Oscar is coming tonight! Everybody is saying 2013 is probably the best film year in the last decade, so the expectations for the results should be high. Here are 22 names and faces most of which you will see on TV tonight. Before some of them grab the golden statue and make their names into Oscar history, here are 22… Read more »
The Academy Awards, as we’ve seen recently with the addition of 10 best picture spots, hasn’t been the most consistent with its nomination categories. Which makes sense as the ever-changing climate of movie making starts to reveal new aspects of technology and creative achievements to honor. Here is a trip down Oscar memory lane with award winners for statues that… Read more »
As we have seen time and time again, the Academy of Arts and Sciences is not infallible. Made up of human beings (often with somewhat questionable agendas), the Academy has had its fair share of mis-steps and baffling snubs over its 86 year history. Fortunately, they do recognize talent, even if they generally pass it up for something safer. Proving… Read more »
If I had a dollar for every local band version of “Living After Midnight” I’ve heard in my life… I’d have about $15.30. Ba-dum-pum (spelling?) Almost every teenager with a dream and a pick (or a drumstick) has wanted to be in a band. That is why movies depicting dreams not deferred, but realized, are so incredibly appealing. So break… Read more »
It goes without saying that Alfred Hitchcock is one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. Known as the Master of Suspense, Hitchcock had a special touch to each of his pictures that made him stand out as a director. This list represents the techniques and methods he used that made his movies stand out. It’s these little details that stood… Read more »
It is an inevitability of show business-and especially the movie business-that at one point or another you will make an awful, ghastly, earth-shatteringly terrible choice. Every actor and actress does it, regardless of stature, wealth, or level of stardom. It’s almost a mathematical certainty. Put out enough movies, and one or two of them is bound to be a train… Read more »
Everyone loves a twist in a film, so why not have the twist in realising: “Hey, we never found out their name!” The common link which ties these movies together is that their main characters’ real names are actually never mentioned. This leaves the character void of an identity and creates an aura of mysteriousness. So without further ado, here are 20 great… Read more »
Financing is not a filmmaking technique, but it’s crucial for movie directors to raise the fund for their own movies, especially at the very beginning of their careers. The most well known example is Tarantino had to sell his True Romance script to fund his debut film Reservoir Dogs. Even you are a household name, it’s still hard to get… Read more »
Ever been impressed by the set design of a film? Italian design artist Federico Babina certainly loves some of the interior designs of classic films, and puts them into his design of great geeky movie posters. You will love these especially if you are a Kubrick and(or) Hitchcock fan. Suggestion: they should look nice as Facebook cover photo! 1…. Read more »
It is always a tragedy to lose a Hollywood icon, serving inspirations and role models to the youth who look up to the actors in hopes of following their Hollywood dreams. Not all actors are fortunate enough to live long lives, but all on this list left a big imprint on Hollywood during their career. Here is a list of… Read more »
Long take. One-shot. Oner. Continuous take. Different terms for the same principle: An uninterrupted (or seemingly uninterrupted) shot in a movie. And with these shots come various difficulties. Lengthy dialogue which needs to be memorised. Difficult choreography of all the moving elements in the frame. Various lighting conditions. Hard working conditions for the cinematographer but also for other crew members…. Read more »
Genre is a useful, if sometimes problematic tool for cinema; a film may contain many influences, styles and concepts meaning that it cannot be simply called, for example, a “horror” film. What if this “horror” film contains a lot of humour and makes the audience laugh as well as shriek? Well then it is a “horror-comedy” or “black comedy” –… Read more »
“Halloween” is considered by many to be the greatest slasher film of all-time and it re-defined the horror genre. It may not be the first film to get the slasher genre started, but it was one of the most important and spawned many similar films. “Halloween” inspired a lot of talented filmmakers and launched the careers of those involved, and… Read more »
Movie fans lost one of the greatest modern actors when Philip Seymour Hoffman died of an apparent heroin overdose a few weeks ago. It just goes to show that no one; no matter of status, wealth or fame is above the influence and power of addiction. According to Merriam-Webster, addiction is defined as a strong and harmful need to regularly… Read more »
Hollywood, and the world for that matter, is full of actors in various stages of their career, those just beginning, those gracefully bowing out of the spotlight and those looking to regain their past successes. Concerning the latter, not all of these actors have faded from view. Some have been typecast, some are doing lousy work, some have self-destructed, some… Read more »
Nightmare sequences in movies, can sometimes be considered to be that extra, unnecessary scare, a jolt in order to keep up the pace of the film and the audience on their toes. Despite this, there is no denying that they are something of an outlet for the filmmakers to let their imaginations run wild and can often prove to be… Read more »
If you’re reading this post chances are you like film. And if you like film, there is a distinct possibility you enjoy a good documentary too. So it doesn’t get much better than a documentary about film, right? Here’s a list of ten of the best documentaries ever made about the making of a movie. Some of them are about… Read more »
As demonstrated throughout this list, there are many elements that define a film as “beautiful”. Often, these elements coexist within the work evoking an emotional reaction from the viewer. In these films, our world is redefined, examined and presented to us as a challenge to understand new levels of our existence. All of these movies are available on Netflix Instant,… Read more »
