Nic Cage and a pig

Hey guys,

Some new things:

1. The world is a pseudo-stage.
   

2. A different look at fireworks: an 1880s illustrated Japanese fireworks catalogue.
   

3. The Austin, TX Ransom Center has taken on the monumental task of digitizing 10,000 movie posters, spanning cinema history. Browse away. Be inspired.
   

4. Promising Young Woman got the attention, but a few years earlier, The Love Witch did something far more intelligent and interesting covering similar territory. Anna Biller calls herself a feminist filmmaker, but that oversimplifies what she did here. She spent 7 years, painstakingly emulating the look and feel of 60s/70s B movies. And it's not an exercise in style (looking at you, Mank), but an attempt to revise, twist, provoke, and challenge. By the end, it could've emotionally transcended its homages a little more, but it's still really impressive and really funny.
   

5. There is a Val Kilmer documentary. Mr. Kilmer is an actor I don't know much about. I do know he'd frequently pop up in movies I watched as a kid. Besides Top Gun and Willow and Batman, I specifically remember The Ghost and the Darkness and The Saint.
   

6. And then there's Nic Cage and a pig.
   

7. As quantity goes up and up, it seems everything gradually becomes more and more valueless. But business must continue, so there's no way to reverse this.
   
   Take Vimeo Staff Picks. I still immensely appreciate what they've done, but I can't help but feel like, maybe there's not enough really great work lately, so they're stuck handing out Picks to some not very engaging pieces... which maybe devalues the achievement a little. I don't know. I hope not. There's this Alexander Wang campaign film, which is not bad for what it is...but there are hundreds of fashion films that are way more impactful.
   
   I also remember a time when ads in general were rarely considered...but now many are selected, like this one. There's something cynical about corporate money and intent sneaking into a realm of personal creativity and passion projects. Look at this one. Does a topical social message really make this impressive? And look here: does the New Yorker really benefit from a Staff Pick? Audiences can already find it on The New Yorker's YouTube, where it has just as many views.
   
   But here's a good one to end on.

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Chris