Confession: I am not a ballet fan. I find ballet physically impressive and aesthetically pleasing. But I'm not really moved when I watch most ballet performances. Months ago, for some unknown reason, I put "First Position", a documentary about a ballet competition, in my Netflix cue, and then didn't touch it. Finally this weekend — after…
Category: Film
If You Love Hip-hop, You Need to Watch “Wild Style” (video)
Dunno if this is a legal posting of this movie, but you should watch the film "Wild Style" at this link or find it on DVD. "Wild Style" is ESSENTIAL viewing for any one who claims to love hip-hop. It's got all the elements: MCing, DJing, b-boying and graffiti in one package. It's dope as hell.
“Maelstrom II”: An Independent Scifi Film Project Based on Real Science (video)
Yesterday, a group of our science teens at the Cal Academy of Sciences got to talk with Jeroen Lapre, senior technical leader in the Morrison Planetarium here. Before Jeroen came to the Academy, he spent many years working in digital effects for the film industry, specifically Industrial Light and Magic. He worked on such tiny,…
Amazing “Y: The Last Man” Fan-made Film (video)
"Y: The Last Man" is one of the most acclaimed comics of the decade, a dystopic scifi series that builds an elaborate universe around the premise of what would happen if every man on earth was wiped out by a plague. The characters are indelible and unique and the adventure is heart-pounding. Created by Brian…
Review: “Step Up Revolution” — Silly Politics, Great Dancing
As you may know, I had low expectations for "Step Up Revolution," the fourth in this series of street dance movies. The trailers I found underwhelming and disappointing. The director has never done a film before. Many of the amazing dancers from previous "Step Up" films didn't seem to be in the cast. And…
William H. Macy in “The Last Dragon”? Shonuff! (video)
I was watching the wonderfully cheesy kung-fu flick "The Last Dragon" tonight when I spotted the perpetually beleagued actor William H. Macy in a bit part. He is apparently some kind of producer of the television show that the love interest Vanity stars in in the movie. Here Macy is trying to convince Vanity to…
“Battle of the Year” Trailer: USA! USA! USA!
"Planet B-boy" director Benson Lee has been mentioning in appearances that he has been working on creating a fictionalized version of his ground-breaking documentary on b-boying. And here it is: "Battle of the Year", slated for release in January 2013. It looks pretty formulaic, but potentially will have some exciting dance footage (in 3D,…
Step Up Revolution = Breaking II Electric Boogaloo
This — seriously — is the plot of "Step Up 4" aka "Step Up Revolution": greedy developer wants to tear down local neighborhood in Miami to make way for a fancy hotel. Dancers organize to stop him… using the ultimate weapon : their sick dance skills. Oh, and the female lead dancer is the…
Learning about The Cal Academy’s Amazing Expedition to the Philippines
Tonight I got around to watching "Reefs to Rainforests," the documentary about the 2011 scientific expedition to the Philippines organized by the California Academy of Sciences. It's a really amazing story about the largest expedition ever organized by the Academy in its 158 years of existence, with about 100 participants from the Academy and…
Chewie Meets Robodog (video)
Here's a quick stop motion animated film I created in about 10 minutes using the free "Lego Superhero Moviemaker" app on the iPhone. Of course Lego would like you to use Lego-branded products to make animations. But there's no stopping you from using anything you have lying around your desk. Say, a Chewbacca action figure…