filmcapefilmgamefilm

a break but also a busy time finishing off the capes and photographing them in a number of photoshoots - am in the middle of learning new software to make a film comprised of the stills created - also managed to see some films - Star Wars - most excellent - it felt at times like a supercharged remake of the first (which isn't such a bad thing, or is it? It's at its best when the camera is observing space, following flying machines, watching stuff get blown up, shot and also looking at landscapes. Lobster - a straining tragic portrayal of the disconnective connectedness of society - a beautiful parable for this internet age- like! Big Short - a dark film about how the banks created a virtue out of greed whose style feels like something new - a hybrid - a docu-mocku-post-meta - informed by our experience of using the internet and how we engage with it including a montage found footage, infomercials and complex ideas delivered to camera by celebrities - wondrous. Anomalisa the 'puppet film' by Charlie Kaufman - just plain astoundingly odd, in a good way. Finally if you haven't already you have to get into the gut wrenching embarrassing train wreck that is Nathan for you - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2297757/ after binge watching some (every episode) I would recommend starting with smokers allowed http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5199634/?ref_=ttep_ep5 this episode twists and turns so that the 'joke' or focus eventually questions every aspect of an idea, nobody and nothing is safe, especially your own brain - all through Nathan's layered deadpan delivery. You have to see it to really get it! Played beginners guide - a great game - essentially it is a deconstruction of the very idea of gaming - exploring the relationship the gamer has with the game maker through the act of playing - existential crisis all round....

anewbeginning

I’ve just spent 4 straight hours in the company of Brothers: a tale of two sons - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers:_A_Tale_of_Two_Sons - if you are interested in engaging in the game don’t look at the wiki page as part of the experience of game playing is obviously not knowing what is coming – not plot spoiling doesn't appear to be part of the game playing community - anyway the landscape is sublime, the narrative very moving and the dynamics of the playing fairly unique in my experience of gaming (not huge) – you are left with the feeling of a profound sense of loss – this might be my first empathic gaming experience.

meanwhile - some films watched over the break – so far

The Equalizer http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455944/ – Denzel – the man with a past – he plays the isolated-lost-loner-character well with the twist of extraordinary fighting skills and empathy – predictable but fun. 

Get Santa – well http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1935940/ if I was 6 I might find it wonderful and Jim Broadbent is a glorious ‘gansta santa’ but.......I'm not 6. 

Boxtrolls – http://www.theboxtrolls.co.uk/ yes it’s all good with some very clever animation backed up with a strong script. 

Toy Story That Time Forgot - toy story short –http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3473654/ lots of knowing fun – it takes us from the moment ‘the gang’ are joined to Bonnie with some great 'in jokes'. 

What we do in the shadows http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3416742/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 – a laugh out loud mockumentary about vampires in new Zealand. 

Eagle v Shark http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0494222/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 more ‘indi-fare’ from new Zealand – a cast of outcasts – tragic-comic with the funniest attack on a disabled person I have ever seen! 

Batman - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096895/ – its difficult to beat Jack Nicholson being Jack when he’s on form! But talk about slow.......and the dated clothes ....shoulder pads wtf were we thinking. 

The Interview - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2788710/?ref_=nv_sr_1 – not as bad as I thought it would be but a film that offends everybody – is that a good thing? 

Chico and Rita – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235830/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 beautiful drawings with a great dream America sequence underpinned with a narrative that takes in a slice of Jazz history.  

Blue valentine – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1120985/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 another tragic wandering around Gosling film, a film about loss, loss of love, 1 hour and 20 mins – seems longer.  

Darkman - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099365/ ludicrous plot, special effects, acting and overall concept ..........don’t even start about the science - but in its own way its charmingly odd.