Archive for February, 2010

Dem Trailers: A Nightmare On Elm Street

Is this the way a remake should be made? I mean if you check out the new trailer for A Nightmare On Elm Street up there, you’ll see some strikingly familiar images, mostly all lifted from the original film. Now I don’t know about you but I kinda got excited to see these updated shots and I’m looking forward to seeing this film. What do you think? Not different enough or maybe you’re just angry that Robert Englund ain’t Freddy no more. Let us know!

Dumb Drum set to “Clean Up”
Rogue Festival

Rogue Festival. You know, that event that goes down every year here in Fresno that showcases artists from all around the world? Yeah, that one! Well we finally got our shit straight and we’re going to showcase one of our films there. “Clean Up” stars Adrian Rodriguez and was directed by Bryan Harley from a script by yours truly and will be screened as part of the Rogue Film programming which will be going down at the Mike Briggs Properties building. Not sure on the exact amount of films screening but there will be others and the tickets will be $5. We’ll be posting more info here as it becomes available but for now here are the times you can catch the screenings:

Friday, March 5:
8:00 pm – Opening Night

Saturday, March 6:
4:00 pm • 6:00 pm • 8:15 pm

Friday, March 12:
6:15 pm • 8:15 pm

Saturday, March 13:
5:15 pm • 7:00 pm

So come on out, bring a friend or two, support local film and catch a fly show! All proceeds from these screenings is going right back to help Swede Fest get it’s own projector and screen, too! If you’re on Facebook, peep out the event page here. Hope you can make it and please help spread the word.

Dem Trailers: The Karate Kid

Okay, I’m gonna say it: so far, this movie doesn’t look as bad as I originally thought. Sure, that last line delivered from Jaden Smith makes me wanna uppercut him into the next county but the rest of seems somewhat tolerable. Will Jackie Chan get nominated for an Oscar like Pat Morita did for the original? Probably not but still, I promise you this: I will AT LEAST rent this on DVD when it’s released. So what do you guys think? Wanna see this or is your inner Ralph Macchio telling you to stay away?

Cross Streets #3 – Belmont Loop

Join Roque and Bryan as they explore the city of Fresno
one cross street at a time in this ongoing web series.

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Check out our Lookee Loo entry “The Retainer”

So I’m sure that you guys all did the right thing and avoided Pecha Kucha like the plauge and went to Revue in Tower to check out the Lookee Loo Showdown screening. In fact, I’m so confident that everyone was there, that I was wondering if it’s pointless for me to post this up here as I’m sure everyone saw it already. But, for our fans that couldn’t have made it for whatever reasons, here it is for you to peep out the final product from our team. Hope you kinda like it :)

Dem Trailers: Waking Sleeping Beauty

Man, I seriously hope those old folks members of the board at Fresno Filmworks are paying attention to some good upcoming films that need to come into town and here’s another, in case they hadn’t heard about it. Waking Sleeping Beauty tells the story of the Disney Animation Studios’ renaissance in the mid-80s which in turn reestablished the studio as the leader in animated films and brought some much needed respect back to the Disney corporation. I can’t imagine a world where there was no “Beauty & The Beast” or “Aladdin.” Probably wouldn’t be any Pixar either if these artists (including John Lasseter & Tim Burton as you see in the trailer) hadn’t stepped up and changed the game like they did. Leave your comments here and let us know if you think Fresno Filmworks should bring this into town.

Debbie Blog: I’m Drawn To Animated Sexpots

So I had this thought a while back while watching a movie and I wanted to share it, write it down, put it out there in the world, and then I thought no way, it’s weird, people would mock me, scorn me, possibly even have me booted off the Internet, but you know what, fuck it, here it is in all its ugly truthiness: I find animated animals kind of hot.

Not all animated animals. I mean, I don’t have to change my underwear every time I watch “Finding Nemo,” mostly because I don’t wear underwear, but also because fish, as a rule, just aren’t sexy (sorry, Mr. Limpet). But it seems to me that some animated animals in some movies are meant to stir up those kinds of feelings in its audience. After all, animated movies aren’t just for kids, they’re for the bored parents who pay for the tickets, right, and if Hollywood (and the Swede casting couch) has taught me anything, it’s that adult audiences are more engaged when the main character is, you know, fuckable. Take Forrest Gump. Sure, he’s all slow and folksy and Sarah Palin-like, which is entertaining and all, but if he wasn’t at least a little hot, we wouldn’t have bought the bit about Jenny jumping his bones and then pumping out that creepy kid who sees ghosts and shit.

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This weekend! Pecha Kucha vs Lookee Loo Showdown

(Language is NSFW) I can sit here and rant about how you should go to Lookee Loo (where you can catch the premier of our entry & latest film, The Retainer) instead of the über-trendy Pecha Kucha, but instead I present this video where Travis Sheridan and myself battle it out to convince YOU to attend our respective events. Pecha Kucha is going on at Starline on Saturday starting at 4:10, admission is $10 and it goes towards Haiti relief. Lookee Loo is happening around the same time starting at 4:30 at Revue and is FREE for everyone. Make the right choice people! But honestly, either way everyone ends up winning!

Dem Trailers: Kick-Ass

(Red band trailer means NSFW) Okay, I promise that this will be the last trailer I will ever post for this movie as it seems the studio is releasing a new one almost every other week. But honestly, this one is the best one so far. If you have never bothered to check out any of the previous trailers for the film, this does the best job of capturing the vibe from the graphic novel. Hands down, one of the most anticipated films of 2010 for me. What do you think?

Dem Trailers: The Exploding Girl

As of late, the Beastie Boys backed Oscilloscope Laboratories have been releasing some critically acclaimed movies (including last week’s Fresno Filmworks monthly movie The Messenger) and from what I can tell from this trailer, the streak continues. The photography, the music (sounds like Sigur Ros to me), the  story… it all bursts with life from this quick snippet we catch here but it demands to be seen. I don’t know how you feel, but it really captures something warm that I can’t really explain. Anyways, hopefully this will soon make it’s way into town for us to peep out in it’s entirety. You listening, Fresno Filmworks?!

Who has never gone to the movies solo? THIS GUY!

I’m gregarious. That is something I made know when I posted my first entry here on Dumb Drum almost 3 years ago and not much has changed since then. Ever since I went to the movies as a child, I always found that one of the best parts of going to the cinemas and catching a flick is enjoying the experience with friends and then discussing it afterwards. The good thing about my friends is that I have a good amount of film lovers in my circle to where I usually have no problems finding someone to join me in even the stupidest films I feel like watching. Well this weekend I finally hit a pothole in my otherwise smooth record and I couldn’t find anyone who could or wanted to join me to see From Paris With Love so I did something I had never done before: I went to the cinema by myself. Read more…