Movies

PressPausePlay: A Film About Hope, Fear and Digital Culture

by

About PressPausePlay:

The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent of people in an unprecedented way, unleashing unlimited creative opportunites.

But does democratized culture mean better art, film, music and literature or is true talent instead flooded and drowned in the vast digital ocean of mass culture? Is it cultural democracy or mediocrity?

This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world’s most influential creators of the digital era.

This looks really cool, I would love to see it. Unfortunately the screening dates and locations are a little limited right now, and there’s been no announcement of the DVD release date. You can, however, save it in your Netflix Queue. It should be automatically added when it becomes available.

Official Site | YouTube Link | Via Quality Peoples

X-Men First Class due June 3, 2011

by

Oooo… can’t wait!

X-MEN FIRST CLASS charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, and reveals a secret history of famous global events. Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to prevent nuclear Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men.

YouTube Link

Rubber: In Theaters April 1st, 2011

by

Synopsis:

RUBBER is the story of Robert, an inanimate tire that has been abandoned in the desert, and suddenly and inexplicably comes to life. As Robert roams the bleak landscape, he discovers that he possesses terrifying telepathic powers that give him the ability to destroy anything he wishes without having to move. At first content to prey on small desert creatures and various discarded objects, his attention soon turns to humans, especially a beautiful and mysterious woman who crosses his path. Leaving a swath of destruction across the desert landscape, Robert becomes a chaotic force to be reckoned with, and truly a movie villain for the ages. Directed by legendary electro musician Quentin Dupieux (Steak, Nonfilm), aka Mr. Oizo, RUBBER is a smart, funny and wholly original tribute to the cinematic concept of no reason.

YouTub Link | Official Site

The Watchmen – 3 hours I’ll never get back

by

Dr. Manhattan, The Watchmen

2 Stars

I finally went to see The Watchmen tonight, and I have to say I’m sorry I did. I was very disappointed.

The film had some nice visuals, and it had a couple concepts that could have been really interesting to explore, but the story (if you can call it that) dragged on and on, and never really went anywhere. I was ready to leave about halfway though.

I did like the idea of the Dr. Manhattan character… becoming so disconnected from humanity when he’s altered in such an extreme way. I also liked the idea of what may happen to masked heros as they age, or what their personal lives might be like, but although the film touched on these story lines it just didn’t go far enough.

I was also a little confused by the fact that, with exception to Dr. Manhattan, none of these masked heroes appeared to be anything other than normal humans, yet they still exhibited super-human abilities… like punching though concrete walls and catching bullets with their bare hands. I also had no idea what caused Warshak’s mask to move, or what was up with that strange, horned, egyptian cat that just came out of nowhere (and why was no one surprised to see it)?

I’m giving The Watchmen 2 stars, and I should clarify my scale by saying I give one star simply for making a movie. The other star is for the few points in the film that I did like, but they weren’t enough to make this an enjoyable experience.

Save your money and wait for The Watchmen to come on TV… late at night when you don’t mind falling asleep while watching.

Helvetica: A film about a font

by

Helvetica documentary film

5 Stars

A while back there was a lot of buzz about a documentary film called, Helvetica. As the name implies, it’s all about a font…

“We use it every day on our computers, we see it on street signs — and we take it for granted. Now, Gary Hustwit’s unique documentary introduces us to Helvetica, whose readability has made it the most popular font in the world. Interviews with designers and artists offer insight into the development, use and universal acceptance of Helvetica as the typeface of choice for everything from writing letters to creating corporate logos.”

I actually didn’t pay a tremendous amount of attention when it first came out. I missed it when it was in theaters. But, when the film became available on Netflix I thought I would give it a shot.

I’m really glad I did. It’s actually an excellent film. As a designer I probably have more interest than most, but I think even non-designers will find Helvetica interesting. I may have to buy this film.