FilmMattic

An Impressive Look Inside the Mind of An Auteur       A few weeks ago, the Director's Guild of America, perhaps to coincide with the release of Super 8, held "A Tribute to Steven Spielberg," which features J.J. Abrams and James Cameron discussing Spielberg's influence on their careers. What's more impressive is the fact that Spielberg offers a very candid and extensive look at his own, very unique filmmaking perspective, a perspective that Abrams refers to, quite eloquently, as "child-like," not in terms of maturity, but inspiration. Child-like, Abrams elucidates, is a "manifestation" of that ephemeral feeling, palpable during our formative years, which projects a "tangible" sensation of wonder and awe. It was a powerful, honest moment. Spielberg, rightly so, was quite touched.

Text at Your Own Risk       Be forewarned. If you don't like what I have to say, then expect repercussions. My retribution will involve one of the 100 Greatest Movie Threats of All-Time: "Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns." I'll be raining down on you with such fury, you'll be wondering if the person pummeling you senseless is Mike Tyson. Ah, but I'm kidding. As a partial, not pseudo pacifist, I leave the fighting to the movies. Only in the movies can extreme forces of good and evil be imagined and realized...not imitated.

Fickle Film       Like any archetypical Clint Eastwood cowboy, I'll be donning a hat. We can call it the movie marshal's hat; Eastwood preferred a beaver felt Stetson made famous in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy . As an enduring cultural icon, Eastwood's name is synonymous with tough-talking-no-nonsense banter. So, I'm going to pay forward his legacy of straightforward talk. It's a spirit that cannot be effectively translated to words, of course, but I'm going to do my best. After all, stubbornness in spirit is also a primal facet of The Man With No Name. I'll be corralling the genuine and barefaced movie news of the day (sometimes the week/month/year), assuming the news is worthy of underscoring, and offering my brief analysis. My fierce pal, Dezmond of Hollywood Spy fame, also deserves some of the recognition for this post' inspiration. As the James Bond of movie news, he's consistently on the ball, reporting developments that appeal to m...

Cool To Be Fuller Yourself       Sam Fuller is one of the beloved mavens of low-budget filmmaking. The energetic proprietor of pulp storytelling is responsible for pioneering a predominantly primitive style. But, like any great movie-making influence, Fuller also dabbled in other forms of film: notably, acting. Ah, you don't believe me. Well, I have definitive video proof. And the proof is in the witnessing; in my case, the revival of my "Person of the Week" crown. Yes, the crown, like MJ in '95 , is BACK...and to Sam Fuller and Al Pacino, go the spoils.

       Parody...Schmarody!        Let's face it. I love to impose my love for parodies on my blogging audience. Today—still ruminating in a post Oscar hangover—I will once again temper my dismay at Sunday night's proceedings by bringing to your attention a hilarious parody of "every Academy Award winning movie ever." 

Mocking Guy       Thanks to the collective forces of Twitter and the prescience of a talented writer, I have another hilarious video to present to the blogging community. A casual presumption from one of my growing Twitter friends, Alexander Hammond, author of "Tales From the Edge of Forever," proves to be a perfectly apt, riotous encapsulation of my keen tastes for comedic parodies.

Warner Bros Spearheads a Majestic Cause         In a fantastic and transparent effort to influence the Academy, Warner Bros. has produced a mesmerizing 5-minute featurette of Christopher Nolan's Inception. Rarely do I highlight the work of a major studio. On this occasion though, I applaud Warner Bros. Any institution that staunchly champions the cause of Nolan is a worthy institution in my book. Well-done, WB.  

Not Your Regular UPS Guy              Our obsessive Internet and wireless gadgetry-crazed society has fostered an overwrought—but on occasion, uniquely clever—creativity boom. YouTube is the indisputable champ of this trend. Men, women, and children among us, all hope that their ingeniously planned video exploits will lead to the next viral youtube sensation. As we are too keen to realize, such hopeful promises are often bled out of delusional hysteria. There are far too many unseen, unoriginal, uninspiring renditions, spoofs, parodies, etc., circulating online.