It’s film festival season again in Rochester, and this year’s 360 | 365 George Eastman House Film Festival looks pretty promising.
I’ve been involved behind the scenes — I manage the website and I was on the short film panel — but there’s a ton of features I haven’t seen yet.
I encourage all film fans to check the schedule and come out to support the festival!
Here are some recommended events:
AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE
Thursday, May 06, 2010 9:45 PM
Dryden Theater
and
Saturday, May 08, 2010 7:30 PM
Little Theatre – Little 5
A history of exploitation films in America. I’ve been captivated by this genre for the last several years, which is why I jumped at the chance to provide some animated titles for the doc. Director Elijah Drenner will be in attendance.
MADE IN ROCHESTER
Little Theatre – Little 1
Thursday, May 06, 2010 6:45 PM
Here’s your chance to see the best films from the 360 | 365 Shorts Contest, plus films from Michelle Cardulla, Stan Main, Dave Marshall, and last but not least… Mike Russo’s VIRGIN FANG, starring yours truly as Draculess the timid vampire.
ADULT SHORTS: Hidden Worlds
Little Theatre – Little 1
Thursday, May 06, 2010 9:00 PM
ADULT SHORTS: Private Lives
Little Theatre – Little 5
Saturday, May 08, 2010 5:00 PM
These are the two shorts blocks I helped curate.
We watched about 130 entries, then chose the 15 we loved. Trust me, these are some great films.
WE CAN SHINE: FROM INSTITUTIONS TO INDEPENDENCE
Curtis Theatre
Sunday, May 09, 2010 3:00 PM
My student, Adrian Esposito, has completed his third documentary feature, and this is the best one to date. In We Can Shine, he shares the dark history of institutions for the disabled and how improvements have been made in recent years.
FREE PANELS
Local filmmakers should take advantage of the panel events at the festival, including the following:
Demo: RED CAMERA
The Austin Connection
Screenwriter’s Panel
Screenplay Live!
MUCH MUCH MORE
As if that’s not enough, I want to take in the following as well:
THE S FROM HELL
GONE WITH THE POPE
WAKE IN FRIGHT
THE SECRET OF KELLS
IT CAME FROM KUCHAR
CELL 211
HARRY BROWN
A CONVERSATION WITH THELMA SCHOONMAKER
THE RED SHOES
See you at the fest! Visit http://film360365.com for schedule and ticket information.
I just watched American Grindhouse, the all-inclusive documentary about the history of exploitation films in America. It’s a great doc, shining a light on the entire spectrum of fringe movies, from the earliest days of cinema to today.
My interest in the subject matter led me to become an “internet friend” of director Elijah Drenner a few years ago when he was working on the special edition of Jack Hill’s Spider Baby. He reached out to ask me to do some animated titles many months ago, and I jumped at the opportunity. I did “film burn” effects from scratch in After Effects, communicating with Elijah and editor Andrew Goldenberg (aka Goldentusk) entirely through email and Facebook. Who says social media is just a fad?
Yeah, it’s cool to see my name credited along side the likes of John Landis, Joe Dante, Jack Hill, Larry Cohen, H.G. Lewsis, and Fred Williamson. The movie has some great interviews with film scholars Eddie Muller, Kim Morgan, and Eric Schaefer (whose “Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!” sits within arm’s reach on my bookshelf right now). A nice surprise was discovering that the narrator is Rochester’s own Robert Forster!
American Grindhouse is making the rounds to “festivals first followed by TV, DVD, etc” according to Elijah.
In the meantime, check out the website at http://americangrindhouse.com
Connect with A.G. on Facebook here.
Some stills of my titles are online here.
Some of my film burn animation can be viewed here.
I love 3D movies.
I love the gimmicky ones like House of Wax and the subtle ones like Coraline. I’ve seen them from every era: the 50s, 80s, the Imax years, and today. I believe James Cameron when he says that he’ll change filmmaking forever with his 3D film, Avatar.
HOWEVER, if there’s a new renaissance for 3D, there’s some kinks I’d like to work out.
I already wear glasses. Although I wore contact lenses many years ago, I’m not interested in going back to them any time soon. I admit that the Real D company (which provides the tech for current 3D digital projection) has made some comfortable glasses, but it’s still putting on a second pair over my regulars. Are the Real D glasses better than the Imax ones? Definitely, but I still get that nose & ear pain halfway into a feature.
What’s the solution? I considered going to an eye doctor and getting prescription Real D specs. Can you imagine what that would cost? After surfing the net for “prescription Real D glasses,” I found a guy who wanted the opposite of what I want — regular lenses in Real D frames. Huh? I also found a site that sells Real D compatible clip-ons. Hmm. That might be worth twenty-eight bucks. (Fifteen would be better.)
Which brings me to my next point: cost. I suppose I can understand 3D movies like Monsters vs. Aliens having higher ticket prices. I’m paying an extra three dollars for glasses, right? Maybe if I were to SAVE my glasses to use again, I could keep that money, right? No, not an option. I brought my Coraline glasses to Monsters vs. Aliens, but the ticket seller said “no discount.” I paid the extra money and she gave me a second pair of glasses I didn’t need.
Every animation studio has 3D movies in the pipe. It’s a smart move, giving the theatrical audience something they can’t get at home, either legit or pirated. (This is similar to how 3D and other advances like Cinemascope competed with TV in the fifties.) I’m also aware that ticket prices in general continue to rise, but I’m disappointed by the significant price hike for 3D. Isn’t it enough that I’m spending my cash at the theater? Do I have to pay 30% to 50% more than I would for 2D?
By the time Avatar comes out, I’ll probably be wearing clip-ons, but I’ll also own half a dozen unopened Real D glasses. And I’ll be lighter in the wallet, too. Fun times ahead!
Because a list just isn’t good enough, I took the time to categorize the 60 odd new movies I saw theatrically in 2008.
Since I mentioned it during my Cinephobia appearance today, I decided to share it with the world here.
I’m a moderate fan of the Saw movies. They’re somewhat gratuitous, but clever. The twist at the end of the first one really pulled it into the 4 star territory. The twists in the sequels haven’t matched, but they still manage to surprise in some ways.
When I went to see Saw III and IV, I was somewhat confused by certain story points. Unlike other horror series that merely remake the previous entry or give you expository recaps, Saw behaves more like an episodic television show. Each film centers on specific characters, and the plot bends back on itself, jumping around in time to visit events from the previous films a different point of view.
For this year’s Saw V, I didn’t want to go in unarmed. Instead, I studied up first. I watched Saw I on Friday, Saw II and III on Saturday, then Saw IV on Sunday before heading to the theater for V.
I treated it like a research project. Who’s alive and dead at the end of each film? What was each person’s vice that deemed them worthy of Jigsaw’s tests?
Was it worth it? I think so. I wasn’t confused at all during part V. Instead, I followed along, not distracted by thoughts of “who’s that guy again?” and “wasn’t that guy already killed?”
I might as well share my research with any other OCD horror fans out there. The following database is full of spoilers for parts I-IV, but I did not update it with info from V.
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