Archive for ‘We love’

The Wandering Earth is China’s first large-scale science fiction epic, and it’s incredible. Catch it in theatres before it’s gone. Via the New York Times:

“The Wandering Earth,” directed by Frant Gwo, arrived with stratospheric anticipation. Described as China’s first space blockbuster, it is already a hit in its home country and, on a more limited scale, in the United States, where it opened earlier this month. It certainly proves that the Chinese film industry can hold its own at the multiplex: It is just as awash in murky computer imagery, stupefying exposition and manipulative sentimentality as the average Hollywood tentpole.

Although the film is based on a story by Liu Cixin, it draws on a barely digested stew of planetary-cataclysm movies, with the eco-catastrophe and invasion films of Roland Emmerich serving as the most obvious spiritual guides. (Even a Chinese New Year setting correlates to the July 4 timing of Emmerich’s “Independence Day.”) In this case, the disaster — the first one, anyway — is that the sun is going to engulf the planet, so the multilingual United Earth Government has concocted a plan to send Earth out of the solar system using 10,000 propulsive engines, with Jupiter’s gravity providing the final oomph. But a slightly incorrect trajectory could cause a collision and end civilization, a crisis that is well underway. (Humans live in underground cities, having survived by lottery, and Earth’s surface is frozen.)

knows about the Beatles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD6FDkUXSZQ

Danny Boyle’s Beatles film Yesterday has a trailer out, and the premise is hilarious. What if a songwriter woke up in a world without the Beatles? Via IndieWire:

What would happen if you woke up one day and suddenly you were the only person with any recollection of The Beatles? That’s the scenario dreamed up by screenwriter Richard Curtis and director Danny Boyle for the upcoming musical comedy “Yesterday.” Universal Pictures has debuted the official trailer for the movie and it suggests the company could have a major counter-programming hit on its hands this summer.

“Yesterday” stars newcomer Himesh Patel as a struggling singer-songwriter named Jack who wakes up from a freak bus accident to discover The Beatles have never existed. Jack is the only person on the planet who remembers The Beatles and his music career skyrockets when he begins playing the songs made famous by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Star, and George Harrison. The supporting cast includes Kate McKinnon as Jack’s music agent and Lily James as Jack’s childhood best friend, plus Ana de Armas and Lamorne Morris. While British moviegoers may know Patel from his role on the BBC soap opera “EastEnders,” the actor’s role in “Yesterday” will surely be a breakthrough for him in Hollywood. “Yesterday” is Boyle’s first directorial release since “T2 Trainspotting.” The Oscar winner for “Slumdog Millionaire” was going to direct the next James Bond movie but left the project over creative differences. Curtis, meanwhile, hasn’t written a feature film since the 2014 movie “Trash,” although he worked on the story for last summer’s “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” which starred James.

Ridley Scott directed an ad for Hennessy XO… and… yeah it has to be seen to be believed. It’s very beautiful, but very weird. Via PR Newswire:

Complementing the idea that “Each drop of Hennessy X.O. is an Odyssey,” the Oscar® nominated director of The Martian and Gladiator, as well as cult films Alien and Blade Runner, creates a visual journey that explores the blend’s seven flavor profiles in a surreal, sensorial and immersive narrative. The film is a creative interpretation of each of the seven tasting notes, described by Hennessy’s Comité de Dégustation as illustrations of Hennessy X.O’s taste and feel: Sweet Notes, Rising Heat, Spicy Edge, Flowing Flame, Chocolate Lull, Wood Crunches; culminating in Infinite Echo.

“I was attracted to this project because I was inspired by the potential for art and entertainment to bring this story to life,” said Ridley Scott. “Hennessy has a great product, and I was lucky enough to have the freedom to interpret this and create something amazing. I think people will be stunned when they see the film.”

All seven notes evocatively take shape under the iconic filmmaker’s direction, with his subversive sense of narrative, unique light, and knack for radical and technical innovation. The seven notes, envisioned as individual worlds, are brought to life through wonderous and extreme physiography. The director leaves it to the viewer’s imagination if the film occurs in the future or past, in reality or a dreamscape, as he takes us through vivid scenes offering snapshots of each world.

7 Days Out is a new Netflix series showing the lead up to some of the world’s biggest programs — including the Westminster Dog Show. Via Madison:

Netflix’s upcoming docuseries 7 Days Out takes a unique look at today’s significant historical and cultural events in the worlds of fashion, food, entertainment, and sports.

The six-part series, premiering Friday, December 21, consists of 45-minute episodes wherein the seven days leading up to an event are chronicled. Acclaimed documentary director Andrew Rossi (known for First Monday in May) helms the ambitious project which is also brought to viewers by The Chef’s Table and Last Chance U executive producers Andrew Fried and Dane Lillegard. Joe Zee also serves as an executive producer on the project. For those curious about what will be covered, events featured in the show include the Westminster Dog Show, fine dining restaurant Eleven Madison Park’s revamp, NASA’s Cassini Mission, the Kentucky Derby, the CHANEL Haute Couture Fashion Show, and esports championship League of Legends.

In the premiere episode, go behind the scenes of the beloved Westminster Dog Show, where you’ll be swept up in the frenzy of the furry friends, their optimistic handlers, and busy groomers. Below we have an exclusive sneak peek at the premiere featuring some testimonial footage and backstage access to the animal-based event.

While we’re at it, the 2019 show has by now concluded, and here are some of our fav videos:

Gabby the Papillon. What.

4 time champion for the obedience trial, Heart the Black Labrador.

Pixar’s Purl is a Sparkshots short film featuring an animated ball of yarn trying to fit in at her new job in an all-male startup company called B.R.O.. Via Short of the Week:

Though Pixar have become somewhat synonymous in the world of animated shorts, finding these films online is more of a rarity, than a common occurrence. However, this all looks to change with their latest program SparkShorts, a series of films designed to discover new storytellers, explore new storytelling techniques, and experiment with new production workflows, that all look set to be released online. Kicking off this series, is Kristen Lester’s Purl, a deceptively cute tale of toxic masculinity in the workplace.

Set in the high-powered world of B.R.O capital, Purl follows its titular central character as she goes to work in a male-dominated office and finds herself struggling to fit in. A story centred around themes of belonging and understanding, Purl is left with a tough decision – change her ways to fit in or carry on being herself and face a life of loneliness and isolation at work. The story was obviously a personal one for writer/director Lester, as she reveals in this Meet the Filmmakers video:

“It’s based on my experience being in animation”, says Lester, “my first job, I was like the only woman in the room and so in order to do the thing that I loved, I sort of became one of the guys. Then, I came to Pixar and I started to work on teams with women for the first time and that actually made me realise how much of the female aspect of myself I had sort of buried and left behind”.