Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts
This post spawned directly from my review of Red State. A better question is why? Why did one specific
movie review lead to this post which is far more broad in scope and
scale? I've seen many movies and none of the others inspired me to
write about the changing of an industry or consumer demand. So why
Red State?
Because Red State should change the
world.
I say should and not did only because
it seems to be taking a little longer than I, personally, would like
it to. This is because the movement is lead by a man who gave the
middle finger to entertainment media, and any time you choose to do
things in a non-traditional route it's going to take some time.
Here's what Red State did. When it
premiered at Sundance Kevin Smith promised an auction for the rights
to his movie, which is very traditional. Where Mr. Smith broke the
mold is when he allowed only one bid on the movie rights...his own
bid...for $20. Then he caused wave upon wave by saying that he didn't
need the traditional marketing/distributing companies and was
planning on distributing the movie by himself.
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| He also protested |
This is a review for some but new
information for others: Companies spend way to much money marketing
movies. For a film like Red State, that had a $4 million budget,
marketing costs would have probably been in the $10-15 million dollar
range. I'm dead serious. A distributing company would have spent more
than twice the cost of the movie just to advertise it.
The worst part is that niche-films
rarely have the audience to make up for those kinds of cost at the
box-office. Then they are deemed a failure when they don't make more
than $20 million dollars in a weekend. This happens all the time.
(Most recently to Our Idiot Brother starring Paul Rudd).
Mr. Smith realized this and did the
only sane thing...he told everyone else they were insane.
Why should he subject his movie, his
artwork, to another declared failure when he could do it a different
way and be more financially successful?
The crazy thing: He already has his
money back. Every single cent that Red State makes on VOD (video on
demand), on DVD/Blu Ray or at select theaters is profit. Before Red
State was even released to a general audience, it had recouped it's
cost.
How did Mr. Smith do this? He kept
costs low and took the film around to select theaters where his own
fans paid a premium to see the film and his Q&A.
I know, baffling concept. A director
went around and showed off his work to people he knew were fans.
Instead of paying millions and millions of dollars to get a few extra
asses in seats opening weekend, Mr. Smith just said, "No thanks,
I don't need to do that."
It worked because Mr. Smith understands
something that others don't. Different movies work for different
audiences in different places. Putting every movie through the same
cookie cutter doesn't work.
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| Harry Potter 7 premiere |
Here's the top ten highest grossing
movies of all time. A pretty good barometer of what is "popular"
in the United States.
- Avatar
- Titanic
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- Toy Story 3
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- Alice in Wonderland
- The Dark Knight
All pretty predictable. No real
surprises. Now here's a list of the top ten rentals from Netflix.
Also a pretty good barometer of what is "popular" in the
United States.
- Crash (2004)
- The Blind Side (2009)
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
- The Bucket List (2008)
- The Departed (2006)
- The Hurt Locker (2008)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Sherlock Holmes (2009)
- No Country for Old Men (2007)
- Gran Torino (2008)
WHAT!?! Not one of the highest grossing
movies is on the Netflix list. Are people insane? Don't they realize
the superior quality of Transformers: Dark of the Moon?!? It made
over a billion dollars!
That's about all the proof I need to
know that different movies work for different audiences in different
places. Movie theaters are great for watching things explode or
seeing the crazy visuals of Avatar, but that doesn't always translate
when people are at home.
Red State was never going to be in the
Top Ten Box Office numbers, but a distributing company would have
marketed it the same way; by throwing copious amounts of money trying
to attract more and more people. By choosing a desired "target
audience" and overplaying the generalities they believe that
audience wants.
Sex to young men. Romance to young
women. Goofy antics of middle-aged people to middle-aged people who
don't have goofy antics. Intellect to...never mind, no movie gets
marketed as an intellectual experience.
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| I like unrealistic women |
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| I like unrealistic men |
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| I like unrealistic versions of myself |
Red State should change the world of entertainment. People should look at what Mr. Smith has done and realize that different movies can be distributed in different fashions. Fans will pay to see movies they want to see, but even more so if it is available in a fashion they are comfortable with.
What's more comfortable than having a
movie streamed directly to your computer, Xbox, or PS3 and watching
it from your own couch? Not much in my book.
Different movies play to different
audiences in different places. Mr. Smith tailored the distribution to
best fit the people he thought would enjoy Red State. He listened to
the people whom he respects, his own fans.
Another baffling concept. Listening AND
responding to the people who are actually interested in your work.
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| The best Web 2.0-ers. Look at those ears. |
That's Web 2.0. Skipping over the
unneeded middle men and going directly to the source. Being
responsible to the fan by communicating directly with the fans.
Mr. Smith took advantage of all the
different mediums now available to us as consumers. Red State can be
watched on iTunes, Xbox, PS3 or YouTube. It can be watched by anyone
who wants to watch it in the comfort of their own home. And it should
change how the world consumes, interacts and views entertainment.
At least I hope it does.
"What? What the heck is Red State? It's not playing in any theater and I've never heard of it."
That's because Red State is being distributed differently, which will be the topic of my next post. It is now available through a variety of VOD (video on demand) options including, but not limited to; Sony PlayStation, Amazon.com, iTunes, Blockbuster.com ,YouTube, Microsoft: XBOX: ZUNE ,VUDU (the Walmart platform), Sonic/Cinema Now.
The movie will also be run in theaters around the country. Check the details for a showing near your area. Currently, it also is scheduled to play at the New Beverly in Los Angles weekly.
Don't like reading? Excellent, because we just finished a TalkBack Spoilercast on Red State.
Red State is a film written, directed and edited by Kevin Smith (@thatkevinsmith). If you didn't know that already then maybe you should check out this post regarding the distribution, production, and controversy behind Mr. Smith's latest film.
The movie stars an excellent cast including Michael Parks as Abin Cooper, Melissa Leo as Sarah Cooper and John Goodman as ATF Agent Keenan. The supporting cast is also a talented group and you will probably recognize a few faces from TV or other movies.
Abin Cooper is a pastor modeled after the infamous Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church. His large, dedicated family fill the pews of his chapel located within his own house. He preaches a hyper-right wing platform about the wickedness of America, and how all sinners should be dealt with through righteous damnation (read kidnapping people and executing them on a cross).
After the abduction of a few local town boys goes poorly, the ATF arrives and all hell breaks loose.
There's your synopsis.
Let's not bury the lead anymore. Michael Parks is haunting, convincing, terrifying, bone-chilling, and propels the viewer through the movie. He's so damn good that Mr. Smith followed the Academy rules of distributing a movie in order to insure that Parks was at least considered. Mr. Smith also believes some of the other actors have shots at nominations (Leo and Goodman) but I'm convinced Michael Parks is the only one who is truly breathtaking.
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| coopersdell.com |
Don't get me wrong, it is a strong cast; and Goodman, in particular, does a fantastic job as lead ATF agent. Maybe it's just that Parks is so far beyond everyone else he's casting a shadow over the actor's otherwise good performances.
The strength of the cast is why I liked the film so much and why it earns one of my highest compliments: Red State is entirely re-watchable. This isn't a movie you can watch once and say, “I got it.” This is a movie you want to see a second time shortly after it ends because you're left saying, "Damn, did all that just happen?"
It doesn't fit the traditional mold for a horror movie, or any movie-mold for that matter. I missed the hey-day of horror during the seventies and eighties. All I ever got from the "horror" genre was copious amounts of gore and a couple of scenes with topless girls. So forgive my classification, but I don't think this is a horror movie. Does it have gore, you bet, but within the realms of the story. When someone gets shot in the face, their face comes off. Realism is all I got, and that was appreciated.
Perhaps, when Mr. Smith labeled this film a horror movie he was imagining what horror films used to be, not what they have devolved into. There are definite elements of the horror genre but at the end of the day I classify this as a drama.
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| coopersdell.com |
Regardless of how it's labeled on Netflix, it is a short film by any measure. At 88 minutes, the movie is tight and the pacing is well done. I've heard complaints that the speech by Parks' Cooper mid-way through the film is too long, but for me it was simply captivating.
The run time is also the films' Achilles' heel. Mr. Smith was proud of his editing skills during this movie's production. (He edited the film simultaneously throughout the movie, meaning he went to set-directed, and then came home and edited). Granted, that is a feat that is rarely, if ever, accomplished on a film this size. In all honesty, I would have loved to have more background on all the characters, but especially some of the supporting characters whose deaths often felt sudden and their character arc short-changed.
Is it perfection? No. However, Red State is a whole lot of fun, vulgarity and violence with a helping of Michael Parks. I can't overstate this guy enough...he's amazing. The movie is a great watch and probably a great re-watch for most everyone out there.
TalkBack Grade: B+
MPAA Rating: R
A couple of weeks ago I talked about how great it was watching Lord of the Rings. One thing I mentioned specifically was Peter Jackson's intro to the movie and how he felt really welcoming and appreciative of my (our) patronage.
Well this week I went to go see Return of the King and Jackson described something particularly interesting, at least to me.
He described how when he was a boy he read a lot about the Battle of Waterloo and the French Calvary charge on English foot soldiers. He said that he was amazed by the size of Napoleon's Calvary, 6,000 men strong. Jackson wished he could see what 6,000 men charging on horses looked like, but since the advent of technology- tanks, cars, planes, and the like- there was no need for countries to keep training Calvary. Jackson would have to make due with artist images, which look like this...
Then Jackson got the chance to make Lord of the Rings. He directed most, if not all, the battle scenes and Pelennor Fields was one he was really excited about. Why? Well, Tolkien specifically said that the battle included exactly 6,000 Rohirrim. Suddenly Jackson would get to see a life long dream and see what 6,000 men charging into foot soldiers looked like. In fact, he would get to create it. He did this...
When I saw the charge during the movie suddenly it became much more important. I related it to Waterloo, and was reminded that those were real men charging into battle. Through that connection, everything on screen felt more real, more emotional. It was a great bit of film making.
If you don't believe me, look at that picture again.
And if that doesn't do it for you...
Pretend it is in French, just like Waterloo.
Last night I went to go see Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition in theaters.
They decided to re-screen LOTR to promote the release of the Blu-Ray extended editions.
Normally I'm not a fan of this marketing tool. LOTR gets a pass because it is the best trilogy ever.
That's right, I said it Star Wars.
But this isn't a blog about why LOTR is better than Star Wars. This is an entry about what watching a movie should be like.
Mainly...it should be exactly what happened to me last night.
I arrived early. I picked out my seat. On the screen was trivia based on the movies and books. Playing in the background was the music from the movie. This wont' fall into my necessary category, but it definitely was a nice added touch. I went to a movie and they showed me things actually related to that movie.
But here are the necessary things. The things that I believe all moviegoers and theater companies should adopt as ways of doing business.
1. No Ads. This is one of my biggest pet peeves. I go to a movie. I pay an entrance fee. Then when the clock rolls around and the thing I paid for is supposed to begin...I get bombarded with marketing. Do you want to go back out and get some overpriced food, drinks, and candy? No I passed it when I came in. Are you sure? You'll have plenty of time, this honestly isn't going to start for awhile. No thank you. Do you want to watch trailers for new movies? No, I have youtube. I came to see LOTR. I don't care about the upcoming Transformers.
This practice would be akin to you going to a Subway and before they let you begin they spent 5 minutes talking about other companies, products and promotions. I have no problem with the theater running things before the show. After all, that's their screen and I'm not paying to have their screen. What I am paying for is a movie that is supposed to start at a certain time. NOTHING ELSE.
The worst part is that companies keep pushing the limits. Average amount of time on ads, trailers, promotions is now close to 15 minutes for every movie. I've sat through ones that were 25 mins. I honestly have watched an episode of TV on my phone. It's like they keep pushing more and more to see how much crap we'll take. Stop it.
For the record, LOTR had no ads. At 7pm (the time my ticket said) the movie began, with only a reminder to turn off your cell phones. Classy. Intelligent. Thank you.
2. Director intros. Peter Jackson (on location while filming The Hobbit) gave a nice introduction to the movie, and will for the next two as well. He seemed genuine, happy, and, most importantly, grateful. He knows the Blu-Ray is coming soon. He knows that the DVD's are already out. He knows movie theaters can be a hassle. And he thanked us, as an audience, for coming out and watching the movie as he intended it to be seen. Uncut and on a big screen.
Outside of L.A. or film festivals people are not used to this. Trust me, it is one of the nicest things to feel that your patronage is appreciated. It also gives creators a chance to share a moment with their audience. Something, I feel, is missing too much from society today.
3. Attentive Audiences. Ever had someone ruin a movie for you? A crying baby, a loud teenager, an avid texter. The stereotypes are numerous for a reason. Other people can ruin a movie.
Not here. These people knew what they were coming for. I'm guessing 98% had seen the movies before. The 2% were those people's children who were too young or not alive when the originals were released. Either way, everyone was lovely.
In a three and half hour movie, guess what? People will move around. Bathroom breaks. Shifting to get comfy. Standing to get some blood flow. And that's ok. If you remember where you are. Everyone was respectful and quiet. Not a single cell phone went off for almost 4 hours. Let me know what the last movie was when a cell phone didn't go off.
Even the cute, completely unnecessary, ducking while you pass in the front row was a testament to the generosity of the audience. They didn't want to ruin anyone's experience because they wanted their own.
I have honestly never had a better movie going experience. And I look forward to going back for The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
That's right, me.
The same guy who doesn't go to movies at night anymore just so I can avoid the crowds. The same guy who will drive half an hour to go to a smaller, more out of the way, less populated theater just to avoid crowds.
The same guy who doesn't go to movies at night anymore just so I can avoid the crowds. The same guy who will drive half an hour to go to a smaller, more out of the way, less populated theater just to avoid crowds.
I am looking forward to going to a packed house.
Because it is how movies should be experienced.
The Steven Spielberg/ J.J. Abrams project is a one of a kind movie.
Not that it breaks any new ground. Great special effects? Got it. Classic monster movie motif? Got it. Filled with 70's & 80's film making style? Got that too. In fact a clever and knowledgeable moviegoer can probably find numerous homages, references, and "inspired by" moments filling the screen time of Super 8.
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| Property of Paramount Pictures |
What's so great about the movie is that it combines everything into one beautiful, enjoyable package.
One of the more impressive feats is the child actors. All of them are good. While the main character (Joel Courtney) and his love interest (Elle Fanning) are fantastic. They capture that early, innocent love as convincingly as they do utter terror and panic.
The adult actors (Kyle Chandler of FNL, and Ron Eldard) also weave a complex sub-story (maybe over-story would be a better phrase). That reminds me a lot how parents are living in very different world from the ones their children inhabit. While heartbreaking at times, the adult story going on in Super 8 is subtle enough to add emotional depth without destroying the simple magic of the film.
And what is that simple magic? To me it was a daydream gone wrong. An adventure in my backyard when I realized the sky was falling. Children seeking excitement in their small town by filming a movie with their friends until a train crashes and explodes in a terrifying scene that made me stop and sit up in my chair.
It's wonderfully done. Reminding me so much of that first episode of Abrams' other project, LOST. When the plane crashed in the series pilot and Jack is running along the beach I couldn't help but stare at my TV screen in wonder and mutter, "Damn this is good." Well Abrams did it again.
Even before the train crashes though, one of the characters reminds us of how important story is. He is speaking about his own movie -which is shown in its completion during the credits so don't run out of the theater- but we should really take this as a hint as viewers. This isn't a monster movie. It's about these people. This family. This boy and his father. The heartbreak, sorrow, and loss that we all feel in life and the things we do that can heal us.
The one drawback for me was that the attempted jokes during the action scenes fell flat. Some were rushed, some were poorly delivered, none really hit for me. This could be one of the drawbacks of child actors- rarely is comedy something people are born with. It takes time and practice and a lot of work. Kids don't have it yet. I know the film was not trying to be a comedy and I'm really just nitpicking. But imagine the original Star Wars films without the back and forth of C3PO and R2D2. Imagine Indiana Jones without the sword swinging Arabian being shot down cooly. We need comedic breaks from time to time. It allows the audience to breath a bit, even if just enough for the next big action scene. Again I nitpick.
The film was great. I honestly thing it's one of those generation levelers. Young kids will like it. Young adults will like it. Adults will like it. It has the rapid flow of Abrams mixed with the steady hand and experience of Spielberg. Cloverfield mixed with E.T. LOST mixed with Indiana Jones. Honestly, Abrams and Spielberg is a combination I could get used to.
Overall Grade: B+
Don't bury the lead: it fell flat.
Those were awesome.
Alas, once again the Hollywood system has betrayed my excitement. Toyed with my geek emotions like a puppeteer. Of course, they do this quite often. But it hits especially close to home when they do it with one of my favorite franchises.
Let me say this. I enjoyed the movie. Watching it wasn't terrible. There were even a couple of moments (that I won't spoil) that truly made me smile. Overall though, the film was exactly what I said: flat.
The most compelling character and storyline, Erik (Magneto), played by Michael Fassbender; and his creator Sebastian Shaw, played by Kevin Bacon, is only used as a reference point. The team involved instead tries to fill the movie with philosophical arguments and weak sub-story lines, involving children we don't actually care about.
The next misstep I felt was the writing in general but especially that for Charles Xavier, played by James McAvoy. I think McAvoy is a great actor. I don't know who on the Vaughn team felt that it was a necessary move for Xavier to touch his temple every time he did something remotely mutant-y, but it became incredibly annoying as the movie dragged on.
Next? I don't understand the direction Hollywood decides to take these movies. If you are going to do a reboot then I think you should either A.) ignore everything that has ever been done before and create for yourself or B.) realize that you are creating an introduction to movies, characters, and stories that already exist.
This movie seems to do a little of both...badly. If we consider "A" The movie fails completely. It exists purely as a check list movie. Describe how Xavier loses his legs; check. Describe how Magneto and Xavier grew apart; check. Describe how Mystique joins Magneto; check. It clearly tries to exist within the stories already laid out and not create everything from scratch.
Aside for comic book readers. Whenever a movie is made from comic books, especially ones spanning multiple decades, I just assume that the movie isn't following anything honestly. That's just me. It helps me get by.
So the movie is clearly trying to exist within "B" world. And yet it completely mangles numerous storylines. And not little side characters, like Beast and Mystique knowing one another, but major ones. In X-Men 3 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a clearly bald and much older Charles Xavier is shown walking.
So to me this movie fails on two fronts. As a true reboot that ignores everything and creates its own story arc, it fails. To be fair it doesn't try to be that. And that's okay. What it does try to be is an introduction to the original X-Men movies. In that respects it confuses a lot of established work. And that's not okay.
Overall: B-
Characters and stories that fall flat. A confused sense of identity that doesn't live up to hardcore fanboys or even casual observers of the original trilogy. But the visuals and action scenes alone make for an enjoyable, and sometimes captivating, viewing experience.