Women in Movies

I think this video raises a good point: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLF6sAAMb4s?wmode=transparent] If you’re not in a place to watch it, it’s a test for movies about whether there is a “female presence.” Not that it’s feminist, or even portrays women well. Just as to whether it even portrays women at all. The test: 1) Does it have two or more women in it (with names). 2) Do they talk to each other? 3) About something other than a man. As the video points out, a surprising number of movies don’t meet these three, pretty simple points. Of course, some stories won’t Read more…

“Iron Man 2” was pretty good …

I enjoyed it, generally, but it didn’t have the freshness and greatness of the first Iron Man, I thought. It has triggered a lot of writing on the blogs I read. I thought one of the most interesting was from Ross Douthat at the New York Times, who is… “… wondering why we couldn’t have a movie about a Tony Stark-like figure — say, a screwball comedy about a billionaire’s romance with his omnicompetent assistant, which is basically the best thing about the “Iron Man” franchise anyway — in which he isn’t a superhero at all. And from there, it’s an even shorter leap Read more…

District 9 is an excellent film

If you were wondering last year why District 9, a sci-fi movie about aliens coming to earth, was nominated for Best Picture, just watch the movie. It's an incredibly good movie–alternatively funny, horrifying, and intense, with a lot to say. Well worth the rental. I wish I'd seen it in the theaters.

72 Hour Filmmaking report

Slow blogging, but a busy weekend! I was part of a team that filmed a movie this weekend for the 72 Hour Film Festival. The goal, if you haven't heard, is to make a 5 minute movie in 3 days. In order to make sure that you don't get a jump on the movie-making, the Grand gives required elements that must be in the film. This year, those were: a map the line of dialog: "Should I know what that means?" something has to break and in the first minute a bag has to be found that contains something important Read more…

“Working Girl”

I'm not sure what made Mary want to rent Working Girl but we watched it over a couple nights this week. After a very rocky and 80s-style start, the movie actually gets pretty good. I was impressed. You just have to get past the uneven beginning.