You have to imagine this recurring camera shot is sort of a Hitchcock-doing-the-Where’s-Waldo-thing type of signature for Quentin Tarantino. Then again, he’s so high most of the time it probably could just be something he thinks he’s doing for the first time every movie.
Quentin: “I had this amazing idea for a shot last night.”
DP: “The trunk thing?”
Quentin: “No. We put the camera in the trunk of a car and then shoot the characters talking.”
DP: “Like in Reservior Dogs?”
Quention: “Reservior who? Either way … It’s going to be great.”
I was making my way back home from Boston earlier tonight and — per usual — got stuck in some traffic in the not-so-great state of Connecticut. So I ended up missing most of the Oscar show. But apparently they just went ahead and gave out the awards without me.
Cool friends, guys.
You likely already know what happened, but we may as well give you the full list below. And, no, it’s not a misprint — Sandra Bullock now has an Oscar. I never bothered to see The Blind Side, but I’m guessing I will always prefer her character in Speed. Less white guilt and more bus driving. What can I say? I’m a sucker for protagonistas who lost their license for … let me finish … speeding and are then serendipitously tasked with jumping a 15-ton automobile over a highway gap in order to save the lives of a dozen of her fellow Los Angelenos. Call me old-fashioned.
Obviously, the even bigger surprise was that Avatar didn’t take home many statues, which was odd, but not something that I will shed many tears over even though I think The Hurt Locker was too flawed as a film (see: unnecessary final 15 minutes) to out-rank the technological and industry-changing achievement of James Cameron’s opus. This will probably really, really weird in 10 years when 2D movies don’t even exist anymore and our schools are no longer teaching kids that the Iraq War was a conflict so much as it was The Louisiana Purchase, Part Deux.
Whoa.
Sorry about that. I swear I was on my down to jokeville there and somehow took a left at political. Won’t happen again.
Most importantly, here’s the new, longer trailer for Iron Man 2. The person in the red and gold suit is for sure more important than talking about the people who won gold statues. (trailer via Super Hero Hype)
I was sold anyway. But, man … look at all those guys in superhero suits with guys. Yes, please.
If you have seen Reservoir Dogs, you will think this is pretty clever.
If you haven’t, throw that in your Netflix queue.
And you can find some other sweet Quentin-related posters (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill 1 and 2, Inglourious Basterds, Jackie Brown and Death Proof) at this here website, which makes them available for both your viewing and purchasing pleasure. (via Design You Trust)
The other night, I watched Fight Club and the haiku scene spoke to me:
First off, it emphasizes the mundane routines that most of us trudge through each day, but more poignantly, seventeen syllables really sum up the theme of the movie. That said, I figured I’d go through this year’s Best Picture nominees and see if I could capture each one’s essence through haiku:
We don't always review movies, but when we do, we often give them numeric values to let you know what we think. Those numbers roughly mean the following:
10
One of the best movies I've ever seen. If you don't at least sort of like it, I probably just lost some respect for you as a person.
9
Great, great stuff. Your film-watching career can't be complete if you don't see this.
8
You should definitely see this. One of the better films of the year.
7
I enjoyed it. If you see it, you see it, but won't change your life either way.
6
I wasn't upset that I watched this, but it's certainly not great. Watchable if you're on a plane and don't have a book, but wouldn't go out of your way. Meh.
5
Hot garbage, entirely forgettable and a total waste of time. Never watch this.
4
Epically, memorably terrible.
3
You cannot be serious. Maybe the worst thing I've ever seen. Absolutely staggering. Unreal. I loathe everyone involved with this.
