Monday, August 31, 2009

Seventy-8 FINALLY out on DVD Nov. 24th


Just wanted to let everyone know that my little movie Seventy-8 is coming out on a special edition DVD on November 24th by R-Squared Films. You can already pre-order it on Amazon, and it should be available to order soon at Best Buy, Barnes & Nobles and Target. We are currently finishing up all the bonus features for the DVD.

You can also join the Facebook page for the release by going to the link below or by searching for Seventy-8 DVD Release on Facebook by clicking HERE.


More news to come closer to release date! Hope everyone is doing well.

Friday, August 07, 2009

The Best thing I've read in a while....


Seems John Hughes had a pen pal who wrote this tribute to him on her blog. This is truly an amazing article. Could be a movie!

Click HERE to read the post.

REVIEW: Breaking Bad: Season 1



Where to start? Granted I am only reviewing Season 1 here, as I have not watched any of Season 2 yet, but holy crap what a great show. And I don't think I know of anyone else who watches it but me. What a shame... I hate to rehash someone else's review, but Seth Amitin's review over at IGN.COM of Season 1 is right on cue. So instead of breaking my neck here is Seth's review. But please please people gotta get into this show. Buy the DVD's!!! It's great writing and brilliant character work from the entire cast.

Breaking Bad: Season 1 Review
The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river on this show.
by Seth Amitin


March 19, 2008 - You were probably skeptical about this show, too. The promotional poster, the one of Bryan Cranston standing in his underwear, holding a gun, with the RV and the plumes of red smoke in the background, seemed forced, like they were aiming for a 14-year-old demographic, someone that had this gangster-like image of cool. To anyone who's past that phase, it looked, well … stupid.

Instead, we got something completely different. A dynamic and deep show with some realistic insight into the world of meth dealing, and creating characters you care about, too.



We don't want to discount the drama, but the science is what captivated us to start the show. When Pinkman says his stuff is the best, he's Captain Cook, he's the alpha and omega of cooking meth, but then Walt's stuff puts his to shame. Walt's decided professionalism about it (taking off his shirt and pants on his first try and telling Pinkman that "we don't use") is kind of cute, too, in the same way as watching a kid ride a bike for the first time. The idea that a chemistry teacher could so easily create high-quality grade of meth is flat-out awesome.

Then came the drama – the really nasty stuff, the deadly chemicals, the hydrofluoric acid, the complete and utter failures and the rest of the nitty-gritty details of trying to be a drug runner in the world and just how awful it is to be dealing meth (on both the creation and selling sides).



But what really kept us in the show was the depth of character. Walt's unwillingness to tell anyone about his cancer and his subsequent reasoning to not get treatment, Skyler's refusal to accept Walt's bizarre behavior and being proactive about it, Pinkman's time with his family (and especially his genius brother) … everyone has weaknesses and strengths; faults and virtues. Here's where this show gets really cool:

Walt was a simple character to begin with. He's book smart, but not street smart, and he gets involved in meth dealing because he wants to provide for his family after he's dead – he's in the advanced stages of lung cancer, by the way. He's the character to root for, the guy you want to see win, but at the same time, you know there's an oncoming train wreck and that this is perhaps the stupidest get rich quick scheme anyone has ever had.

There's also Jesse Pinkman, who's stupid, but street smart. He failed Walt's chemistry class in high school and now deals meth. He's a born loser, but happens to make a good team with Walt, who is aces when it comes to producing meth.

(There's a point coming up, I swear).



Skyler, Walt's wife, isn't a dummy. She's quick as a whip and loves her husband and son and is protective of both of them.

Then the secondary characters are the enablers: Hank, Marie, Walt Jr., Crazy-8, Emilio and Tuco. You can make a pretty strong case that the cancer is a character in itself because of its broad repercussions and affectations on the lives of each character, but we'll leave that out for now.

And then you throw all of these characters together and you see what happens. Walt with Skyler is protective (see: refusing to tell her about his cancer). Walt with Pinkman works, but it's highly unstable and dangerous. Skyler and Pinkman rarely interact, but when they do, they don't go together well. Walt and Hank work pretty well together, though you wouldn't think that, since Hank's a DEA agent. Walt's interaction with Crazy-8 basically changed his makeup altogether (for anyone who hasn't seen this show yet, boy howdy are you in for a surprise on that one).



If you read all of that, you might know what it sounds like: chemical reactions.

This is what we're talking about. Everything about this show was thoroughly thought-out and it's a true joy to watch a show that can be dissected so much and make it more enjoyable. If you haven't watched this show yet, it's time to get on the bandwagon.

REVIEW: The Hurt Locker


OK, I'll admit it, I was in love with director Katherine Bigelow back in the day. She came into my life about the time I started worshiping directors, and then Near Dark came out and I crapped my pants, cause to this day its still my favorite vampire flick by far. Then I saw her picture and I was in love. She only makes movies every 3 to 5 years, so when one comes out i get all tingly inside. This brings us to 2009's The Hurt Locker, a movie that details the everyday life of a US bomb patrol unit in Bagdad.

Shot in Jordan, the film is based on recently declassified information about a U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) (bomb squad) team in present day Iraq. The Hurt Locker is written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded with a bomb squad.

First off the movie is tense. The jobs these guys do is insane to say the very least. The Hurt Locker follows a U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit as it works to defuse a series of improvised explosive devices (IED) in the streets of Iraq. Jeremy Renner plays the leader of the EOD team, as he contends with not only defusing bombs in the backdrop of a war, but also the psychological and emotional strain that it inflicts. As the unit deals with one explosive device after another, it confronts the unpredictable and extreme violence of a growing Iraqi insurgency. Team members struggle constantly to distinguish enemy insurgents from innocent Iraqis and to protect themselves while avoiding civilian casualties.



The mental stability that it takes to deal with this kind of pressure is one that if closely looked at is one that is probably one step closer to insanity than sanity. You can see it in all of the actor's performances. Every character is a timebomb waiting to explode like the damn bombs they have to diffuse day in day out. With only about 30 days left on their shift, two of the group played by Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty just want to do enough work to get home in 30 days. Then they get a new diffuser played by Jeremy Renner. He likes the rush of diffusing these complex bombs. He almost admires the work, and considers them art. He even keeps a box of fuses under his bed to remind of him each time he almost died. He's walking a line the other two men in his group are not really on board with. And things get a little tense not just in the field but off it as well. This is where Renner starts to lose touch with reality and himself in the process.



This is a great film, and I'd say the best of the Middle East war movies to date. Its a small film, but expertly crafted. And knowing that it was shot in Jordan in the middle of the shit makes it even more tense watching it. In fact they had a hard time getting crew people to begin with or even stay on for the whole movie it was that insane. Visually its gritty, yet fluid and never feels artsy for cool sake. It's a very grounded movie that does not preach to you about the horrors of war. It just shows you that war can be a drug like anything else in life. Some run from it, others run into it.

Great film. One of the years best by far.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

John Hughes Tribute RIP



Very sad about the passing of writing/directing legend John Hughes. He defined my generation of teen movies and beyond. He will truly be missed.

There is a great recent article about him HERE. But be sure and check out the video tribute from youtube below. Its really great. Sad day.