OPENING 007: the Skyfall Opening Sequence

Dissecting the intricately beautiful opening sequence of SKYFALL, the latest blockbuster in the James Bond legacy, is a heady task. First hurdle is the length. Director Sam Mendes dedicated over 3 minutes and 55 seconds of his film to the sequence, and designer Daniel Kleinman clearly had no trouble filling every frame with richly layered compositions hinting toward the movies key themes and elements.

I love the gorgeous segue from the Prologue into the Opening Sequence! As Bond (Daniel Craig) crashes below the water's surface, we shift from the reality of the main story into his psyche. Our hero plummets into his dark, watery grave as finely manicured, female fingers grip his collar pulling him deeper into his own demise.

Click here for more still-frames and the link to watch the FULL video:

Happy Hitchcock

Yesterday, my boo and I went to see "Dial M for Murder" (1954) in 3D (!!) at the TIFF - Bell Lightbox here in downtown Toronto. Neither of us had actually seen the whole film before, so it was really interesting to watch on the big screen. Grace Kelly's red dress in act one was probably my most-favorite part of the design:

Keeping with the running Hitchcock theme, here's an awesome video project from earlier this year where jdesom painstakingly stitched together a stunning panoramic timelapse of "Rear Window"  footage.

Baby, there's a shark in the water

Here's another spooky collage I've been working on in the spirit of Halloween. This one features three iconic moments from the classic thriller JAWS (1975) directed by Steven Spielberg. 
 

DAMMNIT, JANET!

In the spirit a rapidly approaching Halloween, I proudly present my latest digital collage featuring elements from Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1960 thriller "Psycho". I used three main shots: a) a wide-shot of the famous home Norman shared with his mother behind The Bates Motel as it sat on the Universal Studios Backlot during filming; and b) two shots of the stunning Janet Leigh at various stages of her downfall.  

Enjoy! 

(evil laughter)

 

TWO OF M'FAVORITE THINGS

"Interview With a Honey Boo Boo" 

M'favorite cubby, pre-teen, reality show, superstar has been re-imaginged as bratty Claudia from my favorite vampire movie of all time "Interview With a Vampire. The classic flick is a must-see featuring a killer performance by a young, then nearly unknown Kristen Dunst (originally in the role of Claudia).... and two very queeny showings by Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt as the odd-couple Lestat and Louis (respectively). 

A younger, hotter Christian Slater rounds out the cast -- which ain't too hard on the eyes either. 

 

 

Thanks to worldofwonder.net for these awesome mash-ups of two of m'favorite things:
HONEY BOO BOO + INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE
Click here for more!

Don't Feed the Plants

The alternate ending to the 1986 cult film "Little Shop of Horrors" based on the Broadway musical (based on the original 1960 movie) is a disaster... in the best way possible.

SUCKERPUNCH: RED CARPET RUNDOWN

 

Okay, so it's been a week since Todd, Logan, and I saw "SUCKERPUNCH" directed by Zack Snyder on IMAX at the AMC Lincoln Center. I left the movie completely entranced by the twisting-turning visual aesthetic, the jarring jumps across time & space, and the ferocious femme fatales that take this progressive new style of film making and forcibly shove it down your throat. 

The ladies were shutting it down in real life on the red carpet at the London premiere. 

I wasn't immediately sure I loved the movie, but I knew that it was totally into these GIRLS!!!! They were absolutely killing it in every way from their emotional performances to their looks. They were nailing it. Especially the scenes in the Dance Studio-- just leotards, belted cardigans, and hair for days.... yes.