Southcliffe

Southcliffe is a Netflix mini series that came out in 2013 and stars Rory Kinnear, Sean Harris, Shirley Henderson. This series is very strange in my opinion and after watching the pilot episode I am still not sure how I feel about the show. It leaves the viewer rather clueless to what is going on and ends rather abruptly. That being said it is common of TV shows to do this to keep the viewer coming back for more however this was a little different. the first episode ends with a very long shot on a field with only natural sound, and it was very confusing.

I personally liked the cinematography in the show. The shots were abstract and long but there was something beautiful about it. my issue with the show so for is just the lack of information given to the viewer. Also the lighting in Southcliffe seems to rely very heavily on the cool side. almost every shot was lit at around 5600k (that I noticed). While this is not necessarily how I would choose to light something, I found it very intriguing.

The show only has four episodes which are around 45minutes long and if you are looking for something twisted and strange I would recommend this, however if you are someone who likes conventional methods of filming I don't think this would be for you.

NBC's mini-series 'The Slap'

If you haven't heard about this show yet, you may be able to guess what this series is about from the title. The Slap on NBC, is a revamp of the Australian series The Slap, but the American version is not receiving the same good reviews that the original did.  The first time I saw the trailer for the show, I didn't think they could make a series about a single incident. I also didn't think the show would work because they were promoting it as if the audience would decide if Harry (Zachary Quinto) was right or not to slap someone else's child. So I thought the whole series would be about Harry going to court for a long trial, and the jury would decide his fate based off of the audiences tweets about their opinions.

     Here is the trailer for the series:

As planned I didn't watch the pilot of this show when it aired two weeks ago [Feb. 12, 2015]. Then the days following the premire I mostly heard bad reviews about this show.  I was shocked to hear that there were rumors that this series could get canceled. I thought this show couldn't be very good if it's a mini-series with 8 Episodes and it might get cancelled! 

 When I saw the pilot on Hulu, I just had to see it for myself.  Something I like about the show that I didn't know before watching, was that each episode is narrated and follows a different character. The first episode follows Hector (Peter Sarsgaard), "The Slap" happens at Hector's house while celebrating his 40th Birthday. After seeing the first episode I thought it was good enough where I wanted to see the next episode.  Maybe I went into this show with such low expectations that I enjoyed it more.  I saw the second episode that is about Harry, and I don't want to reveal any spoilers but you learn a lot about Harry's character after the episode.  I thought the second show was better than the first and I am planning on watching the third episode after it premiers tonight. There are other conflicts happening in this show besides just "The Slap", which I'm glad about.  There seems to be more drama building up, and I want to see what happens!  The Slap is a decent drama, that is good enough for me to want to keep watching.  This isn't one of my new favorite shows but I am planning on seeing the next six episodes.

Kubrick's Napoleon Script

Last class I brought up that Spielberg was developing a project about Napoleon Bonaparte that Kubrick wrote, so I decided to spill a little more information about the upcoming project since this class now revolves around all things Stanley Kubrick.

Spielberg plans to make a mini-series out of the script Kubrick wrote after he finished filming 2001: A Space Odyssey. The story of Kubricks most famous unfinished script is actually quite fascinating. Apparently, after Kubrick initially wrote the piece, he was quite dissatisfied with much of it (not surprisingly, since he's known for his perfectionism) but did include a list a list of production and budget notes. When Kubrick mentioned his plans to bring Napoleon to the screen to Anthony Burgess, the author of the adapted novel "A Clockwork Orange" , he suggested that Beethoven's third symphony would work well as a template for its structure and musical accompaniment. Kubrick agreed and asked him to turn that work into a novel so he could make it into a movie. When Burgess sent Kubrick the first half of the Napoleon Symphony manuscript, Kubrick turned down a reunited partnership, stating that the piece:  "had recorded the chronology of events to the detriment of the story, lacked realistic dialogue, and that Burgess’s comic vision of Napoleon fell short of his heroic stature.” Kubrick's script has since laid untouched until now.

Below is a link where you can actually read the full script, complete with production and budget notes:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9DS_zk2FintNmFkZjM3ODUtMzY0ZS00Mzg0LWFhMzUtYWRjZjU1YjUwMTEx/edit?hl=en

The script, although wasn't deemed "ready" by Kubrick, is said to be very ambitious and full of potential, with maximum clarity and precise details that tell this complex story extremely well, all while keeping many of the same themes to Kubrick's famous style of film-making.

Although Kubrick won't be there to direct what is perhaps the last film to ever have his name on it, I have no doubt Spielberg will do it epic justice.