For Future Me

In September 2020 Blogger forced a complete dashboard overhaul upon all users of its service. As a desktop PC user, the new phone + tablet style interface has greatly soured the joy I'd usually feel at composing, creating, and editing posts for online publication.

In response, I'm lessening my Blogger activities, which means there'll likely be less posts from this point onwards because the dashboard is so damn ugly and awkward that I can't stand to look at it for long. I'll still write — because I need to — but most of it will remain offline, unless I can find an alternative way to operate.

As stated above, this post is a marker for future me. I know it's pretty boring otherwise.

Renaissance (2006)

Renaissance (2006)

aka Paris 2054: Renaissance

Dir. Christian Volckman

Dir. Volckman's first feature-length film is a stylised mystery/thriller set in a futuristic Paris, the majority of which is rendered in stark black and white, with occasional grey colour values.

Backgrounds are computer generated, while characters are animated mo-cap, which sounds like a disaster, but the result is really quite striking - like Frank Miller's Sin City comic brought to life better than the actual Sin City films managed it.

Given the difficulty that some viewers will have with the presentation, you'd think the film-makers would've gone for an easily accessible noir script, but that too is somewhat alienating, with the threads of scientific experimentation, corporate conspiracy and the hunt for a woman's missing sister only really peaking in the story's final third.

Until then, it's an involved but slow crawl that may not be enough to hold a casual viewer's attention. On the flip side, the creators deserve genuine respect for not compromising the integrity of their vision in order to appeal to a wider audience.

Deadwood: Season One (2004)

Deadwood: Season One (2004)

12 episodes, approx 55 minutes each.

A violent Western set in 1870s South Dakota, home to prospectors and traders. Being situated in Indian territory means the law has yet to take a foothold, so the location also attracts the criminal, the corrupt and the trigger-happy outlaw.

Most of the cast are exceptional, not just some of the principal actors. Ian McShane plays foul-mouthed saloon owner Al Swearengen, the show’s main villain; although nothing is really that black and white in Deadwood. It's undoubtedly the role that McShane was born to play. All thoughts of antique dealer Lovejoy will cleanly wash away.

Although it's Brad Dourif as Doc Cochran that over time became my favourite part of the show. If you’re familiar with Dourif from his film work, then you'll know the power he can bring to a scene.

I want to also mention Robin Weigert as Calamity Jane; she steals most scenes she stumbles into with a lashing tongue and a wicked humour.

Goedam (2020)

Goedam (2020)

Dir. Hong Won-ki | 8 episodes, various lengths (approx 74 mins total)

A Korean horror anthology based around the idea of urban myths, with episodes of various lengths, the shortest being approx seven minutes and the longest around fifteen minutes. The individual incidents aren't connected to each other, but a few of them do take place in the same location.

It's an interesting experiment, but the result is only 12.5% successful. That might seem like an odd figure to have choosen, but it’s exact and easy to calculate: seven of the eight episodes are dire.

The only exception is the final episode, Birth, which is the most complete, the most beautiful, the most terrifying (i.e. the kidnappings), and the best edited short of them all. The picture that I've chosen to accompany this post is taken from that episode.