I had this reoccurring dream that a Botfly had laid its larva in my leg, so every time I squeezed the welt maggots would come squirming out. It was more annoying than horrifying but kept me up all night nonetheless. #gnetx
Monday, November 17, 2014
Saturday, November 01, 2014
Bi-Poehler
My wife was joking that Amy Poehler would be at Minami's friend's birthday party & it turned out to be true. BTW I'm a big Parks & Rec fan - glad I came... for Minami of course. #minami #skyguy76 #sse
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Nerd Rage Retraction
It has been pointed out that Robert Patrick was the T-1000 & not the T-2000 in TERMINATOR 2 as I wrote in my earlier post. That is all. #sse #gnetx
I've developed a taste for Hannibal
"Hannibal" S1 is one of the best crime/thriller series I've seen & it highlights 3 of my personal fascinations: Cinematic Beauty, Culinary Art, & Sadistic Mind-f***ing. Mad Mikkelsen deceptively does very little except play the fulcrum for all plotting around him but he wears the infamy of Hannibal Lector like fine tailored suit. This series easily bests any of the previous films, even the original Demme film which I'm a fan of.
#sse #gnetx
Friday, October 24, 2014
ALIENS from 35mm to VHS to DVD to Bluray
I screened the ALIENS special edition extended cut Bluray for my film students which runs 2.5 hours but took 3 hours because I kept pausing it to comment on the film. I must say that I like the shorter theatrical cut better because it is concise and emphasizes the action elements while keeping the emotional ties & themes at a minimum without loosing much if you're really paying attention. Some of the suspense is drawn out in the special edition, which I still enjoyed, but it never added anything significant.
Can you believe that I actually saw ALIENS with my dad projected in 35mm during its theatrical run - imagine the impact a film like that would have on a 10 year old! I've now seen the film on 35mm film, VHS, DVD, and now Bluray. Looking forward to 4K.
#sse #gnetx
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Scared the cloud will go poof
For the 1st time in years I woke up and was unable to access my script writing files that are normally stored on a cloud server. I freaked the f*** out and when I finally was able to get to my files I pulled them all back onto my laptop and re-established my local network back up system (which I abandoned in favor of cloud storage). So now I have all my vital files sync with my laptop and workstation again which is made available on cloud storage AND is also backed up to my local network storage.
#gnetx #sse
Trading Time
When I write I often feel like I'm trading hour for hour from reality to spend time in a written world that doesn't exist (at least not yet). And it's always been a struggle deciding which one I should spend more time in.
#facebook
Monday, October 20, 2014
Lightning Movie &TV Recollections
THE ICEMAN: Solid film with solid performances & seamless 80's production design. Though it is a bit jarring to see so many back-to-back cameos of recognizable celebs.
HOW TO TRAIN YOU DRAGON 1 & 2: 1 was really great & enthralling in unexpected ways - really does make me want to fly (on a dragon!). 2 does everything you'd expect from a sequel but focuses more on filling story gaps while the thrill of flying a dragon is not enhanced much.
Re-watched HARA-KIRI (with my parents no less): The opening mystery unravels in such a powerful turn of events but then the back story is so bleak & depressing & then the ending is a classic Miike cut'em up Samurai showdown with a reversal on the nobility of a romanticized era of old. A little bit for everyone in my family.
"Walking Dead" S4: really the best season yet. S1 sputtered, S2 meandered, S3 aggravated as characters made stupid decisions. While I was worried S4 was going to be a S2 re-do it really branched off and tried different things with each episode. Some were silly but others really hit the drama home - best of all you can see the series different things which is important as the whole zombie thing gets tired.
Re-watched SCHOOL OF ROCK (with my daughter): I couldn't quite remember if this film was kid appropriate or even interesting for kids but my daughter really liked it (she usually tunes out if it's not animated).
"The Black List" S1: Still watching it but I f-ing hate it much in the same way I hated "The Killing." It's derivative garbage that rides the back of so many other shows before it. These are supposed to be extraordinary characters with extraordinary abilities but time after time they slide through staged situations without demonstrating anything extraordinary. That's why I hate 90% of all law enforcement TV dramas.
THE SUSPECT: And now Korean action films are feeling recycled. Some stunts and car chases looked great but even with so much flying all over the screen I actually got bored. Mostly because I've seen this stuff one too many times in far superior Korean films and so there's not much that's memorable in this latest one.
#gnetx
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Yes, it's a little Soft
I didn't mind KILLING THEM SOFTLY until the end - the end was a deal breaker for me. The film was like a homage to street-level mob movies of the the late 90s & early 2000s but with a bizarre political sub-consciousness and a Coen Brothers-esque talky humor about it. But the humor dissipates when the politics take center stage and talkiness becomes eye-rollable hyperbole. And another one of my filmmaking pet-peeves: if you're planning to do extreme close-ups of bullet shells ejecting don't used crimped casings, use real spent shells. I don't want to suddenly realize that the guy is shooting blanks.
#gnetx
Sunday, October 05, 2014
Halfway Mark
Officially at the halfway mark (for a 1st draft feature script). From here the plot just escalates into madness, which I tend to have more fun with.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Like daggers to the eyes
OCULUS had so much potential all the way until it revealed that it was nothing more than a bunch of parlor tricks to jerk the audience around. It started off a little gimmicky but the kid performances held up and there were some decent scares. It built this engrossing puzzle with all these rules but then it gradually became apparent that the film had no intent to solve anything or justify anything or even abide by its own rules - a complete cop-out and an unfortunate let-down that turned into a logistic mess. Apparently this was based on a short film and it really felt like an underdeveloped conception - though I'll give the director credit for maintaining momentum throughout the film. Not bad, but frustratingly unsatisfying.
#sse #gnetx
Monday, September 29, 2014
Point of No Return
There's usually a point in writing a feature script where you know for sure that you're going to finish it and that it's actually going to work (unless you have a solid outline or a drop-dead deadline). Well I'm almost there with this current one - just a dozen more pages and a couple more scenes and I'll know for sure that the plotting and characters will be able to hold their own until the inevitable climax. No more moonlighting on other scripts, no more tangents with random ideas, no more fears of failure - just a straight shot to the finish line. But it's still too early to celebrate. #gnetx
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Being True to the Detective
I'm glad to have seen the "True Detective" series not too long after "The Killing." Their stories are similar but the former makes such a stronger case in almost every conceivable way whereas the latter meanders, whines, and contradicts itself with every step. Ironically "True Detective" creator Nic Pizzolatto was a writer on some early episodes of "The Killing" when I had hopes for the series. Granted the finale of TD is less of a shocker and more of a showdown long coming, but it cares more for the characters it establishes over cheap thrills. TK makes everything and everyone disposable to make hard, unexpected (and unjustified and unmotivated) plot turns for the sake of entertainment. Being that the strong performances and textured locations played such a big part of the appeal of TD, I'm curious how season 2 will play out with its new cast and new setting. #sse #gnetx
Friday, September 19, 2014
True Dick
I'm not a fan of watching "detective" TV dramas (I'm more forgiving when it comes to films) & "The Killing" reaffirmed those inclinations. But I just caught the 1st episode of "True Detective" & was floored by how captivating it was - even the opening credits caught my eye. Really great character insight and regional texture wrapped around a peculiar murder investigation, whereas the dicks in "The Killing" waffle in their convictions and yet feel emotionally grey and at the mercy of the plot mechanics.
#sse #gnetx
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Mainstream horror films are like f***ing soap operas!
Put horror in space, put horror underwater, put horror in the past or future, just stop putting horror in f***ing melodramas already! BYZANTIUM ends with decent performances & interesting set pieces but it takes forever to go anywhere & the totality of it is just a retelling of the vampire lore without adding much. If I see another brooding Nosferatu, I swear I will just punch it in the effin face (male or female).
But then I saw CURSE OF CHUCKY and I was reminded of why 80s horror films kicked a**! It doesn't miss a beat in entertaining you from the get-go with either humor or tension, and some of the camera moves/angles in this film are f***ing genius. Really great film that's not desperate to be overly clever or or serious or relevant or even shocking - it just entertains as it should.
#gnetx #sse
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Horror Film Recollections (copied from Facebook comments I made)
AT THE DEVIL'S DOOR which I previously listened to the Q&A podcast with the writer/director. One of the producers produced THE STRANGERS (which I really liked) and in the podcast the director was a little snarky about defying this producer - so I thought maybe this director has a unique vision. DEVIL'S DOOR was really boring with monotonously cheap scares and severely underdeveloped characters - horribly unmotivated ending (WE ARE WHAT ARE had a similar "from left field" character flip ending which some people seem to think is "clever"). Completely unsatisfied I went on to watch Jeff's recommendation of ALTITUDE which painfully starts like every other straight-to-video horror with a group of youngins going on a wild adventure in a small plane until something goes horribly wrong... But then some of the tension was actually decent - somewhat reminded me of FROZEN (the Adam Green film, not the Disney musical). But then things get so retarded and seemingly random that the ending completely blindsided me because it kind of made sense and was kind of cool. So ALTITUDE proved to be so much better than the in-flight horror film I recently saw 7500 (by the director of THE GRUDGE) which was based on the intriguing story of Helios Airways Flight 522, but poorly executed as a cinematic regurgitation.
Oh and I also saw AFFLICTED, the found footage horror recommended by the other David Chen (/film). Wanted to like it but it doesn't do anything interesting beyond a handful of found footage stunts - the plotting just gets tedious with no real pay-off. REC is still the gold standard for these type of films.
#gnetx #facebook #twitter
The Horror Grouch
Insomnia and watching mediocre horror films till 3am means I'm going to be grouchy for the rest of the day - consider this your warning.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
A Good Day
Out of the blue I felt the need to write this morning and I sat down and pounded out a few pages. There were a few of the usually morning distractions and even a matter I had to address immediately but as soon as I finished I went right back to writing which can be hard. But it just goes to show that when you have that urge it's best to ride it and milk it for what it can give you. No doubt part of that urge stems from a few movies that I saw this past week - my mind had been churning thoughts on what the films represented and how I may have approached the subject. That neural activity is so vital in getting the brain set to write. #gnetx
Monday, September 15, 2014
Lightning Movie Recollections Round
EDGE OF TOMORROW was really great even after hearing so much about it - plays with gaming respawn warped sense of reality but ending was flat. NEIGHBORS was mildly funny, fragmented, & predictable. CHEF too felt fragmented & at times conventional but I could sense the drive to do food justice (RATATOUILLE is a better foodie movie). ONE MILLION WAYS TO DIE comedy & story felt like oil & water - I just couldn't resolve the two & quit watching. TRANSCENDENCE was big ideas riding on such a small underdeveloped & uninspired love story. 7500 had me endure random & ill performed dialog in anticipation of a surprise ending but sells you short.
Monday, September 01, 2014
The Cap
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER had some really fluid action choreography with camera work and editing to go with it. But the MINORITY REPORT style gunships going around sniping potential wrong doers was a bit silly - like a hammer swatting a fly.
Friday, August 22, 2014
A low and then a high but completely unrelated
On a low note, I scratched my car while parking. On a high note, MS OneNote for Android now supports inking and works great on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. I've been waiting for this feature for the longest time.
#skyguy76 #sse #gnetx
Monday, May 26, 2014
Lightning Film Recollections
STOKER visually gives the illusion that the plotting is more sophisticated than it really is, but I still liked it. PAIN & GAIN and THE COUNSELOR are Hollywood talents just running f***ing unchecked - the former at least tried to be funny whereas the latter just went on & on with speeches that bored the s*** out of me (normal people don't talk like that?). GODZILLA CGI fights looked great but everything people related was wasted. WE ARE WHAT WE ARE portends to do something interesting with vampires but doesn't at all (but OMG I barely recognized Kelly Mcgillis). I struggled to get through INSIDIOUS 2 which didn't surprise me.
#gnetx #sse
Sunday, May 04, 2014
Beowulf (2007)
Beowulf: Give him a gold piece and send him home. He has a story to tell.
#gnetx #sse
Beowulf (2007)
Beowulf: I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power! I AM BEOWULF!
#gnetx #sse
Friday, May 02, 2014
Lighting Film Reviews
BOURNE LEGACY: alotta "who gives a s***," lame showdown. YOUNG DET DEE: too much matter-of-fact fantasy for a detective plot. OLD BOY: not horrible but misses the mark of the original by a long shot. OUTRAGE BEYOND: not as good as the 1st but entertaining. GRAVITY: simple story, great tension encapsulated in stunning shots. CAPTAIN PHILLIPS: palpable tension that makes you feel the final outcome was truly tragic. #gnetx #sse
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Early Bird
That moment when you first wake up, where your mind is the closest thing to a blank slate as can be, is seriously the best time to get some writing done. This is before you get into reading any news headlines, calls, e-mails, tweets, and/or photos as these can influence your creative mood in unpredictable directions. #gnetx #sse
Monday, March 24, 2014
Not nearly as Crood as I thought
Wow, I really enjoyed THE CROODS - thought the animation was fantastic. I had my doubts about the plotting in the beginning but Nick Cage is so damn enjoyable. Though FROZEN's music is memorable, THE CROODS is far better cinema by far. #skyguy76 #sse #gnetx
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
Chushingura
Paying my respects at the temple where the 47 Ronin (å¿ è‡£è”µ) commit ritual suicide after assasinating the untouchable man that dishonored their master. Sorry, I couldn't find Keanu Reave's grave. #fb #twit
Saturday, March 08, 2014
Kabukicho
After some talk about Japanese mafia in Hiroshima, I was again compelled to check out the Kabukicho scene on Shinjuku. Some scary old lady was nice enough to warn me about getting ripped off while at the same time selling me on "a good time." Yeesh! #fb #twit
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Sunday, February 09, 2014
The World's End
I feel the THE WORLD'S END was the ultimate maturation of the Cornetto Trilogy, mostly for the characters and the actors that played them. I liked SHAWN OF THE DEAD but was never crazy about it because I was tuned into more serious zombie fare. HOT FUZZ had more of that something special going for it with many layers of plot and twists on expectations. But it still didn't hit it home for me. But watching THE WORLD'S END, I thorough enjoyed following Simon Pegg and Nick Frost with all their baggage and as if they finally made sense to me. The plot wasn't nearly as sophisticated and the humor wasn't nearly as zany but it all gelled for me to the bitter end. It did remind me of THIS IS THE END but with less d*** references and with a little more sincerity - I really liked both movies. #sse #gnetx
Tuesday, February 04, 2014
5 Star Movies - Part 1
According to my Netflix ratings, these are films that I rated as 5 out of 5 stars. Granted a 5 star movie to me is usually a 4 star film that I happen to see at the right time and right place - where the film hit a distinct chord in me or marked a pivotal moment in my memories. And I never claim to have a particularly refined taste in film but I do know what I like. There are still many films yet to be added to this list - many good films in my 4 star list waiting to be promoted to 5 stars.
Ran - Epic Kurosawa. Bloody, haunting, tragic. It may be a slow burn but the totality of this film is of a time lost to Japan (in history and in film).
Quigley Down Under - What? A Tom Selleck movie in my favorite films of all time? Yes but there's also the venerable Alan Rickman as a villain as good if not equal to his Hans Gruber in DIE HARD. And it's a Western (in Australia) with one of the best showdown endings.
Spirited Away - A world building that is so uniquely Japanese and so uniquely Miyazaki, with many parallels to how we as humans are impacting our home world. And a touching coming-of-age story that only Miyazaki can tell.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - The best of the Indy Jones movies. As campy as it can get, the action, the plotting, the adventure is Spielberg in top form. A toy box of socio-political action figures in worldy-fictional set pieces - so much fun.
Blood Simple - This was my intro to the Coen Bros but more importantly as I studied the Coens I was introduced to hard boiled novelist Dashiell Hammett. Both have shaped me as a filmmaker and this film is a prime example of what you can do on the indie level with just a talented cast, a film camera, and a finely tuned, high-tension script.
#gnetx #sse
Saturday, February 01, 2014
Kurosawa Night!! Free Japanese Cinema Screening
Kurosawa Night! Wednesday, February 12@ 7:00PM. Venue: The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, Auditorium (5700 Wilshire Blvd. #100, Los Angeles, CA 90036). Admission: Free. Reservation is not required.
#gnetx #sse #skyguy76
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Death in the snow brings life to a movie
So a student of mine informed me that a script concept I had been developing was adapted to the feature film KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER starring Rinko Kikuchi which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. The story is of a young Japanese woman that was convinced that the buried money in the Coen Bros film FARGO was somehow still buried in the snows of Minnesota since the film was "based on a true story" (the Coen Bros later admitted it was not). As the urban legend goes this woman (her actual name was Takako Konishi) traveled to the US and encountered the local police while wandering in the cold. Having difficulty communicating with the authorities, she was left to go on her way but then was later found dead - supposedly she froze to death while looking for the FARGO money. But later it was discovered that, as reported by Paul Berczeller in his article "Death in the Snow," Takako was actually searching for an estranged American lover she had met in Japan and that her death was actually a suicide - a letter mailed to her parents in Japan was later discovered. It's a truly fascinating and tragic legend/story with such great dramatic possibilities. My version was not a direct adaptation and I'm focusing less on the treasure hunting aspect and more on the love story. So despite this other film beating me to adapting the story, my version is still viable as it doesn't even involve Minnesota/North Dakota or the snow or FARGO for that matter. But I am curious as to how these filmmaker interpreted the subject matter. I highly recommend reading Paul Berczeller's article in the Guardian - his presentation of fact and fiction is what makes the story film-worthy. #gnetx #sse
'Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter' at Sundance 2014
A chat with the star and writer/director/producers of 'Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter'.
You're... Stupid
I really don't understand the praise for the horror film YOU'RE NEXT - I just thought it was flat out stupid as hell. Granted I had expectations so with every "off" performance I thought, oh that character's suspicious - nope, it was just bad acting and writing. With every oddly pre-rigged method of killing I thought, oh these killers are either super smart or this is some preordained death game - nope, in fact the killers reveal themselves to be a bunch of pretards and the eventual plot twist is so mundane and is ultimately so predictable. I've heard comparisons to CABIN IN THE WOODS and "turning the genre on its head" - what in the hell are these people smoking? It's more like this film deliberately throws up random acts of violence to confuse and then devolves horror expectations (in a mundane and ordinary direction - not a clever or even amusingly ridiculous direction) and then is smug with calling itself original.
I hate to bash this film too much because some of the cinematography, practical effects, and lead actress performance are noteworthy. But the film as it reveals itself is so aggravatingly... stupid. Maybe you'll like this film if you're truly fatigued by contemporary horror films that require a lot anticipatory brain work with clever misdirection and a satisfying realization. This film ain't any of that.
Again, if you want to see a good contemporary home-invasion horror film check out THE STRANGERS. Well executed, so much more in-the-moment and dramatic, so much more creepy and chilling - you feel the emotional torture of the characters without the filmmaker desperately trying to hinge everything on a face-smack plot twist. #gnetx #sse
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Writing rituals and habits
So I was listening to an interview with writer/director Peter Berg and he mentioned a writing habit where he writes in the morning as soon as he wakes up. He just wakes up and jumps into writing before doing anything else like checking e-mails or checking day's news or anything that might distract him. And it dawned on me that that's usually when I'm the most productive. After a good night's sleep and waking up before the kid or the wife, if I go straight into writing without looking at Facebook or Twitter I tend to be quite productive. So I tried it this morning and bam! I was on a roll. I only afforded myself maybe 1.5 hours but it was still a pretty decent session of pounding the keys.
Writers are notoriously ritualistic and even superstitious when it comes to writing and how they approach writing, but it's really no different than an athlete that has a lucky jersey or number or method. It's all about being in the right state of mind in the moment - triggering your "A" game on a consistent basis. Just like when I watch a movie, if I'm not in the mood to watch a certain genre, that film just may not appeal to me regardless of how good it actually is. But if all the right conditions align, even a crappy movie can be the time of my life. It's all about replicating those right conditions for weeks and months while I write a feature script. It's not easy but there is a method to the madness and that method is about being ritualistic.
Monday, January 20, 2014
The Investigator vs the Op
The inherent problem with Sherlock is that you can't really relate to him in all his intellect and prowess.
But the Hammett detective is the every-man with an ugly mug and bad disposition to match. He is solitary but dedicated to his code with the Continental Op. He's smart but not by education - he's earned his intuition to duck after being hit in the head one too many times.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Action and Dialog
Sometimes I have to separate the writing of action and dialog in order to find my flow. Action is all visual to me, as if I'm blocking a scene on set and replacing dialog with "blah, blah, blah" so that I'm not hung up on words. But when I write dialog it's ALL about the word choices. I'm constantly reevaluating which words work best for a given situation, or how many times I've used a word in a scene, or what words a specific character would use based on his/her background. So my drafts can sometimes be long paragraphs of action descriptions with very little dialog or long exchanges of dialog with little to no descriptions. I then go back and insert the missing component whether it's action or dialog. This method helps me identify the right tone and pace, and sometimes allows me to vomit words onto a page then sort things out later.
#fbpro
Separation of studio and critic
Critic Armond White mentions how many critics feel they are part of the movie industry when they are/should not - they are journalists.
I should add that when I am critical of a film there is some notion that I am broadcasting a report to friends but that is secondary to my examination of what I personally like/dislike as both an audience member and a filmmaker. It is all in developing my own personal taste and style so that I can direct my own creative decisions with conviction. #blog
Lone Wolf
It's tough going from the kinetic excitement of production to the solitary quiet of writing. One can be a physical challenge: waking up early, chasing a schedule, creatively trouble shooting. The other can be a mental challenge: blocking out distractions, motivating yourself to sit and write, organizing hundreds of thoughts. #blog
Saturday, January 11, 2014
NINJA 2
NINJA 2 is ONLY GOD FORGIVES in an alt universe where the Thai police chief (same actor) is a p***y and the American is a Karate god. And just like the 1st one this movie feels like it belongs in the 80's where the revenge plot is so simple (and attempts an equally simple plot twist), the drama is so over played, and the action goes on and on but feels the same throughout. Even as the character fights through Japan (which doesn't look much like Japan), to Thailand, to Myanmar the action all feels homogeneous and conventional (though some of the choreography looked cool). There's no Muay Thai, there's no Lethwei, there's not even much "Ninja" - everyone just seems to know Karate or some derivation of it. It was nice to recognize Kane Kosugi - I remember him as a boy in PRAY FOR DEATH. #sse #gnetx
Friday, January 10, 2014
Cloud Writing
Ugh, 3rd day of sick kid, house cleaning, and general sluggishness. The actual script writing is taking a hit but I'm seeing the scenes play out in my head, in my dreams, and on my toilet. #gnetx
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
ARGO
I liked ARGO. I can see how people think it's overrated but I think it does well to contrast the absurd of Hollywood with the drama of Middle East tensions. And in the end it decidedly remains true to the drama and without falling into WAG THE DOG territory.
*sky *gnet-x *sse
Saturday, January 04, 2014
Getting back into it
Talk about out of shape, I'm averaging about a page a day in script writing. Of course I'm also spending countless hours replaying scenes in my head and I tend to embellish on details which is just how I write.
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