Friday, February 24, 2012

Fantastic Short Film Friday - Cost of Living (live-action)

















And we are back with another installment in our Fantastic Short Film Friday series, as we continue to showcase films released in the "lesser" known form of cinema- the short film.

It's tough to do a good action story in a short film. Sci-fi shorts can get away with it because of the spectacle, but doing an action short that has meaning, that is both entertaining and refreshing is tough in a 20 minute chunk. Today though I have for you an action short that uses its running time and minimal budget really well to tell both an action packed story of survival in a lab full of monsters and a comedy about finding one's self. Here is the 10-minute short Cost of Living from filmmaker BenDavid Grabinski. It stars two actors that have really grown on me in the past years: Superman himself Brandon Routh who's channeling his Scott Pilgrim character and the now sadly cancelled Reaper's very own Bret Harrison. Mary Elizabeth Winstead also leads her vocal talents to the story.

The setup is this: two security guards that work for a mysterious corporation go about their day just trying to get through it as they put out fire after fire, each more dangerous than the last.

This one feels right at home in a John Carpenter movie, as the director and actors do a great job mixing horror, comedy and action into an entertaining 10 minute short where you can't wait to see what happens next. At the very end there's talks of a possible sequel coming and damn if I can't wait to see more. This is some smart, funny, and entertain stuff here people and its flatout funny.

"Why d'you always get the burrito?"
"Cos it's fucking delicious."

Brilliant.

Check this out if you like your splatter with a touch of comedy. Check this out if you liked Routh's performance in the movie Dylan Dog, but wished you could get it in smaller chunks. Enjoy this weeks dose of short form goodness in, Cost of Living.


COST OF LIVING from BenDavid Grabinski on Vimeo.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Fantastic Short Film Friday - The Death and Return of Superman (live-action)

















And we are back with another installment in our Fantastic Short Film Friday series, as we continue to showcase films released in the "lesser" known form of cinema- the short film.

Just released in theater's is an amazing coming of age superhero origin story about three friends gain special powers from a falling meteor and the resulting fallout on them and the world because of their powers. It's an amazing piece of science fiction that uses the framework of the anime Akira to create a truly riveting tale. In honor of the movie Chronicle I wanted to showcase a short directed by the writing of the film. Max Landis (the son of famed Animal House director John Landis and screenwriter of Chronicle) has released The Death and Return of Superman, an entertaining, drunken-fueled 17-minute rant detailing one of comics most famous deaths and returns of an iconic character.

Remember when the Man of Steel died and came back in the 1990s? Well, this is the closest we're going to get to a live-action Death of Superman movie. And it's kind of amazing. Also featured are Mandy Moore as Lois Lane, Elijah Wood as Hank Henshaw, Simon Pegg as John Landis, and some other surprises.

There's no real synopsis needed, but even if you don't like comicbooks and never read a superman story this is still a must watch just to see how crazy and out of control some stories can get and let's just say, this concise breakdown of that storyline brings my love of comics into question because I lived and breathed these stories when they came out in the 90's. I was that guy on the line retuning to the shop multiple times to get more then one copy since each shop had a limit of one. Juts bad.

Check this out if you you're curious to see what all the fuss was about in the 90's. Check this out if you just want a good laugh at the excess of modern pop culture in all its campy glory. Enjoy this weeks dose of short form goodness in, The Death and Return of Superman.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Episode 84: Chronicle

Hello there and welcome to the 84th episode of the Cinema Cafe Podcast, the bi-weekly, twice monthly film podcast by the fans, for the fans. Join us each week as we review new movies releases, look at some dvd's, talk some film news and share our general love for all things cinema. The main goal is to have some fun and hopefully provide the listener with some helpful insight. We are back and the podcasting world is alight once again.

We are finally back with recharged batteries and are ready once again to bring our loyal listeners some brand new bi-weekly content. Thanks for your patience and it feels so good to be back!!

This week we take a look at 4 movie that has been recently released and also of a few that are currently on dvd or in theaters. With that said here's a look at what we discuss on this weeks podcast:

* Chronicle
* The Descendants
* A Cat in Paris
* If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
* Upcoming movie releases for the weekend of 2.17.12 and 2.24.12

Also, film news and more, only on the Cinema Cafe Podcast. We hope you enjoy and happy movie watching.

Thanks as always to all our loyal listeners for sharing the ride with us as we've once again started producing the show. It's all due to your support that we have kept things going and we hope you continue to share the ride with us in the coming months.

We're also on Itunes so head over there and subscribe to the Cinema Cafe Podcast and don't forget to post a review! Thanks!!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Fantastic Short Film Friday - First Birthday (live-action)

















And we are back with another installment in our Fantastic Short Film Friday series, as we continue to showcase films released in the "lesser" known form of cinema- the short film.

It's time for another Sundance nominated short from this years film festival. Like the short Arm, the organizers of Sundance have given all short film lovers the pleasure of checking out their nominees and deciding for ourselves which are our favorites. So again, I wanted to take the time and share the love. This one is a 12-minute drama called, First Birthday from filmmaker Andrew Ahn. It's a deceptively simple story, about a gay man going to the first birthday celebration of his brother's son, but there's a hidden sadness in the actor's performance that understates what this story is really about, the loss of man in a conventional world..

Here's the synopsis from Sundance:

A gay Korean-American man years for a family life that is just out of reach.


Now I can't embed it here since you can only watch the full short at Sundance's short film site on yahoo, but lucky for all of us its free! Check the film out here.

I'm Asian myself, and Asian culture can be tough on those that they view are on the outside. I've never had to face the trials from families that other Asians have faced, but I'm always fascinated by how we all treat one another. Here, the family is supportive of the main character, although to be fair we never see how it was when he first came out to his family. However that's not important. What's important is that regardless of how his family feels about him, he still feels lost, alone, saddened by the fact he can never have the life of what he perceives family "should" be, and in our lives, isn't it all about perception?

Check this out if you like meditative takes on the everyday lives of people. Check this out if you've ever felt out of step, out of place in the world as you continually look for the solace of peace. Enjoy this weeks dose of short form goodness in, First Birthday.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Episode 83: The Artist, The Grey, Tree of Life and Beginners

Hello there and welcome to the 83rd episode of the Cinema Cafe Podcast, the bi-weekly, twice monthly film podcast by the fans, for the fans. Join us each week as we review new movies releases, look at some dvd's, talk some film news and share our general love for all things cinema. The main goal is to have some fun and hopefully provide the listener with some helpful insight. We are back and the podcasting world is alight once again.

We are finally back with recharged batteries and are ready once again to bring our loyal listeners some brand new bi-weekly content. Thanks for your patience and it feels so good to be back!!

This week we take a look at 2 main movie that has been recently released and also of a few that are currently on dvd or in theaters. With that said here's a look at what we discuss on this weeks podcast:

* Beginners
* Tree of Life
* The Artist
* The Grey
* Oscar talk
* Upcoming movie releases for the weekend of 2.03.12 and 2.10.12

Also, film news and more, only on the Cinema Cafe Podcast. We hope you enjoy and happy movie watching.

Thanks as always to all our loyal listeners for sharing the ride with us as we've once again started producing the show. It's all due to your support that we have kept things going and we hope you continue to share the ride with us in the coming months.

We're also on Itunes so head over there and subscribe to the Cinema Cafe Podcast and don't forget to post a review! Thanks!!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Fantastic Short Film Friday - Arm

















And we are back with another installment in our Fantastic Short Film Friday series, as we continue to showcase films released in the "lesser" known form of cinema- the short film.

As I mentioned in my last post, it's Oscar time and my favorite part of Oscar time is seeing which short films get nominated. However unlike last year, it's almost impossible to see the current nominated crop. Unless you went to the film festivals these shorts played at, chances are you missed out on your opportunity to see them (since many aren't online). This makes me sad because by the time they're finally released on dvd (1, 2, even 5 years after) most will have forgotten all about them. So yeah, these Oscar nominated short films, not many people get the chance to watch them. However The Sundance film festival have given short film lovers the chance to see the shorts that are being nominated for their festival awards. So I wanted to take the time and share the love. The first of the bunch I'll be taking a look at is a 9-minute screwball comedy called, Arm from filmmakers, Brie Larson, Sarah Ramos, Jessie Ennis. I found this funny in a slight kind of way, a very British comedy of happenstance and manners about the prevalence of technology and how it's taken over our relationships in every facet.

Here's the synopsis from Sundance:

To keep up with social pressure in a technological world, Chance starts a texting relationship with Genevieve. But tragedy forces Chance to realize that he was never in a relationship at all.

Now I can't embed it here since you can only watch the full short at Sundance's short film site on yahoo, but lucky for all of us its free! Check the film out here.

It's a modest short with some wonderful teenage acting that has some real high moments when you're watching it, but will quickly fade from your mind when done. However that doesn't mean that there's no substance here, no real charm. Chance feels like how I feel at times in this modern tech driven world, this tech first based human interaction - alone, confused and lost (shh, don't tell anyone that I'm a technical project manager for a major record label). I don't get it sometimes. I get the fact how sites like Facebook, Twitter and texting have changed our lives. What I don't get is why people place such importance on such forms of communication. But I'm an old man so there is that - turn off the rock and roll whatchamacallit you whippersnappers.

Check this out if you or someone you know fuels their days living mostly in cyberspace. Check this out if you remember young love, but want to see what it means in our modern age (it's scary). Enjoy this weeks dose of short form goodness in, Arm.