Ryan Hinman Films Blog

I now it sounds crazy with the snow today, but this summer keeps looking hotter and hotter.

Check it out.

So we finally got rid of the tree in the front yard. I loved that tree and I hated it. I loved it because it was so old and had so much character. It was a great source of shade for the house and it was part of the history of the house. Somehow I felt like it also shielded us from the rest of the neighborhood. It was sort of a physical buffer between the house and the street. It also smelled good.

I hated it because every time I mowed the lawn, I picked up at least 300 pine cones. Our neighbors hated it because every time they mowed, they picked up at least 300 pine cones. They were also worried about it falling over on their house. We were too. The limbs closest to the ground were actually leaning over and almost touching the ground.

Those days are over now.

Here are some pictures. Rest in peace Tree.

Hard to believe this is a skateboard video. From the mad mind of Spike Jonze comes one of my favorite movie intros from past year, and I didn’t even see the rest of the film.

It opens slow and builds, so wait for it. Check it out.

So I just finished watching Into The Wild for the second time, and this is the movie that flew under the radar. I blame Paramount Vantage for failing to market this film appropriately. The preview was vague at best. It made it look like a roadie flick, when this movie is really about self-discovery and finding “your own name” (see the movie to understand what I mean). I can’t imagine using a bigger name than Emile Hirsch. He is scarily similar to Chris in appearance. He was the obvious choice.

This movie is so appealing to me, because Chris was everything I wanted to be in my twenties. Fearless. Financially Free. He represents that side of me that wanted to leave everything behind when I had the time. There is something to envy in walking away from life, if only to clear our heads and find value in the good bits and pieces of our lives that are masked with trial and responsibility and struggle. Somehow Chris had that resourcefulness to find food when he needed it, friends when he was lonely and joy when he was experiencing pain.

So it seems Morgan Spurlock has Super-Sized the search for Osama Bin Laden. His new film, Where In The World is Osama Bin Laden?, had the blogs buzzing with excitement. Word on the street was that he did indeed find Osama. Even I fell pray to the declaration that Morgan accomplished what the CIA and military had failed to do for over 5 years.

You see, I’m a sucker. The film played at Sundance, and guess what? No Osama. Just more of Morgan pulling the “how to fight terrorists” card, alot of yelling into caves and dressing in robes. Don’t get me wrong. I like Morgan. I actually met him at Westminster College the year Super-Size Me came out. My wife and I met him on the stage after his speech, and he is an incredibly likable guy. Super-Size Me was an important film, and actually produced shockwaves throughout the fast-food industry that still resonate.

If you are at all interested in seeing the preview, jump over to Yahoo.

Throw another wedding show into the mix! The Canterbury Place is hosting their own wedding show. However, this one sounds more interesting than most. Wine Tastings! In Utah?!!! In Bountiful?!!! Could be pretty cool (even though I don’t drink) or the holy city could cry “Satan” and run them out of town.

Regardless, I think they will do a good job. I have always thought Alina Dorsey was on top of things up there, and appreciate her being proactive in helping the reception center to succeed. I can only assume that proactive effort flows over into their wedding events.

Visit Canterbury Place.

So Brody Dezember and I are working together on some new ideas for wedding videos in Utah. Things seem to have leveled in terms of newness, and we are starting to see the same old tired wedding video. Putting the music options in the hands of the client, I believe, is a bad idea. We see alot of fluffy and popish, one-hit wonders put to a video that is supposed to be timeless.

We went out and shot with Christy and put this video together (follow the link). I shot it in HD, so it is a little large.

So the oscar nominations came in today. Sigh…. not quite what they used to be for me. I remember as a young twenty-something getting so excited, and visibly upset, when the best movie of the year didn’t win best movie of the year (remember Fargo verses The English Patient?). Quite honestly as I think back to my days in film school, I remember few best picture winners that we actually discussed. Those movies we poured over for storytelling, cinematography, acting, directing, etc. were always the ones that were the underdog to win, but never pulled it off.

Anyway, I have been withholding my list of favorite movies until I see There Will Be Blood. I am planning on that viewing tonight, so I can wrap up my year and look ahead to 2008. Analysts have already predicted a bad year for cinema, based on the potential blockbusters in the can for the third and fourth quarter. The rollover films from December haven’t really had the steam as well to create a strong first quarter foundation for 2008 (I Am Legend, Juno, Atonement, etc.) Much of that may due to earlier release dates for strong holiday movies, or the slow roll outs that occured this last November-December (again Atonement and No Country For Old Men).

I am putting all of my eggs in the There Will Be Blood nominations, even though I haven’t seen the film yet. I have heard comparisons to Citizen Kane that, in years past, would have been considered blasphemy in the film critic community. I gather the little engine that could called Juno may have some steam behind it, and could upset the whole balance of the Oscars. Don’t get me wrong, it is a solid film. Notice how I said solid? Well-written, well-acted, and sure to be one of those movies I watch over and over again. But best picture of 2007? Not a chance. The writing is too cutesy and clever for its own good. I don’t remember anyone, let alone the “alternative” crowd, in high school who spoke in “catch phrases” like Juno. She is definitely a caricature of the smart high-school fringe person we never hung out with in high school, but secretly wanted to be (for me it was Temple Stratton). After seeing the interview with Juno writer Diablo Cody (not her real name - Inventive! Ha!), I can see where the smug little dialogue comes from. Even with a real person, it wears thin and comes across pretty fake after a while. Still, there is something refreshing about her writing style, and its still better than most of the stuff coming out of Hollywood these days.

My biggest fear is that all of these shelved scripts will start working their way back into the Hollywood system, and 2008 will be the year that the writer’s strike caused an absence of any solid fanfare. The flip side to this is that a lot of inventive and cutting-edge scriptwriting gets shelved anyway (based on marketing challenges, lack of blockbuster-style material, no place for Chris Tucker in the film, etc.). We could get some real goods out of the Hollywood money-machine in the next year. Screw their revenues, just give us good solid storytelling, and please couple that with good cinematography and good acting. In my estimation, they all go hand in hand.

I am hoping everyone gets a chance at some point in their lifetime to see No End In Sight, which is up for best documentary. It is the best documentary of 2007 (sorry Mr. Moore). This is truly essential viewing for anyone who cares to know about this conundrum called the War in Iraq. It may help you to rethink the term “insurgency”, which has nothing to do with a colonoscopy.

So my friends keep telling me I haven’t updated my blog for a while. Haven’t had much to talk about really. I am also wondering how I want this blog to work. I don’t spend a lot of time talking about my business - which I need to do more.

Anyway, here is a funny video to amuse everyone until I can think of something interesting to talk about (other than leaving my job at UtahWeddings). This video is from YouTube. I think it is a major source of time suckage, so I have to rely on my friends to even find these videos.

Apparently this show has something to do with the band The Aquabats - a favorite band of mine and my cousin Shea (who told me about the video).

This poster speaks for itself. The wait is almost over.