Showing posts with label films. Show all posts
Showing posts with label films. Show all posts

Sunday, July 10, 2011

my thoughts on.... writer's block. (it's a bitch....)

There's a bit of a legend in the land of Hollywood that the Coen brother's, while working on the amazing 'Miller's Crossing', had come across a type of writer's block. They refer to it as more of a slowing down in the process of creation, but it was something that drove them away from that project. They had to distance themselves to get perspective on what was slowing them down. So how did they accomplish overcoming writer's block? They wrote an entirely DIFFERENT film?!?! That film was (one of my favorite Coen brother films), 'Barton Fink'. They said that they had been trying to create a starring vehicle for John Turturro and this was the idea that they had been kicking around. How good could a film made out of a desire to finish another film be? Well, it won three top awards at Cannes that year, including the Palme d'Or. It was also nominated for three Academy awards! Not too shabby, I'd say. It still stands alone as a constant reminder to myself and others that, just because you're stuck in a rut.... doesn't mean you can't create great things. It's gotten me through a lot of tough times, creatively. That's why I bring it up here.

For almost a month now, I've been neglecting my blog in favor of work.... mostly. It doesn't mean I've stopped watching films and television, it just means that I haven't had the desire to write about the stuff I've seen. However, my film watching has dropped off greatly as well. I just can't seem to find a film that lights my fire or the desire to stay focused for an hour and a half. It really sucks to be me right now. Not in the overall sense, but in the creative sense. I want to create, so much! It's not the first time I've been through all of this and I'm sure it won't be the last. I can also imagine that many of you who're reading this have been through the same thing, yes? So here I am. Typing out all of my thoughts right now in the hopes that it'll spark something inside me to begin writing again for you. Whether it's movie/film reviews or something entirely different. A month is far too long to leave this site unattended.Question: how do you all get over a dry spell in our creativity? I would love more ammunition for the next time this occurs. Keeping in mind that this isn't over yet for me, maybe I could even use some help now.

For those who don't know what writer's block is, here's a basic definition: (from Wiki) "Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked" writers have been unable to work for years on end, and some have even abandoned their careers. It can manifest as the affected writer viewing their work as inferior or unsuitable, when in fact it could be the opposite." That's kind of a scary thought to think that it could end an entire career of a writer! I've obviously never had it go that far, but it just emphasizes the severity of this blockage. What causes it?: (from Wiki) "Writer's block may have many or several causes. Some are essentially creative problems that originate within an author's work itself. A writer may run out of inspiration. The writer may be greatly distracted and feel he or she may have something that needs to be done beforehand. A project may be fundamentally misconceived, or beyond the author's experience or ability." I think mine probably stems more from the fact that work has been keeping me so busy and I just feel like it takes priority. Soon that'll be settling down and perhaps that'll make things easier. I hope. However, there are more serious reasons for writer's block: (from Wiki) "Other blocks, especially the more serious kind, may be produced by adverse circumstances in a writer's life or career: physical illness, depression, the end of a relationship, financial pressures, a sense of failure." I don't think that's me now.... but I started this blog to help me overcome depression. It's kind of sad to think it could also end it. But again, I'm not at that point where I feel this is anything serious.

From here, I just ask that you all hang on for a bit longer. I will return to writing again.... it's in my blood and I love to blend my love of film with my love of writing. Not too mention that I have a backlog of reviews to write and some editorial pieces to throw in for fun! And some of those movies were pure and utter crap and I love to write about crap.

That's it for now. I feel a little better for finally getting something new on the blog, even if it's just to say that I'm not writing something for the blog. That is all.

(included below is the original theatrical trailer for 'Barton Fink'.)

Saturday, April 30, 2011

a possible project.... possibly.

I've been thinking about this idea for a long time. I've mentioned it previously in other posts and in some ways, it's always existed.... but in reality, it's just something that I add and remove from but never really have set in stone. What I'm referring to is my imaginary list of the 'Top 50 Films Of All Time'. This list lies somewhere between my 'Top 100 Films Of All Time', 'Top 10 Films Of All Time' and my 'Worst Movies Of All Time'. It's something that is alive and well. It lives and breathes inside my brain, but has never manifested itself for anyone else to see other than myself. I am kind of wondering if it even exists at all or if it should just remain a file hidden in the back of my brain. What do you think? Do you have a similar list? Who's made it onto your collection of films? What are the qualifications of this honor? I wonder these things every time I bring this concept up.

First of all, these would all be films and not movies. Second, they don't have to be something that has re-watchablitiy built into them.... they just have to have made an impression, changed you in some way or proved to be living art on the screen. I'm debating if re-watchability should be included as part of the cirteria, because there are movies that I can watch over and over again.... but I'm not 100% sure that they're films. Does that make them any less worthy of being on this list? I think that this is something that needs to be decided before I start this journey. Or perhaps they're just one in the same thing? I don't know. Maybe this is all just a futile attempt at stroking my own ego or to increase my feeling of film geekiness. Does anyone really care other than me? That's where you all come into play.

What are your thoughts? Would you have any interest in me putting this together? If so, I would love to take the time to do it. It's something I've been meaning to do for a long time. It's just something that has overwhelmed me a bit. I'm a really indecisive guy and I can't imagine all the hemming and hawing that will ensue if I start down this path. I'm sure it's gonna be epic. In the end, I think it's going to produce something that even I'll find surprising. I just don't know if it's anything of any real merit or if I should just stick to posting my thoughts about stuff I see and leave the past in the past. Ya dig?

If you'd like to weigh in on this or would like to submit your own lists to be added to this project (if it happens), post a comment here with your thoughts and if I move forward.... I'll ask you to submit your own lists for everyone else to view. You'll be able to send them to a personal email address to be compiled for the future post. I hope that I'll have the chance to take on this project, I think it'll be fun. It might also shed a bit of light on why I rate things the way I do. Give you some unrequested history lessons on Joel's cinematic backstory. Anyway.... enough of this babbling and carrying on, let's get back to the movie reviews, right? Thanks in advance for sticking it out with me all this time and here's to hoping for a long time together in the future.

(this movie is NOT in my 'Top 50 Films Of All Time' list....)

UPDATE: I went ahead and decided to move forward on this. First issue is trying to decide how to post the 50 films. I think that I would post them in 5 or 10 film sections. That way I could include a DVD cover or still from the film and perhaps the trailer? Second and bigger problem, I started to compile the list.... so far, I have 168 films. That will take a bit of work to shrink it down to only 50. Also, I was wondering if I should include animated films and horror films? Should I break down each list by genre? Or is this supposed to be one all encompasing list of any and all genre's? Thanks for the feedback so far.... it is a work in progress and I'm thinking it'll be interesting once I'm done.

Monday, March 28, 2011

another GIANT blog update....!

I just posted this update on Facebook, but I also wanted to include it here for those who aren't on my Facebook. I've spent another 3 days updating my blog. This time, I decided to post trailers for every movie I review from now on. However, I couldn't just leave it at that.... I had to go back to all the old reviews and add them there too. So from now on you can expect on each review: 1 poster or DVD cover for the movie being reviewed, 1 screencap from the movie, the trailer for the movie, tags so the movies are easier to find, suggestions for other movies and of course my review. I know I'm probably going off the deep end by doing this, but I haven't been 100% inspired to write reviews.... so this allowed me to be creative and made the blog more coprhensive for you all and any new readers. I want to make this the best blog I can. So, that's it.... this should be the last changes I make. (i think.) Pretty soon I'll post a new review, but until then.... I leave you with this: 'Titanic II' a movie I don't think I ever need to see. It just seems wrong all on kinds of levels. Why make a "sequel" to the worst oceanic tragedy that ever occured and make it basically the same thing in modern times? I guess some more out of work actors needed something to do. Also, the direct to DVD market isn't saturated enough.... they had to add one more piece of crap that will eventually land in the $1.00 cutout DVD bin. Look for that coming to a DVD store soon. Enjoy!

(why wouldn't you even get on this boat?!?!)

Friday, March 25, 2011

hey kids....! some contact information for me and my friends....

I think i've shared my info here before, but to anyone who's new.... here you go. If you want to find me on Facebook, you can locate me here: (and be my friend?)
http://www.facebook.com/joelunitardshow
I also have a dedicated page for this blog.... where I put updates when new posts go up and where, hopefully, people can talk with each other about movies and other things. You can find that, here:
http://www.facebook.com/amomentarylapsewithjoel#!/pages/A-momentary-lapse-with-joel/198969670132513?sk=wall&filter=2
if you need to e-mail me to talk more about movies or have general questions.... you can use my email address from my former podcast The Awful Show.... you can send the e-mail to:
joelawfulshow@gmail.com
Now, in a different kind of medium.... you can find me podcasting on 'The Undercover Unitards'. So if you've ever wanted to hear my lovely voice on a weekly basis talking about my week, movies, TV, video games, stupid stuff on the internet and porn (including she-males).... then maybe you should check us out. You can find us on iTunes or directly at our site:
http://undercoverunitards.podbean.com/
I am very thankful for all of my friends, listeners and readers that check out my blog on a regular basis and that take their time to write their own. As a thank you to them, I'm going to put together a list below of some of the other blogs to check out. Here we go:

http://gettingmyheadonstraight.blogspot.com/
This is my cousin's blog and where I recently guested with a blog post of my own.

http://sayviorssermons.blogspot.com/
This is my friend, Jeff's blog. He's a fellow movie reviewer and he also has a podcast with another friend, Jason. It's called 'Creepercast' and i'm sure you can guess what it's about. You can find them on iTunes, Facebook and at the main site here:
http://www.facebook.com/creepercast
http://www.creepercast.com/

This is a good friend of mine, Kamaile's, website for her art. It's great stuff and I always want to share:
http://mailemuertos.weebly.com/

My friend Mike also has a blog. He really likes coffee, so be aware. You can check his writings out here:
http://javakat.com/

A fellow reader of this blog, a regular to add comments and a good person, King Uke has a blog. Reviews written from across the pond. Good stuff! Head over there, here:
http://theukuleleblog.blogspot.com/

Being a big fan of horror, here is The Horror Blogger Alliance. A comprehensive site for all things horror blog releated. This link is:
http://horrorbloggeralliance.blogspot.com/

If you're getting the writing bug, it all starts with a site and a desire to write. My host is Blogger.com. I've been happy with how easy it is and it seems to be pretty popular with other bloggers. They're here:
http://www.blogger.com/

If there is anyone that I've missed or forgotten, I'm sorry. I will be happy to add more folks to the list! Just drop me a line with the link and I'll get it up right away. The best way to get your voice heard is with cross-promotion with other like minded folks. And there are a lot folks out there with stuff to say.

Thank you, again, for all of the support. I will continue with this blog as long as I have something to write about and hopefully some people to read it.