One of the best YouTube moments for me this year was the recut trailer for Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.
Lately, trailers have become mockeries of themselves, either giving away too much of the movie (I feel like I've already seen all I need to of the new Bond) or falling into a formulaic pattern that often renders a good flick into generic drivel. It seems that very few films are willing to take a risk and get creative with how they promote their work, instead surrendering to the tried and true.
But all that aside, it turns out that the recut trailer as an online genre is alive and well with dozens of titles going under the knife for a new spin. Some are dreadful; others brilliant. Here are a few of my favorites:
Sleepless in Seattle as a horror.
Garden State as a thriller.
Swingers as a psycho drama.
Taxi Driver as a romantic comedy.
Labels: YouTube
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Брет Истон Эллис
A very cool collection of Russian covers of Bret Eason Ellis novels, the above being for The Informers...
...a Kubrickesque fake trailer for Lunar Park on YouTube...
...and Bret Easton Ellis on the Why the Teletubbies are Evil.
More on Ellis over at Not An Exit.
A very cool collection of Russian covers of Bret Eason Ellis novels, the above being for The Informers...
...a Kubrickesque fake trailer for Lunar Park on YouTube...
...and Bret Easton Ellis on the Why the Teletubbies are Evil.
More on Ellis over at Not An Exit.
Labels: Literature
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Snowed In
Snow is a rare thing in Vancouver especially in November. Normally it stays up on the mountains enticing us to strap boards to our feet and hurl ourselves downhill. But for the past 24 hours, this city has been getting dumped on.
Feeling somewhat ill-equipped to tackle the winter wonderland outside my window, I've chosen to spend the afternoon holed up with a roaring fire, a glass of beaujolais and the task of figuring out what killed our garburator. But there have been many others out enjoying this uncommon event and Flickr, as always, is the best place to see what's been going on.
(above photo by Americanuck)
Snow is a rare thing in Vancouver especially in November. Normally it stays up on the mountains enticing us to strap boards to our feet and hurl ourselves downhill. But for the past 24 hours, this city has been getting dumped on.
Feeling somewhat ill-equipped to tackle the winter wonderland outside my window, I've chosen to spend the afternoon holed up with a roaring fire, a glass of beaujolais and the task of figuring out what killed our garburator. But there have been many others out enjoying this uncommon event and Flickr, as always, is the best place to see what's been going on.
(above photo by Americanuck)
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Great Counterculture Logos - Part 1
The Black Flag logo by Raymond Pettibon.
The Black Flag logo by Raymond Pettibon.
Labels: American Hardcore, Design, Great Counterculture Logos, Music, Raymond Pettibon, Street Level
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
No Ritual Can Heal
Currently showing at the Met and corresponding with a book of the same name, Robert Polidori's New Orleans After the Flood: Photographs hauntingly documents the post-Katrina devastation of the once Big Easy. With the same passion that affected his photographic essay on Chernobyl in 2001, Polidori once again succeeds in capturing the magnitude of loss and human folly in each frame.
For more info check out John Updike's review of After the Flood in the New York Times Review of Books.
Currently showing at the Met and corresponding with a book of the same name, Robert Polidori's New Orleans After the Flood: Photographs hauntingly documents the post-Katrina devastation of the once Big Easy. With the same passion that affected his photographic essay on Chernobyl in 2001, Polidori once again succeeds in capturing the magnitude of loss and human folly in each frame.
For more info check out John Updike's review of After the Flood in the New York Times Review of Books.
Labels: Art, Disasters, Photography, World at Large
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Tune in, Turn on, and Drop the Remote
I have been well aware lately that my media viewing habits are turning increasingly from my television to the computer. Even those few shows that I do enjoy from the paltry mainstream offerings are generally viewed on my own time by downloading episodes from p2p and watching them on Quicktime.
And then there's the Youtube phenomenon. I am a complete addict. The variety, freedom and sheer excitement of hunting down some rare or nostalgic clip takes the concept of channel surfing to a whole new level. It comes as no surprise that Youtube was just named Time Magazine's "Invention of the Year" and its recent acquisition by Google for $1.65 billion only confirms its projected significance in the grand scheme of online evolution.
But the beautiful and possibly most important effect from this influx of available media is the availability in itself. An old clip of Laurel and Hardy for example suddenly finds new life. Great classics are discovered by a new generation. And footage that might have been lost forever, is digitally preserved (albeit in a compressed format that often makes it barely viewable).
Stepping away from Youtube for a moment, check out this contributor at Dailymotion named Alternativa who has over 150 videos featuring an amazingly rare and eclectic selection of music footage from artists ranging from the Pharoah Sanders Quartet to The Roots, to Art Blakey; not to mention a long time personal favorite: Santana live at Woodstock featuring one of the best drum solos I've ever heard. Far out.
I have been well aware lately that my media viewing habits are turning increasingly from my television to the computer. Even those few shows that I do enjoy from the paltry mainstream offerings are generally viewed on my own time by downloading episodes from p2p and watching them on Quicktime.
And then there's the Youtube phenomenon. I am a complete addict. The variety, freedom and sheer excitement of hunting down some rare or nostalgic clip takes the concept of channel surfing to a whole new level. It comes as no surprise that Youtube was just named Time Magazine's "Invention of the Year" and its recent acquisition by Google for $1.65 billion only confirms its projected significance in the grand scheme of online evolution.
But the beautiful and possibly most important effect from this influx of available media is the availability in itself. An old clip of Laurel and Hardy for example suddenly finds new life. Great classics are discovered by a new generation. And footage that might have been lost forever, is digitally preserved (albeit in a compressed format that often makes it barely viewable).
Stepping away from Youtube for a moment, check out this contributor at Dailymotion named Alternativa who has over 150 videos featuring an amazingly rare and eclectic selection of music footage from artists ranging from the Pharoah Sanders Quartet to The Roots, to Art Blakey; not to mention a long time personal favorite: Santana live at Woodstock featuring one of the best drum solos I've ever heard. Far out.
Labels: Google, Music, YouTube
Friday, November 03, 2006
"In this light...whisper, 24"
On June 13th, 2006, artist Jeroen Witvliet bought a number of newspapers and proceeded to cut out images from their pages. From this collection, he would select those which he responded to most and paint them. In doing so, they became something new; stripped of its context and caption, the painting forced you to confront the image for what it was.
As Jeroen writes:
"I come across images of people described as insurgents and a mention of their nationality, no other description given. Persons are being categorized and abstracted by the caption, and the language used. A number gives the score of the dead, even further abstracted. A system of classification starts to take place. A value is attached to the words describing an event. Described one way a life has value, classified another way it loses value and this way of description can be used for many, including political, reasons."
Jeroen's exhibition, "In this light...whisper, 24", opens tonight at the Cristall Gallery from 6 - 9pm and runs until the 22nd.
Read my interview from last year with Jeroen here.
On June 13th, 2006, artist Jeroen Witvliet bought a number of newspapers and proceeded to cut out images from their pages. From this collection, he would select those which he responded to most and paint them. In doing so, they became something new; stripped of its context and caption, the painting forced you to confront the image for what it was.
As Jeroen writes:
"I come across images of people described as insurgents and a mention of their nationality, no other description given. Persons are being categorized and abstracted by the caption, and the language used. A number gives the score of the dead, even further abstracted. A system of classification starts to take place. A value is attached to the words describing an event. Described one way a life has value, classified another way it loses value and this way of description can be used for many, including political, reasons."
Jeroen's exhibition, "In this light...whisper, 24", opens tonight at the Cristall Gallery from 6 - 9pm and runs until the 22nd.
Read my interview from last year with Jeroen here.
Labels: Art, Artist Series, Collaborators, Jeroen Witvliet, Vancouver Galleries
Possessed to Skate
A search for "skateboarding" on YouTube garners almost 70,000 results, which is not surprising seeing as the hand held video camera has been a required component of the sport since the very beginning. Most of the clips that you'll find are homespun amateurs documenting clumsy kick flips off the sidewalk curb. But others such as Rodney Mullen, Daewon Song or Stefan Janoski, are pure poetry.
A search for "skateboarding" on YouTube garners almost 70,000 results, which is not surprising seeing as the hand held video camera has been a required component of the sport since the very beginning. Most of the clips that you'll find are homespun amateurs documenting clumsy kick flips off the sidewalk curb. But others such as Rodney Mullen, Daewon Song or Stefan Janoski, are pure poetry.
Labels: Skateboarding, YouTube
