Light up your light!

I just watched American Beauty with the commentary by Alan Ball and Sam Mendes and basically the whole thing was a tribute to Conrad Hall's incredible lighting throughout the whole film. If you have the DVD I would highly recommend watching it. It's no secret that its a beautifully shot movie, but I was just blown away by some of the detail. The scene where Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is being interviewed for the job at Mr.Smileys was shot night for day and its unbelievable.

Speaking of amazing lighting, let me just unload about Kaminski's work on Catch Me If You Can. If I can give you a fair estimate as to how many times I've watched it, I'd probably say 18-20. It's a good, fun movie, good story, good performances, blah blah blah. But one of my favorite things about it is the scene where Frank comes home and finds his mother having an affair and sits down on the couch. He's in the foreground, she's in the background in the kitchen, and the daylight is blasting through a kitchen window being beautifully highlighted by a fogged room. LOVE IT. It's just a static wide shot for the whole last half of the scene, and its amazing. I tried to find a still from this scene online with no luck, but just watch the movie. Really.

Super keen on/amped up for PTA!

Ok. The blog hibernation is over. I don't have much to say today except that Paul Thomas Anderson is in the middle of casting his next film and that's pretty much the most exciting thing ever. He's making a movie about scientology. I'm already stoked. If its half as good as his worst film it will be great. If its his best film I'll probably cry and hug strangers. Who am I kidding? I'll hug strangers anyhow!

Let's just recap shall we? Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood. I feel badass even typing all those together, and this is one person's resume?? Right on. Coming 2011.

Kathryn Bigelow. Fact.

This is the post where I talk about my excitement over what just happened at the Oscars. K.Big is the first woman to ever win the Oscar for Best Director. This was the highlight of 2010 for me so far. The presenter of this award is usually a bit of a giveaway (anyone remember Scorsese's win? Who else would Spielberg, Coppola, and Lucas all stand up for!) When Babs Streisand walked on stage I lost it. In a good way.

It made me feel so inspired and able and I hope I never forget how I felt in that moment. It's not just a big deal because Im a woman filmmaker, it's a big deal for anyone involved in film. You think Avatar was progressive? In 82 years and 410 nominees only 4 women have been nominated. I realize the ratio of woman directors to man directors is a rather large gap, but those numbers are powerful. This little girl in New Brunswick, Canada feels like anything is possible right now.

I said K.Big or go home last night, and I shall drink to that!

Last call for Avatar/Hurt Locker chit chat

Ok. So this is the main reason I think The Hurt Locker should win Best Picture tomorrow night.

The problem with Avatar is that its an epic movie watching adventure, but then that's it. It's like a roller coaster ride. They're fun, and they give you a rush, but you don't spend your day to day life i eager anticipation of the next time you'll ride. Avatar is a visual experience- similar I imagine to what the first IMAX experience was years ago. But once you've seen it, you've seen it, and as momentous as it is, it's over.

My vote would go to Hurt Locker. It's the war movie of the decade and not because it simply tried to be. March 7th 2010- K. Big. or go home!!

Who's Wilder than Kubrick? So glad you asked.

Alright, so it appears that "A History of Nothing" has challenged "The Good Stuff" to a blog war. Right off the bat I think I should win based solely on the names of our blogs. Friend- it's on.

My dear friend Darcy Cameron and I rarely disagree on good films and nearly never miss a beat on what we feel are "the cinematic greats". The one topic on which we really can't find a common ground is Stanley Kubrick. Darcy hails Kubrick as the greatest filmmaker of all time. Don't be fooled- I know that Kubrick can back it up, and I know he's more than made his contribution. Truth is, I've just always been fairly indifferent to him. I don't particularly like, nor dislike him, I just havn't had much interest in watching his films.

Darcy has thrown "Dr.Strangelove" at me. "...only Kubrick could have done and gotten away with - a COMEDY about a general who orders a nuclear attack on Russia...keep in mind, this was made at a time when people were actually afraid of this sort of thing". That's a very valid point Darcy. Too bad Billy Wilder already set that precedent by releasing "Stalag 17" in 1953. This brilliant little war film is also a COMEDY depicting American POWs in Nazi prisoner camps. This was made at a time when even DRAMAS weren't being made about WWII as the subject was considered too "serious". Wilder took a serious and taboo issue, created out of a history of violence and rocked the proverbial casbah. Oh and it stars William Holden. Perhaps you've heard of him, he's only one of the most notable and brilliant actors in history.

Kubrick's got charisma. But Wilder had it first.

Because donuts don't wear alligator shoes.

So. Let's talk about Black Dynamite and how much fun it is. First of all every single scene is hilarious. That alone should be a good enough review for anyone, you dig? It exudes one part parody and one part homage which I really think is the best way to try and ace its overall objective. Nothing really makes sense, continuity is completely out of whack, there's actually a moment where Black Dynamite throws three men out a glass window and then proceeds to fight a room full of people- including the three men he just tossed who are magically back in the same room! The whole film is chock full of deliberate jump cuts, replaced actors, and ode-tos. You've got to be a pretty kick ass filmmaker to make something so awful so wonderful. And don't be fooled- it is wonderful.

"Ha! I threw that shit before I walked in the room". Need I say more? Oh and not to ruin the fun, but two seconds later that guy is on fire. Hilarious.

I did not expect to like it, let alone love it and now I find myself wondering how I ever lived without it.

Shutter yo mouth, I'm talking about Scorsese

Shutter Island. Scorsese's newest release. Saw it. Dug it. Wanna talk about it.

Basically it's Cape Fear meets The Last Temptation of Christ. It's like action-action-action-trippy dreams, and creepy vibes. It was cool. I went into it expecting to love it, and I did. It had a very cool film noir, surrealist aesthetic which I think we can all agree is awesome. It felt claustrophobic at times, nice use of that "we're trapped on an island" device. Of all the cinematographers I love I'm pretty sure I could pick out Rob Richardson in a test. He's not my favorite but I like him a lot and for me, he's the most distinct in terms of recycling style. And not in a bad way. My friend Darcy is probably going to cry because I saw it without him which is why I've planned to go again on Friday. Second viewing would be wise.

One thing I will say (and I'll avoid any spoilers) is that right until the very last moment of the film I wasn't sure which way it was going to go. It wasn't as if I showed up to a movie expecting one thing, and in a revealing and cinematic twist didn't get it. Up until the very last moment everything could have realistically gone to one extreme or the other.

Bottom line: If Scorsese wants to dish out the mindf*cks, I'll throw him back a post-coital high five.