Jeff James » Film

There Might Be Spoilers

Jeff — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:17:39 +0000

In a recent post, John Scalzi discusses whether there should be a statute of limitations on spoilers:

If there is, in fact, a spoiler statute of limitations, the question then becomes, well, how long is it? I throw that question open to the crowd, but here are my suggestions:

Television: One week (because it’s generally episodic, and that’s how long you have until the next episode)

Movies: One year (time enough for everyone to see it in the theaters, on DVD and on cable)

Books: Five years (because books don’t reach nearly as many people at one time)

Personally, I absolutely think there should be a point in time where it’s okay to discuss major plot points in a story without having someone scream at you for spoiling it. I personally don’t seek out spoilers, but I don’t think that reading them or coming across them accidentally necessarily ruins my actual enjoyment of the resulting product.

For example, well before I ever saw No Country for Old Men, even without having read the book, I knew perfectly well what happens to one of the major characters near the end of the movie. This didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the movie at all, and in fact it was one of my most favorite movies of the year.

Same goes for There Will Be Blood. Several of the movie blogs I read were talking about the infamous “I drink your milkshake” scene, and I ended up reading about the basic details of it before I saw the movie. That doesn’t change the fact, however, that nothing could prepare me for the sheer impact of that scene when I saw it in the film. Taking out of context it makes it sound absurd and laughable, but when you’ve followed the characters through the emotional journey that brings you that point, it makes a kind of mad sense.

I don’t think movies are the main source of spoiler accusations, however. With the advent of TV On DVD, more and more people are able to catch up on entire seasons of television shows by renting them or buying them. Within my group of friends, there are a lot of folks who only watch TV on DVD, and don’t even pay for cable. However, along with this trend has come a growing belief that the statute of limitations on spoilers never expires, even if you’re discussing a show that has been off the air for years.

Read the rest of There Might Be Spoilers (589 words)

© Jeff for Jeff James, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Books, DVD, John Scalzi, movie, people, Spoiler

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Tony Jaa Will Punch You Into Next Week

Jeff — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:18:19 +0000

I’m a big fan of ridiculous martial-arts movies, especially the kind filled with complicated set pieces and moves that make your jaw drop in disbelief. Early Jackie Chan films are great for this kind of stuff, and Tony Jaa has taken that style and ramped it up about a 100 notches.

I’ve seen two of his films, Ong Bak and The Protector, which were both amazing. They were thin on plot, but full of mind-blowing fight scenes, made all the more amazing because there’s no CGI and no trickery with wires. Here’s a trailer for his newest film, Ong Bak 2 (no relation to the first):

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Post tags: CGI, Early Jackie Chan, martial arts, Ong Bak, Stuff, Tony Jaa, Trailers, Trickery

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Coens, Criminals, and Comedy

Jeff — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:41:15 +0000

This is the first Coen Brothers comedy in years that looks like it’s worth seeing. Maybe No Country and an Oscar win was just the pick-me-up they needed? In any case, check it out:

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The Beast With a Billion Backs

Jeff — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:34:42 +0000

(Kind of crappy quality… hopefully they’ll release a better version soon.)

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Wherein Woody Allen Makes a Movie About People Kissing

Jeff — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:47:54 +0000

This trailer is pretty unique in that it doesn’t tell you anything about Vicky Cristina Barcelona other than it’s apparently pretty sexy… which is kinda weird for a Woody Allen movie. Thankfully, he stayed behind the camera. Someone must have finally convinced him he shouldn’t pair himself with girls 40 years younger than him.

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Post tags: movie trailer, Trailers, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, weird, Woody Allen

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Sad Kermit Covers Elliott Smith

Jeff — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:23:29 +0000

The above is a re-enactment of a climactic scene in The Royal Tenenbaums.

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Chaos Theory

Jeff — Sun, 04 May 2008 08:02:39 +0000

It seems like Ryan Reynolds is slowly but surely working his way out of National Lampoon “comedies” and into actual adult roles in compelling films. The first definite sign was The Nines, which was just about the most meta movie I’ve ever seen that wasn’t written by Charlie Kaufman (and it was 2/3rds excellent and 1/3rd kind of lumpy).

It’s nice seeing him channel his charisma into something more “off the beaten path”, and I think he’s turning out to be a decent actor as part of the bargain. I even kind of want to see the most recent romcom he’s made.

In any case, I digress. I’ve just watched the trailer for Chaos Theory a few times, and I’m really looking forward to it. The trailer does try to tart it up as just another wacky comedy, but the horrible Comedy Font and arch narration can’t undermine the sheer off-kilter nature of the material at hand, and it looks like Reynolds is in rare form. Check it out:

I also recommend reading the Cinematical review, which makes it sound like a nice little film that hits a number of good notes.

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Post tags: Chaos Theory, Charlie Kaufman, Comedy Font, Films, National Lampoon, Ryan Reynolds, trailer, Trailers

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Publicity Stills From “Will Eisner’s The Spirit”

Jeff — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:16:44 +0000

IGN has a few more stills, but they’re all behind the scenes stuff. Never heard of “The Spirit“? It’s Frank Miller’s first foray as a director by himself – his follow-up to Sin City (which is probably why it has a similar visual style). As for Will Eisner, he was one of the most influential comic book artists of all time, basically one of the first to write a long-form comic or “graphic novel” and establish it as a viable form of literature.

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Post tags: book, IGN, It Frank Miller, Sin City, Stuff

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Disney + Philip K. Dick?

Jeff — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 04:27:14 +0000

KING OF THE ELVES
(Domestic Release Date: Christmas 2012, Disney Digital 3-D(TM))
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Directors: Aaron Blaise, Robert Walker
Producer: Chuck Williams

Legendary storyteller Phillip K. Dick’s short story (his only experiment in the fantasy genre) becomes the basis for this fantastic and imaginative tale about an average man living in the Mississippi Delta, whose reluctant actions to help a desperate band of elves leads them to name him their new king. Joining the innocent and endangered elves as they attempt to escape from an evil and menacing troll, their unlikely new leader finds himself caught on a journey filled with unimaginable dangers and a chance to bring real meaning back to his own life.

Read the full press release…

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Post tags: Directors Aaron Blaise, Disney Digital, fantasy, Mississippi Delta, Producer Chuck Williams, Robert Walker, Short Story

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The Fall

Jeff — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:13:45 +0000

The Fall, starring Lee Pace from Pushing Daisies:

“In a hospital a little girl with a broken collar bone meets a bedridden man who starts telling her a fantastical story which reflects his state of mind. As time goes by fiction and reality start to intertwine in this uplifting epic fantasy.”

– Via Timo’s HD Movie Trailers in Miro

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Post tags: art, fantasy, fiction, Flv, girl, Hd, Mov, movie trailer, movie trailers, surreal, Trailers

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“The only thing more terrifying than blindness is being the only one who can see.”

Jeff — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 23:59:08 +0000

This movie looks both fascinating and creepy, and it’s got a great pedigree – based on a book by a Nobel prize winning author, and directed by the same guy who made City of God and The Constant Gardener. I’m definitely excited to see it. I might try picking up the book as well, since it’s been recommended to me before.

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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2nd Teaser)

Jeff — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:06:00 +0000

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“No Country For Old Men” – Charlie Rose Interview

Jeff — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:21:32 +0000

Part one of this video is a pretty interesting sit-down interview with the Coen brothers, Josh Brolin, and Javier Bardem. If you haven’t had a chance to see No Country For Old Men yet, you may want to hurry up and go see it – it’s one of the best films I’ve seen in a while.

You need to have flashplayer enabled to watch this Google video

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Post tags: Coen Brothers, cool, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, video

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The Office is Closed

Jeff — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 02:10:42 +0000

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Austin Film Festival: Day… um… All The Rest

Jeff — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 23:44:13 +0000

So when I first started attending AFF, I had a fairly ambitious plan to blog daily about my experiences, but… as you may have noticed, this went by the wayside pretty quickly. I’m a blogging wuss, I know, but what can I say? Attending more than 12 hours of festivities in one day tired me out pretty quickly.

Here’s everything I attended after Thursday:

Friday

“TV Drama Today”
“Finding the Voice: Dialogue”
“Writing Comedy for TV”
“A Conversation With Glenn Gordon Caron”
“Film Texas BBQ Supper”
Reservation Road
Numb

Saturday

“Juno: From Script to Screen”
“Production Team: Friday Night Lights”
Control
“Conference Wrap Party”

Sunday

Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist
Juno

Monday

Neal Cassady

Wednesday

Two Tickets to Paradise

Read the rest of Austin Film Festival: Day… um… All The Rest (1,004 words)

© Jeff for Jeff James, 2007. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: austin film festival, character, cool, Film, hilarious, movie, review, war

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Austin Film Festival: Day One

Jeff — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:31:32 +0000

As some of you may know, my buddy Alex works for the Austin Film Festival, and thanks to his generosity, I’ve been given a comped “producer” badge, which gives me full access to the festival – all of the panels, parties, and films. I asked off work today and tomorrow so that I can attend the panels.

Today was the start of the festival, and was a comparatively light day compared to what I have lined up for the rest of the weekend. Here’s a rundown of what I attended today: “Common Mistakes Writers Make”, “A Shot of Inspiration”, “Chicago 10“, and “The Walker“.

Read the rest of Austin Film Festival: Day One (1,268 words)

© Jeff for Jeff James, 2007. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alex Smith, austin film festival, Daniel Petrie Jr, Film, people, review, Writing

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Long Time No Blog, Guess I Better Post a Movie Trailer

Jeff — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 01:16:21 +0000

Hello there, gentle readers. I know I have been uninteresting lately. I’ve even gotten phonecalls from friends who need updates, new information and stories on what’s been going on in my life… My life is boring, really. I read books, watch DVDs and TV, and work work work like a good worker bee. I haven’t had the kind of low-level creative spark that produces blog entries recently.

I have, however, just watched a trailer for a new movie from the director of Thank You For Smoking. The movie is called Juno. Watch for yourself:

This film has been much-buzzed-about on the various filmic blogs I follow. It was, I believe, a must-see must-acquire film at the Toronto Film Festival, which is always a good thing. The trailer projects memories of such films as Little Miss Sunshine, Junebug, and Thumbsucker, so to a certain degree it’ll surely be cinematic comfort food, simply because I like movies in that vein. Hopefully it’ll also have some of the unique bite of “Smoking” along with all of the quirkiness.

Now, I can’t promise I’ll blog more any time soon. That’s practically the digital equivalent of crying wolf. Just be assured that I’m here, and I’m reading constantly, always working towards my goal of reading 52 books in a year. Along those lines, I’ve discovered several new favorite authors recently… John Scalzi, for example, as well as fully confirming William Gibson’s place on the list.

© Jeff for Jeff James, 2007. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 52 Books, 52 Weeks, Little Miss Sunshine, movie, movie trailers, reading, trailer, Trailers

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David Schwimmer Directed a Movie

Jeff — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 06:41:46 +0000

Wait… what?

I didn’t know he had it in him… Run, Fat Boy, Run looks awesome. It helps that Dylan Moran and Simon Pegg are two of my most favorite actor/comedians ever. If you don’t understand why, watch Black Books, Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz.

P.S. If only they hadn’t used Trailer Voice Guy…

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Post tags: awesome, Black Books, Fat Boy, Hot Fuzz, Trailer Voice Guy, Trailers

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The Leet World, or “When Talking About Making Something Turns Into Actually Doing It”

Jeff — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 07:04:57 +0000

I’m not sure why I didn’t post about this before, considering I spent almost the entire weekend working on the website, but some friends of mine that go way back – Eddy, Nick, and Daniel, to be exact – recently starting working on putting into motion an idea that had been percolating for years.

There has always been talk in our circle of friends about making movies, but one idea in particular stuck around for a long time. The premise was simple: make an ongoing series of short films/episodes about a bunch of characters from a video game (Counter-Strike) who are placed in a Real World-style house and see what happens.

The premise is possible because of a phenomenon called machinima, which means using the graphics/animation from video games to render animated short films. The most popular and well-known example of this phenomenon is a show called Red vs. Blue.

In any case, Smooth Few Films, as they are collectively known, actually got to the point where they could produce a trailer and then a full-fledged episode of the show. Check it out:

Trailer (kind of illicit because of the music… shhh! Hopefully they’ll have time to redo it at some point…):

Episode #1 (all original music!):

There is already a lively forum on the site, and plenty of random people from all over the world have left feedback. It’s pretty exciting to see my friends succeeding like this, although this is still only the initial level. They are planning on doing a new episode every 2-3 weeks, and I think this show’s popularity will only grow with more episodes and an ever-growing forum community.

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Post tags: Counter Strike, Real World, The Leet World, Trailers, video

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The Ten

Jeff — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 00:07:03 +0000

I loved The State back in the day, really enjoyed the oddness that was Stella, and was both baffled and amused by Wet Hot American Summer (best watched with the “fart” commentary turned on). Like many comedy groups nowadays, they’ve formed a sort of loose collective with a rotating cast of other actors brought in on the fun, and their new movie, The Ten, has a huge collection of famous folks in the mix. I’m pretty excited about it from watching the trailer:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlKgqZw06Nc

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