Talking About Film

I'm an amateur writer/blogger and a huge film nerd. Follow, comment, subscribe and - of course - visit my blog at talkingaboutfilmblog.com

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You must see Africa. The cradle of civilization. Fascinating people. Beautiful. Savages…

Malvin Belli, "Zodiac"

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Weekend Reading #2

Done with work for the week? Why not sit down, relax and have a poke at some of the cool things I found this week at the deep end of the interwebs. Enjoy your reading and/or watching!

“Cheap Thrills” director gives some cool tips for aspiring film-makers and there’s a good lot of do’s and don’t of shooting on a shoestring budget. Very interesting!

The guys over at The Playlist list 25 greatest…

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Trailer: "The Drop"

Trailer: “The Drop”

After “Enough Said” had gone under my radar (and it is now sitting on my shelf looking at me begrudgingly, because I still haven’t seen it) I was convinced I wouldn’t get to see the late James Gandolfini on the big screen any more. And it turns out I was wrong, because not only you would have the opportunity to see the man in the flesh, but it looks like it’s going to be a sight to behold.

Inter…

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Trailer: "Lucy"

Trailer: “Lucy”

What if we put Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman in a highly stylized action sci-fi that looks like “The Matrix” met “Limitless” and “Crank”? Interested? How about if Luc Besson was behind the wheel?

The basic premise of “Lucy”(by the way, Luc Besson apparently has a thing for turning people’s names into titles) is as follows: A girl (Scarlett Johansson) wakes up to discover that somebody…

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Is this a trend I'm looking at?

Is this a trend I’m looking at?

“We’re doin’ a sequel! That’s what we do in Hollywood! And everybody knows that the sequel’s never quite as good”

Here’s a challenge you have probably heard a million times – name a sequel better than the original. I think it’s safe to assume that if you’re generally interested in film, you have probably had more than one conversation on that topic, which usually spins out of a casual talk about…

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"Captain America - The Winter Soldier" - Star-spangled badassery

“Captain America – The Winter Soldier” – Star-spangled badassery

Up until now I have had serious problems understanding the draw behind a character like Captain America. I understand his origins in the popular culture as a spin-off from the blatant patriotic propaganda, but looking at him simply in comic book superhero terms, I couldn’t understand why he’s such an important figure within the Marvel Universe. He’s not a god, he doesn’t really wield a weapon…

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Weekend Reading #1

Done with work for the week? Why not sit down, relax and have a poke at some of the cool thing I found this week at the deep end of the interwebs. Enjoy your reading and/or watching!

Ranking the 20 greatest long takes – the title is pretty self-explanatory. Have a look and expand your appreciation towards those long and/or tracking shots. If you’re interested, have a look at how Paul Thomas…

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Trailer: "The Purge: Anarchy"

Trailer: “The Purge: Anarchy”

The general consensus about James DeMonaco’s “The Purge”seems to reflect my own opinion – it was a case of a short-changed potential that reduced a theoretically very interesting high concept to a home invasion horror with very little to say. It seemed to me that the only reason for developing such an elaborate universe was to explain why the people in the house under attack couldn’t run away,…

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Because 'reboot' is the Apocalypse's middle name...

Because ‘reboot’ is the Apocalypse’s middle name…

The word ‘reboot’ has been thrown around a lot lately – there’s no question about it. It’s not rocket science to notice the inherent drive within the studios to de-risk their investments (you have no idea how much I hate this corporate mumbo-jumbo), which has resulted in the last decade being unusually rich in sequels to successful franchises, remakes of the classics, and – the cherry on top of…

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Trailer: "Edge of Tomorrow"

Trailer: “Edge of Tomorrow”

Is it going to now become a rule of thumb for Tom Cruise to do the voice-over exposition whenever he’s in a Sci-Fi film? In “Oblivion” he said he was the mop-up crew… Now, he claims to be stuck in a Groundhog Day, where he’s forced to (as the film’s tagline goes) live, die and repeat, until he gets everything right.

II have to say that going by the visuals alone, “Edge of Tomorrow”(formerly…

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Watch: "The History of Movie Trailer"

Watch: “The History of Movie Trailer”

Ever wondered how it all began? In a world where movies took over the world one man had a dream… Well, to advertise the film and get as many people to watch it as humanly possible. If you’re interested in learning a thing or two about the historical background behind the movie trailer, then look no further – The crew of FilmmakerIQ.comhas laid it all out for you in this wildly entertaining and…

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"Starred Up" - Bad Will Hunting?

“Starred Up” – Bad Will Hunting?

Admittedly, I had a very limited understanding prior to seeing “Starred Up” yesterday, as I had only seen one trailer before. I knew it was supposed to be a gritty prison drama, which it was… And I had no idea what the title actually meant. Well, now I know and knowing is half the battle.

(more…)

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Trailer: "Night Moves"

Trailer: “Night Moves”

Jesse Eisenberg, Peter Sarsgaard and Dakota Fanning in an indie thriller as environmentalists who take matters into their own hands and plot to blow up a dam… Directed by Kelly Reichardt, “Night Moves”might be one of the independent films to look forward to this year and the cast alone would be enough of a reason to check it out. On that note, I think it would be the first time to see Dakota…

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Saturday Fright Night Fever #8 - "The Bay"

Saturday Fright Night Fever #8 – “The Bay”

As of 2014, there is definitely something to be said about the gimmick of ‘found footage’, especially in relation to the horror genre, which is well known for indulging the band-wagon mentality among the film makers. I don’t know exactly when and where the trend started, but it might be safe to assume that the first successful film in that sub-genre was “The Blair Witch Project”. Sure, one can…

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Trailer: “The Signal” Hot off the screens of this year's Sundance Festival there comes this mysterious indie science-fiction film…

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"The Zero Theorem" - the epitome of self-indulgence

“The Zero Theorem” – the epitome of self-indulgence

The film opens with a long shot of space with some kind of black hole swallowing a galaxy in the very centre of the frame. The camera then slowly zooms out to reveal that what we’re looking at is a computer screen, in front of which sits naked and hairless Christoph Waltz. He’s not moving nor is he doing anything other than gripping a wireless controller, which looks like a re-appropriated toy.…

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Trailer: "Godzilla" International Trailer

Trailer: “Godzilla” International Trailer

I’m definitely pumped to see this now. There’s some new footage in this newly released tease of the upcoming Gareth Edwards’ “Godzilla” and I’m already loving it. Now I can safely say that this film is right up there as one of my most anticipated summer films f this year.

“Godzilla” smashes through on the 16th of May. Don’t miss it!

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