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Genre Benders (Cross Talk Ep. 19)

Posted on March 5, 2017 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.

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!

Building Bridges, Forging Families (Community)

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Tim Kuefler

A new year, a new theme.

And while I’m not going to unleash that theme on you just yet, mostly because I’m saving it for the timotheories January post that’ll be released tomorrow, let’s just agree that this first Wisdom Wednesday post of the year is significant. Heck, I’ve even layered this post into an existing series on health and wellness, and influenced by The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Let’s consider that statement one more time “new year, new theme.” We could pretty easily replace the words “year” and “theme” with almost anything really.

It’s one of those catch-all-modify-it-as-you-like phrases that I often like to say, and which many of us are guilty of sharing too. It’s such a North American thing to embrace newness. Except that you can’t hear me saying it, so looking at it through the lens of my writing will have to do, dear readers. And if you really want to see me speak you can always head over to the YouTube channel. Lots of theories over there.

You know what else? It’s been an excellent Christmas break. For me especially.

Break In The New Year

An opportunity for both reflection and decompression with a strong mix of socialization thrown in for good measure. As is the tradition, but odd for me to written as a staunch non-traditionalist, we had our typical Christmas eve Secret Santa gift exchange, then a full day of Christmas activities, Boxing Day shopping and movie watching, my annual Fast and Furious marathon, a roommate holiday party, New Years Eve, and New Years Day dinner. It was a full docket to be sure.

If you haven’t guessed it yet, I insist on taking the last week of the year off because Christmas and New Years are big holidays in my family. We always seem to have at least three or four days dedicated to the holiday season and so the preceding weeks and afterglow take both a physical and emotional toll on me. It ain’t easy being green, as the once Kermit the Frog once said.

Communication Breakdown

The feedback I often get from more vocal friends who only want a cursory view of my break is “why do you even take holidays if you aren’t going anywhere?” Well my friends, I think it’s important to spend time with family and friends and I want to be in the best state possible to partake in these festivities. But honestly it’s just not simple drop in and drop out situation. I have to absorb it all and then filter the experiences. That, and I often catch some sort of seasonal illness around this time of year.

Now granted, I have been told on more than one occasion that I push myself to the limit at this time of year, but recognizing the deadline oriented nature of the holiday and my own needs working retail (which doesn’t matter if at a store or head office), have led me towards this solution.

This is important to realize. Community is vital for a creative person, so we each need to find a way to inject it into our set of priorities.

You see creative cuties, community and communication often go hand in hand. The people who attend these events with me all bring their own unique perspective to each party, but the desire to be there and connect is important to each of us. Whether it’s bonding over a film series. the act of handmade gifts or sharing in a homemade meal that celebrates culture, there requirements for participating in these events are clear.

Advanced Community Studies

But is this really the life we should be living?

Of course, I have this theory that it all comes back to values. In fact, I call it the campfire theory. Which I’ll likely elaborate upon int’s own post sometime this year…

We all need to be in alignment with the people we spend time with, and a great shared valued is much like a campfire, we gather around it for warmth, share stories around it hours, and struggle to leave it in the wee hours of morning, even when we know we could be sleeping. This is passionate living, and one of the most important things we can do in life is find community with like-minded individuals. The world challenges us to do it on our own, but this is a fallacy, because studies have proven time and time again that giving back to others is good for us and after a certain point of success we want to give away what we have.

We need to make the time for community. Life lessons and experiences are often reverberated through the friends and family in our lives.

Once each of us realizes that we must actively work with a community, then we can begin to determine how often we engage with our communities (daily, weekly, monthly) and the best way to structure said community. It could be a Facebook group, a What’sApp groupchat, a dinner party or a campfire. But knowing what you want to offer the group(s) and receive back is essential.

I’m ecstatic to see what 2017 brings for you creative cuties, so hit me up with your own learnings and let me know what you thought of this wisdom. I’m out of theories for now, but I’ll share some more tomorrow.

Tim!

Sweet Stardust of a Thriller, Boy (The Weeknd, Starboy review)

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

The synthesizer seems to be back in full force ladies and gentlemen. That desire for quality samples, lossless file compression and physical models seems to be something that most if not all top shelf pop music trend setters are using right now.

But for why?

The Weeknd – Starboy
released November 25, 2016
******* 7/10

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally as The Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. The Weeknd got his start by anonymously uploading several songs to YouTube under the pseudonym “The Weeknd,” of all things. At that time he had released three nine-track mixtapes throughout 2011: House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence. Which surprisingly enough to many critics at the time, were received quite well. In 2012 he decided to release a compilation album known as Trilogy, effectively the remastered mixtapes he had released before but with three additional tracks and totally thirty songs alotogether. It was released under Republic Records and his own label XO.

In 2013 he released his first studio-length album Kiss Land, which featured the singles Kiss Land and Live For. But it was his second album, Beauty Behind the Madness that really charted his success. This is where Earned It, The Hills, and Can’t Feel My Face factor in. Fun fact, these songs made him the first artist to simultaneously hold the top three spots of the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart. The Weeknd has also won two Grammy’s and been nominated for an Academy Award.

Oh, and did I mention that he’s Canadian? Yeah Canadian content!

But what about Starboy? Well, look what you’ve done… I’m a motherfuckin’ starboy.

This record starts off quite strong, Starboy, Party Monster, and False Alarm in particular hold your attention with their commitment to the beats The Weeknd and his team of production engineers are famous for. After all, we know he isn’t doing this all on his lonesome. Which reminds me, I think that Stargirl might be the most fascinating interlude/intermission I’ve heard in years. Lana Del Rey is excellent as the female foil to The Weeknd, and she manages enough tension to keep the pace of the record, at least for a little while.

Now let’s consider the album as a whole for a moment. I have this rather wild theory that The Weeknd might not have had as much time with this project as he would have liked. He’s known for his ability to construct strong narrative levelled projects, I’m looking at you Trilogy.

And while Starboy (the album, not the song) is mostly about The Weeknd’s relationship with a woman, that message doesn’t easily come through. The collaboration with Kendrick Lamar on Sidewalks for instance, is kinda cool, but feels out of place, if I’m being really honest. Also am I crazy for hearing Michael Jackson AND David Bowie when I listen to his voice long enough?

Probably not, because The Weeknd is more than capable of floating between pop, rap, R&B, disco and electronica. Hell, he can even do 1980s pop justice. Maybe that’s where the deceased pop stars come in…

And while The Weeknd has en endearingly dark and uniquely hedonistic voice in the realm of music, it can be a bit much to stomach his lyrics against those typical pop structures. That, and as I mentioned already, the narrative doesn’t feel as tight on this album. Abel Makkonen Tesfaye is more than capable of being a motherfuckin’ starboy and he knows it, but this album isn’t him at his best.

I have this theory that analog synthesizers went out and digital synthesizers came in because they were cheaper, but nowadays that isn’t really a motivating factor for musicians.

However, the variety of sounds that digital synth offers feels unrivalled in many cases. And when an artist is capable of spreading their music talent across several genres, employing synthesizers to craft that sounds seems like a natural fit. The Weeknd gets this, and when he spends his time on both production and telling a strong story, it makes all the difference. Starboy might not be the greatest, but The Weeknd sure is a star boy.

Tim!

First Order of Business (Brad Fehr interview, Intuition)

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

Intuition is both mysterious and incredibly powerful. It’s also really difficult to write about.

Seriously, dear readers.

I probably spent a good three hours online trying to find a way to articulate what I wanted to write as a thematic jumping off point for this interview topic, but then I decided to instead go with my gut, which just felt right. And so here we are, left with a raw and wriggling post about my own love/hate relationship with intuition.

You see, dear readers, I’ve always been a proponent for using intuition, because it can gave you great insight about people, ideas, and places however problematic they are. It straddles the line between philosophy and psychology, and depending on how you view the internal world versus the external world, it can sync quite nicely. Frankly, we all use it whether we admit it or not. And did I mention that it can also lead us to great creative breakthroughs and forging fast friendships with those we “just click with?”

The same can be said of romantic relationships, sometimes everything just falls right into place, and that person you flashed a smile at that one time quickly becomes the person you join giblets with.

Come on, that visual reference was funny. You should just laugh, it’s Sunday.

After all, our intuition is always there, and some of us of even rely on a visual element to our intuition, which means that those of us with this ability are likely to become artists and manifest life via symbols, images, dreams or patterns.

Which is exactly what today’s interviewee is all about. Taking existing patterns, models and visions, and applying his own unique perspective to it. Or as he so eloquently put it for me when we first spoke, his straight white CIS male perspective. Which is pretty apt considering the subject matter he works with.

Brad Fehr is an up-and-coming artist who is in the process of finishing his undergrad, but don’t let that fool you into assuming a role for him. He dabbles in painting, philosophy and videography and is comfortable switching back and forth between formats rather easily. He makes art which finds similarities between dead ideas and current ones, and then applies cultural norms to investigate what is at stake.

His comfortability with the interview theme is rather refreshing, and the time just flew by for me in discussing his views on art, life, and what it all means. I suspect you’ll want to head straight to the video from here, so I won’t drone on. Enjoy episode 10 of timotheories interviews, featuring Brad Fehr.

As always, if you want to check out more timotheories interviews or the Cross Talk series please visit our YouTube channel. And please, please, please share this post and of course subscribe to both the blog and channel!

Please also check out Brad’s Instagram account to see his portfolio and to contact him for creative services.

Lastly my sincerest thanks to Brad for being bold, brilliant, and bemused. See you tomorrow with an album review that’s features America and love.

Tim!

Maker’s Mark (Sicario review)

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

There is something to be said about sepia tones and using them to evoke mood and timelessness.

When I was an art student I experimented with limited palettes on the regular, and I discovered that it was in those moments of restriction that I could be more free with other elements of my art.

For instance, my markmaking would often become more varied, deliberate and nuanced, and so something that appeared simple on the surface would pull in the viewer quite easily.

How quaint that this week’s review does this on both the poster and in the film.

Sicario (2015)
Cast: Bernardo P. Sacarino, Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Maximiliano Hernandez, Victor Garber, Daniel Kaluuya
Director: Denis Villeneuve
released on blu-ray January 5, 2016
******** 8/10

IMDB: 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%, Audience Score 87%
The Guardian: *****/*****

Denis Villeneuve is a hot topic in the filmmaking industry. He kind of exploded on the scene in the past five years, though he has been making movies for almost two decades. But he is pretty selective with his choices.

After he was nominated for an academy award for the foreign film Incendies in 2011, he started getting high level projects like Prisoners and Enemy. Both of which I’ve seen, own, and love. So I was pleasantly surprised to learn he was behind Sicario and that he will be making the Blade Runner sequel which is currently pre-production.

Let’s cover a bit of this plot off, shall we?

In the opening shot, we read text explaining that “sicario” comes from Roman zealots that occupied Palestine. In Mexico, it translates “hitman”.

SWAT are taking a house in Arizona to retrieve potential hostages from a Mexican drug cartel led by Manuel Diaz (Bernardo P. Sacarino). Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) and Reggie Wayne (Daniel Kaluuya) are part of an FBI rescue squad. Upon seizing the house, they uncover dozens of bodies inside the walls, just before a bomb goes off in the garden shed, killing members of the team.

Back at the office, Kate is introduced to Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) a special agent who invites her to join him and a “consultant” named Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) in taking down the cartel.

We move to Mexico, and see a man named Silvio (Maximiliano Hernandez) talk with his son and get ready for work as a police officer.

Kate assumes the team is headed to El Paso, but they are actually going to Juarez to procure a prisoner with Delta Force soldiers and head back to the border immediately. While stuck in the customs parkway Alejandro notices gang members and the team is advised to act only if the criminals do. One man gets out so the team moves on all cars. The officers attempt to subdue each vehicle but it ends in a shootout with the gang dead.

Back at the station, Kate gets into an argument with Matt about the mission and they way it is going. She has started smoking again.

After Alejandro tortures the prison, a gang leader, the team head to El Paso to question buses filled with immigrants. They expect to learn about a secret tunnel for border crossing.

Next, they visit a bank where it is assumed a woman deposits money for the drug cartels. They arrest her and discover money wrapped in blueish bands. The bank manager explains that the cartels are repaying loans, which are not tracked.

Kate and Reggie go out for drinks that night and Reggie introduces her to his friend Ted (Jon Bernthal), a local cop who is out too. Kate and Ted leave together, and are about to have sex when she sees him remove a wristband similar to what they found earlier. They get into a fight and Kate reaches for her gun. But Ted gets the upper hand and almost strangles her until Alejandro walks in and points his gun in Ted’s face, and eventually threatening him to get more information about who he works for.

Pros: The brutality of what both the Americans and Mexicans are willing to do drives this story. The fact that the visuals are amazing and dialogue tight helps immensely in this regard. Emily Blunt has resoundingly proved she can handle drama and maintain her cool while doing it.

Cons: This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a violent movie about drug trafficking. Also because the movie is exploring issues of crossing moral lines, the characters become rather one-dimensional as a result.

Runtime: 121 minutes

Points of Interest: Benicio Del Toro originally had more lines but Villeneuve decided to strip him down to maintain his mystery. Emily Blunt started this project just 4 months after giving birth to her daughter.

Ever a sucker for excellent visuals and a story which explores interesting themes, this movie had me at hello. It also helps that heavy hitters Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin helped back the story. And did I mention Emily Blunt is one of my favorite actors?

If you have ever made art before you should seriously consider trying this practice of reducing your options. Whether it is material choices, removing colour or focusing on particular shapes, it will allow you to explore other concepts more readily.

Trust me.

Sicario is an excellent example of this type of filmmaking, and while it isn’t perfect in it’s execution (bad word choice?), it does an amazing job of showcasing the harsh realities of tough moral decisions.

But what do you think? Is this just another drug trafficking flick? I’ll see you tomorrow evening dear readers, with some wisdom.

Tim!