“Conundrum of Carnage” From what I read, the storylines set forth in and around Saw III will culminate to a conclusion with the eighth entry in the bloody saga. After a pretty dismal opening and quick fall from the Top 5 in week number 2 for Saw VI, the question shouldn’t be when the story ends, but when the money does. I know that the films have a pretty cheap budget and so far reaped a huge profit, but you do have to wonder when enough is enough. Personally, I…
Read MoreMonth: November 2009
REVIEW: While the City Sleeps [1956]
“Ask Mother” It may be difficult to accurately critique Fritz Lang’s While the City Sleeps since the conversation afterwards amongst friends pretty much tore apart any credibility the film had. What, upon completion, felt to me as a pretty solid film noir despite its schizophrenic story threads and tone soon saw its worth decreased with every nitpicked plothole we stumbled upon. From surreal moments of absurdity, to insanely coincidental occurrences, to bafflingly glossed-over events, to poorly written characters, the movie is more a comedy of errors than a taut suspense…
Read MoreDESIGN: Cigarette Sonatas cover
My friend Josh Gaines was looking to publish a second printing of his book of short prose Cigarette Sonatas and approached me to design the cover. We settled on creating a high contrast image of a man smoking as a wisp of smoke formed a treble clef above him. Using a dark room with a desk lamp lit brightly behind me, I photographed myself in an old gangster-style hat and then Photoshopped in the cigarette and smoke afterwards. The glow of the butt and the angle it tapered went through…
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