(via Channel 101 - Gumbel - Episode 5)
… I love Gumbel so very very much … this might be the best episode since the first, though 4 was quite good too.
Source: channel101.com
Gumbel [Episode 2] (by Kyle Reiter)
The first episode was awesome and this is a good follow up.
Source: vimeo.com
Post-Oscars Sean’s Favorite Movies of 2009
I actually watched the Academy Awards last night. Not something I usually do. I kind of hate awards shows. But I got an invitation to watch them from David of Boiling Sky and thought it would be fun to watch it with them. It was. I actually think that most of the movies that I saw that won awards last night deserved them. Avatar won for the only good things about the movie. The Hurt Locker was a good movie and deserves all the awards it got.
Anyway, after last night I thought I’d share my 10 favorites from last year. I really don’t want to call this the Best of 2009, because I didn’t see all the movies from 2009 nor did I even see most of them. I’ve seen 47 of them (I have a spreadsheet). So, these are my favorites of those.
10. Bronson - Tom Hardy’s portrayal of Britain’s most violent prisoner fluctuates between funny and unnerving. An interesting take on a biopic.
9. Paranormal Activity - Scared the crap out of me. The single video camera “shot by the characters” look is interesting and used well. Not something I want to see a lot more of but worked well here.
8. Star Trek - It has some gaping plot holes and those lens flares are kind of annoying but I cared for none of this when I saw it the first time. I was awestruck by the movie. I hadn’t been so excited coming out of a movie since I was a kid. (Won Oscar for Best Makeup)
7. A Serious Man - A quietly funny movie about a guy just being dumped on by pretty much everyone. Also, the end is one of those Coen brothers ends that works for me instead of making me wonder where the rest of the damn movie went.
6. Inglourious Basterds - If it had just been the Shosanna story it probably would have been my favorite movie of the year. I think that while the Basterds parts were fun they kind of distracted from the amazing movie that Quentin Tarantino made about a Jewish girl running a movie theater in Nazi Occupied France. I hear there is a 4 hour cut out there somewhere. I want to see that version of the movie. (Won Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role)
5. Up - The opening was all sad and stuff. The rest was charming and occasionally bizarre. It briefly warmed the dark hunk of coal I have in place of a heart. (Won Oscar for Best Animated Feature)
4. The Limits of Control - I think, I’m in the minority as far as enjoying this movie. I thought the acting was excellent. I got more out of it on a second viewing. Something significant is happening but I’m not sure what it is and that keeps me interested in the movie.
3. The Hurt Locker - Engaging movie about the Iraq War that didn’t seem to be taking a side as far as politics. Good acting. Solid story. Well made. (Won Oscar for Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Film Editing)
2. District 9 - Despite being told how good it was, I was kind of iffy about this before I saw it. I figured I’d enjoy it but it wouldn’t be anything special. I was assuming it would be Alien Nation in South Africa. I was really wrong. Really well made movie. A great blend of different styles. Engaging story. Excellent acting.
1. Moon - Sam Rockwell. It’s just so wrong that he didn’t get nominated for an award for his work in this movie. He’s really incredible in it. In addition to Rockwell the style and storytelling were great. They used CGI to enhance the miniatures and sets in a way I found much more impressive than Avatar. I was sucked into the movie and got caught up in the story much more so than anything else in 2009.
I am a screenwriter/filmmaker. I studied screenwriting at 
