24 Frames

There are several movies that have recently come from novels. Some are better than others. But which movies are the closest in content to their printed counterparts? Here’s my list of the best films based on books…

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

2. The Road

3. The Harry Potter series

4. V for Vendetta

5. Fight Club

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road made it’s way into limited release earlier this year.

It didn’t come into town until just recently and I viewed it at our local theater.

The Road is a blistering post-apocalyptic film taking place on the road south as a man and his son walk and fight through a wasteland inhabited by cannibals. The film in itself is wonderfully acted and masterfully produced. The story is incredibly well written and absolutely sad.

The movie is not one for the faint of heart. If you have it in you, go see it. However, I don’t foresee many wanting to watch it more than once due to the depressing nature of the story.

I know that this is a film blog, but I wanted to give a nod where it is due…

There are many, many shows that make it to television, but not all last very long. There are a few shows, however that have a limited run and are exceptional. Sadly, ratings don’t necessarily show this and shows get cancelled.

Here are a few shows that I found exceptional:

1. Arrested Development: This show is by far one of the best comedies to ever be put on the air. The comedy was immersive. There were jokes made in the first few episodes that were repeated even to the very last episode. Sadly, this didn’t translate to ratings as well as it did to reviews.

2. The Black Donnellys: A show about 4 Irish American brothers in Hell’s Kitchen New York who go through gang problems between the Irish Mob and the Italian Mafia. This show was brilliant in its drama and its portrayal of family loyalty. However, it would have had a better run if it had been on HBO.

3. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Amazing dialogue. If everyone really spoke like they do on this show, life would be so awesome. I have a feeling that the only reason this didn’t stay on the air is because it was pitted against 30 Rock, a slapstick comedy show with a similar premise.

There are more, but these are my top three.

Check them out.

-Cam

Are you interested in what the Academy is interested in this year?

http://oscar.go.com/

Go to the above mentioned website to find out all of the nominations for this year’s Academy Awards!

There are a few good films up for Best Picture. Who would you vote for?

My top three are Up, The Hurt Locker, and Inglorious Basterds…

What are yours?

Have you ever gone to a movie and felt bombarded by things you didn’t want to see?

Have you ever walked out of a movie due to some content you didn’t realize would be in it?

This is an easy fix. Head over to http://www.pluggedin.com/

They have someone report all content that you may not want you or your kids to see in a film.

This site has saved me a lot of money. Let it save you money!

If you want a place to see what people think of movies, I have the place for you!

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

Rotten Tomatoes mixes professional film reviews and member reviews so that you have a rounded view of a film before you go to see it. Usually, the site is accurate in its reviews. Rarely have I read one there, gone to see a movie and be disappointed.

Check it out!

Also, it has movie trailers and news! It really is a treasure!

-Cam

Spider-Man 4 has been canned!

Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire have pulled out of the fourth installment of their webslinging films.

Marvel Studios is set to reboot the franchise with Marc Webb [(500) Days of Summer] a the helm of the new project. They are going back to high school with Peter Parker and will cast much younger than they did previously.

This is a step in the right direction! However, the reboot will either be really, really good or really, really bad.

What do you predict it will be?

Sean Bess is a talented 22 year old actor out of Birmingham, Alabama. He also happens to be one of my best friends. He has starred in 3 to 4 short films and been an extra in several feature films as well as playing a huge role in videos crafted by a Christian organization called “Student Life.” I interviewed him on camera a little while back and had compiled a video of him. Sadly, amid a tremendous amount of technical difficulties, I was unable to have the video work and it was scrapped.

I asked Sean a plethora of questions about the film industry, where he felt his place in the industry was, and his beliefs and standards for that industry. He was well-spoken and humorous in his responses. I truly wish that this could have come across in the video. Once again, I apologize for it not being able to happen. Hopefully you can glean some understanding from the video I was able to provide.

Keep an eye out for Sean Bess in the future films you watch. I have a feeling he will go a long way. Feel free to comment on the video and any of my other blogs!

Whenever the Academy awards come around, I always think of the films that seem to have been forgotten. Honestly, I’ve never thought that the Academy made the best choices in this area. I thought I would make a small list of films Oscar forgot in one way or another…

There are only a couple I can think of…

2009:

(500) Days of Summer

Away We Go

Where the Wild Things Are

2008:

The Dark Knight

2007:

Dan in Real Life

Are there any you thought have been missed that deserved better than those that were nominated or won?

Next up for discussion: Sex!

Should there be sex in film? Should sex only be implied? Should it be implied at all? Is there a time in film where a sex scene is needed?

The ball is in your court.

Comment!