3D. Motion capture. High frame rate. We live in an age where technological perfection is not only possible, but expected. Computer generated sound and visual effects are better than ever before. As a result, modern cinema is bound only by the imaginations of filmmakers. This year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences saw […]
The Wolf in Context
We sit entrenched in an Irish mob den. Here, anyone could be a mole and thus everyone toes Death’s door. Then we are transported to an island, where a man is unsure of what is real, and what isn’t. His feverish nightmare reaches its peak before bringing his world down around him. And now we […]
The Best Cinematic Experiences of 2013
Roman Polanski once said, “I’d rather watch a film in a movie theatre. I have all the kit you need at home, but it’s not the same.” A few months ago, I had the privilege of seeing The Matrix (1999) on the big screen. I missed its theatrical debut fourteen years ago, but my local […]
High Frame Rate and Why The Hobbit Films Matter
As the prequel films to the estimable The Lord of the Rings franchise, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit films already carry with them a heightened expectation of narrative quality. However, there was more to The Lord of the Rings than its epic story. Every part of the production was groundbreaking; filming all three movies at once […]
The Excision of the Protagonist
Television has apexed once again. If the Emmys have proven anything over the past few years, it is that we live in what celebrated filmmaker Steven Soderbergh refers to as “a second golden age of television.” The networks — cable and streaming, more than broadcast — are investing more than ever in smart, original and […]
On the War Between Movies and TV for the Soul of Horror
Few things have aided the rise of horror on television more than the decline of horror at the movies. There is a rich history of great horror at the movies. Consider the early Universal monster flicks of the 30s and Alfred Hitchcock’s legendary, contemplative re-imagining of the thriller sub-genre. Think about the classic slasher films in […]
On Blackfish and the Understated Influence of Documentaries
“Never capture what you can’t control.” So says the tagline for Blackfish, Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s muckraking new documentary — currently being distributed in select art-house theaters by Magnolia Pictures — which is a stunning indictment of the manner in which SeaWorld has captured and treated wild orca whales over the years. The film could have an enormous impact […]
