TFS - Week 5
Welcome back to the screening room where we are now starting to get into the new films that will be released in theaters soon. I'm not sure if many of you will get a chance to see last week's film in theaters, but if you can I highly recommend it. This week's film follows in suit, in that it might be something you may not get out and see on your own, but I can also recommend this film as well.
But before we get to the film, I want to briefly tell you about the pre-movie tirade Leonard Maltin went off on. He was irked right from the get-go (since the Daily Show was on reruns, he said he had to watch "real news") about society and media in society and about all things in general. He ranted about how the movie making process is so formulized now, how DVD's are being thrown at us whether they deserve to be released or not, and finished about some new releases in theaters. "Hitch" and "Assault on Precinct 13" in particular he said weren't bad movies, but they are filled with extraneous subplots or have lost the original vision, respectively. Basically he ranted for a good portion of time before the movie, and it was so great just to see him rip on society. And he was right in every aspect.
After our little chat, we skipped the short and moved straight on to the main event, which is a documentary called Dust to Glory. You might think, "Oh yah, documentary *yawn*" but believe me when I tell you this is not your typical documentary. It's a very active movie covering the Baja 1000: a 1000 mile cross-country race through Baja California that includes motorcycles, buggies, trucks, and of course classic VW bugs. There is a max time limit of 32 hours to finish and the course takes the drivers over hills and through deserts and even onto some of the local highways. Oh and to make it even more challenging, no one knows the course layout until the race starts. It's a pretty intense movie, and you find all of the same elements you would find in a standard movie. There's just incredible tension as you watch some of these racers, and I found myself rooting for all of them just to finish. And of course they have to worry about not hitting anybody or killing these spectators that are just lining the roads.
I looked into what I might reach if I drove for a 1000 miles from my apartment in Los Angeles, and found that I could make it to Denver, CO in 1000 miles, or could make it to the Texas border in 1000 miles. Now imagine racing this distance over a rural, rugged terrain at breakneck speeds. Like I said earlier: very tense. We had the director, producers, director of photography and a racer come and visit our class after the viewing to talk about their production. They managed to get some great footage and they spent months and months pouring over the material just to edit it. All in all it was better than I thought it would be, being a documentary, and for all of those who like racing, or those who just like car chases, this is definately a movie for you. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll sit on the edge of your seat and enjoy the ride. Really check out the trailer in the link above to see the intesity of it all and catch it in theaters come this April!
But before we get to the film, I want to briefly tell you about the pre-movie tirade Leonard Maltin went off on. He was irked right from the get-go (since the Daily Show was on reruns, he said he had to watch "real news") about society and media in society and about all things in general. He ranted about how the movie making process is so formulized now, how DVD's are being thrown at us whether they deserve to be released or not, and finished about some new releases in theaters. "Hitch" and "Assault on Precinct 13" in particular he said weren't bad movies, but they are filled with extraneous subplots or have lost the original vision, respectively. Basically he ranted for a good portion of time before the movie, and it was so great just to see him rip on society. And he was right in every aspect.
After our little chat, we skipped the short and moved straight on to the main event, which is a documentary called Dust to Glory. You might think, "Oh yah, documentary *yawn*" but believe me when I tell you this is not your typical documentary. It's a very active movie covering the Baja 1000: a 1000 mile cross-country race through Baja California that includes motorcycles, buggies, trucks, and of course classic VW bugs. There is a max time limit of 32 hours to finish and the course takes the drivers over hills and through deserts and even onto some of the local highways. Oh and to make it even more challenging, no one knows the course layout until the race starts. It's a pretty intense movie, and you find all of the same elements you would find in a standard movie. There's just incredible tension as you watch some of these racers, and I found myself rooting for all of them just to finish. And of course they have to worry about not hitting anybody or killing these spectators that are just lining the roads.
I looked into what I might reach if I drove for a 1000 miles from my apartment in Los Angeles, and found that I could make it to Denver, CO in 1000 miles, or could make it to the Texas border in 1000 miles. Now imagine racing this distance over a rural, rugged terrain at breakneck speeds. Like I said earlier: very tense. We had the director, producers, director of photography and a racer come and visit our class after the viewing to talk about their production. They managed to get some great footage and they spent months and months pouring over the material just to edit it. All in all it was better than I thought it would be, being a documentary, and for all of those who like racing, or those who just like car chases, this is definately a movie for you. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll sit on the edge of your seat and enjoy the ride. Really check out the trailer in the link above to see the intesity of it all and catch it in theaters come this April!
posted by Chris Burzlaff @ 2/15/2005
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