Andre Lindo

Genre Benders (Cross Talk Ep. 19)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Some of the best experiences of life need to happen within a certain sequence. Otherwise they just won’t happen at all. For instance, you have to go through the standard education system, taking (and passing) classes throughout primary school, followed by middle school, and then working through secondary school, before you can finally go to that graduation ceremony and throw your cap in the air, like you just don’t care.

Except that you do care. And that’s okay.

Rituals are important in life, and we should experience them fully so that we can transition from one stage to the next with no regrets.

Except that no one gets through life without regrets.

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Life is interesting that way, while a coming of age story for one person can be seen as comedy, for some it’s a fantasy, for another it’s a drama, and for others a tale full of horror.

Movies always find the best ways to showcase the subtle difference of life and no matter with the core message of the movie at hand, you can be sure that numerous genres have tackled the story at hand…

Which is why today, Chris and I explore some of the more common themes we see in film and how they really do span genres. These are genre defying themes, if you will. We’ll be chasing after the loss of innocence, coping with loss, triumph over adversity, good vs evil, and overcoming differences.

Don’t expect this to be a deep dive of the themes I just mentioned though, I want to give a sense of what exists out there, before we decide to focus in on one or another, otherwise we’d have over an hour of content on our hands, and nobody’s got time for that!

This is episode nineteen of Cross Talk friends! It’s going to have laughter, tears, anger, excitement and all kinds of references to films you know and love. Some of them which you would never expect to share a connection. In some cases I was surprised at what we came up with, to be honest. But enough preamble… Dig in!

I hope you enjoy this one creative cuties. Were you surprised by what we came up with? Did you like our movie examples? Did you expect us to cover some different themes then we did? I’d love to hear what you thought! Cross Talk is a conversation, after all.

Please comment, subscribe, and share this video with friends. We want to hear your feedback!

Tim!

Films That Changed The Game (Cross Talk Ep. 15)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

There is this phrase out there which tells us that history is written by the victors, and attributed to Winston Churchill. It’s a good quote, and the gravity of it is not lost on anyone. But the intent of the quotation and the reality of it are two different things.

If we stop and consider what that quotation is really saying, its that history is written by writers, and much like present day events, there are conflicting viewpoints on what went down, and over time the extremists viewpoints are taken out and we are left with a more generic set of stories that can be taken in by those with an interest in the past.

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Much can be said about the history of cinema as well. We pick our favourites and share those stories with whoever we will, sometimes movies make it into our homes and sometimes distributors stop carrying copies as technology improves. I’ve seen it happen with one of my favourite movies Anti-Trust. Nearly impossible to find on blu-ray, it was FINALLY released just over a year ago.

And carrying on that line of thought, there are some movie moments that have saved the future of cinema. Not in so literal a result, but by inspiring future directors to push the envelope in new ways. Many movies have their own unique examples that can stop a conversation in its tracks. The wood chipper scene in Fargo, the velociraptors in the kitchen during Jurassic Park, the box reveal in Se7ven, and The Pixies playing “Where Is My Mind” as the city blows up during Fight Club, are all iconic moments.

Whether these moments have taken good movies into the realm of great, or great movies into the exceptional, when it comes down to it, every year in film we get to see some scenes, technical achievements and themes which set new standards in film expectations. Making this art form still relevant and open for public consumption, but resulting in some ideas moving out of favour, ie the traditional western.

In fact, I like to think we prefer to think of film in this way. Quoting from Harry Potter, Dirty Harry, The Big Lebowski and Zoolander have become a natural process, because we embrace the new, though only when it is capable of enthralling us.

And so today, we share with you some of our favourite benchmark movie moments and why they are so incredibly relevant even decades later. Chris and I decided to share the couch with our friend André Lindo once more, and he brings some really cool examples to the room. This is episode fifteen of Cross Talk and it’s a thoughtful one.

Another day, another theory. I hope you enjoyed this episode creative cuties and that you have a fantastic week. Otherwise, please comment, subscribe, and share this video with friends. We want to hear your feedback!

Tim!

Learning To Keep Pace (Cross Talk Ep. 14)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Christmas drives me absolutely nuts dear readers. I have to run around at a breakneck pace in order to keep up with all of the events, people, and deadlines. And that doesn’t even factor in my day job or running timotheories dot com. Now to be fair, I’m not telling you this to ask for sympathy, because the fact of the matter is that we are all running around like idiots.

It’s the nature of the beast. Every year Christmas gets bigger and bigger, We want to tap into that nostalgia, fuel the fire of Christmas cheer, and be even more generous with our giving. It’s enough to make you sick. In fact, I bet dollars to doughnuts, that a large number of us are going to get sick just as the madness settles down and we are able to enjoy the day.

It’s Murphy’s Law. Anything that can happen will happen. But what if there is a happy medium my friends?

What if you don’t have to be the tortoise or the hare? What if I were to tell you that pacing does matter and that you can achieve it? Well you’d probably tell me that I’m nuts.

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But here’s the thing, when it comes to art, we all know that old adage, about it imitating life, and the best films have incredibly tight pacing, no matter who you ask.

In case you don’t know what pacing means in film, I’m going to share a little quote with you from Wikipedia;

All time arts – music, dance, drama, film – are enormously concerned with pacing – with rhythm or tempo. As the film director translates events in a script into actions that make up scenes and sequences, that is, as the director shapes the actors’ performances and stages the other actions in front of the camera, one of his paramount concerns is pacing, making the action swell, subside, and swell again. The director does this to keep the scene from losing its energy and intensity. Later, after the shooting is over, the director, working with the film editor, will further control, construct, and perfect the pacing in the way he builds shots into scenes and sequences.

In order for life to flow properly, there needs to be proper transitions and rates of change. When you run a mile a minute for a month straight, life is gonna course correct you in turn. HARD.

This is probably one of my favourite topics when it comes to film; Chris and I are stoked to talk about it, and you can really see the passion between us flair up quick when we discuss the importance of pacing in a film. Both Andre and Singh backed out of this one, because they couldn’t handle the heat. It should be a good one. timotheories presents episode fourteen of Cross Talk.

And now I’m theoried out for the year my creative cuties. Check back over the next four days for a couple of Christmas themed movie and music reviews, some wisdom on the season, and a convenient update. Otherwise, please comment, subscribe, and share this video with friends. We want to hear your feedback!

Tim!

Shirley, You Can’t Be Serious (Cross Talk Ep. 13)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Did you know that the grand tradition of the parody has been around since the time of ancient Greece, dear readers?

In fact, the word parody itself has Greek roots, dear readers. With par meaning “beside” and ody representing an “ode” or “song,” dear readers. Heck, even now in contemporary society, we have many instances of parody within our western culture, dear readers. Movies, music, television, and radio all take examples of this and recite them back to us, dear readers. It’s time to release the stinker of all Cross Talk episodes, dear readers – And quite frankly, I don’t give a damn if I make a reference or three along the way to get us thinking critically about spoofs, parodies, send-ups, take-offs, and lampoons, dear readers.

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Are you getting sick of me ending each sentence with “dear readers” yet friends? Well, such is the nature of the spoof – it upends the pattern, announces habits, and amplifies characteristics of a common thing. It can be very frustrating to witness, but also incredibly entertaining, if you get the joke. After all, no one wants to be the punchline.

Yes spoofs are those works which have been made to imitate and then make fun of and/or comment on an original work with elements of satire and irony. These are often some of my favourite works of art. My art-ache if you will. My art-burn. My artery.

I’ll stop while I’m ahead.

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I am sure it is very frustrating to see such direct reference from me on lampoonery, but the episode really does speak for itself, and more importantly you’ll find that some references are just too on the nose for me.

Which is why we decided to focus on how movies spoofs work for this week’s episode of Cross Talk. Some of the best examples I can think of are well laid out in this 25 minute piece of comic brilliance, and heck just for you, we’re introducing a guest speaker to the cast, by way of a good friend of mine – André Lindo.

This is episode thirteen of Cross Talk. Did I mention the new camera angles at play? No, well see if you can notice where we’ve taken some liberties with the form, and also please let us know if you like the new, shorter, and much better intro to the show. Cross Talk just keeps on keeping on mon copains.

I’m about theoried out for now friends, but I’ve gonna share a Common music review with you tomorrow which I think you’ll enjoy given the recent US election results. Otherwise, please comment, subscribe, and share this video with friends. We want to hear your feedback!

Tim!