It's also been the month of FESTIVALS and QnA's! Most notably the Widescreen Weekend at the Bradford Film Museum and the big horror fest in Sheffield, Celluloid Screams!
I rocked up to the final day of the Widescreen Weekend to meet a buddy who's a regular to the festival. He was in it for the long haul and went to pretty much every screening and talk there - projectionists, award winning FX artists etc.
The big hitter was a presentation by the legendary Douglas Trumbull. If you don't know who Doug Trumbull is, get educated. '2001', 'Blade Runner', 'Close Encounters', 'Silent Running'...this guy was the FX supervisor. So yeah, he's kinda a big deal. Shit, he even turned Star Wars down (as you do). Along with the 70mm screening of '2001 A Space Odyssey', he presented a talk about his work, film in general, and what he sees the future of film as a medium.
Thoroughly fascinating in a pure nerdist sense, it was an eye opener. The man himself couldn't be a kinder gent. A class act.
Up next was the annual horror jaunt Celluloid Screams. An absolute treat of a weekend it was too. A good mix of great and not-so-great movies, shorts, and general bollocks talking over gallons of ale.
Opening night was a great night with three flicks that ranged from terrible (The Invitation), to sublime (Goodnight Mommy), to the batshit crazy (Yakuza Apocalypse). It also showcased Andy Stewart's new short film 'Remnant'. See last years BLOG on his excellent short film 'INK' just to remind you on how much of a great talent the feller is.
'Remnant' itself is a showcase of the filmmaker trying to stretch himself but still keeping a signature style. The short lingers long after it finishes and has a gritty, bile-tinted visual style that unsettles for the runtime.
Capping it all off, I got to get drunk with some good guys, hang out with the legendary Graham Humphreys, the ladies from Arrow Video. Also, a shout out to Ben Stiener and Michael Wallin (quiet Nordic nutter and FX guy).
FILMS OF THE YEAR 2015
As for this years movie intake? Well...compared to last year, it's been poor. Check out last years blog HERE
The list of my faves is shorter, and the quality isn't as high (minus a few choice flicks), and the majority are Documentaries.
QnA for 'The Wolfpack' with director Crystal Moselle and Angulo brothers
FILMS
Black Mass - Scott Cooper
Steve Jobs - Danny Boyke
Yakuza Apocalypse - Takeshi Miike
Goodnight Mommy - Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala
Sicario - Denis Villeneuve
Straight Outta Compton - F. Gary Grey
The Man from U.N.C.L.E - Guy Ritchie
Maggie - Henry Hobson
Mission Impossible Rouge Nation - Chris McQuarrie
Electric Boogaloo; Story of Canon Films - Mark Hartley
Jurassic World - Colin Trevorrow
Mad Max Fury Road - George Miller
Cobain: Montage of Heck - Brett Morgen
The Wolfpack - Crystal Moselle
Oh, no Star Wars: The Force Awakens???? Well, yeah. It wasn't the flick I signed up for if I'm honest.
Also, your Revanant's and Hateful Eight's will rock out in January, so I'll bunch them in with 2016 list.
Here's to next year. Hopefully it'll improve. I'm sure it will as a new Shane Black flick is out.
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