Mitch

 

Mitch's Blog

  • Mala Noche
    Gus Van Sant’s gorgeous duotone debut film is also arguably his best with the possible exception of My Own Private Idaho.
    by Mitch at March 21st, 2009 at 04:03 pm
  • Helmut by June
    Absolute must watch documentary on Helmut Newton, one of the most inluential photographers of modern times.
    by Mitch at March 21st, 2009 at 04:03 pm
  • 2009 so far………
    Now that the first two months of the year are over I think it’s safe to look back at all the great to good films I’ve seen and reminisce about. First the must watch The Good, The Bad and The Weird – The best masala spoof western ever and yes it’s Korean. The Station Agent – Who needs plot and stars to make a great film. An absolute gem. Waltz...
    by Mitch at March 2nd, 2009 at 01:03 am
  • Antares
    The ghost of Kieslowski’s Dekalog looms large but still a very good film.
    by Mitch at February 25th, 2009 at 11:02 am
  • Ca'³tica Ana
    Even at his worst, Julio Medem is better than most at their best. Worth a watch.
    by Mitch at February 25th, 2009 at 11:02 am
  • Linha de Passe
    Walter Salles’ follow up after The Motorcycle Diaries is another knockout punch.
    by Mitch at February 4th, 2009 at 02:02 am
  • Stop Making Sense
    Jonathan Demme helmed this for Talking Heads and is arguably the best rock concert film ever.
    by Mitch at February 3rd, 2009 at 01:02 am
  • A Complete History of my Sexual Failures
    One of the most hilarious yet poignant documentaries I have ever seen. It’s a must watch.
    by Mitch at February 3rd, 2009 at 12:02 am
  • Man on Wire
    The perfect documentary telling the incredible story of an impossible act of bravey which will never be repeated again.
    by Mitch at January 18th, 2009 at 09:01 pm
  • My Fav Music of 2008
    2008 was the year I finally said goodbye to arena rock and heavy metal forever….ok maybe forever is too strong a word but for a long time at least. Instead I started listening to almost exclusively alternative music with the favored subgenres being post rock, shoegaze, electropop and garage rock. The list below is my pick for the best albums released this year. Of...
    by Mitch at January 2nd, 2009 at 01:01 am
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
    Breathtaking and Depressiing though overlong.
    by Mitch at December 27th, 2008 at 12:12 am
  • Planet B-Boy
    Anyone who has even a sliver of interest in dance must watch this. One of the coolest docus ever.
    by Mitch at December 27th, 2008 at 12:12 am
  • Australia
    Where is the Baz Luhrman of Strictly Ballroom and Romeo+Juliet ? 2/5
    by Mitch at December 20th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
  • My 2008 in Filmmaking Part 1
    It’s been a fruitful year for me on my chosen career path of cinematography. I’ve had the opportunity and pleasure to work on a number of films and learn with each day that goes by. When I first landed in LA I had a clear cut objective in mind to work on many films as possible. I kept a diary where I would list all the tips and tricks I picked up from each...
    by Mitch at December 19th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
  • Seven Pounds
    Leading contender for worst film of the year.
    by Mitch at December 18th, 2008 at 02:12 am
  • My 2008 in film
    I’m blowing my wad a bit early writing this post since there is about two weeks to go till the year ends a a number of must watch films like Che, The Reader, Ollo and Benjamin Button still remain to be watched by moi.However patience has never been one of my virtues. Ergo I present you the list of films I saw in 2008 and it’s not just the films released in...
    by Mitch at December 17th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
  • Milk
    Anyone who is homophobic must watch this film. It will make you confront your predudices.
    by Mitch at December 16th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
  • Gran Torino
    The old boy does it again. 4/5
    by Mitch at December 15th, 2008 at 03:12 pm
  • Outlanders
    Great primer on how to make an ultra low budget film shot on HD look good. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452661/
    by Mitch at December 14th, 2008 at 12:12 am
  • Frost/Nixon
    Frank Langella will leave you dazzled with his portrayal of Nixon.
    by Mitch at December 12th, 2008 at 01:12 am
  • Electric Feel
    I saw “Burn after Reading” last month and while I thoroughly enjoyed the film its not an instant classic like so many of the previous Coen films. I couldn’t quite pinpoint the reason why. The performances were uniformly excellent and screenplay maddeningly funny in the best way possible so there was no reason as to why the film is good and not great....
    by Mitch at December 11th, 2008 at 12:12 am
  • Storyboards for Amelie and A Very long Engagement:The importance of Previz
    I got my hands on the storyboards for two films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet who is one of my fav directors. Despite being in french, the annotated shooting script with boards is a valuable lesson in the fact that the more prepared a director is while going into the shoot, the more oppurtunities he has to experiment and improvise. It’s one method of making films and other...
    by Mitch at September 22nd, 2008 at 11:09 pm
  • An idea whose time has come ?
    Making movies is an expensive proposition and so is watching movies for that matter. In LA the avg cost of a movie ticket is 10 dollars and from what I remember a multiplex ticket in Bombay costs around 200 bucks. That’s a lot of money for what will always be the core audience of films ie the youth. As a consequence of such high prices I’m not able to watch...
    by Mitch at September 21st, 2008 at 09:09 pm
  • Protege – Better than Infernal Affairs ?
    I’ve been a HK film addict before the time I could tie my own shoes. All those Shaw Brothers kungfu films are as much a comfort food to me as Butter Chicken or Strawberry ice-cream is.  By the time I first watched a John Woo film ie The Killer this love affair had transormed into an obsession. In a few of my previous posts I have talked about the decline of HK cinema...
    by Mitch at September 12th, 2008 at 01:09 am
  • The Banquet
    (4.5/5) This chinese adaptation of Hamlet is a non-stop visual feast. An operatic fight in the opening 10 minutes alone is worth the price of admission. Cinematography is to die for. IMDB
    by Mitch at September 11th, 2008 at 01:09 pm
  • One Night in Mongkok
    (4/5) Anybody who is interested in screenplay writing and how to make a taut and gripping thriller must watch this HK gem. IMDB
    by Mitch at September 11th, 2008 at 01:09 pm
  • Red Cliff
    5/5 The resurrection of John Woo. Battle scenes unlike I have ever seen before. Yet my fav part is the incredible musical duet on the 5000 year old instrument guqin. Can’t wait for the conclusion. IMDB
    by Mitch at September 8th, 2008 at 10:09 am
  • Tropic Thunder
    4/5 Absolutely hilarious. The superb in jokes make it a must watch for any filmmaker.
    by Mitch at September 1st, 2008 at 12:09 pm
  • Building the Perfect Beast
    Picture this scenario. You are a director making your first appropriately budgeted professionally shot film which for the sake of argument is a short showcasing your storytelling skills and act as a calling card to bigger things like having your feature greenlit. It’s the last day of principal photography and it’s 5am in the morning. It’s been a gruelling...
    by Mitch at August 26th, 2008 at 07:08 am
  • The Coolest Job in the World
    There are days when I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. To be able to do what you love and be paid for it is well…..COOL. However there are also times when even i go green with envy at what other people do for a living and I’m not talking bout Ron Jeremy here or how much money they make. That’s not really why most of us do what...
    by Mitch at July 1st, 2008 at 04:07 pm