Requiem for a Day Off

Absolutely brilliant. [via Zen of Design]

Them!

The last time I saw Them! was over 20 years ago, so heading into this I wasn’t expecting much more than 50’s camp. But after last night, I’ve gotta admit: for a movie about giant ants invading LA, Them! was surprisingly solid.

Here’s hoping that the show was enough of a success to carry the idea beyond Cinevegas. I’d love to see them continue this monthly, either here or better yet, in collaboration with the Las Vegas Drive-In.

See Them! tonight on Fremont St

For the Vegas locals out there, don’t forget that tonight is the Cinevegas screening of 1954’s colossal killer ant classic, Them!.

Join me at the mock drive-in, set up just off the Fremont St Experience. The Neonopolis garage is probably the best place to park for the night.

Fremont St and 3rd St
9:00 PM tonight

Tickets are on sale at the Cinevegas Box Office at the Palms, and the screening is expected to sell out. Unfortunately, there’s no way to get these tickets online, but there will be shuttle service from the Palms to the screening location.

Bonus link love!

Christopher Orr reviews The Happening. [via zenarchery]

It sounds like Shyamalan is trying to accomplish with his movies what the trees are doing with their toxins. Anyway, no one thought to wear a gas mask?

Cinematic Titanic: Episode Two trailer

Music appreciation day.

Burma Emergency, a short film by creative agency Shilo. Thank you, Tri-Crescendo, for really introducing me to Chopin.

Also, if you happen to catch this post on Sunday, violinist Paul Dateh is hosting a live performance with Ken Belcher tonight. Show starts at 5pm PST / 8pm EST.

Alan Smithee

Alan Smithee is a pseudonym generally used by those who, for one reason or another (usually due to a loss of creative control), do not want their given name attached to a product. Originally a nom de plume devised by the Directors Guild of America, some of the notable Alan Smithees in film are the directors of the extended version of David Lynch’s Dune, Dennis Hopper’s Catchfire and the pilot episode of MacGyver.

While the name has fallen out of use within the US film industry, it has spread to other industries, although without the particular guidelines previously maintained by the DGA and MPAA.

Alan Smithee is credited in the following games:

Equinox (1993, Sony Imagesoft, SNES) - Director
Ghosts N Goblins (1999, Capcom, Gameboy Color) - Producer
Huggly Saves the Turtles (2000, Scholastic, PC) - Animator
The Weakest Link (2001, Activision UK, PS1/PS2) - Additional Production
Where’s the Blanket Charlie Brown? (2002, Tivola, PC) - Robot
NHL Hitz 20-03 (2002, Midway, Xbox) - ColorCommentator Voice
1914: The Great War (2002, JoWooD, PC) - Texts
Future Boy (2004, GCCFP, PC) - Cast (Cop)
Fight Club (2004, Vivendi, PS2/Xbox) - Online Multiplayer Development
Eternal Sonata (2007, Namco Bandai, 360) - Additional Voices (English)

Know of any others?

This can’t be good.

See the teaser poster, featuring a giant moviesonline.ca watermark, here.

S.Darko? Looks like a sequel to Donnie Darko is in the works, with filming to start this month. No Jake G, because well, Donnie’s dead (er spoiler alert), but Daveigh Chase reprises her role as his little sister, sans Sparkle Motion this time around, I’m guessing. The sequel will be directed by Chris Fisher, who so far has managed to score higher than a 4/10 on IMDB with only one of his three feature films. Richard Kelly is not involved. I anticipate brilliance.

And just in case your still catching up to 2001 in your netflix queue, Donnie Darko is “that one movie with the fucked up rabbit and Gears of War song.”

Be Kind, Rewind.

Bless you, Michel Gondry, for introducing this term to the world. Courtesy of alwayswatching.org, the Top Ten Fan-Made Sweded Films.

Also, sweded TRON. HEEH!