My Top films of 2010 - ( In No Particular Order )

1. The Book of Eli - Solid flick, beautiful cinematography, amazing performances. Denzel was awesome as usual, as was Gary Oldman. Mila Kunis proves that yes you can be beautiful and talented. The ending was unexpected, never for a moment did I see it coming.

2. Shutter Island - Scorsese and DiCaprio, what more could you ask for? From the ominous tone to the grand homages to the master of suspense himself Hitchcock, this film delivered on so many levels. The ending truly makes you think and re-think many key scenes in the film. Great stuff.

3. La Mission - I had the privilege of attending a Q&A screening of the film. In attendance was star Benjamin Bratt and Director Peter Bratt. Although definitely not a perfect film the performances by Bratt, Jeremy Ray Valdez and the rest of the supporting cast more than made up for it. Films like this are far and few and in general not very good. Stories like this need to be told more often. This is a film that should be watched by EVERYONE.

4. Toy Story 3 -I love Pixar, I've yet to watch a film from them that I didn't like. When Toy Story 3 was announced I was damn excited to hear everyone's favorite toys were back for one more adventure. There was drama, action, suspense and comedy all wrapped into one amazing story. For the die hard fans this is a fitting end to a very much loved franchise. It was hard to let go, but the ride was fun while it lasted. (And yes I cried.)

5. Inception - The first teaser hooked me in, the second had me wanting more. Finally another original script from genius filmmaker Christopher Nolan. A complex, visual feast for the eyes. If you blink once you'll miss something that is vital to the plot, but then again it ain't that deep. Plus it had something that most films this year didn't......originality.

6. El Secreto De Sus Ojos -  Filmmaking 101. That is exactly what popped into my head after viewing this. The film has it all, a great story, intriguing characters that develop well I might add, great pacing and a well thought out execution of all those aspects. Look out for the soccer game towards the middle of the film....WOW. It's a shame they've already announced plans to remake this.... 


Honorable Mentions:

Scott Pilgram Vs. The World
Splice
Kick - Ass
Edge of Darkness
City Island
Mother and Child
Smash His Camera (Documentary)
Flipped
Machete
Easy A

Films I've yet to see (that I'm sure will make this list)

Black Swan
True Grit
The Social Network

December and the coming year.

Good Morning everyone!

Can you believe it, it's December....freakin' December!!!! I hope all of you spent your Thanksgiving with family and loved ones. I had the pleasure of spending time with mine, something that I wish I could do more often. It was time well spent and something that I truly needed, but in many more ways than I could ever imagine. I came back clear headed, problems that I had simply went away, even work that I was stuck on made sense....finally. I am blessed to have a family that is rooting for me all the way in whatever I do. Yes I'm sure my work may seem strange or not "mainstream" but who cares. They see that I am happy and that makes them happy and in turn that makes me happy. I mean c'mon my Dad actually asked me if I could turn a story he was writing into a script. I was ecstatic to hear my father ask me that, words could not even begin to describe. To think when I first mentioned the mere idea of Hollywood and the film industry my parents were wary, but now all that has changed. It was a great week indeed. OK enough before I start to cry........on to the updates!

Pre-production is going well on my next project Ghost Story. I have about 4 actors that I will audition for the lead role of GUS. I'm happy to report that I found my guy for the role of FRANK. A very underrated actor, Robert Zepeda has joined the cast of Ghost Story. I had the pleasure of working with Robert on my short "VISIONS" back in 2007. He was such a great guy, knowing full well I was barely a year into making films and still learning. His performance is amazing and I always knew I wanted to continue to work with him in the near future. Fast forward to today....I e-mailed Robert and asked him to read the script and see if he wanted to play the part of FRANK. He loved the script and agreed. I was a happy man.

Originally I wanted to shoot this around December 18th, just before the holiday rush. I'm realizing that although possible it would be better to take my time and shoot in January, I'd say around the 8th. My idea now is to do a rehearsal on my original shoot date with the actors. So come January everyone will be fully prepared. Now I just need to cast my lead role of GUS. You can find all you need to know about the role and casting here GHOST STORY  Also you can contact me directly at christianjsoto@yahoo.com.  Looking for some crew as well.

The remainder of the year will be dedicated to pre-production on Ghost Story, buying more gear and finally finishing up DAYDREAMER. It was shot back in June and I did have a final cut around August, but unfortunately my hard drive crashed and I lost everything and then some. Right now I actually have a very rough cut, I'm hoping to finish it and have it on imdb before years end. In between I will attempt to cut my demo reel (something else I lost) and begin work on my website. Oh and those Eventuality DVDs that I've been meaning to send out will be sent out! I promise this time! Other than that I'm taking it easy for the rest of this year. Still have to capture a bunch of tapes which includes the documentary I filmed in July. Going to get some writing done too and I really really hope to shoot a silent short film with a holiday theme. I attempted to last year, but I had no camcorder......no excuses now. Excited for the new year as well, who knows what 2011 will bring. Until next time.....peace.


Chris Jensen-Soto
Writer/Director/Artist
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3786598/