JacketFlap connects you to the work of more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for Children and Young Adults. The site is updated daily with information about every book, author, illustrator, and publisher in the children's / young adult book industry. Members include published authors and illustrators, librarians, agents, editors, publicists, booksellers, publishers and fans. Join now (it's free).
Login or Register for free to create your own customized page of blog posts from your favorite blogs. You can also add blogs by clicking the "Add to MyJacketFlap" links next to the blog name in each post.
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: films, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 25 of 56
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: films in the JacketFlap blog reader. What is a tag? Think of a tag as a keyword or category label. Tags can both help you find posts on JacketFlap.com as well as provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify posts for later recall. Try adding a tag yourself by clicking "Add a tag" below a post's header. Scroll down through the list of Recent Posts in the left column and click on a post title that sounds interesting. You can view all posts from a specific blog by clicking the Blog name in the right column, or you can click a 'More Posts from this Blog' link in any individual post.
This year’s academy award nominations of Argo, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty, attest to our fascination of watching “true stories” depicted on the screen. We adopt a special set of expectations when we believe a movie is based on actual events, a sentiment the Coen Brothers parodied when they stated at the beginning of Fargo that “this is a true story,” even though it wasn’t. In the science fiction spoof, Galaxy Quest, aliens have intercepted a Star Trek-like TV show and believe the program to be a documentary of actual human warfare. As a result, they come to Earth to enlist Cmdr. Peter Quincy Taggart (Tim Allen), star of the TV show, to help fight the evil warlord Sarris (named after the film critic, Andrew Sarris), as they believe Taggart to be a true war hero rather than merely playing one on TV.
Ben Affleck in Argo. (c) 2012 Warner Bros.
Movies that are “based on a true story” blur the boundary between documentary and make-believe. We, much like the aliens in Galaxy Quest, expect such movies to depict an authentic portrayal of actual events. The story of Argo — about a CIA agent who helps individuals escape from Iran by having them pose as a film crew — would almost have to be based on actual events, otherwise no one would buy into such a preposterous plot! Interestingly, the climatic chase scene on the airport runway is completely fictional, though I think we forgive the filmmakers for some poetic license, particularly as the scene is so exciting. We are much less forgiving in the portrayal of torture in Zero Dark Thirty, to the point where producer Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow have been reprimanded by Senators Feinstein, Levin, and McCain for suggesting that torture was effective in the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Yet even documentaries distort the “truth” by slanting history through biased portrayals. Should movies “based on a true story” be viewed as completely accurate documents of history?
One psychological point is clear: our emotional involvement with a movie depends on the degree to which we expect or “appraise” the events to be real. Studies by Richard Lazarus and others have shown that physiological markers of emotion, such as skin conductance (i.e. sweaty palms), increase when subjects believe a film to depict an actual event. In one study, subjects watched a film clip depicting an industrial accident involving a power saw. Those who were told that they were watching footage of an actual accident (rather than actors re-enacting the event) exhibited heightened emotional responses. Thus, people watching the same movie may engage themselves differently depending on the degree to which they construe the events as realistic portrayals.
Even when we know we are watching a re-enactment, as with Argo, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty, I suspect we become more emotionally attached when we believe we are witnessing actual events. We more readily empathize with characters and buy into the story. Of course, the authenticity of a movie depends not only on us having prior knowledge that a movie is based on actual events but also on how realistic the characters appear in their actions and predicaments. As wonderfully realistic and engaging as Argo, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty were, in my opinion the most “realistic” movie among this year’s Academy Award nominees is the entirely fictitious Amour, in which the elderly Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) must care for his wife (Emmanuelle Riva), whose mental abilities are deteriorating from strokes. The superb acting and unusual editing (e.g. exceedingly long takes) amplify emotions and engage us as if we are watching a true and heart-wrenching story.
Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Subscribe to only television and film articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS. Image credit: Image used for the purpose of illustrating the work in question.
The Very Short Film competition was launched in partnership with The Guardian in October 2012. The longlisted entries are now available for the public vote which will produce four finalists. After a live final in March, the winner will receive £9000 towards their university education.
By Chloe Foster
After more than three months of students carefully planning and creating their entries, the Very Short Film competition has closed and the longlisted submissions have been announced.
The competition asked entrants to create a short film which would inform and inspire us. Students were free to base their entry on any subject they were passionate about. There was just one rule: films could be no longer than 60 seconds in length.
We certainly had many who managed to do this. The standard of films was impressive. How were we to whittle down the entries and choose just 12 for the longlist?
We received a real range of films from a variety of ages, characters and subjects — everything from scuba diving to the economic state of the housing market. It was great to see a mixture of academic subjects and topics of personal interest.
It must be said that the quality of the filmmaking itself was very high in some entries. However not all of these could be put through to the longlist; although artistic and clever, they didn’t inform us in the way our criteria specified.
When choosing the longlisted entries, judges looked for students who were clearly on top of their subject. We were most impressed by films that conveyed a topic’s key information in a concise way, were delivered with passion and verve, and left us wanting to find out more. By the end of our selection process, we felt that each of the films had taught us something new or made us think about a subject in a way we hadn’t before.
The sheer amount of information filmmakers managed to convey was astounding. As the Very Short Introductions editor Andrea Keegan says: “I thought condensing a large topic into 35,000 words, as we do in the Very Short Introductions books was difficult enough, but I think that this challenge was even harder. I was very impressed with the quality and variety of videos which were submitted.
“Ranging from artistic to zany, I learned a lot, and had lots of fun watching them. The longlist represents both a wide range of subjects — from the history of film to quantum locking — and a huge range in the approaches taken to get the subjects across in just one minute.”
We hope the entrants enjoyed thinking about and creating their films as much as we enjoyed watching them. We asked a few of the longlisted students what they made of the experience. Mahshad Torkan, studying at the London School of Film, tackled the political power of film: “I am very thankful for this amazing opportunity that has allowed me to reflect my values and beliefs and share my dreams with other people. I believe that the future is not something we enter, the future is something we create.”
Maia Krall Fry is reading geology at St Andrews: “It seemed highly important to discuss a topic that has really captured my curiosity and sense of adventure. I strongly believe that knowledge of the history of the earth should be accessible to everyone.”
Matt Burnett, who is studying for an MSc in biological and bioprocess engineering at Sheffield, used his film to explore the challenges of creating cost-effective therapeutic drugs: “I felt that in a minute it would be very hard to explain my research in enough detail just using speech, and it would be difficult to demonstrate or act out. I simplify difficult concepts for myself by drawing diagrams, often spending a lot of time on them. For me it is the most enjoyable part of learning, and so I thought it would be fun to draw an animated video. If I get the chance to do it again I think I’d use lots of colours.”
If you missed The Visual Language of Herbert Matterat your local theater you can now pick up a copy of the film at iTunes or Amazon. The 78-minute documentary directed by Reto Caduff traces Herbert’s life and work and includes interviews with design luminaries such as Steven Heller, Jessica Helfand, Robert Frank and Massimo Vignelli.
From the website:
With the help of historical footage, vintage photographs, never-before-seen film excerpts (some shot by Matter himself) and a broad overwiew of his extensive body of work, the feature length documentary helps in bringing the picture of an almost forgotten creative genius back into focus.
Interwoven with interviews from a who’s who list of legendary artists, designer and photographers, the film sheds light on a remarkable career and its impact on the evolving language of design during the short 20th century both in the USA and Europe.
For the first time in an encompassing and comprehensive way, the film touches on the innovative expressions of his free experimental work, his fashion and advertising photography and his portraiture. His amazing talent of combining bold combinations of words, images and space is shown in his iconic Swiss travel posters, pavilion designs for the New York World’s Fair 1939, photographs for Condé Nast publications; corporate image programs for Knoll furniture, the New Haven Railroad, exhibition- and numerous catalog designs for the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum; covers for the legendary Arts & Architecture magazine and his lesser known work in film, the prime example being a film on the works of Alexander Calder.
In a little departure from the norm, today I’m not reviewing a book, but rather a film, Eleanor’s Secret, directed by Dominique Monfery.
The reason why I’ve wanted to share Eleanor’s Secret with you is because it is a celebration of the joy of reading and a tribute to the power and magic of stories.
Seven year old Nat cannot yet read and is terribly disappointed when he discovers he has inherited his Aunt’s library. Although he adored having stories read to him by his Aunt, when Nat himself opens a book he almost drowns in a jumble of letters. Understandably Nat wants nothing to do with what makes him feel so uncomfortable.
Only after his parents sell the collection to a dealer who has realised the library is packed with first editions does Nat learn that he has an important responsibility. He must save all the characters in the stories read to him by Aunt Eleanor from disappearing forever by reading aloud a magic inscription. If the spell is not read by midday, all his storybook favourites will be lost for eternity, and children the world over will only ever be read true tales.
Eleanor's Secret - Aunt Eleanor's house
Alice in Wonderland, the Match Girl, Peter Pan, Rapunzel, Mowgli and many other colourful characters climb out of their books and beg Nat to help them before it is too late. Only the wicked fairy, Carabosse from Sleeping Beauty, throws a spanner in the works. She refuses to believe that Nat is the true inheritor of the library – after all he cannot read. In a puff of magic she shrinks him and in doing so makes his race against time to return the books to the library, and to learn to read, even more difficult.
I was instantly entranced by the story in this film – swept up in its passion for developing a love of reading, for wearing its heart on its sleeve. “Mankind can never live without dreams” says Aunt Eleanor, whilst the inscription Nat must read before the clock strikes 12 is “Just because it’s a story doesn’t mean it’s not real“.
The look of the film is utterly gorgeous. The colours and textures at times reminded me of Shaun Tan’s illustrations whilst the library and magical characters made me happily remember How to Live Forever by Colin Thompson. It was only after I’d seen the film did I discover that its art work is based on drawings by French illustrator Rebecca Dautremer whose The Secret Lives of Princesses has been well received in the English speaking world.
As well as being a pleasure to look at, the characterization is great. I think the animation of what Nat feels when he’s presented with a text he can’t read is acutely, brilliantly imaginatively observed. The tricky, teasing but ultimately supportive and loving relationship between Nat and his older sister is also very believable.
3 Comments on “Reading is an invitation to dream”, last added: 6/23/2011
Having watched Eleanor’s secret (which, don’t forget you can win a copy of here) I got to thinking about other films which are about reading, the power of stories and/or storybook characters coming to life. With the help of friends on Twitter I came up with this list:
I haven’t watched all of these so can’t vouch for their quality. Several are not suitable for kids, but I’ve included them here for the grown-ups amongst us to explore! If you’ve seen any of them, do leave me a comment so I and others can find out more
As well as feature length films, I came across a whole slew of animations from the 1930s and 1940s which feature book characters which come to life. It seems to have been quite a popular theme in the inter-war years! Here’s my list of animated shorts, just bear in mind you might wish to view these without kids first to check whether you’re happy for your kids to see them – some of them contain racist characterizations.
Beauty and the Beast – A gem of an animation – very funny, good quality copy, great singing, and a cheeky bare bottom or two!
Three’s a crowd – Jekyll tries to kidnap Alice in Wonderland but Tarzan and others rescue her.
Good Little Monkeys Rather unpleasant interpretation of Black Beauty, but great fun to see the Devil using peanuts as maracas.
Speaking of the weather The version here is in Russian, but is perfectly enjoyable even if you don’t understand Russian. Rather than characters from books coming to life, in this fun animation images in magazines come to life. Look out for the tongue sandwiches!
What a lovely post Zoe! Am sharing this with the kids as soon as they wake up!
sandhya said, on 6/26/2011 7:43:00 PM
This is a lovely post, Zoe. I never fail to be amazed at everything that you bring to us.
We have both read the book and watched the movie Nim’s island, and it is perfect stuff for preteens, with shades of Robinson Crusoe on an island with friendly animals and an internet connection to boot! A loved it.
The discussions online about the process of writing between Nim and her favourite writer Alex Rover were very interesting. There was also this very relevant message about environmental consciousness at the end.
Jackie@My Little Bookcase said, on 6/26/2011 8:09:00 PM
Oh delightful post. I’m going to have to revisit it later this evening so I can watch some of those adorable vintage clips.
I wrote an article for Kids’ Book Review last year about how using film adaptations in the classroom can help enhance an interest in books and inspire some thoughtful discussions. It also inspired me to put a list together. I’ve included the link below. There are a few extras for you on that list.
I am actually a huge fan of film adaptations. I have only recently seen The Gruffalo animation and loved it.
I’m not sure if you’ve seen the new picture book by Australian author/illustrator, The Aunties Three. It is absolutely hilarious. As soon as I read it with my daughter I was wishing to see it brought to life on the big screen or, even better, on stage. Jackie@My Little Bookcase recently posted..Happy Birthday Eric Carle: A few of our favourite caterpillar things
I took my ten-year-olds to see Harry Potter the other day. There were three of us in that front row, trying to make sense of the slightly distorted soundtrack, and only one of us had read the book.
To the ten-year-olds, it didn't matter that for a good deal of the running time, they couldn't quite follow what was going on. It was, as Girl Child announced within five seconds of the credits rolling, the best movie they had ever seen. And with mother giving whispered side-of-the-mouth explanations of the tricky bits, the plot was perfectly comprehensible.
The cinema - an old-fashioned, sticky-floored, numb-bum relic of the golden age, and one of my favourite places in the world - was teeming with three- to ten-year olds who hadn't read the books, along with a lot of teenagers and young adults who had clearly grown up with them. I had high hopes that my two would ask to read all seven books afterwards, and when they didn't volunteer, I offered.
No takers. It's the films they've grown up with, and the Xbox games. Boy Child has spent the summer-holiday days since then watching and rewatching the earlier movies, and begging for the Xbox game. Girl Child has preferred more and more and different movies (and books) involving death, sacrifice, love, hate, good and evil.
I'm not sure they'll ever read the books, now. And I have wildly mixed feelings about that.
My strongest reaction is that these are my kids, dammit. MY KIDS, for whom the purchase of books by readers is the wellspring of the finance that buys them DVDs and Xbox games. What are they THINKING?
A subsidiary, guilty feeling, is that I'm probably even more of a movie addict than I am a book addict, and that's saying something. I'm not sure I'll read The Lord of the Rings again, however many times I've read it in the past, because the movies distilled the best of the books, while holding onto respect for them, and the pictures I made in my head weren't ever quite as good as the pictures made since 2001 by Peter Jackson.
At school talks, I torment myself and the audience with the question 'Books or Movies?' And while we all tear at our scalps shouting 'BOTH', I always advocate BOOKS with the argument that however many girls in the room love Edward Cullen, only around half think he truly looks like Robert Pattinson. For the others, he'll always be the perfect sparkly beauty they formed in their own heads, and R-Pattz will be no more than - well, not an impostor: just someone who once played the part.
I feel quite sad that my kids are unlikely to read Harry Potter as he was originally wrote - or not for a few years, anyway. They won't grow up, as so many young adults did, with a boy who grew up, slowly, on the page, along with them.
But the movies have created another part of the myth, and one of their own. My kids have grown up with Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, and when I really think about it, that's fine. There are so many other books now - in great part thanks to the Potter phenomenon - that they can film for themselves, inside their heads, just like I do with my own characters while I'm writing. For them, Harry can be a movie.
Films make their own mythology. The story of the Lions of Tsavo is a true one, while the film version - The G
7 Comments on Harry Potter and the Celluloid of Terror: Gillian Philip, last added: 7/25/2011
I was the original mean mother with the Harry Potter films and refused to let my daughter see them until she'd read the books. It worked, because she was the right age to be reading just ahead of the films coming out (although there were some late night against-the-wire reading sprees). She pointed out, somewhat bitterly, that none of her friends had to do this, but now prefers to read book before seeing the film - and in fact wouldn't allow us to see Inkheart until she'd finished the book (in the car on the way to the cinema). We tried to keep our son to the same regime, but it was much more difficult, because he was younger and the films were coming out and we/he wanted to see them.So we read the books to him, and mostly he'd heard the book before seeing the film. I still think it's the best way around - although it does lead to very critical film-viewing.
I have on ein each camp - daughter who was the perfect age to gobble the stories and was, already, an avid reader - and son - who was a tad to young but had them read to him and still would rather not actually make the effort to read himself. Some people prefer to be told a story - books/audio books/film - story is the important thing - the world will always need stories and so many of the best films spring from books.
Although I'd say Inkheart was not one of them - I hated that film!
I have one who grew up with the books, and was slightly too old when the last one came out but read it anyway, for completeness, and she has seen all the films (at least, I assume she's seeing the last one). And I have one who was too young to read them or be read to when the first came out and who can't bear fantasy and so will never read them. She wouldn't tolerate me reading them to her, either - just not the stuff she likes. But she has seen most of the films, largely because they are a social phenomenon.
Films can be that more than books because the kids make a big event out of going together. (And there's always popcorn and messing about to dilute the film if you don't like it.)
Personally, I'd rather not see films of books I really like as the producer's visualisation does drive my own images away. Perhaps my mind has a feeble grip on its visualisations.
I hate film versions of books (mostly) - they always leave huge amounts out, never see the characters as I did on reading about them, and often change the ending too. So I haven't seen all the HPs, but I did read the books.
I think immersing themselves in fantasy and story is hugely beneficial for children and their mental health, whether or not they do it via books or film. You need a well-exercised imagination to be able to think resourcefully when life throws up problems (which it usually does).
Anonymous said, on 7/24/2011 8:32:00 AM
Hi Gillian, i was just wondering when you would be putting the winners of the comp on the abba lit fest page, thanks, leah xx
Thanks for the comments, everyone - Kathryn, I agree about Inkheart, and that's one of my favourite books! And Eleanor, I agree about fantasy too - my H hates it (though he'll read mine under duress, i.e. the aforementioned thumbscrews) but I keep telling him it IS about real life - just told in a different way.
And Leah, I'm an idiot! That was in the forefront of my mind on Saturday and somehow it slipped to the back. I was meant to get the result to Elen this weekend (sorry Elen!) I will post that TODAY. Sorry!
DAVIS ENTERTAINMENT AND LOLA VFX TEAM TO PRODUCE SCOTT WESTERFELD’S NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING FUTURISTIC TRILOGY. “UGLIES” BEING PREPARED AS FIRST OF THE PLANNED LIVE ACTION FEATURES
Project Signals Premier Visual Effects Company Move Into Film Production
LOS ANGELES (JULY 24, 2011) – Producer John Davis and the founders of Lola Visual Effects (Lola VFX) will team to finance, develop and produce a theatrical, live action feature based on Scott Westerfeld’s New York Times best-selling “Uglies,” the first of his futuristic trilogy first published in 2005.
The filmmakers have also acquired Westerfeld’s PRETTIES and SPECIALS, the remaining trilogy installments published by Simon Pulse, a Simon & Schuster company, with total sales of over 3 million copies. Jacob Forman (“All The Boys Love Mandy Lane”) will write the screenplay.
UGLIES will be produced by John Davis (“Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” “I, Robot”) and Jordan Davis (“Jump In”), along with Colin and Greg Strause via their Hydraulx Entertainment banner. Lola’s Edson Williams and Thomas Nittmann will executive produce along with Adam Schroeder.
Lola is the groundbreaking visual effects company paving the way for an entirely new level of story-telling, most recently transforming Chris Evans into the 90-pound weakling Steve Rogers for CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER. The company was founded by Colin and Greg Strause, Edson Williams, and Thomas Nittmann.
You may recognize actress Tinsel Korey as Emily Young in Stephenie Meyer's The Twilight Saga films. But did you know that this wasn't her first role in a supernatural project? Also, have you heard her sing? Dive right into this exclusive interview to learn more about Tinsel!
What is your background?
I'm from Vancouver, Canada - born in Ontario, but they say home is where your heart is, and my heart definitely remains in Van City. I was one of those overly ambitious kids who wanted to do everything. I guess not much has changed, since now I have aspirations of also one day directing and writing scripts. (laughter) I went to a fabulous acting school in Vancouver called Lyric, where my acting coach Nancy Sivak told me something that has always stuck with me: "Trust that who you are is enough." I started doing commercials as a teenager; then moved in to film & television.
When I moved to Los Angeles it was pretty scary; I was now the little tadpole in a ocean. Los Angeles still doesn't feel like home. I've traveled quite a bit, though, since I've moved here, so I really haven't actually spent that much time here. Also, it's a really hard place to meet people - well, at least [it is] for me. I'm not really a social butterfly. I would be "that girl" at the party talking to the fern. (laughter) Guess the artist in me really comes out in those situations.
When did you first audition for the role of Emily in the Twilight Saga? Had you read the books prior to getting the audition?
I auditioned for New Moon in the beginning of 2009. I didn't know anything about the Saga at all. My little sister told me about the film and how she wanted to go see it. She said it was "like Harry Potter in love," which it's not. When the audition came up - Rene Haynes who had cast me in "Into the West" had brought me in for it - I wanted to get the film more for [my sister]. She got to come to the New Moon premiere, which I think was an awesome moment for her.
Emily is not your first role touched by something supernatural or paranormal. You've appeared in sci-fi programs such as Da Vinci's Quest and Tru Calling. Do you find yourself drawn to these roles, and do you find them to be more challenging than "realistic" roles?
It just has to do with living in Vancouver. Vancouver has this dark, mystical feeling to it, so it makes a good backdrop for supernatural things. I mean, now that I look at my resume, there is a lot of sci-fi. I think that's just what people are interested in nowadays, so they're making those films. It's not something that I'm actively searching out. There's no difference with the acting style I think. You just react to the scary supernatural thing as you would react to something would find scary in real life.
Many of your recent film roles have been dramatic. Are you excited to be filming a comedy next? Do you enjoy traveling and filming on location?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and yes :) OMG! I know most actresses are looking for something dramatic, but I want comedy. Life is too serious nowadays, and I just want to laugh. People are constantly saying I look too serious. I'm actually not serious at all. I'm normally joking around & causing mischief. BUHAHAHAHAHA. My bored face comes off as serious I suppose. Which I guess isn't all that bad, since I love doing action films as well. A serious face is always required when being gangsta. I do wish I got more comedy roles though. I need to start making faces in all my photos or something from now on.
You're going to be goofy at your next headshot session, aren't you? Have fun! You are also a singer-songwriter. Tell me about your song that was inspi
Amy Krause Rosenthal describes herself as "a person who likes to make things." She is an author, a filmmaker, and more. She also brings people together - literally - with her work. Here's the trailer for her feature film, The Beckoning of Lovely 11/11/11, and a little more about the project in her own words:
The Beckoning of Lovely began with a spontaneous public gathering on 08/08/08 at "The Bean" sculpture in Chicago's Millennium Park. 2 subsequent videos took place on 09/09/09 and 10/10/10... On November 11th, 2011 the feature film The Beckoning of Lovely 11/11/11 will be released and made globally available for viewing on YouTube... This final film — like the whole project itself — is interactive and rooted in human connection.
Yesterday I wrote about one way we’re hoping that Children’s Book Week will get families at school talking about books and the reading they enjoy. Another activity we’ve got planned to bring people together to celebrate the pleasure of reading is a free family showing of the beautiful animation Eleanor’s Secret (which I reviewed here).
Photo: sugu
The film will be shown in the school gym one afternoon after the end of the school day and children are being invited to attend with all the family. We’ll have a mixture of seats and mats, so the atmosphere should be rather informal and fun.
There are some licensing issues surrounding showing films at school (Thanks to twitter user @JfB57 for pointing me to this information) and so we have had to apply for a special licence to show the film. This has been made possible by sponsorship from Tidy Books, for which we are most grateful.
Here’s a mindcracker from German animator Andreas Hykade. A sort of psychedelic trip through cartoon history underlined by splices of genitalia and pounding music for good measure. Wake up!
Something that's fun and interesting to do during a movie is to sketch it out quickly as though it were a comic book. This gives you an idea of the rhythm and composition. It's better done at home and not the theatre.... This is from Dr. Strangelove.
Watched Breathless yesterday to celebrate its 50th anniversary. It's still really compelling to watch. IMDB describes it as "an irresponsible sociopath and small-time thief, steals a car and impulsively murders the motorcycle policeman who pursues him, " It's basically a French take on American film noir and it changed cinema.
In order to stave off the madness that comes with the unbearable loneliness that comes with making cartoons I turn to a friendly length of celluloid, well digital files or whatever. My point being is that I often have a film on while I work. I watch lots of movies. And I should share the ones that are the best and Treasure of the Sierra Madre is certainly one of the best. Stark, sort of funny and bleak but still hugely entertaining it's movies like this that makes me wish they still made movies like this....um... It's probably Bogarts best film, too.
My art teachers would be seething if they knew I watched movies while I work.
2 Comments on Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, last added: 6/21/2010
It's hard to decide which film is Bogie's best. How could movies like "The Maltese Falcon", Sierra Madre and "Casablanca" compete against each other? It's like deciding what ice cream flavor is the best.
From the website: "a feature-length documentary film about children’s literature directed by Edward J. Delaney and produced by Edward J. Delaney and Steven Withrow. We’ll be working through this year interviewing authors, illustrators and critics on the topic. The film is intended for festival release in 2010."
The first screening is October 19, 2010, at 5:30 at Harvard University. Details at Crackles of Speech.
I'm thinking I'll never see this in a theater but hoping it comes out on dvd at some point. I'm VERY interested to see it! (Jules had a link up yesterday as well.)
Even with my computer's crappy, stuttering streaming, this looks really interesting. I love hearing writers and artists talk about their creative processes.
Really looking forward to the release of The Visual Language of Herbert Matter. It’s due to hit theaters this summer. The film was a finalist in the SXSW title design competition and the poster (designed by Cristiana Couceiro) just won a Merit Award at the 3 x 3 Professional Illustration Show.
From the website:
With the help of historical footage, vintage photographs, never-before-seen film excerpts (some shot by Matter himself) and a broad overwiew of his extensive body of work, the feature length documentary helps in bringing the picture of an almost forgotten creative genius back into focus.
Interwoven with interviews from a who’s who list of legendary artists, designer and photographers, the film sheds light on a remarkable career and its impact on the evolving language of design during the short 20th century both in the USA and Europe.
For the first time in an encompassing and comprehensive way, the film touches on the innovative expressions of his free experimental work, his fashion and advertising photography and his portraiture. His amazing talent of combining bold combinations of words, images and space is shown in his iconic Swiss travel posters, pavilion designs for the New York World’s Fair 1939, photographs for Condé Nast publications; corporate image programs for Knoll furniture, the New Haven Railroad, exhibition- and numerous catalog designs for the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum; covers for the legendary Arts & Architecture magazine and his lesser known work in film, the prime example being a film on the works of Alexander Calder.
I know I’m going to get myself in hot water with this one. Books are so personal, and movies are so personal (but in a different way). There are films of children’s books that I should have seen but haven’t – The Secret of Moonacre (The Little White Horse) for instance, or How To Train Your Dragon (which I am desperate to see, but I’m having to wait for the DVD).
I think it’s harder with children’s books than it is with adults’ to find a movie that’s better than the book. Is that an indication of the higher quality of children’s books? I like to think so. At any rate, I can think straightaway of many adult movies that are better than the book – The Godfather, Jaws – but that very rarely applies to children’s books-to-movies.
I can, though, think of lots that are just as good but different. I actually think the different is important. I'm not crazy about films that are true to the book, which is why you won’t find any Harry Potter movies on my list – for me they are too faithful to the books and (with the exception of the third) don’t really have their own identity as films.
I don’t mind one bit when films take reasonable liberties with a book, because they need to be good in their own right, not just exact translations of page to screen. I want to be transported by movies and books in entirely different ways. I’m swept away far more by Inkheart the novel than Inkheart the movie. But (if I’m allowed to count abridged versions as children’s favourites) I’m far more enchanted by Last of the Mohicans (1992) and Tarzan (1999) as movies than as books.
I seem to have gone for five very recent movies (sorry, Bambi, I did want you). And I wanted more than five. I wanted Stuart Little, too, and Shrek, and Stormbreaker, and The Black Stallion, and I desperately wanted The (supremely quotable) Princess Bride, and... oh, that’s cheating. Get on with it.
Each of the five had to pass a simple test: do my children – one girl one boy – ask to watch it over and over again?
Peter Pan (2003)
A Peter who is ‘the personification of cockiness’ and whose American accent only makes him more otherworldly. Lost Boys you don’t want to throttle. Terrifying mermaids and thoroughly sinister pirates. A scheming, naughty, funny Tink. Jason Isaacs as a deliciously wicked and handsome Captain Hook - but ‘not wholly evil’. A soaring soundtrack. Scenes that make my spine tingle no matter how many times I watch them – Mr and Mrs Darling running home in slow motion, only just too late! Bankers and strict aunts and sleeping children chanting that they DO believe in fairies, they DO, they DO! Ah, I love this movie.
Completely agree with Stardust, Coraline and that version of Peter Pan which came closest to capturing the relationships between Wendy, Pan and Tink. Found Nanny McPhee awfully boring (despite Colin Firth) but will give it another go as you like it. Also think Babe and The Nightmare Before Christmas should be on the list. I enjoyed How To Train Your Dragon much more than the usual hollywood kid's fare though it annoyed me that the kid characters spoke with american accents and the rest of the Vikings were Hollywood Scotch, but it was a fun movie though not as quirky as the books. I also liked the movie version of the Golden Compass though it is not even close to being in the same class as the novel. The brilliant story still shone though.
Totally with you on Stardust - it's a fabulous film. I would add the first Twilight film although I confess I've only read the first few pages of the book (over the shoulder of my daughter who then told me to go away). I found the setting and the way it was filmed terrifically atmospheric and then, of course, there's Robert Pattinson in all his brooding loveliness...
I don't think you've missed much by not seeing The Secret of Moonacre. I read the book as a child and it was totally magical - the film just wasn't, for an adult. I'd have to include The Secret Garden - the version with Maggie Smith as housekeeper. I think it might be the walled garden that fascinates me but Lizzie loved it too when younger.
Gillian, I think we may have been separated at birth. Inkheart, check - the film was the cinematic equivalent of a five-year-old's repainting of the Mona Lisa. Peter Pan, check - whisper it quietly but I was never that fussed about the written version anyway. Stardust, check - the brilliance, deftness and economy of the plotting came over just as well, if not better, on screen (why can't more screenplays be like that?), and you're right about Bob de Niro too. Fellowship, check - the film captures and expands on the character dynamics that raise that book above the sequels, for all their epic derring do. However, as two out of five seems excessive, even for one of Mr Gaiman's godlike genius, I'd replace Coraline with Jurassic Park. Like LOTR, not a children's book, but not only did the film have dinosaurs (DINOSAURS!), it redefined kids' expectations of monster movies. Priceless.
I absolutely love both LOTR and Stardust, but I'm afraid the purist in me has to discount both of them as neither are children's books (check out the sex scene in Stardust - I hope that's not aimed at kids). Sooo...
1. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe - minor historical inaccuracy forgiven (the children would probably have been evacuated before the bombing actually started, but that scene is perfect, such a good way to explain their situation to children unfamiliar with the history and the whole theme of war is brillinatly handled) 2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - which I think is better than the book, having lost all the padding and focussed on the story. It's also my favourite Harry Potter film. 3. The Secret Garden (the one with Maggie Smith) - just perfect. 4. Disney's Alice in Wonderland 5. Hook. I know it's got a terrible reputation, but I saw it as a child and loved it.
Honourable mention to the Muppet's Christmas Carol, also ineligible as not based on a children's book!
Cold Comfort Farm (not sure if that should really count. Teen, maybe?)
I loved the recreations of Hobbiton and Moria in The Fellowship of the Ring- perfect, and by far the best of the three films I agree. (Thought Rivendell looked a bit damp).
Oh oh oh! Loved Stardust - didn't know it was adapted by Gaimon - explains a lot - haven't seen Coraline am scared I'll hate it as I loved the book. Inkheart possibly the worst film I've ever seen - didn't even make it to the end was so irritated by it...this is a ll a bit unfair though because I know How to Train Your Dragon would be in your top 5 if you'd seen it - not at all like the book but brilliant none-the-less - and the black dragon in it is just like my dog ( only not as smelly)...Funny though - I hated the LOTR films. Bored senseless, too boring even to do the ironing too - I realise this means there is something wrong with me.
Kathy - I think the script for Stardust was written by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughan, but adapted from the Neil Gaiman book. Stardust is an interesting choice actually, because it is adapted quite liberally but works really well as a film. The climax in particular is a wonderful bit of imaginative action, but completely invented for the film.
Have to agree with Juliette's choice of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - a great film in it's own right and very likely to be my favourite Potter film unless David Yates pulls his finger out on the last two!
ha, watched Stardust AGAIN, last night. Love Nanny McPhee and Coraline and Stormbreaker. Would also have to add to the list: the Spiderwick Chronicles (I suspect a lot has to do with Freddy Highmore being so cute and who could not love Hogsqueal and Thimbletack!) and Matilda, Billy Elliot, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (though it took a while to get used to the Johnny Depp version) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
I loved Stardust but then I haven't read the book. It is a film I can watch again and again. I also loved Fellowship of the Ring. I love the whole hobbitness of it all. I agree about Inkheart. The film was appalling. The book was good. Same with City of Ember. I love the book but the film was at best mediocre. Again same with Percy Jackson but then I am a HUGE Camp Half Blood fan.
Wow, thanks for all the comments - I just knew they'd be interesting!
Jo, I forgot about Babe (how could I?) - yes, that has to be a contender. And Elen, same with The Railway Children - probably not in my top five but I do always blub at that ending.
Rachel, hi! Yes, I liked the Twilight movie much better than the book - I watched it on Keren David's recommendation and she was right, it had a nice dark indie feel.
Ben, good point about Jurassic Park - not a children's book at all, but with a lot of changes it made a terrific kids' movie (and that's another one my children watch over and over). It still looks good, years later!
Juliette - I know what you mean but I allowed Stardust in on the same grounds I allowed FOTR - it's an adult read that's easily & frequently enjoyed by quite young teens, and I think it's definitely a movie for children as well as adults. For that reason I'd definitely count Hilary's Cold Comfort Farm, too!
Tracy (and Juliette, unless you meant the earlier animation?) - Alice in Wonderland is one that seems to divide people down clear lines, isn't it? I have friends who absolutely adored it, but it left me completely cold and unmoved (especially Johnny Depp, which is definitely against all precedent). But it did look very beautiful.
Lynda - I would have liked to include Holes because I adore that book. It's one of my favourites. But (hides head in shame) - I have never seen the movie, so I couldn't. But I will, one of these days SOON.
Katherine - do you mean Claire Danes? WOW!! Seriously, I have an almost-crush on her!
I loved Stardust, and FOTR, Matilda and Nanny McPhee. Not seen Coraline yet, but intend to and Loved the book Holes but like you Gillian, I've not seen the film. Yes, must include Cold Comfort Farm 'cos there's something wicked in the woodshed...!
I adore The Princess Bride, but it fell at that all-important hurdle of being one that my children want to watch over and over again. They enjoy it, but it isn't a favourite. I suspect it has a lot of 'adult' appeal.
And I do agree, it's an argument for authors adapting their own work - but there are so many other arguments for the opposite! Most authors are not screenwriters, and it shows. In saying this I am of course baiting fate, in the hope that someone will some day want to adapt one of mine... ;-)
Gillian, I love your choices, and for me I would include The Secret Garden, Holes, The Little Princess, The Railway Children, Jungle Book and The Wizard of Oz...
Werner Herzog's ‘Heart of Glass’ is a film that still haunts me, long after I first saw it. The actors, famously hypnotised into stilted and glazed performances, play characters struggling to rediscover the recipe for blood red glass, a secret lost when an old glassmaker dies. Without this knowledge the village economy begins to collapse. It is apocalyptic, visionary, idiosyncratic and very, very weird.
There aren't a lot of jokes in ‘Heart of Glass', but like all Herzog’s films, it is extremely funny.
One of Herzog's more recent productions is a documentary about a man who wants to commune with bears. It's a true and tragic story. The bears eat him in the end. They do, really. And then there’s the film in which Herzog eats his shoe, inspirationally titled ‘Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe’.
Herzog's films teeter between the mystical and the insane; between high art and farce.
Whenever I set out to write a book, I watch a little of ‘Heart of Glass’. I want something of that weirdness in everything I do. Ideas for books usually begin with a subtle image: a dilapidated shop, a boy on sunlit steps. I want to create half-worlds in which realities are questioned and undermined.
If my books turn out a little weird (or ‘bonkers’ as one editor put it) then all the better. I realise it gets harder and harder for publishers to accept eccentric books, but I’m not going to write something that I hate, just to please someone who probably doesn’t really want what they are asking for in the first place.
Herzog never worries about what anyone wants. He does what he likes. He has been an outsider all his life, but has produced works of incomparable beauty and strangeness.
In these difficult times it may be that many children’s writers will take stock and decide to write something mainstream; something that will sell. Instead of doing what instinct has us do, we might try and determine a gap in the market, or attempt to have a guess at what will the next big thing. We’ve had wizards and vampires, what next, wombats?
I'm lucky, I have a day job, it affords me the luxury of being able to write what I like, and if I don't get published, I don't starve. But I still want to encourage everyone to Think Like Werner Herzog, do something extreme, and do it with all the energy you can muster. Be yourself. Be weird. You already are anyway. Just admit it.
6 Comments on Think Herzog - Andrew Strong, last added: 11/4/2010
Interesting post, Andrew. I think you're right. Who knows what the market wants, anyway? The market is full of individuals who have different likes and interests: it's not a homogenous mass. (Though that of course doesn't explain the wall-to-wall success of vampire books or any other publishing phenomenon.) Anyway - am intrigued enough to want to read one of your books!
I think Werner Herzog whenever I see the information about The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw. I haven't read it yet, in some respects the title is enough for me ;)
I might now open a box containing a dusty manuscript which was deemed too off the wall when it was first submitted. A few years down the line and I have a few more skills; it may be time to revisit it.
I'll try and leave the worrying about markets and sensible decisions to the politicians. If they can't predict what's coming up, or get anything right, then I know I can't.
I need to see the film, though, don't I? Thanks, Andrew, for the tip.
Oh goodness, Heart of Glass! When I went to see this film I was two days into jet-lag that just wouldn't right itself. I'd taken a sleeping pill the night before to try to re-set my mental clock - it hadn't worked, so I decided to go to the cinema. Guess what I went to see. I was feeling about as zonked -out and disorientated as it was possible for anyone other than Keith Richards to be. Then I sat through that film. It was beautiful - but oh dear, not the right film to see that day. I must catch it again sometime. But, yes, Andrew, that strangeness of Herzog's is something worth thinking about and aiming for.
Herzog's films can be watched again and again; the narrative isn't so chiselled as to reveal everything (some might say anything!) first time. Frances - I think you saw Heart of Glass in the most apt frame of mind: slightly dazed, half awake. And Sue, I wish my books were weirder.
ReelzChannel.com is hosting the Hunger Games Cast-O-Rama -- head on over to vote for who you'd like to see play Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and more in the upcoming film!
There's been a lot of hoopla over who will be cast as Jace in the upcoming Mortal Instruments film. ReelzChannel.com decided to get YOUR casting opinion, but not just for Jace.
Head on over to the Mortal Instruments Cast-O-Rama (click the image below) and vote for your favorite actor picks for Jace, Simon, Clary, and the rest. You can even embed the lists into your own website!
2 Comments on Mortal Instrument Fans - Check This Out!, last added: 2/28/2011
I always have such a hard time trying to choose good actors and actresses for the roles. XD I had the same problem when they had this thing for The Hunger Games.
totally was blown away by the mortal instruments series... cant wait for the fourth book.., im a new blogger making reviews about books and other stuff here in the philippines... great blog u have here... hope you can link me up too dletterwork.blogspot.com thanks
Even though I am a visual artist, I tend to not watch too many animated films. I really love a good one, I just have a tendency to be wary because, though there is a lot of good animation out there, there is also a lot of reeaally mediocre (okay, sometimes just bad) animation out there... and when it comes to character design and overall animation style in animated features, my taste tends to run hot or cold. I am either instantly attracted to it, or I am really not. I LOVE it or, I just really DON'T. And the thing about animated features is that the visuals need to come first. The story itself can knock your socks off, but if the delivery system- the animation and character design and development- is not there, I'm not sticking around for the story. That said, it does seem as if every animated film that I have embraced in the past ten or so years also has great story and character developent behind it. As for the mediocre animated flicks I have seen trailers for, I really can't speak for those-I really do avoid them if I can't get behind the art!
Anyway, all this build-up... Today, we spent time with our friends and their lovely (and oh so smart!) three year old daughter. Of course, they have every cool new animated feature on DVD that has come out in the past few years. There is so many I have missed, and I got schooled in a couple that I have been missing! I highly recommend these based on seeing most of each of them today...
WOW. This animated feature is simply breathtaking, in every way. The patterns, the design, the depth in the atmosphere... it is just all around amazing. I could just stare at this film, pay no attention to the story, and be perfectly happy. To be honest, It actually was challenging to follow the story while playing with a three year old and also being blown away by the artwork at the same time, as it whooshed by on the screen. But my friends say that the story is also very good too. It was Oscar-nominated as well, so as amazing as the animation is, I am sure the story also had a hand in that. I also love that the work feels so inspired by classic animation styles as well as by graphic design. Yet it truly feels like all of these influences and inspirations and have been utilized to take the art of animation into a brand new medium. It just feels completely evolved. And totally original.
If you have ever seen the animated television show Samurai Jack, which had a really stark, boldly crafted design style, the aesthetic of The Secret fo The Kells is in the same Encyclopedia set but feels like a later, more advanced book in the set.
This one might be more of a surprise due to its commercial nature, but what a fun movie and fun story! But the biggest happy surprise for me of Kung Fu Panda was the quality of both the animation in general but also the quality and artistry in the character design. I did not see the full film but I loved what I did see and am now eager to see it in i
1 Comments on You can learn a lot from an animation-savvy three year old, last added: 3/6/2011
Thanks for the reviews. I really liked the look of Ponyo, but found the story a little goofy and light weight, great for a really young audience. For adult stuff I really enjoyed Mary and Max. All time favorite... The Triplets of Belleville... I like the dark stuff. Coroline was stunning and has Scottie dogs ... wow so many great ones ... I love animation. I am not as picky as you ... show me pretty colors and I am on board. Looking forward to Rango!
Thought I'd get your opinions on films today, Friday, March 11th 2011. There are those films that make us laugh, those that make us cry, and those which wring us out and make us laugh as well. Then there are westerns which some of us love, horror films, some crave, romance and chick flicks needed by others. And then occasionally a film comes along that just is memorable and shakes up our notions of what we felt so comfy in accepting--like our reality. When our reality gets shaken to the core, some of us react to such a film well while others not so well.
For me a film is only as good as the lasting effect it has on its viewers as holds true for readers of books. In this vein, I would name for comedic effect Tootsie for instance, so many memorable scenes yet I have not seen the film in years, maybe ten years. Also for laughs as well Being John Malchovich and My Cousin Vinnie. I also loved the more recent Sherlock for its historical breath and background as well as the repartee between Holmes and Watson and am looking forwrd to its sequel. For horror, I loved Stir of Echoes. For Westerns it has to be The Wild Bunch.
However, while science fiction like the classic Outlnder, Star Wars, Star Trek are all fun, what of the book that rocks your world or the film that rocks your universe? One such film that shook me up so thoroughly as to jar my insides to wrench my gut and mind at once is a little known film but a fantastic movie entitled The Man From Earth. The effect is powerful.
To attempt to summarize The Man from Earth would only lesson its power. This is a film one needs see twice for the sheer power and beauty and simplicty and complexity all rolled into one. Star gazers, history buffs, philosophers, theologians, anyone who ponders imponderables --this is the film for you.
What about you? Seen any good films lately? If so share them in the comments section. We have made it so simple and easy to leave a comment at ACME, so please, share.
I second Rob's comments about Man From Earth. He recommended it to me and I finally got around to watching it yesterday and I was absolutely blown away by it. It hits you on so many levels and leads you to question pretty much everything you've learned about history, religion, philosophy and the cosmos. And, on top of that it's well acted, entertaining and never preachy or didactic. Go to Amazon and pony up the $12 for this movie!
I was especially shocked at my own reaction to Man From Earth since I'm more of mindless, unsophisticated or even "bad" horror/action/comedy movie fan. I love Dusk Til Dawn and the Dawn of the Dead remake. I'll also second Rob's My Cousin Vinnie, and I'll add Dude, Where's My Car, White Chicks and Undead or Alive. I also have a soft spot for the sentimental Secondhand Lions and The Princess Bride.
Just saw Where the Heart Is again tonight. It's been a while since I saw it, but I loved it all over again. I didn't realize Natalie Portman had the lead role until I watched it this time. I haven't seen her latest film, but want to see it now. Funny thing is she was pregnant at the Oscars and pregnant in Where the Heart is.
Morgan Mandel http://morganmandel.blogspot.com http://facebook.com/foreveryoungbook
Speaking of the Hitchcock films, I found the Ghost Writer so Hitchcockian in its every frame. Enjoyed it greatly as a suspenseful mystery. Nataalie Portman is a fantastic actress, agreed. So is Melissa Tomei. I just loved her in My Cousin Vinney.
Anonymous said, on 3/12/2011 1:42:00 PM
Rob, I liked Sherlock Holmes too and will see the sequel. Sometimes I luck up on one I missed the first time around on cable (and talk myself out of cancellig it-ha!)I always get a laugh out of seeubg a Men in Black I missed because of the actors, not the 'history' LOL. One Sci-Fi I'll never forget is The Dayl the Earth Stood Still.
One of my all time favorites is "Last of the Mohicans." Daniel Day Lewis and Madeline Stone are superb, plus the history involved and the emotions are right off the charts! DL Larson
.jpeg?picon=3306)
.jpg?picon=1806)
.jpg?picon=441)
You may recognize actress Tinsel Korey as Emily Young in Stephenie Meyer's The Twilight Saga films. But did you know that this wasn't her first role in a supernatural project? Also, have you heard her sing? Dive right into this exclusive interview to learn more about Tinsel!
I auditioned for New Moon in the beginning of 2009. I didn't know anything about the Saga at all. My little sister told me about the film and how she wanted to go see it. She said it was "like Harry Potter in love," which it's not. When the audition came up - Rene Haynes who had cast me in "Into the West" had brought me in for it - I wanted to get the film more for [my sister]. She got to come to the New Moon premiere, which I think was an awesome moment for her.
.jpg?picon=107)
Thank you for the review. I had not heard of this film yet. It sounds like a movie my family will really enjoy.
I loved ‘un-adult-erated’!
Would love to get one of these.
Reminded me of one of our favourite movies-also un-adult-erated ‘Laura’s Star’, originally ‘Laura’s Stern’, dubbed in English. Here’s one of A’s favourite songs from it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEZTZLlyTQ4&feature=related
sandhya recently posted..Test post