Category: Cinema 101
Oscar Shock: 5 Surprise Best Actors (And What Happened Next)
With the Academy Awards now just a week away, large doses of scrutiny are being shoved down the collective throats of the twinkling stars standing in line and hoping for their very own statuette. Odds are that when the nominations … [Read the Rest]
Academy Mistakes: ‘The Piano’ for Best Original Score
Throughout the first half of February, the Sound On Sight staff will take a look at the Academy Awards. Ask any film score buff and he or she will attest that the Academy has always had a contentious history with … [Read the Rest]
Catherine Breillat Retrospective: Almost Mainstream
While her best films may still be more unconventional in style, in recent years Catherine Breillat has made a successful turn toward films that could almost be called mainstream while keeping the focus firmly on gender. The sexuality, while present, … [Read the Rest]
2011: A Year of Uprooting and Rebooting Eras
Remakes, “re-adaptations”, and “re-imaginings” have been a frequent occurrence in cinema throughout much of its history, alongside the franchise “reboot” concept that has become particularly commonplace in the last decade. 2011, however, saw a rather curious trend of remakes of … [Read the Rest]
More Than Meets the Eye: 4 Films That Demand a Second Viewing
Having focused perhaps too much attention on the negatives in cinema during recent musings, whether it’s the possibly warped conservatism of the Oscars, or films that are depressingly poor, time has come for this writer to look at some positives. … [Read the Rest]
Why Can’t An Oscar-Winner Look More Like A Hit?
Throughout the first half of February, the Sound On Sight staff will take a look at the Academy Awards. Whether one of the major studios takes the top prize at the Academy Awards or not, they have no squawk this … [Read the Rest]
Catherine Breillat Retrospective: Honing Her Craft
The twentieth year of Catherine Breillat’s directorial career marked a shift. While her thematic focus and bold vision remained true, her skills as a filmmaker and storyteller began showing strong signs of improvement beginning with 1996′s Perfect Love. It opens … [Read the Rest]
4 Films, One Fatal Flaw Away From Greatness
Imagine if the studio’s wishes had been fulfilled, and Robert Redford had been cast as Michael Corleone in The Godfather. Or imagine if Raiders of the Lost Ark had been scored by Randy Newman. What would it be like if … [Read the Rest]
Remember Me: Ben Gazzara
Ben Gazzara died on February 3 of pancreatic cancer. An alumnus of the famed Actors’ Studio, he had a long career on stage, TV, and film. Not just long, but accomplished. On Broadway, he was the original Brick in the … [Read the Rest]
5 Useful Lessons Learned From Average Films
We all know what a mediocre, likely forgettable film looks and sounds like. They more often than not make back their budget, get lukewarm reviews, occasionally entertain but ultimately leave a sour taste in the mouth, sometimes disappointingly. But … [Read the Rest]
Scorsese & Tarantino: Whose Streets Are Meaner?
I’ve got Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino on my mind these days. It’s a product of the end-of-year hurrahs for Scorsese’s Hugo. The film goes into the Academy Award ceremonies with 11 Oscar nominations – the most of any film … [Read the Rest]
Is Motion Capture A Three-Legged Dog? Discuss
Back before the dawn of time when I was in college, there was a neighborhood a few blocks off campus of rental duplexes mostly inhabited by college kids. A lot of them had dogs, and the dogs would pal around … [Read the Rest]
George Lucas: One (mega) hit wonder?
It’s a phrase out of the music industry: one-hit wonders. Those bands that come out of nowhere, hit the top of the charts with a catchy – maybe even impressive – single, or have one chart-topping album, and then never … [Read the Rest]
Wish List: Things We Want to See In 2012
In a previous article, I wrote about who I expected to become huge (in terms of exposure, not eating disorders) in this new year of ours. Now I turn my attention to what I want to see, but is unlikely … [Read the Rest]
Catherine Breillat Retrospective: The Early Years
Writing a series focused on the depiction of gender and sexuality in films, it would be a massive oversight not to talk about the work of French director Catherine Breillat. Few other directors have as consistently explored these topics as … [Read the Rest]
