The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 24, 2012

Here again I present to you one short, somewhat representative work of brilliant, bold, experimental, surrealist animators. This short is the results of a BBC commission that was subsequently rejected. No doubt it was a case of not truly understanding who the artist are. For more information on them   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 24, 2012

Gracie Films This series of articles is designed to help you, the fan, try and divorce yourself from your attachment to source material and judge a film on its own merits and not in comparison to another work. These tips come from my own experience. I hope they are helpful....   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 23, 2012

Jeremy Sumpter and Rachel Hurd-Wood in Peter Pan (Universal) This series of articles is designed to help you, the fan, try and divorce yourself from your attachment to source material and judge a film on its own merits and not in comparison to another work. These tips come from my...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 22, 2012

This series of articles is designed to help you, the fan, try and divorce yourself from your attachment to source material and judge a film on its own merits and not in comparison to another work. These tips come from my own experience. I hope they are helpful. Many of...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 21, 2012

Vista Library Vista Library This series of articles is designed to help you, the fan, try and divorce yourself from your attachment to source material and judge a film on its own merits and not in comparison to another work. These tips come from my own experience. I hope they...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 20, 2012

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (Warner Bros.) This series of articles is designed to help you, the fan, try and divorce yourself from your attachment to source material and judge a film on its own merits and not in comparison to another work. These tips come from...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 19, 2012

newmoms.com This series of articles is designed to help you, the fan, try and divorce yourself from your attachment to source material and judge a film on its own merits and not in comparison to another work. These tips come from my own experience. I hope they are helpful. I...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 17, 2012

(Departure|Arrival Films) This selection is courtesy of Edmund Davis-Quinn who caught this in a post by Roger Ebert when I had missed it. The description and the film say it all. A great little doc. The Vimeo description says: “On an unseasonably warm November night in Manhattan on our way...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 16, 2012

Rupert Grint in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner Bros.) This series of articles is designed to help you, the fan, try and divorce yourself from your attachment to source material and judge a film on its own merits and not in comparison to another work. These tips...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 14, 2012

1. A Book is a Book (A Question of Form) Star Wars- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Lucasfilm) This series of articles is designed to help you, the fan, try and divorce yourself from your attachment to source material and judge a film on its own merits and not...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 11, 2012

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Amblin) Owing to the fact that I have decided to honor Steven Spielberg this year with my version of a Lifetime Achievement Award I figured it was an appropriate time to dust off some old reviews I wrote when I took a course on his work. The...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 4, 2012

Dennis Weaver in Duel (Universal TV) Owing to the fact that I have decided to honor Steven Spielberg this year with my version of a Lifetime Achievement Award I figured it was an appropriate time to dust off some old reviews I wrote when I took a course on his...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 3, 2012

Rather than another marathon I will give you one example of the work of Jirí Barta. If you enjoy it an entire collection of his shorts is available on YouTube (at the moment). Below is the description found on Vimeo. Enjoy! ”Laid-off old mannequins spend their cracked and broken lives...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on March 2, 2012

As you are likely aware every year TCM does a month long festival of only Oscar-winning or -nominated films. Each year the slate is different and differently organized but it’s a great chance to see films you’ve never watched before. Below I will list films I’ve watched as part of   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on February 26, 2012

Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowall in Cleopatra (20th Century Fox) “It’s a an honor just to be nominated” is a phrase that’s such a truism that it rings empty and hollow. In fact, you hardly hear it anymore, however, I do believe actors when they do say it. The fact...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on February 26, 2012

Before We Even begin Here are the pertinent links you’ll need as a frame of reference for my thought-process as the evening progresses. In a vacuum my thoughts on what the nominees should’ve been based on what I saw can be found in the BAM Award Nominees. The pertinent winners...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on February 25, 2012

To recognize and honor the fact that two National Film Board of Canada produced animated shorts were up for the Oscar this year I figure this Short Film Saturday Should honor one of the great animated films ever produced, an NFB production from 1988 entitled The Cat Came Back. It...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on February 24, 2012

Gaspard Mannesse and Raphael Fejtö in Au Revoir les enfants (Orion) To be clear this article is not meant in any way shape or form to disparage the Academy. This list is aimed at the film enthusiast who may, as I used to, get a bit too worked up about...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on February 21, 2012

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Amblin) To be clear this article is not meant in any way, shape or form to disparage the Academy. This list is aimed at the film enthusiast who may, as I used to, get a bit too worked up about who won or lost. Granted you will...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on February 20, 2012

In recent years there have been nationwide screenings of the Oscar-nominated short films, which is a great thing for many reasons: clearly it promotes the filmmakers but also as a filmmaker and Oscar spectator you’d like to have an informed opinion based on more than just the title and/or the   read more