June 10, 2006

On the Set of Spiderman 3

I happened to stumble across the set of Spiderman 3 today while I was out taking photos. They had Foley Square, near the courthouses at Centre St. (a few blocks from City Hall), blocked off but I was able to get some decent shots thanks to the powerful zoom on my camera.

The scene looks like a celebration in honor of Spiderman. There is a pavilion set up with a podium and lots of important looking people. The stage has a background that says, "Thank You Spiderman". As I was watching, they did a couple takes which involved Spiderman swinging down over the crowd as they cheered. I managed to get a pretty decent video:

They had a camera high above the scene which was sliding along a cable. The way the cable was strung, it provided a cool shot of the American flag flying from the courthouse roof. I'm guessing the scene involves Spiderman swinging up past the flag like he did several times in the other two movies.

Any thoughts on where this scene belongs in the movie? Could it be one of the final scenes?

Don't forget to check out the photos I took.


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January 27, 2006

"The New World"

I had been excited to see this movie since I saw the first preview six months ago which depicted an action packed, historical film. I was excited, for example, by the fact that Pocahontas was only shown briefly in the trailer. Finally, a movie that tells the Jamestown story, not the Pocahontas story.

Unfortunately, that's not actually the case. Although "The New World" is a beautifully shot and edited film, the love story was too dominant for my taste. Pocahontas (played well by newcomer Q'Orianka Quilcher) is the central figure. I would have liked to see director Terrence Malick pay more attention to the "clash of cultures" aspect of the story instead of the Pocahontas-Smith-Rolfe love triangle, which is more of a myth anyway since the details of those relationships are a bit fuzzy.

Overall, the film accurately portrays Virginia for what it was: swampy, quiet and unspoiled. Just don't expect a dramatic interpretation of early American history if you decide to watch this movie.

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April 18, 2005

Jude Law Abuses Guinness in "Closer"


I saw the movie "Closer" this weekend and was not very impressed. The acting seemed hollow and the story was just not very interesting. I was not convinced that the plot of the movie could actually happen in real life, something that I feel is essential in a drama.

One thing that made my jaw drop occurred in a scene with Julia Roberts and Jude Law. They are in a London bar and Law orders a gin and tonic for Roberts and a Guinness for himself. The bartender pours the gin and tonic and then gives Law a Guinness in a bottle. It's Draught which means that it has a special widget that causes a head to form in the bottle, giving the drinker a "perfect pint" with every tip of the bottle. Law, of course, is British and was born in London. Yet for some reason Law's character (and perhaps the actor himself) has no idea how to drink a Guinness Draught. He first commits the sin of pouring the contents of the bottle into a glass which is a big no-no. I would have been able to forgive the filmakers this small error. However, what I saw next was even more shocking. After unceremoniously dumping the drink into the glass, he immediately has a sip! Is it not a universally known fact that Guinness must settle for several minutes before it is drunk? Maybe some people in America don't know this, but surely a Londoner making a film in London knows the proper way to drink the British Isle's most famous beer... right?!

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March 27, 2005

"Bride and Prejudice"

I went to a double feature in Times Square Wednesday afternoon while a nasty mix of snow, sleet and rain came down outside. First up was Bollywood's "Bride and Prejudice", a fun, lighthearted film about an Indian family whose mother is trying to marry off her daughters. It follows the storyline of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" to the point that the male lead is is even named William Darcy.

Most of the movie takes place in India and is punctuated with catchy musical numbers and dance scenes. Yes, it sounds cheesy and it's not typically the type of movie that I enjoy, but "Bride and Prejudice" somehow manages to pull it off: a strange cocktail made up of equal parts "Moulin Rouge" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".

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October 5, 2004

"American Splendor"

I finally saw "American Splendor", a movie that I had been meaning to see for several months. I didn't quite know what to expect and, if I had not heard such good reviews, would have completely dismissed this movie because it sounds boring. A movie about a guy who creates a comic book about his boring life? Sounds pretty lame to me. Thankfully, I put my preconceived notions aside and picked up this movie. And just as the critics said, it didn't disappoint.

At first glance, the life of the main character, Harvey Pekar, sucks. He works a dead end job as a file clerk in a VA hospital and decides to try writing a comic book about his life. Although the books become quite popular, Pekar never seems to be happy. He gets married and, although he and his wife are perfect for each other, still walks around with a disgusting grimace on his face at all times.

Further celebrity and several appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman don't seem to inprove his mood and the last portion of the movie shows his battle with cancer. He survives, and the movie ends. I can't quite put my finger on why the movie is even good, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the final scene which shows the real Harvey's retirement party. He still never cracks anything but a small, barely noticeable grin and still has the slightly pained look on his face, but the conclusion of the film is uplifting in a strange, oddly satisfying way. Calling this movie brilliant would be a big stretch; it's simply a good movie about a regular guy.

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August 25, 2004

"Bend it Like Beckham"

I first heard about this movie a few years ago when I was in Ireland. It took a while for to come across the pond to America for some reason - surprising considering that it is a good movie. Perhaps the American distributors thought that America doesn't know who David Beckham is? Who knows. Anyway, the movie is set in England and the plot revolves around two teenage girls with dreams of becoming football (soccer) stars.

Parminder Nagra of the TV series "ER" plays Jess, a talented soccer player from a traditional Indian family. Jules, played by Keira Knightley, discovers Jess and invites her to join a semi-pro womens soccer team but Jess's parents forbid it, wishing her to become a good wife who can prepare a traditional Indian dinner. Jess plays anyway, and the story revolves around her efforts to first keep her parents from discovering that she's on the team, and then trying to win them over.

The movie has all the elements of a coming-of-age film: romance, comedy and rebellion with a lot of soccer action thrown in. The soccer parts are good, but don't pick up this movie expecting it to be all action. It's mainly a story of a girl who is trying to live her dream without being disowned by her family, and its that clash that makes the movie work.

Most of the actors in the film perform well, including the parents of both Jess and Jules who have most of the funny lines in the movie. The one drawback is the length and flow. Towards the end it dragged in places and I found myself wishing that it would just end already.

Still, this movie is entertaining and well worth seeing. It's refreshing because it's a teenage rebellion type movie that doesn't resort to sex and drugs for laughs, but instead relies on a good plot and endearing characters.

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June 29, 2004

"Chased by the Light: a Video Journey with Jim Brandenburg"

"Chased by the Light" is the DVD supplement to a book by the same name and is a look at photographer Jim Brandenburg's 90-day project in which he took 90 photos - one per day. Brandenburg is a well known nature photographer from Minnesota who has had a long and succesful career working for National Geographic magazine. This documentary chronicles the introspective photographer's project to revitalize his photos and reignite his love for photography and nature.

His goal was to take only one photograph each day for 90 days. Considering that he, and most professional photographers, are used to taking hundreds if not thousands of photos in a day, this was no easy feat. Brandenburg comes across in this documentary as being more than ready for the task. He thoughtfully explains his love for nature and his compulsion to photograph it in a way that will inspire professionals and amateurs. Along the way he explains how some of his favorite photos were made and lets viewers see a majority of the 90 images right on their screen. This video is a must see for nature photographers, students of photography, or the ordinary amateur photographer like myself.

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