tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267405642024-03-07T04:16:59.865-05:00Shattered KeyboardMy rants and raves on games, the game industry, game technology, and machinimablliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.comBlogger497125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-29468363899697026542013-04-01T21:57:00.000-04:002013-04-01T21:57:03.443-04:00The Insanity That Is Dwarf FortressIt has been awhile.<div>
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I am utterly fascinated by the game <a href="http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/">Dwarf Fortress</a>. <a href="http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Main_Page">It is simply the most complex game I have ever seen and one of the most engrossing</a>. Even months into play I am still learning new things.</div>
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<a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/12/03/eve-dwarf-fortress-amongst-inclusions-at-moma-exhibit/">What is more fascinating is that the New York Museum of Modern Art has included DF in an exhibit on video games, along with Eve Online, and classics such as Pac Man and Sim City</a>.</div>
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EO is also a fascinating choice as both DF and EO have spurred countless stories generated from within the game (the length tales of treacher in the <a href="http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Great_War">Great War stories</a> from EO are brilliant).</div>
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The fact that DF, a game that is as far from eye candy as can be, has inspired such fascinating works of the imagination is the testament to the creators, Tarn and Zach Adams.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Boatmurdered/Introduction/"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtjjjchg_cwxqQl28FI2BGucjiJAybDsK5QQNyRwZUJeVMZjsPnpzy0V-cLy3PMJoUNJD7TAQ9bJMqI6Whg5GgEPg7MHyP4xqRl6oakegX9au1AVT_bYyAkNmlGWIBNmAs_NqIrQ/s320/chargedetail.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Boatmurdered/Introduction/">Example annotated screenshot.</a></div>
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Some of the more interesting DF stories:</div>
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1) Bronzemurdered - obviously inspired by #2, but a nice quick graphical display of all of the <a href="http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Fun">FUN</a>! that can occur in DF, and so very very quickly.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/v0.31:Stories/Bronzemurder"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRsJ9GBICj4YdUBNEg345leLR5cykXbSn-lfApNLK2lz9pNioP8B87UKjTu_DwmRl7TrWi3SXzzVMmMIGuAKqu436egFgwRoesurQZ62MjMUODawR4TjXGMkbNzIfhP5VTsHmXuA/s320/Bronzemurder0.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/v0.31:Stories/Bronzemurder">Bronzemurdered - a graphical DF tale.</a></td></tr>
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2) <a href="http://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Boatmurdered/">Boatmurdered </a>- <a href="http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Boatmurdered">a succession game</a> (multiple players play for one year of game time each - then pass to the next player). This received a great deal of attention and is a hilarious read (at least up to the Elephant rampage - StarkRavingMad section) and has inspired many other works. </div>
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<a href="http://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Boatmurdered/Update%201-18/">Winter - 1055:I've started project "Fuck The World", a top secret attempt to funnel magma to the outside. I'll kill those elephants. I'll kill allthose fucking elephants.</a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.newgrounds.com/art/view/scribblepit/boatmurdered-wallpaper" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZz725rC_nysfPp2020ci1GTUh10xIyhCYJTCnCIw3rn3Txv1g9ynHLlhRlZJsCJBs0-atbxWb8f3ClN7R_ZVo-yT63-LVM0hKqk-kEkQB3SF-2atKvnlNv2Z9gmR52XyYujOREw/s320/scribblepit_boatmurdered-wallpaper.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Boatmurdered Wallpaper - the Elephants are Prominent</td></tr>
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It also has a nice <a href="http://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Boatmurdered/Introduction/">introduction </a>to the game for the uninitiated.</div>
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3) <a href="http://oilfurnace.timdenee.com/">Oilfurnace </a>- a new fortress by the same artist (Tim Denee) who drew Bronzemurdered.</div>
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4) <a href="http://www.bravemule.com/matulremrit/">Bravemule </a>- a mixed media tale, part screen capture, or even animation using a third party tool (stonesense + DF Hack) - some inspirational drawings, and a few videos at important interludes.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stonesense view of Bravemule Tower</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stonesense view of Bravemule tunnels</td></tr>
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This tale is a fascinating next generation graphical novel. The text mixes the game's computer logic + invented dwarf logic for a bizarre and possibly impenetrable commentary. For anyone who has played DF, the in-jokes more than make up for it. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;"><b>27th Obsidian 1050</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;"><b> </b>The arm of Matul Remrit is severed and we dregs are left scattered. The broker is too dead to count for me. I cut off his fingers and he is not faking. I will do what best I can to describe the situation: a sunrise happened since the wooden sword pierced my side. I am with enough dregs to fill a squad. No dwarf reports the strength to move the mule corpse off this cursed wagon but I cannot find my whip to verify these claims. When we split from the brothers, some were run through and dead in the bellies of animals at last correspondence. I do not know if the brothers live. They are not coming for us, and I hear the wolves howl.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;"><b>The poem "Ode to Mittens" - by Exi the Poemhaver is worth the price of admission.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;"><b>16th Slate 1051</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> Oh Mittens how your fur shined</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> Oh Mittens how your head purred</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> Oh Mittens how your feet landed (when hurled)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> Oh Mittens where have you left</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> Oh Mittens do you miss me too</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> - "Ode to Mittens" by Exi the Poemhaver</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_Fortress">I have to admire someone who has declared the coding of this game their life's work</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;">If games are not art, they are at least a paintbrush and a canvas.</span></span></div>
blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-18624056106753438452012-08-22T08:39:00.001-04:002012-08-22T08:39:15.692-04:00Dog Gone Love - (Baltimore 48 Hour Film Project 2012)Our short, Dog Gone Love, for the Baltimore 48 Hour Film Project is on YouTube now.<br />
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<a href="http://www.48hourfilm.com/en/baltimore/?l=en">http://www.48hourfilm.com/en/baltimore/?l=en</a>
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<a class="yt-uix-redirect-link" dir="ltr" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2195834/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: #cecece; border: 0px; color: #1c62b9; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2195834/">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2195834/</a>
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<br />blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-32198160555677417072012-07-13T19:39:00.001-04:002012-07-13T19:39:07.240-04:00Silverdocs 2012Due to travel, I only managed to catch the last half of Silverdocs. This meant that I only got to see three docs.<br />
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The Queen of Versailles - follows a billionaire family as they announce plans to build the biggest house in America (>90K sq. feet) and then the recession hits and things take a turn for the worse. A fairly light look at a former beauty queen who is now the wife of a timeshare condo mogul, her family of hers and adopted children, the hired help that are desperately trying to save money to aid family members back home, and the empire itself as it begins to crumble.<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125666/">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125666/</a>
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We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists - I should have liked this more. This story of the rise of 4Chan, and Anonymous, and distributed hacking, and political movements. But this is not quite If A Tree Falls, it's far too one-sided, and not objective enough and it focuses too much on the superficial. Worse, there were actual revolutions going on, some aided in part by social networking that did manage to make change. Going after Scientology? Is that Anonymous's big claim to fame?<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2177843/">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2177843/</a>
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Detropia - this was the best doc I saw at Silverdocs this year. Not a Michael Moore expose. Not an objective analysis of what Detroit is, and where it came from. This doc is atmospheric, what Detroit looks and feels like right now. Some good, some bad. There are some hard questions that get asked and no real answers are offered. Excellent cinematography.<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125490/">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125490/</a>
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<br />blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-38811518076297287302012-04-16T22:41:00.001-04:002012-04-24T07:46:40.807-04:0048 Hour MachinimaThe Project 48 Machinima (is it the 48 Hour Project - Machinima - actually what is the relationship between the various entities I am still not sure) took place a few weekends ago, and the awards ceremony was Saturday night. Unfortunately, due to the need to include Europe and Australia, it took place at 11 PM PST, which means 2 AM EST.<br />
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Like the Oscars, it went long, so at 5:30 AM I turned the computer off.<br />
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<a href="http://mamachinima.blogspot.com/2012/04/award-and-winners-48machinima-2012.html">Chantal and Phalyen hosted and the full set of awards were given out at the end</a>.<br />
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The big winner of the night was <a href="http://youtu.be/sOO0VsCu7Gk" style="background-color: #3b3b3b; color: #aa77aa; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Oblivious Films – Crueler Heads Prevail</a>, which won the big $3000 aussie cash prize and the oppurtunity to screen in Las Vegas. The Australian winners were <span style="background-color: #3b3b3b; color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;"> </span><a href="http://youtu.be/LxeG5X7E9_M" style="background-color: #3b3b3b; color: #aa77aa; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Zardoz Carwash – Imperative</a>.<br />
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Great set of films, with Second Life being the most predominant platform.<br />
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My film Used, is here, shot in Muvizu - a platform I downloaded the week before, so I spent most of the week doing tutorials, and a good part of the actual 48 hours struggling with the software, so I am impressed I got anything made.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pKXm0b2nHhA" width="560"></iframe><br />
Public Version<br />
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A fun night even if it went far too late. Here's some screens of the awards ceremony.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phaley and Chantal - hosts</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This movie involves a notorious criminal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1H-H2XWU5-hGyBjFmP7ExhHqjXYPzf887Bm3ae1X-OBl_BX7po6UPJ-kaRjUrYCoa2FQnJi4Oaj0RR5uOoTLXrz1ZrXfKEIStPuRDb9C8hf2AiKin-XfGTMf-OEGstOfOiaZJg/s1600/Snapshot_003.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1H-H2XWU5-hGyBjFmP7ExhHqjXYPzf887Bm3ae1X-OBl_BX7po6UPJ-kaRjUrYCoa2FQnJi4Oaj0RR5uOoTLXrz1ZrXfKEIStPuRDb9C8hf2AiKin-XfGTMf-OEGstOfOiaZJg/s320/Snapshot_003.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mockumentary on Giant Impact Television</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUQTwRgtkPZhTKJxlCPjMdHek8pjZkWKRvlbP2sZ5wlvoQ-bpYi0NevzFTeh6CIuYouIVtMAFgJbnY9XlhK0N3xmvCHu-hZlo9ki5UCcOsXHvmlNZNuPzaa97UYZAeAdo1Y_j6w/s1600/Snapshot_005.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzUQTwRgtkPZhTKJxlCPjMdHek8pjZkWKRvlbP2sZ5wlvoQ-bpYi0NevzFTeh6CIuYouIVtMAFgJbnY9XlhK0N3xmvCHu-hZlo9ki5UCcOsXHvmlNZNuPzaa97UYZAeAdo1Y_j6w/s320/Snapshot_005.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These two are about to be transformed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDM8ohtiQ5COJkXyj0Yf3A2JNt8eRw1Vn_z_pzSVvLnb2_7VIlMFbWJBgaJBIrRHIRCflB0CqsPYOStBHc16AnJtMdpg-2El1Ck5tUXTy4JnjcLf3qVZJdxHw87ctbScVZShPKg/s1600/Snapshot_007.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDM8ohtiQ5COJkXyj0Yf3A2JNt8eRw1Vn_z_pzSVvLnb2_7VIlMFbWJBgaJBIrRHIRCflB0CqsPYOStBHc16AnJtMdpg-2El1Ck5tUXTy4JnjcLf3qVZJdxHw87ctbScVZShPKg/s320/Snapshot_007.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old west makes an appearance.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiny4sdLR8jaC6E-kutUZTYK7RUEAAE-eiOgmg7CFOw6bgRoV6ibFGXi9o_1kVPttT1Z6yJNRUPiU4ttoj29ORavrw-kDTWS_plsUtjaIsD7XBG6FowfCk8n-A3BKgRAZ9dIsdF7g/s1600/Snapshot_009.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiny4sdLR8jaC6E-kutUZTYK7RUEAAE-eiOgmg7CFOw6bgRoV6ibFGXi9o_1kVPttT1Z6yJNRUPiU4ttoj29ORavrw-kDTWS_plsUtjaIsD7XBG6FowfCk8n-A3BKgRAZ9dIsdF7g/s320/Snapshot_009.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As does the far future.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gYwWs4jVERgzEgvS-k1YxPDFsif9usQV32eUWpFw910I0Sv0ziphQG2QNDJj8KBiDlA_hT317oQy7upOGKFV-R0oEssugdDrWUglmDN157bGC6CBAfeR6-mYB7IbwsqCq0Fh0w/s1600/Snapshot_011.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gYwWs4jVERgzEgvS-k1YxPDFsif9usQV32eUWpFw910I0Sv0ziphQG2QNDJj8KBiDlA_hT317oQy7upOGKFV-R0oEssugdDrWUglmDN157bGC6CBAfeR6-mYB7IbwsqCq0Fh0w/s320/Snapshot_011.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dog was fantastic.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvLO2kPdhDovpgHYNLQMDb3MSUnjuJNJnt9yglNORSubnzm5GIbnPs6UW3f2JB_UxK22JkaSGCM00FmAm7ovMq2BuFh822yTZczfNoJcRLOH8E-PwPkAB7kOC5jPfVaE0_kz1_A/s1600/Snapshot_012.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvLO2kPdhDovpgHYNLQMDb3MSUnjuJNJnt9yglNORSubnzm5GIbnPs6UW3f2JB_UxK22JkaSGCM00FmAm7ovMq2BuFh822yTZczfNoJcRLOH8E-PwPkAB7kOC5jPfVaE0_kz1_A/s320/Snapshot_012.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somehow Hathead wrote an award-winning song that was both funny and told a great story, and was well sung and played!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwSOXGoKqVUKB4n86boDGUunn5RXsyXUow5qm81BEzniinUdLVky5LKgiZgZVbDMxGaEfF2ceWmi9KLlKTCGa1qQ2Ca0aNBNT9ZBv1f889Jy01XQBy4LMbcG81SPk_4T4LB6OaQ/s1600/Snapshot_013.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwSOXGoKqVUKB4n86boDGUunn5RXsyXUow5qm81BEzniinUdLVky5LKgiZgZVbDMxGaEfF2ceWmi9KLlKTCGa1qQ2Ca0aNBNT9ZBv1f889Jy01XQBy4LMbcG81SPk_4T4LB6OaQ/s320/Snapshot_013.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The other Used Car storyline involves one creepy dude.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbFu66ki9QkEGPRwQq_WhlVWyaHHugqX64yZsMR9UyumM0Bf_sDrtSxJyNmaURuE0sBFcm5OCMriNiPCAUZSQ17mVzd-lzIv65YMXtf3kmhI5dRUYiTw4poBTKp-90xlqckc35g/s1600/Snapshot_015.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbFu66ki9QkEGPRwQq_WhlVWyaHHugqX64yZsMR9UyumM0Bf_sDrtSxJyNmaURuE0sBFcm5OCMriNiPCAUZSQ17mVzd-lzIv65YMXtf3kmhI5dRUYiTw4poBTKp-90xlqckc35g/s320/Snapshot_015.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am a sucker for silhouettes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmygJq-VTrbDHAG33vRf8-xoCkjC8GPXwkSzLUyd1H0y_OF485km7XSfczOnOaC2IxII08cniLWIezKHSzmKKzG97WKokfMOF8X5_8zZh-Mxm6Bl7Ir3NVubqz7smqn7ZwpVDgFA/s1600/Snapshot_016.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmygJq-VTrbDHAG33vRf8-xoCkjC8GPXwkSzLUyd1H0y_OF485km7XSfczOnOaC2IxII08cniLWIezKHSzmKKzG97WKokfMOF8X5_8zZh-Mxm6Bl7Ir3NVubqz7smqn7ZwpVDgFA/s320/Snapshot_016.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blockland makes an appearance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmugaZTuNsQGTBgBFKWv0aRGFhoYuYRaz782GGkg3RjISKtoZ4aBbiZk6Fm-FKheJ7yOOiQ_yMmeCnQpoUhto63ecZkf0BrSI4lEfB3BzOxyXc87QREoIEqqinuOjQ1PpOq3Wlpg/s1600/Snapshot_017.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmugaZTuNsQGTBgBFKWv0aRGFhoYuYRaz782GGkg3RjISKtoZ4aBbiZk6Fm-FKheJ7yOOiQ_yMmeCnQpoUhto63ecZkf0BrSI4lEfB3BzOxyXc87QREoIEqqinuOjQ1PpOq3Wlpg/s320/Snapshot_017.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening shot from award winner Crueler Heads Prevail</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6-vPO5fEJOgReuhogdEL0RV2p_UORVJAbTy3grirBULe4pYd2NK1m_UkIh4LWjLASXhMa5MOk07BhBVJLwMPNZjI2nsuG4CMzpclyODyq5j5mJGGxdCGypol9ywzDUTsW5oNUw/s1600/Snapshot_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6-vPO5fEJOgReuhogdEL0RV2p_UORVJAbTy3grirBULe4pYd2NK1m_UkIh4LWjLASXhMa5MOk07BhBVJLwMPNZjI2nsuG4CMzpclyODyq5j5mJGGxdCGypol9ywzDUTsW5oNUw/s320/Snapshot_001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony Dyson - R2D2 creator and judge could not be there in person but sent his love (or motivational speech about never giving up)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-60023703832833030812012-03-24T20:20:00.001-04:002012-03-24T20:44:12.778-04:00Bill PlymptonThe <a href="http://www.plymptoons.com/index_main.html">multi-oscar-nominated independent animator</a>, cartoonist, and illustrator showed some of his projects last night.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFRHK6Sx0HDPs5feoWvi-VUKyh3ePPpaH28_2r0BGf5B_jj3gX4uq-6rBFPU4BciKMmR4Jvbu4GwgDajP6VVI_nePrjiq3swiBcaw442X4hcT3adK9SREK8py6kdml7XicRCCqQ/s1600/plympton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFRHK6Sx0HDPs5feoWvi-VUKyh3ePPpaH28_2r0BGf5B_jj3gX4uq-6rBFPU4BciKMmR4Jvbu4GwgDajP6VVI_nePrjiq3swiBcaw442X4hcT3adK9SREK8py6kdml7XicRCCqQ/s320/plympton.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Summer Bummer - the imagined horrors of a summer predator are too funny to seem real - or are they?<br />
<br />
The Flying House - this is actually the work of an early pioneer of animation, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winsor_McCay">Wilson McCay</a>, and it was his last animated feature in 1921. <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1632099201/winsor-mccay-resurrection-project">Plympton took it upon himself to restore this film, add color and music and voices and released it using Kickstarter to fund the entire project</a>. Impressive animation from the man who also did <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertie_the_Dinosaur">Gertie the Dinosaur</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sinking_of_the_Lusitania">The Sinking of the Lusitania</a> but it sounds like William Randolph Hearst was not impressed with McCay's animation attempts and put pressure on him to stop making them to the point that McCay did just that. If this story is true, then is that the second filmmaker's career that Hearst has intervened in and seriously impacted?<br />
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TMZ - a music video for Weird Al Yankovic. A funny look at the paparazzi.<br />
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Waiting for her Sailor. Do not blink. Ever.<br />
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The Cow Who Wanted To Be a Hamburger. Short-listed for the oscars in 2011. I've seen this one a few times but the story of how Plympton came up with the idea for this short while driving through Oregon, honking his car horn at the grazing cattle, and realizing they could care less about his horn, or his car, just the grass at their feet.<br />
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A special world premiere of a pilot episode - Tiffany The Whale - a super model, who is a whale? Voiced by two improv actresses, this follows the typical quirky humor of most of Plympton's work, and has a great ending. But a TV series? Might be a tough sell.<br />
<br />
Also received a special hand drawn version of the cow afterwards.blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-46831408298155948692012-01-28T14:41:00.003-05:002012-01-28T14:41:46.238-05:00Cinema in 2011This is about the movies I watched or made in 2011. Not just movies released in 2011.<br />
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Partially influenced by the designer <a href="http://feltron.com/ar10_01.html">Nicholas Feltron's annual report</a> series, but I will limit this cinema only.<br />
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I watched a total of 96 movies in 2011. That may seem a lot to some people, but I watch little television. If every movie was 2 hours long, that would be 192 total hours of media or 8 days of total movies in the last year.<br />
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According to Neilesen, the average person watches more than 34 hours of television per week, or more than 73 days of TV per year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGEFwCR16lkY6CaLogGIMAAVJdXr5CvcFrTzrBwOsNd2e4GeuUKCIdGGc06z-sv10xyEmcZh8h68jv3ObwwyY9Nlr6fTeOvKEwmsXBZetLgF3w9-fjAjqG5t13WJM6XATjy_pV1w/s1600/chart_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGEFwCR16lkY6CaLogGIMAAVJdXr5CvcFrTzrBwOsNd2e4GeuUKCIdGGc06z-sv10xyEmcZh8h68jv3ObwwyY9Nlr6fTeOvKEwmsXBZetLgF3w9-fjAjqG5t13WJM6XATjy_pV1w/s400/chart_1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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The movie release by year ranged from the early 1940's up to 2011, with the most watched release year 2010, followed by 2011 (obviously catching up on those releases from 2010 last year). There was also a spike of movies in the late 80's and early 90's.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6GGoHU49CByOvWBjMORFyrG_a510pR1QLh0m1IEllhxP2u_V7IT-Xrg0FceAWhJvPu6ErSE9-QC5uh9upEeblPnznWu3kLYA2sNRLzZr33DRZHsyVLxWMHevu8Q4oWlPpfgUsA/s1600/media_watched.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6GGoHU49CByOvWBjMORFyrG_a510pR1QLh0m1IEllhxP2u_V7IT-Xrg0FceAWhJvPu6ErSE9-QC5uh9upEeblPnznWu3kLYA2sNRLzZr33DRZHsyVLxWMHevu8Q4oWlPpfgUsA/s320/media_watched.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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There were three forms of media consumption, DVDs (including Blu-Ray), the cinema (movie theater), and one airplane ride (which is a special level of hell for cinema lovers).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2qMd-lzCxMYyCRj3Afh3PJCG4uGYOn79bmm3rrV9HWcLqI9TvH4IBdtDMCLUfQKtmtH2hDQp1eRgTBgX-hNDmFrHDKUlFopoOPYY_7DQfyqNSOPix24aWsTyblQsZzoSCZG-fsw/s1600/movie_types_treemap.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2qMd-lzCxMYyCRj3Afh3PJCG4uGYOn79bmm3rrV9HWcLqI9TvH4IBdtDMCLUfQKtmtH2hDQp1eRgTBgX-hNDmFrHDKUlFopoOPYY_7DQfyqNSOPix24aWsTyblQsZzoSCZG-fsw/s320/movie_types_treemap.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Looking at genres, apparently I have passed into old age with drama and documentary contributing to more than half of the genres watched. Thriller, comedy, animated, sci-fi, horror, action, etc., contribute the rest.<br />
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<b>Movies made:</b><br />
Shorts: 3<br />
48 Hour Projects: 2<br />
Doc Challenge: 1<br />
Directed: 2<br />
<br />
I contributed to 3 shorts, all timed contests, 2 for the 48 hour, 1 for the Doc challenge. None are available online yet. All were frustrating due to all of the issues that crop up during timed contests.<br />
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Longer forms: 2<br />
Doc in progress: 1<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2012/01/goatman-hollow-video.html">Shot and edited clip of haunted house walkthrough</a>: 1<br />
<br />
The doc is taking a long time due to unforeseen circumstances. The walkthrough was a collaborative projects intended for fans.<br />
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Machinima made: 0<br />
Machinima festivals attended: 1<br />
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Not happy about the first, but the <a href="http://www.machinima-expo.com/">Machinima Expo</a> was excellent as always.<br />
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That's the raw numbers.
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<br />
I obviously cannot talk about the 'best' of 2011 as any sort of comprehensive review, as I only watched 19 movies released in 2011, however, I can talk about my favorites.<br />
<br />
<b>Best undiscovered country:</b><br />
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<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/03/certified-copy.html">Certified Copy - Abbas Kiarostami - I talked about this in March</a>.<br />
<br />
Also:<br />
<br />
Ivan The Terrible Part 1<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sergei Eisenstein<br />
Ivan The Terrible Part 2<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sergei Eisenstein<br />
Terri<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Azazel Jacbos<br />
<br />
A Screaming Man<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mahamat-Saleh Haroun<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Best reach for the stars award that nails it:</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/08/if-you-watch-both.html">Tree of Life - Terrence Malick - I talked about this in August</a>.<br />
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Also:<br />
<br />
Uncle Boonme who Can Recall His Past Lives<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Apichatpong Weerasethakul<br />
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<b>Best reach for the stars award that misses:</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/11/handful-of-halloween-horror-fun-tucker.html">Melancholia - Lars von Trier - discussed with a number of movies in November</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Best I want my money back award (with caveats):</b><br />
<br />
A Man Called Sarge<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Stuart Gillard<br />
<br />
Troll<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>John Carl Buechler<br />
Troll 2<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Claudio Fragasso<br />
<br />
The last two are required for Best Worst Movie below.<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Best animated:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/03/rango.html">Rango - Gore Verbinski - discussed in March</a>.<br />
<br />
Also:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/02/illusionist.html">The Illusionist<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sylvain Chomet - Feb</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Best video I watched that is not listed:</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/02/david-oreillys-external-world.html">The External World - David O'Reilly - Feb</a>.<br />
<br />
A short animated film, truly bizarre.<br />
<br />
<b>Best Documentary:</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/07/silverdocs-2011.html">Reurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles - Jon Foy - July</a>.<br />
<br />
I missed almost all of the nominees and big names in documentary this year, but this mystery was a fascinating journey.<br />
<br />
Also:<br />
<br />
Crumb: Doc<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Terry Zwigoff<br />
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tamra Davis<br />
TheCave of Forgotten Dreams<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Werner Herzog<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/07/silverdocs-2011.html">Beats, rhymes & life: the travels of a tribe called quest</a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Michael Rapaport<br />
Confessions of a Superhero<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Matthew Ogens<br />
Deep Water<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell<br />
American Movie<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chris Smith<br />
Gasland<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Josh Fox<br />
<br />
Anvil: The Story of Anvil<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sacha Gervasi<br />
<br />
Best Worst Movie<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Michael Stephenson<br />
<br />
The last requires viewing Troll and Troll2 which are above.<br />
<br />
<b>Doc I walked out of:</b><br />
<br />
Nostalgia for the Light - Patricio Guzman<br />
<br />
Just became irritated and left.<br />
<br />
<b>Happy, happy, joy, joy:</b><br />
<br />
4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Cristian Mungui<br />
Jonestown: The Life and Death of People's Temple<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Stanley Nelson<br />
Incendies<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Denis Villeneuve<br />
<br />
Movie I watched, that was disturbing, and that I cannot get out of my mind and hope I never see again<br />
<br />
A Film Unfinished<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yael Hersonski<br />
<br />
Also:<br />
<br />
Dogtooth<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Giorgos Lanthimos<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/11/handful-of-halloween-horror-fun-tucker.html">The Skin I Live In<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pedro Almodovar - Nov</a><br />
<br />
<b>Movies that disgusted me:</b><br />
<br />
I Saw The Devil<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jee-woon Kim<br />
<br />
<b>Funny:</b><br />
<br />
Potiche<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Francois Ozon<br />
<br />
<b>Enjoyed:</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/05/minimalist-meek.html">Meek's Cutoff<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kelly Reichardt - May</a><br />
Moon<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Duncan Jones<br />
The King's Speech<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tom Hooper<br />
Le Havre<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Aki Kaurismaski<br />
The Apartment<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Billy Wilder<br />
Midnight in Paris<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Woody Allen<br />
My Winnipeg<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Guy Maddin<br />
Paths of Glory<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Stanley Kubric<br />
Brideflight<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ben Sombogaart<br />
A Scanner Darkly<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Richard Linklater<br />
Prince of Darkness<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>John Carpenter<br />
<br />
Taxi Driver<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Martin Scorsese<br />
Hunt for Red October<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>John McTiernan<br />
<br />
Goldfinger<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Guy Hamilton<br />
Kill Bill Vol 1<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Quentin Tarantino<br />
<br />
Kill Bill Vol 2<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Quentin Tarantino<br />
Moon<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Duncan Jones<br />
Apollo 13<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ron Howard<br />
Predator<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>John McTiernan<br />
Saboteur<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Alfred Hitchcock<br />
Like Crazy<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Drake Doremus<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>The special Nicholas Winding Refn award:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/09/nicolas-winding-refn.html">Bronson<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nicolas Winding Refn - Sept</a>.<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/09/nicolas-winding-refn.html">Valhalla Rising<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nicolas Winding Refn - Sept</a>.<br />
I'm the Angel of Death: Pusher III <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nicolas Winding Refn<br />
<br />
But NOT for Drive<br />
<br />
<b>Horror (comedy?):</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/11/handful-of-halloween-horror-fun-tucker.html">Dead Snow<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tommy Wirkola - Nov</a><br />
Shaun of the Dead<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Edgar Wright<br />
<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/11/handful-of-halloween-horror-fun-tucker.html">Tucker and Dale vs. Evil<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Eli Craig - Nov</a><br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2011/11/handful-of-halloween-horror-fun-tucker.html">Bruce Campbell vs. The Army of Darkness<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sam Raimi - Nov</a><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Several best of 2011 and/or nominee lists here:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thedocumentaryblog.com/index.php/2011/12/27/the-documentary-blogs-top-20-films-of-2011/">http://www.thedocumentaryblog.com/index.php/2011/12/27/the-documentary-blogs-top-20-films-of-2011/</a><br />
<a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/12/the_best_documentaries_of_2011_1.html">http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/12/the_best_documentaries_of_2011_1.html</a><br />
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/blog/2011/12/documentary-year-in-review-countdown-10-life-in-a-day-a-documentary-culled-from-80000-filmmakers-premieres-online/">http://www.pbs.org/pov/blog/2011/12/documentary-year-in-review-countdown-10-life-in-a-day-a-documentary-culled-from-80000-filmmakers-premieres-online/</a><br />
<br />
The POV Blog has better design skills than me<br />
<a href="http://http//www.pbs.org/pov/blog/2011/12/best-documentaries-of-2011/"><img alt="Click to view larger graphic" src="http://www.pbs.org/pov/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/best-documentaries-of-2011-pov.jpg" title="Click to view larger graphic" width="500" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://http//www.pbs.org/pov/blog/2011/12/best-documentaries-of-2011/">The Best Documentaries of 2011</a> from <a href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/">POV</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-57359896-10391698/download-scripts-of-award-contenders/">http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-57359896-10391698/download-scripts-of-award-contenders/</a><br />
<a href="http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/2011/12/article-10-best-scripts-i-read-this.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Scriptshadow+%28ScriptShadow%29">http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/2011/12/article-10-best-scripts-i-read-this.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Scriptshadow+%28ScriptShadow%29</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/movies/awardsseason/overlooked-movies-of-2011.html?_r=2">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/movies/awardsseason/overlooked-movies-of-2011.html?_r=2</a><br />
<a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/12/bridesmaids-wiig-lars-von-trier-nazi-year-review-movies-2011.html">http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/12/bridesmaids-wiig-lars-von-trier-nazi-year-review-movies-2011.html</a><br />
<a href="http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/the-best-movie-posters-of-2011?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digest37">http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/the-best-movie-posters-of-2011?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digest37</a><br />
<a href="http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/the-top-10-top-10-lists-of-2011/">http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/the-top-10-top-10-lists-of-2011/</a><br />
<br />
<b>All Movies Watched in 2011:</b><br />
<br />
Eyes Wide Shut<br />
Paths of Glory<br />
Killers Kiss<br />
Crumb: Doc<br />
The Way Back<br />
4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days<br />
My Winnipeg<br />
Jonestown: The Life and Death of People's Temple<br />
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child<br />
Brideflight<br />
The Illusionist<br />
Baraka<br />
A Man Called Sarge<br />
Shaun of the Dead<br />
Close Encounters<br />
Lessons of Darkness<br />
The Red Shoes<br />
Who killed the electric car<br />
Ivan The Terrible Part 1<br />
Ivan The Terrible Part 2<br />
The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons<br />
A Scanner Darkly<br />
Rango<br />
Terri<br />
I Saw The Devil<br />
Uncle Boonme who Can Recall His Past Lives<br />
Fata Morgana<br />
Nostalgia for the Light<br />
Certified Copy<br />
Incendies<br />
Paprika<br />
Potiche<br />
The Creators<br />
The Robber<br />
3<br />
Scientology: The Truth About a Lie<br />
Paranoid Park<br />
A Screaming Man<br />
Meek's Cutoff<br />
Major Rockstar<br />
TheCave of Forgotten Dreams<br />
Point Blank<br />
Prince of Darkness<br />
Taxi Driver<br />
Beats, rhymes & life: the travels of a tribe called quest<br />
Reurrect Dead: The mystery of the Toynbee tiles<br />
Dragon Slayer<br />
Life in Day<br />
Hunt for Red October<br />
Goldfinger<br />
The Tree of Life<br />
A town called Panic<br />
Spike and Mike's Twisted Animation<br />
Dogtooth<br />
Kill Bill Vol 1<br />
Kill Bill Vol 2<br />
Moon<br />
Apollo 13<br />
The King's Speech<br />
The Hangover<br />
500 Days of Summer<br />
Bronson<br />
Predator<br />
Valhalla Rising<br />
Cloverfield<br />
Old Joy<br />
I'm the Angel of Death: Pusher III<br />
KungFuPanda<br />
Midnight in Paris<br />
Drive<br />
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired<br />
Contagion<br />
The Ides of March<br />
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil<br />
Melancholia<br />
Dead Snow<br />
Air Guitar Nation<br />
Saboteur<br />
Like Crazy<br />
Confessions of a Superhero<br />
Somos Buzos<br />
Bruce Campbell vs. The Army of Darkness<br />
Deep Water<br />
A Film Unfinished<br />
The Skin I Live In<br />
Le Havre<br />
American Movie<br />
The Producers<br />
Vicky Cristina Barcelona<br />
Margin Call<br />
The Apartment<br />
Troll<br />
Troll 2<br />
Best Worst Movie<br />
Gasland<br />
Anvil: The Story of Anvil<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://shatteredkeyboard.blogspot.com/2010/12/2010-movies.html">I covered best of 2010 here</a>.<br />
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<br />blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-59602007223434600622012-01-06T20:26:00.001-05:002012-01-06T20:26:34.960-05:00Goatman Hollow VideoI am in the process of shooting a behind-the-scenes documentary of a <a href="http://www.goatmanhollow.com/">local haunted house</a> and all of the effort that goes into putting the show together. It is a large effort and in 2009 there were over 100 cast and crew: all of whom were volunteers. Part of the proceeds each year are donated to the local fire department.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the house did not open this year.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, a walk-through of the house was captured with three cameras on a closed set.<br />
<br />
I helped shoot the walk-through and edited the 32 minute video below.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xjj3dylZRts" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-41334882420347005382011-11-05T23:36:00.001-04:002012-01-28T13:49:58.364-05:00Handful of Hallowe'en HorrorHandful of Hallowe'en Horror<br />
<br />
Fun:<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1465522/">Tucker and Dale vs. Evil</a><br />
Frat kids travel to West Virginia only to meet crazy hillbillies. OR, perfectly harmless country folk are harassed by suicidal college kids. Only you can decide the truth. I wanted to catch this at SXSW but missed it.<br />
<br />
Fun:<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278340/">Dead Snow</a><br />
Norway. Dead. Nazi. Zombies. Snow. Lots and lots of snow.<br />
This horror film follows some typical genre tropes, in fact reveling in some of them, but some of the scenes are very fun and impressive, especially all that costume and makeup in the snow. I can't imagine how long it took to do some of those scenes. May have to see the how did they do that behind the scenes at some point.<br />
<br />
Blue:<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/">Melancholia</a><br />
Earth. Sister Planet. Armageddon.<br />
Lars von Trier delivers an utter embrace of despair starting an impressive Kirsten Dunst who takes home an acting award from Cannes after the director is excommunicated due to his big mouth.. It is unfortunate that some of the bet ten minutes of cinema I have seen in a long time are split by 2 hours of rather pedestrian cinema. Watch back to back with the Tree of Life for true trip.<br />
<br />
Gets under my skin:<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1189073/">The Skin I live In</a><br />
Almovodar directs a horror/thriller that is unfortunately weak. This thing is full of poor decisions. Revenge? Sadism? Infatuation? Megalomaniacal? A lot of it makes little sense. The great thing is it stars one of the most beautiful actresses in a long time in Elena Anaya. Unfortunately....<br />
<br />
Oldie but goodie:<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106308/">Bruce Campbell vs. Army of Darkness </a><br />
Some additional scenes that were cut from the US distribution and great commentary from Rami and Campbell. And hey, that Henry the Red guy kicks ass.<br />
<br />blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-44947598080288861342011-10-03T22:07:00.001-04:002011-10-03T22:07:52.240-04:0048 Hour Film Project Machinima Winners Announced<a href="http://scissores.com/super-blog/machinima/48hfpmachinima-2011-awards-and-winner-announced/">Winners announced</a>.<br />
<br />
Congratulations to all.blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-73369372929772061552011-09-07T21:27:00.001-04:002011-09-07T21:27:58.880-04:00Two Great AnimationsMore fun with sound and minimalist animation.<br />
<br />
Little Boat <br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/22894261?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/22894261">Little Boat</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/nelsonboles">nelson boles</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
This one time...<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/4566083?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/4566083">This one time...</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/nelsonboles">nelson boles</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-73227813198589143882011-09-02T23:06:00.001-04:002011-09-02T23:06:56.858-04:00Nicolas Winding RefnTwo cinematic and surreal films recently appeared on my TV, both directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (Danish directory).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172570/">Bronson</a>, a fictionalized portrayal by Tom Hardy (he of Inception cast fame), of one of Britain's most violent prisoners, a man who went to jail for the theft of less than 28 pounds from a UK post office and ended up spending a significant fraction of his life behind bars due to his extremely violent nature. The strangeness of the real life events is transformed into an even more surreal stage setting by Hardy and Refn that touch on an almost artistic expression through violence that is are worth the price of admission.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0862467/">Valhalla Rising</a> is an minimalist film of a Viking, also a violent prisoner, who is forced to fight by his captors. Earning his freedom in a violent escape, One-eye, the prisoner's name as given to him by his young companion, ends up joining a group of crusading Christians, who then find themselves in the new world among the natives, and not in the holy land as originally intended.<br />
<br />
I first became acquainted with the director from his first movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0862467/">Pusher</a>. As the name suggests, the movie deals with a drug dealer. The realistic and brutal violence in this film shows a theme that continues in the director's work, but it's not the stylized cartoon violence of so many directors who ape Tarantino, but something else.<br />
<br />
Highly recommended.<br />
blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-16318975271371464482011-08-21T22:10:00.003-04:002011-08-21T22:15:02.471-04:00You Must Play The Stanley ParableYou will download and install the Half Life mod '<a href="http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-stanley-parable/downloads/the-stanley-parable-v13">The Stanley Parable</a>'.<div>
<br /></div><div>You will play the game.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Stanely did.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>You will enjoy the game.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Stanley did.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>You will not question this choice.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Stanely never questioned.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>You will simply enjoy the tale told.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Stanley enjoyed. Oh did he enjoy. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>And look where he is now.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Others have done this.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Listen to their tales now.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><a href="http://killscreendaily.com/articles/reviews/review-stanley-parable">Kill Screen</a></div><div><a href="http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/146111-stanley-parable/">PopMatters</a></div><div>
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<br /></div>blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-19181867036361442952011-08-04T07:46:00.003-04:002011-08-04T08:17:12.140-04:00If You Watch Both<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478304/">The Tree of Life</a> by Terrence Malick, and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1379182/">Dogtooth </a>by Giorgos Lanthimos, in the same week, you will cover the entire gamut of family life, from the way of grace, the way of nature, and the way of the psychopath.<div><br /></div><div>It is a strange juxtaposition.</div><div><br /></div><div>Malick's fifth film in 38 years has already generated a great deal of press and opinions about what it is, what it means, and whether it is even worth seeing. Comparisons to Kubrick's 2001 have been made. Some theaters post notices that anyone leaving the cinema will not receive refunds. I suspect that many years from now a more definitive examination in retrospect will seal this film as either the work of a genius or an overreaching flop. The path to release has been long, and the film was supposed to have been released two years ago. Rumors of much footage cut have circulated. What is left is almost pure cinema, very little dialog, emotional images with whispering narrators who do not so much preach as opine. The beginnings of the universe, a family growing up in Texas, the death of a brother. A more serious <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1019452/">A Serious Man</a>? Perhaps.</div><div><br /></div><div>It has already won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.</div><div><br /></div><div>I can't wait to see it agin.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dogtooth was nominated for best foreign language film and is a much more straightforward examination of the extremes of family life with a patriach who lives in a gated estate. His three children are never allowed to leave the house and have grown up only under the twisted guidance of their parents who assert that they are protecting them from the outside world. Their world, a microcosm of the outside, has been altered in order to prevent outside influences from creeping in, but of course, creep in they must, to both horrific, comic, and liberating effect.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is a fascinating look at family life at the extremes, but I do not think I shall see it again.</div>blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-7980147904161284672011-07-01T21:25:00.004-04:002011-07-01T21:56:25.055-04:00Silverdocs 2011Only managed to catch 4 docs this year.<div><br /></div><div><div><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1613023/">BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST</a></div><div>This is fan doc made by Michael Rapaport that starts with the band playing in LA in 2008, then traces their foundation with Q-Tip, Phyfe Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and sometimes Jarobi in Queens and tracks the band as they release innovative album after album only to have the band disintegrate in 1998. The tension between certain band members and the creative force that produces such innovative hip hop elevates this above most fan docs.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4DQvIhAL3_xzgLpXikEot12iGUPB_r1f2LgrqLHKPux-w9snJetqgI55EW3aZ8rIaSh7WTXQpfUL2FtCPK5fGCer0_q_v7VT1U0KSqkEhZrlLZq9EOiD8Q-UI9MdyMSESURVLw/s200/2011-06-21+22.36.42_Silver+Spring_Maryland_US.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624566385050400898" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >NPR mediator, director Michael Rapaport, and ATCQ member Phyfe Dawg at Q&A</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1633989/">DRAGONSLAYER</a></div><div>A year in the life documentary of skateboarder Screech. This won the grand jury prize at SXSW, but I was less than impressed. It uses imagery captured with a Flip camera given to the skater, and follows his breakup with the mother of his child, his journey of discovery, and eventual growth into something better.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-ny2vcAcD_7zrCNt9BVdMZgjEcsyAwnXWLkmU8KVeO2VpvihVGhG8oo9LKrLg9uXRC4-suJ8LcWvaIay8dyEctuM3gCKAkcB8tk8Snvg2CVtAFzRfjfwG5e06t0ClxVEEHtxyg/s200/2011-06-24+23.02.10_Silver+Spring_Maryland_US.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624566386391899954" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Director Tristan Patterson</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1787791/">RESURRECT DEAD: THE MYSTERY OF THE TOYNBEE TILES</a></div><div>This one is really quite fascinating. A series of embedded tiles are found in the asphalts and streets on the east coast of the U.S. and few South American cities. The tiles typically say:</div><div><br /></div><div><div>TOYNBEE IDEA</div><div>IN Kubrick's 2001</div><div>RESURRECT DEAD</div><div>ON PLANET JUPITER.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>The strange message and link to a famous movie had me hooked. What does the message mean, who places the tiles, and why? The doc follows a trio of obsessive fans who are determined to solve the mystery. The surprising discoveries they make and the deeper meaning are satisfying beyond just the resolution of an unsolved puzzle.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5X0wIMTwjqyu4z4lRea-8lALOOziQUqsWnYEV-56OQQfblE3q1jBuGI3x6kxmKl-S9XuHknVK7EyBJgRPwAZthyphenhyphenR2bOQBHAMXBqwKVnRSdWxaz33NObmq8x5i0uRHsi9wNCok1A/s200/2011-06-24+18.46.28_Silver+Spring_Maryland_US.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624566384478101602" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Some of the mystery solvers and director.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1687247/">LIFE IN A DAY</a></div></div><div>Producers Tony and Ridley Scott and directed by Kevin McDonald, the true star is the editor. The idea was that people all over the world would film themselves for one day, July 24, 2010, answer a few simple questions, and then submit the films. Screening 3500 hours of footage to find 90 minutes that can be put into a cohesive hole is why the editor and his team deserve some sort of superhuman award. There are surprising revelations, and the whole movie reminds me of Post Secret, the famous internet web site. But what really tweaks the imagination is what was left on the cutting room floor (the joke was that the DVD would have 3499 hours of 'extras'). A fascinating if not entirely random look at humanity.</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjHj2yXR4Nvb9oOKbGHEHLoXLSN-3Qqu8f9FOMg3G_ueodn5-2WQcrI-VSSgZR8dRm0-IQxM3tPT-eFP5vUuJGOJoXD-RiZctxMBgVBhWFwMaXSFKvHBiG4TKtkBSc1kBUbrRWlQ/s200/2011-06-26+00.00.27_Silver+Spring_Maryland_US.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624566393853378930" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px; " /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Two contributors, editor Joe Walker, and Silverdocs personnel.</span></div><div><br /></div>blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-38861244403877216942011-05-18T01:04:00.002-04:002011-05-18T01:08:49.648-04:00Team Fortress 2 Replay<a href="http://www.teamfortress.com/replayupdate/">Valve enabled the TF2 replay editor and sponsored a contest</a>.<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.teamfortress.com/saxxyawards">A Saxxy award awaits those who win</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two of mine are below.</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QD3NMInRc9o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DEKylx6BIic" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Interesting to see how much more push there is into machinima tools from Valve.</div>blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-74859649358268867932011-05-11T09:02:00.003-04:002011-05-11T09:43:51.037-04:00Minimalist MeekSparse.<br /><br />Barren.<br /><br />Quiet.<br /><br />Hushed sounds.<br /><br />Strained listening.<br /><br />Did they say what I think they said?<br /><br />Kelly Reichardt's Meek's Cutoff is not for everyone, judging by comments on the web. This western is based on the true story of a wagon train to Oregon that is led by a guide, Stephen Meek, who attempts to bypass the route through the Blue Mountains where an attack by Indians is rumored to await, leading the train into a harsh desert.<br /><br />Things become desperate. Meek's leadership is question.<br /><br />An Indian is captured who now becomes an enigmatic guide through the harsh terrain.<br /><br />Michelle Williams plays a strong-willed woman, Bill Patton as her husband, and Bruce Greenwood as Meek in a small cast that reduces the true story's large group of hundreds of wagons to just three.<br /><br />This reduction serves the story well and the cast does a great job with a sparse script.<br /><br />As alluded to above, the sound design is purposefully designed so that dialog is difficult to understand in some cases. Meaning is what is made of words misheard. Or missaid.<br /><br />The framing is 4:3, designed to mimic the women's bonnets and the wagons themselves, where a narrow field of vision is only available to the viewer.<br /><br />This does not prevent some amazing cinematography being put on display of the barren Oregon landscape.<br /><br />Much has been said of this allegorical tale on politics, untrustworthy leadership, and current events.<br /><br />Everyone should see this movie.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.alternatetakes.co.uk/?2011,4,272">Alternate Takes</a><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1518812/">imdb</a><br /><a href="http://meekscutoff.com/">official</a>blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-76459954892977382202011-04-17T07:45:00.003-04:002011-04-17T07:53:39.649-04:00Found this Atist in an Issue Of Super 8 TodayI have no idea why I'm reading (on paper) <a href="http://www.super8today.net/backissues.html">a magazine </a>about a dying technology, but this article on <a href="http://www.marthacolburn.com/">Martha Colburn</a> had some striking images exemplifying her artistic style.<br /><br />She has a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MarthaColburn#p/u/3/vYTBVKE4sk8">video channel</a>, and some excerpts are below:<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sevrTZRAibQ?rel=0" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aZPMuVRhEX8?rel=0" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />Very political.<br /><br />Some of her work has been shown at The Museum of the Moving Image among others.blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-28342725760165122702011-04-04T21:04:00.001-04:002011-04-04T21:06:55.772-04:00International Documentary Challenge<a href="http://www.docchallenge.org/News/2011-doc-challenge-finalists-announced.html">Congrats to the 12 finalists</a>.<br /><br />My film did not make it, unfortunately, so I may try to put it online at some point.<br /><br />Or, I may actually edit it some more.blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-51706507266670596882011-03-27T21:44:00.005-04:002011-03-27T22:10:45.370-04:00Certified CopySometimes when watching a movie, it's obvious when a scene is the focus of plot, or character development, or setting. However, in the hands of a master, all of those technical details recede and you realize that the brush strokes, real or fake, disappear, and you only see the whole masterpiece before you.<br /><br />Kiarostami's Certified Copy is exactly such a movie. A pleasure to watch, especially after the last several movies that I had seen that were so laden with obvious intent as to seem the feverish workings of used car salesmen desperately trying to unload a carlot full of lemons.<br /><br />Enigmatic, the twists that are revealed are never certified to be true. Certainties bring questions. Questions never bring answers. Statements made earlier are true, then false, then true again.<br /><br />Juliete Binoche wins best actress at Cannes. At least that much appears to be true.<br /><br />This is my first taste of Kiarostami and I need to see more.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.indiewire.com/article/cannes_review_the_drama_of_ambiguity_kiarostamis_certified_copy/">Certified Copy at Indiewire</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1020773/">imdb</a>blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-56326434495672538712011-03-13T19:42:00.003-04:002011-03-13T20:04:23.629-04:00Machinima/Animation Tools as Dollhouse BitchfestsLike kids working out interaction issues by playing with dolls or action figures. Instead of writing a letter to the editor, these played out scenes are definitely designed to make a point. The computed generated voices allows anyone to whip one of these up.<br /><br />Normally this is something you would complain about to your friends or family (or complain ABOUT them to someone else). When you use an animation tool to complain about it to the world, what do you call it?<br /><br />Complainimation.<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/arGzXbxkTC4" frameborder="0"></iframe><br />One of the more famous examples, Cinematographer vs. Producer.<br /><a href="http://www.ascmag.com/blog/2010/08/09/%E2%80%9Ccinematographer-vs-producer%E2%80%9D/">Discussed here</a>.<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/biYkGejFJJk" frameborder="0"></iframe><br />Fireman vs. Cop<br /><br />I tried to find some examples in other tools but had no luck.blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-42431052236323682672011-03-13T01:07:00.004-05:002011-03-13T01:25:01.397-05:00RangoIs a damn fine animated movie (isn't it interesting that some of the best movies of recent years are animated?).<br /><br />Surprisingly it's not Pixar nor Dreamworks, but Gore Verbinski and ILM (Pirates of the Caribbean director) and a great performance by Johnny Depp (how long before an acting award goes to an animated character?) that bring this movie to the stage.<br /><br />The film was made in an unusual style with the actors performing ensemble-wise in a 'theater of the absurd' as opposed to the typical one person at a time in front of a microphone and served to capture great reactions. It blends the film together very well and I wouldn't be surprised if more animated films use this style.<br /><br />Throw in a ton of movie references, one of the most unique beginnings to an animated film I've ever seen, some truly hallucinogenic scenes, fantastically detailed character design, and a great cast, and this could be the animated film to beat this year with Pixar releasing a cash cow in Cars 2. The king can be unseated.<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PQjJEYTiga0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1192628/">IMDB</a><br /><a href="http://www.rangomovie.com/">Official</a><br /><a href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/03/08/verbinski_and_ilm_vfx_master_john_knoll_talk_animated_rango/">Indiewire</a><br /><a href="http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2057065,00.html">Q&A With Verbinski</a><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/movies/27rango.html">NYTimes</a>blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-822680734710223112011-03-01T21:33:00.003-05:002011-03-01T21:36:38.076-05:00International Documentary ChallengeI signed up for the <a href="http://www.docchallenge.org/For-Filmmakers/">Doc Challenge</a>.<br /><br />It is like the <a href="http://www.48hourfilm.com/">48 Hour Film Project</a> except that:<br /><br />1) it's a documentary<br />2) it's 5 days<br /><br />Depending on the genre I get and the theme, I may be doing this virtually. There, I may be knocking on some pixelated doors this weekend.blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-75123353894721976982011-02-14T23:02:00.004-05:002011-02-14T23:18:35.240-05:00Academy Award Nominees - Short Form - Animation/LiveWeak year for the short fiction categories (what happens if there's a short animated documentary - what category is it in?). Usually it's the shorts that show the most imagination, but this year it might actually be the full length documentary category. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to see any of the short docs.<br /><ul class="bulleted"><li class="light-gray"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Confession</span> - very heavy handed and I felt cheated by this one.<br /></li><li class="light-gray"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Crush</span> - somewhat funny, but could have been better.<br /></li><li class="light-gray"><span style="font-style: italic;">God of Love</span> - I predict/hope this one wins. It at least showed some originality.<br /></li><li class="light-gray"><span style="font-style: italic;">Na Wewe </span>- OK. Sure.<br /></li><li class="light-gray"><span style="font-style: italic;">Wish 143</span> - Almost had me.<br /></li></ul>Really, I only liked two of them, God of Love, and Wish 143, and GoL is the clear winner IMO. A lot of fun, a decent story, acting, great composition, etc.<br /><ul class="bulleted"><li class="light-gray"><span style="font-style: italic;">Day & Night</span> - Pixar - 2D characters who's outlines reveal the background - interesting idea, but I get the feeling I've seen the idea before.<br /></li><li class="light-gray"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Gruffalo</span> - somewhat dry tale of a mouse in the forest chasing away predators by telling them of The Gruffalo (ie. The Jabberwocky).<br /></li><li class="light-gray"><span style="font-style: italic;">Let's Pollute</span> - ironic message, pollution is fun.<br /></li><li class="light-gray"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Lost Thing</span> - I liked this one, great style, story just ok.<br /></li><li class="light-gray"><span style="font-style: italic;">Madagascar, carnet de voyag</span>e (Madagascar, a Journey Diary) - great tale of a trip to Madagascar with great flipbook style.<br /></li></ul>Pixar doesn't need anymore Oscars, so I hope Madagascar wins.blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-89137298726366431022011-02-09T22:20:00.002-05:002011-02-09T22:36:24.914-05:00David O'Reilly's The External WorldIs 17 minutes of brilliantly demented animation oddness all packed full of irony (literally), pop culture, and moments of brilliant insight. I was laughing so hard I almost fell out of my chair but I am quite sure that this will offend many viewers.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/19723116?color=ffffff" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/19723116">The External World</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/davidoreilly">David OReilly</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br />I've mentioned <a href="http://vimeo.com/1714824">Please Say Something</a> before, another very odd animation from the same creative mind.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.davidoreilly.com/">David O'Reilly site</a>.blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26740564.post-53363331089073390902011-02-08T23:20:00.003-05:002011-02-08T23:35:35.760-05:00The Illusionist<div>Another fantastic animated film from Sylvain Chomet (whose last feature was The Triplets of Belleville ). The film is based on a story by Jacques Tati and is now nominated for an academy award (best animated feature). It is too bad that it is up against Pixar as this is a film worth seeing. The fantastic backgrounds and completely restrained animation coupled with the very sly humor lends itself to an appreciation of animation that is not all CG and bombastic over the top style.</div><div><br /></div><object width="480" height="253"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xfiro5?width=&theme=none&foreground=%23F7FFFD&highlight=%23FFC300&background=%23171D1B&start=&animatedTitle=&iframe=0&additionalInfos=0&autoPlay=0&hideInfos=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xfiro5?width=&theme=none&foreground=%23F7FFFD&highlight=%23FFC300&background=%23171D1B&start=&animatedTitle=&iframe=0&additionalInfos=0&autoPlay=0&hideInfos=0" width="480" height="253" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object><br /><b><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xfiro5_the-illusionist_shortfilms">The Illusionist</a></b><br /><i>Uploaded by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/ThePlaylist">ThePlaylist</a>. - <a target="_self" href="http://www.dailymotion.com/us/channel/shortfilms">Check out other Film & TV videos.</a></i><div><br /></div><div>Go see this movie so more films like this get made.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illusionist_(2010_film)">Wikipedia</a></div><div><a href="http://www.sonyclassics.com/theillusionist/">Official Site</a></div><div><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0775489/">IMDB</a></div><div><br /></div>blliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05991757938856433276noreply@blogger.com2