Month: June 2014

Donate $25 And Get All Sorts Of Great Smug Film Stuff!

anniesmug

As many of you know, my mom passed away recently from stage 4 breast cancer, and my family has a fundraiser up to help pay for her medical bills, memorial, and all sorts of other costs that have crept up during the six months my family and I have been caring for her.

Starting today and until the campaign is over, if you donate $25 or more, I will send you a special Smug Film goodie package that will contain:

– A numbered and laminated Smug Film Fan Club membership card (Signed and personalized—these will be numbered based on who donates first, so if you want to be our very first member, donate right away!)
– A shout out, and plug of anything you want plugged, on a future episode of the Smug Film podcast
– My film Rehearsals on DVD (Signed and personalized)
– A 4×6 postcard of the Rehearsals poster (Signed and personalized)
– A printed copy of a Smug Film article of mine of your choice (Signed and personalized)
– And much more! (Fun stuff, trust me)

Here’s the link to donate: http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/love-and-happiness-for-annie-/179118/

Just forward your email confirmation for donating to the campaign to Cody@SmugFilm.com, along with your mailing address. I’ll get your goodie package out to you before the campaign has ended.

Thanks!

The ‘God’ in Godzilla: ‘Godzilla’ vs. ‘Pacific Rim’

godzillapacific

Mild spoilers.

So, the new Godzilla movie is great.

What struck me most was the size of the monsters. The film consistently keeps things at a human’s perspective, and maintains a sense of enormity in Godzilla and his new enemies, the MUTOs. This is something rarely achieved in films dealing with multiple kaiju at once. There are no crappy, over-the-monster’s-shoulder shots, or anything of the sort that puts the viewer on their level. Instead, you are consistently reminded that these creatures are of mythic proportions that exceed human comprehension. Gareth Edwards has done an excellent job with the material—I think the film would function perfectly and make a splash even if it were a small-time production with no previous entries. (Of course, this is to be expected from the man who made Monsters, which achieved exactly that.)

Invariably, Godzilla is going to be compared to Pacific Rim, simply for being the latest film to feature large things hitting each other. This is an unfair comparison—Godzilla, in spite of being the one with the long and intricate history behind it, is actually interested in telling its own story and standing out. I spoke of ‘authenticity’ in my piece on Rim, and that is precisely is the main difference between the two—Rim is ‘about’ kaiju eiga, whereas Godzilla actually is one of those movies. Being about movies is not a bad thing in and of itself, but Rim failed to do a competent job of it.

Continue reading The ‘God’ in Godzilla: ‘Godzilla’ vs. ‘Pacific Rim’

A Review of the First 15 Minutes of ‘Joe’

joe

Joe (2013)
Directed by David Gordon Green
Screenplay by Gary Hawkins
Based on the novel by Larry Brown
117 min.

Spoiler-free.

I have a ’15-minute rule’ for whenever I watch a movie at home—if I’m not feeling it in the first 15 minutes, I turn it off and put something else on. This doesn’t always mean that I think the movie is bad—sometimes it just means I’m not in the mood for it, and as such, wouldn’t be able to judge it fairly. Some take issue with this rule, others see where I’m coming from, and that’s fine either way—it’s not something I’m particularly passionate about, it works for me, it’s whatever. Yesterday, for the first time, I felt actual guilt about it though.

Continue reading A Review of the First 15 Minutes of ‘Joe’

Annie Fox (1951 – 2014)

anniesmug

I owe my love of film, and so much more, to my mother. She’s the best friend I’ve ever had, and although I’m at peace with her passing, I’m at a loss for words as far as eulogizing her on here. Maybe I’ll say more at a later date, but until then, I’m gonna do what she would want me to do—get back to churning out Smug Film posts and podcast episodes for you lovely people.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your support. We’re still accepting donations, if you feel chipping in to help pay off her hospital bills. Even a dollar helps:


http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/love-and-happiness-for-annie-/179118/

The Smug Film Blog & Podcast is Now on Hiatus

We love doing the blog and the podcast, but unfortunately, we have to take a hiatus for the time being.

Back in January, my mom was diagnosed, out of the blue, with Stage 4 breast cancer. It’s in her breast, lung, liver, brain, and bone. She’s undergone chemotherapy and radiation since then, but has reached a point now where she feels she’s had about as much treatment as she can handle, and wants to just rest and pass peacefully.

My family and I have been taking care of her since she was diagnosed, and she has wonderful doctors and nurses. Insurance covers some of the costs but there are always out-of-pocket costs. We started up a Fundraiser a few days ago to help cover these:


http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/love-and-happiness-for-annie-/179118/

I owe my entire love of film, and so much more, to my mom. She’s the best person I’ve ever known, and my best friend. And now I just need to be with her has much as possible during her final days. Recording the podcast was my weekly break from caretaking, but I can’t do that anymore. I just need to be with her.

If you would like to donate to the fundraiser, any amount helps, even if all you can spare is a dollar. But above all else, just keep her in your thoughts and prayers.