I live by a couple of rules in life: the early bird catches the worm, treat others as you would like to be treated, once you go black you never go back, and always finish the movie you started no matter how goddamn horrible it is.
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Month: March 2013
The Guy Who Made ‘Kundun’
As you can probably tell by my posts here so far, I don’t like many movies. Movies suck. But even an old curmudgeon like me can’t help but love Martin Scorsese.
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Eric Schaeffer: The Most Underrated Writer-Director-Actor Ever
If you’ve never heard of Eric Schaeffer, today is your lucky day, because I am about to introduce you to quite possibly your new favorite filmmaker. I say ‘possibly’ because he’s definitely not for everyone. Either you’ll dig his vibe or you won’t—more specifically, either his art will rip your fucking heart out of your chest and hug it, or you’ll be all ‘he’s weird’ and go watch something else. And I say ‘new favorite’ because if you enjoy the first thing of his you see, you will definitely quickly seek out and devour all of his things, and force close friends and lovers of yours to go through the same process so that you can watch them have the same reaction you did, as a way of sort of pinching yourself to make sure you’re not dreaming, and ‘not the only one’. And they will be grateful for you showing them the light. And you will be grateful for me showing you the light. And you’re welcome.
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6 Great Books for Film Lovers and Filmmakers
There are tons of books out there on the subject of film, acting, writing, whatever. I haven’t read most of them. I’ve read some, though. And these are my favorites. By ‘favorites’ I mean they’ve had a fucking seismic effect on me. Each one of these has helped expand my mind into what it is today. So, if you enjoy my work—whether it be my writings here at Smug Film, or my films—these books are partly responsible for why the things I say and do are so damn wonderful.
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Stone Reader: This Review Does Not Contain Spoilers, Read It and Go Watch the Movie
Stone Reader
Written and Directed by Mark Moskowitz
127 min.
Mark Moskowitz could have easily just hired a private investigator and called it day. Thank god he decided to make a movie rather than just find someone.
Stone Reader is a documentary about a guy who reads a book, likes it a lot, and wants to read the author’s other work. He can’t find any, and decides to track down the author and find out why he never wrote anything else. This may seem like a pretty thin, simple premise, but the movie transcends that. It is literary, with a clear narrative and linearity, and it tackles an overall theme (that unfolds beautifully). Like a great novel, it also meanders—’hangs out’ and ebbs and flows. It’s a movie made by a writer-at-heart who just happens to be a filmmaker and not an author, and a wonderful journey that you can’t help but melt into.
Continue reading Stone Reader: This Review Does Not Contain Spoilers, Read It and Go Watch the Movie