My Biggest Influence

Of all the directors and all their works, no other director has influenced me as much as the big man, Quentin Tarantino. Why?

He’s taught me what makes a good movie.

When I watched Inglourious Basterds,I expected more action than it had. This was because I was used to seeing Hollywood movies with tons of action and suspense. Instead, I was presented with a ton of dialogue that I thought went on forever. However, it was interesting, so I decided to investigate further with his movies, because I had heard good stuff about them.

Reservoir Dogs was where I began to understand Tarantino. The bulk of this movie is just acting and dialogue. But the way it tells the story is incredible. The characters are beyond real—there’s no cheesy dialogue or anything that sounds stupid. It is an intense movie with bits of action and amazing suspense. I learned, right when I finished that movie, that good movies have good stories.

I began to see the emptiness in Hollywood films. I began to ask, “Why are they fighting? Why is it so drawn out? There’s no way all those bullets could have missed him!” While I understand it’s for entertainment, I began to become repelled by the ridiculousness of these scenarios.

Then I saw Pulp Fiction, and I became obsessed with following his tactics.

I’ve seen other directors who are similar to Tarantino, such as Stanley Kubrick (another amazing director). I find so much power in their storytelling that is lacking in many films that come out today. My goal as a filmmaker is to resurrect that power and emulate it in a way that will become successful.

Thank you, Quentin Tarantino, for making great movies. For better or for worse, my outlook on film has changed forever, because of you.

2010 in Retrospect

Overall, 2010 movies were relatively disappointing. There were a lot of big movies that came out, but none that I saw were up to my expectations.

While Inception was very popular among Beckman (so many Facebook posts about it…), I found it was pretty good, but not GREAT. I think the two great things that I saw in the movie was the soundtrack (which is orgasmic it’s ridiculous), and Joseph Gordon Levitt. My biggest thing was that it was too Hollywood. It was so convoluted that I was not able to get absorbed into it as much as everyone else did. I don’t know why. It also relied too heavily on special effects. Much like Transformers and Iron Man, I was almost repelled by the effects because it was used too often. However, it wasn’t a bad movie. I did like it. I loved the cinematography and the soundtrack. Also, the story was interesting, though very confusing sometimes.

The Social Network received similar reaction in me. Maybe it was because I was sleepy or expecting too much, but I found that there was nothing about it that seriously stood out. It was a well-made movie. There were no noticeable flaws, and it kept the audience interested. But, contrary to much of the buzz, I didn’t see anything stand-out-ish about it. Maybe it needs another viewing.

The one notable exception this year was Toy Story 3. Pixar does NOT disappoint. I don’t have to say much about this one. Let’s just say, it was like a huge nostalgic punch to the face that made me feel so good inside. It was a great way to end the series, and it’s become one of my favorite Pixar movies (behind Wall-E).

I hope to see more great movies this year.

Should I?

I'm debating whether or not to change to a Tumblr.

It's not that either site is better. I don't investigate this stuff too much, and I personally like Blogger. However, I want to be able to reach out to more of my friends so more people read my stuff. This will result in more of my friends actually WATCHING my videos.

But man, 110 posts.... It's almost too much to give up.... Which is why I'm debating.

I'll ask around.

Action Jackson

Because filming plans on different movie ideas failed more times than I would have liked (five times), I decided to take the initiative and film something on my own. Introducing, Action Jackson!

It was my short, special effects, handicam, and HD test video of winter. I decided to try a ton of new stuff because it was such a small project. It's short, yes, but I think it's pretty exciting :D

Action Jackson

Enjoy!

Film Attempt

Last week was Thanksgiving break. We had the full week off. I wanted to film. Things didn't work out.

I wanted to film Sunday, and everyone was set. Until the night before. At about 10 pm, after Carlos went to sleep, Kevin informs me that his house is no longer available.

Well that sucks. I found a replacement location however! So, crisis averted.

The next day I woke up early so I could pack and prepare. I was able to contact Carlos and discuss the situation. However, my other three actors were no where to be found. Filming was planned for 12 noon, and it was 11:30, and I hadn't heard a peep from any of them. Shit.

Finally, after many stressful (and anger-ful) calls, I got an answer. Apparently, all three of these actors went out last night for the midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show. That's fine and all, but they were out until about 4 am. So they didn't wake up till about 12. Great.

Carlos and I headed to Kevin's house to get the lowdown. Upon ringing the doorbell, a red-eyed, loopy Kevin struggles out of the door in front of us. He looks as if he's been hit with pink-eye or something. He could barely stand straight, and he was slurring his words, and his hands were shaking. There was no way he could act in this condition. As much as I hated to say it, I had to reschedule the filming.

Later that day, about 3 pm, Julien texts me, saying that he can't make it to filming because he just woke up. Derp.

So we rescheduled to Tuesday. But then, Carlos got sick. I pardoned him immediately because you can't avoid illness. Plus, he's my main actor, and I wanted to make sure he was 100% before he acted. So we postponed again. But by that time, I just wanted to enjoy my vacation. So I did.

In two days, filming will happen (I hope). I continue to have high expectations for this film. I have a ton of great actors who are ready to be in the film. I are excited.

Anyway, that's my story. Don't tl;dr me or I'll find you and kill you while you're asleep or in the bathroom. :D

More Movies!

Here are some other movies I've watched recently.

The Social Network: Okay, it was good. It was a solid movie that never strayed away from its purpose. It had good dialogue and good cinematography. The story was non-linear and developed characters. But really, nothing really stood out to me. Yes, it was a technically solid movie, and yes, it has garnered many high reviews, but it didn't wow me, it simply left me content. At least it wasn't a bad movie. The actors were pretty good. The whole process of making Facebook was a drama waiting to happen. But once again, I was failed to be completely wowed. I feel like it was playing it too safe. But that's me. Failed to wow, but was a solid movie otherwise. My verdict: 8/10.

Chungking Express: Okay, now THIS movie was different. It follows the stories of two heartbroken cops and the way they deal with their sadness. I liked this movie because the way it was filmed was completely different from any other. The chase scenes involved low shutter speeds, but you were still able to see the characters' faces through all the blur. My favorite line in the movie is "Do you like pineapples?" That itself should interest you. I liked this movie a lot because it had very interesting dialogue, had a great set of characters, and extremely unique storylines. The cinematography in this movie was very different from other movies so it stood out like a sore thumb. Thing is, it works. There's something about this movie that makes it one of my all time favorites. I could watch it all day long. The "Dreamlover" sequence never fails to make me smile. My verdict: 10/10