The youngest filmmaker at FSC, Jonathan Jackson, with honoree Larry Zeiger (Tony Weidinger)

At last night's Film School Confidential showcase, former Point Loma High School teacher Larry Zeiger received the San Diego Film Critics Society's Kyle Counts Award. The award is given in recoginition of significant contribution to the film community in San Diego. Although Zeiger has retired from teaching he's still involved with students, and he helped me find one video this year from Jonathan Jackson, a senior at Point Loma High School. Jackson was the youngest filmmaker represented at this year's festival. In the audience were a number of Zeiger's former students. With looming budget cuts, arts are likely to be even more difficult to teach in public schools. But last night people saw that providing students with access to the arts can lead not only to fine works but also to careers.

Larry Zeiger receives his Kyle Counts Award. (Tony Weidinger)

Nikki Ferris and Kyra Clifford took part in World Zombie Walk this past Sunday. (Beth Accomando)

With Halloween right around the corner, I wanted to highlight a horror sub-genre that I'm particularly fond of - the zombie film. Those lumbering, vacant-eyed undead have become a horror staple since the 1930s, and they seem to be gaining popularity with recent films such as Shaun of the Dead. So this Halloween I have suggestions for some undead titles you can check out. I've also consulted with author Glenn Kay who just wrote Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide. To put me in the proper mood for all this, I headed over to the World Zombie Walk on Sunday in downtown San Diego and met up with some of the undead hordes.

Over the past year, I introduced you to our team of Teen Critics who have been covering movies here on my blog from a more youthful perspective. Most of this past year's critics were seniors and graduated in June. I hope to stay in touch with these bright students as they move on to other pursuits. Candace Kavanagh, who graduated from Mount Miguel and is now at San Franciso University studying film, just sent me her first YouTube video, and I wanted to share it with you. Congrats Candace and I hope to see more from you in the future!

Teen critic will miss Heath Ledger, seen here in his last completed role as the Joker in The Dark Knight (Universal)

By Candace Kavanagh

If there was one name that carved a niche in every slumber party across the country in the late nineties it was Heath Ledger. With his Australian accent and bad boy appearance in 10 Things I Hate About You he dug himself -- and his character Patrick Verona -- into the middle of every prepubescent teenage girl's heart. Even I found time for the occasional re-viewing of all his movies with gasps of "aww" and "oh my god" on a constant loop. And if you're a girl my age, you probably remember every move he did and every word that he said to woo the social outcast Kat (Julia Stiles) in this update of the Taming of The Shrew. And of course we could no longer think of that classic song, Oh Pretty Baby, in the same way. Oh yes, Heath Ledger was the actor that made every high school boy seem inferior and every girl want to act like a mean-spirited Julia Stiles, in the hope he might give you that symbolic guitar.

His heartthrob reputation proved durable in any era as he played a 14th century squire going against all odds to become a jousting knight in A Knight's Tale. This film was fun, and like 10 Things, I watched it over and over until every line was permanently burned in my brain, lines like, "Your breasts... they're beneath your throat." So it was mildly surprising when in an interview he said that he loathed those heartthrob roles, and that he never wanted to do play them again. I guess he feared that his career as an actor would be summed up by shallow comments on how cute he was.

It's not often that I get to highlight a film that comes from someone who works at KPBS. But New Media Production Assistant Ross Ching and News Production Assistant Iris Caffin have collaborated to make The Perfect Frame. The short film just won top prize at SDSU's end-of-semester film festival, beating out nearly a hundred other entries. The prize means automatic inclusion in the San Diego Film Festival that's coming this fall.

In the past, Ching has shown me some impressive time lapse and effects driven projects. In Eclectic, his time lapse (all done with a digital SLR still camera and edited together using Quicktime Pro and Final Cut Pro) often employed sweeping pans of nature or dazzling night skies. Think Koyaanisqatsi for the kind of breathtaking and powerful imagery he creates. Ching also showed me a more playful project involving a light saber battle (something any Star Wars fan would find hard to resist). Both projects revealed an amazing attention to detail and an incredible patience in the post-production phase of filmmaking.

On his website, Ching explains that he showed Eclectic to his professor at SDSU and "he was very impressed by the quality and skill shown in it. But then he went on to say that as far as real world applications go, if I could tell a story with that, THEN I'd have something. I really paid attention to that, and I began thinking about movie ideas to pitch to my film class."

Ching says he had gained a reputation as "time lapse boy," so he knew the project would have to involve time lapse in some way. Working with producer Caffin, they came up with what Ching says was "the most complicated, and visual effects intensive story I had ever written." This meant taking extreme care in pre-production and shooting so that post-production would go more smoothly. Ching calls that post-production "insane." He and is visual effects supervisor Dane Tellinghuisen spent around 150 hours going frame by frame through the film and applying the necessary editing effects.

But don't let this focus on technology lead you to believe that The Perfect Frame is merely a showcase for flashy effects work. Ching, who wrote and directed the film, has created a story in which the effects are in service of the story rather than the other way around. The story, which opens in crisp black and white, involves a young man painting a room, and accidentally discovering color and a kind of brightly hued parallel universe. Ching tells his story without a lot of dialogue - but be prepared for a brief bit of singing and dancing. The film captures a joyous sense of discovery on the part of the main character. It's a joy that mirrors Ching's own delight in the possibilities of the medium. What's amazing is how effortlessly the surreal tale plays out. You'd never suspect the amount of painstakingly slow and intense work needed to make a film of such visual delights.

It's inspiring to see this level of creativity at a student level and it makes me hopeful about the generation of filmmakers to come. You can get a sneak peek at the film online. But I also suggest checking it out on the big screen at the San Diego Film Festival in September to fully appreciate all the work that has gone into the project. You can also find more of Ching's work at his website. Kudos to these young filmmakers for challenging themselves, their budget, and the technology they had on hand.

As a film critic, I get sent a lot of promotional items and I see a lot of promotional items that get handed out at screenings. There have been the occasional brilliant ones such as the Fargo snow-globe or the Juno hamburger phone. But more often than not a lot of the swag just makes you scratch your head - like nail files for the martial arts action film War. Huh? Did someone really think that women would come to a testosterone actioner just because War was printed on a nail file? But the current election fever seems to have inspired the studios to deliver some truly stellar promo items. So as I prepare to head out to the polls tomorrow I offer up a little bit of campaign coverage from Hollywood. For Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo, you could go on to Facebook and register to be a campaign manager and receive such campaign swag as Harold and Kumar buttons, bumper stickers, window clings, visors, beach balls and a flag pin. All adorned with pot leaves. Cool, dude. Then just the other day I stumbled upon NBC/Universal's Emmy campaign in which you can place an order for a campaign button showing your support for one of the shows they are pushing for an Emmy. So you can proudly wear a "Baldwin-Fey All the Way" to show your support for 30 Rock or a "What America Needs Most is Law and Order" or a simple "VOTE SNL." I still treasure my "McCay the Better Way" campaign materials from the Robert Redford film The Candidate back in 1972. The campaign theme may not be wildly original but it's fun to be able to show your support for movies and programs you enjoy. If you log onto the NBC/Universal site, the campaign theme is carried through on each show's... um, I mean, "candidate's" page as you can scroll through "endorsements" (i.e. glowing reviews) for each. If this keeps up we'll have Bruce Wayne running for mayor of Gotham, and Hellboy and the Hulk battling for the law and order vote. And if Indy's retiring from adventure work, maybe he'll consider filling one of the VP slots. After all when asked for his final words he did respond with a campaign slogan: "I like Ike."

Teen Critic Candace Kavanagh has been watching Shia Le Beouf's career with interest. (Paramount)

By Candace Kavanagh

(note this post contains spoilers)
Do the words Last Crusade mean anything to George Lucas? Apparently not, since the creator of what was supposed to be the Indy trilogy has now put out a fourth installment for us to sink our teeth into. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has had more hype surrounding it than any action flick of the last five years. The film's websites hovered over the production, trying to catch glimpses of Indy's latest adventure. The hottest topic being the return of Marion Ravenwood played by Karen Allen. The character of Marion Ravenwood originated in the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark as Indy‘s love interest. But of course it is not her alone that has caused all this buzz. Instead it was the combination of her old face and a new face to the Indiana Jones' films and the big screen overall. The arrival of Shia LaBeouf -- and the implications that come with him -- had filled the movie chat sites for months. Movie geeks everywhere were constantly asking the question, "Is LaBeouf's character truly Indy's and Marion's love child?" If you don't already know the answer... he is. Yes apparently Indy gave life to Mutt, a typical rebellious greaser of the fifties. A tough guy character we haven't really seen from LaBeouf - he usually plays the goofy kid. Unfortunately this seems to be a role he can‘t really pull off.

I have seen Shia LABeouf in action with movies like Tru Confessions. This Disney Channel original movie whose over all quality lacked tremendously, excluding only Shia LaBeouf's performance, which shined above any of his other Disney Channel colleagues. He portrayed a mentally retarded twin brother to the main character, a role that is hardly ventured. His success at this launched him into more eye opening roles like Disney's Holes, a movie based on everybody‘s favorite novel from the fifth grade. Lucky for him this served as doorway to a world completely separate from the Disney world. After he escaped the clutches of the modern day Mickey Mouse Club, he found himself in beautiful movies ranging from Transformers, which opened the door to millions of teen girl crushes, to Bobby, where everyone got to see him experimenting with acid and a kitty litter box. Then came profound movies such as A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints, a film that showed Shia LaBeouf‘s depth as he played a young man trying to escape from his hometown of Brooklyn so he could realize his dreams. So we have all seen greatness from this young actor. But in Indy 4, Shia proves that the leather jacket is just too big on him. It's as if this jacket was some kind of demon that possessed him and caused him to shoot off corny lines and play out horribly predictable scenarios. The only happiness coming from the way it reminded me of the Happy Days TV show. Maybe his role was some kind of attempt at combining his trademark goofiness with Johnny Depp's character in Cry Baby. No matter what it was his role in this film bored me to tears. In fact everything else about this film made me wish that the whole thing would be replaced with a marathon of Young Indy, a series filled with more originality than this film, and with Patrick Flannery being much more entertaining than Shia LaBeouf‘s over used act.

But since many of the stars of this film have already obtained stable careers (long live Cate Blanchett), I worry mostly for Shia, whose career is still in its green stage. Although he has already jumped over the biggest obstacle for young actors of today by escaping the realm of the Disney channel, he still has a long way to go before he can be recognized as a well-rounded actor. Recently magazines began labeling him as the Tom Hank's of the younger generation. So at this point it seems that he has met a fork in the road: One way pointing towards Tom Hanks and the other pointing to Harrison Ford. Though Ford's career and reputation may be one of extreme glamour and adventure, maybe the best way for Shia to choose his road would be to look at who still has a respectable career. Let's all hope Shia LaBeouf chooses wisely. Will he work with a mermaid and sports equipment or will he work with an ominous ancient building that may leave you looking for your head? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

-- Candace Kavanagh spends her life absorbing celluloid images. She loves every type of film from so-called "chick flicks" such as My Fair Lady and Legally Blonde, to mind bending thrillers like Mulholland Drive and Hard Candy -- with every zombie movie, action flick, musical, and comedy in between.

Speed Racer the anime (above) and the new movie (Warner Brothers)

There's nothing I love more than passionate fans, people who are so into something that know the nittiest, grittiest, nerdiest pieces of information. So when my friend Ramie Tateishi, who teaches at UCSD and who has written about Japanese pop culture, emailed me his thoughts about Speed Racer (opened May 9 thtoughout San Diego) and conveyed the perspective of a devoted fan of the 1960s anime TV series, well I just had to get him to post his own review. So I eagerly but only temporarily hand over my blog for a guest review by Speed Racer aficionado Ramie Tateishi. Go Ramie go!

Many years ago, there was a tame, innocent, fun little cartoon on TV called Speed Racer. This cartoon somehow spawned the gaudy spectacle of the same name which is currently in theaters, a film that assembles all the colors in the spectrum and leads them in a direct assault on your brain. While the film leaves you with the overwhelming impression of a visual stimulus overload, the old cartoon was nothing like that. In fact, the original 1967 Japanese animated series was produced with a muted, balanced color scheme that would still look good in monochrome, a common production practice of the time, as most television sets were still black and white. In light of this comparison, it's interesting to think of this film as a representation of how the filmmakers might possibly remember Speed Racer, bringing to life their childhood visions and nostalgic memories awash with blazing, vivid colors, rather than a direct referencing and rendering of the actual source material itself.

High Tech High performers at the first San Diego Student Shakespeare Festival (Beth Accomando)

Technically this is not a film event but I have to highlight the Third Annual San Diego Student Shakespeare Festival that takes place this Saturday April 26 in Balboa Park. I have been helping with this event since its inception because it combines two things I'm passionate about: Shakespeare and young people. Now in its third year, this is the dream project of the San Diego Shakespeare Society, a group of fabulous volunteers who work long and hard to bring the Bard to schools, young people, and San Diego in general. The Festival brings together kids from elementary through high school and even some home schools to perform Shakespeare in the park. There will be four stages this year along the Prado with the Festival kicking off at 12:30 pm in the Organ Pavillion. Performances run until about 3:30pm. And it's all free. The event is an absolute delight and I guarantee that you will be impressed by the student performers, many of whom are too young to be afraid of Shakespeare so they dive in with a gusto that is truly amazing. The energy level is high and it's a wonderful way to celebrate the Bard. But the Society is quick to point out that this event also provides a great educational experience for the students involved, and with so many schools reducing their focus on arts and literature, this proves how valuable both can be to a child's education. So come and join the celebration and enjoy some fine performances as well.

For more information visit the Festival website.

Ellen Page is Juno, which comes out on DVD today. (Fox Searchlight)

By Candace Kavanagh

We have reached a sad state in comedy and in Hollywood overall, when a feminist like me can't find one woman who can command a film all by herself without the help of a male co-star or some clingy clothes. But now I see a light in this chauvinistic cave. Yes and it is a bright light, and it's name is Ellen Page. Page can currently be seen in theaters in Smart People and in the DVD release today of last year's Juno.