contact Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Shelf Life: Contact
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Warner Brothers », Fandom », Shelf Life »
Admittedly, a big part of the appeal of "Shelf Life" (as a film writer, anyway) is having a legitimate excuse to go back and watch a lot of movies we remember loving, partially for the hell of it, and partially because we wonder if our feelings have changed significantly over time. Interestingly, this has thus far not begat a lot of pure reassurance, nor transformed initial or even evolved/ devolved reactions; rather, it's given us a window into – and more specifically, a stronger argument for – some of the appetites and interests we've developed as our sensibilities as moviegoers (much less critics) has evolved.
This week's case in point is Contact, Robert Zemeckis' 1997 film about humankind's first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. Released during the summer after my college graduation, when I was at the height of my pretentiousness as a cinephile, it nevertheless knocked my socks off when I saw it, combining a sense of wonder with technical proficiency and an emotional sophistication that wouldn't register with yours truly until much later. If it still has – which is precisely why it's this week's "Shelf Life" subject. (Well, that and the fact it's just been released on Blu-ray by Warner Home Video.)
Our Favorite Summers: 1997
Filed under: Summer Movies »
I was 13 years old in the summer of 1997. I don't know if it's my favorite movie summer, but I do know that it was seminal -- at least in the sense that it was the first summer when I made a concerted effort to keep up with Hollywood's weekly output and see as much of it as I could. Already, I was jotting down my thoughts on everything I saw, fancying myself a budding film critic. The following year, I would start my own website on the now-defunct Geocities, and the rest would be history.
But, 1997. I didn't see everything (so I won't try to cover everything), and there's a lot I haven't caught up with. Still, looking back, I can see the beginnings of my current tastes and predilections. And amazingly, I can still remember the circumstances under which I saw some of these movies. Here are some of my memories.
May 23
The Lost World: Jurassic Park: I remember the talk about whether The Lost World would join the exclusive $200 million club, which just seems so darn quaint now. (It did, by the way.) I also remember the hype about it being the largest opening ever (3,281 screens). I saw the actual movie while visiting family friends in Tennessee. I loved it. Arguably, it began my love affair with Steven Spielberg (I had not, at the time, seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, though I believe I had seen E.T.)
WWSFF Review -- Opening Gala of Award Winners from Around the World
Filed under: Independent », Awards », Theatrical Reviews », Shorts », Other Festivals », Cinematical Indie »
Perhaps the only thing better than going to a lot of great short films is to get a night of short cinema's crème de la crème -- wonderfully-shot movies on a much smaller scale. The gala for the Worldwide Short Film Festival was held last week and it featured a great group of award-winners (everything from Oscars to Golden Bears) that covered animation, live action, happiness and bittersweet sadness. They're projects that throw their middle finger up to the notion that acclaimed filmmaking must be serious, and show the many different embodiments of comedy and dramedy. Obviously, a long review could rival the length of these shorts, so here's just a bit to whet your appetites.
Imagine This
Best Irish Short Special Mention, Cork Film Festival
Put together by John Callaghan, Imagine This is a darkly humorous mash-up that pairs George W. Bush with John Lennon -- one that you might have seen across the net in the last year. (The link above will take you to its YouTube page.) It's impressive to see Bush's words collected in a way that makes it seem like he's singing Lennon's Imagine, but what really works about this mash-up short is its ability to show how the meaning of words can change depending on who says them. "Imagine there's no countries; it isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too" takes on a whole different light under the voice of Dubya, rather than Lennon.
Is Taylor Lautner Our Next Superhero?
100 Greatest Films Beyond the Canon
'Entourage' Movie in the Works?
Spielberg Backs Out of 'Harvey'
Discuss: Should Gay Actors Stay in the Closet?
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
