Memorable Shorts from 2012 – Long Branch
Quite possibly my favorite from 2012. A perfect example of simplicity and cleverness. A must see.
Sometimes a Good Notion
Archive for the month “January, 2013”
BSG: Blood and Chrome
Battlestar Galactica, the re-imagined series, is by my estimation one of the best written series to ever grace the small screen. From the very first episode it aimed high both stylistically and thematically. It was unafraid to delve deeply into the cultural and spiritual questions plaguing a post 9/11 America and addressed the weight of war to a society thrust into conflict. It was wicked smart and it was this intelligence that endeared it to critics and audiences alike.
On the ratings side however, it was a roller coaster. As Dave Howe, president of the Sci-Fi (SyFy) channel, put it “Battlestar was a spectacular flagship show for us – the level of critical acclaim around that show was pretty unprecedented for any cable network. But ultimately, it didn’t bring in as many viewers as it had the potential to because it was on a network called Sci-Fi and it was set in space.” To further complicate things, the show came with the heavy price tag of almost $1 Million per episode during its first season. This is the legacy of BSG: a show with critical acclaim, mediocre ratings, and high costs hard to justify to a television industry averse to risk taking and stuck in the ice age of Nielsen audience measurement.
Which brings us to Battlestar Galactica Blood and Chrome, the second prequel to the BSG universe and a show frustrated by its predecessor’s legacy. B&C follows William Adama as he leaves flight academy and joins the fleet. He walks into combat as a cocky almost untamable young man. In the two hours here presented, on the Machinima Youtube channel and in February on SyFy, Adama learns that all is not what it seems and ideals can quickly be used against you or exploited as a weakness.
Adama joins the ranks of Galactica as its newest hotshot pilot. He expects that glowing recommendations will lead to complicated combat misisons, but instead he is given a “milk 
run” to deliver cargo. He and his co-pilot, Coker, are surprised that the cargo is actually a person, Dr. Becca Lee, and the mission is not as simple as initially described. Adama and company must deliver Dr. Lee to a moon deep in Cylon controlled space where she is to conduct activities that will deal a huge blow to the Cylons. I will not spoil the plot details here, but I will say that in BSG fashion the surprises keep coming.
Thematically, it doesn’t strive for the depth of BSG’s pilot or even Caprica’s. Nor does it try to present a complicated web of characters. It has a simple through line and delivers high-octane action. It also gives us a glimpse of what it could have been had this been picked up by the network as a series. Adama’s relationship with his father, presented here through a voice over, only scratches the surface. But it points decisively at a potential exploration of Adama’s perceptions of war and peace. This young man, Adama, walks into battle with a list of heroes he wishes to emulate and a set of expectations about what he will accomplish. These are slowly torn down throughout the episode 
and at the end Adama is presented with some unadulterated truths about heroism and war. Galactica’s admiral says to him “Truth is the people support this war with their money and they will stop if we stop giving them hope. So let them have their heroes, let them have their unblemished victories, while you and I fight the real war.”
I do not believe that Adama fully buys into it, but he realizes that the road ahead will be full of difficult choices that blur the line between good and evil, hero and coward and that he will have to define himself somewhere in that muck. Unfortunately for us, it is a road we will not get to see despite the obvious potential the storyline and this franchise present.
Blood and Chrome on Machinima, it will air in full on SyFy
How To Survive A Plague
The movie that I was the most excited for last year was a documentary by David France called How To Survive a Plague. The film follows ACT UP during the early days of the AIDS crisis. Maybe someday I’ll write my thoughts on the film. For now however I just wanted to celebrate its Oscar nomination in the Best Documentary category. There are very few films that I would deem ‘important’ this is one of those. Go see it if you haven’t.
Below is an interview with David France from PBS Newshour
Oscar Nomination Reactions – The Best Ever
Somewhere in the internet a movie fan typed:
Harvey, you mother f$*#%^!
And summed up Oscars 2013
Memorable Shorts from 2012 – The Piano Tuner
The Piano Tuner directed by Olivier Trenier is quite older than 2012 but I was only able to see it last year. It is a lesson in getting to the point and getting out before the audience can start asking too many questions. This short film tells the story of a failed musician so desperate for sympathy that he pretends to be blind as he makes a living as a piano tuner. The film is all set up, but the premise is intriguing and the character and actor are charming. It’s easy to see the humor and desperation in what he’s doing. Then, about 8 minutes into this story something quite delightful happens … the story becomes a thriller.
This is solid work all around, just remember not to ask too many questions.
Script of the Week: Rodham by Young Il Kim
The story of a young Hillary Rodham as she struggles to choose between a career as a hot-shot Washington lawyer and the love of her life, an indomitable Bill Clinton. The script by Il Young Kim (nom de plume?) focuses on Hillary as she works in the committee to impeach Richard Nixon and weighs a marriage proposal from Bill.
The writer handles the subject matter delicately and cinematically. This is not a bio-pic in any sense. Kim aims for the essence of Hillary rather than a portrayal of historical truth. It allows him to delve deeply into the character’s emotional life and present us with a Hillary that is saucy, sexy, full of urges and contradictions. She is Hillary as we have not seen her before or at least not thought about before. The Bill we get is equally interesting but for inherently different reasons. He is exactly how we imagine him to have been. He loves Hillary madly but just can’t help being himself … totally and completely wrong for her. This dynamic keeps the script fun and makes it a compelling read even making us wonder (if only temporarily) if they’ll end up together.
We are informed by history of course. As I read this script there are moments so shock full of irony you can’t help but point them out and go “ha!”. A young Jim McDougal talking about waterfront property; A Bill that flirts with anything with two legs and a skirt; A young Hillary that believes a woman will be President before a black man; The countless characters who all know Hillary is going to be that woman; And most importantly the young ambitious lawyer who helps define an impeachment process that would decades later be used against her husband. History also informs how we cheer for Hillary, her eventual happiness is always in our sights. With so much information about her tumultuous marriage I couldn’t help but hope she would dump Bill and end up with the dashing Weld. I knew how the story would end of course, but my hoping is a trick the writer deserves immense credit for.
If there are any faults with Rodham is that Kim has chosen a period of time so compelling in its own right that it sometimes outshines the character’s story. Hillary’s time on the House Judiciary Committee that investigated Nixon is replete with intrigue and interesting characters, many of whom are still players in the current political stage. As a political junkie I ate it up and even found myself wishing that the story was solely focused on her work during that time. Alas, as we all know, for the Clintons work and self are never far apart and so it is with this script. At the end I do not know how accurate or well researched the script is, but I know it made me go running for the internet yearning to learn more. Any script that does that is good in my book.
Memorable Shorts from 2012 – The Beauty Inside
This is a webseries and a compelling piece of branded media. The concept is simple — Alex wakes up as a different person every day. Physically different that is, inside he is always the same. The story is narrated by the real Alex as he ventures to find love and himself despite his unusual condition.
The film/series is also a “social film” and a creative use of new media for the digital age. Professional and student film makers are always asking the question, “how do I build an audience?”. The Beauty Inside answers that question rather innovatively: put the audience in the movie.
Check out the short behind the scenes look below:
As a piece of literature
“I don’t write a blueprint. I want the script to work as a piece of literature” – Tarantino on scriptwriting
Memorable Shorts from 2012 – (notes on) biology
If my students doodled like this in class I would give them all an A
Sometimes a Good Notion 