Blindness
October 6, 2008 | Categories: Films

Earlier tonight I went and saw Blindness, a movie about a disease that suddenly makes people blind, which they call “white blindness”. This disease ends up turning into a full blown epidemic, triggering the government to quarantine the sick into facilities in hopes of containing the outbreak. I had been wanting to see this movie for a while now, particularly because of the director, Fernando Meirelles, who directed City of God, and Julianne Moore, who’s a genius in everything she does.

I ended up loving the movie, and this is for many reasons. First, was Meirelles, and his amazing cinematographer, César Charlone. Every scene was absolutely stunning, whether it was showing what it would be like to be blind, or the gritty reality of being trapped in a facility with 100 other blind people. It felt like each scene and every shot was choreographed and planned down to the tiniest detail, nothing was taken for granted. A scene comes to mind where Julianne Moore is walking into the facility they’re quarantined in and she walks between some doorways which is surrounded by glass, showing her reflection from multiple angles all at once. It’s a totally surreal and beautiful moment, captured at the perfect angle.

Second was definitely the cast. Julianne Moore was by far the star of this movie, and she was all over the place emotionally, and truly was the guiding light of this whole film. There was also Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga, Danny Glover, Gael García Bernal, Yusuke Iseya, Yoshino Kimura, and Mitchell Nye, a rather diverse cast that definitely gave the movie a feeling of taking place anywhere in the world. It’s also interesting to note that none of the character’s were ever called by a name, they were simply known as “doctor” or “lady”. It didn’t feel like it was done in a glaring, in your face kind of way, it really just made it feel like you could easily be one of those people.

My third favorite part was that the movie took place in no identifiable city or country. This was a stipulation made by the author of the book, José Saramago, who wrote the book which the movie is based on. While the movie was shot in São Paulo, I would say that most people watching the film would simply think it’s a big city, any city, somewhere in the world, yet again lending to the feeling that this could happen to you.

On sort of a side note, I had read that the National Federation of the Blind had condemned the film for it’s portrayal of the blind as “uncivilized, animalized creatures,” but I can’t imagine anyone leaving this movie feeling that way at all. If anything, I left the movie with a profound sense of joy that I am able to see all the wonderful sights our world holds. Watching a film like Blindness opens your eyes to the fact that most people take something like seeing for granted on a daily basis. And while the movie made me feel very tense, and it could be graphic and hard to watch in some parts, I still felt it was extremely well done and I highly suggest it to everyone.

Bobby

Looking Thru The B-Sides by Saimon Chow and Golden Lucky
September 21, 2008 | Categories: Art / Design / Films / Illustration / Internet

HOLY CRAP! The trailer above is for a new short film called Looking Thru The B-Sides which was created by the awesome Saimon Chow and his amazing team at Golden Lucky. The film was commissioned by the folks at FUEL TV and given carte blanche to create anything he really wanted to do. Six months later they came back with an 8 minute film featuring live-action, stop-motion, and hand-drawn animation with one scene featuring over 60 characters rolling around on screen at one time.

The film is about a skateboarder named Ollie who falls into the universe of the B-Sides while searching for inspiration. From the preview above it’s going to be absolutely amazing, I love the depth of field in the stop-motion parts, and the roller coaster scene looks like something out of a Friends With You book. The film is going to be shown at animation and short film festivals for now, so keep an eye out for a screening of this gem!

Bobby

Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton Documentary
September 15, 2008 | Categories: Clothing / Design / Films

A couple weeks ago I wrote about a scene from the Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton documentary by Loic Prigent, and since then I had the chance to watch it. It’s definitely become one of my favorite things this year, I think I’ve watched three times by now. When I watched the documentary the first time I thought it was quite ramshackle, or like there was a lot of randomness. But as I continued watching I realized there was a method to the madness, that all of the random events that happen in Marc Jacobs life contribute to his overall design aesthetic. Like pieces to a very random, but beautiful puzzle.

The film is also rather inspiring, after watching it I always feel energized and like I can do anything. If you’re a fan of fashion, design, or anything artistic I highly suggest getting this movie. I also thought it was cool that Genevieve Gauckler did the credits, which are quite sketchy and random and fun, much like Mr. Jacobs.

Bobby

Oktapodi
September 7, 2008 | Categories: Design / Films / Video

As of writing this, I only have one tattoo on my right forearm, but if I were to ever get another one it would be an epic-sized octopus encompassing my entire left forearm, wrist, and hand, and it would be awesome. Obviously I have an intense fondness for octopi and all of their squishy wonder, so the video above made me squeal with delight. It’s Oktapodi, the story of a pair of octopus lovers who are ripped apart and must fight to find each other again. Well, all of that is done in the course of 2 minutes, but MAN it’s an amazing 2 minutes!

The video was created by students at the French animation school Gobelins (which totally looks like Goblins, which would be a sweet school to go to) and has been drumming up quite a lot of buzz lately. They’ve won a ton of awards so far, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing more from these creative individuals. Watch the video, it’s a slice of amazing, and let me know what you think of the ending! ARGH!

Also check out these rad videos:
+ An Octopus Messing Up a Shark’s Day
+ An Octopus Escaping Through A 1″ Hole

Bobby

A Short Clip From A Marc Jacobs Documentary
August 28, 2008 | Categories: Clothing / Design / Films

Over the weekend I made a stop at the Marc by Marc Jacobs store, one of my favorite things to do because they not only have amazing clothes, they also have items that are amazingly affordable, so I was able to pick myself up a tie for $35 and a yellow stinky rat tee for $18. Nice, right? So I came across this clip from a documentary on Marc which gives a small peak behind the scenes of the business process of both Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton. It’s fun to see his studio, his affection and need for his assistant Joseph, and all of the meetings he has trying to map out the future.

Anyone know where I can see the rest of this?

Found through unfolded/now

Bobby

Gaspar Claus and Pedro Soler Takeaway Show
August 17, 2008 | Categories: Films / Music / Video

+KN reader Jamie Topper sent me this link to a La Blogotheque Takeaway Show that’s absolutely fantastic. I’ve been a big fan of the Takeaway Shows but had yet to post about them, mostly because I thought everyone knew about them. Usually they feature big indie bands like Beirut or Vampire Weekend, but this episode features two amazing artists, Gaspar Clause, an amazing celist, and Pedro Soler, an astounding flamenco-style guitar player.

Together they’re devastatingly talented, producing a kind of music that I’ve honestly never heard, at least not at this kind of quality. The video above is one of 4, and features them playing in an old hotel called The Belvedere. We get a short tour of the beautiful hotel and a brief histiry, and then they set up their instruments in the old cinema and begin to play. They have an amazing energy while they play together, and honestly this made my entire afternoon even better. Towards the end of the video the intensity of the music, along with the camera movements, really got me emotional, there’s something insanely powerful about the whole thing performance. I’m also kind of amazed by the fact that just these two men could create something so special.

Watch the video and then click here to watch the others and be amazed.

Bobby

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
August 3, 2008 | Categories: Books / Films

To say that I’m excited about the newest Harry Potter movie, The Half-Blood Prince, is pretty much a giant understatement. This whole series has been pretty amazing since the third movie and has yet to really disappoint me. It sucks that they can’t fit everything into the movies, but that’s what the books are for, right? For those who haven’t read the book, here’s the press release:

Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn’t counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates! And then there’s Hermione, simmering with jealousy but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

I think this movie is going to be amazing for several reasons. First, I really loved what David Yates did with the last film, so I’m hoping for more of that realism in this film. Also joining Yates as the cinematographer is a guy named Bruno Delbonnel, who worked on A Very Long Engagement and Amélie, which to me sounds like an amazing idea. Both of those movies were beautifully shot, so hopefully Bruno can bring his own incredible touch to the film. Watch the trailer above and let me know what you all think!

Bobby

Objectified, A New Film by Gary Hustwit
July 29, 2008 | Categories: Design / Films

I’d like to think I know a lot about design, but when I watched Helvetica last year I definitely learned a lot about the font that I really had no idea about. It was also cool to see the opinion of proffesional designers and their thoughts and opinions on the font. So now it’s pretty exciting that Gary HUstwit, the director of Helvetica, has announced his newest project called Objectified.

The movie centers around industrial design, and the people who’ve made a huge difference in the field. It also talks about the designers and their motivations as well as our relationships with the objects the create and what we can learn about ourselves by the things we surround ourselves with. The movie so far has the creme of the crop when it comes to I.D. people, the list so far includes:

Paola Antonelli, Chris Bangle, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Andrew Blauvelt, Anthony Dunne, Naoto Fukasawa, IDEO, Jonathan Ive, Hella Jongerius, Marc Newson, Fiona Raby, Dieter Rams, Karim Rashid, Alice Rawsthorn, Rob Walker with more to come.

I’m totally stoked about this film, seeing as how these are some of my favorite designers out there. The film should be release by sometime in early in 2009, so be sure to check in with the site to see when it’s playing in your area!

Bobby

Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes
July 23, 2008 | Categories: Films / Video

I just finished watching this really great documentary called Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes, a rather self-explanatory title but extremely interesting to watch. Stanley Kubrick is somewhat of a cult figure (just read through Coudal on any given day) so people trying to figure out the deepest parts of Kubrick is nothing new. But in this documentary Jon Ronson is invited to the Kubrick estate to go through his immense collections of boxes, which number into the thousands. The contents of the boxes are extremely varied and all over the place, from photos to fan letters, and show what a detailed and intelligent man he really was.

One of the things I found most interesting was his obsession with perfection, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. For many of his films he’d have his nephew Manuel Harlan take tens of thousands of photos to see what was out there. He took photos of doorways, morgues, estate gates, costume shops, anything that might be useful. He did those for most of his movies as well, like trying to find the perfect hat for the droogies to wear in A Clockwork Orange.

If you have any interest in Kubrick I would definitely suggest watching this, it’s quite insightful. Also, I don’t know how long the video will stay up, so watch it ASAP.

Found through The Constant Siege

Bobby

Logan’s Run Poster by Tom Muller
July 21, 2008 | Categories: Design / Films

I’ve been a fan of Tom Muller’s work for quite a while now, his name coming into my vocabulary because of his work with the amazing Ashley Wood. The other day I took a visit to his site and noticed the rad poster you see above that he created for Darren Firth’s Now Showing exhibit. For me personally, this poster brings me back to my childhood. My mother raised me on a strange assortment of movies, this happening to be one of them. So I have all these random memories of palm crystals and death chambers and libraries overgrown with foliage.

For the poster Mr. Muller ended up attacking it one, but ended up in a completely different place. At first he started out with more of an infographic approach, visually representing the 30 year lifespan of a person living in that world. I think this version looks awesome, but Tom wasn’t happy with it. So his focus shifted to the exterior of the Selfridges store in Birmingham, something his wife suggested to him. Based up on that he asked his brother Tim to create a “kind of red rubbery studded ball in 3D”, something that could represent many things in an abstract way. This lead to a more simple approach to the poster, using Futura as the font and keeping things clean and minimal.

I think overall it turned out really well, I would love to own this poster. For more info on the creation of the poster, be sure to click here.

Bobby