HUMAN POTENTIAL

My girl Elisa back in NYC recently created a new website/zine community that is quickly becoming an online mecca for creativity and the arts. But she can describe it better:

Human Potential is a rapidly growing network of artists, musicians, and fashionistas. Unlike other online zine communities, HP aims to host events and fundraisers strictly for charitable causes. What started out as a clothing brand has now developed into a conglomerate of photographers, artists, musicians, designers, film directors, actors, and stylists.Together, HP hopes to introduce refreshing and original ideas to the fore of popular culture.

Human Potential features exclusive feature interviews with young up and coming artists, coverage of global cultural events, as well as an online store for their clothing line. But the most exciting feature is an ever-growing section of exclusive bloggers, that range from fashion and graphic designers, to photographers, filmmakers, musicians and even a chef? An eclectic melting pot of artists of all trades.

Elisa herself blogs of course, which can be found here - http://www.humanpotential.kr/blogs/elgambina

As well as my buddy Jaeki Cho, whose blog you can read here - http://www.humanpotential.kr/blogs/jkey

So check it out! Bookmark it!

Oh and did I mention Elisa is also a fantastic musician under the name El Gambina?

Proof:

THE MOUNTAIN, THE RIVER AND THE ROAD

Jeff (Justin Rice) is a failing post-college writer whose parents are finally kicking him out of the house. With this in mind, Jeff starts out on a road trip to Austin, TX with his friend, Tom (Joe Swanberg); a final grasp at youthful freedom.

Their trip begins to unravel when their beater car busts its timing belt and Tom’s ex-girlfriend intercepts Tom’s paycheck, forcing him to bus it home to resolve his relationship problems. Tom leaves with his tail between his legs to sort everything out and Jeff decides to stay behind in the town of Kernville, CA in hopes that he will be struck with inspiration as he avoids the pressures of home. Unfortunately, all he ends up doing is wandering the sleepy small town and watching daytime television.

Then one day, after locking himself out of his motel room, Jeff meets Cat (Tipper Newton), a young attractive woman also at a cross roads in her life, who just happens to work at the front desk of the motel. The two flirt awkwardly in a few encounters until Cat breaks the ice by inviting Jeff to chop some firewood for her Grandma.

Learning how to use a chainsaw, exploring an abandoned mine, encountering a dead bear, and night sledding are just some of the adventures in store for Cat and Jeff as they begin to fall in love.

Everything is in place for a great winter romance between the young couple, but the impending return of Tom, the continuation of the road trip, and the unshakable burden of responsibility hover as a reminder of how fleeting romance can be.

Justin, Joe and Tipper! Directed by Seattle native Michael Harring!

This looks fantastic. Can't wait! A lot of stuff I'm anticipating right now!

FOR THE WIDOWS IN PARADISE

For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti.

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

You know what, this looks amazing too.

I love family dramas, and something about my 2nd viewing of this trailer just struck me. I don't know what it was, maybe it was the fact that I was watching it in the theater and not on a computer, so I got the full effect. But something about it got to me and gave me the chills. I'm really excited for it now.

BALLAST

This looks amazing...



http://www.ballastfilm.com

THE WORLD'S QUIETEST PLACES

The Hoh Valley, Wash.


The Grand Canyon, Ariz.


Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, the Big Island, Hawaii


The Muir Woods, Calif.


Cape Cod, Mass.


Loch Lomond, Scotland


The Gobi Desert, Mongolia


The Kalahari Desert, Southwest Africa


Victoria Falls, Zambia

forbestraveler.com

TEXAS SNOW

Hoooo boy. Always exciting when I find something new to look forward to.





Appears delicate and subtle. Me likey what I see...

THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES

Besides a little Maya Deren and a little Stan Brakhage here and there, I'm really unfortunately ignorant to experimental cinema history.

Today I checked out Sergei Parajanov's 1968 classic THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES. Did not know too much about it going in, other than the fact that it's considered a masterpiece and was banned in the Soviet Union upon its release.

I would fail miserably at attempting to summarize the film myself, so here is a summary of the "plot" from the web:

Sergei Parajanov's "Color of the Pomegranates", a biography of the Armenian ashug Sayat Nova (King of Song), reveals the poet's life more through his poetry than a conventional narration of important events in Sayat Nova's life. The movie shows the poet growing up, discovering the female forms, falling in love, entering a monastery and dying. But these incidents are depicted in the context of what are images from Sergei Parajanov's imagination and Sayat Nova's poems, poems that are seen and rarely heard. Sofiko Chiaureli plays 6 roles, both male and female, and Sergei Parajanov, works on virtually every aspect of this film, void of any dialog or camera movement.

The most interesting thing to me about the film was how elusive it's creation seems. Every scene is an elaborate spectacle of sets, costumes and physical action. And yet it was almost impossible to extract a "meaning" from each individual scene. But because everything was so meticulously choreographed, it would seem that Parajanov was not operating stream of consciousness. It'd be interesting to hear his train of thought behind each scene.

The film was shot almost entirely in these front on, medium-wide shots that aren't very "cinematic" in the classical sense. Because of that it really feels theatrical, like you're watching a stage play. Parajanov frequently lets the action on screen clear out of frame before cutting as well, which totally feels like you're watching people exit stage left/right.

I learned afterward that Art Center alumni Tarsem was heavily influenced by THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES in the creation of his new film THE FALL. Which is a movie I was not interested in, but it is cool nevertheless as I think it's easy to see that influence.

Anyway it's definitely a dense viewing experience, but an interesting one I'd recommend.

HOBO BAGS

Hobo, from Japan.

First one is the bessssttt. The red backpack too. And the bike messenger bag. Hell they're all nice.













http://thathobo.com

PAUL THE REAL GIRLS

I pulled ALL THE REAL GIRLS off the shelf and have been watching it a bunch lately. Out of the blue sky I suddenly realized it's one of my favorite films.

"Movies should be taken in full, they should be taken like a pill. If you're winning an Oscar for best screenplay, then you've just made a failed movie. Why don't you buy the screenplay and sell it at Borders? It's just a blueprint. The great parts in movies are in between the elements."

- Paul Schneider

NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS

The new trailer for NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS (Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig's new film) is up on Apple Trailers.

It's actually the same one that's been up on the official website for ages, except it now has praise quotes attached.

Ch-ch-check it anyway.

WENDY & LUCY

Kelly Reichardt's OLD JOY is unquestionably in my top 5 favorite films of all time. And it's influence is clear as day in my film THE MOUNTAIN CRUMBLES. I remember sitting in class at SVA with my favorite professor Everett Aison, while he and my classmates Nick Chakwin and Devan Mulvaney discussed the state of awe they were left in by a little picture playing at Film Forum, called OLD JOY.

Reichardt is back now with her new film WENDY & LUCY.

Manohla Dargis, writing in the New York Times about the film from Cannes:

“(A) pitch-perfect triumph… In the space of a few years, Ms. Reichardt…has become one of the most interesting young American filmmakers. Her latest follows Wendy (Ms. Williams), a girlish woman with watchful eyes and a hesitant smile, who, with her mutt, Lucy, is on her way to a new life in Alaska with too little money when she runs into trouble in Oregon. With uninflected realism, an attentive camera and no weeping strings, Ms. Reichardt makes palpably, tragically real what it means to be struggling at the very edge of the economic abyss. Like OLD JOY… WENDY AND LUCY is political to the bone but without any of the usual grandstanding…”

“What may emerge as the best performance of the year. Among the loveliest films at Cannes.”
– Amy Taubin, Film Comment

“In the space of a few years, Ms. Reichardt has become one of the most interesting young American filmmakers...”
– Manolha Dargis, New York Times

"WENDY AND LUCY establishes Reichardt, beyond question, as one of the few masters now working in American independent film."
– Larry Gross, Film Comment

"A fearlessly independent work...spare, piercing and essentially American."
– Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

"Superb!...an astounding Michelle Williams (in her best performance yet) and
a canine who hits her marks even more than she did in OLD JOY."
– Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York

"An unqualified triumph!" – Kent Jones, Cinema Scope

I cannot even tell you how excited I am for this film. If it's anywhere near as beautiful as OLD JOY, Reichardt will have easily earned a place on my short list of favorite contemporary American filmmakers.

PING

I guess since the cat is officially out of the bag...

http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/wieden_kennedy/john_c_jay_is_a_real_baller_93813.asp

MILK

Ladies and gents the trailer for Gus Van Sant's new film MILK has hit the internet.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/milk/

MILK is a biopic of Harvey Milk, a 1970's San Francisco gay rights activist and the first openly gay man to be elected into any sort of political office.

Van Sant is re-teamed with Harris Savides on this one and as you can see, it looks pretty damn fantastic.

I&W ON NPR

In great anticipation of seeing Iron & Wine next month live here in Los Angeles, I've just finished listening to an hour and a half long recording of an entire Iron & Wine concert from Washington DC last year on NPR.

Pretty amazing. Sam Beam somehow turned two of my favorite, and most mellow songs of his, "Upward Over The Mountain" and "Jezebel" into actual danceable renditions haha.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14690807

NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU

So much has happened in the past month, I'm due to update on here. But that'll have to come later.

Here I am on my first day as a resident of Los Angeles, and I had to go and watch this:



Makes me miss NY a bit...

Looks awesome though.