My First Feature Film Is Almost Done

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I’ve told this story a billion times so this time I’m going to try to include some more details.  When my late grandpa, Tom Easton, was ten years old, he saw Fantasia in the theater.  He always wanted to be a cartoonist but his dad was cold and distant and thought cartoons were for kids and no way to make a living.  But despite that lack of encouragement, Tom did some cool things.  He avoided combat in the Korean War by teaching art on base and drawing army posters.
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Nights On Netflix: A Journey Through The Aisles Of Our Friendly Neighborhood Internet Video Store

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Future generations won’t know the joy of driving to a Blockbuster and picking out a rental (or rentals) for the weekend.  It was an inconvenient life, but nostalgia erases that.  Waxing romantic on it now makes me exhale in deep wistful wonder, my heart full of bliss.  Video stores fostered my burgeoning cinephilia in the late nineties, and provided some of the best memories of my life.

But Netflix has changed all that, and I say good riddance. All Netflix really does is add convenience to the already established video store mechanism. Now you don’t even have to leave the house. You can snuggle on the couch with your lover and your Roku box and browse what’s currently streaming (and I suspect, in a decade or so, everything will be).
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Advice Column #3 (4/1/13)

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Looking for something funny, but not necessarily a straight-up comedy per se. Something with self-referential elements, maybe a little meta. I’ve already seen all the Charlie Kaufman stuff.  – Robert M.

Editor’s Note (12/4/14): We no longer answer movie questions through our advice column. We answer them in the mailbag segment of our podcast. Send them to Cody@SmugFilm.com and we will answer on the show!
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King Kong King Kong King Kong King Kong King Kong

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King Kong (1933)
Directed by Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack
Screenplay by James Creelman and Ruth Rose
100 min.

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KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG
KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG
KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG
KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG KING KONG
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Advice Column #1 (3/18/13)

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Critically acclaimed, visually striking, black and white movies that aren’t fucking boring. For example: Dr. Strangelove, Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, The Night of the Hunter. – Nikul B.

Cody Clarke: ‘Boring’ is kind of relative, so here are some visually-striking black and white movies that are ‘not boring’ for completely reasons. I think you might enjoy them, based on the ones you listed:

Editor’s Note (12/4/14): We no longer answer movie questions through our advice column. We answer them in the mailbag segment of our podcast. Send them to Cody@SmugFilm.com and we will answer on the show!
Continue reading Advice Column #1 (3/18/13)