leonrw:

The Astor Theatre, 1936

“The heritage listed art deco Astor Theatre is a Melbourne icon, the last of our great single screen picture palaces. It has survived a World War, the advent of video, DVD, movies on demand and the multiplex.

After almost 80 years of continuous screening, The Astor Theatre is under threat.

The neighbouring St Michael’s Grammar School was portrayed as a white knight when it purchased the building that houses The Astor Theatre five years ago. But the school has not responded to the cinema’s efforts to secure a new lease. We fear that when the current lease expires, St Michael’s intends to close the building for five years before re-opening as a private school performing arts centre and uniform shop. The Astor as generations of Australians know it will be gone.” —Friends of The Astor www.fota.net.au

Sign the petition to support The Astor! http://www.change.org/astor

philms:

Orson Welles Narrates Animated Version of Kafka’s Parable, “Before the Law”

The Trial starts with Welles narrating an animated version of “Before the Law,” a parable from The Trial. And then the action begins. Find the parable above, and the film right here. 

Welles told the BBC, “Say what you will, but The Trial is the best film I have ever made. One repeats oneself only when one is fatigued. Well, I wasn’t fatigued. I have never been so happy as when I made that film.”

amy-blue:

Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls. - Ingmar Bergman

Jean-Luc Godard

screenmachinetv:

WHAT IS SCREEN MACHINE?

Screen Machine is an online magazine of film criticism. We discuss old and contemporary cinema wherever it is found—in theatres, on television, on the internet—with the aim of relating cinema to broader social and cultural issues. We maintain that a film is only as…

Somehow January has evaded me. I feel like the entire month has slipped through my fingers like cool sand. And now I find myself, almost at the beginning of February, wondering if this month will slip away so easily as well.

I began watching Homeland last week. At first I limited myself to one episode per day. I also did something unusual: I stopped myself from reading about the series. I avoided spoilers, reviews, other peoples opinions. Yesterday I couldn’t help myself. The series was just too good. So I watched seven of the hour-long episodes in successsion. Then I read a walkthough of the series with one of the co-creators here. When I’d finished it was midnight and I didn’t regret a thing.

Homeland is one of the more amazing television series I’ve seen of late. It’s about a young CIA agent named Carrie (Claire Danes) who gets information suggesting that an American POW has been turned by Al-Qaeda. Soon after, a POW (Damian Lewis) is found by American troops and returned to the US as a national hero. Carrie becomes obsessed with proving him to be associated with Al-Qaeda. However, this is not the kind of series that demonises the ‘terrorist’ and presents the CIA agent as the golden girl. Both of these characters are complex and completely flawed and we watch their parallel struggles over the course of the season. It’s not pretty but my god it is beautiful.

The series is constructed on a narrative level with a remarkable rhythm. For the most part the mundane everydayness of the lives of the CIA agent and the POW who she is surveiling are the focal point. However, every now and again this is interrupted by brief moments of intrigue. It is this intrigue—a brief violent memory, a suggestion from Carrie’s mentor, a small gesture that proves her theories—that lures you into the lives of these characters and ensures that every scene in this series is riveting to watch.

So it seems that we’ve reached the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 and unfortunately I did not complete the challenge of viewing 365 films in 365 days. I did, however, get a little further than the 301 films that I posted about here so stay tuned for further updates to read about those.  

I finished the year quite appropriately with Gary Marshall’s New Years Eve (USA, 2011), a light rom com about a group of people living in New York whose lives intertwine as the new year approaches. It was a cute but cheesy film; the kind of film that my partner describes as ‘cotton candy’ because even though it’s sweet and makes you smile, it doesn’t fill you up. 

This blog began with a new years resolution: to watch a film and write about it every day for a year. I thought it would make me a better writer, improve my clarity, allow me to feel less anxious in film circles. I think I probably made it through 80% of the challenge which although a little disappointing is a hell of a lot better than nothing. I saw a whole lot of films that I was embarrassed about having not seen, I met filmmakers, I sat alone in cinemas, I made friends who gave me bags and bags of films to watch, I saw a lot of films that were crap but I managed to see something positive in them (even if it was a single shot or a few bars of soundtrack) and I saw some completely mind-blowing, breathtakingly good films. Throughout the year I’ve learned a lot of things about both myself and cinema. I have a renewed appreciation for short films, I feel like my writing has improved, and surprisingly, I realised just how much I love television.

I wanted to say thank you to all of you who have followed my cinethoughts (online and in real life) throughout 80% of 2011. I’m going to continue posting here on a regular basis about both film and television but I doubt I’ll manage the 366 posts in 366 days that 2012 demands. And you know what? I’m okay with that.

So bring on 2012, another year of cinethoughts! 

Day 299-301: Epictober Film Festival

Earlier this year, G4TV.com launched its successful cinematic venture, G4 Films, an online initiative created by the leading video game website to develop, produce and license films related to what G4 fans know and love – video games.  After the successful roll-out including the documentary “Focus” and short-film “Against the Wall,” G4 Films will continue to propel cinematic storytelling into the digital age with the G4 Films Epictober Film Festival, an exclusive online event that will blend the aesthetic of cinema with the worlds and characters of classic video games to create a killermash-up just in time for Halloween.

Day 299: The Hunt (2011) dir. Sam Balcomb

“The Hunt”: Inspired by the world’s first first-person shooter video game “Duck Hunt,” “The Hunt” is about three hunters who come face to face with a monstrous entity keen on their demise. “The Hunt” is directed by Sam Balcomb, co-founder of Rainfall Films and has produced content for Britney Spears, Steven Tyler, ABC Studios, IGN.com, Willow Smith, Katy Perry and more.“The Hunt” becomes the hunted on G4tv.com on October 24.

Day 300: Kart Driver (2011) dir. Drew Daywalt

“Kart Driver”:  Nintendo’s beloved Mario Kart franchise is one of the most highly-regarded and historic video game franchises ever and director Drew Daywalt’s short film “Kart Driver” will give the legendary racing game a darker, deadlier spin.  Fury and obsession leads a heroic plumber to seek out and bring home his damsel in distress, the girl of his dreams, even if it means facing off with a creature from the very bowels of hell. Director Drew Daywalt is a founding member of FEWDIO, the world’s first online Horror Troupe, dedicated to all things dark and fantastical.  Daywalt recently directed three episodes of the new MTV Horror-comedy television series “Death Valley.” He also recently completed the screenplay for the remake of “Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things” for George Romero. “Kart Driver” debuts on G4tv.com on October 25

Day 301: The Birds of Anger (2011) dir. Gregg Bishop

“The Birds of Anger”: Inspired by the best-selling mobile game, Rovio’s “Angry Birds,” the film harkens back to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 classic “The Birds,” and gives gamers a glimpse into a world where birds not only target pigs, but people as well.  “The Birds of Anger” is directed by Gregg Bishop, director of the “Dance of the Dead”, which had its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival and was hand-picked by director Sam Raimi (“Spiderman”, “Drag Me to Hell”) for distribution through Lionsgate and Ghost House Pictures.  “The Birds of Anger” debuts on G4tv.com on October 26.

Catch them online here

Day 298: Melancholia (Denmark/ Sweden/ France/ Germany, 2011) dir. Lars von Trier

A fantastic compliment to Malick’s The Tree of Life. Another truly extraordinary film.

More words laterz.