INT. / EXT.

The official blog of Adam Intriago Film Director & Photographer

[adamintriago]

Watchlist: February 2018 + My Favorites of the Month

What I watched and studied in February of 2018:

Get Out The Cloverfield Paradox 10 Cloverfield Lane Woodshock Other People When We First Met Prisoners Una Rick and Morty - Season 1 & 2 On Body and Soul The Ritual Phantom Thread What We Do in the Shadows Chris Rock: Tamborine Don’t Think Twice Like Me Annihilation Verónica

My Favorite things this month: 

Annihilation

Slowly reveals itself to be completely uninterested in traditional narrative devices or rules. This film has embedded itself deep in my mind. Could easily become my favorite film of the year.

Watch if you like: Cerebral and/or poetic sci-fi like Under the Skin, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Upstream Color, Arrival

On Body and Soul

An unusual love story, about even more unusual people, told in an even more unusual way. If you can make it through some of the gruesome imagery in the first 15 minutes or so, you will be greatly rewarded.

Watch if you like: Strange love stories (with some dark elements) like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Upstream Color, Her

Like Me

If Tumblr was a film...and a sociopath teenage murderer YouTube sensation. The filmmaking is extremely creative, experimental and bold. Its a fun and rewarding watch.

Watch if you like: Fun but dark teenage dramas like The Bling Ring or neon-infused experimental films like Beyond the Black Rainbow or Enter the Void.

Una

A film adaption of the stage play Blackbird, this is a pretty straight forward drama that dives deep into the hearts of the characters. This is an incredible acting showcase for Rooney Mara, Ben Mendelsohn and Riz Ahmed. 

Watch if you like: Dark, twisted dramas with great actors...

[adamintriago]

Watchlist: January 2018 + Most Anticipated Films & Series of 2018

What I watched and studied in January of 2018:

Twin Peaks: The Return Black Mirror - Season 4 Eraserhead Jim & Andy The End of the Fucking World Blade Runner 2049 Cronos The Big Sick Baby Driver Voyeur The Eyes of My Mother Blood Simple Blue Velvet Free Fire

My favorite thing this month: The Eyes of My Mother + The End of the Fucking World

My most anticipated films & series of 2018:

The Irishman You Were Never Really Here Widows First Man Annihilation Halloween Isle of Dogs Black Panther Mandy Summer of ‘84 Legion 2 Atlanta 2 Hereditary 8th Grade I Think We’re Alone Now Piercing Sorry to Bother You The Tale

[adamintriago]

My Top 10 Films & Series of 2017

As I struggled to make my lists, I realized I couldn’t separate my favorite films and series, at least not this year. I’m sorry.

10. The Shape of Water

Pure magic. Though not a film about film, it still feels like a love letter to cinema, in a similar way that Hugo does.

         “When he looks at me, he doesn't know how I am incomplete.”

9. Get Out

Excellent script, thrills like the greatest of classic horror, it really burrows into your brain.

        “Sink into the floor.”

8. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

This is the best Star Wars film. Although, sometimes, its hard to think of it as a Star Wars film, because it feels a little beyond that. 

        “We are what they grow beyond...”

7. Casting JonBenet

I don’t often recommend this film because its too hard to explain what it is, and that’s why I love it so much.

6. A Ghost Story

A stunning, and at times, pitch-black funny look at time, memory, and what we leave behind.

        “We build our legacy piece by piece and maybe the whole world will remember you or maybe just a couple of people, but you do what you can to make sure you're still around after you're gone.”

5. Mindhunter

Actually, not a lot of bells and whistles, this is just Fincher doing conversations and characters and it’s jaw dropping.

        “Do you want an egg salad sandwich?”

4. Blade Runner 2049

Unquestionably the most beautiful film this year, photographically. Nearly every scene had me thinking “I’ve never seen anything like that before”.

       “There's a little of every artist in their work.”

3. Legion

In my opinion, perhaps the most underrated work of 2017. Come for the mental-illness-as-a-superpower, stay for the identity-bending performance by Aubrey Plaza.

        “Who teaches us to be normal when we're one of a kind?”

2. mother!

The many layers of mother! had me in a daze for days. A true work of art and masterfully crafted by all creators involved. The level of filmmaking is inspirational.

         “You never loved me. You just loved how much I loved you.”

1. Twin Peaks: The Return

I began watching Twin Peaks: The Return in May and I haven’t stopped since, I just keep rewatching it. It is a work that I believe I will be thinking about for the rest of my life. Nothing has been so definitive for me since seeing my favorite film The Tree of Life in 2011.

It’s pure expression that may never be fully understood, and it’s not meant to be.

         “This is the water and this is the well. Drink full and descend. The horse is the white of the eyes and dark within.”

___________________

Próspero año nuevo.

[adamintriago]

My Top 10 Albums of 2016

Top lists are a great way to process the content you consumed through a year and consider what you liked the most and why your favorites struck you so deeply over others. And at the end of it, you can share these lists with others and hopefully spark a great discussion.

Here are my favorite albums of 2016. Any of these could easily rotate positions on a day-to-day basis...

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

15. Gland - Neurotica

14. Vince Staples - Prima Donna

13. Radical Face - The Leaves

12. Library Tapes - Escapism

11. Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 3

MY TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2016:

10. Andrew Bird - Are You Serious?

Much of this album focuses on growing into “adulthood” and having a child at a time when many of your friends are not even close to thinking about children. For obvious reasons, Bird’s honest, clearly stated reflections on these matters are deeply affecting for me.

9. Bob Weir - Blue Mountain

Josh Ritter, who is one of my all time favorites, didn’t really release any new music this year. At least, not in an obvious way. Ritter, almost entirely, wrote the music and lyrics for Bob Weir’s new solo album, Blue Mountain. The slow, meandering, cowboy music is unmistakably Ritter’s, brought to a new depth with Weir’s vocals.

8. Beach Slang - A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings

Angsty, heartbroken punk.

7. Paul Simon - Stranger to Stranger

Paul Simon singing words written by Paul Simon.

6. Solange - A Seat at the Table

Perhaps the most surprising album for me this year. 

5. Michael Nau - Mowing

Michael Nau used to be in one of my favorite bands years ago, Page France. The sound here is much different, but the emotional depth is still there. A great soundtrack for many moments.

4. David Bazan - Blanco

3. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker

This album couldn’t be more timely for me, thematically. Dark choir, gospel, poetry. Another masterpiece left behind by a master before moving along to another place.

2. Drombeg - Earthworks

1. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

[adamintriago]

March Watchlist

What I watched and studied in March of 2016:

Vinyl (Season 1, Episodes 4-7) - Various Directors - 2016 Togetherness (Season 2, Episodes 1-6) - Various Directors - 2016 Horace & Pete (Season 1, Episodes 1-4) - Louis C.K. - 2016 House of Cards (Season 4) - Various Directors - 2016 Cartel Land - Matthew Heineman - 2015 The Imposter - Bart Layton - 2012 10 Cloverfield Lane - Dan Trachtenberg - 2015 Halt and Catch Fire (Season 2) - Various Directors - 2015 Dare Devil (Season 2, Episodes 1 & 2) - Various Directors - 2016 Carol - Todd Haynes - 2015 True Detective (Season 2 Rewatch) - Various Directors - 2015 Watchmen - Zack Snyder - 2009

[adamintriago]

February Watchlist

What I watched and studied in February of 2016. 

The Aviator - Martin Scorsese - 2004 Ferris Bueller's Day Off - John Hughes - 1986 Pulp Fiction - Quentin Tarantino - 1994 Side Effects - Steven Soderberg - 2013 Nightcrawler - Dan Gilroy - 2014 Good Will Hunting - Gus Van Sant - 1997 True Detective (Season 1 Rewatch) -  Cary Fukunaga - 2014 Pretty in Pink - Howard Deutch - 1986 Badlands - Terrence Malick - 1973 Drive - Nicolas Winding Refn - 2011 Birdman - Alejandro González Iñárritu - 2014 Dope - Rick Famuyiwa - 2015 Through A Glass Darkly - Ingmar Bergman - 1961 Brooklyn - John Crowley - John Crowly Miller's Crossing - The Coen Brothers - 1990 Steve Jobs - Danny Boyle - 2015 Love (Season 1) - Various Directors - 2016 Toy Story - John Lasseter - 1995 Anomalisa - Charlie Kaufman - 2015 The Good Dinosaur - Peter Sohn - 2015 Vinyl (Season 1, Episodes 1-3) - Various Directors - 2016

[adamintriago]

88th Academy Awards Predictions

Key = (Category - Prediction Pick / My Pick) ( + Correct, - Incorrect)

Picture - The Revenant (- , Spotlight)

Director - George Miller (- , Alejandro González Iñárritu)

Actor - Michael Fassbender / Leonardo DiCaprio (-) 

Actress - Brie Larson (+)

Supporting Actor - Sylvester Stallone / Tom Hardy (- , Mark Rylance)

Supporting Actress - Alicia Vikander / Jennifer Jason Leigh (+)

Animated Feature - Inside Out / Anomalisa (+)

Original Screenplay - Bridge of Spies / Ex Machina (- , Spotlight)

Adapted Screenplay - The Big Short (+)

Costume Design - Carol / Mad Max: Fury Road (-)

Original Song - Writing’s on The Wall / Simple Song #3 (+)

Original Score - The Hateful Eight (+)

Documentary Feature - The Look of Silence / Cartel Land (- , Amy)

Documentary Short - Chau, Beyond the Lines (- , A Girl in a River)

Make-Up & Hairstyling - The Revenant (- , Mad Max)

Production Design - Mad Max: Fury Road (+)

Film Editing - Mad Max: Fury Road (+)

Cinematography - The Revenant (+)

Sound Editing - Mad Max: Fury Road (+)

Sound Mixing - Mad Max: Fury Road (+)

Visual Effects: The Revenant / Ex Machina (-)

Short Film Animated - World of Tomorrow (- , Bear Story)

Foreign Film - Son of Saul (+)

Final Score - 12/23

(Thoughts on the show: A few big surprises for me; I did not see Spotlight winning Best Picture, not at all. Nor did I see Mark Rylance taking it home for Best Supporting. I also feel I underestimated The Academy’s ability to simply select the correct nominee based solely on merit! Ex Machina winning for VFX was unexpected but welcome and deserving.

I disagree with the choice for Best Picture, I think The Revenant was absolutely the best film of the year, but understand why it didn’t win.

But my biggest disagreement is in Directing, out of an incredible selection of directors, especially Iñárritu, I still think George Miller had the biggest, most well executed vision for a film that was so unique.

I’m very glad that Margaret Sixel and Emmanuel Lubezki won and obviously I’m very happy about Leo winning as well.)

[adamintriago]

January Watchlist

What I watched and studied in January of 2016:

The Visit - M. Night Shyamalan - 2015 The Departed - Martin Scorsese - 2006 Killing Them Softly - Andrew Dominik - 2012 Pride & Prejudice - Joe Wright - 2005 Fruitvale Station - Ryan Coogler - 2013 Drinking Buddies - Joe Swanberg - 2013 Togetherness (Episode 4-8) - Various Directors - 2015 The One I Love - Charlie McDowell - 2014 The Road Within - Gren Wells - 2014 The Big Short - Adam McKay - 2015 Frank - Lenny Abrahamson - 2014 The Primary Instinct - David Chen - 2015 Top Five - Chris Rock - 2014 Spotlight - Tom McCarthy - 2015 The Danish Girl - Tom Hooper - 2015 Selma - Ava DuVernay - 2014 Middle of Nowhere - Ava DuVernay - 2012 Straight Outta Compton - F. Gary Gray - 2015 Room - Lenny Abrahamson - 2015 Chelsea Does (Season 1) - Eddie Schmidt -2015 Love & Mercy - Bill Pohlad - 2015

[adamintriago]

My Top 10 Films of 2015

Top lists are a great way to process the content you consumed through a year and consider what films you liked the most and why they struck you so deeply over others. And at the end of it, you can share these lists with others and hopefully spark a great discussion.

(Also included in the bottom of this post is my November & December Watchlist, which I never posted because I’ve been super busy watching films and taking care of our new son! I also cheated by a few days into the new year to squeeze in a few films I HAD to see before making the list!)

2015 FILMS I WANTED TO SEE, BUT MISSED:

Anomolisa By the sea Creed Dope World of Tomorrow The Overnight Irrational Man Stanford Prison Experiment Listen to Me Marlin The Gift Grandma Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine The Visit 99 homes Spectre Spotlight Carol The Danish Girl Krampus Macbeth The Big Short Son of Saul Joy Concussion The Connection Maps to the Stars Me Earl and the Dying Girl Straight Outta Compton Chi-raq The Lobster Just Jim

MY TOP 5 HONORABLE MENTIONS OF 2015:

15. The Tribe

14. The Forbidden Room

13. Slow West

12. Tom at the Farm

11. Ex Machina 

MY TOP 10 FAVORITE FILMS OF 2015:

10. Sicario

Ambient, foreboding atmosphere like you wouldn’t believe. A dark, ambiguous look at the complications of modern warfare. 

          “Time to meet God.”

9. The End of the Tour

The most beautiful, raw dialogue I have heard in quite some time. A study of artistic fulfillment and self identity. 

         “And sort of deep, existential, you know: fear, that you feel kind of all the way down to your butthole.”

8. Mississippi Grind

Immaculate script, emotional beats paced to perfection. Thrilling and heartwarming, consistently defies expectations. 

         “Two Woodfords!”

7. Meadowland

Emotionally complicated; A meandering spiral into madness so subtle that you hardly even notice it until it’s too late...

         “I think that's when you see better in the dark.”          “How?”          “You get used to it. Until it gets light again.”

6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Pure nostalgia wrapped up into excellent story telling filled with beautiful, nuanced characters.

          “I know how to run without you holding my hand!”

5. Steve Jobs 

Pitch perfect on every level of filmmaking. The unique execution of the structure shows you something you’ve never seen before in a biopic. 

         “It's not binary. You can be decent and gifted at the same time.”

4. The Hateful Eight

A truly classical film, Tarantino in his purest form. Tension, violence, humor, and nostalgia all wrapped up into a truly grand film event.

        “When ya get to hell, tell 'em Daisy sent ya.”

3. Mad Max: Fury Road 

Action filmmaking reborn. An art film disguised as an action film. Editing that completely blows my mind. Nearly a silent film, it’s pure cinema. 

         “Don't breathe.”

2. Room

A soul crushing mediation on the nature of truth through simple execution with earnest and honest characters that truly draw you in. 

          “I wish I was four again!”

1. The Revenant 

An affirmation of life and hope; An image of man colliding with both himself and nature. Serenity, even in the most violent moments, captures you and holds you right there with the character in complete immersion. A real masterpiece of filmmaking.

          “As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe.”

--------- 

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:

Black Mass

BIGGEST SURPRISE:

Mad Max: Fury Road

WORST FILM SEEN OF 2015:

Jurassic World

A 2015 FILM THAT EVERYONE LOVED, BUT I DIDN’T LOVE SO MUCH:

Queen of Earth or Trumbo

ALL FILMS SEEN OF 2015:

Going Clear - Alex Gibney  Lost River - Ryan Gosling  White God - Kornél Mundruczó  Ex Machina - Alex Garland  Mad Max: Fury Road - George Miller  Hot Girls Wanted - Jill Bauer & Ronna Gradus Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter - David Zellner, Nathan Zellner Jurassic World - Colin Trevorrow Inside Out - Pete Docter Creep - Patrick Brice Dark Places - Gilles Paquet-Brenner The End of the Tour - James Ponsoldt Trainwreck - Judd Apatow Black Mass - Scott Cooper Sicario - Denis Villeneuve The Nightmare - Rodney Ascher Goodnight Mommy - Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz Room - Lenny Abrahamson Crimson Peak - Guillermo del Toro The Wolfpack - Crystal Moselle The Forbidden Room - Guy Maddin & Evan Johnson The Duke of Burgundy - Peter Strickland A Pigeon Sat On a Branch Reflecting on Existence - Roy Andersson The Tribe - Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy Star Wars: The Force Awakens - J.J. Abrams Thought Crimes: Cannibal Cop - Erin Lee Carr Trumbo - Jay Roach The Hateful Eight - Quentin Tarantino Tom at the Farm - Xavier Dolan Queen of Earth - Alex Ross Perry Slow West - John Maclean Youth - Paolo Sorrentino Mississippi Grind - Anna Bode &, Ryan Fleck Beasts of No Nation - Cary Joji Fukunaga Hard to Be a God - Aleksey German Meadowland - Reed Morano The Revenant - Alejandro G. Iñárritu

EVERYTHING WATCHED & STUDIED IN 2015:

-JANUARY- Wild - Jean-Marc Vallee - 2014 The Godfather - Francis Ford Coppola - 1972 Stand By Me - Rob Reiner -1986 The Wolf of Wall Street - Martin Scorsese - 2013 Primal Fear - Gregory Hoblit - 1996 Side by Side - Christopher Kenneally - 2012 The Shawshank Redemption - Frank Darabont - 1994 Hunger - Steve McQueen - 2008 Magnolia - Paul Thomas Anderson -1999 Gone Girl - David Fincher - 2014 The Exorcist - William Friedkin - 1973 The Phone Call (Short) - Mat Kirkby - 2013 Badlands - Terrence Malick - 1973 Birdman - Alejandro González Iñárritu - 2014 Swingers - Doug Liman - 1996 He Took His Skin Off for Me (Short) - Ben Aston - 2014 Fight Club - David Fincher - 1999 American Sniper - Clint Eastwood - 2014 The Social Network - David Fincher - 2010 Distant Voices, Still Lives - Terence Davies - 1988 All is Lost - J.C. Chandor - 2013 The Shining - Stanley Kubrick - 1980 Boogie Nights - Paul Thomas Anderson - 1997 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Tobe Hooper - 1974 Interstellar (70mm) - Christopher Nolan - 2014 Ivan's Childhood - Andrei Tarkovsky - 1962 - FEBRUARY - Saturday Night - James Franco - 2014 Punch-Drunk Love - Paul Thomas Anderson - 2002 Through a Glass Darkly - Ingmar Bergman - 1961 Parenthood (Season 1) - Various Directors - 2010 Chef - John Favreau - 2014 The Silence - Ingmar Bergman - 1963 Parenthood (Season 2) - Various Directors - 2011 Birdman - Alejandro González Iñárritu - 2014 - MARCH - Parenthood (Season 3-6) - Various Directors - 2011-2015 House of Cards (Season 3 & Rewatch Season 1) - Various Directors - 2013-2015 True Detective (Rewatch Season 1) - Cary Fukunaga - 2014 Togetherness (Season 1) - Duplass Brothers - 2015 Citizenfour - Laura Poitras - 2014 Barry Lyndon - Stanley Kubrick - 1975 Resurrect Dead - Jon Foy - 2011 Life Itself - Steve James - 2014 The Jinx (Season 1) - Andrew Jareki - 2015 Days of Heaven - Terrence Malick - 1978 - APRIL - House of Cards (Rewatch Season 2) - Various Directors - 2014 Going Clear - Alex Gibney - 2015 The Master - Paul Thomas Anderson - 2012 Holy Motors - Leos Carax - 2012 Winter Light - Ingmar Bergman - 1963 Starry Eyes - Dennis Widmyer, Kevin Kolsch - 2014 House of Cards (Rewatch Season 3) - Various Directors - 2015 Lost River - Ryan Gosling - 2015 There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson - 2007 White God - Kornél Mundruczó - 2015 Ex Machina - Alex Garland - 2015 The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows (Web Series) - John Koenig - 2015 Heritage (Short) - Damien Kazan - 2015 - MAY - Daredevil (Season 1) - Various Directors - 2015 Mad Max: Fury Road - George Miller - 2015 Ex Machina - Alex Garland - 2015 Inglorious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino - 2009 Mad Max: Fury Road - George Miller - 2015 Pan's Labyrinth - Guillermo del Toro - 2006 Inside Llewyn Davis - Coen Brothers - 2013 Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese - 1980 Hot Girls Wanted - Jill Bauer & Ronna Gradus - 2015 - JUNE - Halt and Catch Fire (Season 1) - Various Directors - 2014-15 Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter - David Zellner, Nathan Zellner - 2015 The Truman Show - Peter Weir -1998 Chasseur (Short) - Christopher Soren Kelly - 2013 Jurassic World - Colin Trevorrow - 2015 Kill Bill Vol. 1 - Quentin Tarantino - 2003 Kill Bill Vol. 2 - Quentin Tarantino - 2004 True Detective S02E01 - Justin Lin - 2015 True Detective S02E02 - Justin Lin - 2015 Inside Out - Pete Docter - 2015 - JULY -

True Detective S02E03 - Janus Metz Pedersen - 2015 Nightcrawler - Dan Gilroy - 2014 Leviathan - Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel - 2012 True Detective S02E04 - Jeremy Podeswa - 2015 True Detective S02E05 - John W. Crowley - 2015 Creep - Patrick Brice - 2014 True Detective - S02E06 - Miguel Sapochnik - 2015 - AUGUST -

True Detective - S02E07 - Daniel Attias - 2015 True Detective - S02E08 - John Crowley - 2015 Chinatown - Roman Polanski - 1974 Dark Places - Gilles Paquet-Brenner - 2015 BoJack Horseman (Season 1 & 2) - Various Directors - 2014-2015 The End of the Tour - James Ponsoldt - 2015 Days of Heaven - Terrence Malick - 1978 Casting By - Tom Donahue - 2012 The Wolf of Wall Street - Martin Scorsese - 2013 Birdman - Alejandro González Iñárritu - 2014 - SEPTEMBER -

Trainwreck - Judd Apatow - 2015 The Knick (Season 1, Rewatch) - Steven Soderbergh - 2014 Show Me A Hero - Part 1 - Paul Haggis - 2015 The Better Angels - AJ Edwards - 2014 Narcos (Season 1, Ep. 1-4) - Various Directors - 2015 Black Mass - Scott Cooper - 2015 - OCTOBER - 

Sicario - Denis Villeneuve - 2015 The Nightmare - Rodney Ascher - 2015 The Others - Alejandro Amenábar - 2001 Goodnight Mommy - Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz - 2015 Room - Lenny Abrahamson - 2015 The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears - Bruno Forzani, Hélène Cattet - 2014 Sleepy Hollow - Tim Burton - 1999 American Horror Story (Season 5, Ep. 1-4) - Various Directors - 2015 The Exorcist (Black & White Version) - William Friedkin - 1973 Crimson Peak - Guillermo del Toro - 2015 Silence of the Lambs - Jonathan Demme - 1991 - NOVEMBER - 

2001: A Space Odyessy - Stanley Kubrick - 1968 Forest Gump - Robert Zemeckis - 1994 Louie (Season 1-2 Rewatch) - Louie C.K. - 2010-2011 - DECEMBER -

The Wolfpack - Crystal Moselle - 2015 Louie (Season 3 Rewatch) - Louie C.K. 2011 The Forbidden Room - Guy Maddin & Evan Johnson - 2015 Bloodline (Season 1) - Various Directors - 2015 The Duke of Burgundy - Peter Strickland - 2015 Southcliffe - Sean Durkin - 2013 A Pigeon Sat On a Branch Reflecting on Existence - Roy Andersson - 2015 The Tribe - Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy - 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens - J.J. Abrams - 2015 Making a Murderer - Moira Demos & Laura Ricciardi - 2015 Thought Crimes: Cannibal Cop - Erin Lee Carr - 2015 Mad Max: Fury Road (Black & White Version) - George Miller - 2015 Trumbo - Jay Roach - 2015 A Christmas Carol - Edwin L. Marin - 1938 Home Alone - Chris Columbus - 1990 Step Brothers - Adam McKay - 2008 Star Wars: The Force Awakens - J.J. Abrams - 2015 The Hateful Eight (70mm) - Quentin Tarantino - 2015 Tom at the Farm - Xavier Dolan - 2015 Eyes Wide Shut - Stanley Kubrick - 1999 Queen of Earth - Alex Ross Perry - 2015 Slow West - John Maclean - 2015 Youth - Paolo Sorrentino - 2015 Mississippi Grind - Anna Bode &, Ryan Fleck - 2015 Beasts of No Nation - Cary Joji Fukunaga - 2015 Hard to Be a God - Aleksey German - 2015 Meadowland - Reed Morano - 2015 The Revenant - Alejandro G. Iñárritu - 2015

Total Films & Series Viewed in 2015: 134

[adamintriago]

Mara - A New Short Film

-

I mentioned a couple of months ago I was commissioned to co-write and direct a short film by an actor/producer friend of mine. The film is called Mara and we wrapped up post production in September and have begun submitting to festivals and such.

I’m extremely happy with the film, its my favorite project I’ve completed thus far and the thing that has come closest to the style I’ve been aiming at for years now.

Hoping it will be available to view online soon, but as always, we have to await decisions from festivals first that may require premiere status.

[adamintriago]

Source of Light

11 / 6 / 15  -  4:00am  -  Tenea Intriago, my wife and best friend begins laboring on the 39th week of her pregnancy.

Because we intend have the baby naturally, we labor at home for as long as possible, until 4pm.

8:00pm  -  After arriving at the hospital, Tenea is 4 centimeters dilated. It is recommended that we take a walk around the hospital for a couple of hours to see if this progresses things; She needs to be 5 centimeters to be admitted by the Midwife, Kathy.

We do this, she is now 7 centimeters dilated and is admitted into her birth room with a large, warm tub.

Our friend Teri, who has the warmest energy about her, joins us as a sort of stand-in Doula, an extra pair of hands, as all of our family is out of state and can’t be here with us immediately.

11:00pm  -  After laboring in the tub for a few hours, she is now at the 9 centimeter mark, only one more centimeter to go...

11 / 7 / 15  -  4:00am  -  Approaching the 24 hour mark of labor, Tenea has been stalling at 9 centimeters for a little over 5 hours now, pushing constantly, little to no break between contractions, and the baby is not budging one bit. 

Tenea begins to lose all strength, I’m hurting for her, looking into her eyes, she looks utterly desperate. 

Unable to move forward any longer, needing a rest, she finally asks for an epidural.

“Sorry” she tells me; I’m not sure what for so I tell her “Don’t be”, though I’m angry for her. I know how badly she wanted to get through this naturally.

I kiss her goodbye as they make Teri and I leave the room for this.

We wait for 45 minutes when they said it’d be 15 and my head can’t help but go to the worst, most irrational places.

5:30am  -   Teri goes home to rest. Tenea has slept, I couldn’t, but it's time to push again. She’s like a warrior in battle.

We take small breaks in between. 

She’s now at the full 10 centimeters.

9:00am  -  After pushing for several more hours, the baby has not progressed any longer. The pushing is beginning to become a significant stress on the baby, his heart rate dropping during each push.

Kathy, our Midwife tells us that a vaginal birth is no longer seeming like a possibility. “We could continue to push but it would likely be for several more hours and would cause more stress on the baby.”

She reluctantly recommends a C-Section, our worst fear.

She promises it's the best option at this point, and says “When you see your baby and hear him crying, you’ll forget about how he got here, it won’t matter.”

We cry together, but know what has to be done.

They take her away to the OR, I wait several minutes alone in our room, dressed in my sterile attire as a cleaning crew comes in and begins to clean our room. 

I send out a message to the parents to let them know. My mom is already on her way, she left Florida around 5am.

10:10am  -  Kathy was right. Our son, Llewyn James Intriago, is pulled from a small incision in my wife’s abdomen and begins to cry out, and I forget everything that’s ever happened, except for what is right now.

I look at him, bewildered in a surreal moment. “Where did he come from?” I think to myself. 

A few weeks prior, I had a dream our son had blonde hair; A strange thought because Tenea and I both have very dark brown, nearly black hair. He did indeed have blonde hair, dirty though it be.

I hold him and Tenea kisses his cheek as they sew her back together.

They need to leave the room with him to get him cleaned up but Tenea has to stay another half hour or so. She’s so strong, I want to be in two places at once, she tells me to go with him, “I’ll be fine”.

We stay two nights in the hospital.

11 / 10 / 15  -  12:00pm  -  We leave the hospital to go home. 

Home is where the light is.

Llewyn  -  White Lion or Source of Light.

--------- 

(Photos by Adam Intriago and Teri Wyble)

[adamintriago]

October Watchlist

Late again this month, we were preparing for our new baby that was to and has now arrived (more on this to come in a later post)

What I watched and studied in October of 2015:

Sicario - Denis Villeneuve - 2015 The Nightmare - Rodney Ascher - 2015 The Others - Alejandro Amenábar - 2015 Goodnight Mommy - Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz - 2015 Room - Lenny Abrahamson - 2015 The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears - Bruno Forzani, Hélène Cattet - 2014 Sleepy Hollow - Tim Burton - 1999 American Horror Story (Season 5, Ep. 1-4) - Various Directors - 2015 The Exorcist (Black & White Version) - William Friedkin - 1973 Crimson Peak - Guillermo del Toro - 2015 Silence of the Lambs - Jonathan Demme - 1991

[adamintriago]

September Watchlist

These lists keep getting shorter, I need to pick up the pace...

What I watched and studied in September of 2015:

Trainwreck - Judd Apatow - 2015 The Knick (Season 1, Rewatch) - Steven Soderbergh - 2014 Show Me A Hero - Part 1 - Paul Haggis - 2015 The Better Angels - AJ Edwards - 2014 Narcos (Season 1, Ep. 1-4) - Various Directors - 2015 Black Mass - Scott Cooper - 2015

[adamintriago]

July & August Watchlist

I somehow forgot to do last month’s watch list, so here’s a double decker; What I watched and studied in July and August of 2015:

True Detective S02E03 - Janus Metz Pedersen - 2015 Nightcrawler - Dan Gilroy - 2014 Leviathan - Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel - 2012 True Detective S02E04 - Jeremy Podeswa - 2015 True Detective S02E05 - John W. Crowley - 2015 Creep - Patrick Brice - 2014 True Detective - S02E06 - Miguel Sapochnik - 2015 True Detective - S02E07 - Daniel Attias - 2015 True Detective - S02E08 - John Crowley - 2015 Chinatown - Roman Polanski - 1974 Dark Places - Gilles Paquet-Brenner - 2015 BoJack Horseman (Season 1 & 2) - Various Directors - 2014-2015 The End of the Tour - James Ponsoldt - 2015 Days of Heaven - Terrence Malick - 1978 Casting By - Tom Donahue - 2012 The Wolf of Wall Street - Martin Scorsese - 2013 Birdman - Alejandro González Iñárritu - 2014

[adamintriago]

June Watchlist

What I watched and studied in June of 2015:

Halt and Catch Fire (Season 1) - Various Directors - 2014-15 Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter - David Zellner, Nathan Zellner - 2015 The Truman Show - Peter Weir -1998 Chasseur (Short) - Christopher Soren Kelly - 2013 Jurassic World - Colin Trevorrow - 2015 Kill Bill Vol. 1 - Quentin Tarantino - 2003 Kill Bill Vol. 2 - Quentin Tarantino - 2004 True Detective S02E01 - Justin Lin - 2015 True Detective S02E02 - Justin Lin - 2015 Inside Out - Pete Docter - 2015

[adamintriago]

I went hiking in the Kisatchie National Forest this past weekend with my wife, some friends, and our dog Zeppelin. The hike was part recreational and part preliminary location scouting for a feature film project I am directing early next year that we are shooting in and around the forest.

It was the first time hiking with our pup who is just a year old and she loved it, really seemed to be in her natural habitat as she led the group throughout the entire hike.

Being in the forest, as always, was extremely inspiring, and I can’t wait to begin real location scouting in the coming months.

More details on this project to come in the near future.

[adamintriago]

An actor/producer friend of mine recently asked me to direct a short film for him that he had written. The whole thing is basically a metaphorical dream sequence with a very loose story line; So for anyone who knows me, that’s right up my alley and I was pleased to accept. It also gives me an opportunity to get away from the clouded world of prepping and writing other projects and create something completely new.

Very refreshing.

My team and I will have a lot of room to experiment with new techniques and ideas that we’ve been discussing for possible future projects, so that is very exciting.

Above are just a few images I’ve been pulling for inspiration for the look of the film.

We are looking to shoot at the end of this month or beginning of July, so we will hopefully have it finished come end of July.

Stay tuned for updates.