Brain-Pan

Whew! It's been a while. I truly apologize for not posting lately. And yes, I've stopped writing my Untitled Fantasy Serial, for right now (Dum! Dum! Daaa!), as I have not had the time or mental energy to overcome the story roadblock I have hit. So I'm not blogging much, and I'm not writing much, not posting any new graphics... So what AM I doing?

• Well, I am trying to keep a steady stream of new videos posted here on Brain-pan, weekly! (The 008 Happy Meal: The Second Course is online!) Please, feel free to let me know what you think.
  
• On that note, I have launched a NEW SITE called Brain-pan Media. It is all about THE BUSINESS. I am now doing graphic design, and videography!
  
• And on THAT note, I have a huge, awesome, new, hilarious, huge, awesome, new, project! I'll give you this, it is our most ambitious film project, yet! I hope to bring you a trailer by early next year....sorry for the long wait.
  

Anyway, I'm writing this cuz I am inside of the eye of the storm. The past few weeks have been an unbridled blaze of graphic design and (primarily) editing videos. Then my computer kept crashing. So that is being worked on, and then my external hard drive got messed up. (I'm skipping the computer mumbo-jumbo.) So, here I am, blogging, because I am in the eye of my work storm. As soon as this is over, I guess I'll be back in the crazy, blaze of editing...fun.

And since I am here, I will give you guys a brief movie review of the indie film The Adventures of Power. The story of a small-town misfit who takes his dream of being a REAL air drummer to an air drumming competition in Newark, NJ. Since I edited while watching this movie, I will have to give it another screening to have a complete opinion on it. But as of right now, it deserves four stars. Cinematography, acting, and soundtrack is great! My main beef was the sense of humor, frankly, they didn't go for as many jokes as they could've. And sometimes the dialogue felt...pointlessly rude (although it barely PG-13). And then on the other hand, the dialogue and humor was perfect in some scenes. Un-even writing? Possibly. But it is worth a watch in my opinion.

UPDATE: Since re-watching the movie, along with the director's commentary, I have come to appreciate Adventures of Power much more. It is funnier than I first assumed it to be. And really, not terribly rude. (A couple of brief, vulgar comments.) I also found out that a lot of the great music was actually written by the director's brother, which is even more kudos to the soundtrack. Also, the DVD is full of extras even with a PDF of the director's postcards during production. Upon closer examination, I found the writing NOT to be uneven, but an interesting mix of comedy, social commentary, and fantasy. A great rent or even a great buy for fans of indie film and rock music.

Please check out Brain-pan Media and watch our new videos here on the Videos page...And that wraps up my thoughts as I sit inside an eye.

God bless, and don't forget to use YOUR brain-pan!

-Manny

P.S.: To pass time while inside an eye, find a good TV show on DVD!

Let's cut to the chase... the SEQUEL to My Name Is Ninja is up in the video section. The video is called (My Name Is Ninja: The DEUCE). Now, what else is up? Well, I have updated the Brain-pan Store page (hopefully for the last time) so that you can browse the store without leaving the page! Now, I would like to briefly review the movie The Stone of Destiny.

I first watched this because Billy Boyd has a supportng role in it. But I realized this movie is great! It is about a group of Scottish college students who want a symbol of independence so they steal the Scottish Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey. This is a period piece where smoking is an everyday thing and well, the language wasn't really needed. But the movie is an interestng, adventure of emotion and gentle comedy. I would give this film five out of five stars. And as usual, we are always adding to the Brain-pan so check back.

God bless, and don't forget to use YOUR brain-pan!

-Manny

If you don't get the title, just look at the punctuation marks on the past three titles. Anyway, in the Videos department we have a new weekend short called, "Starrider." Let us know what you think of it, because we may continue the adventures if people like it. Also, I have an independent movie review for you:

Year of the Dog

Plot: Peggy loves her dog Pencil. Period. When her dog dies, she goes all over the place, from trying to find a human companion, to trying to find another canine replacement. Her journey takes her to some dark and quirky places.

My Opinion: The movie is a statement piece. Understand that before watching. This movie is a movie about animal rights. I didn't know that when I rented it but it becomes very apparent, very soon. Yes this is a quirky comedy too, and trust me, there is enough idiosyncracies (look it up) to go around. Personally, I loved the over the top, each-person-goes-to-the-extreme humor. And the cinematography of this movie was great. But I am still not sure if this movie was supposed to say "this is right and this is wrong" or if it was a totally unobjective view of a story. I am thinking the former, and because I think the former, this movie (especially the climax), fails. The twist at the end would look good in a script but when you really think about the main character's choices, they are downright selfish. And the charm of her animal love doesn't change that. Much of the drama is love for animal based, and as a person who likes animals (but knows that we have ordained dominion over them), it just seemed cheesy. Ultimately, I give this movie three and half stars, for indie art direction, sheer charm, and the attempt it made at stating what it did. But writer/director Mike White kinda disappointed me after having a hand in movies like Nacho Libre, School of Rock, and Gentlemen Broncos. Give it a watch if you LOVE animals, otherwise, you might not get just a simple quirky comedy.

God bless, and don't forget to use YOUR brain-pan!

 -Manny