Friday, February 22, 2008
This week: Hip-Hop Cover Videos
Dynamite Hack – Boyz in the Hood
Originally performed by Eazy E
Jenny Owen Youngs – Hot in Herre
Originally performed by Nelly
Alanis Morissette – My Humps
Originally performed by Black Eyed Peas
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Waitress is a film attempting to convince the world that life is like a good pie. Kind of bitter and salty, but when you get through the crust, it can be warm, gooey, and delicious. The film is a lot like that. It’s extremely bitter toward marriage and the dialogue is full of salt and vinegar. Even the main cast is a bunch of unhappy middle-aged women led by a woman named Jenna (Keri Russel), but as soon as you get past their bite, it’s nothing but fruit filling.
I really did not want to like this movie. It’s full of infidelity and betrays much of what I stand for. There was a certain point where I was all but convinced I absolutely did not like it, yet just like a good pie, I forgot all about that salty crust and the warm goo at the heart of the film promptly won me over.
– 143.2 arbitrary stars.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
If you have ever dreamed of a real-life adaptation of a Bugs Bunny cartoon, your dreams have finally come true. Shoot ‘Em Up is torn straight from the pages of the old Looney Tunes animation slates, complete with carrots, cartoon violence, and rude, crude juvenile humor. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as clever, and some would say it borders on pornography (i.e. expression or implication which appeals to the base or sensual desires of a person and is contrary to the established moral code of the society), but it sure is fun. Sit down, turn off your brain, and enjoy … if you can stomach it.
– 137 arbitrary stars
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
You may or may not have noticed the little link at the bottom of my site, “Tripod Productions, LLC,” for the videography business I run with a friend of mine in Northern Virginia. We do videography for anything from sports to weddings to special events. We’ve been in the initial stages for the past year, building our website, working on contracts, and acquiring necessary equipment, but we are now officially up and running.
I am also pleased to announce, as you can see from the title of this post, that Tripod Productions, LLC now does video transfer as well. This means we can convert old home videos to professional DVDs. We primarily do VHS to DVD transfers, but we are able to work with whatever format a client may have. Each DVD is custom-made to the needs of the client, but packages are based around a $20 per 2 hours of tape price range.
Check out the website, more samples and reels are on their way, and pass the word on to your friends and relatives. To place an order, just shoot me or my partner an email with your needs and we’ll get to work right away!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) is a hard-nosed thug. He is tough and emotionless; he fears no one, not even his crime lord boss. He is quiet and lives by his own code. He is old school.
Yet, when you look into his eyes, you see something completely different. Nikolai is a character out of the old Westerns, a quiet, stoic man who lives by his own values. There’s only one problem. He’s the bad guy.
Mortensen steals this show. Naomi Watts delivers a good performance as Anna, but you hardly notice her. She is but a tool to uncover the dichotomy of Nikolai’s character. Why is she so drawn to him? Why does he make her feel safe? What drives him? This is the duality and conflict Peter Jackson was dreaming of when he cast Mortensen as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings.
Eastern Promises is a brutal film. It is dark, it is rugged, and it is tough, but it has a heart underneath all the grit. This is Nikolai’s story, and Mortensen captures the essence of that story with every glance. He speaks little, telling his story with his eyes. He is a man to be feared, but you can’t help being drawn to him. It is the same with this film.
– 297 arbitrary stars