Movies!

What have I been watching you ask?? Well you're most likely not asking that. It'd be more along the lines of why am I reading this... Well congratulations on reaching the 30th word without tabbing back to Redtube. And now I shall begin. Last weekend I watched Judd Apatow's Funny People, Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West, Samson and Delilah, and Richard Kelly's Southland Tales. I think today I will focus on just one.

Firstly, Samson and Delilah is easily the best Australian film I have seen in a long time. To be honest I haven't been keeping up with local films and that is not to say the quality is to blame, it's more the severe lack of exposure. Sure if I wanted to seek them out I could. And being someone who hopes to one day film and promote his own film in this dusty cinematic climate, I probably should. Back to the film though, if you still haven't seen Warwick Thornton's 'True Love' story (as advertised by the film's tagline), do yourself a favour and rent it. Or even buy it if you're willing to spend $29.95 towards a small boost to our film industry and a decent boost to your DVD collection. Without giving too much of the story away, this 'True Love' of which the tagline speaks comes in a near silent form (one of the most powerful aspects to this film) via a young Aboriginal girl and boy who travel away from their desolate community and head to Alice Springs (both badly beaten and with a plastic bottle of petrol under Samson's nose throughout every scene). This film feels the need to jam issues down you're throat at certain times (such as the opening scenes of young Samson leaning up from his mattress in the morning and spending the next minute huffing petrol from a rusty paint tin, which isn't far off stoners waking up and pulling a cone before even getting out of bed...) but there are important messages here that I'm sure don't need to be mentioned. Also this film has so many beautiful shots it's almost worth watching for the visuals alone; one of the most stunning scenes in the film showed nothing but the underside of a highway running over a small gully, with a blue dusk light above and a flickering fire illuminating the concrete underneath (this is where the two sleep for a majority of the film).

I will post further reviews later in the week but will also add that I have been watching Breaking Bad, a show about a science teacher who after being diagnosed with lung cancer tries to leave enough money for his family of three by setting up a meth-lab. Everything goes horribly wrong and (dark) hilarity ensues. Exceptional writing and very sympathetic characters. Check it out.

(Almost successful) application!

I'm proud to announce my application to Bachelor of Film & Television course at Swinburne Prahran. I've been dwelling over a return to study for years now, but I really do have nothing to lose so I hope that it isn't too late for 2010! There is a similar course at SAE in Sth Melbourne that I have also been looking at, I assume it's more intense as they offer a Bachelor of Film Production over 2 years, so I have emailed for more information as applicants must go directly through them as opposed to VTAC. If I am accepted, I will have to start looking for work that will fit around a full-time course. The problem will lie in juggling a FT course, FT work and personal study/writing time. The last time I tried this feat I ended up keeling over for money as I could afford days away from tafe but not work... It's OK I'm stronger now, I'm clean, I'll be fine =)

Sorry but I feel a dire need to give a big FUCK YOU to VTAC for charging me $114 dollars to apply for one course. That is all.

New synopsis

Now that I have the 'skeleton' down, I can start adding the 'muscle and flesh' in the form of scenes and characters. =) (Thanks Luke...)

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A young man quits smoking pot after a 4 year daily addiction and tries to cope with the physical and social changes that come about. He can't sleep, and after numerous nights of cold sweats and terrible nightmares (when he is able to sleep) he increases his alcohol consumption in order to knock himself out. Too many skipped days at work from being constantly hungover cause him to leave his mundane job. He hates the share house he inhabits as everybody there smokes, as do all the friends who are constantly over so he moves out. On his way home from a night out, in the early morning, he helps out a young woman from being ticketed on the tram. He likes the idea of staying away from home and agrees to join her for a beer in a 24 hour pub. He finds out she is a junkie who is waiting for her dealer and his own addiction suddenly feels insignificant in comparison. As she leaves to score he meets a hospitality worker during a pool game who offers him a job and shouts him a heap of speed. Jobless and keen for a new start, the young man accepts the offer and is unknowingly pulled into another world of drugs and glossy instant gratification which he not long ago tried to escape from. This new job and essentially new but more social addiction leads him to gain confidence with women, and he ends up moving in with his first girlfriend after only 2 weeks of knowing one another. Over the course of the next year a close friend of his commits suicide and he witnesses a man repeatedly beating a woman at one of the venues he is employed by. After these events he leaves the industry and soon after leaves his girlfriend for what he tells her is incompatibility. He seeks a new start (without as many possible vices attached). He accepts a night-fill position in a supermarket where he soon meets his new house mate, an older bloke who smokes pot but is friendly and has a flat close to work. His new home situation causes him to become a reclusive addict once again, now with alcohol. After repeating the same mistakes, he realises that he needs to change more than simply his career or the people around him. He moves into a flat on his own, starts a new job, and begins to write...

Finally some decent ideas...

I have recently been ill. This has given me a fantastic reason to procrastinate with my writing, though I still felt unsure about the direction it was heading anyway. I now have a new idea... I've run it by a few people and it has much more potential for growing into something watchable. In my original script, there would be two concurrent stories running, one being the two main characters just talking about their life and where they have ended up, the other being a series of circumstances in which they (more often than not) made bad decisions causing them to be where they were and addicted to what they were. By the way I know this seems fairly vague at the moment, but I don't have time to get into the details =P

My new idea takes a chunk out of a man's life and basically puts it into a story. It will focus on how this person has chosen to change their surroundings multiple times in order to escape from drugs, but yet unknowingly be drawn back towards similar people time and time again. Considering this person knows few people who haven't been affected by drugs in some way, he questions whether it's his conscious decision or partly the society he lives in. He realises that had he not made seemingly insignificant choices at certain times of his life, everything would be different. Call it coincidence or call it fate, or whatever.... Also the circumstances I mentioned earlier will still be a part of this script, but the story will be more linear and easier to follow. Thoughts?

Another excuse to postpone writing: A good film!

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of In The Loop tonight, one of the funniest, wittiest and well written films I have seen all year. The story is set in the days before the UN vote on involvement in a war in the Middle East, and the government officials and advisers who are either for or against this war. One of the many integral characters is the aid to the Prime Minister, a rabid individual reminding me of Ari Gold in Entourage, who travels between the U.S and Britain cleaning up the mess of one of their officials who has trouble 'walking the line' with the media. A U.S official, on the other hand, uses this poor sap for their own agenda. Armando Iannucci who directed and co-wrote the script, based this film on his well known TV show The Thick Of It (which I have never seen but intend on seeking out), and this television influence is clear throughout the film in both it's cinematography and snappy dialogue. Even if your political knowledge is limited like mine, the characters and humour carry this film beautifully. James Gandolfini as one of the generals is just superb (for example the scene with the kiddie laptop) and if you're a huge fan of The Sopranos, it's still hard to ignore how suited he is to a role such as this. I highly recommend In The Loop to anyone who appreciates intelligent humour with a political edge.

New Flicks

After seeing trailers for 500 Days of Summer by Marc Webb, I dismissed it as another romance flick and had little intention of seeking it out but after a strong recommendation I finally gave it a go. The story revolves around a man (Tom) falling in love with a woman (Summer) who seemingly doesn't believe in the concept of love, and it jumps back and forth between days where they were together and the days after she left him. This format turns a fairly basic story of a broken heart into a very moving and often funny film, especially with brilliant contrasts between some of the best and worst days of his life shown back to back. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are great together in this, and I can't help but feel for Tom after being left completely bewildered by what this woman has done to him. 500 Days will hopefully reach out to everyone willing to give it a go, as I'm sure most people can relate to the characters at some level.

I also finally saw The Hangover by Todd Phillips, which was quite highly praised around it's release. As far as modern comedies go, it ticks all the boxes. Perhaps I'm getting old, but it provided few moments of proper laughter. Scenes such as a naked Asian with a tire iron popping out of a boot to belt unsuspecting passengers across the face just doesn't do it for me anymore (I'm questioning whether it ever did). Phillips also wrote Old School, Road Trip and the story for Borat, all of which (at the time) I enjoyed more than The Hangover. This may be another case of the buzz of a film not fulfilling it's expectations, so with that said, it's still a worthwhile watch and the story is fairly original (I'm sure you already know the story from the trailer), just don't expect too much =P

Food, Inc.

Tonight I was finally able to watch Food, Inc. (2008) by Robert Kenner, a film which I have read about for months but has only been released on DVD in the last few weeks. It portrays a shocking insight into the mass-manufactured food market, and the people involved in these industries. If you have read Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, there aren't many new facts that await, but the consequences are only growing according to Kenner, and comparisons between the food giants and tobacco giants are becoming more realistic from such clear disregard for consumer health. There are instances such as meat packing plants waiting sixteen days after confirmed E-Coli deaths to issue a recall of their meat, or local police forces arresting pockets of illegal immigrant slaughterhouse workers instead of targeting the companies which enticed (and helped transport) said illegals to begin with. Worst of all, certain food (such as corn) is so heavily subsidised (in America) it is cheaper for an average family to buy a cheeseburger than to buy a few pieces of fruit or veggies. You would have to be heartless not to feel enraged from watching this film, especially after hearing how all 'organic' and 'natural' producers are slowly being bought by large companies as it's clearly becoming a profitable market.. The question is, what will happen to the integrity of these products??? As far as the film itself, it has it's usual doco-tactics such as home footage of passed children being paraded over slow music... But to a certain extent this is to be expected. People NEED to be shocked into making a change. I'm not saying YOU or I... I mean 'people'... The majority... The Herald Sun reading, Today Tonight watching 'herd'... (Perhaps an apt description following a film about cattle)... To conclude, track down Food, Inc. if you have yet to read much about the industry, otherwise prepare to simply anger (or depress) yourself further. Ultimately WE have the power by voting with our wallet. It's as simple as that.

A quote which has made me...

...change the way I want my script to go.

"The first step — especially for young people with energy and drive and talent, but not money — the first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art" - Chuck Palahniuk

This made me think, will my film have an impact? Will my film make even one single person wake the fuck up and look at their life (or the lives of the people around them) objectively? I may need to go back to the 'ol drawing board. Lucky for me I have no dead line! (except for, presumably, death itself). So I should be Ok. Since my script is based on my own experiences, the issue is not the content. I could write page after page but have stopped because what I lack is a story arc or at least something meaningful to tie it all together. One of my ideas was writing a series of events reducing in extremity until the final scene where the protagonist, supposedly knowing what will soon follow, takes the path of destruction with the knowledge that he will essentially become a better person from all the experiences. Convoluted? Let me know... Too much like Donnie Darko or more so Eternal Sunshine? Maybe... Again it's all in the works and some ideas are brilliant one minute but horrific the next so I'm unsure how to continue... This is why I need feedback! Until next time...

The only film I have seen in the past three days is The Children (2008) by Tom Shankland. This British horror focuses on a bunch of kids plotting to kill their parents for no apparent reason other than the 'something in the air' syndrome. Sure it's disturbing to watch kids kill (and be killed) with malice, but ultimately the film gives us nothing more than what I have just described. An American reviewer remarked on how creepy the whole concept was, but honestly I felt that films like Carpenter's Village of the Damned made the whole idea scarier, even if it was slightly cornier. It's a daring film in terms of certain scenes showing a 5 year old girl slamming a pencil into her mothers eye, but by the end the novelty wore off and I developed regret for ever putting it on =P. To be honest, and if we're sticking with quotes, I deserve to have this said: "He shoulda fuckin' better known better" - Vincent Vega

I suppose it's time...

One morning I woke up, and realised that instead of just sitting on my arse watching media and pretending to be someone who knows what he's talking about I should try to write a script. My first idea had a strong moral but was well out of my scope. I then realised I need to write what I know. I know nothing you say? This is true, but growing up is something that we have all gone through (some slower than others) and I hope that I can write something with substance that I can eventually make into a film. On my first post I wrote that 'I may have found my calling'. How conceded is that?? But I truly feel that my one goal in life is to write and eventually direct my own film. I don't care if it doesn't become famous, or sell copies on DVD, but I just want to be able to say that "Yes, I have made a film".

Well this is obviously easier said than done. I have been reading up on directors biographies for years and sussing out different avenues they have taken to be able to create their first film. Most started in film school. Yes yes if I study film I'll be another one of those lefty pinko (to quote John Safran) art types who sit on their arse contemplating existentialism in a cloud of bucket bong smoke. Well I assure this is not me. Yes I sit on my arse in order to watch films (and good films mind you, I rarely sit through a film I know will be bad (Ok my guilty pleasure is horror, but still)) but I don't smoke and I hope that by being pro-active and writing this blog and finishing my script I will put myself in a good position to start studying film.

I am 30 pages into my script, most of which I wrote within a few days. If you want to read it thus far, let me know. It's currently a fucking mess and lacks focus. Could be a reflection of my own lack of focus but eventually it will take shape =)

Updated film post

How could I forget!! I recently put myself through the heavily draining Antichrist (2009). Lars Von Trier is a director who I have seen very little of, but read much about. He spearheaded the 'Dogme 95' style of filmmaking which aimed to peel away certain mainstream conventions and direct films in more simplistic ways. Ironically, Antichrist takes no heed to these rules and ends up being an over-produced piece of mainstream cinema... Stylistically anyway... The subject matter on the other hand is extremely hard to swallow and deals with an infants death and the parents who have to live with this tragedy. Dafoe is amazing in his role as the nameless 'He' character, but 'She' ( Charlotte Gainsborough) takes the cake by making you loath every aspect of her brutal transition from a grieving mother to an evil witch (if you will). Without giving too much away, the film turns into a drastically bleak thriller in which the violence and hedonism to follow are said by critics to be simply shock tactics to drag viewers deeper into Von Trier's pit. I was lucky enough to see this without hearing all the hype of the banning, and was indeed horrified and moved by what I saw... Which made it all the more successful as the film I feel it was intended to be. In my opinion, any film that can make me feel as off-centre as this deserves praise.

Film update

Ok here's the last few films I watched...

Up by Pete Docter (2009):
I went in with high expectations on this one, as Doctor wrote or co-wrote both Toy Story films, Monsters Inc. and WALL-E. For me it just could not compare, although it was still a humorous yet extremely depressing tale of an old man trying to fulfill his and his late wife's childhood dreams. The story went a tad haywire for me at the end, but it was still what you would expect from a Disney/Pixar production.

Trick 'r Treat by Michael Dougherty (2008):
Holy shit... A horror film that scored higher than 55% on RottenTomatoes?? (88% by the way, to save you some time) This I had to see... I try not to read up on films too much before watching, and boy was I pleasantly surprised. This had very little horror cliches, and just relied on four creepy tales interwoven into one film that reminded me how 'cool' horror could be (not just camp, gory or funny). To top it off I was excited to hear for the FIRST TIME EVER Qwel & Maker's music being played in a film.

Faces by John Cassavetes (1968):
This is Cassavetes third feature film, and is already a noticeable step up from the very raw but otherwise enthralling Shadows (1959). It revolves around a married couple who split and seek younger partners, one as the result of hearing about the other. Some of the scenes fly by you and it's easy to get carried away even considering the length of his films. Cassavetes is known for his fluid direction in semi-improvised scenes but what sets him apart is, I feel, being able to show people how they really are, with no or very little 'film sheen' that was evident in almost all of the productions of this era (in terms of the physical settings and the range of emotions 'dealt' with). Think Larry Clark in the 60's =P (well not quite but...)

Once Upon A Time In America by Sergio Leone (1984):
Stellar cast, beautiful story, and and an epic scope cap off Leone's career as one of the best western directors of our time. In this film he takes his skill of grand scale and creates an American gangster story spanning three generations. It's running time is 229 minutes, which not unlike a thick book, makes the story all the richer. Post a comment on how you've interpreted the ending ;)

Deliverance by John Boorman (1972):
You might be surprised that I am only watching this for the first time now, but c'mon there's so much out there... This was brilliant and I must doff my hat to both Voight and Reynolds, neither of who I have seen much of at this age. It tells the story of a group of friends on a canoeing trip that goes bad. Really bad. If you have not seen this prepare yourself for being pulled down into a hole from which the ending can't even save you from.

On another note, I have recently caught up to a few brilliant shows including Dollhouse, Dexter, Mad Men and South Park. Whilst Dexter has always proven itself to be a consistently strong show, I feel it has plateaued and Dollhouse has taken over in my love for TV as it has made me feel for the show's characters like I never have before. Generation Kill is another great show, or I should say mini-series (and it's a shame it was only that). I have purchased the book on which it was based and will be reading it shortly. And something I have only just seen the first season of is Spaced. Written by and starring Simon Pegg, and directed by Edgar Wright (both of Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz fame), it's great comedy with a million movie and game references but can please geeks and non-geeks alike. (He has an Evil Dead II poster in his flat like I have!!)

That's all for a while, please comment!!

First post

Hey everyone, I've decided to start blogging my film experiences from the films I watch to the current headache of writing one of my own. To all those who bother reading and commenting I thank you in advance.

Today I listened through my first few /Film (SlashFilm) Podcasts. I heard Michael Dougherty talk about Trick 'r Treat (brilliant by the way) and how he was able to direct the first script he wrote after having his X-2 and Superman Returns films do ridiculously well in the box-office (neither of which I'm a fan of mind you). After being asked how he was lucky enough to meet Bryan Singer and be given the chance to take his own shot at the helm, he told /Film that "(he) knew him through friends". Well that's great for him but what about the rest of us "aspiring filmmakers"!? (That term makes me cringe). Perhaps if I studied film I would eventually be lucky enough to bump into someone who knows someone who may know someone... I'm starting to think I have more chance of being hit with a stray bullet in East St. Kilda.

Luckily it hasn't dampened my ambition. And hopefully this blog will not only serve as a springboard for ideas but give me more reason to write in general. I may have found my calling =P