The Informant..

.... The official review.



Steven Soderbergh's latest film. Wow, he's been doing a lot lately, right? Like five movies in one year! Well, this movie definately had a different style to it. This was definitely a small budget film, but it definitely didn't look like it. No excess money was spent on special effects and gunshots, and there were no big finales or explosions, but the movie was great. I think that's what Steven Soderbergh was going for in this. It's like he just picked up a camera, and shot it. Maybe in a few days. It's like he had a story in his head and just wanted to get it out. Could he have spent more time and made it better? I'm sure of it, but for what? This guy thinks up an idea and it's in theaters a month later, it's insane. He's one of the only filmmakers who's still interested in himself. He doesn't care if people will like it or not, ( The Girlfriend Experience ), He just wants to shoot his movie.
Anyways, in the movie, Matt Damon is a compulsive liar. He works for a company called ADM, and assures us that the upper-level executives are involved in illegal price-fixing scams. Destined to make it to the top of ADM, he notifies the president of the company of the foul play. Instead of firing the no-gooders and promoting Matt Damon ( Mark Whitacre ), he immediately notifies the F.B.I, making things a little more complicated. It's great because you really don't know if he's telling the truth or not. The movie gives no backstory or hint towards either direction at first. Mark Whitacre seems like a pretty honest guy, and even when you think he's lying, he often redeems himself, getting the audience back on his side. Steven Soderbergh makes you feel for Mark. He makes it seem as if Mark is wrongfully accused everywhere he goes. That he's just an honest man who's commonly misunderstood. Wrong. The movie takes a dramatic turn when you find out just what's true and what isn't. Like I said before, there are almost no special effects, and it seems as if it's something an amateur filmmaker could shoot. ( not in a bad way, it just seems do-able, which gives kids like me a great boost of confidence! )
Anyways, the movie is really entertaining, and it's a HUGE boost for Matt Damon. He was spectacular in this movie. Steven Soderbergh has always been a favorite of mine, becuase he does such a great job of tackling so many differnet genres. In order to be a great director, you have to speak from what you know, and he definately puts a good ammount of personal insight and taste into his films, a must-see for Matt Damon fans, definately.

The Informant - It almost seems like a student-film version of Steven Soderbergh and Matt Damon. I love it. It has a style that seems bland, yet interesting at the same time. It keeps you interested, and guessing as well. Definately worth catching.

7 / 10

New videos up!

Hey, check these two videos out if you have a spare moment. I know they're not long, but I've been trying a few new techniques with my new lens and steadycam, and wanted to see how they looked. I'm trying to learn a few different lighting styles, and think these two turned out pretty good! Let me know what you think!

Ponyo !

Hayao Miyazaki's done it again. I absolutely love this movie.



I've been a fan of Hayao Miyazaki's films for a long time, and my favorite would have to be "Castle in the Sky"... Until I saw this. Now I'd have to say that it's a pretty even tie. Although Ponyo was geared a little towards younger audience, it definately worked for audiences of all ages. The story of Ponyo closely resembles that of "The Little Mermaid", except with Miyazaki's style added into the mixture. Ponyo tells the story of a young fish named Brünnhilde, who is a very special little fish. Her mother was a huge elemtal spirit, who watches over the ocean. Her father is a little less understanding, and wants to keep Brünnhilde from discovering the outside world. One day, when he was busy mixing potions and creating experiments, little Brünnhilde managed to snaeak away to discover a new part of the ocean. Little to her knowledge, she was swimming in an area that fisherman drag their nets. Brünnhilde barely escapes the fisherman's net, but ends up trapped inside of a bottle. A 5-year old boy named Sosuke rescues her, and breaks the bottle with a rock. He dubbes her "Ponyo".
Ponyo knows that her father would be very upset at the fact that his daughter is out running around with humans, so she discuises herself as a young girl to throw him off her trail. Sosuke doesn't need to keep her in a bucket anymore, and they set off on their adventure together. In Sosuke's hometown, a violent storm is brewing due to Ponyo's father's rage. He unleashes magical beasts and monsters and orders them to bring his Brünnhilde back to him. The monsters search evreywhere for Ponyo, and are upset that they can't find her. They take their wrath out on the ocean, causing huge tital waves and monsoons, which means bad luck for Sosuke's father, who is a deep-sea fisherman.
Sosuke's mom leaves to drive to the retirement home, ( where she works ) but got caught in the flood, and is now stranded without passage to her son. Sosuke's father is still out, with no sign of a quick return. Ponyo and Sosuke are now alone to roam the flooded rooftops. Ponyo uses her magic to enlarge Sosuke's toy boat, and they set off to find Sosuke's mom.
Overall, it was a spectacular movie. It's hard to explain, but certain scenes in Miyazaki's films just give you a certain warmth that others don't. The stillframe posted above was taken from one of my favorite scenes in the movie. Naturally, Ponyo is a goldfish, and looks like a goldfish. ( Despite her human head ) But after she met Sosuke, she turned herself inot a human to make him happy. Sosuke saved her from the bottle, so Ponyo is forever greatful, and apparently very much in love. Her father successfully takes Ponyo back, and turns her back inot a fish. Upset, and missing Sosuke, she summons her brothers and sisters from the ocean and breaks free from his clutches. She swims towards the surface as fast as she can and literally leaps five feet out of the water. Sosuke is above, looking into the water, wondering where his Ponyo was gone. He takes a step back as she leaps from the water, she flies towards him, kisses him in mid-air, and turns back into a human before she hits the ground.

PONYO - See it.
8/10

District 9...

... The official review.



Ok, Ok, well, overall I'd say that it sucked. I mean, c'mon guys. The rule is simple, and it hasn't changed, practical effects out-weigh visual effects any day. Ok, sure, the movie has "top-of-the-line" visual effects, but for how long? Whenever a new blockbuster comes out, they swear up and down about how great the special effects look, but the fact is, a few years down the road it looks gritty and out-dated. When The Hulk came out in 2004, they thought the effects were great, now, it's almost unbearable. A few years later they released The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton, well in THIS movie, they claimed that the visual effects were much more lifelike and believable, watch it now, and prepare to be unimpressed.
Technology dates films, simples as that. I mean, look at Alien. Ridley Scott took the time, effort, and money to actually build these creatures. This is back in 1979 when Special Effects were still special. If you have ever read "Fangoria", you would know how much time goes into these models. I mean the Aliens, the facehuggers, every litle slippery, slimy piece of goo they actually made, which made the movie timeless. 30 years later these effects still look believable and lifelike, and since the movie was made in the late '70's, it's obviously dated now, BUT the effects and film itself age together. Sure it looks old, they had old cameras, actors, lighting, and other stuff that has improved since then as well, but the effects don't stand alone like in District 9. The whole set in Alien looks integrated, the hallways, actors, and Aliens all fit in.
Back to District 9. Well, the first time they showed the "Prawns", I could obviously tell that they were done crappy. I mean, cool, they look great! They just don't look anything like the rest of the movie. Scenes where these "Prawns" can be found searching through garbage in the dumb are almost laughable because the layers literally stick out like a sore thumb. Why couldn't they just have spent those millions on practical effects? No, ruining a movie would be much more fun. I don't know, I just don't get it. Why does everybody say the creatures look good? They look the same as they did in Men In Black ten years ago. Nothing has changed, in two years everybody will say the graphics look horrible compared to ___ ( Insert next crappy blockbuster)

Anyways, let's look at the movie BESIDES the graphics. Ok, so the plot was absolutely unbearable. I mean, I like science fiction, I'm actually a HUGE fan, but what have we come to? Hasn't this Neill Blomkamp character seen " Signs " yet? Doesn't he know the #1 rule of films like this? DON'T SHOW THE FREAKIN' CREATURES! Geez! Want to snatch up an extra 50 million viewers, and actually sell a few DVD's? Well then give our tiny incapable human brains something to imagine please, .... please? In Signs, showing the Aliens' feet, arms, etc. while they ran through corn fields and birthday parties was great, but don't put some rubbery nonsense in my face like that, and don't kill my boy Joaquin. Please. They looked like the " Putties " in Power Rangers.

Ugh.. I don't know, I just miss the good ol' days of Science Fiction when you could ask for a copy of " The Day The Earth Stood Still" without receiving a box with Keanu Reeves on the cover. District 9 is the same way, it's more of a marketing plan than a film. They have their hands on just about the right concoction to get America to fall into movies like this. You can usually tell when they put the best clips of the movie in the trailer, and then delete them from the film ( see picture above ) Well, what happens when you have something and then subtract it?
Nothing.

Nothing = District 9
2/10

Surfing the Web

So my website is looking pretty good! I've been working on it all week, and now it's finally done with it's first stage. I still have two links to connect, but the beta stage is finally done. Most links are fully functional, and all of the pages finally match! Believe me, I'm no web designer, but it definitely feels good to do something all by yourself, especially something that you're relatively new to. Be sure to check it out!

www.SeherCinema.com