Blogcritics Author: Patrick

Creating The Third Age: Casting

Patrick — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:37:23 EDT

The creator of the upcoming webseries The Third Age takes you behind the casting process.
Last time, I discussed the process that led me to begin The Third Age project. By October, we had a couple of episodes scripted, the whole story mapped out, but no one to play the roles. It was time to cast. Casting in the pre-Internet days for a project like this would have been a major issue; you could either take out an ad in a trade magazine,...

Creating The Third Age: The Spark of an Idea

Patrick — Sun, 2 Mar 2008 10:43:48 EST

The first in a series of looks behind the upcoming sci-fi webseries, The Third Age.
In addition to writing about films for Blogcritics, I make my own films. You can check out my past work at my website Respect! Films. I’ve done a whole bunch of shorts, but last summer, I started thinking about a bigger project, a story that would be feature length or longer. Over the past six months or so, I’ve been working on turning...

Movie Review: There Will Be Blood

Patrick — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:38:35 EST

PT Anderson's fourth film is an ambitious disappointment with some moments of wonder, but an ultimate lack of cohesion.
I caught Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film, There Will Be Blood, at a press screening a few days ago. Anderson is without a doubt one of the best directors working today. Magnolia is my favorite film of all time, and his other three films are varying degrees of brilliant. Coming off Magnolia, he said “I have a feeling, one of those gut...

DVD Review: Gilmore Girls - The Seventh Season

Patrick — Thu, 6 Dec 2007 22:01:37 EST

One of TV's all time great series loses its creator, but still goes out with a satisfactory final season.
I stopped watching the seventh season of Gilmore Girls about two thirds of the way through it. I’d seen, and loved, the previous six seasons, but the departure of the show’s creator Amy Sherman-Palladino robbed the show of its soul. A lot of people had issues with the sixth season, but I loved what she had done with the characters, and...

DVD Review: Chinatown: Special Collector's Edition

Patrick — Thu, 8 Nov 2007 18:40:28 EST

A solid new edition of the 1970s Hollywood classic.
Chinatown is a permanent fixture on lists of the all-time best films, and with good reason. It's a dark, stylish movie that simultaneously feels very modern and very old Hollywood. It's one of those movies that made the 1970s a golden age for American filmmaking.The film features the 70s dream team of Roman Polanski directing, Robert Towne writing,...

DVD Review: Saturday Night Fever: 30th Anniversary Collectors' Edition

Patrick — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:35:30 EDT

The disco classic holds up well on a new DVD release.
Saturday Night Fever is an iconic, era-defining film. When you think disco, you think Travolta in the white suit, one hand extended as "Staying Alive" plays. While the film certainly delivers its share of fantastic disco moments, the overall tone is a lot darker than one might expect, very characteristic of a filmic era that valued moral ambiguity...

DVD Review: Caligula - The Imperial Edition

Patrick — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:37:48 EDT

The definitive look at a decidedly misguided film.
Caligula is a movie that's more interesting to read and talk about than to actually watch. The combination of some of our finest British actors, including Peter O'Toole, Malcolm McDowell, and recent Oscar winner Helen Mirren, with hardcore pornography would result, you would think, in something either great or entertainingly bad. However, despite...

Music Review: Justice - Cross

Patrick — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:05:21 EDT

A moment defining, infectious album from the French master DJs.
Justice’s Cross is an album that defines a movement, a movement that isn’t quite sure of its own identity, but just point to this album and you’ll know what it is. Known alternatively as blog house or nu-Rave, Justice blends heavy guitar riffs with dance beats to create a unique fusion of dance and rock. When I’m telling...

DVD Review: The Sarah Silverman Program - Season One

Patrick — Mon, 1 Oct 2007 07:38:27 EDT

A tedious comedy series with nothing to say.
The Sarah Silverman Program is exemplary of a lot of comedy, and general cultural, trends of the '00s. Sadly, these are not good cultural trends. Youth culture of the '90s and '00s is obsessed with irony. The “coolest” people are the ones looking intentionally bad to be in style and not saying much of anything other than...

DVD Review: Nip/Tuck - The Complete Fourth Season

Patrick — Mon, 1 Oct 2007 07:26:19 EDT

A tired fourth season from a once strong show.
FX has created one of the most consistent brands of original programming on television. Their shows are full of morally ambiguous, borderline unlikeable characters and a consistent focus on shock value in the storytelling. Nip/Tuck followed The Shield and crystallized the brand with a really entertaining first couple of seasons. However, because...