Well, I came across this camera yesterday, and I've done a lot of research on it... and I've decided to buy it, within the next month or so.

It's the Canon HV20 HD camera...
And it takes beautiful video.
Just look at these two clips below (and keep in mind, these videos were taken with a STOCK camera - no 35mm lens adapters or anything).

"Rainy Day Cinematography"
"Waiting for a bus in a snowfall"

Amazing, right? The video quality rivals $3,000 cameras (and it costs less than a third of that). And lest you think these clips are just flukes, just type in "HV20" into the Vimeo search and see the dozens of great quality clips that pop up.
I. Am. Excited.

Just a quick message to let you know that my account at Vimeo was deleted, so all of the videos I've posted recently are not available. Damn... off to find another video site to use...

Michael Clayton

Tony Gilroy's directorial debut is a solid legal thriller, but really is nothing special. Great performances by George Clooney and Tom Wilkinson, and good direction from Gilroy, but there's really no reason that this movie should have been nominated for 7 Oscars (including Best Picture and Director). A good film, but not must-see material.

Margot at the Wedding

Wow, what a great movie. The new film from Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale) is almost breathtaking in its intimacy and immediacy. Channeling Éric Rohmer and John Cassavetes, Baumbach uses handheld camerawork and frequently cuts in the middle of lines, creating (like his previous film) the cinematic equivalent of a moving freight train. It's a wonder to behold. Very few times in cinema are you drawn into a film completely, leaving the outside world behind, with nothing else being of any consequence other than what's up on the screen. This is one of those films.
Performances are great all around, with particular mention going to Jack Black, who rides the fine line between funnyman and dramatic character. He never crosses that line. Every bit of funny dialogue comes naturally from his character, and never feels false. Black also has a dramatic breakdown near the end of the film. Yes, you heard me right: Jack Black cries during this film. And I don't know about you, but I bought it. It worked, for me. And that's all you can really ask for.
The dialogue is amazing ("When you were a baby, I wouldn't let anyone else hold you. I think that was a mistake.") and the characters are as well-drawn as anything seen on screen in a while. And it's funny as hell. You will laugh long and hard during certain parts of this movie, and then sit mouth agape at some brilliant dramatic moment on-screen. It's one of those movies.
This is a wonderful film, possibly my new vote for best of the year. It's largely been ignored, but this is just as good - maybe even better - than The Squid and the Whale. The only thing else to say is that I'm excited to see what Baumbach will do next.

There Will Be Blood

Anyone who knows me knows that Paul Thomas Anderson is my favorite filmmaker. So, after five years of waiting, here is his new film. It is an amazing picture... until the last two minutes. The ending literally made me go "huh?" - it feels so out of place with the rest of the picture, but it seems like a minor complaint when the rest of the film is so brilliant. Between this and No Country for Old Men, it feels like this is The Year of Bad Endings. Perhaps I need to focus a little less on these things, but for me the ending is one of the most important parts of a film. It is supposed to send you out, into the night and away from the theater, with a confident conclusion that both sums up the film and leaves it open for thought by the audience. I don't know, maybe another viewing will put it all into focus a little more. Well, enough with the ending, lets get to what I like about the film, which is a lot.
The movie starts out without any dialogue, for the entire 10-15 minutes of the opening. It's brilliantly shot and edited, and it serves as a sort of prologue for the story. It's wonderfully hypnotic and really draws you into the film.
Daniel Day-Lewis is great, very frightening yet strangely sympathetic. Paul Dano is equally good.
But for someone who's been following Anderson's work since the beginning, it's amazing to see what the rest of Anderson's (technical) team have achieved here. Robert Elswit has been DP on all of Anderson's films, and here he has the balls to light everything terrifically dark - in some scenes almost to the point of not being able to discern the characters from the darkness. Anderson, a big fan of fluid camera movement in his films, still uses the steadicam for parts of the film, but quite a bit of the movie is filmed with static shots (with dolly moves to heighten emotion). It's not much of a departure, however - P.T.'s trademark precise camera movement is still highly evident.
As always for an Anderson picture, the dialogue is great. Dialogue has always been one of Anderson's strengths. It's memorable without being show-offy, he reveals character traits and exposition without being too obvious, and he knows just when to end a scene.
There are many memorable lines and a few great monologues, and some dark comedy creeps in here and there. It sometimes works and it sometimes doesn't, but it adds another layer to the film and keeps it interesting. The one big misstep is the darkly comic ending, which may have worked well in another film, but in this one it comes right after a big dramatic setpiece.... I don't know, it just seemed ill-timed and ill-executed to me.
Overall, it's a great movie - one of the finest of the year. It's funny to me that this movie is getting more accolades than Anderson's other movies. It's a good film, but it's no better than Boogie Nights or especially Magnolia. I think it's just that this is an easier film for the Academy to get their heads around: it's a period piece, and it's fairly straightforward. Regardless, it's a must-see, for fans of P.T. or anyone else.

Just got back from There Will Be Blood, was preparing to write about it, when I logged on to my homepage and HOLY FUCKING SHIT....

Heath Ledger
1979-2008

Insanity. That's all there is to say. It's so sad, and it's crazy. We were just beginning to see what he could do.

The Great Debaters

A classic Hollywood "inspirational" picture - in the best sense of the word. It's a refreshing change of pace from the usual downbeat films this time of year, and if you put yourself in the right frame of mind, you'll find this movie quite enjoyable. It's Denzel Washington's second film as director, and he's quickly showing his abilities behind the camera. He directs with a confident, yet delicate hand, and gets great performances out of a group of unknown young actors. Yet another very solid film from the year 2007. Let me say this: I'd rather have a lot of good films in a year than one or two masterpieces and a bunch of duds.

Rocket Science

This is a film that received a very limited release (it never opened in more than 60 theaters) but deserved to be seen by a wider audience. Written and directed by Jeffrey Blitz (who gave us the wonderful, Oscar-nominated documentary Spellbound), it is his first narrative feature. Blitz seems to understand adolescence more than most people, and this film is further evidence of that. With a great soundtrack that includes songs by the Violent Femmes, and a wonderful performance by newcomer Reece Thompson, Rocket Science is a worthy film for anyone looking for an off-kilter view of high school. Winner of the Dramatic Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

Brad Renfro
1982-2008

(Holy shit, this was a surprise this morning...)

As always, the "best of the year" list is coming, but unfortunately a few of the major films of the year haven't been released in my neck of the woods yet (There Will Be Blood chief among them). So yes, it is coming, and it's great... lots of good movies this year, and hopefully it will bring your attention to some great films you may have missed.

A trio of reviews: The Bucket List, Charlie Wilson's War, and Wristcutters: A Love Story

The Bucket List
Hollywood schmaltz is on full display here, but it's not nearly as bad as the critics say. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are wonderful as always, and while the script doesn't completely live up to the story's potential, it's clever and funny, and surprisingly affecting when it needs to be. Rob Reiner, a guy who I've felt sorry for lately (his last three movies have been duds - well deserved failures, however - and this one will probably be no different, albeit an undeserved one) does a more than competent job of directing this picture, and keeps the flow of the movie nice and brisk. That's a big thing to note here: usually with dramatic pictures such as this, the running time is at least two hours... well, not with this film. It runs a trim 90 minutes, and although this might come at the detriment of some character development (we hardly ever see Freeman's wife - although the actress who plays her isn't very good anyway), the speeches the characters have more than make up for it.
Sure, it's melodramatic. Sure, it's the kind of thing Hollywood shoves out into theaters every Oscar season. But it's not that bad. If you're in the mood for something more mainstream, you could do much worse than The Bucket List.

Charlie Wilson's War
A really solid film we have here, from the master filmmaker Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Closer). It manages to inject humor and wit into the subjects of wartime and government bureaucracy, not unlike Nichols' earlier film Primary Colors. This film has a similar feel to that picture, so if you enjoyed that one, you should be right at home here. Nichols' films have great acting, but true to most of his work, it's not the leads that stand out, it's the supporting performances. Philip Seymour Hoffman completely steals the show here, as the son of a soda-pop maker who somehow found himself in government. He's angry, he's quick to insult, and he's extremely likable. This is a Supporting Actor-worthy performance if I've ever seen one, although the chances of that are unlikely.
This film has gone mostly unnoticed at the end of this year. But a sharp script, great cast, and a veteran director all make this a must-see. It's not among the top of the "best of" list, but it's very good.

Wristcutters: A Love Story
I'm in love with this movie. It's darkly comic, it's romantic, it's a little silly, and it packs a surprising emotional punch. This is a true original, and it's evidence of - along with Lars and the Real Girl - the best year for independent film in a long time.
I will sum up the plot for you, and after that I shall lose the interest of about half of you. But stay with me, as this movie isn't what it would seem at first glance. The story is this: Zia (Patrick Fugit) is devastated over his break-up with his girlfriend, and commits suicide. After doing this, however, he wakes up to realize he's not in hell but in some strange in-between world where everyone lives their lives like normal, only everything is a little off-kilter, and no one has the ability to smile. He meets Eugene (Shea Whigham), and they quickly become friends, setting off on a road trip to find Zia's ex-girlfriend, upon hearing the news that she's also committed suicide. Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiker named Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon) who joins them on their journey.
As I said, it's a little strange, and the whole suicide thing may turn you off, but here's why I told you to stay with me: The film has little to do with suicide and death and everything to do with life. The film is really more about the bonding between friends and the narrative is mostly centered around a lightly-comic road trip. Everyone just so happens to be, well... dead. This is the reason for independent film, and the reason it is thriving at these end-of-the-year awards, while mainstream pictures are left out in the dust - it's about placing familiar storylines into a new and interesting framework. If this film was made as a conventional romance, it wouldn't be offering anything new. By pushing the envelope, the filmmakers have made something worthwhile. And it's all the more amazing because it succeeds.
It's good. That's all you need to know. Only a certain type of person will want to see a picture with this type of quirky sensibility, but if you're one of them, you're in store for a treat. And Tom Waits is in it!