Emit and the Dragon Teaser

We shot this in early 2011. We're hoping to finish post-production this year. Watch in full screen mode with lot's of volume.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

In movie theaters. I read Stieg Larson's Millennium trilogy and then saw the 3 Swedish films. The books were amazing reads and the films focused on capturing the books as faithfully as a limited time medium can, such is filmmaking. So when David Fincher set off to do the Hollywood version, I was hoping the director of The Fight Club and Se7en, together with Daniel Craig starring, could come up with a new angle. And he did, being less hung up on replicating the book and rather capture the essence of the thriller, he delivers big time. But, what truly caught me off guard, was Rooney Mara as Lisbeth. If you read the books you are probably a Lisbeth fan, and Mara is more Lisbeth than Lisbeth herself. Talk about being committed... it's hard to imagine this actress not being Lisbeth. I haven't seen the other Oscar candidates for best female performance, but Mara has my vote. Craig does a very believable Mikael Blomkvist but generously allows Rooney to shine. Or maybe he just got out of her way. Tour de force. Stellan Skarsgård makes a great Martin Vanger, a truly disarming villain.
The only thing is that if you haven't read the books, you need to shut up, turn off the blackberry and laptop, and pay a lot of attention to details, as the plot is pretty complex. I can't wait for 2&3.
Rating: 9.5/10

The Hidden Face

Original title: "La Cara Oculta". In select movie theaters. Second time Feature director Andi Baíz comes out with a masterpiece. This is the first time 20th Century Fox produces and distributes a Colombian film and you can tell, it's very well made, lot's of attention to details. But most of all it's great storytelling. I've been wondering how to not spoil the ending but at the same time rest people at ease that it isn't horror/terror. It's a psychological thriller. I am a scaredy cat and yet I enjoyed this film very much. Also, I am very proud that a fellow Colombian has reached this level of craftsmanship. The Colombian actress Martina Garcia (picture) did a wonderful job in this film, very believable. The Spanish couple (Quim Gutierrez and Clara Lago) did a good job as well, and I guess they were chosen to screen the film successfully in Spain. I would have preferred Colombian actors, since it is a Colombian film... The main setting is an old, beautiful house, with a secret. I also enjoyed watching a film set in Colombia without focusing on the ugly parts. No negative clichés, no drug lords, no misery on the streets. Lot's of good technique, some pretty cool low-tech effects, a cute German Sheppard, and wonderful classical music. If you can find a way to see it, I highly recommend it. If you are a film director or producer, it's a must see on how good storytelling doesn't need an enormous budget.
Rating: 8.5/10

The Tree of Life

Netflix DVD. My friend Tony insisted I watch this film, and I was finally able to do so. The first few minutes I was afraid it might have a religious agenda but it is spiritual and really more observing a family's experience with life and death. Since the story is non linear, it can be confusing, especially as the director tries to tie in the origins of the universe, the beginning of life on Earth, and more factors (even a dinosaur predator showing compassion to a wounded prey). The film is a visual poem, a Haiku transmitting emotion rather than a plot to fully comprehend. It might be Brad Pitt's finest performance yet. Sean Penn is present in a few scenes but generously doesn't make the film about him, he is simply a stone around which the river flows. Jessica Chastain plays the mother rather beautifully, balancing Pitt's character's imposing presence, very much what many of us experienced in those decades: 50s, 60s, 70s. I noticed it was edited by 5 people, which perhaps explains why it feels a bit long (139 minutes, yes, over 2 hours long). The cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki, is SO good, so creative with astounding images of the actual cast (as opposed to the cosmos and microscopic sequences), playing with shadows and camera angles, that I was very pleased to later know that he's Latino (Mexican). The director, Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line) had been working on this idea for 4 decades in his mind, and was finally able to execute it. The film might have as many voiceovers as traditional dialog, but it enhances the storytelling. See it with an open mind, enjoy the experience without fretting about the who's who, the what's what or when's when.
Rating: 8.5/10

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Netflix Streaming. We've been aware of the cavemen paintings of the Chauvet Cave in southern France but how well do we know them? Famed director Werner Herzog leads us into this seclusive cave that was covered by a landslide for 20 thousand years and discovered in 1994. When the camera crew first descends it uses low res cameras (as far as I could tell) but later the hi def cameras kick in (the documentary was filmed in 3D so if you can see it in an IMAX, go for it). What surprised me was that the drawings were NOT stick figures, and then I thought, Da Vinci and Michelangelo didn't appear out of a vacuum, the talent genes are transmitted over generations. Imagine a painting done 32 thousand years ago during the last Ice Age, when most of Europe was under 9000 feet thick glaciers. What animals did these humans paint? Not only Mammoths and bears, but Rhinos, Lions, Hyenas, and panthers. In EUROPE, not Africa. The documentary side of the film is quite interesting, but the final part is dedicated to appreciating the beauty of the paintings with Herzog's technique: lighting, camera movement, and poignant music. Oh and, I always visualized cavemen being short of stature, but they show evidence of a 6 foot tall stone painter with a crooked pinky finger.
Rating: 9/10

Stone

Netflix streaming. I like this kind of film. You can mostly see where it is heading and yet it is very organic, very real, you can feel all three characters' emotions, all vying for their own number one. DeNiro is formidable in this one, yet his generosity allows the others to shine. Ed Norton is very subdued and in retrospect I guess I was expecting an explosion from him at some point but it never came. Very interesting role for him, however. Now Milla is so beautiful in this film. Very hot. VERY. Her role was... weird in a way. Very femme fatale, trying to win over the audience. If this were her fist role, I would have thought she was a model trying to get into acting and being coquette during the entire film. But since I have seen her in other roles I gave her space to show me more, and she delivered big time. This picture is for you, Tony:



Rating: 8/10

Podcast: The Film Programme

Francine Stock, host.
Audio Podcast from the BBC.  I found this gem where I listen to no-nonsense talk with filmmakers and true actors. If you want to move past trivial conversations about personal anecdotes of the stars and want to understand the creative process of independent filmmakers, this is a program that will transport you into their sets, their screenwriting sessions, etc. Real insight, amigos. Not about who is friends with who, what you are wearing on the red carpet. The director of Leaving Las Vegas talks about how Nick Cage told him he'd do the film no matter what at any price, and no Hollywood studio would finance it if Cage was in the lead role. Imagine that, and he won the Oscar. Also, the French producer that financed the film was doing practically everything possible to ruin the film. It grossed almost US $80 MM and the director and Cage never got a penny from the negotiation. I am hooked and so will you be, guaranteed. This week's episode: Philip Seymour Hoffman, need I say more?
Rating: 10/10