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30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 22 - A Short Film

Back in 2001, several high-profile directors were hired by BMW to create short films featuring their vehicles. The directors had full control, with David Fincher overseeing the project as a whole (Ridley and Tony Scott took over the following year because Fincher was filming “Panic Room”). The series was called “The Hire” and showcased the work of John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee, Wong Kar Wai, Guy Ritchie, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Woo, Joe Carnahan, and Tony Scott.

Clive Owen (my biggest man crush) plays “The Driver” and he is on a different mission each time. He usually does not know much about the situation, and only has one main task to accomplish: get the client from point A to point B. But, of course, each short shows him getting involved in his clients’ lives. It’s like the “Transporter” movies but way better.

Each director’s short film is amazing but Joe Carnahan’s “Ticker” stands out the most to me. Don Cheadle plays the client and he needs to get the briefcase (that is handcuffed to his arm) to a military installation. There are bad guys who are trying to stop him. This tale is told via storylines that overlap each other at multiple points. We are given only little bits of information at a time. The editing and writing is efficient and creative. The action is phenomenal (the best in the series, and better than most big action movies). But the standout features are the sound design and editing. Electronic beeps play a large role in this story, often serving as the connective tissue that holds all the lean story arcs together.

“Ticker” is almost a perfect example of how powerful short films can be when they are done well. In about eight minutes, we grow to care about a desperate situation in an unnamed land. I actually use all of these short films in the media production class that I teach. Sure, we watch feature films and analyze, critique, and learn from them. But the BMW Films are a great tool for helping teenagers to think more about what goes into the making of all the media they take in. The stories are short and easy to digest. They feature enough eye-candy and thrills to keep even the most jaded adolescent interested. And they really are great examples of superb filmmaking craft.

And it’s even better that they can also be used to talk about the changing world of advertising, which is a topic for another day.

Youtube playlist that includes all eight short films
Wikipedia article about the series

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 15 - A Movie You’ve Seen at Least 10 Times

I wrote a paper during my senior year in college that tried to make a case for “Se7en” being a neo-noir film. I don’t think my arguments worked completely but it was still a very fun exercise. I think I watched it three times for that paper, with one of those viewings being a shot-by-shot affair, pausing every time there was a cut. That was brutal on VHS. I also have a weird habit of watching “Se7en” on Thanksgiving. Combine these two things and I have probably seen the movie about 15 times.

I consider this to be David Fincher’s first movie. I don’t count “Alien 3” because the studio completely tampered with it and Fincher no longer associates himself with it.

Andrew Kevin Walker’s script is very good. The acting is great all around, especially by Morgan Freeman. Cinematography (my favorite aspect of a movie) is fantastic, with deep shadows permeating nearly every scene, cool establishing shots (especially the one of the lawyer’s office at night), and clever camera angles (when Mills gets hurt in the alleyway).

The movie is very dark and disturbing, but surprisingly touching and funny as well (once in a while). And, more than anything, it signaled to the world that David Fincher had arrived. It’s the perfect palette cleanser for the saccharine taste left by the holiday season.

(Source: imdb.com)