KGB Productions

I know what you're saying. I've heard this all before, and I would of agreed with you in the past, but a few things have happened in the past month or so that has changed my mind. One is that I went to the Content and acquisition expo in New York a few weeks ago, and the other was while watching the latest Bond film "Skyfall". Canon was holding seminars on digital cinema at the expo, and the one person who was giving the seminar was a cinematographer/director whose name is Felix Alcala .   Felix has a number of years under his belt as a cinematographer/gaffer/grip, and now he's been directing episodic TV. So the guy has a lot of experience in the world of production. I loved his "can do" mentality. He was quite inspirational in his seminar about shooting digital, and how filmmaking is getting smaller. No longer the BIG crews, but smaller crews and lighter cameras. Cameras that can do MORE then the film cameras could. Resolution, and quality has come up...

It's been said that the material that Star Wars has generated that it could go on for a very long, long time. Time will tell if it is the right decision to hand off the Star Wars franchise to Disney, but I think it's a great idea, and one that will only grow the franchise. I'm a BIG fan of Mr. Lucas, and I am very greatful to him and his vision. Go Disney! If you want more info on the deal check out the NY Times article on the sale of LucasFilm to Disney here.

Here's a short film that is very well made, and since it's Halloween soon I figured why not.  Well done guys.

To say that Taken 2 is a logical movie is a bit of a stretch.  It's a story of our protagonist (Liam Neeson) getting involved in another plot where he needs to rescue his family from bad people.  The original was an interesting and powerful piece of action, adventure, and suspense.  Taken 2 does have its moments of thrills and suspense, but doesn't come close to the originals originality.  Having said that "Taken 2" is a great popcorn movie, and for an audience who has grown to like Liam Neeson's character it's got some really good sequences that will have you gripping your seat. The daughter played by Maggie Grace has a bit more to do here and she really has some good scenes.  Famke Janssen plays the mother and does a fine job at playing the damsel in distress, but it is Liam Neeson who we all have come to see.  He does a great job here playing Bryan Mills the super spy or security expert.  I really don't know what he does and for whom, ...

This week it was up and out to see " Hotel Transylvania " with the family.  It's October, and Halloween is right around the corner so why not.  It looked funny, and seemed appropriate for this time of year, and the kids wanted to see it and it's been awhile since we had a family outing at the movies.  So off we went. The film seems to be written by committee.  There are no more then 5 writers listed in the credits.  Sometimes this can be a problem, but here it isn't.  Adam Sandle r also seems to have been a bit more involved in creating the movie since he is listed as executive producer.  The film is released through Sony.  To say I didn't have fun seeing the film would be an out right lie.  I did have fun.  There were some jokes that were funny, and the humor was very much geared towards the children, and yet I still had fun listening to my boys laughing, so the movie did what it needed to do, and ...

I'm a big fan of those spaghetti westerns that were shot in Spain and Italy in the late 1960's.  The Mercenary is one of those films that is pretty fun to watch.  Franco Nero stars as Sergei ‘The Polish’ Kowalski  who gets involved in the Mexican revolution.  The film is written and directed by Sergio Corbucci who gave us films such as Django (1966) , Companeros (1970) , and The Great Silence (1968) .  The movie is one big flash back as our Franco Nero's character explains to us how he and his revolutionary friend meet played by Tony Musante .  Musante gives a hilarious performance in the film, and he and Franco make an interesting pair.    Sergio Corbucci does a good job keeping the audience entertained.  It is not one of Corbucci's best films, but he has fun here, and the film shows it.    Eduardo Fajardo and the ever nasty Jack Palance play the two villains in the piece, and Palance seems to have a ball doing...

To continue with a TV theme here.  Saw the other day Mob doctor.  Why you ask?  Well I heard William Forsythe was in it, and I'm a fan of his.  He is one of the most under-rated actors, and is usually cast as the heavy.  With no surprise he is here too, but the story of the characters seems interesting. The only thing is that the series has it wrong.  Forsythe's character is the one that is interesting and the relationship between him, the lead (Jordano Spiro) is the key. I really do think that the medical part of this is interesting.  Like in the first scene of the series where a guy has a screw driver removed from his head, but I really am tired on how TV depicts the medical community.  ER in it's early days was the pinnacle of a medical series.  So was St Elsewhere, but ER took it a step further and it really grabbed it's audience.  Now we're relegated to soap operas.  Like whose sleeping with whom, and who is in love an...

It's been said that the real innovative and interesting shows are on cable and or TV.  Revolution debuted this week and from what I can make of it it has an interesting premise.  My only pet peeve is why do the networks have to rely on the cliffhanger model of storytelling?  I know that it is to engage an audience and make sure that they come bask each week, but this model of storytelling is a bit frustrating.  Since the early 80's the networks have begun to rely on this type of storytelling more and more.  But the cliff-hanger isn't that all interesting either so the writers need to punch it up a bit and stop being formulaic. The cliff hanger synopsis is not a new type of way of telling a story.  The serials of the 40's and 50's were just the same.  The studios back then wanted their audience to return week after week to see how the hero escapes or prevails.  So you see it's not new.  It's just gotten a bit more sophisticated....

Another Earth is one of those films that you start off watching and before you know it you're absorbed into the plot and need to see how it all works out.  At least that's what happened to me.  I had heard of the film and it's debut at Sundance and was a bit intrigued.  I was also interested in how the filmmaker made the film, and that in itself is noteworthy of another blog entry.  Needless to say the film is an interesting character piece.   Brit Marling  plays Rhonda Williams whose life changes by a tragic accident she causes.  How she goes about redeeming herself is a fascinating journey.  William Mapother character is just as fascinating and compelling to watch as Ms Marling's.  As a debut film by Mike Cahill "Another Earth" is a film with some interesting concepts.  The concept of two Earth's and different alternative realities is something that the film presents.  There is no tech speak on how, or why the event is...

Introducing the Sony NEX-EA50 | POV Blog | PBS The following article is pretty interesting, and I do believe that it was only a matter of time before manufacturers put the bigger chips on the their cameras. I thought the Canono 5D and Nikon cameras are nice, but to trick them out with all the after market gear to make them film worthy made the enterprise of shooting with them a bit pricey and a little complicated for the novice. More info about the camera here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/sony/announcements/sonys-new-nex-ea50uh-camcorder-strange-and-beautiful-bird

So I finally saw the Oliver Stone's film "Savages", and though I wasn't too sure how I'd like it I came away not hating it.  A film about narcotics trafficking can be one that leaves you kind of numb (no pun intented).  When we see the violence and the horror that drugs do it's hard to look at.  Look at all the other films dealing with drugs or the criminal behavior of dealing drugs.  Most if not all have a sense of doom, and we know that there are no happy endings here.  Oliver Stone on the other hand makes me believe and in some way care about the characters I am about to watch.   Stone does this by showing us sides of his characters that we can identify with.  Our three main protagonists are Ben played by Aaron Johnson , and Chon played by Taylor Kitsch .  Two buddies who are like brothers and have gone into the marijuana growing and selling business.  Both are two sides of a coin.  Ben is the more sensitive and enligh...

So Took the family to see Battleship.  By the trailers and the coming attractions it looked like fun.  I know, I know you're thinking why go to a movie that is based on a game of all things.  Well one it was hot, and two I thought the boys would get a big kick out of it.  Plus the director was Peter Berg , and I'm sort of a fan of his.  He's come a long way since being an actor on the TV series Chicago Hope.  I did like the movie The Kingdom, and I thought he was a pretty good action/adventure director.  In Battleship Berg pushes the genre and comes up with a solid action piece. Is the movie fun?  Yes when it gets going.  It does take a bit for the movie to get going.  In that time we are introduced to the characters.  A lot of them are one dimensional, but we all have seen these character types before so we're all familiar with them.  There are the two brothers.  One a screw up and the other the serious one.  ...

I had to mull this one over.  I'm a Tim Burton fan.  I like his movies.  Burton's movies are sort of subversive to me, and I like his humor.  While watching the movie I was struck at what type of movie it wants to be.  In the beginning it did feel like a straight horror/suspense type movie, and then it goes astray.  But I had to say I liked it.  Near the end I did feel Burton was going over the top, but it fits the film.  I love Johnny Depp , and he is one of America's true jewel.  In this film he does reach for the balcony in his acting, but then again this film is based upon a soap opera from the late 60's early 70's.  I understand what he was going for, and he really made me laugh with his performance of Barnabas Collins. I know some critics seem to think Burton is re-hashing the same old thing he's done before, but I disagree.  I think Burton's style keeps evolving, and I think what Burton did here is what ...

So it's been a movie waiting to be seen ever since it was announced.  My boys were eager to see it, and so a family outing to the movies was planned for Saturday.  From all the hype and all the publicity was the Avengers worth seeing?  The answer is a resounding yes.  Clocking in at 2 hours and 22 minutes the Avengers is a movie with a lot of action packed into it.  After all it's not just one superhero we're dealing with but 6, and there's a lot of story to tell.  The story is simple.  The Earth is in peril by the demi-god Loki (Thor's brother), and an alien race who has decided to help Loki take over the Earth.  With that the Avengers starts and doesn't stop until the final minutes of the movie.  The battle scenes are extrodinary, and the banter between the superheros is funny at times.  Joss Whedon the movies director does a nice balancing act of humor and action.  My boys were mesmerized by the action and enjoyed the fil...

Turner Movie classics re-broadcasted the movie "Harry & Tonto" last night, and after viewing the first few minutes I was hopelessly captivated again by the story.  The movie is a favorite of mine, and as I am growing older it seems to speak to me even more.  I've reviewed the film already so I won't re-hash why its a classic or why the movie works. Instead I''ll just speak to it's authenticity and it's refreshing view of older people.  Paul Mazursky's direction is so well done that you feel that you may be actually looking at a documentary instead of a feature film.  Art Carney's performance is flawless, and ever so real.  The film speaks about today even though it was made back in 1974.  The characters that inhabit the film are all funny and seem to be cut from a bit of reality that even speaks to us today. When one character talks about a coming "depression" you only have to think about the Wall Street banking crises of ...

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Roger Corman. Mr. Corman has produced and directed over 300 films and he's never lost a dime from his movies. Books have been written about him , and even two documentaries have profiled his life and work. Corman's World is the latest documentary that interviews many different people about Corman and his productions. The documentary is a great piece of an era that has long gone by. If you know nothing about Corman then after watching this film you'll know a lot about him. For us fans there isn't much new here, but there are scenes of him receiving his academy award for lifetime achievement which is pretty neat. The film is fun, and it's great to hear Roger get his due. He says some things that make pretty damn good sense, and he is not what you might expect from your typical movie producer. I would have loved to know a little more personal things about Corman. I mean he and Julie (his wife) raised three children while h...

This sounds fantastic and looking forward to seeing it. Cinema at it's best.

Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 – Whats New? I'm a big fan and user of Adobe Premiere.  I love the program and I have done some really cool stuff on it.  I know Final Cut seems the rage, but I first used Premiere way back when and felt really comfortable with it.  The new upgrade is even better.  The above link will take you to Dave Basulto walking you through some of the new improvements of the software.  He's an awesome filmmaker. Tak a listen!

Not a bad piece of filmmaking! If you're into film noir or just plain crime drama's you might like to take a look at it. Available on VOD.

Read an article about this film and from the trailer it looks interesting.   The filmmaker ( Justin McConnell ) is pretty honest about the production of the film.  He tells that for less then 40K they made the film so they could get the film into shape to create a screener, which in turn would be available for sales at the AFM market .  He says a lot of interesting points about indie filmmaking.  These days it's pretty rock bottem budgets out there and even tougher to sell your film to distributors.  It's nothing I haven't heard before, but for a filmmaker to honestly say what it's like out there in the film market seems pretty refreshing, so you have to respect him for saying it.  I always believed if your producing a product your overhead has got to be low, and all the money you spend better get onto the screen.  It's a crowded market out there and you have to stand out, so you better have a hook for the movie or dist...

Here Ed Burns says it simply.  Not bad advice.

I went to the movies Sunday to see Martin Scorsese's movie Hugo.  To say that I liked the film would be an understatement.  In Hugo Scorsese uses his love for cinema to tell a tale of a young boy and old man who have lost something and how they re-discover it again together. George Melies is a favorite filmmaker of mine.  I remember seeing some of his films as a small child, and they always struck me as fantastic.  The craft that Melies uses in his films is extraordinary, and I was always frustrated that documentaries of early cinema didn't contain more of George Melies.  Here Scorsese does this in a fictional film, while at the same time giving us the history of George Melies, and his films. I just hope that when the DVD comes out that maybe it would be accompanied with a documentary of George Melies and his work.  Maye even some of his films could be included.  It would be so worth it. The following video was from Sunday Morning on CBS, and it ...

Here's something I found interesting.  I like Canon's support, and have never had a problem with any of their products.    Canon EOS C300 Digital Cinema Camera from B&H Photo Video on Vimeo .

Das Fraulein is a Swiss production about Slavic émigrés living in Zurich.  It is a simple and yet touching potrait of  immigrants living in a culture not their own. The film concentrates on three women.  Mirjana Karanovic is Ruza, a Slavic émigré in her fifties, who years ago transplanted herself from her native Serbia to Zurich Switzerland over 30 years ago.  She runs a canteen in the city and she trusts no one.  She lives a life of loneliness, and isolation.   She and her Croatian associate, Mila (Ljubica Jovic) are confronted with the arrival of Ana (Marija Skaricic), a much younger Bosnian drifter, who enchants Ruza with her fresh spontaneity and zest for life.  It is between these three women that the movie focuses on.  The film is about barriers breaking down, and how through the interaction of others we change. Writer/director Andrea Staka's Das Fräulein paints an exceptionally sensitive, multi layered, and richly textured por...

I was interested in seeing the latest Mission Impossiable because I had heard that they filmed certain sequences in IMAX, and I wanted to see the results.  I've seen several films in IMAX and have always come away from the experience at just how clear the images are.  The filmmaker Brad Bird makes good use of the process, and the film really looks great. I've been a big critic with studios making or re-making films in 3D.  It feels very gimmicky, and there still are those stupid glasses.  My little one hates them, and doesn't like watching a 3d film with them.  Avatar was amazing, but in the hands of a filmmaker like Jim Cameron there is no doubt that he uses the technology to his advantage, and to the films advantage. The IMAX experience is similar but I have always come away from an IMAX experience that seemed breath taking.  The imagery, and the sound is fantastic.   The story is simple.  This is not just another missio...