Christoph Waltz was Inglorious Basterds

Those who wanted to see Inglorious Basterds have already trekked to the theatre and checked it out.  I happened to be one of those who wanted to see the film earlier but life gets in the way and things get put off.  Generally I couldn’t be classified as a huge Quentin Tarantino fan though a few of his films I’ve enjoyed.  Either way he is someone to track in hollywood because of his original ideas and style of storytelling.

Inglorious Basterds centers around a group of Jewish-American solders who are dropped into Nazi occupied France. Their purpose in the words of their team leader Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) “as a bushwhackin’ guerrilla army, we’re gonna be doin’ one thing and one thing only… killin’ Nazis.”.   Rotten Tomatoes has it tracking at 88% which is pretty good considering from the trailer you could think it only a blood & guts movie.

It’s not.

So much more to Inglorious Basterds as a film and I blame it on the performance of Christoph Waltz. You probably knew Brad Pitt was in it and while his performance was good… Christoph Waltz was inspired.  Col. Hans Landa as played by Waltz floats like a butterfly across the screen.

Elegant

Colorful

Captivating

First taste of Col. Hans Landa is his analogy of Jews to rats.

What a tremendously hostile world that a rat must endure. Yet not only does he survive, he thrives. Because our little foe has an instinct for survival and preservation second to none… And that Monsieur is what a Jew shares with a rat. – Col. Hans Landa, Inglorious Basterds

As the movie continues you find the analogy is self-description more than anything.  Col. Hans Landa, nicnamed “The Jew Hunter” and main villain, is a Nazi commander in World War II France.   The calm manner in which he interrogates made even my skin crawl, as if it were I in the chair with life hanging in the balance.   Waltz took over every scene and if he doesn’t get an Oscar nod I will be shocked.  Rarely do I campaign for anyone to win but Waltz is that inspiring.

The film delivered more than expected with strong dialogue mixed with the familiar Quentin tempo and camera work.  There was a good balance to the film that was a refreshing break from what has been out in theatres this year.

I recommend you check out Inglorious Basterds simply as example of why I track Tarantino’s work and reason to add Christoph Waltz to favorite actors list.

Stargate Universe – 2nd Peek

The Cast

I stumbled upon Stargate Universe on Hulu the other day and it is among one of the shows that the Syfy network has presented to keep my interest in the network.  Admittedly I was one of the critics when Syfy decided to change it’s name but so far the name change has brought at least two shows that I have enjoyed.

The first being Warehouse 13 described as part “The X-Files, part Raiders of the Lost Ark and part Moonlighting” by the network which turned out to be a fun little series that kept me tuned in all the way through.  Now Syfy has thrown another in the mix with Stargate Universe as one of many spinoff’s spurred by the success of the original 1994 film Stargate staring Kurt Russell and James Spader.

The show centers around a group of soldiers, scientists, and civilians who are forced to jump through a stargate to escape an attack.  On the other side they find themselves aboard “Destiny” an ancient ship locked on a course that is unknown with no way to return to Earth and of course the many other challenges that come with being stranded on a ship far far away.

So far the reviews from viewers at Hulu have been a mixed bag but the show still holds a 4 star rating showing promise to fans who have supported previous variations.  Most are willing to give the show time to develop and see potential for the series to become a favorite of the network.

The only face I recognize besides guest appearances from cast members of other Stargate shows was Robert Carlyle playing Dr. Nicholas Rush, the scientific head and genius of the program, otherwise it’s all new faces for me.

Most notable is that the series is darker in tone and grittier in context which could explain why the mixed reviews from Stargate fans.  It definitely is a break from prior series along the same premise.  No big surprise to me considering the success of shows like Fringe who have built a large following and loyal fan base.

Like many others I will give this show time to develop before casting final judgement of watch worthy.

Zombieland slayed me

I’ve checked out the Re-Animator, Night of the Comet, Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later, I am Legend, and Resident Evil to name a few (or more) zombie flicks.  Zombieland so far is at the top of the list as one of my favorite zombie related films (Night of the Comet is still #1).

Woody Harrelson made this film for me in his role as “Tallahassee”, a no crap taking undead killing machine.  His unique style and effort in devising new and unique ways to off the undead kept me laughing throughout.

The opening sequence is one of the best, including films outside the genre, setting the tone for the rest of the film.    Jessie Eisenberg as “Columbus”  perfectly deliverd the antihero character with a  list of rules that had me cracking up the entire film. Emma Stone (Wichita) filled the role of hottie nicely but more importantly a hottie that kicked ass and actually had soemthing upstairs besides mesmerizing eyes.  Her younger sister “Little Rock” played by Abigail Breslin wasn’t a slouch either and offered up a character that tugged at your heartstrings… only to shove a shotgun in your face once you let your guard down.

One of my favorite parts I won’t tell you about because it would be a spoiler, but let me tell you this… a scene that happened in a home theater made me laugh in such surprise I tooted unintentionally, thank goodness for plush movie seats.  It was that funny to me… oh man I’m laughing right now as I write this (minus the toot).

Yes it has gore, it’s silly, it’s violent, and it’s exactly the type of zombie flick that I like. If you want more details and greater breakdown of the film  check out ThinkHero’s spoiler free review they can give you the skinny on all the goods like plot, acting, and directing.

Me, I just want you to see the film because I enjoyed it that much….be sure to take a friend or three. Trust me it’s a group laugh film for sure as long as your friends aren’t too uptight.

Reading others: Distribution, Future of TV, Moviegoers and technology, and DIY filmmaking

I’ve been typing, re-typing, pacing, pondering, and fretting over how to cover my next post for Splintercontent.  Not that I’m void of subject matter, it’s the opposite, too many things I want to cover and not enough time. Not to mention the post would be very long losing most of the readers after the first few paragraphs.

Through my daily readings I find a subject or topic that sparks a need to respond or toss in my 2 cents.  Instead of making you wait what could be another week before I finally get finished with one or several articles… below are a few links to articles that have contributed to all the wheel turning in my head.

Studios feel pinch of slowing DVD sales, rise in rentals – Marketwatch.com

What do I find interesting?

The article covers how the DVD sales are eroding and Hollywood Studios are starting to feel the loss of revenue due to a changing market.  More people are renting DVD’s vs purchasing causing media companies to scramble in order to  fill the void. (DVD sales typically draw 30% profit margin.)  The article expands on Studio obstacles, the impact of Redbox and Netflix in the industry, and how Blue-Ray factors in.

Favorite quote from article (How many times have we heard dollars for pennies analogy?)

“We fear that the industry will be trading sell-through dollars for rental pennies from here on out,” said Michael Nathanson, analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, in a note to clients last week.

**Other Splintercontent posts that tie in with the article: Closing the Gap on Movie release windows

In a Social Networking World, What’s the Future of TV? – Huffingtonpost.com

What do I find interesting?

Henry Jenkins the author of the above article is also a scholar (Director of Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT) and  blogger who writes on media and media culture (among other things).   You may have watched Henry’s video on Transmedia, IF not I recommend you do to gain deeper understanding of Transmedia.  The article is interesting for the questions it raises about our understanding of television and how culture is changing it.   Asking the billion dollar question everyone is trying to wrap their heads around: Do you know what Television is anymore?

**Other Splintercontent posts that tie in with the article: Level 26, digi-novel, and Transmedia

The next 3 links are grouped together because they touch the same topic of how the internet, technology, and the digital age is changing what influence movie going audiences.  Based on a study conducted by Stradella Road, the entertainment marketing firm founded by Gordon Paddison.

Internet influences film audiences – Variety

The Internet Takes Control of Movie Marketing – Cinematical

How moviegoers at different ages use technology – Los Angeles Times

What do I find interesting?

The report provides numbers around what a lot of people already realized, you don’t have to be a major to reach an audience, find new distributions channels, and creatively market your work.

**Other Splintercontent posts that tie in with the article: The next generation doesn’t have to change.

or Generational Content

The final 2 articles are also about the future of movies, video content, and the type of people who will be creating that future.

Tomorrow’s hit movies won’t rely on stars or studios, film forum told – The Vancouver Sun

DIY With a Little Help: OpenIndie Hopes to Bring Theaters within Filmmakers’ Reach – indieWire

What do I find interesting?

Filmmakers can successfully reach the audience and you don’t have to be a major studio to make it happen.  We hear about revenue loss, monetization, margins, etc.. etc.. it is easy to forget that some people see a bright future and  potential for how change is not all doom and gloom.  One of my top 3 topics to watch, it is a picture of things to come.

**Other Splintercontent posts that tie in with the article: Hollywood and the golden handcuffs

Emmys: play-by-play

Here’s my play-by-play analyis of the Emmy Awards show.  Didn’t have a chance to “tweet” during the live broadcast, I DVR’d it…roommates and I needed to watch the new HBO shows, and new TV still trumps awards shows, IMHO.  BTW, “Bored To Death” is an excellent addition to HBO’s lineup, and Curb Your Enthusiasm is still funny.

• Neil Patrick Harris (NPH) opens with musical number…no one saw that coming.  Really good though, impressed with how quickly he was able to get all of those TV station names out.  Props on singling out Christina Hendricks – Joan Holloway on Mad Men – sexiest woman on the tube right now.

• Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy – cute bit with the glasses while announcing all of the nominees, but Vanessa Williams is not having any of that.  Kristin Chenoweth Wins!!!  Good things certainly do come in small packages…she’s so tiny and adorable.  They should’ve had her do a musical # – an outstanding singer!

• Best Writing for a Comedy – 30 Rock is all over the place…and shockingly wins.  Writer gives a speech, no one really cares.

NPH points out Barbie, who sent in a video about how she’s the biggest fan of television…whatever, she won a contest and got to go to the Emmys…cool.  Harlem Globetrotters bit fell flat.

• Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy – crossing my fingers for NPH – reading through the nominee list.  Show closeup of Kevin Dillon and i can’t help but think of the phrase, “it’s an honor just being nominated”.  What?!?  Jon Cryer wins.  Least funny man on television – great.  Seriously not funny.  Doogie was robbed!

Back from commercial break and NPH pokes fun at the fact that he didn’t win.  He did say in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he would have tons of comedy fodder if he didn’t win the award…lol.  Love that guy.

• Best Actress in a Comedy – Enter Justin Timberlake to make all the ladies swoon.  Makes joke about guys digging chicks who can hang with the guys…watch football with them, and make them laugh.  Hold the phone…does anyone really believe that JT watches football?  Toni Collette wins the award for best actress, but Sarah Silverman is set to take home the trophy for funniest woman of the night with her killer ’stache.

Showing video of Jon Cryer talking to the press after Emmy win…hilarious back and forth between him and NPH.  “In your face, Neil Patrick Harris!”  Love that he just asked Cryer to confirm the name on the envelope.

• Guest Actor/Actress in a Comedy – previously announced in seperate ceremony but bringing them onstage to say a couple of words.  Chicks from Gossip Girl come onstage looking like jailbait…nice.  Winners were Justin Timberlake and Tina Fey for their stints on Saturday Night Live.  JT makes lame Kanye joke – Fail.  Tina thanks Lorne Michaels, and rightly so for giving her an acting start – he’s the reason that she’s queen of TV right now.

• …Another Writing Award – writer from The Office wins

• Best Actor in a Comedy – Rob Lowe is still baller.  Why do people from Two and a Half Men keep getting nominated for things…that show is weaksauce…terrible.  Alec Baldwin wins, which makes me happy cuz he’s genuinely funny.  Gives props to Tina Fey!  Also, big time recognition for producer Lorne Michaels.  He’s like the Godfather of Comedy (everyone must pay their respects to Don Michaels).

Family Guy clip…FTW!

Reality Television Time – Excuse me, while I zone out for the next several minutes.  Bathroom break!

Yay!  Reality over…Movies & Mini-series montage has commenced.

Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick walk out onto the stage – such a cute couple.

• Best Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie – Winner is Shohreh Aghdashloo for the House of Saddam mini-series.  Iranian actress…was in “House of Sand & Fog” several years ago…really good movie btw.  She was in some episodes of 24 too, Iranian playing a terrorist, who’d have guessed?  Speaking of Sand & Fog, sounds like she has it stuck in her throat everytime she tries to breath during her acceptance speech.  Beautiful lady.

• Best Supporting Actor in a Mini-Series or Movie – Winner is Ken Howard for Grey Gardens, HBO movie.  He’s a great character actor, although i can’t remember off the top of my head what else he’s been in.  Ha!  Isn’t that usually the case with the best character actors, though?  “I’ll make this speech short in hopes that it won’t be interrupted by a congressman or rapper” – absolutely the best Kanye/Joe Wilson joke of the evening so far, and doubt it will be topped.  He thanks some woman who gave him her kidney some time ago – well, i should think so!  “Happy Birthday Sunshine” – it’s his wife’s bday…aahhh.  This might be the best acceptance speech of the night.

• Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Movie – some Grey’s Anatomy ladies present the award to Brendan Gleeson for Into The Storm.  Always think of Gangs of New York when i see this guy…such a BA movie!  His speech bores me.

NPH checks back in with Barbie, who is now sitting behind a couple of TV cameras instead of the Harlem Globetrotters – “Best Seat in the House” winner – apparently, this is going to be an ongoing unfunny joke.

Jennifer Love Hewitt comes out to present a couple of awards.  Not paying attention to the awards, Love is so pretty.

Ernst & Young accountants come out – Dr. Horrible hijacks the Emmys…priceless…Cap’n Hammer saves the day!  Felicia Day even makes an appearance – good deal.

• Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie – Alec Baldwin presents to Jessica Lange for Grey Gardens.  She give a shout-out to former bad girl turned Hollywood darling, Drew Barrymore.

Keifer Sutherland and Anna Torv arrive on stage to give out a couple of awards.  Let me just say that Anna Torv looks absolutely breathtaking.  She’s always been attractive on Fringe, but never given the chance to shine like she does tonight…gorgeous!

• Made for TV Movie – award goes to Grey Gardens, HBO.  I keep hearing awesome things about this movie, but have yet to see it…really have to check it out.
• Outstanding Mini-Series – Winner is Little Dorrit, BBC.  Whatever, doubt i’ll ever see it.

Time for Variety Shows – clip show featuring Oscars, Conan, SNL, Letterman, Stewart – funny, funny stuff

Cast of Big Bang Theory comes out to apologize for their show not being humorous in any way, shape, or form.   Ok, that’s not true, but they should.  Give out some directing award…i’m not interested.

• Best Writing Team for Variety, Music, or Comedy Series – Video of nominees is the best part, these folks always find humorous ways to present their writers.  Best of the bunch this year are Conan O’Brien (Facebook bit running down list of writers in friend request format, while Conan “ignores” all of their requests…lol) and David Letterman (Billy Crystal sings a humorous song with the names of all his writers).  However, the winning team, unsurprisingly is the team behind The Daily Show w/Jon Stewart – always hilarious and timely.

• Best Original Music and Lyrics in Variety Program - Jimmy Fallon comes out on stage and starts a funny musical number – falls down.  Kinda funny…definitely more funny than anything he’s done in world of talk show hosting.  Winner is the Team behind Hugh Jackman’s opening number on the Oscars - great!  That was fantastic.

• Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series - Rick Gervais comes out on stage and always shines at these awards shows – really, really funny.  British comedy is usually lost on me, but Gervais is the exception to the rule.  He should be hosting an awards show soon…please!  Pokes fun at last year’s hosting of Emmy’s by the Reality Show folks, which certainly did suck – “Better than last year”.  Daily Show w/Jon Stewart wins, of course.  Jon Stewart pays respect to the excellent job that Neil Patrick Harris is doing…much love.  Talks about how difficult it is and that NPH is doing a great job.  His best quote though – “If the Oscar guys would right me a song, I would sing it.  Seriously.” – remember, he hosted the Academy Awards in 2008.

Drama Categories…GO!

LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell arrive on stage, as CBS continues to try and parade the stars of every single one of their shows in front of the awards show viewers.

• Best Supporting Actor in a Drama – world’s scariest “Other”, Michael Emerson of Lost, takes home this trophy.  Damn…he even sounds super creepy giving an awards show acceptance speech.

• Best Supporting Actress in a Drama – Cherry Jones, 24.  She was the president, and she was good on that show, so yeah, i buy it.

In Memoriam – sadness all around

Coolest TV Vamps – Vampire Bill and Angel take the stage to present to a couple of already announced winners:

• Guest Actress/Actor in a Drama – Ellen Burstyn & Michael J. Fox

• Best Writing for Drama - Mad Men is the winner.  Yay!

Simon Baker is here…hooray…the tail-end of this awards show is very anticlimactic…not a lot of cool people popping on stage.

• Best Actress in Drama – Glenn Close wins for her role in Damages.  Classy lady, stellar actress.

• Best Actor in Drama – For the second year in a row, Bryan Cranston takes it for Breaking Bad.  “So thankful that Glenn Close is actually a woman” – he should be, she pretty much rules in all acting categories.  If there was an overall, i’m pretty sure Close would take it every time.  I like Cranston, he always seems like such a genuine guy.

Final 2 categories of the night, so says NPH

Bob Newhart arrives – luckily for us, he was not in the ‘In Memoriam’ segment, because he is still funny as hell as he reminisces about his old shows.

• Outstanding Comedy Series – 30 Rock - no surprise here, reigning queen of comedy, Tina Fey, graciously accepts.

• Outstanding Drama Series – This is where my DVR cut off because I was not smart enough to set it past the 3 hour mark.  I know…rookie mistake.  So I can’t comment on how the award was presented, but did anyone ever doubt that the award would go to Mad Men?  I know i didn’t.  Good stuff, great show.

I’d say overall this year’s Emmys were a success.  Enjoyable and fun.  I even thought John Hodgemann (PC from Apple’s Mac commercials) was pretty funny as the narrator voice making up mostly fake, fun facts about the nominees before telling us how many times they had previously been nominated and/or won Emmys.  Neil Patrick Harris was phenomenal.  He did an excellent job of being very funny without distracting from the real stars of the show, those who were there to receive their much deserved awards for achievement in Television.  It always seems like some awards show hosts try to do too much, but NPH walked the tightrope with ease.  Well played.

Emmy Musings

The Coveted Prize

The 2009 Emmy Awards will be presented on Sunday, 9/20, at the NOKIA theatre in L.A.  The annual event will be hosted this year by the incomparable Neil Patrick Harris (former child star of “Doogie Howser, M.D.” and currently starring in the very funny ensemble cast of “How I Met Your Mother”).  Given his vocal past in Broadway musicals and other venues, I fully expect and anxiously await a musical production (a la Billy Crystal and Hugh Jackman at the Oscars) to be a part of his hosting duties.

Eonline and Emmys.com will be integrating Facebook and Twitter on Emmy night, to offer a unique live chat environment that will combine both tweets and status updates, beginning with the red carpet entrances and continuing through the entire ceremony.  It sounds like a promising endeavor that I believe will be a very enjoyable addition to the viewing experience.

Upon release of the nominations, I certainly didn’t agree with all of the choices and was unsurprisingly perturbed by several snubs, but cannot help but to get excited for my second-favorite awards show of the year (the 1st being the Oscars).  This year, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has expanded the field of nominees in each category to six (with seven in the best comedy and drama categories).

SIDE NOTE: Adding nominees to Emmy categories is called for, as this is a medium that has been gradually expanding in recent years with numerous original series’ popping up on cable stations.  Adding nominees to Academy Award categories is uncalled for, as this is a medium in which studios have gradually lowered the number of yearly movies produced over the last several decades.

Before I present to you the list of winners that I foresee, I’d like to discuss this year’s most obvious Emmy snubs.  Still no love for “Battlestar Galactica” (in its final season, no less) or “Friday Night Lights”, as two of the most compelling shows on television both failed to garner nominations in the Best Drama category, not to mention their lack of acting nominations to boot.  At the very least, Connie Britton and/or Kyle Chandler should have been nominated in the best acting categories for their FNL roles.  This may be the best pairing of actors on television right now, with the possible exception of Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin on “30 Rock”.

Below is a list of nominees in what I consider to be the major categories (I’m snubbing reality programming, because I can’t stand most of it).  Those nominees that I want to win are underlined, those I expect to win are listed in bold.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I do not regularly watch ALL of the shows that have been nominated, nor the actors who have been nominated for the roles they play in them.  However, I do watch way too much television, so I feel that I have a relatively good grasp on what is good and what is not so good.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

• Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock
• Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock
• Kevin Dillon, Entourage
• Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
• Rainn Wilson, The Office
• Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

• William Shatner, Boston Legal
• Christian Clemenson, Boston Legal
• Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
• William Hurt, Damages
• Michael Emerson, Lost
• John Slattery, Mad Men

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

• Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
• Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
• Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
• Kristin Wiig, Saturday Night Live
• Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty
• Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

• Cherry Jones, 24
• Rose Byrne, Damages
• Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy
• Chandra Wilson, Grey’s Anatomy
• Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
• Hope Davis, In Treatment

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

• Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
• Jemaine Clement, Flight of the Conchords
• Tony Shalhoub, Monk
• Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
• Steve Carell, The Office
• Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

• Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
• Michael C. Hall, Dexter
• Hugh Laurie, House
• Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
• Jon Hamm, Mad Men
• Simon Baker, The Mentalist

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

• Tina Fey, 30 Rock
• Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
• Sarah Silverman, The Sarah Silverman Program
• Toni Collette, United States of Tara
• Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

• Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
• Glenn Close, Damages
• Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU
• Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
• Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
• Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Outstanding Comedy Series

• 30 Rock
• Entourage
• Family Guy
• Flight of the Conchords
• How I Met Your Mother
• The Office
• Weeds

Outstanding Drama Series

• Big Love
• Breaking Bad
• Damages
• Dexter
• House
• Lost
• Mad Men

District 9: An Alien “Alien Flick”

Any film worth my time will hold my undivided attention for the entire length of that film.  That is to say that at no point (or at the least, rarely) during the film will my mind wander to the point where I start thinking about outside factors (work, “to-do” lists).  Keep me entertained and provide for me an escape from life’s hassles for a couple of hours.  That is what I expect of a quality film, it is our unspoken agreement.  “District 9″ vastly exceeded my expectations.

Directed by first-timer Neill Blomkamp, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson (“Lord of the Rings”), “District 9″ is a Sci-Fi gem that had me captivated from start to finish.  Beginning in a documentary format and gradually turning into a gritty action film set in present day, “District 9″ tells the story of a race of aliens whose spaceship ended up immobile and hovering over Johannesburg, South Africa more than 20 years ago.  A team is sent to the spaceship where they discover the aliens to be starving and in dire need of assistance.  In a humanitarian effort, the aliens are taken from their ship and placed in a slum-like government camp referred to as District 9.  Presently, the government has hired a private military contractor, Multinational United (MNU), to oversee a relocation of the aliens to a new camp known as District 10.  Our unlikely protagonist is Wikus Van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley), an MNU operative assigned by his father-in-law to lead the relocation effort.  While in District 9, Wikus comes into contact with an unknown liquid causing him to become violently ill and eventually transforming his world in a variety of ways. 

Few films I watch elicit literal “edge-of-my-seat” excitement, but there were times when I felt the need to remind myself that this was just a movie.  Tense, Angry, Nervous, Mad, Nauseous, Sad.  This is just a sampling of the laundry list of emotions I felt while viewing “District 9″.  Any film that awakens that kind of visceral reaction from me is doing something right.  Sharlto Copley gives a masterful performance as government bureaucrat turned freedom fighter, at times I despised him but eventually grew to sympathize with his plight.

A face that only a mother could love?

The title of this post refers to the fact that this “alien flick” felt alien to me, in that it is not the typical “humans vs. aliens” genre film that is generally fed to the movie-going masses.  These aliens of “District 9″ are not out to triumph over the human race and/or steal our planet, as would be the general plot behind most Hollywood fare of this nature.  They’re just looking to survive and maybe figure out a way to travel back home (similar to E.T., but much less cute and cuddly).  I can’t remember the last time (maybe “E.T.”) an alien film had me rooting for the alien.  Despite outward appearances, most of the human characters in this film end up looking like the grotesque monsters of whom we should be afraid.  The audience has little choice but to feel empathetic regarding the treatment of the alien characters, whose species may have to fight for the very freedom that we are ingrained to believe all beings deserve.

As if “District 9″ just being a solid, entertaining film weren’t enough to hold your interest, it also serves as an allegory for South African apartheid, adding an extra layer to be appreciated by those interested in such things.  It specifically references the South African government’s 1960’s-era forcible removal and relocation of 60,000 people when District Six, in Capetown, was declared a “whites-only” area.  Themes of racism and xenophobia run rampant throughout the film, adding a great deal of believability and realism.  Many are frightened by what they do not know, and it is easy to believe that members of the human race could act in a way similar to what is depicted in this film, mostly because they already have.

“District 9″ wasn’t filmed on a mega-blockbuster budget and may feel a little edgier and realistic as a result of that.  With a production budget of $30 Million that no one would refer to as “shoestring”, it still falls far short of the $200 million production pricetag for both this summer’s installments of the Terminator and Transformers franchises.  And unlike its summer blockbuster predecessors, “District 9″ actually delivers as an excellent representation of what a good science fiction film should be.  There is style, in the form of amazing action sequences and special effects, and substance, in the form of a heartbreaking and well-crafted story.

Our Unlikely Hero

I give this film 3 and a half out of 4 stars.  Great acting, directing, and some of the best action sequences I’ve seen this year.  The folks behind the special effects did a superb job as the CGI was more believable than most.  I’m looking forward to seeing what Neil Blomkamp has in store for us next.

The film was left wide open for a sequel, and there could also be a pretty good prequel made exploring all or part of the 20+ years between the arrival of the alien spaceship and the events of “District 9″.  I anxiously await either one, and judging by the amount of profit made from this first film, probably won’t have to wait long.

Twittervision

The Fox Broadcasting Company is far from the first in a long line of entertainment groups trying to capitalize on Twitter’s still strong buzz, but they are approaching it in a way that is quite novel.  A recent marketing push has the network launching a new initiative with two of its television programs.  Fox has people associated with their television shows (actors, producers, etc.) using Twitter in conjunction with a repeat of an earlier broadcast of that show.  They’re cleverly calling it a “tweet-peat”.  On Thursday night, Fox broadcast a tweet-peat of “Fringe”, and on Friday night, the pilot episode of the new fall show “Glee”.  The basic premise was that fans would ask questions via Twitter and the stars of the show would then answer these questions while offering up their own commentary, all of which is streamed live across the bottom third of the television screen during the episode.

Fox's New Fall Musical TV Show

I watched the tweet-peat of the pilot episode of “Glee” on Friday night.  I had seen the pilot episode previously, and to be quite honest, the Twitter component did nothing for me but detract from the show.  The stars of the show did exactly as advertised, tweeting regularly with answers to Twitter questions and offering up their own commentary throughout the show.  Sadly though, while they were trying to offer up witty and comical quips in their tweets, they just weren’t very witty or comical (I suppose that’s why the television show in which they star has its own writers).  I applaud the Fox Broadcasting Company for what I believe to be a smart, interesting, and relatively groundbreaking idea with a great deal of promise.  However, I’m not sure that a regular television program is the proper vehicle for this kind of high-concept idea.

In my opinion, the real-time chatting aspect of Twitter has always been one of its strongest attributes.  The posts (tweets) that I came across on the Twitter website during last year’s Academy Awards ceremony were excellent.  There were some stupid ones, but there were also several that were funny, relevant, informative, and just added an extra fun element to the overall Oscar viewing experience.   I felt the same way when tweets broke out during Hulu’s first live-stream concert with Dave Matthews Band this past summer.

In this way, I think the idea of tweets being shown on-screen during live broadcasts could be a lot of fun and go a long way toward increasing ratings for a variety of live television events.  Moving forward, I shall refer to this as “Twittervision”.  Though, I believe the concept may work best if relegated mostly to comedians, or at least famous people who are widely recognized for their humor.  For instance, I think having a tweet stream on television during the Academy Awards ceremony would be a brilliant idea.  The live stream could be placed in the corner or bottom of the television screen while comedians and/or celebrities in the audience tweet during the Oscar telecast.

Because I am not sure that everyone would be a fan of this new concept, I will say that the idea could work better on a network that has multiple channels for viewing.  An example of this would be ESPN’s annual ESPY awards cermony, during which the network recognizes excellence in sports performance for the year.  ESPN could show the regular broadcast of the ESPY’s on ESPN, with the “Twittervision” version of the awards show on ESPN2.

What do you think?  Interesting concept or garbage?  Is there a future for Twittervision?

Closing the Gap on Movie release windows

Release windows have followed a multi-tier format of stages in a films life cycle: distributed first in movie theaters, second to DVD or disk format, third pay-per-view and finally ending up broadcast or free On-demand etc..  As new formats for viewing films has progressed so have the tiers.  Normally these windows were kept exclusive, a benefit to each tier not having to compete with the other.  The system allows for all to play nice maximize profits and maintaining the mutually beneficial relationships.  One other perk is that you capture the same consumer multiple times.

After reading the Business Week.com article speculating about a Sony strategy to offer “home theatrical” distribution where the studio would rent consumers a film just after it hits theaters but before it’s available on DVD, I was reminded that release windows are changing and based off what data I could find, shrinking.  One reason the multi-tier format has remained somewhat unchanged was due to cost and technology.  The exhibition industry hasn’t changed that much since the first film was shown in 1896 using projectors to shine light through frames of film (still the majority today).  However times have changed and technology is progressing at a rapid rate. We are firmly planted in the “Digital Age” allowing for broader distribution options.

Studios are open to different approaches in order to cast the profit net as wide as possible.  In 2006 director Steven Soderbergh tried a Day-and-date release strategy with his film Bubble, the film was distributed in theatres and available on home video the same day grossing est. $5 million with combined Box Office and DVD pre-orders.  Diverging from the traditional multi-tiered system in an effort to give customers more options and giving those who don’t need the movie theatre experience more options on when/how they watch a film.

With DVD’s sales declining Studios are scrambling to prevent further loss, one option in my opinion that is becoming increasingly appealing is the home-theatrical release.   NATO (National Assoc. of Theatre Owners) noted that the window between theatrical and DVD release was 6 days shorter in 2008 than 2007.  Based on data from The Digital Entertainment Group, DVD’s peaked in 2005-2006 and sharply dropped in 2008.

So what other options are out there for a Studio to maintain the margins?

When X-Men Origins: Wolverine leaked online prior to theatrical release and grossed $179 million domestic ($363 million Worldwide) it left the door cracked for the potential of home-theatrical release.   The growing popularity of streaming online sites like Hulu or Netflix demonstrates people are re-defining how they consume films.

The exhibition industry isn’t sitting idle either. With digital cinema looming the potential for movie theatres to have greater control over what stays onscreen, for how long, and to what scale isn’t a far stretch. Distribution limitations inherent with bulky/costly reels will no longer be the Achilles heel for exhibitors.

Example: The Ugly Truth opened in 2,882 theatres with an average of $9,579 while Hurt Locker opened in 4 theatres averaging $36,338 making Hurt Locker the smarter choice to have in more theatres. The high cost of celluloid prohibits the expansion of movies such as Hurt Locker to a wider release thus impacting the overall revenue for both studio and exhibitor.  As movie theaters go digital it allows for greater flexibility in expanding or contracting films’ distribution based on performance which also could potentially put more pressure on a Studio to make up for a $30 million flop if distribution is reduced in favor of a higher performing film.

It is still early as technologies are being explored and options are pursued but my guess is that we will continue to see the release window’s narrow.  Good for consumers who will have more choices in how and when they are able to access new movies.  Potentially rocky for those who produce, distribute, and exhibit movies.

Constantly amazed by the talent of others

First thing this morning I was greeted with a link to Vimeo of a fan made video. The video is for the song Two Weeks from the group Grizzly Bear, who prior to this I had never heard of. I’ll be honest new and breaking music is usually fed to me by others, this is a shining example of how I stumble upon great talent.

Video was created by Gabe Askew, no idea who he is but I just became a HUGE fan. Hope to see more mind blowing originality from him.

Two Weeks – Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.