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Funnier Then I Thought It Would Be
Spoof Films are a dime a dozen there has been a lot that came out over the years. Some were great and some were horrible the good ones are The Naked Gun Series and Scary Movie Series and of course there are the bad one like Date Movie. So when I saw the trailer for Epic Movie I was not happy seeing the preview I was like why make a film like this. Tell you more in a min.
Epic Movie is a parody that spoofs recent mega-blockbusters. The comedy centers itself around four orphans who visit a chocolate factory and are transported to the wonderful land of Gnarnia, after stumbling upon an enchanted wardrobe. There they battle pirates, encounter earnest wizards and attempt to defeat Gnarnia's dastardly White Bitch. Epic Movie was a not bad movie granted it not a great movie but it does have some very funny scenes and it very watch able I will watch it again before it leaves the theaters. They are very current on the film they make fun of a lot of recent movies like Borat and make fun of a lot of people as well. Stay thru the credits because there are some extra stuff at the end. I am keeping this review short Overall if you looking a film to make you laugh that doesn't require you to think then this is the film for you. (c) 2007 Paul Perkins
Actors      Plot QualityOriginality
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Only $4.99 for a complete movie It is healthier to await a book’s second adaptation than one of the multiple remakes plaguing the beginning of the millennium. Salem’s Lot is the second interpretation of Stephen King’s commercially successful novel of the same name. Jerusalem’s Lot is reminiscent of Castle Rock village in Needful Things with its conflicting and vicious inhabitants. The term silence before the storm takes on a most particular definition here. The evil that is about to strike the village already seems to be watching the inhabitants. Power trips, rejection, hatred, drunkenness, adultery and incest are common place in this small town. Curiously, we still manage to sympathize with them when evil strikes. The reason for this is that we spend a good hour (of three) developing the characters. Some will find that the film doesn’t go anywhere. I agree that it is a bit slow but we are in good company. Rob Lowe is very appropriate for this role as he is the hero by choice. Donald Sutherland inherits a bit of airtime and while we don’t witness his best performance, his presence is welcomed. The most human, the most truthful, character is in my opinion the one played by Andre Braugher. He is sympathetic, rational and vulnerable. ‘Salem’s Lot was broadcast in two parts on Turner Network Television on June 20th and 21st 2004. It is in fact a miniseries made for television. Even though dialogue is king in this production, it contains its share of special effects. It is in this area that we can sadly notice a budget barrier which is the film’s biggest defect. The vampires of ‘Salem’s Lot are darker and more savage that what we are used to seeing. The global atmosphere is also very particular. I better recognize Stephen King’s style in this adaptation that in the Salem’s Lot released in 1979.
Some movies you just have to stand back in awe of. Lawrence of Arabia is certainly one. Certainly select titles from Scorsese or Spielberg are others. It doesn’t take vast landscapes or epic lengths to achieve such a status, although several have failed trying for such majesty. Sergio Leone’s “Man with No Name” trilogy with Clint Eastwood always stirs a special deep-rooted place in film lovers. It’s concluding chapter, “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” is reserved on a small list of the usual suspects people spout when announcing their favorite western alongside The Searchers, Unforgiven or just about anything from the school of Wayne, Ford or Eastwood. For me, it will always be Leone’s follow-up to his monumental trilogy as a testament to both the mythology of the west and the heights to which the genre can travail.
We open on one of the great opening stretches of cinema ever conducted; devoid of music yet lyrical in both its audacity and the way simple sounds create a melody of their own. (The sound of a windmill will have you whistling for hours.) Those who thought Touch of Evil or the Superman films had long opening credits, will barely even notice the words being shot across the screen here as the mystery and anticipation of the scene builds over 14 minutes. Three men (Jack Elam, Woody Strode and Al Mulock) have arrived at a train station to wait. For what or whom is to be discovered and the why will take even longer. Their menacing presence suggest something disreputable is afoot, but in many ways they act as if these are the last moments of their lives. One relaxes, another drinks water courtesy of a leak and his hat while the third makes a rattle out of a fly and a gun barrel. When their package does arrive in the form of Charles Bronson, Leone’s traditional tough-guy dialogue is a prelude to a reminder that everything that took so long to create can be ended in an instant through violence. (“Inside the dusters there were three men. Inside the men there were three bullets.”) That we can derive so much out of the opening quarter-hour of the film is a testament to Leone's preparation for the journey we’re about to embark on. This is a land where unscrupulous men hide in the bushes waiting to massacre a father, a girl and two young boys. Their leader, Frank (Henry Fonda) was willing to spare the youngest member until a rider carelessly speaks his name. Such a lesson is one that Frank may have learned too late. The McBain’s patriarch on that very day was awaiting his new bride, Jill (Claudia Cardinale). Her arrival is something almost out of Blazing Saddles as the class structure of the day is laid out in a single shot. Men talk of stock. Women assist and remain quiet. Blacks carry the bags and the “red-skinned warriors” are unloaded like cattle. OK, Leone isn’t subtle. Even the slaughtered Irish immigrants have red hair and the daughter sings “Danny Boy.” But it’s his grays that make the story so compelling. Bronson fills in Eastwood’s shoes, going only by the name of Harmonica thanks to his instrument of choice and the sinister tune he establishes as his trademark. He nearly gets himself into a showdown with escaped convict Cheyenne (Jason Robards), wrongly accused of the McBain massacre. Their confrontation consists of the kind of banter that will either make them mortal enemies or the best of friends. (“Do you only know how to play? Or do you know how to shoot?”) All three men will be in contact with Jill to either explain, protect or finish off. Her independence to remain on the land of her new husband despite her belief that he lied about his riches, doesn’t quite make her Scarlett O’Hara, but still represents an early vestige of a new America where women might have an equal say. Cheyenne believes a fortune does reside somewhere within Sweetwater (considered a wasteland), but may be soon to discover something much more valuable on the property that reminds him of his mother. (“She was the biggest whore in Alameda and the greatest woman who ever lived.”) Railroad baron Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) also has his eye on the land and has employed Frank and his men to help him snare it. As plot-heavy as this all sounds, nearing an epic length of three hours, it’s the passages in-between the exposition (which never feels as such) that grants the film its historic status. The interplay between Frank and Morton is the century-old theme of man vs. the capitalist system. The railroad has always been an all-too symbolic gesture of the genre along with the dying breed of cowboy that can be seen as recent as both Open Range AND Seabiscuit, but its never been so well-represented. Frank understands his time may be coming to a close and acknowledges the existence of the country’s next evolution as he sits behind Morton’s desk. (“Almost like holding a gun. Only much more powerful.”) Morton knows that the only power in the world strong enough to stop other weapons is money itself. But it cannot buy time and he, himself, is dying from tuberculosis. His only dream is to one day see his train make it all the way to the Atlantic Ocean just so he can see the water. The irony of his imminence is almost too much to bear. Fonda’s performance as Frank has always received the most ink in regards to Leone’s masterpiece, thanks to the genius to cast him so far against type that no train track could ever reach. For the man that played Tom Joad, Honest Abe, Wyatt Earp (and any other All-American Hero that James Stewart didn’t get his hands on) to play such a cold-blooded killer; a man who would shoot down a young boy in cold blood and kick the crutch out from a cripple, well, the words couldn’t possibly describe how brilliant the performance is. Bronson is at his Western best and Robards is a joy-and-a-half as the scruffy outlaw with more of a heart than he will ever admit. Cardinale is a stunning beauty and is easy to look at, but hard to watch as that beauty is nearly taken advantage of at every turn. Cheyenne takes note on several occasions and Harmonica even rips her clothing wide open before entendre-ing himself out of it by asking for water (“From the well. I like my water fresh.”) She accepts Frank’s advances (is it exactly rape?) while he whispers anything but sweet nothings in her ear. The way she plays this scene to her advantage without resorting to immediate revenge tactics is a testament to both Jill and Cardinale. For what is primarily a four-person tale, two other characters emerge which are just as important to the overall feel of the film. The first is Ennio Morricone’s virtuoso score, arguably his best, that adapts four different themes to each of its characters and blends appropriately and seamlessly at any given time. The other, if you haven’t already guessed is the dialogue, credited in the English version to Mickey Knox with a story and screenplay credited to Leone, Sergio Donati and two other little Italian film giants by the name of Dario Argento and Bernando Bertolucci. Brief exchanges between the passages of silence and operatic grandiose are as perfect as they come. (“How can you trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders? Man can’t even trust his own pants.”) How the mighty quipsters over at ESPN SportsCenter have failed to cleverly insert some of these lines into their movieline lexicon is beyond me. Leone juxtaposes themes over plot and character development so thinly that even multiple viewings may have you too enraptured to even notice them. A constant of waiting is reintroduced throughout and how the ancient archetype of man will soon be absorbed into a system of venture capital. (“So you’re not a businessman after all.” “Just a man.” “An ancient race.”) Characters will fight to the death to preserve that right and the climactic 10-minute showdown comes full circle with the film’s opening sequence. This world of men will certainly not disappoint those looking for a good shootout from a town ambush to a splendid moving train rescue. Violence is an inescapable finality here, but also a place where a man can earn the right to pat a woman’s behind through hard work. And where the woman can act as if it doesn’t bother her. Once Upon a Time in the West has been one of the great silently tapped resources for filmmakers in the last 35 years. No one with a concept of film history nor just a great love for all that is cinema will deny that its one of the greatest westerns ever made. It’s greatest argument seem to just be one of great confusion over what its official running time is. Widely known to have been cut for American audiences, a length of 180 minutes floats around different articles while a 165-minute “original uncut” print is the one that has been distributed on video, laserdisc (and soon to be DVD) for years. It’s this cut that I’ve seen time and time again. How can you trust a man that lists both a 165 and a 180-minute cut? Then again, with a film as timeless as the version I’ve seen, what does it matter if the number is correct? I’m still in awe.
Remember the Alamo? Well, it's back in a film that is easy to admire and difficult to like. John Lee Hancock's new epic "The Alamo" traces the events and players responsible for the most famous battle fought within Texas, yet the film's ability to stay faithful to the circumstances of the battle makes this a remarkably mature production that dares to puncture legends and myths.It is not hard to see similarities between the battle for the Alamo and the current quagmire in Iraq. Both situations were born of fanciful political marketing, blatant lies, inadequate leadership and woefully incompetent military planning. One cannot help feel queasy noticing the film's vague talk of bringing freedom to Texas alongside the American introduction of slavery to a territory which never knew it--mirror that to today's talk of bringing democracy to Iraq albeit without the basic concept of one man/one vote, which is the foundation of genuine democracy. Grand notions of liberty, it seems, is political Silly Putty that can be stretched and distorted across the ages. Unlike John Wayne's entertaining cartoon version of history, Hancock‘s "The Alamo" clearly indicts the Texas leadership for the vanity, venality and dishonesty which brought about the tragic events in San Antonio. Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid) is a loud, lying, manipulative, reckless and self-indulgent force of nature. Lt. Col. William Travis (Patrick Wilson) is a vain, pompous, snotty character who doesn't think twice of divorcing his wife but would sooner board their son with strangers than allow the boy's mother to have custody. Jim Bowie (Jason Patric) is a boorish, vile, arrogant adventurer. Davy Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton) is a charlatan ex-Congressman who happily accepts the adulation spun by the tall tales surrounding his supposed adventures, which including jumping across the Mississippi River and riding a lightning bolt. With such individuals in charge, it is no wonder that the Alamo fell. And while these depictions are completely accurate in regards to history, it makes "The Alamo" a tough endeavor to embrace. In this film, no one flag-waving and speaking mightily of liberty. Instead, we have a bunch of self-serving egotists whose stupidity and arrogance brought about ruin. Who wants to cheer for this?
DOWLOAD "ALAMO" The answer: everyone should. At long last, Hollywood has created a historic epic which presents the facts properly. "The Alamo" has the maturity to recall the events of the distant past with a stark honesty that challenges those who can only think in terms of black and white, right and wrong. Anyone who wants heroes to worship should go back to the John Wayne version. This film is not about mythic icons, but about seriously flawed and deeply selfish men who found themselves in a situation that spiraled tragically out of control. For once, the truth about the Alamo is on film. It is not a pleasant picture, but for those with intelligence it is an invigorating drama that will haunt the memory for a long time. From a production standpoint, "The Alamo" is a peerless work of art. Dean Semler's cinematography brilliantly captures the dirt and the grime of the Alamo within the doomed fort and boldly exploits the extravagant colors of Santa Anna's gaudy army (the richness in the colors of the general’s prized china is stunning to behold). Daniel Orlandi's costumes are among the finest I've seen on screen in ages. Eric L. Beason's editing of both the final attack on the Alamo and the subsequent Battle of San Jacinto (which resulted in the capture of Santa Anna and the treaty giving Texas its independence) is exciting and imaginative. Hancock's forced limitations of a PG-13 rating keep the violence and gore ratio low, which is fine since he has no problems detailing the horrors of war without flooding the screen in fake blood. The acting is almost perfect. Billy Bob Thornton is especially effective as Davy Crockett, never losing his politician's ability to please everyone while quietly maintaining an unvanquished pursuit of self-respect (his gentle reminder that he prefers to be called David rather than Davy is especially wonderful). The performance is wonderfully underplayed and rich in charisma. Jason Patric's Jim Bowie is so brilliantly reprehensible that it becomes easy to cheer Santa Anna's troops when they bayonet him. His scene when he send his black slave out of harm's way but refuses to give the man his papers for freedom is chilling, and Patric takes risks in playing the character without an iota of a redeeming feature. The one mistake in the cast is Dennis Quaid as Sam Houston, who frequently comes across like Yosemite Sam in his oversized tirades. However, his role is a supporting effort and he is not on screen enough to do any damage. "The Alamo" will not please those who prefer their history in simple black and white. Hancock's bravery in not sugar-coating the story of the siege is the most commendable achievement to come from a studio production since Lord knows when. Finally, someone has the balls to acknowledge the emptiness surrounding the mythology of a sacred piece of Americana. This is a huge gamble and audiences may not have the courage to accept it. But then again, when did the general population ever have the courage to accept truth when it was laid out in front of them?
STORY:
Have you ever wanted to know more about how the planets that surround us, and the heavens that surround them? If you answered yes to that question, you're in for a real treat with this release from A&E, entitled The Planets. If you want to know something about this solar system works, more than likely the information you seek is found in this release. This features interviews with over one thousand people, including scientists, engineers, and even astronauts. In other words, you hear from almost every perspective, which provides a wide, expansive take on the subject. But interviews aren't the only content here, as many other sources are used to explain the outer space world around us. This release contains rare NASA archive footage, images from the Hubble and other scientific instruments, and computer graphics designed to enrich the experience of learning about the realm that surrounds us. This release covers the space race, the search for alien life, possible human habitation on other planets, and nearly every other topic you can imagine.
A&E has issued this fantastic documentary, which was produced in association with the BBC, in an excellent DVD release. The documentary is presented on four single sided, single layered discs, which are packed together in a nice boxed set. The discs are decorated nicely, and form one larger spine when the discs are lined up inside the included box. The audio/video is excellent, and the overall documentary quality is very high. The high price will exclude some from purchasing this set, but I feel the under $20 per disc price is reasonable. If you're an astronomy buff, or just enjoy a good documentary, this is a stellar release, one that should not be missed. Below is a listing of the discs and their content.
Disc One: Different Worlds & Terra Firma- This is a look back at events that changed the way we looked at the surrounding heavens, including the discovery of Pluto, and the works of early astronomers. Terra Firma looks at some of the more unique surface features of the planets, such as giant volcanos on Mars, Venus' toxic clouds, and many more.
Disc Two: Giants & Moon- Giants deals with the Voyager program, and takes a historic look at the most massive of the planets. Moons covers the space race the U.S. entered with Russia, and the effects therein.
Disc Three: Star & Atmosphere- Star focuses on the importance and functions of the Sun, while Atmosphere looks at the lethal atmospheres of other planets, and ponders if time could allow for human habitation.
Disc Four: Life Beyond The Sun & Destiny- The first episode offers a glimpse at where we could go if forced to leave this planet, while Destiny looks at what might happen over the next few billion years.
VIDEO:This release uses several different types of footage, so of course, the quality varies from shot to shot. Whether the image is computer generated graphics or a home video camera feed, you're not going to be disappointed here. Each format looks the best it can given the origins, but of course the professional footage is going to be sharper than that of the home video camera variety. This is sharper and more defined than broadcast quality and free from compression errors, so I think you'll be pleased with the overall visual presentation. 
Singin' In The Rain. Best comedy!!!
Other musicals might be more complex, but none is more beautiful or stylish then this classic ode to the studio system. Ostensibly, Singin' In The Rain is the story of the transition in Hollywood from silent films to talkies as personified by Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), with some dances and a romance thrown in. The truth of the matter is that it is the last great studio film before drastic changes ocurred. The year after this movie, Otto Preminger jumped into a fight with the censors over the use of words like "virgin" and "pregnant" in The Moon Is Blue, which challenged the kind of wholesome and entirely within studio lines movie that this is. None of this is a criticism -far from it. It's just to point out that this movie is an exemplary example of a style of film. Stanley Donen (a great director in his own right: see Charade, Funny Face and Royal Wedding, among others) co-directed this movie with dancer Gene Kelly. Kelly was a polished director in his own right, although his films tended to come out a bit flat (Les Girls, Invitation To The Dance). Wisely, he co-directed his first three directorial efforts with Donen; Singin' In The Rain was the second of the films they made together, preceeded by On The Town and followed by It's Always Fair Weather. Together, they give the musical an aesthetic sheen that it rarely saw; most musical directors, such as George Sydney (Kiss Me Kate) and Mark Sandrich (Top Hat) shied away from much camera movement besides camera movement during musical numbers. Singin' In The Rain has only such number: the title rendition of the title song. The rest of the songs have gorgeous crane, tracking and panning shots. The editing and other technical efforts are similarly superlative. Singin' In The Rain is also a hilarious comedy. Donald O'Connor was never better than here, playing the wise-cracking best friend of Kelly; he was born into a vaudeville family, making him perfectly qualified to play a former vaudeville actor. The lines are the kind that only Hollywood can produce, and the humor concerning the difficulties Hollywood had in adjusting to sound, and, more generally, the troubles directors go through is dead on. The film's befuddled hero, symbol of the old Hollywood, is Douglas Fowley as befuddled director Roscoe; any amateur director will instantly relate to his struggles with the misunderstand-ing idiots around him. What else is there to say? The movie is a tribute to good, honest films that entertain the masses; it has no time or patience for "elitist" art-house films. Indeed, Debbie Reynolds' character becomes likable only when it is discovered that she is not, as she professes, a theater actress but a sort of chorus girl. The audience I saw this movie with applauded vigorously 3 times throughout this almost fifty year old movie. Proof from others, not just me and the real critics, that this movie is one of the great achievements of American cinema.
"The Invasion"
Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig
Directed by Oliver HirschbiegelDon’t believe the bad buzz -- "The Invasion" is actually a pretty decent movie. It’s not great or anything, but it’s a lot better than I expected it to be. And that's a pleasant surprise, given all the drama surrounding its production. It all started a year ago, when the fourth big screen version of Jack Finney’s novel “The Body Snatchers” was originally supposed to come out. But after early preview screenings tested poorly, producer Joel Silver commissioned 17 days of reshoots in an effort to pump up the action. When word of those reshoots leaked out to the Internet, "The Invasion" was pegged as an over-budgeted train wreck. Warner Bros. only added fuel to the fire when it pushed back its release date to late August, generally seen as a dumping ground for sub-par studio films. Whatever may have been wrong with it before, it seems to have been fixed. Well, maybe not completely fixed, but at least it works. For while there’s no question that "The Invasion" falls short of the scary 1956 original film and the disturbing 1978 remake, it's still better than the little-seen 1994 version. And regardless of the inevitable comparisons, the latest adaptation stands on its own as an engaging, entertaining sci-fi thriller that’s definitely worth seeing. In a fierce performance, Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman plays Carol Bennell, a psychiatrist who doesn’t realize that something is rotten in Washington DC (other than the Bush Administration). When a space shuttle disaster showers the area with debris, the people who come into contact with it start acting strange. It turns out that the debris was covered with an unknown substance that attacks them while they sleep, stripping them of their emotions and replacing them with mindless alien duplicates. By the time Bennell and fellow doctor Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig) realize what’s at stake, they are hopelessly outnumbered by the hive-like beings quickly taking over the planet. Their only hope lies with Bennell’s son (Jackson Bond), who doesn’t seem to be affected by the powerful affect of the spores. But in order to buy some time to utilize that immunity to find a cure, Bennell must figure out a way to blend in with the invaders, remain calm and, most of all, stay awake. If “The Invasion” feels a bit uneven, it should -- it was directed by two different people at various times over the course of two years. Oliver Hirschbiegel, who directed 2004’s gripping World War II drama “Downfall,” took a first pass in 2005 and infuses the film with an impending sense of psychological paranoia. But about a year later, James McTeigue (“V for Vendetta”) took over for an uncredited polish, during which he added a few car chases to kick up the action. The resulting patch job works, even if it does feel rushed along with under-developed supporting characters and an underwhelming conclusion that lacks the impact of the earlier versions. But if those adaptations were political allegories of their time, then the newest version also has something to say (though it’s not nearly as subtle about it). At the same time the alien epidemic traverses the planet, the violence ends in Iraq, Darfur and the Middle East. So while the aliens may not have emotions, they don’t suffer either. Kind of makes you wonder who the villains really are here. Not bad for a movie that had such a hard time getting made. "Innerspace Invaders" by Scott Mantz
| An ancient Ring thought lost for centuries has been found, and through a strange twist in fate has been given to a small Hobbit named Frodo. When Gandalf discovers the Ring is in fact the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron, Frodo must make an epic quest to the Cracks of Doom in order to destroy it! However he does not go alone. He is joined by Gandalf, Legolas the elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Aragorn, Boromir and his three Hobbit friends Merry, Pippin and Samwise. Through mountains, snow, darkness, forests, rivers and plains, facing evil and danger at every corner the Fellowship of the Ring must go. Their quest to destroy the One Ring is the only hope for the end of the Dark Lords reign!
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New years resolutions are usually about fixing the things that did not go right the year before. Most of the time they involve losing weight or getting that better job or even finally writing the great American novel, but for a select few, it means finally getting that first movie done. This is the time to forget about all the forces that are against you and lay to rest all the reasons, especially from others, why you can't do it. Now is the time to take positive action. No matter how true the statement, "Just do it." is far easier to say than actually making film. To that end, here's 5 steps to get your movie done in 2007.
1. Be in the right mindset. What this means is that if you don't have millions of dollars to play with or major studio backing, you are not going to make a "Lord of the Rings" level epic your first time out. I've read forum posts from many accomplished animators who are convinced their movie must compete with the works of Pixar or not be made at all. Some people tell me about their dream project and it is so big that it has to have millions of dollars behind it to get off the ground, and they conclude because of this that they can't make a film. My question is, why can't that be their third or even fourth film? Don't kill your project before it even begins with this type of thinking. I am not saying don't have big dreams. I am saying work your way up to big dreams. Some of the biggest names in Hollywood started out with a cheesy horror film. Be in the mindset that your first film is just that, your first and not your last film.
Movies For Your iPod 2. Start with what you have. If you're sitting in your room and all you have available is a laptop, a DV camera and some decent editing software, it's not time to make Star Wars. Robert Rodriguez had a guitar case, a turtle, a bus and some areas in Mexico he could shoot in, and around this he crafted "El Mariachi". It should also be noted that he made this and other small movies before his epic "Once Upon a Time in Mexico". The same goes for animators who think they must use software like Maya or work the Pixar way. If you cannot afford the expensive tools, give serious consideration to free, open source animation software like Blender, or low cost tools like Poser. Some friends of mine recently bought a video game called "The Movies". Once you play your way through the game, building up a virtual studio, you unlock features that give you a plethora of sets, characters and costumes. You're given complete camera controls and simple editing tools that allow you to record soundtracks, add music and finish a virtual movie in just about any genre. This would be classified as the digital film making technique called Machinima. If Machinima is all that is available to you right now, do that! You can still tell your story and show your skill as a film maker even in an entirely virtual world.
New and classic movies. 3. Create a real schedule. Many film makers have the tools and the talent. Some even create bits of their project here and there, but failing to craft a real schedule, the project never gets done. Before long, they move on to some "better" idea. What could be better than getting it done? If you have a day job, make a commitment to work on your film at least one hour per night and full time on weekends. If you have other commitments, such as family, karate class or anything else, build a schedule around them, but build a schedule and stick to it. Chris Nolan, known today for "Batman Begins" made his first film, "Following", on weekends. He and his friends who acted in the film had day jobs, but they went out every weekend and got a little bit more of the film done. Create milestones and set out to reach them. Decide from the start how much of the film should be done in three months, in six months, in nine months and work to reach these milestones. Create smaller monthly milestones to reach and check them off so that you can be inspired by seeing progress.
100% Legal Movie Downloads. 4. Be prepared to compromise. If you're not contracting SAG actors and paying big money, you can't have the control of the major studio. If you're using your friends as actors, they have lives and commitments too. People are going to change hairstyles, gain weight, grow beards and even get sick and you are going to have to work with it. If you are doing digital film making or animation, technology can change right out from under you. I don't recommend upgrading computers and software in the middle of a project, but computers do die. It happens all the time. The next computer you get may not run your favorite software properly. You will have to work around such things. Never get stuck in the idea that it has to be one way or not at all. This is a surefire setup for failure. Be open to input from all quarters. Your actors have ideas too, and if they're not being paid, they also want to get something out of the project. Let them try their ideas and have a voice.
5. Edit your vision. Chances are your first independent film isn't going to be what you saw in your head. Even the big guys who have millions of dollars rarely get there. When your vision gets in the way of getting it done, it's time to make some cuts. You may have to lose some scenes or ideas you really love when it comes down to really completing your project. If you can't afford to realize what is in your mind on screen, and do it properly, it is better to find a work around. You may think you shot something masterful on the day, but in editing realize it just doesn't work. Let it go if you have to. If your vision sees you shooting in a particular location and it turns out you can't get it, you don't stop the film, you change the vision. Many big directors who can do anything often lament that they were at their most creative when they had nothing. It may be frustrating on the day, but changing your vision can still result in magic.
TOP MOVIES downloads.
Many independent film makers will tell you that, starting out, the most important thing is not story or character development, it's getting it done. Odd as it may seem, it is better to get it done, even if it is horribly bad, than to fail trying to get it done right. How can this be, you say? Well, it is far better to have a film you can fix than to have nothing to work with at all. In fact, you should get your first pass on the film done as quickly as possible. You may not be finished, but you got it done. Now you can watch it as a movie and start to really work on making it great. You can plan a re-shoot or two, make a new scene here or there, fix some digital FX. You can do anything because it's small by comparison to starting from scratch. You already got it done. Now you're just perfecting it. Make sure to stick to your deadlines though. After all, they often say movies never get finished, they just get released. It's that time of year and new years resolutions abound. For select few, that new years resolution means deciding to get their movie done in 2007. This article provides five help steps to see that dream become a reality.
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
 Actors: Eric Sykes | Timothy Spall | David Tennant | Daniel Radcliffe | Emma Watson | Rupert Grint | Mark Williams | James Phelps | Oliver Phelps | Bonnie Wright | Jeff Rawle | Robert Pattinson | Jason Isaacs | Tom Felton | Stanislav Ianevski
Directors: Mike Newell |
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth novel in the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling. Published on July 8, 2000, the release of this book was surrounded by more hype than any other book in recent times — outdone only by its successors, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The book attracted much additional attention because of a pre-publication warning from J.K. Rowling that one of the characters would be murdered in the book. This started a stream of rumour and speculation as to who the murdered character would be
Genres: Action, Adventure, Crime, Fantasy, Thriller
 Actors: Christian Bale | Michael Caine | Liam Neeson | Katie Holmes | Gary Oldman | Cillian Murphy | Tom Wilkinson | Rutger Hauer | Ken Watanabe | Mark Boone Junior | Linus Roache | Morgan Freeman | Larry Holden | Gerard Murphy | Colin McFarlane
Directors: Christopher Nolan |
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Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman. Christopher Nolan directed the film, which stars Christian Bale as Batman, as well as Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy and Morgan Freeman.
After the commercial and critical failure of Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin in 1997, Begins was a reboot of the Batman film franchise. The lighter comic-toned direction Schumacher had taken the franchise was abandoned, and the new film was written about Batman's origins with some inspirations from classic comic book storylines such as Batman: The Man Who Falls, Batman: Year One, and Batman: The Long Halloween. The film was the first live action film to depict this stage of the character's history.
Batman Begins was successful, and a sequel titled The Dark Knight is commissioned for a 2008 release with both Nolan and Bale returning.
Genres: Drama
Actors: Kevin Spacey | Annette Bening | Thora Birch | Wes Bentley | Mena Suvari | Chris Cooper | Peter Gallagher | Allison Janney | Scott Bakula | Sam Robards | Barry Del Sherman | Ara Celi | John Cho | Fort Atkinson | Sue Casey |
Directors: Sam Mendes |
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American Beauty is a 1999 drama film that explores themes of romantic and paternal love, freedom, beauty, self-liberation, existentialism, the search for happiness, and family against the backdrop of modern American suburbia. The film was the screen debut for writer Alan Ball and director Sam Mendes and starred Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening; all four were nominated for Oscars. In 2000 it won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Actors: Julia Roberts | Kirsten Dunst | Julia Stiles | Maggie Gyllenhaal | Ginnifer Goodwin | Dominic West | Juliet Stevenson | Marcia Gay Harden | John Slattery | Marian Seldes | Donna Mitchell | Terence Rigby | Jennie Eisenhower | Leslie Lyles | Laura Allen |
Directors: Mike Newell |
Mona Lisa Smile is a 2003 film that was produced by Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures, directed by Mike Newell, written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, and starring Julia Roberts, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Dunst, and Julia Stiles. The title is a reference to the Mona Lisa, the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, and the song of the same name, originally performed by Nat King Cole, which was covered by Seal for the movie. The film is a loose adaptation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, a novel by Muriel Spark, and the title also references that text.
 Genres: Drama
Actors: Tim Robbins | Morgan Freeman | Bob Gunton | William Sadler | Clancy Brown | Gil Bellows | Mark Rolston | James Whitmore | Jeffrey DeMunn | Larry Brandenburg | Neil Giuntoli | Brian Libby | David Proval | Joseph Ragno | Jude Ciccolella |
Directors: Frank Darabont |
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The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American movie, written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the Stephen King novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The film stars Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne and Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding.
The film portrays Andy's twenty years in the cruelty of Shawshank State Prison, a fictional penitentiary in Maine, and his friendship with Red, a fellow inmate. Despite a poor box office reception, Shawshank Redemption received favorable reviews from critics and has enjoyed a remarkable life on cable television, home video, and DVD, and continues to be noticed by popular culture. It is consistently ranked amongst the greatest movies of all time.
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