"Il Talismano" Demo Scene, è basato su una storia scritta da Stephen King e Peter Straub. Il mio obiettivo principale nel creare quest'opera è quello di dimostrare le mia capacità come regista ai produttori che detengono i diritti della storia: STEVEN SPIELBERG. La scena è stata girata in due giorni."

Mathieu Ratthe
della Matt Ratt Productions

And this is probably one of the only "Top Animated Films" lists that won't include Snow White or Bambi. I'm sorry. Just because something is old, or "the first", it doesn't make it good. Or interesting. In my less-than-humble opinion, Snow White is one of the most overrated, boring films to come down the pike. But Ed, you might say, It was a technological breakthrough in animation. It was the first of its kind. Yea, well, just because something is different doesn't mean its good. Just ask Paris Hilton's parents.

So here we go. The best in animation, according to me....

10. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
There is a moment in this film that always blows me away. Jack Skellington has gone off to become the new and improved Santa Claus and his #1 fan Sally is home lamenting because she knows something's not right. While Sally is singing her ballad she steps through a gate and swings her head to the side. That moment right there is so smooth...so perfect...it's almost hard for me not to believe it's not a person in a big Sally costume. And there's also the Oogie Boogie song.

9. Flushed Away
I'll admit it. I haven't liked anything else this guy has done. And yes, that includes the Wallace and Gromit series. So my expectations for this were pretty low. Not only did this movie blow me out of the water, it also made Kate Winslet more attractive. The fun action peppered with jabs at America (and the UK) cracked me up. This movie probably would have ranked higher on my list if the characters didn't look so much like those Wallace and Gromit idiots.

8. The Prince of Egypt
Like The Nightmare Before Christmas, there's one scene in this film that sticks in my head, but with a much larger emotional attachment. It comes at the climax of the film when Moses parts the Red Sea. That whole scene...the animation as the water rushes into the sky, the swelling music...and then the eerie silence...it gives me chills just writing about it and gets my heart beating like Ed Grimley in the presence of Pat Sajak.

7. The Emporer's New Groove
How is this cartoon not more popular than it is? Hey, I'm not the biggest David Spade fan either, but when he's on, he's on. And in this film, he's on. Emporer's plays like a Disney film done by the kids of the filmmakers: sick and tired of the schmaltz and cheese, they're gonna show us that cartoons can be sarcastic, too. A cartoon that knows it's a cartoon and says What the heck. Let's just have fun with this one.

6. The Simpsons Movie
Admit it. You were just as shocked into hysterical laughter as I was to see Bart's junk.

5. Shrek
I can still remember thinking to myself Cartoons aren't supposed to be this irreverently funny while I was in the theater holding my side trying to stop laughing so I could hear the next joke. Like The Emporer's New Groove, Shrek takes the world of children's stories and pokes it in the eye as it dumps ice cubes down its shirt.

4. The Incredibles
Are you kidding me? Superheroes more believable than their Marvel or DC cousins, an amazingly animated landscape, harrowing action (it's hard to beat that jungle chase scene), all delicately painted around a couple struggling to keep their marriage together...wow. Well done, Pixar.

3. Aladdin
Just the fact that the animators were able to keep up with Robin Williams' mile-a-minute freestyle is a feat in itself. Disney loves putting our heroes in a spot where you think There's no way they can get out of this. But when I watched this, I remember saying OK really, there's no way he's getting out of this one. One of these good guys is gonna die.

2. Finding Nemo
Man, when things come together at Pixar, they really come together, don't they? Everything from the casting down to the most intricate detail in a random air bubble was spot on. This is one of the few films you could pop into your player, press pause at any spot and the image frozen on your screen will be the very essence of art. You'd just look at it and say Wow. That's beautiful. And hey, any film that is clever enough to incorporate the old Monty Python "Bruce" sketch gets extra credit.

1. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Only Steven Spielberg would be able to get Warner Brothers and Disney to shake hands and agree to let their greatest cartoon characters appear side by side in the name of good moviemaking. Considering this was done before the computer animation technology we have today, it's amazing how they got this film to work.
Yes, those are actual guns and beer bottles floating around in the air, not CG recreations, and the way they orchestrated the chaos in the Ink & Paint Club is beyond me. Roger Rabbit is a movie that loves movies and is a love letter to an era that may be gone but won't soon be forgotten.

Yay for cartoons.

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Finished watching the video? Glenn Close plays the pirate who Hook interrogates and puts in the box with the scorpion. I caught the end of Skylark on TV last night and was reminded of her cameo. Pretty freaky, eh?

"Sid was a true pioneer in the weight loss industry having been involved for over 40 years. Together, he and Jenny built the strong foundation of our Company's values, culture, and mission of improving people's lives by helping them lose weight and keep it off. I personally feel so very fortunate to have known such a talented and generous mentor and friend. He will be dearly missed," said CEO Patti Larchet.

Born March 22, 1932 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Craig came from a family of three children. His career began in the mid-1950s as a part-time instructor and entrepreneur at Arthur Murray Dance Studios, where Sid purchased five studio franchises over time. Upon the company's takeover, he was elected to the new Board of Directors.

In the 1970s, he would own a stake in a small chain of salons before forming a new corporation of ladies figure control salons, Body Contour, Inc. and positioned it for rapid expansion including the New Orleans market where he met Jenny Guidroz Bourcq, who would soon become his National Director of Operations and, in 1979, his wife.

In her 2004 autobiography, "The Jenny Craig Story: How One Woman Changes Millions of Lives," Jenny said, "Sid ... has the charisma of a Jack Kennedy, the intelligence of an Alan Greenspan, the creative mind of a Steven Spielberg, and the humor of a Jackie Mason, along with the good looks of a Clark Gable."

"I've learned that everyone has a soul mate somewhere, and if we're lucky enough to find them to share our life with, then we are more fortunate than most. I thank God every day for allowing me to find mine. Sid has enriched my life in more ways than I can count."

In 1982, the Craigs sold their interest in the 200+center Body Contour, Inc., moved to Melbourne, Australia, and developed Jenny Craig Inc., a chain of weight loss centres whose comprehensive approach emphasized health, moderation and long-term weight maintenance.

A marketing expert, Sid boosted the young weight management company into overnight success when he placed live advertisements on "New Faces," Australia's top talent show, earning Jenny Craig Inc. the 14th-highest company name recognition in the country.

Sid's leadership built Jenny Craig, Inc. from a small Australian company into a multi-national business with 655 Centres operating in four countries. In 2006, Nestle purchased Jenny Craig Inc. for $600 million.

An avid sportsman, Sid and Jenny Craig purchased a 237-acre thoroughbred horse racing stables, breeding operation and training center in Rancho Santa Fe, California in 1995. They also own a minority partnership in the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. An active car enthusiast, Sid collected classic cars previously owned by high profile celebrities and political figures including Franklin D Roosevelt's touring limousine, Dean Martin, and Al Capone among many others. Sid especially enjoyed the history behind his cars, which was the prime motivation behind each purchase.

In April 2007, Sid and Jenny were awarded the Horatio Alger Award in Washington D.C. It was the first time in the organization's 60-year history that the award was presented to a couple. Sid considered that to be one of the highlights of his career.

Philanthropically, Sid and Jenny Craig have contributed their support to organizations such as San Diego Hospice, Easter Seals, United Way/CHAD, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In 1992, Sid Craig pledged millions to CSUF for the School of Business and Administrative Sciences, which was renamed The Sid Craig School of Business. In 1996, Sid and Jenny Craig committed another very large donation to the University of San Diego, which was used to build the Jenny Craig Pavilion, a multi-use sports pavilion that was dedicated in October 2000.

The Craigs were quick to come to the aid of Hurricane Katrina victims as one of the largest donors. They were among the first to respond to the needs of fire victims in San Diego, where they reside. Their support and concern for the disadvantaged was their way of giving back in appreciation for their many blessings.

SOURCE Jenny Craig Inc.

Good morning, radio fans. As you can see from this blog this morning, I've been a bit busy. That's because there's so much going on today. I truly don't know what to talk about first. I have lots of highlights to share with you today but I'd also like to invite you, no encourage you, to post your own highlights in the comments. This is your community, feel free to promote your shows or discuss your favorite segments.

Here are just a few of today's highlights:

Trekkies will love today's SyFY Radio. None other than Mr. Sulu himself, George Takei is stopping by to chat with host Michael Hinman. Catch the action tonight at 10:00 p.m. EST.

Today's guest on TV Talk is Graham Patrick Martin from the TBS hit The Bill Engvall Show. Listen in at 6:00 p.m. EST.

On the NY Baseball Digest the guys are chatting with former Mets slugger Mo Vaughan. Mo will talk about his time in the big leagues. Mo will also discuss his current venture as owner of OMNI New York LLC which rehabilitates housing in depressed areas. Don't miss it at 6:00 p.m. EST.

Movie Geeks United is beginning a series in tribute to Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg. Part , airing today, talks about Jaws. Special guests include biographer Joseph McBride, Wendy Benchley, co-stars Susan Bachiline and Jeffrey Kramer, screenwriter Carl Gottlieb and members of 'The Shark is Still Working' crew. Not be be missed tonight at 10:00 p.m. EST.

Enjoy the rest of the day and remember all of our segments are available on demand immediately following the live broadcast.

Argumento de la serie

Band of Brothers (en España se emitió bajo el título de Hermanos de Sangre y en Latinoamérica como Hermandad en la Trinchera o Banda de Hermanos) es una serie de televisión de 10 capítulos ambientada en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, co-producida por Steven Spielberg y Tom Hanks.

Gran parte de la acción en la miniserie se centra en lo experimentado por la Easy Company (Compañía Easy) del 506º Regimiento de Infantería de Paracaidistas (506th Parachute Infantry Regiment), de la 101ª División Aerotransportada (U.S 101st Airborne Division) del Ejército de los Estados Unidos y en uno de sus primeros líderes de pelotón, el Teniente Richard Winters (más tarde Mayor Winters). Está basado en el libro del mismo nombre escrito por el prestigioso historiador y biógrafo Stephen Ambrose.

Los eventos retratados en la miniserie tratan de ser históricamente precisos y están basados en la investigación de Ambrose y en entrevistas grabadas a veteranos de la Compañía Easy. Todos los personajes retratados en la miniserie están basados en miembros reales de la Compañía Easy; algunos se pueden observar en entrevistas pregrabadas como preludio de cada episodio. La miniserie se estrenó en 2001 por HBO y posteriormente se transmitió en The History Channel. La serie también fue emitida en Gran Bretaña por la BBC. En España fue emitida por Telecinco y en el País Vasco por ETB 2.

Una nueva miniserie de los creadores de Band of Brothers (Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman), titulada The Pacific (El Pacífico) está en producción. La nueva miniserie se enfocará en teatro de operaciones del océano pacífico durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. El proyecto estará listo para 2009, aunque es solamente una fecha estimada y podría cambiar.

Descargar serie en: http://magiasalvayreyes.forogratis.es/

I think that is nothing more interesting or beautiful than the human face. And that’s why I love close-ups so mutch.

– Joe Wright, regissør (1)

Bruken av nærbilder, eller rettere sagt den overdrevne bruken av nærbilder, har fått kritikk fra ulike hold i de senere år. Kritikerne føler for mange nærbilder går på bekostning av kroppsspråk og scenens geografi. Personlig er jeg delvis enig i dette, og må innrømme at jeg ofte foretrekker toskudd der man kan se reaksjonen og kroppsspråket til den som blir snakket til, ikke bare den som snakker. 

Samtidig er det lov å ha to tanker i hodet samtidig. Mange av regissørene som tar i bruk elegante mastershot med sofistikert staging bruker også close-up. Forskjellen er at de sparer nærbildene til dramatiske høydepunkt. Steven Spielberg sier følgende:

(John Ford) has tought me how to hold back for an overhead shot, when to go wide, when to go close – don’t shoot close-ups every scene of every shot, they don’t mean anything. (…)Ford was so judicios about his close-ups and wide shots. (2)

Nærbilder i seg selv er ikke en negativ ting. Brukt riktig, er nærbilder er et meget sterkt virkemiddel, et av de sterkeste filmspråket har å by på. Men hvordan bruker ulike regissører nære utsnitt?

Valg av linse avgjør hvordan skuespillerens ansikt fremstår på skjermen. I dag brukes ofte telelinse når man tar nærbilder, fordi det gir ansiktet finere proporsjoner med flatere ansikt og mindre nese. Vidvinkellinser gir nøyaktig det motsatte, og gir fjeset mer dybde og gjør nesen større. Veldig korte brukes ofte for å skape en komisk effekt, eller for å fremheve spesielle ansiktstrekk (f.eks øyne på små barn).

Noen regissører, som for eksempel Steven Spielberg og Orson Welles, bruker vidvinkellinser til close-up:  (NB: Dette gjelder for det meste mannlige skuespillere. Regissører og fotografer lar kvinner se så vakre ut som mulig.)

Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993)

Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958 )

Andre regissører, som Frank Darabont, foretrekker normallinse på 50 mm:

The Shawshank Redemption (1994): I 35 mm film, er en 50 mm linse den fokallengden som gjengir bilder mest mulig likt slik som øyet ville oppfattet dem.

Så har man regissører som konsekvent bruker telelinser til close-up. John Woo sier følgende:

”As for the telephoto, I use it for close-ups because I find it creates a real ”encounter” with the actor. If you shoot someones face with a 200-millimeter lens, the audience will feel like the actor is really standing in front of them.”  (3)

Paycheck (John Woo, 2003): Ansiktet til Ben Affleck er flatt og uten dybde på grunn av telelinsen.

De fleste regissører er mer fleksible i sin bruk av linser, og har ofte en såkalt screen test for å finne ut hvilken linse som passer skuespilleren best.

”The choice of lens is crucial. There’s a chemistry between each actor and a certain lens. That’s a reason for shooting makeup and costume tests with the principal actors before you start the actual production. One of the things we’re doing is studying the chemistry between the angle of the lens and the planarity of the actor’s face”

– Walter Murch, klipper og regissør (4)

Valg av linse kan også være pragmatisk begrunnet. Hvis man bruker steadycam eller håndholdt, faller valget på kortere linser naturlig. Små sett gjør det også vanskelig å bruke tele. Lengre linser passer seg best på stativ, og krever rom til at kamera kan stå langt nok i fra.

Collateral (Michael Mann, 2004): Tom Cruise filmet med vidvinkel og tele i en og samme film. Det første klippet er filmet med håndholdt kamera i en rulletrapp, tett opp i ansiktet på Cruise. Tagning nummer to er fanget med kamera festet på panseret av en bil og skuespilleren sittende i baksetet.

I filmen About a Boy (2002) gjør regissørene Chris & Paul Weitz  en interesant ting. Det en scene der filmens hovedperson, Will (Hugh Grant) har en samtale med Rachel, en kvinne som han blir forelsket i. Diologen starter med at Rachel spør Will hva han driver med, og hovedpersonen vil nødig innrømme at han faktisk ikke gjør noe som helst. Etter hvert som Will blir mer og mer avslørt, føler han seg mer og mer latterlig. Brødrene Weitz understreker dette med å bruke kortere og kortere linser for hver gang vi klipper tilbake til Hugh Grant. Siste tagningen er tatt med 21 mm linse, som er rimelig kort, og Will fremstår ganske komisk. 

Jeg har også lagt merke til en del amerikanske regissører velger å koreografere hele scener med et closeup/medium close-up i forgrunnen og andre karakterer i bakgrunnen. Et eksempel er The Fugitive (Andrew Davis, 1993). US Marshall Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) snur seg og går nær kamera. Han fører så en samtale med sitt team av etterforskere med ryggen vendt mot dem, i en forgrunn-bakgrunn komposisjon. En situasjon som hadde virket unaturlig i virkeligheten, men gjør seg meget godt på film. Spesielt TV-serier tar flittig i bruk denne formen for staging.

 The Fugitive

House M.D. (2004-)

Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, 2002): Komposisjonen forandres fra halvtotal til nærbilde ved å la en karakterer gå helt frem til kamera.

Avstanden mellom ansiktet og kameralinsen har også en effekt på hvordan det ferdige resultatet fremstår. Walter Murch valgte å filme Fairuza Balks nærbilder i Return to Oz (1985) med en 45 mm linse på nøyaktig fire og en halv fots avstand, fordi dette gjort ansiktet hennes penest mulig. (5)

Filmfotografen Christopher Doyle forteller fra innspillingen til Lady in the Water (M. Night Shyamalan, 2006) at han satte kameraet med en 65 mm linse rett foran skuespillerne. Doyle ønsket å følge en “general trend in recent films to engage with the audience more directly.” (6) Fotografen hadde også blenderen på F/2 for å minst mulig fokusdybde, slik at ansiktene ”stakk seg ut” av bakgrunnen. Doyle videreførte denne trenden i neste film han fotograferte, Gus Van Sants Paranoid Park (2007), og Shyamalan i neste filmen han regisserte, The Happening (2008 ).

Lady in the Water (M. Night Shyamalan, 2006)

The Happing (M. Night Shyamalan, 2008 )

Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant, 2007):

Joe Wright har helt rett: det menneskelige ansikt er interessant og vakkert. Å fange ansikter på film er en kunst. Når disse nærbildene kombineres med vidunderlige mastershots synes undertegnede det er en fryd for øyet.

Jan Ingar Grindheim

(1) Regissørens kommentarspor, Atonement (2007)

(2) Helpern, David ”At Sea with Steven Spielberg” Take One March/April 1974. Gjengitt i Friedman & Notbohm (red) (2000) Steven Spielberg: Interviews (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi) s 13.

(3) Bordwell, David og Thomson, Kristin (2004). Film Art: An Introduction (7th edition). New York: McGraw-Hill. S 236

(4) Michael Ondaatje (2002) The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film London: Bloomsbury Publishing, s 197

(5) Ibid s198

(6) Benjamin B (2006) ”A Nymph in Our Midst”, American Cinematographer, August 2006

Der Name Steven Spielberg dürfte beinahe jedem Menschen auf diesem Planten ein Begriff sein. Schließlich ist der gute Herr der erfolgreichste Regisseur aller Zeiten und begeisterte das Publikum mit Blockbustern wie Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park oder ET. Nun hat er sich aber zum Ziel gesetzt, sich auch als Videospielproduzent einen Namen zu machen. Sein Erstlingswerk "Boom Blox" ist kürzlich erschienen und ob er damit einen guten Einstand feiern kann, zeigt dieser Testbericht.

Wenn man Steven Spielberg mit einem Videospiel in Verbindung bringt, dürfte man wohl zuerst an ein episches Blockbusterspiel denken. "Boom Blox" ist aber überraschenderweise einfach nur ein simples, aber süchtig machendes Geschicklichkeitsspiel geworden. Im Grunde genommen kann man dieses Spiel als eine Art „Spielklotzbaukasten“ bezeichnen. Um alles abwechslungsreicher zu gestalten, enthält das Spiel im Vergleich zu anderen Geschicklichkeitsspielen unzählige, verschiedene Spieltypen. Doch keine Sorge, zu Beginn von "Boom Blox" wird der Spieler fair und ausführlich in alle Spieltypen eingeführt. Generell ist das Ziel des Spiels, das jeweilige Level mindestens mit einer Bronzemedaille zu meistern, nur so wird das nächste Level freigeschaltet. Die Missionsziele sind, wie eben bereits erwähnt, immer unterschiedlich. So gilt es manchmal in Jenga Manier so viele Blöcke, wie möglich aus dem Turm zu ziehen, ohne ihn zum Einsturz zu bringen, oder man muss einer Spielfigur den Weg zu ihren Kindern bahnen, ohne den Weg zum Einsturz zu bringen. Es geht aber auch wesentlich simpler. Oft müssen einfach nur Blöcke abgeschossen werden, um Punkte zu erzielen, oder Türme mit so wenig Würfen wie möglich zum Einsturz gebracht werden. Hilfreich sind hierbei die unterschiedlichen Blockarten. Bombenblöcke, Chemikalienblöcke oder Verschwindeblöcke haben einen wesentlichen Anteil am Erfolg. In Acht nehmen muss sich der Spieler vor den Strafblöcke, die zum Punkteverlust führen. "Boom Blox" verfügt über zwei Hauptspielmodi. Zum einen den Entdeckungs- und zum anderen Abenteuermodus. Im Entdeckungsmodus kann sich der Spieler genau entscheiden, welchen Spieltyp er absolvieren möchte, im Abenteuermodus wird eine Geschichte erzählt und die Spieltypen sind gemischt. Insgesamt enthält das Spiel über 300 verschiedene Level. Der Schwierigkeitsgrad steigt hierbei stetig an, wird aber nie unfair oder frustrierend. Die extrem präzise und perfekte Steuerung dürfte daran auch einen großen Anteil haben, zudem geht in diesem Spiel auch niemals der Überblick verloren. Lobenswert ist auch das grandiose Leveldesign in Verbindung mit einer tollen Physikengine. So sorgt das Spiel für ein unglaubliches Suchtgefühl, man möchte „nur noch dieses eine Level spielen“, in Wahrheit vergehen aber mehrere Stunden. Und da man von dem Spiel einfach nicht genug bekommen kann, steht ein genialer Leveleditor zur Verfügung. Die erstellten Level lassen sich sogar via WiiConnect24 mit anderen Spielern tauschen! Selbstverständlich lassen sich auch Unmengen an Extras freispielen, indem der Spieler die Levels mit einer Goldmedaille abschließt. Charaktere, Items oder sogar Spielmodi können so erspielt werden.

Im Mehrspielermodus macht "Boom Blox" noch mal doppelt so viel Spaß, wie im Singleplayerpart. Mit bis zu vier Spielern avanciert das Spiel zum reinsten Party-Spaß. Wer als Kind mit Freunden Mikado oder Jenga gespielt hat, weiß wovon ich rede. Das besondere an "Boom Blox" ist aber, dass man hier sowohl gegeneinander, als auch miteinander spielen kann. Beide Seiten haben ihren Reiz und so oder so wird auch hier ein Suchtgefühl vermittelt. Da es meistens abwechselnd zur Sache geht ist "Boom Blox" auch für alle jene empfehlenswert, die nur einen Controller besitzen. Im Prinzip gibt es nur wenig an diesem Spiel zu kritisieren, der größte Kritikpunkt ist allerdings der fehlende Onlinemodus.

Technisch dürfte man schon im Vorfeld nicht allzu viel von einem Geschicklichkeitsspiel erwarten. Doch auch hier gibt "Boom Blox" eine gute Figur ab. Die Welten sind angenehm farbenfroh und knufflig gestaltet und wirken nie zu übertrieben. HDTV Besitzer dürfen sich darüber freuen dass ein 480p Modus enthalten ist und die Explosionen sehen für Wii-Verhältnisse alles andere als schlecht es. Dennoch ist das Ganze aber eher zweckmäßig. Es mangelt dem Spiel an Details und die Texturen sind ziemlich matschig. Hier ist also noch eindeutig Luft nach oben vorhanden. Beim Sound darf man auch nicht mit einer Meisterleistung retten. Die Soundeffekte sind zwar angenehm und überzeugend, aber im Gegenzug ist der eintönige Soundtrack recht nervig. Für ein Geschicklichkeitsspiel ist das aber völlig normal.

Fazit:
Mit "Boom Blox" gelingt EA, in Zusammenarbeit mit Steven Spielberg, der mit Abstand beste Third-Party Titel auf Nintendos Wii! Außerdem zählt das Spiel auch zu DEN Überraschungstiteln der letzten Jahre. Es ist einfach unglaublich, wie extrem süchtig machend dieses Spiel ist und wie einfach alles von der Hand geht. Boom Blox zählt zu den wenigen Titeln, die in dieser Art NUR auf Wii möglich sind. Und genau solche Spiele wünscht man sich doch als Besitzer dieser Konsole. Die Qualität des Mehrspielerpart kann locker mit Größen wie "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" oder "Mario Kart Wii" mithalten und der Umfang ist einfach unglaublich. Zudem zählt dieser Titel auch noch zu den etwas günstigeren Spielen, weshalb man eine Kaufempfehlung aussprechen muss. Jeder Wii Besitzer sollte sich dieses Spiel einmal anschauen!

8,5/10

I wanted to like this film...I really, really did. I mean, it's got the biggest names in the movie business behind it (Spielberg & Lucas), it's got an action star (Harrison Ford), it's got that undeniable marketing. But I didn't like it. And here is why...

Too much CGI. When giant ants attack, I got the feeling I was back in the "King Kong" remake...which really kinda sucked. I'm almost to the point now where if a movie uses CGI in any way I deduct points. I don't care how good it is ("The Incredible Hulk" was DECENT CGI..."I Am Legend" was TERRIBLE CGI), it is distracting when overdone. The ant scene didn't even need to be in this movie. So why bother with it?

Bad writing. The writing in this film was horrendous. I don't remember if the first 3 Indy flicks were this campy, but this script was just not good.

Too much Shia LeBouf & Karen Allen. No offense to the younger set, but Shia is NOT the second coming of Harrison Ford. He may be talented (I did like him in "Transformers"), but he doesn't have the acting chops of say a James McAvoy. And Karen Allen hasn't been in movies for years...and you can tell. She sure is rusty in this one!

Aliens. I'm sorry...but with all of the biblical myths and legends out there, aliens was the best you could come up with? C'MON Lucas! Get with the program!

And finally...Cate Blanchett's wig. It just looks silly. For all of the dominatrix talk before the movie came out, it just looked like she stole that wig from Uma Thurman off the set of "Pulp Fiction". And for once I didn't think Cate did a very good job with the character. Of course, even she might have known that this was gonna be a dud and made it as campy as she could. Who knows?

So Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (what the heck is up with THIS title??? They couldn't come up with ANYTHING better than THAT???) isn't very good. However I know people who did like it and that kind of surprises me! But everyone has their own tastes. Mine just happens to be for better movies than this one...

Overall Rating: D for dud.

Seriously Cate...can I have my wig back now?

Duel

• No, I'm not talking about the new ABC game show. I'm referring to the 1971 made-for-tv, Steven Spielberg directed thriller starring Dennis Weaver. I have seen this movie several times, and it never gets old. Particularly for a tv movie, it is very well done.

• The premise is very simple: David Mann (Dennis Weaver) is a traveling businessman who is riding along the remote highways of mountainous Northern California in his little red Plymouth, when he makes one innocent mistake. He passes one big truck, which unfortunately is driven by one crazy trucker. This sets off a chain of events that grows increasingly unnerving, for both David and the audience.

• Dennis Weaver does a great job of showing how a real person (as opposed to Rambo or Indiana Jones) might react to such a situation. He goes from annoyed, to angry, to incredulous, to terrified, and continues on this emotional ferris wheel until the grand finale.

• In addition to Weaver's performance, there are a couple of other things that make this movie a classic. One is the constant tension. You feel like you are riding along with David on the dusty highways, creeping up the mountain passes and flying out of control back down, all while trying to allude the scary monster on wheels. That leads to the second factor: the truck. Because you never really see the driver's face, it's almost like the truck has a life of its own. And it's one intimidating big rig!

• Aside from the entertaining action and suspense, watching the movie 30+ years after its release makes it a funny 1970s period piece. Just to name a few of the now defunct cultural markers:

1. David's car only has AM radio
2. He has the windows down because the car doesn't have A/C
3. The gas stations are full service, rather than self service. I think the last of the full service gas stations died out in the mid-90s, when pay at the pump became the norm.
4. At the cafe where he eats lunch, the water glass is tiny! This was before Americans' portion sizes were enormous.
5. David has to use a pay phone to call his wife, as well as the police. If there had been cell phones in the '70s, there wouldn't have been a movie to make. Oh wait, his cell phone would have been out of service or out of battery. But anyway, his situation seemed more dire in the pre cell phone era.

• For its time, Duel was like a modern spin on the western - two men in the wild west, dueling it out from their motor vehicles instead of their horses. To reinforce this theme, at some of the most intense moments in the movie, high tempo country music plays on the radio. This is a movie well worth viewing for anyone who likes action and old school suspense, and who can tolerate the 70s clothing, cars, and conversation.

Superman III

• This movie was released in 1983, and it was quite a departure from the previous two Man of Steel films. Not in a good way. The opening scene is about as ridiculous as they come - phone booths fall like dominoes, a blind man stumbles into the street, toy penguins trip a woman on skates, and one poor man gets hit by various objects, including a pie in the face. What does any of this have to do with Superman? I have no idea. It doesn't get much better from there. I only enjoyed the movie at all because it made me nostalgic about my childhood. It's clear, though, that I had no clue what the plot was when I was five years old.

• Unlike Duel, whose 1970s cultural references added to its appeal, Superman III does not stand up well to the test of time. Maybe 25 years is in the too recent past to appreciate it, or maybe the movie was just done poorly. The main problem: computers. In 1983 the general public didn't know much about them, particularly when it came to using computers for power and control. Now that we do understand how computers and networks work, and what kinds of things won't work, it's hard to watch Richard Pryor's character, Gus, a supposed computer genius, push a few buttons to manipulate the world's weather, re-route all the oil tankers, and create kryptonite. Even sillier, when the villains launch a computer-controlled missile system at Superman, the radar screen appears like a video game, with the bad guys aiming their weapons at a cartoon Superman. Guess that's the only way the writers thought the audience could understand what was happening?

• Despite the campy, ridiculous plot, there are a few disturbing scenes in the movie. The subplot involving Superman and Clark to split into evil Superman and powerless Clark, leads to a violent standoff in a junk yard. Evil Superman attempts to crush Clark in some creative ways, but as a child they were also scary ways. And, the transformation of the main villain's uptight sister into a robot assassin (as a result of the super computer developing a mind of its own, of course) should have made my list of Disturbing Cinematic Images. Even watching it as an adult, there was something creepy about the scene:

• Watching any of the Superman movies now, it is very sad knowing what happened to Christopher Reeve, so young and strong in these movies, a decade later, with the equestrian accident that paralyzed him and led to his premature death.
• The first Superman movie was truly a classic. I also enjoyed the second one. This one has its place in history as a silly but tolerable addition to the series. One that should never have been made is Superman IV. We'll pretend that it didn't happen.

O artista chinês Zhao Bandi, 42, entrou com um processo contra a DreamWorks, a produtora do cineasta norte-americano Steven Spielberg, por considerar o filme "Kung Fu Panda" um insulto contra o panda, símbolo da China.

Zhao Bandi é conhecido por incluir imagens de ursos panda em sua obra e de desenhos de moda inspirados neste animal, e se define como um "defensor do panda".

"Levei a denúncia ao tribunal na quarta-feira", disse hoje [18.07.2008] Zhao, ofendido pelo fato de Hollywood ter "roubado" o símbolo nacional e as artes marciais chinesas.

O artista chinês disse que decidiu entrar com o processo porque o panda protagonista, Po, "tem os olhos verdes" e também "é filho de um pato", o que considera uma "distorção moral".

Leia mais clicando aqui.

Steven Spielberg

Agora ele arruma outro serviço para Cody.

Ela vai escrever - novamente inspirada por uma idéia de Spielberg - o roteiro de uma nova comédia para a DreamWorks Pictures. Segundo a Variety, o estúdio está fazendo tanto segredo sobre a história que até mesmo os agentes que fecharam o negócio não sabem do que se trata.

Ainda não há produtores ligados ao filme.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Harrison Ford, Shia LeBouf, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Karen Allen

After loads and loads of rewrites and 20 years of anticipation, the newest installment of the Indiana Jones franchise could not have had any bigger expectations. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were working carefully in an attempt to bring the normal quality of the three previous films with them in the making of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Quite frankly, they failed in making this film nearly as good as the others. 

While this edition of the Indie (I hope that's how you spell the short name for Indiana) does provide plenty of entertainment and Harrison Ford has the same wit and charm as he does in Raiders of the Lost Ark and company, there is something missing to this story. It doesn't seem like the typical Indiana Jones story since it does deal with (if you actually haven't seen this yet and don't want to know this part of the plot skip this paragraph) certain things that Mr. Spielberg has dealt with before in his other alien movies.

In saying that Lucas and Spielberg failed in accomplishing the quality of the previous three films, however, I am not saying that this one is not worth seeing. I am giving this a minor recommendation with this warning: There are some very cheesy moments in this film that I was not really able to get over, one involving an atomic bomb, and another involving Shia LeBouf and monkeys. Yes, I say Shia LeBouf and monkeys. That is not a typo. 

The bottom line is that the new Jones movie did not live up to the expectations it had gathered over the pas 20 years, but who really expected it to. So go see it, ignore the story, and have some fun watching a popcorn movie and Cate Blanchett having a fun time doing her crazy-german-woman role.

Kevin's Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Steven Spielberg's first movie in its entirety (25 minutes).

“Amblin” foi o título utilizado pelo autor para batizar sua produtora de cinema e televisão, fundada em 1982.Se não bastasse, o vídeo foi também um grande “cartão de visitas” de Spielberg para entrar no estúdio Universal, em que fez muito sucesso.
Confira o vídeo na íntegra abaixo:

Der gewählte Begriff sagt schon alles über den für die Konzeption dieses filmwissenschaftlichen Vokabulars erbrachten Zeitaufwand. Er war jedenfalls nicht groß. Vielleicht gibt es ja irgendwann einen Wettbewerb der billigsten Titel von Filmblogrubriken, wer weiß...

Die hier veröffentlichten Begriffsklärungen sollen jedenfalls dazu dienen, Filme hinsichtlich der Nutzung ihrer formalen Mittel, wie der Farbgestaltung, Kameraarbeit etc. zu untersuchen, also eine eventuell ungewohnte, neue Betrachtungsweise beim ein oder anderen Zuschauer anzuregen.

Den Anfang der Erklärungen macht der ominöse, weil gern genutzte und selten definierte, Begriff der Mise en Scène. Die deutsche Übersetzung, etwas "in Szene zu setzen", trifft schon den Kern der Sache.

Die Mise en Scène, die man durchaus als Gegenpol zur Montage betrachten kann, umfasst die Organisation des Bildinhalts. Ihre Analyse fragt letztendlich danach, was im Bild gezeigt und wie es inszeniert wird.

Nehmen wir ein klassisches Motiv des Krimis: Ein Mann sitzt am Schreibtisch. Der Mörder schleicht sich von hinten an, um ihn umzubringen. Wenn man so will, gibt es zwei Arten, das Erzählte filmisch aufzulösen. Der eine verlässt sich auf die Montage, der andere eher auf die Mise en Scène.

Beispiel 1:

Shot - Ein Mann sitzt am Tisch, das Gesicht dem Zuschauer zugewandt, im Hintergrund die Tür.

Schnitt zur Tür, die sich langsam öffnet.

Schnitt zur Ansicht des Mannes am Schreibtisch, der uns den Rücken zugewandt hat.

Schnitt zum Mörder, der sich auf sein Opfer zubewegt. Wir sehen z.B. seine rechte Hand, die ein Messer hält.

Schnitt zum Mann am Schreibtisch von vorn. Hinter ihm steht der Mörder, hebt seinen Arm, sticht zu. Es gibt ein blutiges Gemetzel, dass in der deutschen Fassung verstümmelt wird, damit der Film eine FSK 12-Freigabe erhält usw.

Beispiel 2:

Shot - Ein Mann sitzt am Schreibtisch, das Gesicht dem Zuschauer zugewandt. Im Hintergrund öffnet sich langsam die Tür. Der Mörder tritt ein, während das Opfer unbekümmert weiterarbeitet. Der Mörder im Bildhintergrund nähert sich weiter an. Aus dem Dunkel des Raumes scheint seine erhobene Hand mit dem Messer im Lichtkegel der Schreibtischlampe auf. Sie saust nieder, auf ihr Opfer einstechend...

Während also die Montage den Mord in Einzelaufnahmen aufspaltet, wird er im zweiten Beispiel in einer einzigen Aufnahme gezeigt. Beide Szenen leben jedoch von der gleichen Spannung, da der Zuschauer einen Wissensvorsprung gegenüber dem Opfer besitzt (wir wissen, dass sich hinter ihm jemand mit einem Messer anschleicht).

Eine ungeschnittene Einstellung, die dem von mir oben beschriebenen Beispiel ein wenig ähnelt, nutzt M. Night Shyamalan in seinem Film Unbreakable. Man achte auf die Kamera, die sich während des Kampfes von der Untersicht hin zur Vogelperspektive bewegt.

Die Komplexität der Mise en Scène im zweiten Beispiel entsteht durch die Organisation der beiden Figuren im Bild, die Positionierung der Kamera, die Licht- und Schattengestaltung. Mit einer einzigen Einstellung muss der Film uns alle für den Spannungsaufbau notwendigen Informationen mitteilen.

Die Montage ermöglicht dagegen einen schnellen Wechsel des Blickpunktes. Dieser kann schließlich vom Opfer zur Tür und wieder zurück zum Opfer springen, ohne Verwirrung beim Zuschauer zu stiften.

Die Mise en Scène lebt im genannten Beispiel v.a. von der Raumtiefe. Im Bildvordergrund sehen wir das Opfer. Währenddessen öffnet sich im Bildhintergrund die Tür. Der Mörder tritt ein und bewegt sich im Verlauf der Szene vom Hintergrund in den Bildmittelgrund und am Ende zum Opfer in den Vordergrund.

Der Begriff der Mise en Scène umfasst also sowohl den gewählten Bildausschnitt als auch die Bildkomposition. Auffällige, meist voneinander abhängige bildkompositorische Elemente sind die Ausprägung der Perspektive (die Tatsache, dass ein Filmbild räumlich gesehen flach oder tief wirkt), der Einsatz symmetrischer Formen (oft vorhanden in den Filmen Stanley Kubricks), die Beleuchtung und die Anordnung von Objekten und Figuren im Raum.

In Gosford Park dirigiert Robert Altman eine Vielzahl von Personen, die sich überall im Bild verteilen. Die einen verlassen den Raum, andere betreten ihn.

Währenddessen werden ständig vielsagende Blicke ausgetauscht, die dem Wahrheitsgehalt des eigentlichen Dialoges weit überlegen sind.

Abgesehen von den bereits genannten Komponenten gehört auch die Bewegung der Kamera selbst (im obigen, zweiten Bsp. ist sie statisch) und, wie bereits angedeutet, die Bewegung vor der Kamera (der Mörder bewegt sich in den Bildvordergrund) zur Mise en Scène.

Wenn diese ausgetüftelt und komplex ist, kann sie parallel zur Vermittlung handlungsrelevanter Informationen ein Filmbild um unzählige Deutungsebenen bereichern. Im einfachsten Fall werden Aussagen über den seelischen Zustand der Figuren von ihr abgeleitet.

Dem gegenüber steht die für Kritiker und Filmwissenschaftler interessante Einordnung eines Werkes in den jeweiligen kulturellen Kontext. So kann man beispielsweise die Bildkomposition chinesischer Filme in Zusammenhang mit der klassischen chinesischen Malerei stellen.

Manchmal genügen jedoch diese simplen Momente der Ehrfurcht vor dem Können der Filmemacher im Kinosaal. Schließlich sind extreme Formen der Mise en Scène, wie minutenlange, ungeschnittene Plansequenzen, immer auch technische Herausforderungen. Wenn Orson Welles Im Zeichen des Bösen mit einer nicht enden wollenden Kamerafahrt beginnt oder sich in Children of Men eine Plansequenz an die nächste reiht, wird man schlicht zum Zeuge einer perfekten Meisterung des Mediums Film.

Eine erschöpfende Aufzählung aller möglichen Elemente der Mise en Scène kann dieser Artikel leider nicht liefern. Stattdessen soll zum Abschluss noch einmal auf ein paar Spielarten derselben verwiesen werden, die in den folgenden Filmausschnitten zum Ausdruck kommen:

American Beauty (USA 1999)

Der berühmte Spargeldialog. Die emotionale Distanz der Familie Burnham wird von Sam Mendes durch eine Kombination von Montage und Mise en Scène verbildlicht. Erst sehen wir die Familie aufgereiht wie auf einer Theaterbühne voneinander entfernt am Tisch sitzen. Während des Dialoges werden Lester und Co. dann mittig in den breiten, ansonsten leeren Bildern positioniert. Die Isolation ist perfekt.

A Shot in the Dark (GB/USA 1964)

Was die Mise en Scène für den Slapstick bedeutet, lässt sich kaum besser verdeutlichen als am Werk des Meisters des Genres, Blake Edwards. Die körperbetonte Spielweise von Peter Sellers als Inspektor Clouseau verlangt weiträumige Einstellungen, die bei Edwards meist statisch ausfallen. Diese unterschlagen jedoch nicht die für den komischen Effekt unerlässliche Mimik von Sellers und seinem verwunderten Gesprächspartner George Sanders.

Krieg der Welten (USA 2005)

Auch in Blockbustern ist der komplexe Einsatz der Mise en Scène zu finden. Der vorliegende Ausschnitt aus Steven Spielbergs Krieg der Welten zeichnet sich besonders durch die Kombination eines detaillierten Dekors mit einer auffälligen Lichtsetzung aus.

***Warnung: Spoilergefahr***

Shanghai Express (USA 1932)

Josef von Sternberg darf natürlich auch nicht fehlen. Die Art und Weise, wie seine Hauptdarstellerin Marlene Dietrich von einem Lichtkranz umgeben durch den Zug schlendert, mit dem Blick des Zuschauers spielt und dann in einer ihrer berühmtesten Aufnahmen festgehalten wird, ist typisch für den Regisseur.

Literatur:

Borstnar, N./Pabst, E./Wulff, H.J.: Einführung in die Film- und Fernsehwissenschaft, Konstanz 2002

Koebner, T. (Hrsg.): Reclams Sachlexikon des Films, Stuttgart 2002

Monaco, J.: Film verstehen. Kunst, Technik, Sprache, Geschichte und Theorie des Films und der Medien, Hamburg 2002

The Oscar award winning screenwriter whose latest film is "Juno" will team up with Steven Spielberg again to give her story ideas for another comedy film that is untitled at this moment. Spielberg is the one who came up with the story for "Juno" and gave it to Cody, she won an Oscar for "Best Screenplay" for the film. She will write the film for Spielberg's, Dreamworks studios, but they are keeping the plot and title underwraps for now.

Variety reports:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117988968.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Is this going to be a sequel to "Juno"? I hope not. I have never even seen "Juno" yet, but I plan on giving the film a rent soon.

If Spielberg loves her writing so much, why don't he direct one of her screenplays? I'm sure he will in the future when the right story comes. Spielberg is not into doing comedies, maybe when Cody does a serious film, Spielberg will do it then.

Kev

This is why coming to this place feels like coming back to the past. It is amazing how much it can influence me. After two or three days in the apartment, it is like I haven't ever moved out of it, and Australia and Bilbao feel so distant. At the same time, things look old-fashioned and like taken from a dream, especially the tiles in the bathrooms and the kitchen. But it's our place.

Three things have made me think of the past especially this time. The first one is the collection of Byte magazines that I keep in the bottom shelves of the dining room. I have in front of me the April 1985 issue of Byte, a special number on artificial intelligence, including articles by Marvin Minsky, Elliot Soloway, Steve Ciarcia and Dana H. Ballard among others. Great reading. At almost 500 pages per issue and a superb mixture of solid papers, technology commentary and regular columns, Byte is the best computer magazine I've ever known. It flourished in the 1980s and I guess it survived in the 1990s, but I don't think Byte would be even possible these days.

The second thing from the past is a worn down recording of Close Encounters of the Third Kind on a VHS tape. We keep a small collection of great movies on VHS, and today I spent some time flicking through them and watching most of Encounters. It is so well crafted. Spielberg at his best. The script is rich and full of nuances, refreshingly avoiding the overuse of technicisms that seems to plague most of today's sci-fi movies. If you haven't watched Encounters in two or three years, I suggest you run and get a copy now.

The third thing from the past is rain. Dark outside, no noise from neighbours or cars, just the soothing ghghghgh of the rain. We have a thick double-window system so I need to slide at least one of the window panes open in order to hear it. Again, you may wonder how rain can be something from the past. Well, what I find to be from the past is not rain itself, but the experience of listening to the rain from a warm place that I feel my home. Last time I recall feeling this was in Sydney, a few years ago, at our place in Lavender Bay. I find rain in Santiago, however, more soothing than in Sydney, because it is usually not as intense and goes forever.

I'm going to bed now. To my old bed.