Film Racing Grand Prix

As we mentioned in class one day there are racing to get films done in 24 hours given props, prompts, themes, etcetera. A year ago I was watching short films on YouTube and came across one that I really liked. This one was done in 100 hours though.

"Gone Goodbye" by Keith Rivers Films, LLC is a really clever and powerful piece. If I had been told that from start to finish this was done in 100 hours I would not believe it, despite knowing that Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin was written in an absurdly short amount of time as well.

Considering the prop was a balloon and the theme was privacy, the story was just about the best possible. It was out of the box, deep and intelligently written. From the point of view of a balloon narrating a message tied to it, there are numerous metaphors that make you want to BURST out laughing.

The aerial cinematography was stunning, full of gorgeous images. One of the other main strengths was the location. Location, location, location. It fit the privacy theme and it was on a beautiful lake which I've seen other shorts done, there's something magic about that location.

I would go as far as saying it's a masterpiece. This is one of the things I hope everyone would check out because you can learn a lot from it, no matter how much experience you have.

My Kevin Costner Obsession

My dad doesn't always watch movies... But when he does, he watches Kevin Costner movies.

As a kid growing up, I didn't have the attention span to make it through a single one. I have recently made it my mission to watch all the movies he has ever produced, directed, and/or starred in, though. This may take me a while, as his movies all seem to be approximately 4 hours long. 

If you looked at ratings by Rotten Tomatoes, Kevin Costner has definitely had some big hits, and some even bigger misses. However, I find that some of the movies with the lowest ratings seem to be some of my favorites. For example, The Postman. Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a whopping 9%, but I prefer to call it a masterpiece. Costner both directs and stars in this movie, where a makeshift postman reunites a post-apocalyptic America by delivering mail. Maybe an odd concept to wrap one's head around, but I dont want to spoil the movie for those who may actually read this post and have the intrest of watching it. 

Kevin Costner's typical style defies Hollywood norms. He makes movies as long as they need to be, rather than editing them down to a more appealing length for the general public. In some cases, his movies turn out twice the length of a typical feature film. Another rule he seems to break is to choose factual details rather than bending the truth to make more drama and/or action, shown best in his movie entitled "Wyatt Earp" that shows the life of the horse thief turned lawman of the Wild West. This is a risky style to follow, but I like how different he is and I havent come across a Costner movie that I wholeheartedly disliked. His differing style that leads to spectacular movies (in my opinion) is my inspiration for breaking the rules, and finding something outside of normal that is still appealing to at least a small portion of viewers. 

I encourage you all to IMDb Kevin Costner and watch at least one of his films. 

-Scott Walle