12/31/11
12/28/11
Out of Time: The story of a man who forgot about time.
Out of Time - Trailer from Zeke Brizuela on Vimeo.
Check out this trailer of a short film by an up and coming Argentinian film maker named Zeke Brizuela. Looks interesting. Read more about it here.
The subject reminds me a bit of Nuri Bilge Ceylan's film Distant.
12/25/11
12/22/11
12/18/11
"SESSION 9" Official Trailer (2001)
Because I am sick of Dan posting this horrible writing advice from this hack writer, I thought I'd post a trailer of a film I streamed last night.
This is an example of a movie that didn't know where to go. On one hand, it is supposed to be a "horror" film (read: scary) and then on the other hand, the film spends a lot of time focusing on the working class characters hired on to clean up an abandoned insane asylum.
Ok, this isn't nec., a bad thing, right? Except for the fact that the movie doesn't have enough character development for it to work on the working-class character level, and then it is not even remotely scary enough to work on the horror level. After watching, I have no idea what this was even about because the ending was left very ambiguous. And while ambiguity is great for a poetic film, it doesn't work for a rote, linear a-b-c plot driven film as this.
I still have no idea what "Session 9" was referring to--there is a case involved but I fail to see how it connects with the men cleaning the building. Did the looney bin "possess" them in some way? Was the guy who became nuts somehow related to it? It tried to offer "twists" to a plot that made little sense.
It is a rarity for me to complain about plot points being unanswered. But if the film fails on the level of depth, character development AND horror, what else is there? This was like the director had one foot on the boat and one on the dock, and neither worked. The ending peters out and I have no idea what the point was. Something tells me neither did the folks who wrote this film.
12/17/11
12/16/11
Who Said What? - Identifying Dialogue Speakers
All of these points means she must hacve very little room to write anything of depth.
The perfect book for her to [pen is HOW NOT TO WRITE WELL.
12/15/11
Is Your Story's Clock Ticking? - Lessons From The Guns of Navarone
One wonders if this babe ever had an interesting insight?
12/14/11
How to Write an Epilogue That Works - Lessons from How to Buy a Love of ...
The sweeping assumptions this woman makes shows how linear, limited, and trite her mind is.
12/13/11
Hawaii Five 0 Intro
Also watching this: 15-20 seconds in. Jack Lord was a Motherfucker and an Asskicker. Greatest theme credits entry in history. The wobbly camera approach up to the balcony, and Jack- as McGarrett, smoothly and calmly turns around and says, 'Be cool, bitches. I got this by the balls!' What a better way to encapsulate and define a character!
Three Places Where You Should Tell Instead of Show - Lessons From Patric...
Even when she recommends writers, they are bad. Just Google.
This woman is actually quite cute, and has a sweet personality. Too bad her ears have a wind tunnel betwixt them.
12/12/11
More Weiland
http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/2009/07/making-cliches-work-for-you.html
Read the horror. She has no clue as to what a cliche is, even as she recognizes the need to undo them.
Read the horror. She has no clue as to what a cliche is, even as she recognizes the need to undo them.
12/11/11
A Hack's Hack
http://www.amazon.com/Behold-Dawn-K-M-Weiland/dp/0978924614/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323634895&sr=1-4#reader_0978924614
Herein the trite opening to a book by K.M. Weiland. It's so trite and larded with cliches, which is expected since her advice is so trite and predictable. Be a hack like me, she says!
Herein the trite opening to a book by K.M. Weiland. It's so trite and larded with cliches, which is expected since her advice is so trite and predictable. Be a hack like me, she says!
Are You Sabotaging Your Own Character?
Again, not a dram of showing, even though KM Weiland repeats the cliche dof showing not telling.
12/10/11
How to Tell if Your Backstory Is Boring - Lessons From The Three Muskete...
I've come to the conclusion that this gal is to writing what a big boobed stripper is to a date. You just wanna tell her to keep her mouth shut.
12/9/11
Skip the Boring Parts - Lessons From Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas
It's amazing that she never uses a single quotation from the works she cites.
12/8/11
How Scene and Chapter Length Control Pacing
More bad advice. Short chapters and sentences do not necessarily mean nor imply speed. There are numerous other things it can mean- such as allowing gray in the moment or character, and inviting a reader to imbue more into such.
It's no wonder writing today is so bad when people like this are giving advice.
12/7/11
Help Readers Keep Your Characters Straight
Typical MFA bullshit: obvious, but irrelevant to writers of quality. The 3rd 'helpful hint' is ridiculous.
12/6/11
The 3 Mortal Sins of Fiction
Why does she not 'NAME' Jane Austen? She's been dead a few hundred years.
Plus, of all of Austen's sins of commission, these 3 listed are NOT among them, nor are they problems; unless you are a hack formula writer who does not have the ability to connect with readers in a deeper manner....sort of like Ms. Weiland, perhaps?
12/5/11
The Cure-All for Long and Boring Narrative
This woman would make a terrible teacher. She never demonstrates- put up the text!
12/4/11
Drama vs. Melodrama: Can You Tell the Difference?
This woman is incredibly banal and obvious. She also gives no examples of the things she discusses.
12/3/11
How to Bring Adjectives to Life - Lessons From East of the Mountains by ...
Well, this is generic and bad advice about writing.
12/2/11
Authors@Google: T.C. Boyle
A hack explaining hackery. Around 28 minutes in, he basically admits he's shallow.
12/1/11
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