2013: Favorite Movies

TOP 5 MOVIES OF THE YEAR (Listed alphabetically) Beasts of the Southern Wild: Magic realism starring an amazing Quvenzhané Wallis. I missed seeing this in 2012 but couldn’t bear to leave it off this list. Casting By: Brilliant HBO documentary about two of the unsung heroes of Hollywood, casting directors Marion Dougherty and Lynn Stalmaster. …

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Film: IP MAN

I stumbled across IP MAN while browsing Hulu Plus on Friday night. (It’s also on Netflix instant streaming.) I recognized “Ip Man” as the name of Bruce Lee’s first Wing Chun teacher (although I had always seen it as “Yip Man“), and thought I might find a few good fights scenes to enjoy. I ended …

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Zoom In vs. Zoom Out

Beginnings are tricky in almost every medium — novels, movies, comics, videogames, you name it. You’re often dealing with a world different from our own, sometimes in huge ways, and sometimes in small, subtle ones. You need to convey the salient differences smoothly, so they’re absorbed but not necessarily noticed. I’ve noticed two main styles …

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Um…no.

Today’s mystery Hollywood sign read “ACNE.” Let’s just hope they’re casting a commercial and not in production on a blockbuster trilogy… Nope, not even remotely tempted to follow.

Follow the Signs

There are signs taped and stapled all over Los Angeles, usually handwritten, and always bearing a codeword like “Cowboy” or “Underwater” or “Heaven” and pointing down a certain road. It’s my understanding that these signs point to casting calls or shoots. Whenever I see one, I spend the rest of the drive making up a …

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Hulk!

I saw The Incredible Hulk tonight! A buddy from work got us all tickets for an advance press screening at the Arclight (the best movie theater in the known universe). Here’s my brief review, minus spoilers: Very fun. Very green. Edward Norton is fantastic. If you enjoyed Iron Man, you’ll like Hulk, too. It’s not …

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Surfacing

Hi, folks! I’ve been offline while entertaining a house guest for the last few days. I’ve barely even been checking email — can you believe it? No, no, it’s true. I’ll probably continue to be offline through Wednesday or Thursday. In recent news: – The movie THE TV SET was funny and depressing, and I …

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