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Showing posts from October, 2011

Evolution of a Revolution

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I had a chance to go to the CCW conference this week again, and update myself and talk to others about content & communication.  I find the conference interesting and I learn a lot by talking to vendors, and other technicians and artists who are in the field of communication.  Many provide content to the web, and that content is spilling over to other traditional media such as cable, and network.  One of the seminars was titled: " So What Comes After File-Based Work Flows?  The Next Generation ".   I found it interesting what others are doing, and how they are doing it.  Media is getting faster and that ability to become immediate is changing the landscape of how people consume different types of media.  Maybe it's just the way human beings are.  We think that knowing something immediately will give us an edge or help us. What I was excited about is that the web has knocked down barriers between countries, people, and governments.  People hear things and see thin

The Exorcist (1973) # 5

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The Exorcist was a film that showed me that horror could be filled with terror, and the unexpected.  I saw this film at a relatively late age.  I was way too young when it first came out, but I had heard stories about the film.  Whether these stories were true it didn't really matter.  It fed the myth of the film in my mind, and when I finally saw it I was amazed at the artistry of the film.  From the direction to the cinematography the film "The Exorcist" is a film that deserves mention here.  Based on the William Peter Blatty's 1971 best-selling theological-horror novel of the same name the movie remains pretty faithful to the book. Having seen the film later in life I did become obsessed about the cinematography of the film.  Owen Roizman was the cinematographer, and from the first shot to the last shot the film is a masterpiece in cinmatography.  I'm not going to say much more about the film because it's all been said before.  The Exorcist is the only

The Evil Dead (1981) #4

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I saw Evil Dead where it was meant to be seen. A drive-in. I had heard about this film from some of my classmate’s back in high school, and I read everything I could put my hands on about the film. Fangoria magazine was my pipeline to the fantastic, and for a teenager with an over active imagination, and a thirst for all things movies Fangoria was the magazine to read. That and " Cinemagic " magazine. A magazine devoted to filmmaking. The stories about how "Evil Dead" was made fascinated me. A bunch of guys going out into the country with some film equipment and their cast and crew and making a film. What they came back with was a film that hit a nerve with audiences, and it became a success. Sam Rami and his gang made cinematic low budget history when they made their film "the Evil Dead". A film with very few characters, and a simple plot. My film professor was right in a way. If you want to make an interesting film take some buddies and film some

Dawn of the Dead (1978) # 3

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If I had to name one film that blew my mind when I was a teenage it would have to be "Dawn of the Dead".  George Romero's " Dawn of the Dead " is a film that is on so many levels it boggles the mind.  A horror film, a satire on society, a statement on consumerism, and a sequel.  That's what "Dawn..." is and in lesser hands it would not have been effective, but because the filmmaker is George Romero this film hits the audience on all levels.  I was about 14 years old when this film came out, and it was one of the hardest films to see for me back then.  Released without a rating it only played in several theaters, and if you were not accompanied with an adult you didn't get in.  I saw it in Germany while visiting my aunt, and in Europe it was called "Zombie 2".  Argento had made a film called " Zombie " previously and called his cut of Dawn "Zombie 2".  Little did I know that there were two versions of this film. 

Halloween (1978) #2

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I would have to say that the one film that makes this month memorable is" Halloween ".  Not the re-make of course, but the original from John Carpenter , and Debra Hill .  It stars Jamie Lee Curtis , and Donald Pleasence , and it was originally called "The Babysitter Murders".  The movie was done on a low budget, and looks fantastic for it's budget range.  I'm always amazed at the camera work in the film, and how great the cinematography looks.  Dean Cundy is the man behind the cinematography and the look of the film.  Along with the art direction the film really feels like it was shot in October even though it was not.  The film was shot with a Panaglide, and Carpenter makes good use of it here.  The camera floats through each scene, and it gives us the audience this lurking sense of dread.  Where will Michael Myers (the killer) come from next?  Carpenter always has you guessing. I'm a strong believer of atmosphere in a movie, and Halloween is such

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1975) #1

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Okay it's that time in the year. The weather gets cooler, the leaves begin falling from the tree, and we all begin to dress up in silly little costumes. It's Halloween soon, and the countdown has begun. So why not celebrate the month of October with my very own countdown. A countdown of the best horror movies. Based on me. I'm sure opinions will vary widely, but I figured I give it a shot, and see just how many I can write about here. First up is a movie called " The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ". The original one that is. Not the remake or the prequel that they made not too long ago. I'm not a big fan of those, and remakes in general. I understand them from a studio's perspective since there is another younger audience out there who may want to see it, and when there's money to be made you can bank that a studio is going to make a remake. After all it's easy money, and the word franchise is a golden ticket for the studios. But this review is abo