Today’s #Tabletop Hangout

wilwheaton:

Last week, I had a meeting at Geek and Sundry to discuss several geek and sundry things, some of them related to my show Tabletop. We all thought it would be fun and awesome to do a live Google Hangout Q&A thingy for all the people who love the show and…

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Samsara

I saw this last night and it was amazing. Now in select theaters. http://www.barakasamsara.com/

“Filmed over five years in twenty-five countries, SAMSARA is a new, non-verbal documentary from filmmakers Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, the creators of BARAKA. It is one of only a handful of films shot on 70mm in the past forty years.”

ARGO

ARGO is in theaters tomorrow.

Starring Ben Affleck, Victor Garber, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Tate Donovan, Bryan Cranston

Directed by Ben Affleck

Written by Chris Terrio (screenplay) based on an article by Joshuah Bearman “How the CIA Used a Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran”

I admit I didn’t know a lot about the incident at the embassy in Iran. I knew of it, but not the fate of the “Houseguests”, six embassy workers who fled out a backdoor onto the streets and made their way to the Canadian Embassy to be hidden by Ambassador Ken Taylor (Victor Garber). After the CIA discovers the six are in hiding, they must figure out a way to smuggle them out of a country in chaos. Operative Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) comes up with a plan. Not exactly a good plan, but a plan.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was full of tension and humor, as well as great performances by the amazing cast. I’m not usually a Ben Affleck fan, but I cannot fault his acting here and the movie is really well directed. I enjoyed seeing genuine footage of the incident and a life before cell phones, internet and id scanners. It’s remarkable how many times I thought something would never work because I was thinking about cell phones or another form of instant communication. It’s kind of scary how deeply ingrained those items are in our daily lives that I forgot that at one time not so long ago (in my lifetime) they didn’t exist. Not knowing the fate of the six Americans definitely added to the tension in the third act, which had me on the edge of my seat. I don’t know if I would have enjoyed it as much if I had known, but in this case my ignorance of events lent itself to the experience. So if you do not know the outcome, do not spoil it, go into this movie blissfully unaware.

Also, stay after the first bit of credits for a quick historical bit of an interview with former President Carter.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart’s mustache is a fixed point in time.

Because it is fake. (according to the commentary during the 3rd Doctor and the Silurians DVD.)

(Source: brigadier-facts, via dimensionsintime)

Short Tuesday

I want to post a new short film every week. I’m starting with one that represents my sadness over the loss of film as a medium. Going digital makes a lot of sense in many ways, but there is something to be said about holding something physical in your hands. 

LOST MEMORIES (French, English Subtitles) from Francois Ferracci on Vimeo.

LOST MEMORIES (French, English Subtitles)