Inception
I thought this movie was really, really good.
DiCaprio was good, although if I read any reviews of the film I would guess they draw parallels to the recent Shutter Island. I liked Inception much more. And it also stars the kid from 3rd Rock From the Sun.
Well written, smartly executed, posed many great questions, left some things open but still crossed many of the “i”s and dotted many of the “t”s that if had been unaddressed would of left the film open for people to swiss cheese it and not allowed room for discussion about the ideas it did set forth.
Where do ideas come from? What are the mind’s parameters? Is it possible to alter or control their origin?
David Sirota over at In These Times wrote an interesting piece called The Deception of the Real-World Inception.
Tags: ideas, In These Times, Inception
Restrepo
Jul 7, 2010 movies
One platoon, one valley, one year.
In 2008 Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm) and Tim Hetherington dug in with the men of Second Platoon for a year. Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, a stronghold of al Qaeda and the Taliban, has proven to be one of the U.S. Army’s deadliest challenges. It is here that the platoon lost their comrade, PFC Juan Restrepo, and erected an outpost in his honor. Up close and personal, Junger and Hetherington gain extraordinary insight into the surreal combination of backbreaking labor and deadly firefights that are a way of life at Outpost Restrepo.
Ever wonder what it’s really like to be in the trenches of war? Look no further. Restrepo may be one of the most experiential and visceral war films you’ll ever see. With unprecedented access, the filmmakers reveal the humor and camaraderie of men who come under daily fire, never knowing which of them won’t make it home.
So I went on a date with myself last Friday night to go see Restrepo.
I can’t claim to be the biggest war/military nut but I do read a lot, watch a lot, and pay attention to what is going on when it comes to this stuff. None of it, none of it, prepared me for what this documentary shows.
Harrowing, sad, insightful, funny, riveting, depressing, speechless, anxious, moving, angry, epic… All words as I try and capture or describe both the movie, the experience and my reaction to it.
Part of me wants to reference certain points or scenes but I’m hoping that people go check this out and experience it on their own.
Tags: documentary, Restrepo
A Million In The Morning
Apr 22, 2010 movies, music, video
Jay Electronica produces and pits on a track inspired from the movie.
Is it me or is this slightly Def Jux-ish?
The title track by Jay Electronica for a feature Documentary by the same name. Directed by Jason GOLDWATCH for DECON Creative Group. Starring Gavin McInnes, as he stays awake for 5 days straight without sleep.
via www.amillioninthemorning.com
Tags: A Million In The Morning, documentary, Jay Electronica
Socalled
I thought this looked pretty damn good.
The “Socalled” Movie is a documentary film about klezmer hip-hop artist Josh Dolgin aka Socalled. Featuring Katie Moore, Fred Wesley, C-Rayz Walz, David Krakauer, Matt Haimovitz, Arkady Gendler, Benjamin Steiger Levine, D-Shade, Gonzales and Irving Fields, the movie is a kaleidoscopic portrait, offering 18 entertaining short films about Socalled’s creative process.
You can rent it on Youtube for .99 here.
Tags: Arkady Gendler, Benjamin Steiger, C-Rayz Walz, creative process, D-Shade, David Krakauer, documentary, Fred Wesley, Gonzales, hip-hop, Irving Fields, Josh Dolgin, Katie Moore, Levine, Matt Haimovitz, Socalled, trailer
A-Team trailer
Fuck. I wanted to hate this, but if I am still in the States I may have to check this out opening night.
007 Shy Guy
From Shy Guy.
Digging this, no shovel.
Beat. James Beats.
an instrumental hip-hop album sampling the James Bond themes in chronological order.
Tags: 007, James Beats, James Bond, mixtape, Shy Guy
Nick Kristoff: Reporter
Mar 15, 2010 journalism, movies, video
This is what I watched the other night:
I have to say the movie was pretty moving and motivating. To be reminded that when things need to be said and stories need to be told, people should, can and at times actually do listen. And it is important to continue to have people bringing light to issues.
At a time when people are scrambling to figure out the future of journalism, Nick Kristoff is not caught up in that mindfuck but just continuing to report, realizing that regardless of the future journalism model it will still require people to be telling important stories. So he is taking that part of the problem into his own hands. In the same way the movie shows Kristoff realizes the need to draw the human element into caring about stories, he draws one person in to both journalism and stories by bringing along a student.
Interesting because I had just emailed George this the other day.
I like the fact that he didn’t necessarily choose the valedictorian from NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, but almost picked someone unworthy. At various times I have debated entering contests and explaining that “no I’m not so-and-so’s biggest fan, but I would like to win because…” and seeing where that got me. Sounds like this kid did it and won. Certainly made me want to enter the next contest. Do I deserve to win? Probably not. But I am sick of writing about a vapid topic. And I felt inspired to write about something more important. And it just made me want to write more.
Granted, it doesn’t seem like Kristoff has much to worry about as far as job safety when it comes to job security, but there is something romantic and attractive about the possibility of living that sort of life, having that type of career and possibly effecting that type of change.
I also enjoyed the movie for the fact that it offered the visuals for what it takes to put a story, or a story like that, together. You read it in two dimensional black and white in the paper or on a screen, but to see the footwork, the trekking, the interviewing actually taking place, especially with a warlord in a country such as the Congo, was pretty amazing.
Tags: documentary, New York Times, Nick Kristoff, NYT, Reporter
Resolved
Fucking. Fascinating.
This movie just blew me away.
I found it great on so many levels.
First, it was just a peek into another world that I know knew nothing about. Like most people I had chalked debate up to being pretty stuffy, pretty nerdy. A bunch of brainiacs on blazers pontificating. And not that it isn’t that, but the film rounded that out in a way. But to see where debate took a philosophical turn, and the efforts of two underdogs to bend it yet again in back into another direction was pretty riveting. Throw in the shleppy, cigarette smoking, tree-hugger rebel of stereotypical debaters, and it makes for a really fascinating glimpse into modern debate.
Tonight after the meeting I will be watching this.
Tags: debate, documentary, HBO, Resolved
