Uncategorized Archive

In Defense of ‘Plan 9′

By
miamimoviecritic
Published: 01 November 2009 10:38 PM UCTPosted in: UncategorizedTags: , , , ,

Plan 9 from Outer Space (** out of four)

Why give PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE a two-star rating? I dunno, I can’t really justify it. All I can say is that few movies offer as much sweet, sweet joy as Ed Wood’s 1959 sci-fi opus. This film’s appalling anti-artistry is as funny as anything Hollywood has come up with in the last five decades.

To be fair, I haven’t seen it the way Wood intended. I’ve only seen the version where the MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER guys are mocking it the whole way through. Still, you get the idea: flying saucers that look like hubcaps (when one of them gets blown out of the sky, I was reminded of the scene in BACK TO THE FUTURE where Doc Brown’s model Delorian bursts into flames); aliens played by B-movie actors wearing the galaxy’s loudest purple tee-shirts; establishing shots that don’t connect; out-of-left-field stock footage; unintentionally hilarious dialogue; etc.

Most of this was par for the course in the field Wood was working in: 1950s exploitation movies. But what makes PLAN 9 an unsurpassed triumph-of-sorts is its campy entertainment value. There’s something crazily bad going on in every scene, if not every shot. My favorite bit involves a detective who keeps absentmindedly pointing his gun at everything and everybody. Then there’s the alien who delivers the single greatest line in movie history: “You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!”

Sure, it’s horrible. But it’s also fun, and harmless fun in any form is something to be celebrated.

Jay Bennett (1963-2009)

By
miamimoviecritic
Published: 15 June 2009 5:31 PM UCTPosted in: Music, UncategorizedTags: , , , ,

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Just found out that Jay Bennett, the brilliant former member of Wilco, died on May 24. That was about three weeks ago. Don’t know how I missed that one, though in my defense I don’t listen to NPR as much these days since I made my car iPod-compatible, and it probably wasn’t very big news anyway outside of the blogosphere. Still, it came as a shock. Bennett was 45 years old.

It wasn’t a nice death, either. Details about the exact cause have yet to be released, but what we do know is that Bennett needed hip replacement surgery and couldn’t afford it because he had no health insurance. Fucking hell, man! If we’re not going to have free health care in this country, couldn’t we at least have some sort of Genius Fund to keep these people alive and working?

Ever since I started listening to them in college, Wilco has been my favorite folk-rock band of all time. Bennett joined the group in 1994, bringing with him formidable multi-instrumental talents. His love of Woody Guthrie helped bring about the band’s amazing collaboration with Billy Bragg on Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 1 and 2, which produced some of my favorite Wilco songs: Blood of the Lamb, California Stars and Remember the Mountain Bed. He also made significant contributions to the band’s breakthrough albums, Being There, Summerteeth andYankee Hotel Foxtrot.

What most people know about Bennett they know from I’m Trying to Break Your Heart, a documentary that chronicles the recording sessions for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. This is when Bennett’s relationship with Wilco soured, and he was fired from the band in 2001. Despite the tension, the film remains a loving tribute to the man’s passions and to his genius.

Here’s a cool video for California Stars. RIP Jay Bennett…

DIY Online Store

By
enrihrts
Published: 09 June 2009 4:37 PM UCTPosted in: Music, UncategorizedTags: , , , , , ,

cafepress-logo spreadshirt1 createspace

So what are you trying to sell? T-Shirts, Posters, DVD s, Birthday Cards, Books, MP3’s, Hair. Whatever it is your trying to unload, chances are there is an online company that can help you produce and distribute your products. The inexpensive, do-it-yourself store is just another thing to love about the Internet. You don’t need any big name sponsors or crazy long-term deals. All you need is a little imagination and a little hard work to pull it all together. Websites like Cafe Press are a great place to sell a large variety of products in the same store. For just $6.95 a month you can open your own store, design how it looks and customize products, with easy-to-follow instructions and templates. After you choose your products, you get to decide what mark-up you’re going to receive from each sale. So in a sense, Cafe Press sells the shirt and you sell the design. Unless you’re selling tons of merchandise, you’re probably not going to make that much money. But at least you’re getting your name out there at a relatively cheap price. I myself am an independent artist and I chose to have my store with Cafe Press. Here is the link: http://www.cafepress.com/ForesightArt

Create Space, a division of Amazon, is another company that’s incredibly helpful when you’re an indie seller.  You can create & distribute independent books, music & movies. You can have your products for sale as downloads, hard copies or both. This company in particular charges a reasonable price for their services, so you can make the most money with your mark-up price. Other great sites are spreadshirt.com, clickbank.com, threadless.com and designbyhumans. More are created every day. It’s always best to research the company and make sure to read reviews before signing on to anything.

Ignorant Art

By
enrihrts
Published: 05 June 2009 4:49 PM UCTPosted in: UncategorizedTags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Is the right wing media in this country ignorant or just plain racist? I am asking this to myself because of how Judge Sotomayor is being treated by a lot of the media during her Supreme Court confirmation process. Apart from all the unfounded accusations that she’s a racist, now they have to depict her in offensive cartoons that have nothing to do with her heritage. Exhibit A is a cartoon released by The Oklahoman. It depicts Sotomayor hanging from a tree like a piñata while Presidnet Obama is wearing a sombrero and handing out sticks to a bunch of Republican elephants. I understand the political statement in this cartoon. What I don’t understand is the Mexican theme; Sotomayor is an American Puerto Rican. In Puerto Rico, people only use piñatas at children’s birthday parties — just like most Americans do. Beyond a candy container, it has absolutely no meaning in that culture. Piñatas are part of the Mexican Catholic Christmas tradition. Is it wise to be this blatantly ignorant about the most rapidly growing voting group in the US? All The Oklahoman is saying with this cartoon is that they don’t know the difference between a Mexican and a Puerto Rican person. Plus, she’s hanging from a tree, which should offend African Americans that suffered at the hands of the KKK. All in all it’s an extremely unapologetic, dumb cartoon. And now the right-leaning magazine The National Review has published a new issue with a cover titled “The Wise Latina,” in which Judge Sotomayor is depicted as an Asian Buddhist. As a Puerto Rican myself, I find all these very offensive with an undeniable racist overtone. You better believe I’m going to remember things like this next time the elections come around.  There is no room in this new century for nonsense like this. The right-wing media needs to start learning from their mistakes and respecting the people of this country or they will be left behind like a speck of dust that no one remembers fondly. Either embrace progress or get the hell out of the way and stop slowing the rest of us down.

'Degrassi' Tells It Like It Is

By
miamimoviecritic
Published: 29 May 2009 4:49 PM UCTPosted in: UncategorizedTags: , , , , ,

Degrassi-The-Next-Generation-Season-One

Confession: I love Degrassi. Now, I realize I’m not part of the 13-17 year old Canadian demographic - I’m no longer a teen and, as far as I know, I’ve never been Canadian. But 40% of viewers are people outside the target audience, so bear with me.

I only recently started watching the show, but apparently it’s been around for as long as I have. It was created in 1980, and has gone through several incarnations. It’s now called Degrassi: The Next Generation, and that’s the one I’m a fan of. There’s simply nothing else like it on American television.

And it’s not even an American TV show! It plays in the States thanks to the generous folks at The N. It features realistic teens attending the fictional Degrassi High, and deals with social issues like peer pressure, drug use, sex and even abortion - all in a very non-preachy, non-judgmental way. If you look at the shows produced in the States over the last decade that were targeted at the same audience, the only thing that comes remotely close to Degrassi is Malcolm in the Middle. True, it was much more comedic and stylized (though don’t get me wrong, Degrassi is often very funny), but at least it dealt with a working-class family in a compassionate and three-dimensional way. Before Malcolm, you’d have to go all the way back to Roseanne, My So-Called Life and Freaks and Geeks (i.e., the 1990s) to find shows where the creators were unconditionally on the same side as their teen protagonists.

Today, it’s all about condescending, basically imitating teens and talking down to them at the same time. The teens of American TV are shallow creatures indeed, obsessed with sex and money, byproducts of the amoral corporate culture of the Bush years. The tube is littered with trash like One Tree Hill, Popular and 90210 II. These shows aren’t meant to be illuminating or realistic; they’re made to sell shit to teens that they don’t need to be buying in the first place.

Across the norther border, Degrassi is refreshingly free of condescension. The characters are flawed but likable, and the plotlines address the issues facing young people head-on. In the very first episode of Degrassi: TNG, Emma, a smart and idealistic girl, develops an online crush on a boy named Jordan. They agree to meet, and “Jordan” turns out to be a sexual predator. This episode aired years before To Catch a Predator with Chris Hanson, and I’m convinced it saved lives by addressing this issue at a time when it was not widely covered by the media. The opener of the second season is equally strong, dealing with a father’s physical abuse and featuring a powerhouse performance by Jake Epstein.

But Degrassi isn’t an after-school special. It’s fresh and entertaining, and the writing is exquisite. Each episode has the same structure: One storyline deals with a single character and is usually serious in tone, while the second storyline is more comedic and often deals with issues brought up in earlier episodes. It works every time, and personally I’m studying the show to see how this structure might be applied to a short script I’ve been working on. Sneer if you must, but Degrassi is a vital piece of popular culture that’s a lot rarer than it should be.

Episodes of Degrassi: TNG are currently streamed here: http://www.ctv.ca/mini/degrassi2006/index.html

I Want My Avatar Now

By
enrihrts
Published: 29 May 2009 3:38 PM UCTPosted in: Film Production, Movie Reviews, UncategorizedTags: , ,

james-cameron-avatar-poster

From the moment I began understanding what makes a good movie good, I began appreciating James Cameron films. His films are full of scenes that consistently stay lodged in my subconscious. Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Abyss, Aliens, True Lies & Titanic are all masterpieces in their own right. His films about exploring the depths of the sea are always amazing to watch. His commercial success has allowed him the privilege of not having to bow to any studio. He makes what he wants when he wants, and that is a rarity in today’s commercial-driven film world.

As most of the world knows, Cameron has been working on a super secret 3D film called Avatar for more then 10 years. Cameron promises the film will be groundbreaking and unlike anything any of us have ever experienced in a movie theater. Sounds like a tall order but he has delivered on similar promises before and I believe he has what it takes to do it again. For Avatar, Cameron developed a new camera system called Fusion Digital 3-D, used for shooting the live action elements. He also developed a new system for motion capture in which the CGI elements and the human elements can interact with each other in real time, thus enabling him to direct and modify the action and actors better than anyone has in a motion capture movie before. There is a reason that the acting in the new Star Wars trilogy seems so stiff and lifeless; Cameron does not want to make that mistake. It’s good to know that an action director thinks acting is important - so many don’t.

Every time I walk into a movie theater, I am secretly hoping that someone has attached an Avatar teaser to whatever I’m watching. The film is officially coming out on December 18 of this year, so a trailer is bound to come out this summer at some point. In Avatar, will we witness the future of filmmaking? No one can say for sure. All I know is it’s time to start getting excited about a new James Cameron film.

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Hosting 'Man vs Food' is the Best Job in America

By
enrihrts
Published: 28 May 2009 4:19 PM UCTPosted in: Personal, UncategorizedTags: , , , ,

double_fatty_melt Eagle's-Deli-Burger

Adam Richman, a Brooklyn native, is the current host of the Travel Channel show Man vs Food, and if they ever need a replacement host I will be the first person in line to audition. The show consists of Adam visiting cities across America and finding the best & most extreme pig-out food places. At the end of each show, he usually ends up in a restaurant with some demented food challenge that he takes on. In one episode, he attempted to eat a 7 1/2 pound ha’mburger. Hes also taken shots at a 2 1/2 pound Dagwood Sandwich, five 24-ounce malt milkshakes, and a 7-pound monster breakfast burrito - just to name a few challenges. It doesn’t matter if Adam wins or loses; just watching him attempt to win is incredibly entertaining and ridiculously appetizing. In another episode, the show featured a burger that instead of a bun used two grilled cheese sandwiches. It’s enough to make anybody’s heart melt (or explode). Plus, learning about all these insane places to eat at is a great companion to any travel guide. I know it’s wrong and a major health concern to be promoting such irresponsible eating habits, but it’s just so much fun to watch and I could not be more jealous of what this man gets paid to do. All locations are listed by city at the following link: http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Man_v_Food/Food_Location

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The P.A. Chronicles

By
enrihrts
Published: 27 May 2009 3:10 PM UCTPosted in: Personal, UncategorizedTags: , , , , , , , , , ,

k85 film-reel

The definition of a good PA can be very different depending on who your asking. To me, the most simple definition of a good PA is someone who is willing and able to do what no one else on a set wants to do. This can include anything from going to the pharmacy and mysteriously purchasing 6 different types of anti itch cream for Ja-Rule to escorting Tia Carrera to a nice sushi restaurant before driving her back to the hotel. (Both of which I have done.) I remember my first PA gig vividly. I was paid $50 dollars for an 18-hour, 1-day shoot for some random Canadian lifestyle show filming in Miami Beach. For most of the day I did nothing but guard, aka fire-watch, an empty truck with no shade from the blistering sun. When the night came, things got a bit more interesting. The club that we were filming at had for some reason placed astro turf over the floors of the entire club. The producer had made a deal with the club owner that in exchange for letting us film there, we would remove the astro turf  from the entire club at the end of the night. So there I was at 11pm in the middle of South Beach on a Friday night, loading pound after pound of astro turf and dirt into the bed of someones pickup truck. After the overflowing pick uptruck is loaded, the producer reveals that he has no idea what to do with the astro turf. So me and a few other badly paid PA’s decide to do something illegal, find a random dumpster on a back street, unload the astro turf and drive away like a bat out of hell. After we finally wrapped, I remember thinking to myself on the ride home: “Is this really what I spent the last 3 years of my life preparing for?” And the answer, of course, is yes.

For the better part of the last 8 years I have worked as a PA. Film &  television sets, reality shows, photo shoots & infomercials - I pretty much have seen it all. Being a PA can be very different depending on what type of set you are on. On a film shoot it’s a lot easier to focus on one task. Usually everyone is working towards one goal, so once you have your orders you’re probably not going to do much else. On reality shows, there are usually a bunch of things being made at the same time, and there is always a sense that anything can happen, so it’s necessary to be on your toes and ready at all times. Photo shoots are great because you’re dealing with minimal elements and people, they pay well and you get to meet a lot of lovely models. Infomercials are cheap, boring and a pain in the ass to work on. Unless you desperately need the money, I would stay away from those.

Day to day I strive to be a filmmaker but my favorite type of set to work on is a Reality TV set.  Depending on the type of show you can learn so much day to day. I worked for 2 years on TLC’s In A Fix & I learned invaluable lessons about home improvement and all of the small things that make a home work. On a couple of seasons of Top Chef I learned everything I could about great food, restaurants, appliances & industrial size kitchens. Three seasons of Miami Ink showed me the world of tattoos and tattoo artist from a unique perspective. Sure, there are a lot annoying people and things to deal with such as appearance releases, janitorial amounts of cleaning & ecstasy addicted directors who seem to have a death wish, but having some extra knowledge at the end of the day makes it all worthwhile. Of course, there are the reality shows where you learn useless things too. On a season of Making the Band I learned all of the reasons everyone in America should despise P Diddy, and that’s all I’m going to say about that. Since I’ve moved up in the food chain, I am pretty much out of the PA game. I will always be grateful for the lessons I’ve learned, the great people I’ve worked for and all the knowledge I’ve acquired.

Drag Me to Heck

By
miamimoviecritic
Published: 22 May 2009 5:21 PM UCTPosted in: UncategorizedTags: , , , ,

drag_me_to_hell

The reviews are in and it looks like Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell is going to be a new horror classic. It has a perfect 100 percent fresh rating over at Rotten Tomatoes. Granted, there have only been 14 reviews counted, but just take a look at their enthusiasm:

“The most fun I’ve had at the movies in years. It’s destined to be a cult classic for all eternity.” (Cole Smithey, Colesmithey.com) “Take a deep sigh of relief, horror fans. Sam’s back!” (Uncle Creepy, Dread Central) And, most significantly: “I never thought I’d say this. Never. But I have officially forgotten Spider-Man 3.” (Jenna Busch, JoBlo’s Movie Emporium)

FORGOTTEN SPIDER-MAN 3?! Man, that sounds like heaven!!!

Yes, it looks like Raimi has returned to his roots, and this, my friends, is a reason to celebrate. This is only one of the greatest genre directors of all time, making his first all-out horror movie since 1992’s Army of Darkness. If the movie delivers, SM3 is forgiven. (OK, maybe not completely - that “Stayin’ Alive” scene is sure to go down as one of humanity’s worst crimes.)

Written more than 15 years ago by Raimi and his brother Ivan, Drag Me to Hell is about an ambitious young loan officer (Alison Lohman) who denies a loan to an old gypsy woman (Lorna Raver). The gypsy soon expires, but not before placing a powerful curse on the girl and damning her to hell. The trailers have been fantastic, and the tagline is one of my all-time favorites: “Christine Brown has a good job, a great boyfriend, and a bright future. But in three days, she’s going to hell.” I had some reservations about the PG-13 rating, but then buzz started to build, and Harry Knowles basically wet himself at the SXSW festival screening in Austin. Now, I’m officially stoked.

Before The Lord of the Rings came along and stole some of its glory, the Evil Dead series was basically the greatest trilogy in movie history. Raimi made the first one at an absurdly young age, when he was barely old enough to drink, using his friends (including star Bruce Campbell) as cast and crew. In the terrific book The Evil Dead Companion (written by Bill Warren), Campbell and company recall how they were all shocked by Raimi’s inventiveness - the ingenious gore effects, those unforgettable shots where the camera goes hurtling through the woods - which seemingly came out of nowhere. No other filmmaker had ever mixed horror and comedy in such a clever way. Evil Dead 2 is still my favorite, but all three hold up as classics of the genre. If Drag Me to Hell turns out to be a worthy successor to the unholy trilogy, then I think we’re in for quite a ride come May 29.

Terminator 4: Rise of the Wailing Critics

By
enrihrts
Published: 22 May 2009 4:59 PM UCTPosted in: Movie Reviews, Personal, UncategorizedTags: , , , , ,

terminatormotionposterI’m not sure what on earth is going on over at Rottentomatoes.com but the critical populace needs to take it easy on that free Kool-Aid the studios have been handing out. I mean how on earth can Angels & Demons and Night at the Museum 2 have a higher rating than Terminator Salvation? It barely has more then Dance Flick! Is Terminator really a bad movie, or are the critics forgetting that their supposed to write objectively about any movie regardless of how they feel about the project? I saw the movie last night, and as much as I hate using the phrase “It’s a definite crowd pleaser,” I would recommend it to anyone. You could feel the entire audience in the full theater holding on to their seats as the movie progressed, cheering & screaming at all the right moments. Sure, the 3rd act gets a little lame and slightly ridiculous, but come on, how much does a filmmaker have to do to please these critics? The first hour is brilliant & it contains some of the best effects and action sequences I have ever seen. Not to mention the nail biting tone, the sick score and all the great acting. Sam Worthington in particular rises above the entire cast.

After watching the movie and then reading rotten review after rotten review, I got the sense that most of the critics never gave the movie a fair chance. They were expecting it to be bad just because McG directed it and not the brilliant James Cameron. I know McG made those silly Charlies Angels flicks (and I know he has an equally silly name), but Terminator Salvation is a completely different type of movie and for the most part it has some really good directing. Night at the Museum 2 is nothing but a commercial for everything the big companies want to push on your kids, just like that horrible Hanna Montana Movie that also has a higher rating then Terminator. (WTF?) So to all the movie lovers out there, I recommend you make your own decisions about a movie’s worth and for god’s sake stop listening to the Tomatometer. It’s not fresh anymore.

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