Much of the credit for the filmmaking process understandably goes to the directors, cinematographers, and editors, but many technicians work with film behind the scenes to create the final images that you see on screen. This is especially true for colorists. Notable films such as O Brother, Where Art Thou? use extensive color correction to […]
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Watch the best films of the year in one thrilling montage
Another year in film is winding down, leaving a trail of Oscar contenders and Christmas movies as it passes into the horizon. December seems like as good of a time as any to look back on some of the great films that came out this year, everything from The Lego Movie to Gone Girl. We’re […]
Continue readingDoes The Wire work in HD? You be the judge
In a move even more controversial than their decision to launch a standalone streaming subscription service, HBO has decided to remaster classic television series The Wire in high-definition widescreen. The show, as directed by showrunner David Simon, was intended to be show in the 4:3 aspect ratio of standard-definition television sets. In the process of […]
Continue readingBe an extra on House of Cards… TOMORROW!
Time for a quick dispatch on the DC film front: House of Cards will be shooting in DC tomorrow, and they’re looking for extras! We got this news very last-minute, so we’ll keep this brief. DC’s local film office says that if you think you fit the profile of a “Mid-Westerner” and want to appear […]
Continue readingThis film critic’s child grew up – with some help from the Terminator
Do you remember your first R-rated movie? Many people probably merged into the world of violent and dark films without great fanfare, but for others, graduating from PG-13 to R is a rite of passage and a sign that, yes, a parent figure thinks that you’re mature enough to enjoy that sort of movie. If […]
Continue readingDrafthouse compiles the greatest movie deaths (WARNING: this is actually horrifying)
This Friday is Halloween, so we’ll be attempting to bring you spooky, scary, or otherwise horrifying posts this week! We’ll get the crazy stuff out of the way first. To celebrate the impending holiday, Alamo Drafthouse enlisted the filmmakers of the violent short film series The ABCs of Death 2 to curate a supercut of […]
Continue readingAlamo Drafthouse CEO weighs in on the physical-vs-digital debate
The debate over the future of physical film has been simmering for a few years now, with major directors and film personalities carving out a place for the future of celluloid. This weekend, Tim League, film advocate and CEO of independent theater chain Alama Drafthouse Cinema, added his voice to the fray. League has a […]
Continue readingHave war films outlasted our actual wars? xkcd digs for an answer
Randall Munroe’s What If?, one of the most popular new books of the year, scientifically guesstimates the answers to absurd hypothetical questions. Usually these involve pushing the laws of physics to their breaking point, but once in a while, they just deal with situations of absurd, immeasurable scale. After spending a lazy afternoon browsing the […]
Continue readingNo more lasers? PBS takes on the realism of movie space combat
We might criticize special effects for overstaying their welcome on occasion, but without CGI and crazy miniature work, we wouldn’t have space battles. Watching spaceships shoot lasers and blow up is among the greatest, basest pleasures of movies. Even the Star Wars prequels, superfluous as they may be, have a few entertaining space fights. Color […]
Continue readingDig into television and film corpuses with Bookworm Movies
One handy tool for cultural analysis is to measure how often words are used within a given set of texts, whether that’s transcripts from Congress or every document ever written. It’s much easier to search through the written word for obvious reasons, leaving audio-visual media left out of the content analysis process. Luckily, a very […]
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