Amelie" is very impressive, as the film breaks the forth wall (actors speaking to the audience) several times, you are not discomforted by it, but on the contrary very amused.

Overall it's a great film with a wonderful story, make sure to see this one, most people I know enjoy it, its a good mixture of different emotions. Enjoy!

Blade Runner: A Historic Masterpiece

"Blade Runner", a film that has captured the imagination of people, architects, and film directors around the world. A piece of artwork that will always be spoken of, and will always be a medium on which to compare. At the time of it's release in 1982 "Blade Runner" was in many ways ahead of it's time. Although movies like "Star Wars" had already set a high standard for science fiction films, "Blade Runner" showed it was diverse from previous productions in it's genre. At the time, most stories of the future portrayed a clean, sterile living condition. In the exact opposite way, "Blade Runner" told a story of a more realistic view on the future, a polluted, overpopulated, crime filled world. Now in 2009 we still compare science fiction films to "Blade Runner". Director Ridely Scott had already outdone himself three years earlier with "Alien", but "Blade Runner" was truly unique.
Ridley Scott began directing commercials in England in the 70's, and eventually became very successful. He graduated college with a degree in design, which would later influence his perfectionism. Being that he was so used to commercials, he took his knowledge in photographic expertise, and transferred it to film. This would later result to beautiful, visually stimulating pictures that he so precisely controlled. In "Blade Runner" the world that Ridley Scott created showed just how precise he was. When Ridley first read the script, he immediately began to draw amazing story boards of what he thought the picture should look like, the entire art department would later be based on these drawings. A tremendous amount of work was put into the visual aspect of "Blade Runner", and you can definitely tell.

The story is very simple, what I always say is that so much complexity can come from simplicity, and so it is applied to "Blade Runner", a simple story in a complex world. It is based in the future, Los Angeles 2019 to be exact. The Tyrel Corporation has created genetic beings that are visually indistinguishable from humans, they are called replicants. After violent incidences in the past, replicants were declared illegal on the planet earth, because of this, a team of high ranked police officers known as "Blade Runner's" were created. A "Blade Runner's" sole purpose is to retire(kill) any replicant that is illegally on earth. Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is hired to retire a group of replicants who's visit is not intended to end on a positive note. He finds himself on a mission with a series of unexpected events, and an outcome he would have never predicted.

The very ambitious story should have been a hit, but it did not do what is was intended to do until much later. The film had mixed reviews, some critics saying that is had a strange pace, others saying they loved the visual stimulation of it all. Although it was considered a box office failure, "Blade Runner" has since become a cult classic. "Blade Runner" has inspired me in so many ways to become a film director, It is a film that should be seen by anyone who loves a good story, a good ride, and most of all an amazing movie. It is a touching, beautiful, and very entertaining film that should give you goosebumps every time you watch it. I recommend this movie more than any film on my favorites list(It's on my profile). If you have not seen it make sure you do, you will probably end up writing your own blog about the film.

Finding a Movie Just for You

Alright, so you are at the video store, and you have no idea what to rent. You have already browsed the new releases, and you don't know where to start looking. I am going to give you five easy steps to find a movie just for you. All you have to do is follow these steps right before you are heading out the door to the video store.

1. Think of a movie you love.
2. Find out who the director, or favorite actor is.
3. Go to http://www.imdb.com/ and look up that directors or favorite actors name.
4. You will have a list of movies that you will most likely like!
5. Read the plot, if you are interested, chances are you will like the movie.

It sounds very stupid and obvious, but most people don't think about it, they spend an hour or two at the video store for nothing. Obviously it can't always work, but usually the styles will be the same if you keep it in the favorites. Example: My favorite actor is Leonardo Dicaprio, lets say I have seen "Titanic", and I thought it was an awesome movie. So I look up Leonardo Dicaprio, and I see he has done movies like "The Aviator", "The Beach", "Catch Me If You Can", they are all amazing movies. The cool thing is the trick acts as a chain reaction of good movies. "The Aviator" was directed by Martin Scorsese, "The Beach" was directed by Danny Boyle, and "Catch Me If You Can" was directed by Steven Spielberg, all amazing directors. Like I said, it will not always work, every movie is different, but you should give it a try.

Please leave a comment if this movie finding "technique" worked for you. Enjoy!

Rope

One of my favorite movies is Alfred Hitchcock's "Rope". It was recommended to me by my father, and at the time I was a little sceptical, being that the film was released in 1948. I was young, and I didn't realize that movies from that time are amazing, and carved a path for movies now. Most comments I have seen about this film are negative, people tend to judge things of the past with the eye of today, if you ask me it is a genius classic.


First and for most, I want to talk about the direction and organization of the film. Take a minute to think about any other movie, and how many times it is cut in the editing room. When you watch dialogue between two or more people, the angle changes a lot. Lets make up a number and say that in a 90 minute film there are hundreds of cuts, well in "Rope" an 80 minute film, there are only nine. If you pay attention you will see the cuts, they are disguised with blackouts on the actors backs giving the illusion of a full length film with no cuts. The cameras they used were very big, and the entire film took place in the same apartment, so pulling this off was not easy. Everything had to be planned, and everything had to be perfect. The actors could not miss a single thing, there lines, or there positioning. I think that the way Alfred Hitchcock directed this movie is amazing, the patience and precision that was put into the film is inspiring.


Lets talk about the story. The film takes place in Brandon Shaw (John Dall) and Phillip Morgan's (Farley Granger) apartment. In the apartment they murder their former classmate David Kently (Dick Hogan) with a rope. The two killers hide David's dead body in a big wooden chest in the apartment, the chest resembles a big dinning room table. In an attempt to prove a perfect murder, the two invite Davids friends over for dinner. The friends eat dinner on the table that David's dead body is in, resulting in a very suspenseful awkward dinner. I don't want to ruin the movie for you so I'll stop there, just enough to hopefully get you interested.

I would not say the film is a masterpiece, but I definitely think it is a great movie, and it should be considered a classic. The precise direction from Alfred Hitchcock, and the wonderful acting from James Stewart is something to be seen If you enjoy watching movies. Go rent it at blockbuster, and try not to think about the fact that it is a sixty one year old movie. enjoy!

Avatar: the new film by James Cameron

On December 18,2009 director James Cameron is releasing his much-anticipated film "Avatar". James Cameron has been an amazing director since the late 70's, breaking ground with films like "The Terminator", "The Abyss", and "Titanic". After making "Titanic" in 1997, James Cameron took a break from film making and began exploring T.V episodes, and documentaries. It has now been twelve years since we have seen a James Cameron film, and I think we should all be excited.

Cameron claims that he held onto the script (which he wrote) for fifteen years before attempting to film due to a lack in technology. Eager to start his film, he co-developed a new generation of stereoscopic cameras. A stereoscopic camera is designed to mimic the human eye. Because we have two eyes, we are able to see images from two different perspectives. A stereoscopic camera is like having two cameras strapped together, simultaneously filming together, thus creating a three dimensional world. Previous three dimensional films give the viewer a somewhat flat background with occasional pop outs, but the new technology gives depth to the screen and every object in it. Cameron is very serious when he says that the film is not intended to only impress people with special effects, but it is intended to tell a beautiful story. The story is set in the future, Jake a paraplegic war veteran is taken to the planet pandora to undergo a procedure that should enable him to once again walk. While he is there, he and the scientific team find themselves in a battle with the planets natives.

Unfortunately we have no choice but to sit tight until December, until then keep your eyes out for new and old films to distract you from the time you have to wait!

13 Tzameti

In 2005 Georgian filmmaker Gela Babluani released his first feature film "13 Tzameti". Staring his brother George Babluani it was the Winner of the 2006 Gand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

The unique film tells the story of twenty-two year old Sebastien. An immigrant living in France working on small construction jobs. Sebastien is working on Godon's roof, a morphine addict who's life seems to be slipping away. One day Godon dies of a morphine overdose. Sebastien overhears a convorsation through a hole in the roof. Godon's widow is speaking with a man about a "job" that Godon was supposed to attend. Sebastien has no idea what the "job" is, but he knows it involves a lot of money, he continues to listen learning that an envelope containing all the information on the "job" will be delivered to Godons house the following day. Being an immigrant with very little money, Sebastien steals the envelope. He will later find out that this was the biggest mistake of his life.

When I first saw the film I had very little knowledge on what it was about. As I continued to watch it I was shocked and surprised. I truly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a great ride of suspense. The film is spoken in French, but with subtitles, its not a problem. The overall "feel" is very "film noir". The amount of music is limited, so the sounds of suspense sink in very well. I recommend that you do not look it up and read about the story, it will only ruin the film for you. It's the kind of movie that grabs you by the balls and surprises the hell out of you. I think you can find it at BlockBuster, if not its for sure online for you to purchase. Enjoy!

Cannes Film Festival 2009

This years 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival was a delight for film connoisseur's. With films from Austria, Spain, France, Denmark, Italy, and the United states, the festival was a grab bag of versatility as well as a visual landscape of different regions. Although the films were great, you could say the festival "was feeling the economic downturn" . Most producers, distributors, and overall people ready to buy and sell films were not there to be seen. Even the press was scarce, many T.V stations, magazines and newspapers claimed it was too expensive to send their staff. Although Cannes Film Festival was feeling down on the business aspect, the stars were there, and they were big. Stars like Brad Pitt appearing for Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds", and Penelope Cruz appearing for Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces" drew plentiful crowds.

Taking home Le Palme D'or (Golden Palm Award) This year was German director Michael Haneke. His film "The White Ribbon" tells a story about a series of unexpected events that accour in a small protestant village in northern Germany. Critics say that it is a superb cinematic work. French director Jacques Audiard took home the Grand Prix award for his film "A Prophet" the story of a young Arab man who is sent to a french prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin. Critics rave that the raw intensity of the film will have you on the edge of your seat. Brillante Mendoza proved to be "brilliante" this year. The director from San Fernando, Philippines impressed everybody taking home best director for "Kinatay" a film about a criminology student who is offered a job by a shady friend, he finds himself working for a group of criminal gangsters. Although the film is very violent, it did not fall short of any awards. The "big buzz" this year can be blamed on nobody else but Quentin Tarantino. His new film "Inglorious Basterds" about a group of Jewish-American soldiers chosen to spread fear through the Third Reich by brutally killing Nazis created some controversy, some critics saying it was disrespectful to try and change history. Nevertheless Christoph Waltz picked up best actor, His performance in the film as a Nazi "Jew-hunter" was outstanding.

I think all of us look forward to next years festival. If you love movies, you love the Cannes Film Festival. If you are interested in learning more about the 2009 Cannes Film Festival follow this link. http://www.festival-cannes.com/