Author: bernardovillela

Music Video Monday and an Update

Posted on by bernardovillela

Recently I created a political blog on this domain to have as place to vent in that arena and free my focus for cinema, it would be cathartic. It will not be included in typical update notifications

Why the idea of a political blog, and doing more in general, has come back to the forefront of my thoughts is not just because of the unprecedented craziness of the 2016 election cycle but is one that’s a bit older and I’ve come to embrace.

major-frank-capra

Long before the lie of WMDs in Iraq was exposed I was debating doing a serialized story on a daily basis called Why We Fight giving a nod to the Frank Capra film series produced by the US Government about World War II. This version would have been about the nightmare I and others felt it would be, not to mention the tenuousness of our aims and the flimsiness of our pretense for war.

At that time, I had no platform to have it ready for, our involvement in Iraq was not televised to the extent that Vietnam was, so we didn’t live with it in the same way, and I would’ve run out of steam. Keeping a daily idea going from 2003 thru 2010, when active combat ended, is a bit like Sisyphus trying to get that boulder up a hill.

Perhaps the main reason that wouldn’t have been the most suitable idea for a series is that it would be a portrait of despair at a dystopian present with no prescription for remedy. Remedy is the operative word. There are dysfunctions in our democracy that we can cite until we’re blue (or red) in the face but unless we’re willing and able to discuss and push representatives for changes to try and address them it’s nothing but a bunch of bluster, I will add a bit about how to most successfully make that push today.

So that blog will be an attempt to seek active solutions. It will start with a pep talk tomorrow to get the dejected off the matt, and move into calls for action soon thereafter. In the meantime, enjoy this contribution for Music Video Monday.

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“Life During Wartime” from The Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense directed by Jonathan Demme, a song whose lyrics have inspired stories of mine in the past and gotten me through some difficult days. Enjoy!

Film Thought: My Rating Scale is Optional

Posted on by bernardovillela

Rather than taking up room in a post I decided to write about this matter here.

Whenever I sit down and dissect a film down to all its component parts and how well I feel each facet affected the whole, of course, I can give it a score from one to 10. When I figured out how to write my rating scale, I worded it such that there can be varying degrees of film within each ordinal number but a definite stratification from one number to the next.

However, the nature of the internet is such that sometimes you will just want to scroll an article, or stop reading it after a certain point. That is fine. That is certainly the reader’s prerogative.

Hugo (2011, Paramount)

However, I saw a comment on Twitter that crystallized what I didn’t realize consciously:

If you’re not being forced to assign that grade, why do it? Why incentivize someone to skip your explanation? Why force a reader to fight against human nature to skip to the grade.

Most of the reviews I read that affect my viewing options do not have a number or stars but they stick in my mind based on how the reviewer discussed it.

The Critic

Memorably unfavorable reviews have made it clear to my mind why I would like something. I’d rather be intrigued by what is said about the film rather than a fairly arbitrary number that means different things to different people.

For example, many people would classify a film rated 5/10 as a middle of the road, mediocre film. However, when I rate something as a five I could tend to be quite angry at it because it’s usually a minor slip up that cost it being what I consider to be a good film (6-10).

Furthermore, there are many examples of times wherein I’ve dedicated many words or whole paragraphs of a review to explain “This movie does not work for me because but here are some reasons why you may enjoy it…”

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This is the only image I could think of that matched the keyword “Enjoy.”

Having a hyperlinked number down there tempting eyes to skip explanations that may underscore why they’ll like or dislike a film.

So if I feel a film should have that number at the bottom of the review, I’ll surely add it. However, sometimes it’s caused significant consternation on my part and delayed getting reviews up. No more.

Hope you enjoy the numberless reviews to follow.

Film Thought: Classic vs. Classical

Posted on by bernardovillela

A while back I had an enlightening Twitter conversation wherein I realized that filmic terminology typically conflates the word classic with classical.

The first definition of classic as an adjective is what many of us think when we hear the term with regard to film:

of the first or highest quality, class, or rank:

When trying to classify something as a classic, inasmuch as it attains that highest I tend to want to give it some time. I use the automobile aficionado’s rule of thumb wherein a film needs to be 25 years old to be considered a classic in that regard.

silence-of-the-lambs

By the 25-year standard The Silence of the Lambs can now be considered a classic.

Thus it also adheres to definition seven of classic as an adjective:

of enduring interest, quality, or style:

Whereas classical film can and should—as opposed to pertaining to Greek and Roman origins of Western Civilization— pertain to filmmaking techniques of a bygone era. Thus, one does not assume all films of a certain vintage are outstanding but recognize they all were created with different societal mores, aesthetic and industrial realities than today.

Classical filmmaking can be defined broadly as starting with the dawn of film and ending in 1960 with the end of the studio system. Other subdivisions can be found therein. The business as well as the art changed from thereon as Hollywood sought a new way in which to function and the world, caused aesthetic revolutions, spearheaded by France, that would change the game anew.

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From 1960 on can be considered in cinematic terms as the Modern Era. Clearly the advances in this age are coming fast and furious in technological terms: widescreen became the norm, computer effects were created, home video was born, non-linear editing systems developed, the advent of digital photography, and so on, but for now that’s a good catch-all with inherent advances and stylistic markers attributed to each decade

So for my own personal edification, and also to inform readers of my site, I will try and refrain from calling anything made after 1991 as classic, and when talking about how things were done in 1960 and before I will try and always use to term classical to avoid confusion.

Music Video Monday: 30 Minute Break- Luka State

Posted on by bernardovillela

Introduction

I’ve debated starting this theme for a few weeks, and I ultimately decided I would as it would encourage me to looks for options that actually fit what I’m aiming for. If one pays too much attention to Top 40 type music you tend to see a dearth of creativity in the music video form. The music video is spawned from short films and can be as creative if not more so than their predecessor. Far too often it does just become singing heads. I want to try and buck that trend and find ones both new and old that do something somewhat outside the box, at the very least have some sort of visual narrative. Here we go.

30 Minute Break by The Luka State

This is another great one that puts its narrative, a portrait of a couple in crisis, from and center and does not offer facile closure but leaves the par at a crossroads. It also features a great performance by actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster.