Month: April 2017

The Movie Easter Egg Bunnies (Cross Talk Ep. 21)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Just in case you didn’t already know this, Easter eggs are complex things.

Yes, Easter eggs are also sometimes called Paschal eggs, but that’s not what I wanted to surprise you with creative cuties.

Easter eggs are decorated eggs used to symbolize fertility and rebirth, and in Christianity they symbolize the empty tomb from which Jesus resurrected.

And that’s not the surprise either. Also, Easter eggs can sometimes be chocolate eggs or plastic eggs filled with treats, but again, not where I’m going with this.

The definition that I’m thinking of, and which often applies to art (film in particular) is where an Easter egg is an intentional inside joke, a hidden message, or a secret feature of a digital piece of work.  So yeah, whoever came up with this name obviously took it from the tradition of the Easter egg hunt, but it’s moreso about referencing that which is NOT obvious.

And in light of the upcoming holiday, this episode of Cross Talk is brought to you by Easter.

Eggs And Christmas Movies

This is an eggsellent episode dear readers. And I’m #sorrynotsorry for the bad joke.

But today we discuss the films which are riddled with easter eggs, and spoiler alert, the horror genre, directors with large catalogues, yes I’m looking at you Steven Spielberg), and big movie companies like Disney are great proponents of this staple of culture. You’ll also be happy to know that one of my favourite films has some great easter eggs in it, and we’ll spend some time righting wrongs when it comes to cameos being considered easter eggs themselves. So what is the topic today? Well I hope it’s clear by now, but we’re looking at examples of movie easter eggs, and their effect on film watching.

We seriously had a lot of fun each doing research and then coming back to the couch to hash out what we uncovered. But I think my personal favourite was one that you’ll find in the ever popular Christmas movie – Gremlins.

Bet you don’t know what I’m talking about, because both Chris and I were shocked to uncover it ourselves, and we’ve seen this movie countless times. This is epside twenty one of Cross Talk. Let’s toss some eggs around!

With that shared, I’m looking forward to sharing some further insights on genre defying films this month on Cross Talk, plus my Easter specific post, and most importantly, the set up for a brand new weekly show called Watch Culture.

But what did you think of the episode? Were you impressed by Chris’ big list of horror movie easter eggs? What about that tidbit from The Departed? Or Fight Club? We could have listed hundreds more, but these were some of the really fun ones. So I have to wonder, would you have suggested something different? We want you to join in on the conversation and let us know what you thought!

Please comment, subscribe, and share this video with friends. As always, be excellent to one another!

Tim!

Time Of Your Life (timotheories April 2017)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

 

April is one of my favourite months of the year, for a few reasons.

It’s the month I was born, which every other year is the same time as the Easter holidays, and it reminds me of my family. You see, dear readers, when I was growing up, every Easter, my family of six would all cart ourselves from one province to another to visit the grandparents. We called our grandparents Papa and Nana, of course. Because of the Ukrainian ancestry.

Which is why this month I decided to focus a lot of my posts on things that matter to me personally. Music, film, the arts, and how to be successful as an artist.

Just kidding, I do that every month. A little late for an April Fools joke, but you can’t say I didn’t try. Terribly.

Also, I mentioned this in my HMV post, but technically I won’t have a problem with reliable forecasting on film and music choices, now that I’ve converted to Amazon Prime, but for the sake of humility, I’ll keep this disclaimer up… just in case.

*Disclaimer* As always, every week I purchase an album and movie one week ahead of the actual review release and while I have the best intentions, I don’t always get what I want… so if you follow me on instagram (@timotheories) you can actually see what’s coming.

timotheories summarized – April

Stimulating Sundays – (04/02) …, (04/09) Cross Talk Ep. 21, (04/16) Cross Talk Ep. 22, (04/23) Cross Talk Ep. 23, (04/30) Alex Racine interview
Melodic Mondays – (04/03) Sampha, (04/10) The Mavericks, (04/17) Arca, (04/24) Father John Misty
Theatrical Tuesdays – (04/04) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, (04/11) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, (04/18) A Monster Calls (04/25) The Founder
Wisdom Wednesdays – (04/05) Li Kunwu, (04/12) Life Satisfaction, (04/19) David Deida, (04/26) Facebook Success Stories
Timely Thursday – (04/06) timotheories April, (04/13) Easter, (04/20) Fate of the Furious, (04/27) Birthdays

So I missed the mark on the first Sunday of this month – it’s been a bit of a challenge to stay focused with all of the personal changes going on, and my day job, and a new(ish) relationship. Not making excuses, just letting you see that I too am mortal and fully capable of failing.

But let’s focus instead on the fact that I’ve got three Cross Talk episodes coming your way, one of them about Easter Eggs in film (super fun topic), plus the beginning of a series further exploring how certain themes exist in film, but defy genres.

And no, I didn’t forget about Amanda Wall creative cuties. We’ve been trying to figure out a way to make her interview happen. She is a freelancer and full-time mom after all, and scheduling has proven more challenging than originally anticipated. That said, I do have something in the works with a local game designer by the name of Alex Racine – I promise that’ll be fun.

The rest of the topics are gonna be amazing too, from films set in the Star Wars universe, Harry Potter lore, and an adaptation of the beginnings of McDonalds, plus some Mavericks from my past, I have a ton of theories to share on books I’ve read and social media too. Also, did I mention it’s my birthday month? And that the eighth instalment of my favourite film franchise opens in less then a week?

So many theories, so little April to shower you with ideas. But I’ll do my darnedest!

Tim!

Life Is… (Li Kunwu)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Like any big meal, it takes some time to digest what you’ve consumed and let the food settle before you can fully appreciate what you just went through.

The wait for a table, the anticipation growing with every waft of food that lingers by on outstretched fingertips as the waitress hustles order number 56 off to table twelve. The decision making process of what to order itself is an experience, and then the final push comes as you promise yourself to limit the dinner roll indulgences as you sit there some more as the food is prepared.

Finally, the food arrives.

You take it all in, and consider the journey you are about to take. It’s never what you pictured in your mind, but any good chef is capable of surprising you, and hopefully she has laid a good foundation for your senses to adapt to dinner.

 

Or maybe this is all just a metaphor for a book I read last month, and finally got around to writing about in early April.

Tracing A Remarkable Journey

The author of about thirty books, Li Kunwu has been a central figure in The Daily in Yunnan for decades now. He is has made painting, drawn comic strips, and published his own works, one of which I personally read recently as part of my monthly book exercise.

Can you guess what theme he fits into?

It’s actually two categories – LIFE and LOVE.

A Chinese Life is an autobiography presented in a graphic novel format, and it chronicles the journey of Li Kunwu throughout his life in China. He was born in the 1950s, so we get to experience the development of the People’s Republic of China through his youthful eyes. A member of the People’s Liberation Army, Li manages to recapture his own memories in a way that is both intimate and large enough in scale to be understood by an average historical student. There are parts filled with humour and with drama, but it never feels too heavy in one camp or the other.

It takes a few sessions of concentrated reading to get through, coming in at about 700 pages worth of content, and to be clear, the combination of text and image is at almost equivalent distribution.

Read Army

 

What I found most interesting in reading this story was not how little I really knew about The People’s Republic, nor how little I knew about Li himself. What I found most interesting was how well his story translated to english and how despite all of the seemingly incredible adversity he faced over his lifetime, that a lot of his struggles were universal.

From learning how to relate to his father, to finding love, to discovering his purpose in life, to simply living and experiencing a host of different things, A Chinese Life is an excellent demonstration of a life lived full. And Li does follow his purpose, all the while choosing to believe in what he has believed in from a young age.

It’s incredibly rewarding to see him make art to serve the purposes of a party member hairdresser, and how he finds ways throughout his youth all the way into adulthood which make him into a better artist, and which often tie in directly with his political climate. Illustrating for propaganda posters and newspaper cartoons alike.

Even when Yunnan has it’s first life model class.

And eventually we reach a point well into Li’s adult life, after his father has died, he has been through a divorce, and is taking care of his child as a single parent, that he meets a French writer and diplomat at a comic book convention. This is the point when the story begins to wrap up, and we have a moment to reflect on what we’ve been witness to.

The Modern Age

This is a story all at once encompassing and yet missing details.

Much like any good story, things have been embellished, while other pieces have been glossed over and left out. For instance, as much as I enjoyed the journey from youth, to adulthood, the final 100 pages or so seem sparse and cover a great period of time. This is intention of course, otherwise we’d be left with a 1400 page graphic novel, and I’m not sure that many people would have picked it up.

It is fascinating to see the world through the eyes of someone on the other side of it, and especially of one who holds a different political viewpoint then we are used to, but then again, life is… complex.

At least that’s my theory.

Tim!

Prequel Fever Dreams (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

When exploring new ground, sometimes we have to stumble in order to improve upon what preceded us. And other times we pave the way for greatness, where does this movie fit into the mix?

 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Ezra Miller
Director: David Yates
released on blu-ray March 28, 2017
******* 7/10

IMDB: 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 73%, Audience Score 80%
The Guardian: ****/*****

 

David Yates is an English filmmaker who has directed both feature length and short films, as well as a host of television shows, television films, and mini-series. Yates rose to prominence after helming the last four Harry Potter films, and has won quite a few accolades in his time, including six BAFTA awards. Since then, he has gone on to direct the visual stinker known The Legend of Tarzan, and since then… Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

But was it any good?

I think that we can fairly safely state that Yates has a good record with J.K. Rowling adaptations, but I have to wonder if the hype train and guiding hand of Rowling didn’t have a lot to do with his previous successes. Whereas FBAWTFT draws on Harry Potter mythology without having much true direction of it’s own.

That being said, it IS an interesting film, without ever really standing on it’s own two legs. It’s more entertaining for fans of Harry Potter than the average film goer.

In the mid 1920s British wizard and magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) has come to New York en route to Arizona.

He encounters the New Salem Philanthropic Society, run by Mary Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton), which believes magic is real and bad. During the presentation, one of Newts creatures escapes from his briefcase and on his way to recover the Niffler, Newt bumps into another no-maj and aspiring baker, Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler). As a consequence, they swap cases.

Demoted Auror Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) watches all of this, and then arrests Newt as an unregistered wizard. She takes him to the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) headquarters, they discover the baked goods inside, and Newt is released. At Jacob’s tenement apartment, several creatures escape from Newt’s suitcase.

Tina and Newt track down Jacob and suitcase, wherein Tina introduces them to Queenie (Alison Sudol), her mindreading sister. Queenie and Jacob hit it off instantly but American wizards can’t be with no-majs.

We then learn Newt has an Obscurus, a parasite that develops inside magically gifted children if they suppress their gifts. Newt then persuades Jacob to help search for the missing creatures. MACUSA officials arrest them and give them the death sentence, thinking Newt and compay are responsible for a mystery creature killing in the city. Director of Magical Security Percival Graves (Colin Farrell) accuses Newt of conspiring with dark wizard Grindelwald, but Queenie and Jacob rescue them and they escape.

Graves approaches Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), Mary Lou’s adopted son, and offers to free him from his abusive mother. Credence needs to find an Obscurus in turn. But Credence is the Obscurus’ host, and a strong one at that, as most hosts die before ten years of age.

Newt finds Credence, but is then attacked by Graves. Each side tries to coerce Credence to them, but aurors arrive and disintegrate the boy. Graves admits to unleashing the Obscurus, as he is Grindelwal in disguise. He wants to expose the magical community to the world. Luckily Newt has a Thunderbird, which can use rainfall over the entire city to erase all no-maj memories. Jacob must participate in this cleanse as well, and Queenie kisses him goodbye.

The movie ends with a secret gift from Newt to Jacob allowing him collateral to open his bakery, Newt leaving for Europe to write his book, and Queenie eventually seeking out Jacob regardless of the law.

As I mentioned already, it’s an interesting film, and definitely a welcome deviation from the Harry Potter franchise, but the plot feels thin in places, and it’s protagonists don’t seem overly invested in the larger problem of wizard prejudice and wizard terrorism. They are happy to collect their creatures until someone tells them otherwise.

Pros: It is an original story with interesting characters and headed by a rising star in Eddie Redmayne. The pace is nice and slow at the start, letting us explore the magic of this universe from a new perspective.

Cons: The action seemingly comes out of nowhere towards the end, and the stakes are raised almost inconsequentially. There are almost too many good things going on, and yet it is frustrating to learn this is not a stand-alone film, but a set up for a new franchise.

Runtime: 2 hours 13 minutes

Points of Interest: The name New Scamander appears on the Maurader’s Map in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It was originally supposed to be a trilogy of movies, but has now been confirmed as a five part series.

Eddie Redmayne and friends breath fresh new life into a franchise which I can honestly say I thought was finished. And I’m fairly happy with the results. Granted, I’ve seen New York in film far too many times at this point to be excited about a 1920s fantasy version of the city, but all the same, it’s fun to see the wizarding world of Harry Potter expand outside of the United Kingdom.

theories Summarized

This is a movie definitely worth it’s salt, given how difficult it is for prequels to get off the ground these days, but I will do you one better with a my review coming next week. A story for the ages, and my theory on how it attracted both fans and newbies will be a good one.

Tim!

A Confessional Space (Sampha, Process review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

There is space for soul music in the electronic genre. So much space for it that the music goes to great lengths to amplify our own souls. And yes it’s a lot to process, but it’s worth it, I know this.

 

Sampha – Process
released February 3, 2017
********* 9/10

Sampha is a UK Singer/Songwriter who lives in the worlds of soul, r&b and electronic music. With moody and beautiful tracks and an overwhelming sense of passion to boot. When it comes to emotional jams, I never know if it’s a really a cliche at mention tropes super early on in a review, but electronic music often gets dumped in with outer space, and yet Sampha knows how to combine that sensitivity in with heartbreaking melodies, beautiful piano sequences, and explosive instrumentation.

There is a fire inside these tracks and I don’t think there is a way to put it out.

With that mentioned, there are also a great many quiet moments rooted in the fundamentals of soul and r&b throughout, and opener track Plastic 100 Degrees Celsius sets it all up nicely as far as slowburner tracks go. Investigating his mortality through an unidentified lump, Sampha lets us know right away this is not going to be the typical self-gratifying album.

This is a guy who has collaborated with some of today’s most forward thinking artists. From Frank Ocean, to Jessie Ware, to Drake to 40. Not to mention both Beyoncé and Solange, and yes he’s made his voice known with Kanye too. Working behind the scenes, this guy has been actually been working on Process for years, a lot of it coming together while his mother fought cancer, and as a consequence it is gut wrenching to listen to.

A tour de force of production, sonics, and lyrics, Sampha has proved yet again that living in the alternative will do for R&B, hip hop and soul music exactly what it did for rock in the 1990s. Make them epic. This really has been a decade of emotion, process, and processing – Sampha and his piano, are at the centre of it.

Take in the track, (No One Knows Me) Like the Piano. It perfectly demonstrates this notion.

This is an album full of standout tracks, it’s hard to look at the whole without looking at the parts, as each song could be viewed on it’s own and dissected for hours. I kind of wish I had spent more time with it before I released this review, if I’m being perfectly honest. Maybe it’s that family weaves so clearly through each of the tracks and dovetails the message of going home when you need to with What Shouldn’t I Be?.

Sampha is haunted by insecurities just like any of us, Blood on Me proves it, but there is also warmth in his longings, wishing for more time with his mother on Kora Sings.

I especially enjoyed Take Me Inside and Under, which are explosive in their instrumentation while maintaining the pace of everything else surrounding them on the album. How he is able to clearly define both his image and perception of him is something due to patience and humility, and it’s in those two tracks, among others, where we see why the current greats have worked with Sampha.

It is both a process of musical production and of grieving, and it works excellently. An opportunity to join him in his own private world of sound, even as he feels stripped away from that which he knows best.

theories Summarized

It’s a weighty powerful album and invariably one of my favourites this year.

Process is an exercise in contemplation, one that demands you sit with it, come back to it, leave it alone for a while, and then binge on it over and over again, all the while daydreaming inside your own head. It’s incredibly intricate, and it’s a process all it’s own. My theory of course.

Tim!