Disqus - Latest Comments for alsolikelife

Re: Reflexive Memories: The Images of the Cine-Essay | Balder and Dash | Roger Ebert

alsolikelife — Tue, 06 May 2014 00:55:18 -0000

Nice appreciation, Nelson. One correction: GRIN WITHOUT A CAT is not entirely made of footage that Marker "himself did not shoot." He includes scenes from previous newsreel type shorts that he shot, such as SIX SIDES OF THE PENTAGON and THE EMBASSY, both made when he was running S.L.O.N. in the '60s and fully engaged in radical leftist activism. Their inclusion gives the film a special dimension of Marker revisiting his own footage like a detached critical observer, which I think is what really gives the film its poignancy, as a personal reflection on the legacy of his political activism. (and to my mind it's way more provocative than the less politicized, outerspacey ruminations of SANS SOLEIL).

Re: Oscar 2014 Winner Predictions: Cinematography

alsolikelife — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 09:26:19 -0000

hahaha that goat.

Re: Have One on Me: The 1000th Film

alsolikelife — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 11:45:17 -0000

No video essay, though certainly not for lack of desire. For what it's worth, Davies' latest film THE DEEP BLUE SEA was incuded in my video essay on this year's best films: http://www.fandor.com/blog/...

Re: Have One on Me: The 1000th Film

alsolikelife — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:10:01 -0000

Hi - and thanks for not being spam! I'm a bit ashamed of the state of disrepair the comments have fallen into. Please let me know of your video essays as you produce them. These days I produce video essays for Fandor Keyframe, Sight & Sound and Indiewire Press Play (which is always looking for new video essay contributors - keep that in mind)!

Re: Kevin Lee: Chinese Cinema - Episode 215 - Ebert Presents

alsolikelife — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:17:50 -0000

Yeah, no kidding. FWIW, here's the original uncut version of the video: http://www.fandor.com/blog/...

Re: Kevin Lee: Chinese Cinema - Episode 215 - Ebert Presents

alsolikelife — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:16:57 -0000

Agreed that Fan Bingbing is the hottest thing out of China since Sichuan peppers. You can watch her as the beautiful alien Princess Xiaozhan in A CHINESE TALL STORY, the latest in the wildly popular Monkey King series directed by Jeffrey Lau: http://www.fandor.com/films...

Re: Kevin Lee: Chinese Cinema - Episode 215 - Ebert Presents

alsolikelife — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:24:30 -0000

Several of the films mentioned in this report and many other Chinese films can be watched on Fandor: http://www.fandor.com/films...

Re: Great Movies: Nosferatu -- Ebert Presents

alsolikelife — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:10:08 -0000

Year of release listed above is incorrect - it's 1922, not 1929

Re: Great Movies: Nosferatu -- Ebert Presents

alsolikelife — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:09:38 -0000

NOSFERATU is available in a gorgeous "Ultimate Edition" transfer on Fandor:
http://www.fandor.com/films...

Re: Kevin Lee: Jeonju International Film Festival -- Ebert Presents

alsolikelife — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 18:03:36 -0000

Hi Sandy - here are my reviews on the Digital Project films: http://www.fandor.com/blog/...

Re: Kevin Lee: Jeonju International Film Festival -- Ebert Presents

alsolikelife — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:53:06 -0000

Dragon Wars was definitely the most expensive South Korean movie - it barely made back its budget. The Host has made more money than any S. Korean film, though that's based on world box office - not sure about domestic.

Re: Kevin Lee: Jeonju International Film Festival -- Ebert Presents

alsolikelife — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 23:07:07 -0000

Apologies for the confusion - Jeonju was really just a backdrop for what was meant to be a piece spotlighting S. Korean films. But if you really want to know what went down in Jeonju, here's a summary of highlights: http://www.fandor.com/blog/...
and a recap of their most defining program, the Jeonju Digital Shorts Project: http://www.fandor.com/blog/...

Re: Matt Singer: iPhone Filmmaking -- Ebert Presents

alsolikelife — Thu, 05 May 2011 18:18:31 -0000

NIGHT FISHING was actually directed by Park Chan-kyong, Park Chan-wook's brother. Still, the point is made - the film one the best short film prize at Berlin last year, proof that all it takes to make a great film is talent.

Re: Jeff Greenfield: Baseball Movies -- Ebert Presents

alsolikelife — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 12:34:03 -0000

That's a great starting nine. For a closer off the bench, I recommend "Sugar" by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, which deals with the one of the most important developments of pro baseball in the past generation: the importing of Dominican players into the majors.

Re: Introducing the Weekly Viewing Log

alsolikelife — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:23:15 -0000

Hey, it's been a while. Did you ever make it to NYC?

Thanks for watching the Old Joy video (not many people did, bleh). I kind of
wonder if I let Yo La Tengo dominate the piece too much, so that it
resembled more of a highbrow movie trailer than a video essay proper
(whatever that is).

The lantern show was probably the highlight for me last week. it was a truly
"multimedia" event where lecture and slides also made way for poetry recital
and group singalongs - a wonderful attempt to immerse the audience in the
sights and sounds of turn of the century London. Left me with quite an
impression of George Sims, a giant of a celebrity back in his day - as a
writer he was as celebrated as Dickens - who is all but unknown now. Much of
his prose writing seems to resemble present-day blogging for its
first-person diaristic qualities. His ballads were the inspiration for many
magic lantern presentations.

Here's the event description:
http://filmstudiescenter.uc...

The presenters seem to have been touring this past month, went to Ireland
and Harvard - they are based in Indiana. Here's a link to the Magic Lantern
Society in London, though it doesn't seem they've been active recently:
http://www.magiclantern.org...

Re: Hot & Now: I Vinti / Dogtooth -- Ebert Presents

alsolikelife — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:55:53 -0000

DOGTOOTH is also available on Fandor: www.fandor.com/films/dogtooth

Re: “Living the Dream”

alsolikelife — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:48:33 -0000

Scott, thank you so much for this. I assumed that people had stopped paying attention to this long-neglected site. Your words do me much good.

I haven't been delving into any auteurs as I was hoping to when this project concluded - too busy with Fandor, dGenerate, my film... But I will say that Pedro Costa has shot up to the top of my favorite directors working today. Watching IN VANDA'S ROOM last month sealed that for me. Still can't get over how beautiful that film is. Of course, he's nowhere to be found on TSPDT, it will probably take another decade or two... Aside from him, the director I'd probably choose to delve into if I could would be Josef von Sternberg. He embodies so many things that are beautiful, ridiculous and true about movies, and somehow about life as well. I'd also like to revisit directors familiar to me like Bresson, Ozu, Dreyer. I just watched Yasuzo Masumura's first film KISS and I was stunned by how assured and fluid it was, so I'm interested in seeing more.

On the whole, terse directors are the ones that speak to me more and more - Hawks is a genius with ensembles and dialogue, but those are qualities I'm having a harder time relating to.

As for directors whose work I discovered exclusively through TSPDT and would like to explore further, there's Alexander Kluge, Luis Garcia Berlanga, Helmut Kautner, Jack Chambers, Richard Quine, Hans Jurgen Syberberg, and Irving Lerner (though I'm not sure he made many films). Probably most intrigued by Kluge.

Hope you can follow me over on Fandor and leave a comment if any Keyframe articles strike you as particularly worthwhile. Keep me posted on your progress, and let me know if I can help locate any films you need to track down.

Re: About Shooting

alsolikelife — Sun, 23 May 2010 19:41:48 -0000

Hello,

You would need to contact the film studio to request permission for
publishing the image.

Re: Best Week Ever

alsolikelife — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:00:54 -0000

Thank you for coming to the screening, Bill. I hope the DVD quality didn't detract from your experience. It certainly had me craving for a celluloid print in the near future!

Re: Have One on Me: The 1000th Film

alsolikelife — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:21:19 -0000

You've got it. (and kudos for your googling skills)

Re: The Shooting Down Pictures YouTube Film Festival

alsolikelife — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 11:42:38 -0000

Whoa, HORSE THIEF is no longer on the TSPDT 1000??? What gives!

I'm amused that BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY can fit in only 2 parts online. It barely fits 2 DVDs!

Re: 999 (134). The Times of Harvey Milk (1984, Rob Epstein)

alsolikelife — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:53:57 -0000

Hi D - I wouldn't say your take was that different than mine, at least we both brought our own personal historical perspectives into our viewings, so our approach was somewhat similar. But thank you for bringing up the issue of Milk's personal love life and its underdevelopment in the film. Interestingly, the filmmakers don't even talk about their handling of it in the DVD commentary. But the issue is all the more relevant given the prominence of Milk's two romantic relationships in the Sean Penn biopic - though I'm not sure I'd say that film dealt with those relationships in a thoroughly satisfying way either, esp. with the second lover who committed suicide. Those relationships seem as complicated as the man himself, and worthy of being the subject of a feature rather than the subplot.

Re: 999 (134). The Times of Harvey Milk (1984, Rob Epstein)

alsolikelife — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:03:29 -0000

Thanks Jason. I have a personal interest in how documentaries work, and yes it's easy to take their craft for granted since most people figure it's a matter of pointing, shooting and interviewing.

Re: 999 (134). The Times of Harvey Milk (1984, Rob Epstein)

alsolikelife — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:01:59 -0000

Thanks for the tip to these great resources, the photos of the Castro in the 70s are especially great!

Re: The Shooting Down Pictures YouTube Film Festival

alsolikelife — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:17:16 -0000

You seem to be on a Czech kick of late; coincidentally I was just in Prague.

It would have been great if you had been able to attend the Yuri Norstein event in NYC a couple weeks ago. I don't know anyone who went to see him...