Geroge Harrison: Living in the Material World

     For Adriana.

      It's Thanksgiving season! Or at least it's Thanksgiving in Canada today, which is where I'm from. So I decided why not have a thankful post. I posted about this a while back. Check it here. But I've finally watched Martin Scorsese's documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World,  at a screening hosted by ULCA with a Q&A with producer Nigel Sinclair.
     So firstly thank you UCLA for hosting this great screening and having the chops to show it in full to boot. Thanks to Scorsese and editor David Tedeschi for putting together such a masterful piece of work, it's truly something despite the subject. Really amazing. Mostly though, thank you to Olivia Harrison for allowing the film's team to excavate all her husbands things and go through a lifetime of materials, cause after three and a half hours I still wanted to see more. There's some truly amazing stuff shown in the documentary.
     Beyond the amass of entertaining footage and anecdotes about George the film is a spectacular accomplishment. The way the actual footage of George is used and intertwined into the chronology, and perspective is amazing. Interview footage of George is used to almost haunting quality because, I, for a second almost forgot this was about someone who's passed. We see everything through George's perspective in the first portion and only does the real great material come after the apple doors had closed for The Beatles. It's about him, good and bad. So don't think you're going to go in to this and get a neatly shaped film that mostly chats about his time with the popular group. Expect to see a overwhelming film about a man, who was loved and loved so many. I will admit I'm a bit sad that there wasn't any interview footage with Ravi Shankar on George's passing, but this is such a small small thing. There's so much here and I heard there's almost another 50mins of footage on the DVD release.
     Go see this if you can! Even if you don't like the subject matter, support quality filmmaking. It's remarkable to say the least. For a little taste of the film, check out the website here. For anyone who's ever felt that maybe, just maybe, wanting some beyond this material world; whether is be spiritually, emotionally or existentially,  wasn't as "fantastical" or "mystical" as some might say,  I'd say: "Here comes the sun."

Happy moviegoing folks!

Keep an Eye Out: Miss Bala

Blow, Boobs, and Blood Oh My! Trailer for new film by director, Gerardo Naranjo, Miss Bala. Produced by Gael Garcia Bernel & Diego Luna.  I'm excited to see what happens with this once it leaves TIFF, but no release date has been set for the US. :( This makes me sad because it looks pretty freaking good.

Check out the trailer below and keep and eye out for this one!



Happy moviegoing folks!

Keep An Eye Out: Tyrannosaur

The directorial debut of Paddy Considine. Ya Paddy Considine. The guy from In America, Hot Fuzz, Cinderella Man. He kinda looks like Gary Oldman but he's not. YES Him! He directed this....check it out.

Not gonna lie. This looks good. Considine said it's his "interpretation of life, and trying to function as a human" /Film reported. Well whatever it may be this looks like something I wanna see.

Keep an eye out for this one folks!

Happy moviegoing!

Keep an Eye Out: and Making My Heart Swell, Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist

Watch the trailer below from Michel Hazanavicius' newly released silent film The Artist (IMDB). Ya I said that...S I L E N T  F I L M. Trust and watch it!

Well I don't care what you say. I like silent films! So :P. I think the aesthetic is worthy of the praise it's getting right now and you can see the high attention to detail this has here just from less than two minutes. Plus, I'm a hopeless romantic. I'm glad something like this is being highlighted in a culture like today's because it allows people to understand the eras and boundaries cinema can cross. You don't need to be living in that era or with those people to understand their plight and emotion. No fancy SFX and 9 months of sound mixing either to get to the heart of it. Maybe the popular film industry today just needs to K.I.S.S all the way. Keep it simple stupid and have faith in your audience! To be able to release such a feat today is worthy of applause in my books anyhow. So well done. I'm excited to see this and would encourage anyone reading this to show this some love when it does come out.

Projected release date is in November so keep an eye out for this one!

Happy moviegoing folks!

It's Here: Wong Kar Wai's Trailer for The Grandmasters

I posted about this feature being in production a bit back now. (See here) But as it is with most Wong Kar Wai films, they take a while, so patience is key. But now a teaser trailer has emerged and I am beyond excited. With Wong Kar Wai at the helm and Tony Leung at his side, this rendition of the story of legendary martial artist Yip Man sure looks like one hell of flick. Ya that's right a Wong Kar Wai martial arts film. My response: Where can I buy my tickets? See the trailer below:


There is still no release date but definitely keep and eye out for this one before the year is through. I cannot wait. Can you?

Happy moviegoing folks!

Keep an Eye Out For: The Myth of the American Sleepover

Check out the trailer for David Robert Mitchell's The Myth of the American Sleepover. This looks like a well thought out and furthermore well executed film. A time past with a unbiased tone? There is a level of honesty even in the aesthetics that cannot be denied here.  This is a first feature for Mitchell and looks like it's going to be well received and might actually be really great. I look forward to watching it. Keep yours eyes and ears peeled.
Check the trailer below:



Happy moviegoing folks!

Keep And Eye Out For: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Just watch the newly released trailer for Let the Right One In director, Tomas Alfredson's, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Now this is how you make a trailer. Jesus Murphy this cast! I can't even begin to verbalize how the entire aesthetic of this film insights so much excitement in me. I can't even begin to describe here. Just look at the composition alone. This is beginning to remind of the great Alan J. Pakula films, like The Parallax View. There is some Gordon Willis magic here. Definitely keep and eye out for this one. Looks like it's free of your run of the mill Hollywood malarky. But damn, these are the movies I want to see more of. Keep and eye out folks. Looks like it's going to be gooooood.

Happy moviegoing!