KGB Productions

So what happens when it's late and you're flipping through channels. You sometimes get hooked on a film that you can't stop watching, and before you know it the film is finished, and you're smiling because there is good content on them there channels after all. That's how I saw Pawel Pawlikowski's neat little film My Summer of Love . I was intrigued by the characters Mona played by Nathalie Press and Tamsin played beautifully by Emily Blunt . It is a simple tale of two young women spending the summer together and who happen to fall in love. Now before you say anything I like to point out the two great performances that Ms Press and Ms Blunt give. Pawlikowski doesn't go for the exploitable nuances of the story of two women falling in love. He instead shows how the two are drawn together by their similarities and differences in character. Mona is the village girl who lives with her brother who has become a born again Christian. She misses her old brother ...

 Okay I finally got to watch Hostel, and though I’ ve heard a lot about the film I wanted to see it for myself. I was curious, and wanted to see what all the hype was about. I saw it for free on Showtime on Demand while the kiddies were away. I like horror films, but lately my tastes have been a bit eclectic, and for me to like a horror movie it better deliver on several levels. Unfortunately Hostel did not for me. The movie started off like a typical horror film. It sure had its quota of T&A, but it did feel like a paint by numbers kind of film, and for a horror film to be effective it needs to get visceral and hold nothing back. Now I know what you’re thinking. Did he see the same film I saw? I mean the gore factor was heavy. Wasn't the gore visceral enough? The answer is no. I see that type of gore and it does not faze me. Now you’re asking have I become de -sensitized to the violence? I mean can a person become so de -sensitized to the violence that he or she isn ’t repul...

   Okay I said I wasn't going to do this again, but after watching this film last night I had to comment. Why haven't I seen this film sooner. After all it was released in 2002, and is based on Claude Chabrol's 1969 film " La Femme infidèle" . I happen to be a Chabrol fan, and I just didn't think that the film about a women's affair that leads to murder would be any better, and I would be right too if it wasn't in the very capable hands of Adrian Lyne . In any other directors hands we would have been served up a bland tale that has been done to death, but what Lyne does is create a compelling drama about a women's obsession, and a husbands fury. Peter Biziou cinematography is stunning, yet that is nothing new in a Lyne movie. Lyne has a flair for the visual, and he uses that in the film. The only flaw is that maybe after all the build up the third act kind of falls flat, but I buy what Lyne is selling, and that is things can get away from us. T...

Who says you don't learn anything from old media. In the local news section of the Philadelphia Inquirer was a piece by Daniel Rubin about a blog called " Shadow World ". The title of the article is called " Beneath the El, dark video verité ". David Kessler is the creator of " Shadow Land ", and it's a fascinating look at the other side of life here in Philadelphia .Most of the vignettes are beautifully edited, and contain little dialogue. Others have the subject talking about his or her life. Each vignette is about two to three minutes. Each piece is well done. I'm told David uses a tiny Sony Handycam (A Sony trv22). I really like what David is doing, and I like how he treats his subjects. No bias at all. Mr Kessler also lives in the neighborhood he films in and that's probably why he gets the footage he does. Kessler edits some things that his subjects might get in trouble for. David says that he doesn't want to be seen as exploiti...

Came across Andrew Semans website, and after seeing his trailers and clips of his short films I was intrigued. The naturalness that his performers come across is what makes me interested in Andrew. I haven't seen any of his films whole, but from what I see I'm very much impressed. I'm always wondering how to make actors & actresses come across more naturally. I mean a film is scripted and I know with rehearsal actors can overcome that scripted feeling, but I also know it's all about chemistry too. You can rehearse till the cows come home, and sometimes you can't get that naturalness. I'd love to sit down with Mr. Semans and ask about his method, and how he works. I see he does his own writing and has also shared writing credits with two other people. Sometimes they say too many cooks spoil a stew, but sometimes in filmmaking that's not the rule. Sometimes it's better to have people to bounce ideas off of and contribute. I wonder how much the actors s...