| Fringe Blog – Writing on Film, Culture, and Things on the Fringe

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

By jelewis8 ⋅ May 30, 2007 ⋅ 2 comments

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End has everything going for it. Quality writing that is both dramatic and funny, without being patronizing, extremely smart CG and special effects, amazing production design and stylish costumes and makeup, sound and score that easily pulls one into the world of pirates and the supernatural, and direction by [...]

Grindhouse

By jelewis8 ⋅ May 14, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

Grindhouse is a rebel film fan’s wet dream. Helmed by Tarantino and Rodriguez, two filmmakers who can legitimately be called auteurs, the flick is anything but high-brow cinema. Yet somehow, it transcends the bounds of normal schlock and exploitation cinema, becoming something not quite categorical in nature. Whispers of this leaning could be seen in [...]

300

By jelewis8 ⋅ May 7, 2007 ⋅ 2 comments

If only cars ran on testosterone. There’d be enough fuel in one viewing of 300 to power many nations, with enough left over to cause men’s heartrates to rise and muscles to bulge imperceptibly. Say hello to Pectoral Theatre. The movie is almost proto-Aryan in its ubermensch mentality–no flabby mutt blood in these characters’ veins. [...]

Blades of Glory

By jelewis8 ⋅ April 13, 2007 ⋅ One comment

Blades of Glory isn’t your typical stupid comedy. Well, it is. But it’s particularly well-cast, which gives every scene added currency. Clearly, everyone involved is having fun, but in many cases, are poking fun at themselves and the poser sentimentality of the of the sport genre movie. It’s possible to have a flick that neither [...]

The Wind That Shakes The Barley

By jelewis8 ⋅ April 5, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

The Wind That Shakes The Barley borrows its name from an Irish tune that lilts and flirts as easily as it deceives. The song may sound lovely, but is a sad tale. Such is the case with Ken Loach’s film about two brothers who are bonded in blood then torn apart by peace–a clear indication [...]

The Job You Pay To Work

By jelewis8 ⋅ April 2, 2007 ⋅ 2 comments

Three fourths of my life is spent in front of a computer. Bad? Wrong? Against nature? I just don’t know. All I know is my bread and butter are composed in pixels, and my bacon has only the faintest smell of ozone as the electronic components of my livelihood dwindle, fade, and spark down into [...]

Days Like Bullet Trains

By jelewis8 ⋅ March 7, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

I’ve decided I dislike spinners. You like how I just drop you into the middle of my thought process? I’m like a mascot at Disneyland that way. You’re walking along, minding your own business, trying to figure out where the next cool ride is, when all of a sudden I’m in your face, I’m making [...]

Directing Day One

By jelewis8 ⋅ February 26, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

I think I’ve written about directing before, so I’m not sure this will resonate or echo. I’d prefer the former, given echoes’ nature of repetition, versus resonance, which just sounds austere and scientifically grand. As in, his gracious, timbrous voice resonated within the venerated hall of Weapons. Sounds a lot better than, She flung her [...]

Directing a Shoot – More Than Just A Good Eye

By jelewis8 ⋅ February 23, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

It’s been a week of preparation, followed by one glorious day of panicked irrationality, wherein I achieved more ancillary goals than I’d been able to the entire rest of the week combined, simply due to the impetus provided by the stress of knowing that in less than 24 hours I’d be behind the camera again. [...]

Guide To Making Short Films

By jelewis8 ⋅ February 22, 2007 ⋅ 2 comments

It’s a lot easier writing a bad short film script than a good one, and to act in a bad short film is something all aspiring actors do at one point in their lives, but it takes true talent to make something you consider brilliant, but is in actuality truly and incomprehensively bad. You’re in [...]

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