Eat My Shorts: Ruin (2012)

Ruin (2012)

Directed by: Wes Ball
Running Time: 8 Minutes 30 Seconds
Country: USA

I have previously posted a short film from visual effects gurus working in their spare time (405), but here is another of these type of films from Wes Ball and his animation company Oddball Animation.  Taking over two years to complete the short see a motorcycle rider trying to outrun a futuristic helicopter plane hybrid thingy all set in the backdrop of a post apocalyptic metropolis and it looks amazing!  His company are currently working on a feature called "In Search of Humans" and if this was anything to go by, I will certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for that!

Check out Ruin for yourself below!

Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake.

Casablanca 70th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition from Warner Brothers in the U.S

A Whole Month!

Wowsers... a whole month went by and I didn't even notice!  This year has been one of the busiest ever!

Well, here are a few additions to the old Blu-ray collection...starting with my new vice The Criterion Collection - not as many as I had hoped for the month, but still 2 is better than none!  Here we have The Last Temptation of Christ (just in time for Easter) and Nicholas Roeg's brilliant Walkabout with the ever-so-lovely Jenny Agutter.

Finally completed my UK Toy Story collection with the purchase of Toy Story 3 from Amazon, scored it for around $11 and with slip which fits nicely with the other 2

Whilst I wasn't a huge fan of Be Cool, I love Get Shorty and this twin pack was a steal for under $20, I must say I was quite impressed with the transfers on both films too!

Next up and with thanks to my friend Co La over in Canadia I received a Futureshop exclusive metal pack of The Muppets.  Didn't exactly love the film, but it was great to have the Muppets back on the big screen and this metal pack is certainly something to behold.  It is probably one of my favourite cases!  The disc also boasts a pretty neat extra when you pause the film... had me laughing for ages!

I have finally given up waiting for the next film to be released locally (or in any English speaking country for that matter) and picked up Perfume on Blu-ray from Germany.  I really liked this film and desperately wanted to own the DVD limited edition that came in the perfume box with samples, but alas, I was never able to source one.... haven't had a chance to watch this yet, but I have heard the transfer is pretty good.

I also never got around to owning Secretary on DVD, despite always having the Tartan UK version in my Amazon cart for the better part of 3 years.  I have finally remedied this by picking up the U.S Lionsgate release.

ahem - what can I say about this next disc... well I like sharks and it was only $6 - so there :P~

And last, but by no means least we have the Canadian version of the Vengeance trilogy featuring Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Old Boy and Lady Vengeance. 3 fantastic films for $30 - a bargain.  Why the Canadian release you may ask, well, price and packaging mostly.

Well, I have plenty more boxes on the way and I have seen a number of films theatrically for one of the many radio shows I seem to have involved myself with, alas I never seem to find the time to sit down and write up my reviews...it is a sorry state of affairs, but one that I can hopefully rectify soon.

And Again with the Goodies!

And another Blu-ray update this month! Seems to be all my blog does these days!

First cab off the rank is the awesome Japanese film Confessions from film-maker Tetsuya Nakashima (Kamikaze Girls).  This is the UK release that includes a DVD copy and a Japanese DTS-HD audio track, sadly though it lacks in any extras.

Next up is another Criterion and from one of my favourite director's no less. Claude Chabrol's Les Cousins is one of the pioneering films of the French New Wave movement and a welcome addition to the collection.

Heading to France now and I have finally picked up the Studio Canal release of Mulholland Drive, I always intended to get this from the UK, but Amazon has been out of stock for awhile now and the disc is identical (and cheaper) in France so I picked it up as I needed something else in the box with my next purchase.....

I think Silent Hill is possibly one of the most under-rated video game to movie adaptations and this release is awesome.  It features some great behind the scenes material including a full length documentary from concept to final product.  Even better is the fact that this disc is almost completely English friendly with only a few extras lacking English subs!  The transfer of the film is also approved by Christophe Gans himself and it does look and sound very pretty!

The Artist (2011)

 I have many friends who, for whatever reason, utterly dislike watching foreign films, or more specifically reading subtitles.  "If I wanted to read, I would read a book" is the most common excuse. When trying to encourage this crowd to see The Artist,  these same people pull a face and complain that it is silent and (god have mercy) in black and white as well!.  I honestly do not understand where this aversion to some of cinemas greatest accomplishments comes from. These same people are likely to shell out $16 to see Transformers 3, but won't sit down and watch the film that as of this week took out the best picture, director and actor awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Let us not forget the fact that it is an incredibly entertaining, stylish and impeccably well acted homage to one of the greatest era's in Hollywood history.

The year is 1927, Hollywood is on the brink of a major development in the creation of motion pictures: sound! This advent, however, is not welcomed by famed silent actor George Valentin (Jean Dujardin). At first, he like many others at the time thought it would be a passing fad, but he soon realizes talkies are here to stay. Through a chance meeting with an up-and-coming young actress named Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), George gets a first hand glimpse of how quickly his life is going to change and how easily he is replaced.

It is a rare occasion to see a silent (though not really) black and white film at a mainstream cinema, even rarer that the film is as entertaining as The Artist is.Certainly deserved its Best Picture Oscar!!  Check it out when you can!

New Additions

Here we are with the latest additions to the old collection... 2 replacements for DVD copies, a new title and a game!

First up we have the continuing growth of my Criterion Collection with the addition of the excellent Three Colors Trilogy. I am a big fan of Kieslowski's work and this was (and is) some of his finest.  It didn't have quite the same impact on me as The Decalouge, but it certainly heralded a new era for art house flicks in the mid to late 90's!

 Still with the Criterion Collection. The Japanese are a race that very few people seem to understand and Nobuhiko Obayashi's House certainly won't help matters much.  To say this film is a little off the show would be an understatement, but despite its many WTF moments, it is certainly very entertaining!

Next up we have Lost In Translation which replaces my old U.S Import from Focus Features, picked this up for around $15 so not too bad for a back catalog title.

And last, but by no means least, we are back to those oddballs from Japan with a computer game that is off the show crazy. Playing this game for me consists solely of 10 minutes game play (9 of which involve quite a lot of swearing) and around 1/2 an hour of simply watching cut scenes... it is interesting, but I am not sure how long I can keep it up for (pun kind of intended?)

Criterion Madness

Whilst my reasons for going Blu-ray region free last month should seem obvious, one of the main factors for me was the ability to play Criterion Collection discs. Interestingly, I never really got into Criterion DVD's, in fact I have only ever owned 4 over the course of my collecting - Rushmore, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, Spirit of the Beehive and The Rock. I am now down to 1 (Spirit of the Beehive).  Blu-ray is a different kettle of fish though and I have been more than happy to increase my buying in order to diversify my collection and blind buy titles that I have never seen as the experience on Blu-ray is about the best you could ever get for some of these films!!  Anyhow, without further ado, here is my current Criterion Collection haul:

From master film-maker Fritz Lang we have M (1931), I was torn between this version or the beautiful German 2 disc version from Universum, but in the end went for Criterion simply because it was easier and cheaper for me to obtain.

 Next up we have Belle De Jour (1967), I managed to resist the Studio Canal Digibook edition that was released here in Australia, but have decided to grab the Criterion edition as I got it for a bargain price (and couldn't resist hi-def Catherine Deneuve!)  I also picked up Charade (1963) which was previously only available as a special feature on the horrible remake here in Australia - so I am really looking forward to re-watching this classic on Blu-ray!

Then we have two Blu-ray upgrades from my previous DVD collection.  Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998) and Rushmore (1998)

Following the upgrades we have two great films from totally different eras in the form of Brian De Palma's fantastic Blow Out (1981) starring a young John Travolta and featuring an awesome performance by John Lithgow as well as 1972's Solaris from pioneering Russian auteur Andrea Tarkovskiy

 Stepping back in time again we have Robert Mitchum's most powerful performance and sadly actor Charles Laughton's only directorial credit in the form of 1955's Night of the Hunter. This release comes with 2 discs housed in a wonderful digipack case.

Much like the release above, Akira Kurasawa's epic Seven Samurai (1954) is also given the 2 disc treatment and is housed in a similar digipack case

Some incredible cinema right there and I am very proud to have such wonderful additions to my collection... Of course there are plenty more on the way and Criterion do such a fantastic job that I am more than happy to part with my hard earned money for these fantastic editions of some of cinemas greatest achievements!

Best News Ever!!