Gordon McAlpin's Blog: Updates from Multiplex: Deleted Scenes, page 23

"Tanghi Argentini" by Guy Thys

One of my favorite short films in recent memory, the Oscar nominated 2006 live action short out of Belgium Tanghi Argentini probably borrows a little from Shall We Dance? (the wonderful, original Japanese version, I mean), but is so charming and so well told that it hardly matters. It's 14 minutes long, so maybe wait 'til lunch, but otherwise I believe it's safe for most workplaces. (There's no nudie bits, and if there's any swearing in it, it's in Dutch.)

"The Mountain" by Terje Sørgjerd

I often think of film (and comics) as a narrative medium, but every once in a while, something comes along to remind me that it's not; it can be bigger than that, broader than that. It can be art.

"The Mountain," a three-minute long, juxtaposed sequence of time lapse photography paired with a gorgeous piece of music from Ludovico Einaudi (whose music was used so incredibly well in Shane Meadows's 2006 masterpiece This Is England), is simply breathtaking. It certainly generates a powerful emotional reaction that neither the images nor the music on their own would.

Check out Mr. Sørgjerd's "The Aurora" over at Vimeo, as well. You can like TSO Photography on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.

"Hook, Line and Murder" by Eben McCue

Eben McCue's "Hook, Line and Murder" is a fun, quick short (Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight were pretty easy to spot, but is there anything else you noticed that I didn't? Eben's other videos are well worth watching, too, so check out Vimeo page.

(via The Forbidden Planet Blog)

Trailer Watch: The Adventures of Tintin

The uncanny valley rears its head in the new teaser for the motion captured Hergé adaptation, The Adventures of Tintin (previously subtitled, Secret of the Unicorn) from director Stephen Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson, sporting a script by the current Dr. Who head writer Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish. The film stars Jamie Bell at Tintin, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Gad Elmaleh, Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook.

It's probably telling that they avoided any shots with people talking (at least with synced sound); every motion-captured effort I've seen to date has, at best, looked a bit dodgy once the figures are in motion. At their worst, they look like corpses with sticks shoved up their bums, bouncing around like mop puppets. And while this certainly looks better than that, I can't say I'm crazy about the too-"realistic" character designs. But then, I'm biased — I adore the original comics, and I had hoped for a less photoreal, more stylized approach to the motion capture. I don't think it's an inherently bad technique, just that it hasn't yet been used well. (Yes, I saw Beowulf.)

Those of you who aren't as attached to the originals: what do you think?

The Adventures of Tintin hits theaters on December 23rd.

Trailer Watch: Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life

Terrence Malick's new film, The Tree of Life, was apparently booed (and applauded) at Cannes, putting it in a (probably) small group of films that includes Lars von Trier's Antichrist, Vincent Gallo's execrable Brown Bunny, and Michelangelo Antonioni's astoundingly beautiful L'Avventura. Manohla Dargis describes Tree as a "a beautiful if hermetic vision," though, which — despite the many, many times I've disagreed with Dargis — I find encouraging.

While I can't defend a film I haven't seen, but I'll point out two facts: a lot of people at Cannes get drunk (you have drink beer in French theaters, after all), and even French people can have crappy taste. Malick hasn't made a film yet that I've found uninteresting. I've seen all of his features, and I especially love The Thin Red Line and The New World. Are his films also glacially slow and occasionally self-indulgent? Sure. But always beautiful, and always fascinating.

The Tree of Life is out in the US on May 27, 2011. You can read the film's official synopsis after the cut.

We trace the evolution of an eleven-year-old boy in the Midwest, Jack, one of three brothers. At first all seems marvelous to the child. He sees as his mother does with the eyes of his soul. She represents the way of love and mercy, where the father tries to teach his son the world's way of putting oneself first. Each parent contends for his allegiance, and Jack must reconcile their claims. The picture darkens as he has his first glimpses of sickness, suffering and death. The world, once a thing of glory, becomes a labyrinth.

From this story is that of adult Jack, a lost soul in a modern world, seeking to discover amid the changing scenes of time that which does not change: the eternal scheme of which we are a part. When he sees all that has gone into our world's preparation, each thing appears a miracle—precious, incomparable. Jack, with his new understanding, is able to forgive his father and take his first steps on the path of life.

The story ends in hope, acknowledging the beauty and joy in all things, in the everyday and above all in the family—our first school—the only place that most of us learn the truth about the world and ourselves, or discover life's single most important lesson, of unselfish love.

"Micro Loup" by Richard McGuire

"Micro Loup" is a 2003 animated short by Richard McGuire. It's about a microscopic wolf, with obvious (and hilarious) nods to King Kong, and it's the best 7 minutes you'll have all day.

McGuire's entry in the Peur(s) du Noirs animated horror short anthology film is one of my all-time favorite shorts, so try to find that on DVD. You can also check out a clip from it, which is only the tip of the iceberg of the short's full awesomeness, on McGuire's Vimeo page.

"Synesthesia" by Terri Timely

I don't think that short, "Synesthesia" by the directing duo Terri Timely (Ian Kibbey and Corey Creasey) really gives you an impression — exaggerated or not — of what synethesia is actually like, as Josh Rothman of the Boston Globe suggests in the post that brought this short to my attention, but it's an awful lot of fun.

Synesthesia is "the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body," or a jumbling of senses. Vladimir Nabokov, for instance, saw letters take on colors, and physicist Richard Feynman would see colored equations. My own brush with synesthesia (and only, that I recall) was brought on by psilocybin mushrooms back in college, and I saw dancing colors in the air, sort of like a small-scale Northern Lights, connected to the music that was playing in the background.

Trailer Watch: Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

The title and trailer pretty much say it all. Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff — Craig McCall's documentary about the cinematographer of The Red Shoes, The African Queen and Rambo: First Blood Part II, and dozens of other films — is out now in (very) limited release, and will likely never play anywhere near you, unless you live in New York or LA. But, thankfully, we live in the age of digital video discs and video on demand. Keep your eyes out for it.

"More" by Mark Osborne

I just stumbled across "More," a 1998 animated short by Mark Osborne, who went on to co-direct Kung Fu Panda for Dreamworks (and did a terrific job at that, I should add). I always find it interesting to see early work by directors — especially animators — but the utterly different tone on display here made this a great surprise. It's only six minutes, so give it a look.

Thor: What did you think?

So… Thor. Is it as good as Iron Man… or as mediocre as Iron Man 2? Did it have action in spades like The Incredible Hulk, or did Thor punch a cloud at the end like in The Hulk? Enquiring minds want to know! I haven't seen it yet — I'm finishing up Monday's comic and then I'm debating whether or not to see it this afternoon. (I'm sure I'll see it eventually.)

This thread will stay open for a few weeks, so even if you don't see it opening day, stop by and share your thoughts whenever you get around to it!