Speaking of analogue SFX (only kidding, but not so much) here's another one—Jeremy Messersmith who recreated the The Star Wars trilogy with paper animation.

Doug and his Entertainment Effects Group team created thousands of acid-etched brass miniatures lit from below with hundreds of bundles of fiber-optic lights, shot in forced-perspective through layers of smoke to create layers of light refraction. [...] Explosions were created through massive pyrotechnics shot in the California desert for a discarded sequence for the 1970 Michelangelo Antonioni film Zabriskie Point.

Watch Douglas Trumbull recount the epic creative effort behind Blade Runner's special effects.

Life was spectacular before computers.

An arresting vision in this short Kafka-based animation — watch the first part, the second part and the third part — by Koji Yamamura.

Via Dan C.

Join me and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son.

Via Chishbak.

You may know this already, but Ford had already given up acting after American Graffiti. He kept in touch with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola as a carpenter. He was working on a portico for Coppola's office when Lucas was casting Star Wars.

—Fred Topel, Harrison Ford FINALLY speaks out about Star Wars at Sci Fi Wire.

Directed by the French animation collective H5, François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy and Ludovic Houplain, Logorama won the Oscar for the best Short Film (Animated).

After 5 years in the making.

Jules: [angry, rasing gun to Brad’s head] Say “release the kraken” again!!! say “release the kraken” again, I dare you, I double-dare you motherfucker, say “release the kraken” one more goddamn time!!!!!!!!!

A mishmash of fascination for ex-nomenklatura, socialist hatred of the rich, empty insight and tasteless humor (Ceaușescu as a narator?), “Kapitalism — Our Improved Formula” (Kapitalism — rețeta noastră secretă) is a prejudiced movie about a subject the author does not try to fully comprehend — Alexandru Solomon pulls a second-rate "Michael Moore" probably aimed at the oblivious foreigner and the local nostalgic. Best part: the stop-motion animation.

20 Greatest Extended Takes In Movie History. Oldboy aside, the long take in I am Cuba (#12) left me speechless.

Paul Allen has it. OMG, it even has a watermark! Watch.

Have you seen CNN's 360˚ panoramic video of Port-au-Prince, Haiti? Think 360˚ feature films.

Via Kottke.

Aievea — Slowly video at The Exemplary Life of Daniel Gontz.

The best business card?

If a person makes loud comments that a single "shhh" doesn't thwart, everyone around them should stand, point and loudly ask them to leave (with liberal use of expletives).

—It's Time For Us to Fight Back Against Movie Theater Talkers on Gizmodo.

Hell yes.

Some guy named Mike from Milwaukee, WI put together a 70-minute video review discussing the many reasons why the movie was horrible. And this isn’t your usual fanboy rant, this is an epic, well-edited well-constructed piece of geek film criticism.

—Watch this: 70-minute video review of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace at SlashFilm.

Really. Is that good.

Via DF.

Alexei Alexeev draws the coolest band in recent history: KJFG. Here are a few videos:

• The Moon
• The Rain
• The Log
• The Falsetto
• The Snake

Ok, maybe it's not drum and bass. Oh well.

Via Drawn.

In Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut (1999), the chanting at the mansion party means "God says to his followers: A new commandment I give to you" (The original in Romanian reads: "Zis-a Doamne catre ucenicii sai: Porunca noua dau voua").

There are 2 reasons for it's incomprehensibility:

• It is in a foreign language (Romanian)
• The vocal track is run in REVERSE.

From EWS IMDB FAQ.

Life is... I don't know. Pixar grants girl's dying wish to see 'Up' will — as Gruber puts it — will choke you up more than Up itself did.

Via DF.

From the series "movies for geek animators," today's episode about animating 10k balloons in Up, Pixar's 10th feature film.

Five years in the works.

The highest effectiveness per line of dialogue ratio: #2.

Here's the full list.

Real men love the Fifth Element. Yes, they do. Oh yes, they do.

There are subjects and subjects for films. And then there are the subjects for Oliver Stone films. W. Ain't too early for this?

The Rolling Sones, as you've never seen them before—Shine a Light, a concert film by Martin Scorsese, shot with 17 cameras by an all-star team of cinematographers headed up by Robert Richardson, whose fellow directors of photography include Emmanuel Lubezki (“Children of Men”) and Robert Elswit (Oscar for “There Will Be Blood”). Trailer.

So intense it'll crush you.

FirstShowing: Wall-E Meets a Vacuum. Wait until June 27th for the rest. Via Cameron.

I think this one will crack you up. Via Kottke.

The way Sir Hitchcock would've done it: The Key to Reserva. Via DF.

Speaking of Tekkonkinkreet (Tekkon Kinkurito), I first saw the the SIGGRAPH 3D pilot on an IDN Magazine bonus CD in 1999 or 2000 (possibly while I was in Singapore) and I could not forget it. I hoped it will be included on the DVD. Unfortunately, it's not. See it here. Direct download from here.

Quit the TV slime and take a look at Future Shorts channel on Joost. Brilliant pieces.

Radu thinks the same. [Link in Romanian.]

Tekkonkinkreet DVD is now available in Romania via Diverta retail chain, with bonus features and Romanian translation. Please—you grabbed it off the net, now buy it.

Gone With the Wine, a short by Corneliu Porumboiu. [Thanks, Alice in Wonderland.]

So rough you'll clutch your fists, so beautiful you'll swallow your tears. Backdrops. [Via Ibarbar.]

Are some people having way too much time on their hands or what? Watch the countdown. [Via FS.]

This happened before marketing movies as "based on true events" became a cool trend.

There are film to be watched and films to be agonized through. Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months 3 Weeks & 2 Days pertains to the latter. A masterpiece, a glimpse of our grim youth during the eighties and triumph at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival—Palme d'Or Award—"432" is not to be missed.

The Bourne Ultimatum (8.7 on IMDB, trailers) is a masterpiece of the genre, according to its IMDB score. Poker-faced genre, I guess. But it surely is relentless and full of shards and fists flying around — see it, it's good fun on a weekend night.

How come Anthony Hopkins is always so breathtakingly majestic? Fracture (7.1 on IMDB, trailer) may not be much o a classic, but the actor is awe-inspiring. See it.

“Each time I have tried to communicate with someone, love has disappeared.” Michelangelo Antonioni dies at 94. Read the four-page obituary in The New York Times. [Via D.O.]

Ocean's Thirteen (7.3 on IMDB, trailers) is a manageably boring movie with a cool setup, SF props and very nice actors. If there's absolutely nothing better on your radar, indulge.

If you need explanations apropos what The Simpsons Movie (8.6 on IMDB, trailers) is all about, stay home. Feed the cow, or something. Otherwise you do not afford to miss it.

You may be thinking, look, there's Evan Almighty (kinda Bruce Almighty 2, 6.0 on IMDB, trailer) in cinemas, that might be a nice movie for the weekend. Don't think that. Avoid.

Confusing and wonderful, like love, Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep / La Science des rêves (underrated with 7.6 on IMDB, trailer, Wikipedia entry) is the gem of a movie you've been waiting to see ever since you were a teenager. Do not miss it!

28 Weeks Later (7.5 on IMDB, trailer) keywords: Sequel, Infection, Blood Vomiting, Torso Cut In Half, Loss Of Mother, Eye Gouging, Arm Blown Off, Beaten To Death, Cut Into Pieces, Blood Splatter, Shot In The Head, Flamethrower, Exploding Body, Decapitation, Person On Fire, Twist In The End. I left the theatre in the first 28 minutes.

"Akeelah and the Bee" (7.8 on IMDB, trailer may be at times a little pedagogical, but it's wholehearted and warm. If in the mood for a bit of harmless propaganda, go see it.

For the young-hearted, the comics cultured and geek heads, Transformers (now seriously, 8.2 on IMDB?) may be the end of a long wait — for the rest, it'll be the loudest screeching movie. If you feel like being part of the first category, see it.

Old school John McClane meets "Hello, I'm a Mac" in the 4th installment of Die Hard series, "Live Free or Die Hard" [8.4 on IMDB, trailer] and proves extremely difficult to kill with all things regulated by the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons. Saturday night? Buy enough pop corn and see it.

I managed to catch Tarantino's sleazy new "Death Proof" [8.1 on IMDB] in a Copenhagen theatre (but without the other Grindhouse feature, Robert Rodriguez's "Planet Terror"). It's a 70's-style beautiful, uncompromising piece of pop art, with signature dialogues and probably the greatest car chases in recent film history. If you like Tarantino's style, don't fuckin' miss it.

Music video gang culture + middle-class kids + legal access to firearms = consequences beyond repair, as Alpha Dog [severely underrated with 6.7 on IMDB, trailer] demonstrates with nerve and aplomb. See it.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (ranked with a delirious 7.8 on IMDB, trailer) is Lord of the Rings, but with pirates. A bit too much entertainment, even for a Saturday night.

Expectations set to zero — this is the secret ticket to enjoying movies you randomly picked because the intended one was sold out. Next (6.1 on IMDB, trailer) is no exception. If really pedantic, consult How To Tell If You’re Watching A Bad Nicolas Cage Movie guide first.

Not even Susan Sarandon could save this one. Irresistible (5.6 on IMDB, trailer) starts like a ghosts flick, turning into a "Luke, I'm your father" affair — total genre mix-up. If not a hardcore Susan Sarandon fan, avoid.

Shot on hand-held lo-rez digital video, Ellie Parker (5.4 on IMDB, trailer) is as indy as a college student's project. Some manage to see this as very amusing, but I guess they're Hollywood industry insiders. Avoid unless you're an indy digerati or Naomi Watt's fan.

Heart-wrenching beautiful but also unexpectedly cruel in a way, Venus (7.2 on IMDB) may be regarded either as a gem or as a dark comedy for the reasonably young and the healthy. O'Toole is brilliant, and Redgrave is... better see it for yourself. Once more, the American movie poster cannot deal with European one's nudity.

After one hour and a half of relentless Hollywood action and suspense, 88 Minutes leaves you urging for a good movie instead — but hey, it respects its promise as a thriller. With 6.2 on IMDB it's not exactly to be avoided, especially for Al Pacino many die-hard fans.

Wired: «With the 30th anniversary of Star Wars fast approaching (May 25), it’s time to begin celebrating the galaxy far, far away all over again.» Have a look at The Making of Star Wars photo gallery.

Marie and Bruce [IMDB file] could have been venomous and ambivalent just like real life, but no. It's surreal, too. If you are into indy cinema, theatre and mad about Julianne Moore, see it.

Dame Judi Dench vicious and strong; Cate Blanchett intoxicatingly beautiful; Bill Nighy's anger painful to watch: Notes on a Scandal [site, IMDB file, trailer] lives through unforgettably perfect acting. Don't miss it.

Angelina Jolie, that is — a cute kinder in 1995 flick Hackers. Do not rush to see it unless you're a fan of 1983 War Games and early hacker genre.

Ah, the glory of maniacal post-production — the movie looks and feels like Frank Miller's graphic novel. 300 scores 8.2 on IMDB (trailer here). If your job is in any way related to visual culture this visual feast is mandatory. See it.

Two worlds uncomfortably scrutinizing each other, wondering if coexistence is possible. The Queen scores 7.7 on IMDB (trailer here). Wonderful. See it.

Although I hate Drew Barrymore, Hugh Grant in Music and Lyrics [1, 2] made me laugh — here, I admit it. If you're really tired after a tough day at work, go see it.

There are days when a movie with buckets of blood is needed — that's the moment Smokin' Aces [1, 2] comes in. Relentless and impeccably crafted, was a nice surprise all the way until its politically correct yet awful ending. If you think there's a chance you might enjoy seeing Ben Affleck's character being brutally murdered right in the second act, go see it.

Reuters reports that "Russia's oldest theater has installed equipment to block mobile phone signals" as a counter-measure against phone-talking morons. This should be the norm.

Highly praised and way overrated on both IMDB (7.8/10) and Rotten Tomatoes (82%), Little Children is an oddly paced letdown. See it if in need for something mellow or craving for a dose of Winslet.

Has the world forgot how to watch musicals (myself included)? How to write them (Hollywood included)? Or is Dreamgirls a bit too much for a broadwayless Europe? I don't know. If passionate about music, see it.

The Last King of Scotland: from jolly to appalling. Man, can Mr. Whitaker act! See it. Blood Diamond: don't miss the day DiCaprio grows from a Shirley Temple cutie pie into a real actor. See it.

Night at the Museum proves that big-budget state-of-the-art CGI effects can be totally worthless with Ben Stiller on the same screen. Is Robin Williams becoming totally unwatchable? Avoid if 12 or older.