t! | PassionforCinema

I am an IT Applications Guru who spends her free time producing independent films, making films with friends, working for the SoCal Independent Film Festival, acting as muse to my many friends who are also struggling to make their mark in the arts, and hoping to someday find the elusive project that is financially viable so that I can afford to break into the industry and leave computers behind forever

t!'s Blog

29
SRK Detained!
Shah Rukh Khan Sorry about the sensationalistic headline, but it could be worse as many Western newspapers are reporting the detention of ShahRukh Khan today at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, USA as the holding of the “King of Bollywood”. On his way to an Independence Day celebration in Chicago, he was detained by US Immigration and Customs...
by t! at August 15th, 2009 at 04:08 pm
9
Melbourne International Film Festival Website Hacked
Melbourne International Film Festival Hacked The Melbourne International Film Festival Website was hacked, with a Chinese flag and messages (in English) demanding that the festival apologize to all Chinese citizens for showing the Australian film 10 Conditions of Love, a documentary about Rebiya Kadeer, the Uighur activist the Chinese government believes incited the riots...
by t! at July 26th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
48
Filmfare Awards 2009 – The Winners
A hearty PFC congratulations to Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye, and Mumbai Meri Jaan!!! Awards for each of these films include: Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! Critics’ Award, Best Actor – Manjit Singh for Oye Lucky! Lucy Oye! Best Dialogue – Manu Rishi Best Costume – Manoshi Nath Best Production Design – Vandan Kataria and Monica Angelica Bhowmick Mumbai Meri...
by t! at February 28th, 2009 at 06:02 pm
0
Northfork
(5/5) Magic, pure magic. Even if the story is too slow for your taste, the film is worth watching because the cinematography is amazing, the characters compelling, many of the scene transitions spectacular, the music perfect, and the love and respect of the beauty of small-town Western America and its people is refreshing. A must watch film for lovers of magic realism...
by t! at August 30th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
13
Tropic Thunder – The Sound of Summer Laughter
The plot itself is nothing new, Hollywood has been skewering itself since its very beginnings. The characters are stereotypes and/or caricatures that have been done before. When it should have been witty, it leans on bodily function jokes. While it is derivative, I laughed my ass off. Over and over again. I was intrigued about this film because the reviews have run from...
by t! at August 17th, 2008 at 01:08 am
94
PFCOne Film Festival: List of Entries
Update November, 18/2007 The window to accept submissions for the festival is now closed. The Festival itinerary will be put up by the end of the week. End of Update This post contains the list of incoming submissions received so far. The list will be updated with new entries regularly until November 15th which is when we close the submissions. Good News! PFC on it’s...
by t! at October 24th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
5
Hazard – No Horror Here
I am at the Hole in the Head Film Festival, the horror offshoot of the San Francisco Independent Film Festival. I am here because a movie I worked on is premiering here tomorrow night (tonight), but I made my friends drive up a day earlier than expected so I can see some movies, and one film in particular – Hazard. The newest film by Sion Sono, the genius behind Jisatsu...
by t! at June 9th, 2007 at 02:06 am
27
A Wonderful Recipe – Cheeni Kum
The reactions of my friends to my love of Indian cinema ranges from befuddlement to humouring me. I have shown parts of Rang de Basanti and Omkara to my friends in the film industry, and while they appreciate the cinematography and many of the technical aspects of these films, they don’t enjoy the entire picture. My more socially conscious friends loved Traffic Signal...
by t! at May 27th, 2007 at 01:05 am
5
Zombie Farm invades Denver!!!
It started off as a fun project with friends. Two filmmaker friends needed help on a film they were making, and I volunteered. I have assisted them on other film related projects, and we have an interesting groove when we work together, the three of us have complimentary but different skills and tastes, and working with the two of them is always a blast. I ended up becoming...
by t! at April 28th, 2007 at 03:04 pm
11
Grindhouse Grind-Down
Sorry about the second review, but I have something to say and Easter got in the way! Movie reviews only, trailer reviews maybe later… I have been writing about and waiting for the release of Grindhouse for over a year. Richard Rodriguez doing a zombie flick, hell yeah! Great, gory trailers by Rob Zombie and Edgar Wright, and the return of Quentin Tarantino? This...
by t! at April 9th, 2007 at 04:04 pm
15
Netflix Catch – Idiocracy
One would think that if you are studio/distributor and you own a Mike Judge movie starring Luke Wilson, you would promote the movie, release it in theaters, and then hold a major advertising campaign when the DVD was released. Especially if his cult film “Office Space”, continues to generate revenue after its 1999 DVD release (it only earned $10 million at the box...
by t! at February 19th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
11
Black Friday – Random Thoughts
The basics of writing a movie review. Start with an opinion. Then, move onto a plot synopsis. Write about the actors, and then the technical points. Mention the structure of the film, and then compare the structure to other films. If it struck you, write about the music. Evaluate all the above, and then summarize. Restate opinion. There are very few people who review movies...
by t! at February 12th, 2007 at 12:02 am
8
Pan’s Labyrinth – A Fantastic Trip
I see that oz beat me to the punch with his review! But, this is a movie that needs multiple reviews as I think it will speak to all who see it in some way… I come from a rich story-telling tradition. My Native American grandmother and aunts used to spend long nights telling stories – creation myths, stories about the animals of the forests and plains, about the...
by t! at January 21st, 2007 at 03:01 pm
5
Netflix Catch – Sobrevivire
Sobrevivire (I Will Survive) is a simple movie, with a simple story, about a simple woman, that approaches greatness. And, maybe that is the genius of Spanish filmmakers. While filmmakers from so many other countries are creating bigger and showier movies, and even small independent films aspire to be large with multiple plot lines and convoluted camera shots and tricks,...
by t! at January 20th, 2007 at 05:01 pm
15
Guru – Yawn
It is only recently that I was introduced to Mani Ratnam, and I have fallen in love with his films. Even a film that bored me, like Kannathil Muthamittal, is still beautiful to watch because of his cinematography, his style, how he brings out the large emotions with the smallest of facial and body nuances from his actors. I grew excited about Guru after watching the previews...
by t! at January 13th, 2007 at 03:01 pm
2
Some Movie! – Charlotte’s Web
I wasn’t going to post on this film, but after Cliff shared the tragedy of taking his family to see Happy Feet, I thought I would review another Hollywood “family” feature, one that is truly a entertaining, family film. First, forget Leonardo DiCaprio, Forest Whitaker, Will Smith, or any of the other names being mentioned for Best Actor in next year’s...
by t! at December 28th, 2006 at 02:12 pm
7
Kabul Express – An Uneven Ride
I had high hopes for this film. Watching the trailers for months, I was excited by what I saw. The video for Kabul Faizal excited me even more. Then, the latest trailer for Kabul Express, a discussion with the actors about the film, excited me even more. It is a shame that that excitement didn’t stay with me through the intermission. It is not a bad movie, in fact it...
by t! at December 17th, 2006 at 07:12 pm
0
2007 SoCal Independent Film Festival
Hey guys!!! My schedule has prevented me from posting any one of the number of drafts I would like to post, or from watching any movies on the ever-growing stack, but that doesn’t mean that I am not having fun with movies! Here is my shameless plug for the 3rd Annual SoCal Independent Film Festival. Due to feedback from interested filmmakers, and because filmmakers...
by t! at December 14th, 2006 at 10:12 pm
9
Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low
There are few things I hate worse than being patronized. I am smart. I am educated. I can understand nuance and gray areas. And, there are few things that bother me more than wasting 90+ minutes of my life watching a movie that patronizes me, that doesn’t think I am intelligent enough or knowledgeable enough to understand basic human emotion or not-so basic human motivations,...
by t! at November 26th, 2006 at 08:11 am
5
Volver – Pedro Almodovar
I have been waiting for this release for months. I know the actors. I know the plot. I know the decisions that Almodóvar made about the music. I have read everything I can about this film. It is a movie about three generations of women from a small Spanish village in La Mancha and the relationships between these women – relationships shaped by murder, superstition,...
by t! at November 8th, 2006 at 01:11 pm
18
Pedro Almodovar, Spanish Auteur
He has trivialized rape. Made insane people and the abhorrent things that they do appear normal. Turned violence into farce. Exorcised the demons of his Catholic school days. Glorified sadomasochism and sexual perversion. Blurred the lines of sexuality. Made drug usage comedic. Celebrated the strong women who raised him by creating strong female characters in his films....
by t! at October 22nd, 2006 at 05:10 pm
4
Festival Catch – Che ne sara di noi
It seems that there is a film festival of some sort happening every week in Miami, this is a city that loves film! Last week was the Italian Film Festival, and as it turns out my hostess in Miami last week is friends with one of the volunteers, who had passes to see Mater Natura and the Mater Natura after party. I was excited to see this movie after reading the blurb on...
by t! at October 12th, 2006 at 10:10 pm
11
A Short Conversation With Shibani Bathija
Unlike Oz, I didn’t come prepared for an interview, so my notes and thoughts are all based on what I typed when I returned home later that night and transcribed in what is turning into a short lunch break, so please forgive the long sentences and repetitions. I also hope that I haven’t completely misrepresented anything Shibani said as everything is coming from...
by t! at October 3rd, 2006 at 01:10 pm
1
SoCal Independent Film Festival Wrap Up
I had hoped to give a day-by-day report of the festival, but life gets in the way of writing and as the festival is now weeks past, I won’t bore you with multiple posts and sum up the best of my notes in this one. The kids from the first night returned on the second night, and they bought friends. I was so stoked that all of them came back for Night 2! This is one...
by t! at October 1st, 2006 at 08:10 am
7
SoCal Independent Film Festival – Night 1
I had planned to post only once regarding the film festival, but I just got an offer that I can’t refuse for dinner and will tease you with what I have ready to publish right now – details on Night 1 of the festival. I suppose I should start by telling you about the festival itself. The festival was started by Brian Barsuglia to show independent films here...
by t! at September 11th, 2006 at 05:09 pm
3
Omkara… A Second Viewing
Konkona Sen Sharma as Indu stole this movie for me the first time I saw it. I fell in love with her character and her face from her first scene, as she was teasing her brother, Omi. During her last two scenes in the movie, the one when she confronts Langda and the one where she is looking into the well, I was shaking in my seat from the sheer emotion and power she conveyed....
by t! at September 5th, 2006 at 10:09 pm
6
SoCal Independent Film Festival
It seems self-serving to me that my first post here is about the film festival that I am working on, but one of the reasons that I am involved with the film festival is my love of film, especially short, foreign, and independent films. The Director of the SoCal Festival wanted to create a festival that focused on the filmmakers, and to offer them an event that would expose...
by t! at September 3rd, 2006 at 03:09 pm