CRITERION CORNER GIVEAWAY!!!
LATE SPRING edition.
hey there. it’s been a while since i’ve randomly given stuff away, and that doesn’t jive well with my philosophy that love and / or readership should be shamelessly bought. so in honor of Criterion’s first Yasujiro Ozu blu-ray (the cover art of which, as with the original DVD, looks sorta like a Tumblr photo post), i thought it might be fun to give everyone out there a chance to take home one of the most beautiful stories about home ever told.
THE PRIZE: 1 Criterion DVD or Blu-ray (your choice, but choose the blu-ray) of Yasujiro Ozu’s LATE SPRING. Depending on the response, i may have more than 1 winner so that the ratio of entrees to prizes isn’t silly.
TO ENTER: just “like” and / or Re-blog this post (or RT on Twitter @Criterioncorner). each note will count as a separate entry, so everyone can theoretically submit a maximum total of 3 entries, if that’s how you roll.
giveaway will be closed at 11:59 P.M. EST on Friday, 4/20/2012. winners will be randomly selected. the odds may not be ever in your favor, but someone (or a few someones) are gonna get something sweet for nothing.
good luck, and thanks for reading!
I am selling some of my @Criterion DVD’s as I upgrade to Blu-ray. Contact me if you are interested. They are all in mint condition and between $15 and $20 each. DVD’s include:
Days of Heaven
The Thin Red Line
Hunger
House
Che
Darjeeling Limited
Bottle Rocket
Antichrist
Fish Tank
With the Academy Awards taking place Sunday, marking the end of the 2011 movie year, I thought I would take the time to share my favorites from last year. I’ve put this off until almost the very last minute, but I am glad because the added time allowed me to watch a few movies for consideration that I otherwise would not have seen by the time I made my list.
*Note: There are two films in particular that I was not able to watch that I believe would have been contenders for my list had I been able to watch them. This thought is based upon what I have read and heard about them, my particular taste in film, and the previous work of the two directors of the films. These two films are Take Shelter and Shame. I should be able to view them both in the next couple of months and I am looking forward to that. Since they are not eligible for my list proper, this recognition will do.
There are many films that I watched in 2011 that I truly loved and enjoyed, but I limited my list to ten. I’ll acknowledge a few of the others here as honorable mentions and in alphabetical order. Make sure you check these out.
13 Assassins
Another Earth
The Artist
Attack the Block
Beginners
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Melancholia
Super 8
Terri
Now on to my favorites.
10. Certified Copy - A charming and wonderfully acted film that perfectly captures the relationship between the two main characters, and makes us question and analyze the true nature of that relationship. This film is joining the Criterion Collection in May.
9. I Saw the Devil - A gruesome and gripping Korean thriller from Kim Jee-Woon.
8. Moneyball - I have loved the sport of baseball all my life, and this is in consideration for my favorite film about it. I could argue that both Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill would be derserving of Oscars for their roles.
7. The Descendants - This film is a great mixture of comedy and drama, similar to another film that appears higher on my list. Alexander Payne is a great director and George Clooney’s performance is fantastic.
6. Hugo - A wonderful film about film
5. Senna - The best documentary I saw all year and one of the best films about sports ever.
4. Midnight in Paris - This film is just a sickeningly charming, fun, and enjoyable experience
3. 50/50 - Similar to The Descendants, this film is a perfect blend of comedy and drama. It conveys emotions from both ends of the spectrum effectively.
2. The Tree of Life - This film from Terrence Malick encompasses nothing less than the origin of life projected against the dynamics of a Texas family in the 1950’s. It is possibly the most beautifully shot film I have ever watched and if it does not win the Academy Award for cinematography it should surely be considered a crime against humanity.
1. Drive - This film is well acted, expertly written and directed, and just oozing with style. It encompasses everything that makes me love movies. It is just cool and it knows it is. For 2011, this film’s lack of a Best Picture nomination serves as the best example that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is full of shit.
CRITERION CORNER GIVEAWAY!!!
GODZILLA EDITION
hey there. it’s been a while since i’ve randomly given stuff away, and that doesn’t jive well with my philosophy that love and / or readership should be shamelessly bought. so in honor of the 2012 and the impending doom of our civilization, i thought i’d offer a chance to bring home everyone’s favorite world-destroyer, GODZILLA! MMMRAAAHHHWWWFFFF!! (that’s how Mothra told me to spell Godzilla’s cry, but you can’t ever really trust that guy).
THE PRIZE: 1 Criterion DVD or Blu-ray (your choice) of Ishiro Honda’s GODZILLA.
TO ENTER: just “like” and / or Re-blog this post. each note will count as a separate entry, so every fellow blogger can therefore submit a maximum total of 2 entries.
giveaway will be closed at 12 P.M. EST on Friday, 2/3/2012. 1 winner will be randomly selected from the notes. so the odds should be okay if not super awesome, but someone’s gonna get something sweet for nothing.
good luck, and thanks for reading!
This is my favorite music from 2011. Keep in mind I listened to a limited number of new albums, so I’m sure there is a lot of great music out there that I just did not hear. If you music experts have some music that you feel I should hear then suggest it to me and I’ll listen.
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9. Lupe Fiasco - Lasers
This album gets a mention for one song alone. The album is good, but not Lupe’s best. I like a few tracks, and don’t like a few others, but one song stands out as the best socially influenced hip hop song I’ve ever heard. That song is “Words I Never Said” and I really mean it is the absolute best I’ve heard of what can be classified in the genre of “socially conscious” hip hop. Whether or not that is even a genre recognized or if it’s just made up inside my mind.
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8. Watch the Throne
This is socially aware hip hop, with a “luxury rap” twist, and not the other way around. Below the surface Jay Z and Kanye speak about various social issues while mixing in the usual “luxury rap”, but in a more clever way. They are both very clever and smarter with their words than most listeners may think at first. Just listen to “No Church In the Wild” and “Murder to Excellence” for examples.
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7. Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys
This album is the first time that I have ever really paid attention to Death Cab. In the years before, I wrote them off as a band that I didn’t really care to hear, but I’m glad I gave them a chance because I love this album. It’s good from beginning to end. Since then I have given some of their earlier work a listen, but I just don’t like it as much, with Ben Gibbard’s stint in/as The Postal Service being the exception.
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6. Alkaline Trio - Damnesia
This is a collection of past Alkaline Trio favorites, with an acoustic twist. These were all great songs to begin with and some of these acoustic-ish versions may be the best versions of these songs that I have heard.
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5. Atmosphere - The Family Sign
Within the scope of Atmosphere’s many albums and EP’s, this album is one of my least favorite. With that thought, it may seem odd that it’s one of my favorite albums this year. That’s not a negative evaluation, but simply a testament to just how great their library of work is. I don’t think there is a voice and mind in any genre of hip hop that is better than Slug. There are a few tracks on this album I just can’t get into, but there are also gems like “My Key”, “The Last to Say”, and “Something So”.
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4. Polar Bear Club - Clash Battle Guilt Pride
It took me a couple of months to really listen to this album because upon the initial listen I didn’t like it much. After more frequent rotation I began to like it more. It’s catchy, it rocks, and more so than any other band that I have heard in a while, these guys just sound like they know what they are doing and they have a fun time making music. Great album and a general fun and enjoyable listen.
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3. The Black Keys - El Camino
Just released a little over a month ago, this album has not left my stereo since. It’s the usual blend of classic, alternative, and southern rock with a blues and soul influence. Funky, smooth, and fun to listen to.
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2. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
Manchester Orchestra’s 2009 album “Mean Everything to Nothing” is possibly the best indie/alternative rock album I’ve listened to, so I expected a lot from their follow up “Simple Math”. They didn’t disappoint, as it is great, albeit a little different from their previous work. The album begins with a quiet and smooth, yet hard hitting emotional opener “Deer”, then charges right into the the hard southern rock sound of “Mighty”. From there the hard alternative sound continues for the bulk of the album, before lowering back down emotionally for the final few songs.
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1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
The most complete and unique piece of music I heard all year. From what I’ve noticed, you either love Bon Iver or find it unbearable to listen to, and I’m still not entirely sure how to properly pronounce “Bon Iver” (I tend to lean towards the pronunciation “bone e vair”). This album is melancholy, morose, and pensive with it’s soft sounds and Justin Vernon’s unique falsetto voice. Despite it’s gloomily beautiful sound I found it gave me a bright feeling when listening to it. It is an album that is enhanced by listening to it completely from start to finish. The songs all blend well and it carries a theme and specific emotion through the whole of it. The transition between the last three songs and the closing song, “Beth/Rest”, specifically, is grand and emotionally moving.
It’s winter break, and with the absence of school I have some free time to get back to attempting to provide material for this page. My workload in the spring semester will be light, so I should be able to continue contributing through the first half of the year.
A few things coming are all of my year end lists, as usual, because I like lists, including my favorite films, games, and music from the year that was 2011.
The film list should come around the end of January, along with my Oscar predictions and picks. Game list will come after I’ve had a chance to play more possible inclusions. It’s been difficult because I have spent over 150 hours on one game, Skyrim. I have to encourage myself to place it aside for the sake of other games. Another inclusion could be my games to watch in 2012.
I am looking forward to coming back and providing material for this page.
CRITERION CORNER GIVEAWAY!!!!
hey there. it’s been a while since i’ve randomly given stuff away, and that doesn’t jive well with my philosophy that love and / or readership should be shamelessly bought. so in honor of the holiday season - and to make up for lost time / clear my shelf of some extra stuff i’ve got lying around - i thought i’d throw the biggest Criterion Corner giveaway yet.
The Prize:
- DVD of Sidney Lumet’s 12 ANGRY MEN!
- Blu-ray of Claude Chabrol’s LES COUSINS!
- 1 DVD box set of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s THREE COLORS! (opened but never watched and in mint condition… long story)
- 1 MYSTERY DVD!!!! (maybe a Criterion film, maybe just something I want to share with a stranger. definitely previously loved).
TO ENTER: just “like” and / or Re-blog this post. each note will count as a separate entry, so every fellow blogger can therefore submit a maximum total of 2 entries.
giveaway will be closed at 12 P.M. EST on Friday, 12/3/2011. 1 winner will be randomly selected from the notes. so the odds should be okay if not super awesome, but someone’s gonna get some great stuff for nothing.
good luck, and thanks so, so much for reading the blog and my Criterion Corner column on movies.com!
CRITERION GIVEAWAY!!!
KURONEKO (dir. Kaneto Shindo) 1968.
hey there, party people, it’s the first friday of the month and you know what that means… absolutely nothing, because i stick to a schedule about as well as Terrence Malick sticks to, um, a schedule, but enough with the totally forced comparisons, let’s give some free stuff away, shall we?
this month’s giveaway is… wait for it… or just look at the picture above that you’ve obviously already seen… Kaneto Shindo’s giddy / spooky / cat-tastic ghost story, KURONEKO! i added the exclamation point, but this is a movie in which classical filmmaking, wire-fu, and animatronic cat paws co-exist, often within the same shot… so, yeah, i’ll drop some exclamation points wherever i damn well please, thank you ve!!ry m!uch.
TO ENTER, RE-BLOG AND / OR “LIKE” THIS POST (you get entered once for each action, so feel free to go nuts).
as usual i’ll pick a winner at random from the notes on Monday morning, and the dvd or blu-ray (your choice) will be sent to you directly from amazon on the day of the disc’s release, 10/18. good luck!
UPDATE: due to the pleasantly surprising response — and in order to skew the odds and make this seem a touch less like an empty exercise in shameless (but giving!) self-promotion — i’ll pick a 2nd winner if this thing exceeds 200 notes.
Everyone touches their face, communal surfaces, and other people in social situations, and they do it frequently without ever thinking a second thought about it. The touch of a doorknob, shake of the hand, and the passing of a glass can all represent the exchange of disease.
With “Contagion”, director Steven Soderbergh has created a unique film, one that incites an aura of fear from the opening cough. He doesn’t use a group of specific, terror inducing scenes or events to evoke that fear, but rather a well paced and systematic inoculation of it. Backing Soderbergh’s chilling delivery of fear is a subtle, but effective soundtrack with musical cues that greatly enhance the uneasiness that is already felt.
“Contagion” centers around a viral outbreak that becomes a life-threatening global epidemic, a scenario which is entirely realistic and could happen at any time. The events unfold through the eyes of several characters, including a business woman and her family in Minnesota, a doctor at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, a field agent who tries to track the spread of the virus, and a laboratory technician who attempts to find a vaccine.
The film examines the paranoia that is inherent in society, as the assumed risk creates an environment where citizens feel unsafe at all times and the spread of word by mouth is just as dangerous as the spread of the virus. We are our own worst enemy and our paranoia can, and will inevitably make a bad situation worse. Let the general public view this film as a warning, think about who and what you touch, and watch it spread.
(4/5)
Over the last couple of months I have not been able to keep up with my project, which saddens me very much. Unfortunately the combination of full time work and full time school doesn’t allow me much free time to view and study film, so for the very few of you who were tracking my project, I am sorry. Alas, my applications to a couple of schools with film programs are almost complete, so maybe this time next year I will be studying film full time. For now I am watching limited movies when I have the time. I am looking forward to Contagion, Drive, Moneyball, 50/50 and The Ides of March, all of which hit theaters in the next month, and of course The Tree of Life comes to Blu-Ray in October! I’ll provide another update soon, when I actually find out if I am accepted to one of the aforementioned film programs.
