As part of my Megalist project, I have a goal to eventually watch every feature-length documentary ever nominated for an Oscar. Now, this part of the Megalist project is a little problematic. Most people, even folks in the film industry, don’t really know what makes a good documentary. The Academy …
Reader James C asks: Hi Melissa, I have a question about BNAT but, not really about Butt Numb A Thon. Our local theatre here in Vancouver, BC is doing a 24 hour marathon soon and I thought maybe you could give me some tips on what you brought to get through the …
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Kelvin and I went to B-Fest, a 24-hour film festival dedicated to B-movies. That’s right: when you attend B-Fest, you sit in a theater and watch gloriously cheesy films for 24 hours straight. Quality of films aside, B-Fest also differs from other film …
Back in the mid-1980s, two kids in Mississippi decided to make a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The project took seven years to complete. This project, now called Raiders: The Adaptation, remained relatively unknown until director Eli Roth snuck a copy of it to Harry Knowles, who played …
Mama, the new horror film from producer Guillermo del Toro, comes out today, and I do recommend giving it a look. Here’s why: 1) It’s a cracker of a horror film. Once the movie gets going, nearly every scene delivers a new, creepy element. In fact, the creep-factor delivery is …
I’ve written before about the clinically obsessive behavior I engage in when it comes to watching movies. In addition to that, I keep a detailed running list of all films I watch in a year. For instance, here’s how 2012 turned out: I watched 391 films total (yes, that’s more than …
The Butt-Numb-a-Thon film event is part sheer unadulterated glee, part gruelling endurance test. First, you have to apply to attend, and then hope desperately that you make it in. Then, assuming all goes well, you arrive at the theater at noon on one day, and exit sometime after noon on the next …
Before you ask: no, this wasn’t the secret film at the Butt-Numb-a-Thon this year. I just was lucky enough to be in the room with an Oscar screener during my recent travels. The gigantic Victor Hugo book Les Miserables has had a long history of adaptation. Aside from the massively popular …
This past weekend, I had the most excellent opportunity to see the opening chapter of The Hobbit in 48fps 3D format. The Internet, of course, has been abuzz for the last few weeks in anticipation for this film, debating as much about the new High Frame Rate (HFR) format as the movie …
It’s true! I am currently slated to be an extra in the new Nacho Vigalondo film, and filming happens TONIGHT! It also sounds like I’ll get to sling my camera around at the shoot, so I’ll be able to document a single night of behind-the-scenes goodness. I’ll be arriving at …
