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Showing posts from May, 2008

"MY WINNIPEG": Quirky Genius?

I stumbled upon this gem while surfing the net. Love a great small film? This could be it. See the trailer here: IFC Films

“INDIANA JONES”: And The Last Review

I took Ryan to the midnight showing of the latest Indiana Jones movie this week. We attended the local show at Cinemagic 15 in Hooksett. Also in attendance was the local ABC affiliate and their morning news anchor and weatherman. Anyway… I’ll start by saying this; I didn’t hate it. BUT… I didn’t love it either. I liked it. BUT… I want to make some changes, both in story and in editing choices. Sly (and now crusty) archeologist super hero? Check! Fast talking, not quite ready for prime time sidekick? Check! Evil anti-American military villains bent on world domination? Check! Spunky, perky long lost love interest? Check! Fast paced, globe trotting, whip-cracking, fist-slamming action? Check! Character driven, emotionally resonant, meaningful story wrapped in pseudo-scientific mythological mystery? Um… Well… Sorta… no, not really. This movie comes with all of the requisite Indiana Jones parts, but the chief mechanic (Mr. Spielberg) fails to assemble the perfect summer-blockbuster machine

“INDIANA JONES”: Summertime-Popcorn-Goodness

Doctor Jones is back and filling theater seats for another action-packed, tongue-in-cheek, adventure. While I won’t give anything away, I will say this: Too much George Lucas and not enough (any) Lawrence Kasdan. Yes I thought it was a great summertime, popcorn, action flick. And it should make a ridiculous amount of money at the box office. BUT (ya knew there was one coming) I felt a little cheated when it was over. Jaded fan of “Raiders”? Could be. Still wiping tears away at the end of “Last Crusade”? Maybe. I’ll collect my thoughts, touch base with LAFimcutter and see if I can’t put my finger on it. I’ll have more later.

"TOUGHER IN ALASKA": Tonight!

Tune in to the History channel tonight to see the premiere episode of the show I've been working on: "Tougher in Alaska". Tonight's episode is "Gold Mining", which got a pretty darn good B+ from Entertainment Weekly magazine. This is the only episode of the series where my name does not appear in the credits (bummer), I never actually got to work on this one. But starting with next week's "Salmon Fishing" you can play spot the credit during the final 20 seconds of the show. That's right 20 whole seconds to spot my name as the credits fly by! OK check your local listings for time and channel. But here are the stats: 10-11PM EST, on History, rated TV-PG, runs 60 minutes. Oh, and yes, I realize that it is up against "LOST" so it's ok if you DVR/TIVO/VCR my show and then watch it on Friday! Check out HISTORY.COM

“IRON MAN”: Rock and Roll Machine

Marvel Studios has a genuine hit on its hands. Ryan and I went to see “Iron Man” at the Thursday night preview show (Cinemagic 15, Hooksett) , and it was awesome! As I gushed to David (LAFilmcutter) , I was very impressed with Jon Favreau’s storytelling and directing. Mind you, I think “Elf” is brilliant but I had no idea how this would turn out. He has a wonderful talent for taking the audience right to the edge but not pushing them over. Scenes of violence, action, and romance that could have easily been ham-fisted by many - and you know who you are - directors are taken right to the moment that makes you cringe or say: “Yeah, seen that before,” but then reins it in, leaving your imagination to fill in the blanks, saying wow, and maintaining a brisk pace and a PG-13 rating. (Which is important in a film that’s just a little over two hours long!) And what about Robert Downey, Jr.? That guy is Tony Stark! Again, everything pushed right to the edge without going over. Angst ridden, snar