Cinematicalhttp://www.cinematical.comCinematicalhttp://www.cinematical.com/media/feedlogo.gifCinematicalhttp://www.cinematical.comen-usCopyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Film Blog Group Hug: The 2007-Is-Almost-Over Editionhttp://www.cinematical.com/2007/12/26/film-blog-group-hug-the-2007-is-almost-over-edition/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/12/26/film-blog-group-hug-the-2007-is-almost-over-edition/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/12/26/film-blog-group-hug-the-2007-is-almost-over-edition/#commentsFiled under: ,

It's been awhile since we've had a little film blog group hugging action around here. Today it's cold and snowing here, so what better way to put off cleaning house and baking lasagna for our Boxing Day party than to cozy up under a quilt with a cup of hot tea and some of my favorite film bloggers? As 2007 wanes away and Sundance looms near, I thought I'd pop by some of my favorite film blogs to see who's doing any writing this holiday weekend.

Before taking a well-deserved break for the holidays, hard-working film blogger Karina Longworth at Spout Blog put up this thought-provoking piece on whether Disney wants to turn your daughter into a whore. As Karina points out, Barbara Ehrenreich's recycled rant on the evils of all things Disney is well past-due. I was getting into arguments about Disney back when I was doing time in mom's clubs when I did the stay-at-home-mom gig for a few years; the "We're raising our kids gender-neutral," granola-crunching, feminist hippy mamas in Seattle and parts elsewhere have had Disney in their crosshairs for years.

My favorite line from Ehrenreich's piece: "One's sexual inclinations--straightforward or kinky, active or passive, heterosexual or homosexual--should be free to develop without adult intervention or manipulation. " Riiiiiiiiight. If you raise your kids in a bubble unexposed to any society whatsover, perhaps. Kids are products of their social communities whether they grow up in the favelas of Brazil or in a high-rise overlooking Central Park, and trying to mold their little minds with the androgyny of gender-neutrality is no less manipulative than allowing your daughter to dress up like a pretty princess. Bratz, though, is another story. I hate those damn dolls with a passion previously reserved for Barney. If anyone's trying to shallow-fy and whore out our daughters, it's the evil geniuses behind those Bratz dolls. At least the Disney Princesses don't have lips that look like they had an unfortunate experience with a silicone injection. Anyhow.

More group hugs after the jump ...

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: The 2007-Is-Almost-Over Edition

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>anne thompsondavid polanddiablo codyjim emersonjunomichael phillipsno country for old menscott weinbergthere will be bloodtop ten listsTopTenListsKim VoynarWed, 26 Dec 2007 19:33:00 ESTIndie Film Blog Group Hug: TIFF 2007 Editionhttp://www.cinematical.com/2007/09/14/indie-film-blog-group-hug-tiff-edition/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/09/14/indie-film-blog-group-hug-tiff-edition/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/09/14/indie-film-blog-group-hug-tiff-edition/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The Toronto International Film Festival is winding down, and of course the Cinematical crew on the scene provided you with fabulous, fabulous coverage. But it turns out there were other journalists there, too, writing about the fest at other websites. Who knew? So let's take a spin around the ol' Interwebs and show you what our fellow bloggers have been up to in a special TIFF edition of the Film Blog Group Hug:
  • GreenCine Daily has provided a lot of TIFF reviews and features. I particularly enjoyed the thoughtful and intelligent dispatches from David D'Arcy (about the festival's war-themed films) and Michael Guillén (following the fest's Masters and Discovery sections).
  • RogerEbert.com editor Jim Emerson writes on his own blog, Scanners, that the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men "is one of those movies I think provides a critical litmus test. You can quibble about it all you like, but if you don't get the artistry at work then, I submit, you don't get what movies are. Elsewhere, he writes amusingly about the fun of seeing movies without knowing anything about them beforehand.
  • Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere can always be counted on for entertaining prose, rants, and diatribes, and he blogged extensively throughout the fest. I love his dismissal of the rockumentary Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who: "I left in an angry huff [after] 25 minutes.... The limited footage I saw told me that [the directors] are hacks, propagandists and bald-faced liars. By all means see this foggy-minded doc when it turns up on DVD, but you'd do well to inject a heroin-cocaine speedball at the same time." Not a mincer of words, that Jeff.
  • Pretty much everyone who saw Jason Reitman's Juno loved it (including our own Scott Weinberg and Kim Voynar), and /Film's Peter Sciretta takes it a step further: He lists all the songs included in the film's indie-folk soundtrack. Lots of stuff by The Moldy Peaches (and the group's singer, Kimya Dawson), as well as Belle & Sebastian, The Drop, Sonic Youth, and others.
  • Variety's Anne Thompson posted a few insightful entries, notably this one, in which she talks about the three kinds of films at TIFF: the crowd-pleasers, the headline-makers, and the critical darlings. Some of the best movies, of course, are all three. Meanwhile, over at The Circuit blog on Variety, new Film Fest Managing Editor Mike Jones has some great end-to-end coverage of the fest.
  • Over at Movie City News, David Poland provides what few other bloggers do: video and photos (and more photos)!
Did we miss anything? Feel free to point out other notable TIFF-related blogs in the comments.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Eric D. SniderFri, 14 Sep 2007 14:32:00 ESTIndie Film Blog Group Hug: Foundas on Brett Ratner, Opening Shots, and Blogophone!http://www.cinematical.com/2007/08/04/indie-film-blog-group-hug/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/08/04/indie-film-blog-group-hug/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/08/04/indie-film-blog-group-hug/#commentsFiled under: , ,

It's a hot and steamy weekend here, and I'm feeling way to lazy to go outside for a power walk, so instead I thought I'd do a weekend check-in on some of my fave film sites around the web. As always, if you have a film blog (or even a film blog that you read and like, that you haven't seen me point to in a Group Hug), send me a link at kim(at)cinematical(dot)com. I'm always on the lookout for film sites to add to my already-lengthy list of daily reads ... hey, a girl just can't get too much film talk, right? Besides, the more film sites I'm forced to read, the longer I can put off that power walk ...

This one isn't particularly "indie," but it's one of the most fascinating pieces I've read all week, so I just had to include it. Over at the LA Weekly, Scott Foundas has a really interesting (and LONG -- seven pages, so read it with a fresh cup of coffee) feature piece up on Brett Ratner. What makes it such a fun read is that Foundas, whose writing I like and respect, goes way against the expected grain here, asserting of Popcorn King Ratner: "Which brings me to the other reason I've wanted to write about Ratner. It is an idea that may initially strike you as radical or preposterous, and which could jeopardize my standing in the film-criticism community. And yet, here goes: Brett Ratner is a talented filmmaker who deserves to be taken seriously."

Wow. No doubt Foundas has taken a lot of ribbing for this piece, but it's very well-written -- I can think of a few folks who write up set visits who could take a lesson from how Foundas puts you inside Ratner's set with his writing here -- and, moreover, by the end of it, I actually had kind of a newfound respect for Ratner -- at least for the work he puts into his films, if not the films themselves.

Just over a year ago, Jim Emerson started this very cool Opening Shots Project, wherein he kicked things off by writing about some of his favorite opening shots in a film, and then invited others to write about theirs. Emerson asserts that the opening shot is the most important moment in a film, that it sets the tone of the film and tells you what it's going to be about; after I started reading the Opening Shots pieces, I became even more aware of the importance of opening shots and started paying closer attention to them with every film I watch. So I was pleased to see [via a link on Daily Green Cine, who always have lots of good stuff] that there's a new Opening Shots entry up: Andy Horbal analyzes the opening shot of Army of Shadows. Check it out.

In the aftermath of the same-day deaths of directing greats Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni, Movie City Indie's Ray Pride ponders, "Who are the oldest living film directors?" with a comprehensive listing of directors that starts with the current oldest, Manoel de Oliveira (born in 1908), and works its way down to Stuart Gordon (born in 1947). Great minds thinking alike, David Poland, on The Hot Blog, points over to a post on Joe Leydon's MovingPictureBlog that asks: Who are the heirs to Bergman and Antonioni? Pop on over to both sites, read what they have to say, and chime in with your own thoughts.

If you're a geek for technical details, you'll dig this post Josh Oakhurst has up answering questions from readers about just how he shot a couple of stop-mo spots, in which he explains in detail, among other things, why he didn't shoot in RAW. If you're interested in shooting stop-mo yourself -- or even if, like me, your just a sucker for all things film-geeky, you'll want to delve into this post.

Remember that game "telephone" we used to play at Girl Scouts (yeah, I was a Girl Scout -- hah!) and summer camp? You'd sit in a big circle, the first person would whisper a message to the second person, and they would pass it on, and so on, and at the end everyone would get a big laugh over how the message had changed, and you were supposed to learn an Important Lesson about the power of communication or world peace or something. Whatever. Over at Burbanked, Alan has a much more fun idea: Blogophone! It's pretty simple: he starts with a movie-related post, then tosses it to the next person in the game, who creatively changes it and tosses it to the next person, etc. The first one got pretty amusing, so he's started a second round. He tossed it to Ray over at The Rec Show, but don't let that stop you from nosing in on the fun ...

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>brett ratnercinematicaldavid polandDavidPolandfilmingmar bergmanjoe leydonmichelangelo antonionimoviescott foundasKim VoynarSat, 04 Aug 2007 12:37:00 ESTIndie Film Blog Group Hug: Bergman, Antonioni, and Sex in Cinemahttp://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/31/indie-film-blog-group-hug-bergman-antonioni-and-sex-in-cinema/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/31/indie-film-blog-group-hug-bergman-antonioni-and-sex-in-cinema/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/31/indie-film-blog-group-hug-bergman-antonioni-and-sex-in-cinema/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Time once again to check in on to see what's going on with some of our favorite film blogs ... and by the bye, folks -- if you have a film blog that I don't know about, please drop me a line and point me to it. I love, love, love my fave film blog reads, but, like any good addict, I just can't get enough, so bring on your film blogs! Drop me a line at kim(at)cinematical(dot)com ...

It's technically not a blog, I suppose, but MCN Voices has an excellent piece up by screenwriter Larry Gross on Ingmar Bergman, in which he analyzes the director's genius and influence. If you want to learn more about Bergman, you can check out the always excellent Senses of Cinema's Great Directors piece on the auteur. While you're over there, you can read up on the other directors Gross mentions in his Bergman piece -- filmmaking greats from Fellini to Cuaron to Welles to Altman -- and another recently deceased filmmaking legend, Michelangelo Antonioni, who passed away July 30 at the age of 94. For even more on both Bergman and Antonioni, check out Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips very excellent piece on both directors on his Talking Pictures blog, and Roger Ebert, who we're ever so glad to see back in action, with his own tribute to Bergman.

More group-hugging action after the jump ...


Continue reading Indie Film Blog Group Hug: Bergman, Antonioni, and Sex in Cinema

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>andrfew bujalskicinematicalfilmfilm blog group hugFilmBlogGroupHugingmar bergmanjay choumichelangelo antonionimovieroger ebertKim VoynarTue, 31 Jul 2007 19:01:00 ESTIndie Film Blog Group Hug: The Fox Screening Kerfuffle and Harry Potter Embargo-Breakinghttp://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/20/indie-film-blog-group-hug/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/20/indie-film-blog-group-hug/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/20/indie-film-blog-group-hug/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Time once again for our weekly Indie Film Blog Group Hug, wherein we check in with other film blogs around the internet to see what other folks are writing about. One of these days, I want to throw a big party at my house and have all the other film bloggers from around the world converge in my living room to wax eloquent about all things film-related over chips and salsa, taquitos and icy-cold margaritas. Wouldn't that be a blast? In the meantime, the Group Hug will have to suffice ...

Oh, and by the way, fellow cinephiles, if you have a film blog I don't know about (or even if you've previously submitted your blog and I haven't covered it in a while), drop me a line at kim(at)cinematical(dot)com to point me your way.

  • Over on The Hot Blog, David Poland writes about whether it means anything that Fox pulled out of Comic-Con, and ponders the whole sticky-wicket issues of which critics get into sceenings when, which leads to a discussion of embargoes, which then gets into the whole kerfuffle surrounding the Baltimore Sun and NYT breaking embargo on the lastest (and last) Harry Potter tome. And somehow, he manages to tie it all together in a way that actually makes sense ...
  • ... Meanwhile over at Hollywood Elsewhere, Poland's sometime-rival Jeff Wells commentates nicely (I think) on Poland's piece and offers up his own take on the whole Fox-pulls-out-of-Comic-Con-Does-That-Mean-The-Simpsons-Movie-sucks thing.
  • Apparently everyone the Baltimore Sun and NYT have everyone thinking about all things Potter this week, as both Anne Thompson, Matt Dentler, and Karina Longworth ** (great minds thinking alike) have posts up about the Harry Potter embargo-breaking, too.
  • Strange Culture is already thinking Oscars ... in July! That's right, RC is already positing that Roger Deakins will be nominated for an Oscar for cinematography -- and that's probably a pretty good guess. Any early bets on other Oscar noms?
  • Indie Film Nation, which runs some nifty podcasts about all things indie, has a fascinating interview up with Richard Moore, the director of the Melbourne International Film Festival. Good stuff. While you're already over there, check out last week's interview with Goetz Weber, CEO and co-founder of inDPlay.
  • Checking out what's going down over at Twitch, Kurt has a little post up {via just about everyone on the planet, so this is obviously old news to everyone but me -- figures) about the possibility that one of my favorite films ever, John Carpenter's They Live, might -- that's might -- be made into a series for the Sci-Fi channel. They live is great political satire wrapped up as a fun horror flick, and I agree with Kurt -- it's never been more relevant than it is now. Keep your fingers crossed -- if it does ever get made, that's one series that's getting set to record on my DVR, baby. Don't forget your special sunglasses ...
**Karina does indeed have a great mind, but that particular post was about Fox and Comic-Con, not Harry Potter. It's still a good post and worth reading, though. The moral of this story? Don't read 40 different film blogs while simultaneously writing a post and getting four kids ready to get out the door for swim lessons without double-checking that you've got it all right. Thanks for setting it straight, Karina. It's good to still have you around to keep us on our toes.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>anne thompsoncinematicaldavid polandfilmfoxhot blogHotBlogjeff wellsjohn carpenterkarina longworthmatt dentlermelbourne international film festivalmovieroger deakinssimpsonsThey LiveKim VoynarFri, 20 Jul 2007 13:01:00 ESTIndie Film Blog Group Hug: Exercising Vigilance, Torture by Government, and Thumbsucker Helmer Mike Millshttp://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/13/indie-film-blog-group-hug-exercising-vigilance-torture-by-gove/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/13/indie-film-blog-group-hug-exercising-vigilance-torture-by-gove/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/13/indie-film-blog-group-hug-exercising-vigilance-torture-by-gove/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

It's time to take a little peek around the world of indie film sites and see what other folks are talking about. We're going to be posting a regular Indie Film Blog Group Hug. Do you have a blog where you're writing about indie films, foreign films or docs? Are you an indie filmmaker with a site up about your film that you'd like us to take a look at? Run a little film fest you want to get the word out on? Feel free to send your indie film links, hot tips and other fun stuff to me at kim (at) cinematical (dot) com.

And now, for this week's Group Hug:

  • Over at Deep Structure, Christopher John Stack is writing about his film, An Exercise in Vigilance, which will screen at the Action on Film International Film Festival in Long Beach, CA, which apparently runs to coincide with a big martial arts fest -- so all you action film fans who live in that area might want to check it out. An Exercise in Vigilance screens at the fest at theater 4, 5:30PM on Sunday. And just to be really nice and throw other filmmakers some love, Stack even has a breakdown of the sched for you right there on his site. Congrats to Stack on his film getting into the fest.
  • Movie City Indie's Ray Pride has a fasciYnating interview up with filmmaker Usama Alshaibi, who in 2004 returned to his native Iraq to shoot a documentary titled Nice Bombs, which won a best doc prize at the 2006 Chicago Underground Film Festival.
  • DVD Panache, which runs a regular bit called "Friday Screen Test," wherein various film bloggers are asked all sorts of questions -- kind a True Confessions for film geeks -- put my fave Amsterdam-based film blogger, Peet Gelderblom, to the test. What's Peet like when his feet are put to the fire? Well, he once saw Famke Jenssen's sister in her underwear, so I guess that makes him just one degree removed from Famke herself. Check it out, and if you don't read Peet's blog, Lost in Negative Space, already, hunker down with some french fries with mayo to give you that "Amsterdam feeling" and check him out.
  • You gotta love a film site that calls itself Burbanked: All the Smug of Hollywood, in a Much Less Desirable Location. Alan Lopuszynski, who runs the site, posits the question: Can one scene make a movie a classic?
  • Another of my regular blog reads, Strange Culture, almost always has something intriguing to check out. This week, RC has a post up about torture as it relates to -- ahem -- "unorthodox" and secret torture used by government officials in interrogations. How does this relate to film? Rendition, an upcoming film due out in October, starring a pretty impressive cast including Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep, Jake Gyllenhall, Alan Arkin and Peter Saarsgard. Check it out.
  • Peter Nellhaus has a blog called Coffee, Coffee and More Coffee, where he writes about all kinds of interesting film-related stuff. Most recently, Peter has a great little DVD review of the 1960 film called Seven Thieves, complete with some nice black-and-white stills, and another more recent flick, 2004's The Taste of Tea.
  • It's been a while since we checked in with NYC blog Blank Screen. Most recently, the Blank Screen folks have been interviewing Thumbsucker director Mike Mills (who's currently dating another indie-film darling, Miranda July -- now that's material for an indie flick!). Side note: They also have tons of info on what's going on in the arts in NYC; if you live there and don't have them bookmarked, what are you waiting for? Bookmark, already!

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>cinematicalfilmfilm blog group hugFilmBlogGroupHugindependent filmindie filmmovieKim VoynarFri, 13 Jul 2007 09:03:00 ESTA New Blog on the Block, MTV-Stylehttp://www.cinematical.com/2007/05/09/a-new-blog-on-the-block-mtv-style/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/05/09/a-new-blog-on-the-block-mtv-style/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/05/09/a-new-blog-on-the-block-mtv-style/#commentsFiled under:

Oh great. Just what the world needs. Another lame-ass corporate-owned movie blog that doesn't know a freakin' thing about ... just kidding! We're actually quite happy to share the news that MTV Movies is now offering a brand spankin' new movie blog. Or at least I'm happy about it, and here's why: I'm a big fan of MTV's movie coverage. For the last year or so, they've done some really solid stuff. Aside from the clunky interface and long load times at the website, those guys do a damn good job with the scoops, the news and some consistently excellent interviews. So it's not like a "new" blog as much as it is an upgrade. A much more aesthetically pleasing and bandwidth-friendly upgrade.

Set your browser on 'favorites' and then click right here to pick through the inaugural entries from Brian Jacks and Josh Horowitz: there's a Sarah Silverman video, some news on a potential follow-up to L.A. Confidential, a good deal of palpable fanboyism regarding Rutger Hauer (Horowitz and I may have been separated at birth), a piece about the possibility of a Sopranos movie, and (of course) more, more, more to come. So while MTV Movies is certainly not a newcomer to the world of online flick geekery, we at Cinematical would like to officially welcome MTV to the "blogosphere" -- but since I freaking HATE the word "blogosphere," I'll just say "keep up the good work, guys, and thanks for the linkage on the left-hand side."

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>cinematicalmtv movie blogMtvMovieBlognewscott weinbergScottWeinbergScott WeinbergWed, 09 May 2007 19:31:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: A Whirlwind Tour of the Blog Universehttp://www.cinematical.com/2007/04/26/film-blog-group-hug-a-whirlwind-tour-of-the-blog-universe/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/04/26/film-blog-group-hug-a-whirlwind-tour-of-the-blog-universe/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/04/26/film-blog-group-hug-a-whirlwind-tour-of-the-blog-universe/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Some days I feel like I've spent entirely too much time reading film blogs instead of doing something more productive, like paying bills or watching movies or entertaining the cat . Sometimes I feel like I never spend as much time as I want reading film blogs, much less writing for them myself. For example, I regret I never made time to participate in the Shakespeare Blog-a-Thon listed below, and also that I haven't been able to read all the blog-a-thon entries yet. To lighten my feelings of guilt on all accounts, I figured the best thing to do was to share a bunch of good blog entries out of the ones I read last week.

Normally I prefer to arrange Film Blog Group Hug entries into a neat little category, like "Austin bloggers" or "film festival bloggers" but this week, I decided to post a variety of links, just for fun. Consider it a quick tour of various fun spots in the online world (I can't stand the term "blogosphere"), from Shakespeare to Woody Allen to Spike Lee. After all, this is how most of us read film blogs, isn't it? Dive in and enjoy.

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: A Whirlwind Tour of the Blog Universe

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>AustinBarbara StanwyckCinematicalfilmmovieSan FranciscoSpike LeeStephen FrearsWilliam ShakespeareWoody AllenJette KernionThu, 26 Apr 2007 18:32:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: AFI Dallas 2007http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/28/film-blog-group-hug-afi-dallas-2007/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/28/film-blog-group-hug-afi-dallas-2007/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/28/film-blog-group-hug-afi-dallas-2007/#commentsFiled under: , ,

AFI Dallas is only in its first year, but the festival is gathering some good online press this week from a variety of sources. And the festival isn't over yet -- it continues through Sunday. Have you checked out Cinematical's coverage yet? The best blog to visit for photos and stories about AFI Dallas is the festival's own official blog, which is being updated frequently this week while the festival continues. The site includes a link to the already infamous video clip of filmmaker David Lynch (who attended a sold-out Inland Empire screening) being asked how he feels about product placement in films. (The video clip contains language you may not want to share in public.) AFI Dallas also has its own Flickr account with tons of photos, although the hard-working festival staff has not yet had time to identify the people in the pictures. I could pick out Lynch, but that was about it.

After the jump, I've listed other online sites covering various aspects of AFI Dallas this week. If I missed yours, feel free to post a link in the comments.

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: AFI Dallas 2007

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>CinematicalDallasDavid LynchfilmGregory PeckmovieJette KernionWed, 28 Mar 2007 19:32:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: SXSW Rocks!http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/15/film-blog-group-hug-sxsw-rocks/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/15/film-blog-group-hug-sxsw-rocks/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/15/film-blog-group-hug-sxsw-rocks/#commentsFiled under: , ,




I'm starting to think that I never should have read everyone else's blog entries about South by Southwest, because I'm envious of all the fun they're having and all the movies they liked that I haven't seen yet. I'm having a fabulous time, but Alan Cumming hasn't kissed me full on the mouth, and I missed the big Knocked Up premiere that everyone seemed to love. On the other hand, the festival's not over yet, so who knows what might happen?

Here are some of the reports coming in from SXSW about all kinds of aspects of the film festival and conference, so you can be jealous too:
  • A.J. Schnack was in Austin for a few days to attend screenings of his documentary Kurt Cobain About a Son (look for a review from James Rocchi soon). He posted some party photos and a few thoughts about Hannah Takes the Stairs (look for a review from me soon). Also, his opinions on Manufacturing Dissent\ are much more negative than mine.
  • Over at Anthony Kaufman's blog, Kaufman reveals that he was on the documentary award jury for SXSW and shares some of the jury's quotes about the award-winning docs. And again with Hannah Takes the Stairs; like Schnack, Kaufman also considers it part of a new indie-film movement.
  • Last year, I got a kick out of Eric Snider's daily SXSW film diary. This year, he's at it again, having loads of fun at movies and parties and Starbucks. He's up to Day 4 right now so go back again later and catch up on the rest of his entries. I particularly liked his Sunday entry; he reminds me that I need to write about the horror panel I attended that included Cinematical's Scott Weinberg.
  • Cinematical's editor emeritus Karina Longworth is at SXSW this year, covering film and music events for Netscape. She's also blogging about the festival films like Hannah Takes the Stairs and Running with Arnold on Vidiocy.com, her own personal site. (I interviewed Karina as part of the Studio SX program this year; I'll certainly post a link when the video from that interview is available online.)

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: SXSW Rocks!

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>AustinCinematicalfilmmovieweblogJette KernionThu, 15 Mar 2007 17:01:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: Oscar Watch Partyhttp://www.cinematical.com/2007/02/24/film-blog-group-hug-oscar-watch-party/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/02/24/film-blog-group-hug-oscar-watch-party/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/02/24/film-blog-group-hug-oscar-watch-party/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,



In case you didn't know, tomorrow night is the Oscars. One night of glorious, black-tie back-patting, followed by a couple days of chatter about who wore what and who didn't show upand who had the most god-awful hairstyle, and why this movie shouldn't have won that award. There are folks who are still bitching about Crash's win last year (and probably always will be), and no matter who wins the Best Picture this year, you can bet there will be moaning, wailing and gnashing of teeth from various quarters.

Tomorrow night, we here at Cinematical will be live-blogging the Oscars for you, starting at 4PM PST/7PM EST with some chatter about the red carpet, and we'll stick it out until the last, endlessly dull acceptance speech. In the meantime, though, here's what other sites around and about the internet are blogging about in preparation for Hollywood's big night.

Lots of group hug Oscar action after the jump ...

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: Oscar Watch Party

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>babelcinematicalfilmlittle miss sunshinemovieoscar predictionsoscar watchoscarsthe departedKim VoynarSat, 24 Feb 2007 18:03:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: The Berlinale Editionhttp://www.cinematical.com/2007/02/12/film-blog-group-hug-the-berlinale-edition/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/02/12/film-blog-group-hug-the-berlinale-edition/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/02/12/film-blog-group-hug-the-berlinale-edition/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Our own Erik Davis is over in Berlin, overdosing on cinema and typing his fingers off into the wee smas bringing you reviews and dispatches from the Berlinale. Erik can't be everywhere in Berlin at once, though, so we thought we'd check in with some other folks who are hanging out at the Berlinale to see what other folks think about what they're seeing there.

Checking in with one of my own regular reads, Daily Green Cine, the blog "joined at the hip" with DVD-rental service Green Cine always has interesting things to say about the world of indie film, so naturally they have some dispatches from Berlin. David Hudson and his daughter, Adrienne, have a great back-and-forth exchange about Park Chan-wook's (Oldboy) latest film, I'm a Cyborg But That's Okay. David was going to walk out of the screening about a half-hour in; he ended up staying and was glad he did, although he wasn't that wild about the film overall. Daughter Adrienne had a much different take on the film. Oh, and -- bonus! -- David confesses that he's yet to be really blown away by Park Chan-wook! It takes guts to stand up and openly admit you don't get the appeal of a filmmaker everyone else seems to be on the bandwagon for, so hooray for David for having the critical integrity not to just go along with the pack.

More Group Hug action after the jump ...

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: The Berlinale Edition

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>berlinalecinematicalfilmfilm blog group hugmovieKim VoynarMon, 12 Feb 2007 12:32:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: They're Going to Sundancehttp://www.cinematical.com/2007/01/17/film-blog-group-hug-theyre-going-to-sundance/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/01/17/film-blog-group-hug-theyre-going-to-sundance/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/01/17/film-blog-group-hug-theyre-going-to-sundance/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Poor little me, left out of all the Sundance fun. You won't see me in Utah in the next week -- I've never been to Sundance and 2007 isn't yet the year for me to go. At least I cherish the satisfaction of having seen Black Snake Moan before its big premiere at the festival (thank you, BNAT). I can't wait to hear if it meets or exceeds James Rocchi's expectations.

From my nice warm desk in Austin, I'm keeping an eye out for festival-related news, but I enjoy reading the personal stories about Sundance more than the lists of distribution deals. So I'm not just monitoring the wire services, I'm also watching the blogs. Film bloggers who are lucky enough to travel to Park City have been sharing anecdotes and gossipy tidbits about the upcoming festival, and are letting us know which films they're planning to see. Check out the following blog entries from a handful of Sundance attendees all preparing in earnest for a busy week of film-festival madness ... and check back with these bloggers in a week or so to see how it all panned out for them.

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: They're Going to Sundance

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>bloggersCinematicalfilmmovieJette KernionWed, 17 Jan 2007 10:02:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: Hello, My Name Is ...http://www.cinematical.com/2007/01/09/film-blog-group-hug-hello-my-name-is/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/01/09/film-blog-group-hug-hello-my-name-is/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/01/09/film-blog-group-hug-hello-my-name-is/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It's been a while since we did a film blog group hug around here, and I, for one, have missed checking in with some of my fave smaller (and bigger) movie blogs. Let's see what's going on as we head into the second week of 2007, shall we? January movie releases suck, we know, and the weather is dismal and gloomy here in Seattle (I know, shocking, right?), so let's take an imaginary trip to places a wee less gloomy (or at least amusing enough to be distracting). Let's go see what's up around the world of film blogging ...

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: Hello, My Name Is ...

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>cinematicalfilmfilm blog group hugFilmBlogGroupHugmovieKim VoynarTue, 09 Jan 2007 18:06:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: Filmmaker Blogshttp://www.cinematical.com/2006/11/09/film-blog-group-hug-filmmaker-blogs/http://www.cinematical.com/2006/11/09/film-blog-group-hug-filmmaker-blogs/http://www.cinematical.com/2006/11/09/film-blog-group-hug-filmmaker-blogs/#commentsFiled under: ,

Should all filmmakers have blogs? After all, I can think of some filmmakers whom I'd rather see spending their time actually making movies or writing scripts. And I suspect there are a few filmmakers who are much better at directing than they are at writing short essays or even diary-like entries. But I have a number of filmmakers' blogs in my RSS feed reader -- it's so much fun to hear about the entire process, whether it's preproduction details, brief sleep-deprived entries posted erratically during the shoot, or news about distribution and exhibition.
  • Doug Block is one of the first people to combine filmmaking and blogging. He even made a documentary about blogging, Home Page (pictured above), back in 1998. On his blog Around the Block, he's been sharing stories about screenings of his latest film, the personal doc 51 Birch Street.
  • Over at Drifting: A Director's Log, you can read all about David Lowery's latest editing project, Ciao. I'm not a filmmaker myself so I don't understand advice like, "If you roll over from your first card to the next in the middle of a take, make sure you get a tail slate." Fortunately for me, Lowery also blogs about the shorts he's directed, movies he's seen, and anything else film-related that he likes.

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: Filmmaker Blogs

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Jette KernionThu, 09 Nov 2006 16:02:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: Tricks and Treatshttp://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/31/film-blog-group-hug-tricks-and-treats/http://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/31/film-blog-group-hug-tricks-and-treats/http://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/31/film-blog-group-hug-tricks-and-treats/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,



Happy Halloween, Cinematical readers! We know you've got lots to do, what with digging through that bowl of candy for the trick-or-treaters to hunt out all the Snickers and peanut butter cups, carving those last minute jack-o-lanterns, and, of course, putting the finishing touches on your costume so you can enter our spooktacular Halloween Costume Contest. You don't have time to poke around the internet hunting out all the cool Halloween stuff out there. But we do! Just for you, to help you get in that Halloween spirit, here's a roundup of some of the coolest Halloween tricks and treats we could dig up for you. Happy Halloween!

Who doesn't love a good vampire flick? Get out your garlic necklace, because over at the Film Experience Blog, they've got more vampire posts than you can wave a bottle of holy water at with their Vampire Blog-a-Thon. In addition to a blood-tastic rundown of his own fave vampire flicks, Nathaniel has compiled a list of other blogs with vampire-related posts ranging from Eddie Copeland's piece on why Fright Night is the best vampire film ever, to Modern Fabulosity's tribute to Klaus Kinski as Nosferatu, to The Boob Tubers pondering something I myself have spend many a sleepless night contemplating: Spike -- or Angel? (Actually, it's not much of a contest for me -- Angel is hot, but he's such a goody-two-shoes -- and I'd definitely pay to go see a good Spike movie on the big screen). Want more? Get thee over to Film Experience and check out the full list of entries in the Blog-a-Thon.

More after the jump ...

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: Tricks and Treats

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>cinematicalfilmgeorge romerohorror filmshorrorfestHorrorFilmsmick garrismiss horrorfestmovieKim VoynarTue, 31 Oct 2006 10:00:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: Austin Film Festivalhttp://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/26/film-blog-group-hug-austin-film-festival/http://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/26/film-blog-group-hug-austin-film-festival/http://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/26/film-blog-group-hug-austin-film-festival/#commentsFiled under: ,

This week's Austin Film Festival might not be quite as big as that other film festival that takes place in Austin in the spring, but it's still possible to see films on an entirely different parallel track to someone else. In other words, I can think of a few people I know who are also attending the festival whom I haven't seen because they're watching different films than I am. After all, it's impossible to see everything. Check out some of these blog entries from other AFF attendees who watched Death of a President while I was at Rescue Dawn, or who attended more conference sessions that I could manage.
  • AFF itself has a blog that includes some interesting interviews with filmmakers whose movies screened at the festival this year. Highlights include Dale Kutzera, who directed the feature Military Intelligence and You, and Daniel O'Connor, who directed Run Robot Run.
  • Austinist has been covering AFF continually, and was the best place to find the latest info about awards and special screenings -- I believe the site is actually one of the festival sponsors. There's a good interview with Brian Helgeland, who screened a director's cut of Payback at AFF. I also liked Austinist's cool photos from the opening-night party.

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: Austin Film Festival

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>AustinCinematicalfilmmovieweblogJette KernionThu, 26 Oct 2006 16:32:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: A Non-Texas Grab Baghttp://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/12/film-blog-group-hug-a-non-texas-grab-bag/http://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/12/film-blog-group-hug-a-non-texas-grab-bag/http://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/12/film-blog-group-hug-a-non-texas-grab-bag/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Normally, I like to pick a theme for Film Blog Group Hug. Let's face it, that theme is usually related to Austin, Texas, where I live. But I enjoy variety in my reading as much as anyone else, so this week I found all kinds of interesting and notable blog entries that -- believe it or not -- had nothing to do with Austin. Or Texas. Or the South. This week's Film Blog Group Hug entries range from thoughts on distribution and exhibition, to marketing examples, to film festival coverage, and finally to miscellaneous fun and games.
  • Over at the Onion A.V. Club, Scott Tobias explains why recent decisions about exhibiting Death of a President and Deliver Us from Evil make him feel he's being treated like a child: "These gatekeepers have basically decided that adults need to be shielded from ideas that they deem inappropriate. They've created a special rating and it's called GFY (Go F**k Yourself)." Here in Texas, I'm wondering whether we'll get any chance at all to see Death of a President. [via ScreenGrab]
  • Speaking of Death of a President, Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere notes the links between the chains refusing to show the film and the Republican Party. I'm a little skeptical -- I think the motives are likely more commercial. But I'd love to see an in-depth article on theater-chain corporations and their political donations and affiliations; if such an article exists and you know about it, please share the link. [via Movie Marketing Madness]

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: A Non-Texas Grab Bag

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>CinematicalfilmmovieJette KernionThu, 12 Oct 2006 11:08:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: Enter Witty Post Title Herehttp://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/08/film-blog-group-hug-enter-witty-post-title-here/http://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/08/film-blog-group-hug-enter-witty-post-title-here/http://www.cinematical.com/2006/10/08/film-blog-group-hug-enter-witty-post-title-here/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Some days, when you're on week two of the head cold/flu bug/plague from hell and your head feels like it's going to explode from some point directly behind your right eyeball, your ability to come up with a witty blog post title gets diminished. I figure lots of other people out there are sick too -- at least I know they are here in Seattle, because the Safeway keeps running out of and restocking the Theraflu and Triaminic, and they've added a great big display of Kleenex, Gatorade and chicken noodle soup at the front of the store. When you're feeling crummy, the one thing you can do to pass the time is sit your ass on the couch, wrap up in your favorite warm and fuzzy blankie, zone out on cold medicine and internet-surf. And we, dear Cinematical readers, are here to serve you in your hour of need. You don't have to think too hard about which other film sites to check out. Just read on, we've rounded up some of the coolest film stuff out there for you right here. And there's nothing like a big group hug to make you feel better, right? So read on ...

Continue reading Film Blog Group Hug: Enter Witty Post Title Here

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>cinematicalcinencuentrofilmfrancesco lombardiFrancescoLombardifreida lee mockgeorge takeimovierain dogstony kushnerwrestling with angelsKim VoynarSun, 08 Oct 2006 10:33:00 ESTFilm Blog Group Hug: Fantastic Festhttp://www.cinematical.com/2006/09/27/film-blog-group-hug-fantastic-fest/http://www.cinematical.com/2006/09/27/film-blog-group-hug-fantastic-fest/http://www.cinematical.com/2006/09/27/film-blog-group-hug-fantastic-fest/#commentsFiled under: ,

The bloggers are out in full force for Fantastic Fest in Austin this year. In fact, bloggers primarily were responsible for reporting on the sneak preview of Apocalypto and Mel Gibson's comments afterwards, which have now hit media publications internationally. Here are a few blogging highlights:

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>ApocalyptoblogCinematicalfilmLucky McKeeMel GibsonMichael ShannonmovieweblogJette KernionWed, 27 Sep 2006 07:00:00 EST