2012 Movies #102-133

I’m a couple months behind on blogging about the movies I watch during 2012, and at this point it would be ridiculous to do a post for each film on its own. So here’s a catch up list.

  • Ted (2012)
  • Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
  • Pieta (2012)
  • Joyful Noise (2012)
  • The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)
  • Anna Kareninia (2012)
  • Much Ado About Nothing (2012)
  • Passion (2012)
  • The Sapphires (2012)
  • Hellbenders (2012)
  • ill Manors (2012)
  • I Declare War (2012)
  • Spring Breakers (2012)
  • Argo (2012)
  • Byzantium (2012)
  • The Five-Year Long Engagement (2012)
  • Artifact (2012)
  • Ghost Graduation (2012)
  • Shampoo (1975)
  • Wanderlust (2012)
  • Zulu (1964)
  • Possession (2012)
  • Looper (2012)
  • The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
  • Savages (2012)
  • V/H/S (2012)
  • Pitch Perfect (2012)
  • Sinister (2012)
  • Night of the Living Dead (1968)
  • Con-Air (1997)
  • They Live (1988)
  • Candyman (1992)

Aint It Cool - Quint's 2010 Preview Part 3!

Quint at Aint it Cool has included BUNRAKU in the third part of his great 2010 movie preview.  Fun to see our movie included, even though we have been keeping the production very secretive.

I went to Romania to visit the set of this movie a while back. It was a fun trip and all the people working on the movie were really cool… that said, I have no idea what it’s going to look like. It’s a highly stylized revenge tale. Think Sin City crossed with a Stephen Chow film crossed with a Leone movie and you’re close, I think. There’s American western imagery, Hong Kong action and a bizarre, but cool cast assembled. Josh Hartnett is the revenge-hungry drifter, Ron Perlman is the mountain man-ish heavy, Kevin McKidd is the assassin in a suit, Woody Harrelson is the bartender (Woody!), Demi Moore and Japanese musician turned actor Gackt. With all the different influences this movie could be the equivalent of mashing all your vegetables in with your meat and potatoes or it could be the next great thing that is imitated for a decade. Either way I’m interested.

Voice-Over and Narration

A lot of people have problems with voice-over and narration in films.  Countless screenwriting teachers and gurus council their students to avoid voice-over.  That it is a crutch.  That it is lazy.  That it is bad.

I disagree.

I think voice-over is an incredibly powerful tool in the filmmaker’s toolbox. It can be used in a wide variety of ways and it can have a huge positive impact on the experience of watching a film. I’m sure some people reading this are already cringing, holding firm to their belief that voice-over is bad. Hopefully I can end that now, by listing some wonderful films that contain and rely on various voice-over techniques:

How can you look at that list and then say voice-over is inherently bad?  What are your favorite films with voice-over?