Watch This: Karl Pilkington Reviews 'The Invention of Lying'
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Friday, September 25, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
REVIEW: Crank 2: High Voltage
Well normally this isn't a movie i would see. I hated the first one, thought it was made by really immature post film grad students. (if they made it that far) But my old intern Coleman has a bromance brewing with Jason Statham or JS as he likes to call him. I have to say this film is much better than the last one, because this time the creators got the joke and embraced it. This is a full out cartoon the likes of Takashi Miike would revel in.
Let us sum up: JS survives falling out of a plane and hitting a car full force. Not a scratch. He is picked up with a shovel and has a heart transplant and given a battery powered replacement. And guess what, he has to keep the battery going. Shock! So with the help of Dwight Yokam he tries to find the people who transplanted his heart into an asian David Carradine. Still with me? Next is a series of cartoon like sequences that I have yet to fully understand. It all ends in a giant gang battle of the scum of LA. There is a pretty amazing sequence, (and when I say amazing, I mean they actually had the balls to do this amazing) where JS fights an asian guy in a dream like sequence where they are the size of Godzillas in a power plant. JS wears a deformed mask of himself. There is also a full out sex scene with (I'll do it if you put my name above the title) Amy Smart on a horse track during a race. Still living speaking decapitated heads in fish tanks, and Bai Ling and Pedro.
Go in prepared to have your mind raped and you'll enjoy the fun. I think this one works better, because the filmmakers embraced the absurdity of what they were doing and just went for it.
Guest REVIEW: Ip Man
Been so busy haven't had time to review movies, even though I've seen quite a few recently, so I am resorting to guest reviews..This one is for Ip Man starring Donnie Yen. I loved it!!!! Here is Koh So's review from Yes Asia...
Donnie Yen isn’t just the Man, he’s IP MAN. Hong Kong’s most prolific martial arts actor goes for FEARLESS-type cred in director Wilson Yip’s biopic of the legendary Wing Chun master. The film tells the tale of Ip Man (Yen) during the 1930s and 40s, covering his rise to prominence in 1930s Foshan, plus his involvement with the imperialist Japanese . Noted for its many famous kung-fu masters, Foshan comes under siege from surly kung fu master Jin Shan Zhao (Fan Siu-Wong), who’s looking to rob Foshan’s resident martial arts masters of their fame and face. They’re quick to jump to the challenge, and all are quick to lose - that is, all except Ip Man, who seems to have zero ego and is overflowing with serene modesty. Eventually Ip Man is required to accept Jin’s challenge, but as one would expect, Ip has no problem knocking Jin down to size. However, when the Japanese invade China, even Ip Man’s Wing Chun is of no help.
Or maybe it is. Though IP MAN is billed as a biography of the famed Wing Chun master, it takes massive liberties with actual history. Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen seem to be more concerned with capturing Ip Man’s spirit rather than his actual experiences and exploits. Ergo, his refusal to train the Japanese forces has been adapted to the screen as a framework for some physical one-versus-many battles between Ip Man and the Japanese soldiers, all culminating in a one-on-one match between Ip Man and the honorable, though still somewhat evil General Miura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi). Can Ip Man beat up Miura and restore the honor of the Chinese people? There are currently two sequels in production to IP MAN, so the answer should be pretty obvious.
However, obvious answers can sometimes make for entertaining film, and that’s exactly what IP MAN is: entertaining. As a biopic, IP MAN doesn’t convince, and is historically inaccurate, not to mention over-the-top in its unflattering portrayal of the Japanese soldiers. However, as an action drama, IP MAN earns its wings, proving rousing and exhilarating, if not sensitive or particularly subtle. Sammo Hung’s action direction is top notch, and the one-versus-many beatdowns possess an entertaining and even emotional edge not seen since the days of FIST OF LEGEND. Donnie Yen brings the film to another level; besides being convincing when he’s whaling away at everyone in sight, Yen is surprisingly subtle, capturing Ip Man’s calm demeanor and also his buried inner emotion. IP MAN may not be the career turning point for Donnie Yen that FEARLESS was for Jet Li, but it’s surely a step in the right direction.
Music Video: 5BUGS-Maybe Tomorrow
I don't know anything about music anymore, but this band 5BUGS did the first 360 degree music video shot with a Canon 5d Mark II DSLR camera. So that's really why I'm posting it. It's pretty cool.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Grandpa Clapp's 95th Birthday Bash
My grandpa turns 95 on Thursday, we had his birthday party a little early this weekend. He had some grim advice to those of us getting older... And people wonder where I get my dry sense of humor. I decided to break out my new video camera to film the festivities. This is the mini Flip Ultra HD cams, that fit your pocket. Check it:
Lance Clapp's 95th Birthday Party from Atombomb.tv on Vimeo.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
North Texas Fresh Episode 2: Final Tryouts
North Texas Fresh Episode 2 from Immotion Studios on Vimeo.
This is the second episode in the web series for the North Texas Fresh basketball team of the ABA. This episode goes further into the final rounds of tryouts for the team and introduces a new coach and trainer to the team.
I had a little help in this episode thanks to our former intern, Coleman "cool daddy" Anderson, coming along to help out with camera and everything else. We got to have a little more fun this time, getting closer with the staff as they move closer to a final roster. Thus far this web series has been a learning process. We are making the rules up as we go along, and discovering what paths are best taken for our production.
I had a lot of fun editing the end sequence here. I went back to kind of an old school 70's way of stopping the action and zooming into the still. This is another example of us finding our sea legs while making things up. Pretty soon we will have a clear direction of where to take the series, but for now this is a lot of fun for all involved. I just hope I can focus when the NBA/ABA season begins! Till Episode 3...
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