Black Dynamite

I know nobody reads but I'd like to help out when I can, especially for a movie that screams "Watch Me!"

Demand this gem of a movie, It's unfortunate that they didn't have any good promotion for it, (I missed the screening in Oakland a month ago) please internet, go out and demand this film for your area.

View all San Francisco events on Eventful

I don't Trust Myself

I'll be the first to admit it, I'm slacking off. I am extremely slacking off on this blog.

Can I even say that I'm currently writing and brainstorming a script?

Honestly that can't be too good of an excuse.

Truth be told I am currently working on a script. Albeit, like most others, I'll probably stop somewhere early and never carry through with it. But I'm trying, I'm trying mighty hard to not give up on this one.

So apologies to myself for keeping myself from updating my own blog.

Expect more blogging about absolutely nothing. Much like this current post.

Procrastinating for Tomorrow

You know how I said I would start working on my script during winter break? You know, the on that's approximately a MONTH long? Yeah... didn't get to it. Not seriously anyways. I figured I would jump in and just write but after about 10 pages in, I realized something important,

I forgot my laundry in the dryer.

Oh, and that my script is severely lacking a structure of any sorts. I think it's easier to start outright writing without any thoughts about structure and character struggles but all that learning on the internets and blogs and sites about screenwriting has become ingrained in my head. Here's my advice to you would be scribes, myself included if this post could travel back in time.

Write first and get your creative juices flowing. Disregard any rules and do it. Then learn the process. Slowly or quickly, whatever you wish. Once you've had that crappy first script done, you can only climb higher.

It's like being a neurotic swimmer (bad analogy coming up guys), you dive in the ocean not aware of the many dangers that it has and you're fine for the moment. However, if you had learned about all the dangers, the Great White, jellyfish, sting ray's, whales and killer dolphins with laser beams attached to their heads, you wouldn't be so sure about setting your foot in the water. Hell, just walking into the sea from the beach is reason enough for panic. You spend all this time thinking about what not to do, you lose out on the fun part of the process. Which is writing the script first and foremost for your own entertainment. Or in the analogy of the swimmer, enjoying a day out in the ocean. There's no better audience out there than you.

So heed advice my young disbelievers when I tell you that the greatest enemy to your writing career is you. But take this advice with a grain of salt, I am a hypocrite.

Writing tip to myself

Plan long hand, write short on computer.

Write long pieces on paper,

transcribe to the computer as needed

that is all.

How you Know You're Canadian

This is how you know you are a Canadian child of the 90's

1. You've seen Sailor Moon on Ytv. Girls obviously pretended to be the chicks. Dudes wanted to be that motherfucker in the Tuxedo.

2. You've seen Anne of Green Gables, sure it was made in the 80's but goddammit, Megan Follows made you fall in love with redheads. Plus it's a bit of a tearjerker.

3. Tim Hortons, anybody who's Canadian knows the Doughnut shop. It combines two of Canada's favourite things. Hockey and Coffee. Or maybe it's just the Hockey

4. My Home Town. People know Jay Baruchel as that nerdy kid in Tropic Thunder and on t.v. shows like Undeclared. But to us, he will always be that kid in My Home Town.

5. Reboot: One of the most Badass tv shows ever produced

6. Are you Afraid of the Dark? Yes, yes I was.

7. Neve Campbell.

8. you love your bubblegum pop. No not pop like soft drinks (even though us western canadians are more likely to use that term), but BSB, Nsync, and yes, BBMak.

9. Beasties. Or in America, Beast Wars. Produced in Canada and was probably the best Transformers show ever.

10. Elisha Cuthbert on PMK. Hot back then (she IS older than me so nothing creepy about that) and hot today even though she dated Sean Avery to which he called her "Sloppy seconds". I don't mind having her for sloppy seconds. Also co-hosted PMK with Jay Baruchel for a season before Baruchel left for some greater calling.

Avatar Review

A film about blue aliens, war and peace, and spirituality. Not exactly words to describe what is easily one of the biggest and arguably most entertaining movies of the year.

James Cameron returns to form in his first movie since Titanic. The question is, is he still the same visionary filmmaker that brought us Terminator and Titanic?

Avatar is about a paraplegic ex-marine named Jake Sulley who is brought on the moon of Pandora to continue the efforts his twin brother left behind. But things are complicated when he discovers that the job he was sent to do is no longer something he feels right with.

Avatar is hailed as one of the most technologically stunning films ever released in Cinema, and for good reason. State of the art visual effects, industry wide technological advancement, every cent is clearly seen on screen and is not wasted. The CGI is one of the most amazing things you'll ever come across simply because it is interwoven so seamlessly into the movie as a whole. There's no doubt that the things you see aren't real but the real magic of it all is that the visual effects never calls attention onto itself. They say that it's one of those things that when done right, you don't notice, and in the 2 hours and 45 minutes of watching the film, I never questioned what I was seeing. The Na'vi look as real as they can due in a large part of the acting behind the camera.

The cast turns in stellar performances and Zoe Saldana gives a particularly engrossing one because she's the one who has to sell the tech home. Without someone like her and the rest of the Na'vi cast, the film wouldn't be as successful. And she is absolutely marvelous at that. This is why the CGI Na'vi work, because each performer's facial animation is done so incredibly well. You look into the character's eye's and it feels like it's real. You don't see the character models, rather you see the characters themselves.

If there's one weakness of in the film, it's that this film is slightly too predictable. The rumours surrounding the film are true, it's Pocahontas in space, or Dances With Wolves with aliens. All the story beats you expect to happen, happen but it comes in a way where you don't question it. You know how it's all going to go down in the end, but the journey that it takes to get there is so engrossing, that you forgo these convention and go along for the ride. Besides, comparisons to Pocahontas and Dances With Wolves can't be too bad right? It certainly suffers from predictability and the story won't take your breath away.

The dialogue certainly won't be a part of the cultural consciousness as Titanic and the Terminator Films are. No "Get away from her, you bitch", "I'll be Back", "Hasta La Vista", or "I'm the King of the World!" moments. But give the guy a break, he's got 4 of the most memorable movie lines in cinematic history. He's bound to NOT have one in a film. I'll admit that the dialouge is a little sub-par in this film. There were many times were I wish Cameron substituted another word for "Savages". We get it, humans think Na'vi are bad and a nuisance. Don't oversell it man. But all in all serviceable in the film.

What I admire about Cameron's work is how he's able to emotionally engage in audience regardless of demographic. He creates characters that are instantly relatable and recognizable. Quatritch's character is easily a favourite. The moment he kicked down a pressurized door to shoot at his enemy without any regard for the toxic atmosphere told me he was one mother fucker you don't mess with. Total badass. Or just look at Jake Sulley. In any situation, you wouldn't believe him if he just upped and went along with the company's orders but since he is confined in a wheelchair, you understand why Sulley would risk his life to go on Pandora, just for the freedom to walk. It's one of those small details that people don't think about that becomes extremely important in telling the story.

For those wanting to watch this, I recommend watching it in 3D (In fact it's a requirement now). I'm of the camp that usually feels that the extra dimension becomes an eyestrain but I promise you that this is not the case with Avatar. The 3D is just like the visual effects in the film, it's there but it doesn't call attention onto itself. It's there to IMMERSE you into the world of Pandora, and it's easily 3D done right.

This is certainly a film that you have to experience simply because of all the hard work and sweat that Cameron put into this little film. Every minute detail is seen and is part of the world, everything in it has a name even if not addressed within the story. Cameron created a rich world and that alone is worth the price of admission. The story is predictable but serviceable. It won't wow you with storytelling originality, but it wows in spectacle and vision.

9/10