Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan

Ray Harryhausen

If I had unlimited funds to make a film, it would be stop-motion.  There is something magical (and mostly uncanny) that happens when you see the inanimate come alive on screen.  Stop-motion animation has been quickly replaced by the stream-lined and more cost efficient computer-generated animation, but there is a charm and realism that stop-motion offers that has yet to be replicated by CGI, in my opinion.

The New Miyazaki

“A Sky Longing for Memories: The Art of Makoto Shinkai”

I was wandering around our local Barnes & Noble bookstore when I came across an unusual book.  A few copies were laying in the “Entertainment” section, shelves which have dwindled in recent years except for Joss Whedon autobiographies and the scripts from “Downton Abbey.”

The book was titled “A Sky Longing for Memories:  The Art of Makoto Shinkai.”  

The Show Must Go On

Kirsten Dunst in the upcoming second season of “Fargo”

(Disclaimer:  I realize the following news has nothing to do with movies, and I do not make a habit of writing about television shows.  However, I will make a feeble attempt at making this work by saying that the TV series “Fargo” is loosely based on the Coen brothers’ film of the same name).

The trailer for season two of “Fargo” has just been released, and it got me thinking about a recent trend in television.  

New Review: “The Best Offer” (2013)

Sylvia Hoeks and Geoffrey Rush in “The Best Offer”

   I’m a bit rusty getting back into the critiquing game, but my first attempt is what is probably bound to be a guilty pleasure movie for me.  “The Best Offer” (Giuseppe Tornatore, 2013) features one of my favorite actors of all time, so my review may have included a bit of bias.  However, it is an interesting film that I would (and have) recommend to anyone who asks.

   You can read the review HERE.