The Box

So the trailer for Richard Kelly's (Donnie Darko, Southland Tales) next movie The Box is online and I gotta say it looks like one helluva Made for TV movie. Sadly, it's an actual theatrical release. I'm guessing this won't be my last post on the works of Richard Kelly but my interest level has now officially dropped to zero in terms of caring what he's up to.

Via Davis.

S. Darko

So the official trailer for s.Darko is now out and about. You know the one, the sequel to Donnie Darko? The one about his sister that apparently suffers from the same affliction of psychosis and derangement that a man in a bunny suit is going to bring the apocalypse. Honestly, I can't even understand how this is becoming a franchise but ever since the release of the Directors Cut of Donnie Darko I've been pretty convinced that the original release was a total fluke in its success and that wherever it went from that point on couldn't really do the name any harm because it was accidentally good in the first place, know what I mean?

Second Skin

Second Skin is a documentary showcasing the lifestyles of a number of people heavily involved in the world of MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game). The trailer only seems to feature one guy that is particularly "crazy" - the rest may seem odd on some level but that one guy really sticks out.

This is yet another documentary in the vein of Darkon or Drakmar but I welcome it - such a bizarre subject with fascinating characters.

Link via Arlo via the Camden Film Festival.

Drakmar: A Vassal's Journey

Drakmar is a documentary about Colin Taylor, a 14-year old who finds retreat from school bullying and home troubles by immersing himself in medieval role playing. The trailer looks pretty great (and this clip is out of this world). I would love to see this cross paths with Darkon in some undeniable Internet mash-up.

Fortunately, Dramkar is already available on DVD / Netflix.. so consider it queued.

Movaroiding

Mason Bernard has been posting altered Polaroids on his Flickr Stream as part of an ongoing project that, for lack of a better word, we'll call Movaroiding. The idea is simple, get a group of friends together to watch a movie, take Polaroids of each other, then draw all over them in the theme of the film you just watched. For me it's a toss up between the Darkon series and the Blank Check series but there's not a single one on there that isn't brilliant in its own way.

So who wants to start their own Movaroid night?

Donnie Darko 2: Samantha Darko

Duncan gave me the heads up on this news that a Donnie Darko sequel is in the works. S. Darko, supposedly, picks up with the Darko family seven years later and follows Donnie's sister Samantha (Sparklemotion) on a roadtrip with 'bizarre visions.'

I guess the Director's Cut of the film wasn't bad enough and any semblance of goodness left to be associated with Donnie Darko should be dragged through the mud. Some sequels just shouldn't be made.

Southland Tales - just as feared

So I watched Richard Kelly's Southland Tales this weekend and it turned out to be pretty much exactly as I previously suspected - not good. I can only imagine the studio pressure to put out something magnificently epic after the sleeper success of Donnie Darko but this is absolutely a case of trying to do way too much at once.

The casting looks impressive on paper but in reality it ends up being distracted. Almost every character is played by someone recognizable - even Cheri Oteri and Jon Lovitz make the cut, as two subversive badasses. Doesn't that sound any alarms for anyone else? Cheri Oteri and Jon Lovitz as mercenary types? Though that's the least of a movies casting problems when The Rock, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Seann William Scott are your lead protagonists (though I will admit, Seann William Scott was quite good for the part). Justin Timberlake, Amy Poehler, Mandy Moore, Nora Dunn, Miranda Richardson (aka poor mans Julianne Moore) and Kevin Smith are also amongst the cast. Impressive on paper, distracting in execution.

But none of that speaks to the plot of the film that was nothing if not entirely ambitious. And by that I mean it was trying to tell a six-part story by delving into parts 4, 5 and 6 with a crap load of narration up front to help catch you up. It's a lot of information to take in for a plotline that's convulted to begin with. Your basic plot points are: 1984 style government security takeover being attacked by subversive Marxist movement, high-profile actor with amnesia attempts to research a role while unknowningly fulfilling a prophechy and a pair of police officers possibly unraveling the fabric of space and time. That's a lot to stuff into 144 minutes. In fact, too much.

In this case I think the movie studios did the right thing by burying this and, hopefully, it will see a quiet DVD release and no one will need speak of it again. My fingers are crossed that the next Kelly film will deliver the way Darko did - not with a bang but with a quiet, building initial whisper.

Darkon: The Movie

I recently watched the IFC documentary Darkon. If you've not heard of this, or don't know what LARPing is, you should go and watch the trailer immediately. Basically the movie follows a group of LARPers and contrasts their daily lives with the life of their Darkon character. Overall, it's fascinating and I absolutely recommend watching it.

I think what struck me most about the film is that the people involved in the LARPing world keep saying they "don't get to be a hero in the real world" - as if the lives they lead outside of the mythical realm are incapable of making them a worthwhile individual. It's a self perpetuating downward spiral of shame to think that the only way you can achieve greatness in anyones eyes is to wield a foam sword and lead 30 of your friends into faux battle. Maybe the meaning behind the word "hero" has become skewed over the past few years but seems like there could be an easier way to gamble with your self esteem.

So, aside from that little rant, it really is a great film. The Dark Elves are, far and away, the most impressive group of LARPers featured in the film, seemingly taking it to a lifestyle level as opposed to some weekend getaway.

Southland Tales - Where You At?

The other day I was wondering where's the next full-length film from Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly? I mean, it's been six years and his supposed next film, Southland Tales, is nowhere to be seen (despite showing at Cannes over a year ago). IMDB says there is a March 2008 release date but that seems so far off.

Regardless of it's release, there are several clips to watch but they aren't much to get excited about (particular this). Is this a case of a sophomore slump or the Idiocracy syndrome?

Movie Roundup

Children of Men looks to be an interesting sci-fi drama of sorts. Basically the women of the world have become barren and the lack of hope for mankind leads to an anarchist society. Clive Owen is recruited to transport a woman to a safe zone because, surprise suprise, she is pregnant against all odds. That's as much as I can tell from the trailer but I'm told from good sources that the film is pretty great, so I'd keep it in mind.

Darkon - you know, I've seen this trailer before but never managed to see the entire film. Someone please tell me they've seen it and it is as incredible as I hope it is.

Skeleton Shirt

Why do I want this Skeleton shirt so badly? The "Waffo" text on the back is terrible and I typically hate prints that take up an entire shirt but I'm drawn to it.. finding it hard to resist. Maybe it's the Donnie Darko feeling I get from it or maybe it's the vague nostalgic feeling of 7th grade science class. Whatever it is, it is great. Anyone want to go in on the Buy 2 get 1 free deal (preferably someone not in Nashville so we don't have that embarrassing run in of both wearing skeleton shirts!)?

MAKE OUT with VIOLENCE

Just found the Make Out With Violence trailer on MySpace. Nothing on their official site yet but you can see the trailer that was debuted at the How I Became The Bomb CD release show a few weeks back. The film is made by a group of local filmmakers and parts of it remind me of Donnie Darko and that sort of timeless era that the characters exist in. I was a little scared that the film was going to be along the lines of The South Will Rise Again but it is 100% different in tone, plot, everything - there just happen to be zombies in both films. I suggest you check out the trailer, add them as a friend, and maybe spread the word some more if you like it - it would help them out. And in doing so you may help get the film (and soundtrack) closer to being released, which would be grand.

Southland Tales

According to this review the new Richard Kelley film, Southland Tales, is a mixed bag. I think that notion applies to any film that has Seann William Scott and/or The Rock cast in it - especially together. Donnie Darko was pretty fantastic but hopes are not high for this new one.

richard kelly

I sort of hate that the second release from Richard Kelly is Domino - which looks pretty terrible. I guess it could be a quality action flick but from the look of it, I'd say probably not. But then again, everyone has been telling me that Serenity is worth seeing.. despite the fact that I just simply can not believe such a thing.

Southland Tales

I loved Donnie Darko - and I even forgave director Richard Kelly for the completely unnecessary George Lucas style re-release of the Directors Cut that featured nothing beneficial. I remember reading somewhere that his followup project (Darko was in 2001 mind you) was going to have something to do with childrens drawings, some psychotic episodes, and a bit of sci-fi. Well, turns out that the next project is something called Southland Tales - featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, and.. The Rock! Granted, Janeane Garofalo, Jason Lee, and Amy Poehler are also supposedly involved but not as main characters. According to this, the film will be preceeded by 6 graphic novels that give all the background and setup story for a film Kelly describes as "a strange hybrid of the sensibilities of Andy Warhol and Philip K. Dick." Umm.. yea right.. with Seann William Scott. I'm calling one-hit wonder on Richard Kelley but I'd love to be proven wrong.

Star Wars: Revelations!

Kind of on par with Darkon from the other day is Star Wars: Revelations - a film created within the Star Wars Universe completely by insanely dedicated fans. After watching the trailer I kind of get the impression that it's like a sub-par Star Trek episode with Star Wars characters you've never heard of as the main protaganist. I will give major credit to the computer animation used throughout - it looks to be just as good as any major motion picture.

Darkon

Thank you Lee for the link to Darkon - a trailer for a film about those people who go nuts in the park every weekend smacking each other with duct tapped swords and shields. Those guys are great.. they deserve a movie or two.

home again

Back in TN, safe and sound. The trip to Florida was highly inconvienent but ended up being a good time. Fantastic weather, lots of family time, and a mild break from all the projects I've got my hand in. That being said, I was not too pleased to have to use Economy parking at the Nashville airport (nor the walk from the lot to the terminal). Oh, and if you ever happen to be flying through a rain storm on your way back home from somewhere I do not suggest the Donnie Darko soundtrack as your listening choice.. it's a bit creepy.

movie weekend 2

Yet another movie filled weekend (somehow).

Dr. Strangelove - I'd never seen it before and rather enjoyed it. Peter Sellers is pretty incredible and I certainly recommend this to anyone. I guess that kind of goes without saying though.

Network - loads of dialogue so I wouldn't sit down to watch this one at 12:30 at night (like I did) but it's kind of amazing how pertinent some of the rants are to today's society. The TV exec screaming about there being no democracy, only the ideals of money and capitalism in particular was dead on. The love story subplot was aggravating as it was pretty much completely unnecessary.

Primer - hailed as along the lines of "Donnie Darko" and "the headiest, most singular science-fiction movie since Kubrick made 2001" but ya know what? I had no idea what was going on. Much like ole Donnie Darko you have to see it, research what was going on, and then see it again. I would reveal more but then you'd be more informed than I was going into it and that would ruin the fun now wouldn't it?

The Life & Death of Peter Sellers came on HBO last night and wrapped the weekend up. It was a decent film but certainly not a fantastic biopic or anything.. though I am interested in seeing a lot more from Peter Sellers.

darko - weekend redux

This past weekend became the turning point of productivity for me. I've got a ton of projects to finish before the end of the year and I am determined to accomplish them. On top of that, I'd like to work on things that are completely devoid of any sort of work related function and just purely for myself. That being said, this weekend was not all that productive but I did see several movies:
I finally got around to seeing Elf and enjoyed it. It's kind of tough for Will Ferrell to carry a movie but he pulled it off pretty well. And anything involving Zooey Deschanel gets me interested.

The Core is pretty much the most amazing disaster movie I've ever seen. Words can not properly capture the feeling of elation you get when viewing a movie about a group of rag-tag scientists traveling to the core of the Earth to give it a nuclear kickstart.

But before I saw all those, I saw the Donnie Darko Directors Cut showing at the Belcourt (who actually have some fun facts about the film that I'd never considered). Overall, the movie is still incredibly well done and a baffling sci-fi teen-esque movie about parallel universes and following your Chosen Path™. The music changes weren't necessary (sorry, "Killing Moon" is a better starting track) and while some of the enhanced CG helped (no more bug-eyed Donnie) some of them were terrible (the PURGE / grid graphics at the end in particular). I'm not sure how I feel about the pages of Roberta Sparrows book being shown on screen.. I suppose it was beneficial if you'd never seen the movie but terms like The Manipulated Dead don't really mean much when you've only got 20 seconds to take it all in. Basically I think people should see the original cut and then spend some quality time on the website figuring out the additional things. Where's the next Richard Kelly film? Sheesh..