From 2005 to 2007, I worked with The Nursery, an edgy animation group composed of talented, young and irreverent artists — filmmakers, animators, illustrators — Our team created the clip above: its about “the frenzied energy of trend-spotting and spending spoofed by young suckas lured by their hunger for dope gear. This is episode 1 of the 4 part animation series. Njoy!
From 2005 to 2007, I worked with The Nursery, an edgy animation group composed of talented, young and irreverent artists — filmmakers, animators, illustrators — Our team created the clip above: episode 2 of a 2 part animation series about Dick Cheney as intergalactic president. Njoy the conclusion!
From 2005 to 2007, I worked with The Nursery, an edgy animation group composed of talented, young and irreverent artists — filmmakers, animators, illustrators — Our team created the clip above: episode 1 of a 2 part animation series about Dick Cheney as intergalactic president. Njoy!
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March 6 at 12:01 AM (tonight) I am going to be one with my fellow early goer Watchmen brethren. I have been really psyched about this for few years when I heard that they were working on the film. I purchased the graphic novel several years ago, but I never finished the book. Sadly Its sitting in a box collecting cobwebs. I have general knowledge of what the movie is about, but sometimes I think its a good thing not to be a biased overjoyed or disgruntled fan. I have stayed far far away from articles and trailers so when I post my entry later tomorrow it will be from a fresh perspective. Stay tuned…
Early this morning I saw the 191 minute film Watchmen.
Its a graphic novel: Graphic Novel Culture is a lot like Hip Hop Culture. They are both written for a specific cynical mind set. The characters are dynamic, surreal and boastful. Most importantly both use wildly shocking imagery and red button language to convey a message or a story. In both cases the art form is misunderstood by the popular mass and moralists who are not able to siphon out relevant components of the story that the in crowd culture is comfortable in doing.
The violence level: is somewhere between the Dark Knight and Sin City. The physical fighting abilities are typical Hollywood choreography a little on the rigid side for my taste unlike the fluid blurring sequences done in the Bourne series. The bone cracking effects and the styled slow motion depth movements like the film “300″ are excellent. For fan boys who appreciate the “don’t hold back” nature of comic books, this will satisfy your appetite.
The pacing: It moves at a smart pace between two main subject plots mixed with multiple character developments and a handful of sub plots. There are a bunch of gaps, but you have to use your imagination and intelligence in filling them in. It does a good job in tying everything all together.
The storyline: Its cynical, its hostile, its not a feel good Superhero film. It has an edge of queasiness that touches on some taboo topics that may make some feel uncomfortable, I’m definitely not one of those people. One of the good things about comic books and graphic novels is that they bring the cynical elements of everyday life into view without seeming over protective.
Visually: As a video editor and artist, I was very appreciative of the details and striking visuals from the film. Its fun and daring though its nothing specifically new about its artistic nature, it does captive your attention.
Whats a Superhero: When we think of Hollywood Superhero films like Batman, Superman or Spiderman we see the conflicted hero and how they enact a fair brand of justice. Well some of the Superhero’s from Watchmen are nothing like that and in some cases they appear to be anti Superhero’s. Which is what made me think, what is the real definition of a Superhero vs the Hollywood media branded version. I think its fair to say that these Superhero’s brand of violence and justice are rooted in the real world indecency and selective morality.
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The Batman comic books are a monumental staple in the world of sci-fi and fiction, the two Batman animated TV series were brilliant, and the Batman Begins film was a true masterpiece. The Batman TV show staring Adam West was entertaining to some degree, but when I watch it now I cringe. Outside of that every Batman movie that I have seen over the years has fallen short of delivering what it promises. With the exception of maybe the Joker’s character (staring Jack Nickelson) in the very first Batman every single character has been a a bit of a bore.
In The Dark Knight the dialog is not as intelligent and the story is way over the top to be believable, even in this fantasy breaking-the-rules reality. The action sequences and the gadgets were blah but there are a few interesting concepts used in the film that make for interesting conversation afterwards. The movie is called The Dark Knight but what we see is a once strong Batman character (Christian Bale) having to dummy down his role. Maggie Gyllenhaals character was totally useless, Michal Kane and Morgan Freeman are both always fun to watch. I must admit, I really enjoyed some of the dark sentiments and personality moments by the Joker (Heath Ledger). He surprised me because he played an excellent Joker but I feel he was truly held back by the PG-13 rating. He could have easily been a more memorable and menacing cad. I feel that all the characters are solid but were all flawed by the poor script writing.
One of the biggest let downs in the film are the fight sequences. They seem to have reverted back to the robotic choreography Hollywood fight scenes. It was like “hey I’m going to telegraph my punch now… now you duck”. I hate the way Batman blocks punches, the way he attacks, he just looks like an untrained novice. This is Batman he is tactical, agile and a master combatant. I thought it was perfect before how they used camera shakyness and trickery to disorient the viewer. I am fond of the incoherent blurring sequences from the last Batman and from the Borne series. Not that its only about the fight … but in a way it is … and its about showing this human with heightened super abilities.
I know I really shouldn’t compare them, but this is the same director and the same characters. This movie pales in every way imaginable to Batman Begins. But I hold all directors, writers and their production crews to a high standard. I expect top notch professional storytelling and execution because they have millions of dollars, they got $15 USD from me and employed hundreds of people to put this together. I demand more of them and it should be better or as good as the last film. I mean it wasn’t the worst film of the summer and it certainly was entertaining to a point, but its the possibilities of what could have been is what saddens me.
There was a real hope with Batman Begins, but just like with every Hollywood blockbuster the big wigs always find a way to screw things up. People will go see a film if the story is solid, especially if its a franchise movie or with super cool effects. But somehow storytelling is not one of Hollywoods vested interests because they continue to feed the public mediocre incomplete works. At any rate enough of my ranting, because the crowds that enjoyed movies like Wanted and Hancok will probably dig this movie. People will definitely go see it and it will get lots of buzz and recommendations. This Batman movie is a cut above the competition at the moment but its the same bland entertainment value. If you are a Bat fan like me and enjoy a good story you probably will be disappointed.
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Since 1995 Pixar has dazzled us with groundbreaking award winning animation. But its not just the animation that captivates us, these films have a soul. Ratatouille follows in the Pixar tradition by delivering impressive atmosphere layered under a tabooed yet endearing story.
Lets face it, American animation films are overwhelmingly bland and mind numbingly half-assed. Here’s the typical plot: several big name actors do voice over work, for several key characters from the film. There’s lots of obnoxious potty humor and tons of cliche references from mainstream entertainment. What’s worse is that the movie trailers show just about every comedic punch-line and action sequence from the movie, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Which brings me back to Ratatouille, I saw a 30 second trailer about a year ago. I was scratching my head thinking… Another kid movie about a talking animal? A RAT at that! How distasteful can that be? Pixar has this strange formula that only seems to work for them. A year before a film is released they present a seemingly unfinished concept trailer. It would appear to be counter productive, but somehow it works! The original trailers for Toy Story (I & II), The Incredibles, Cars, Monster’s Inc., and Finding Nemo all used this tactic and each time I wrote them off as failures even before the project was complete. As it got closer to Ratatouille’s release , I saw a clip of the same rat telling the same story about his desire to be a chef. This time I was intrigued, because they really had refined the concept. This trailer was intelligent and it captured the true essence of an exquisite cliffhanger narrative.
When the movie came out, I was totally feeling optimistic about it, so a group of us went to catch an evening showing, which was packed with parents and their kids. Oh boy! {rolls eyes} Not only was the movie smart, it was absolutely hilarious, even more surprising was that the kids sat there silent and engrossed.
I was enchanted. Ratatouille captured the atmosphere and vibe of Paris. I mean it truly is a spectacle not to be missed on the big screen. The animators obviously payed special attention to the keen details that are generally overlooked by most animation studios today. The film also touched on subjects like trust, family obligation and following your dreams.
Hey! Its still Hollywood, but somehow it manages to deliver the story in such a way that even puts traditional “real people” films to task. For most of the movie you suspend the disbelief of a rodent preparing food. Its a masterful rewiring of our prejudices… maneuvering an embracing sentiment towards our accepting rodents in the kitchen. I must warn you that there are a few unsettling scenes that transport you back to reality.
I give this movie 4 3/4 stars out of 5, for the sheer fact that the film is based in France yet all the rats and the main character Alfredo Linguini spoke good ol’ American English. That was the only real weakness of the movie and to be honest its not really a distraction, its just me being nit-picky. The characters: Remy (the little chef) and Alfredo Linquini (the garbage boy) have a wonderful chemistry as chef and marionette puppet. Gusteau (the deceased master chef) is a jovial ghostly head that pops up in Remy’s mind from time to time as the voice of reason and his inspiration. The exchanges between Remy and Gusteau provides much of the comedy relief throughout the film. Colette Tatou (the tough female chef) seemingly a hardcore feminist, plays mentor and good friend to the inept garbage boy. I really dug her character she was tough man and had a spiky yet alluring spirit. Anton Ego (the harsh food critic) was an striking depiction of snobbery to the highest order; I mean you really want to hate this guy. I’m not going to spoil it, but I’ll just say that he is featured in one of the most memorable scenes in all movie history, towards the end.
Almost all Hollywood films both animated and traditional, taste like Burger King or Mc Donald’s; but, Pixar films taste more like Iron Chef gourmet meals. Ratatouille doesn’t spoon feed you, it makes you think, it entertains you, and doesn’t talk down to any generation or group. It represents the essence of a ‘true’ family movie experience because the parents can actually feel stimulated and their kids can become enriched by this dynamic moving story that interweaves artful storytelling at its best.
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French Maid TV just posted a video clip on Youtube yesterday (6/26/07) and it was downloaded or viewed over 700,000+ times in less than 2 days. The clip titled “Sexy French Maid TV – How To Share Photos” is a 6:20 minute “provocammercial.” What I find utterly remarkable is how it was presented and how it craftily worked in a smart sales pitch for a new company called Tubes.
For those of you not familiar with French Maid TV, its a series of viral video “How To’s,” taught by sexy French maids. Its the type of entertainment that you pass along to friends and they to their friends’ friends. The video clips are reminiscent of Benny Hill skits minus the Benny and the lil old man. Tim Street the mastermind behind French Maid inspires the hell out of me; as a new media producer, I admire what he has done with his brand and his marketing tactics.
This particular clip was brilliant because the title “How To Share Photos” cleverly showed you how the photo feature of Tubes worked then went on to briefly mention how it was a personal sharing network “that lets you instantly and simply share photos, music, video and documents with everyone you know.”
There have been numerous advertising and marketing agencies that jump on the Youtube or Myspace bandwagon and believe that they are “in the know” with the online media space. They need to take notes because Tim and his team are leading the way and changing the rules of the game. I say give the man a Wikipedia slot already. Oh yeah… don’t tell anyone this, but its the first time that an online “video’mmercial” has actually convinced me to buy into its product… damn did I mention that its a PC product. It looks like a great lil filesharing app. Too bad because, there will be tons of mac users who would be interested in this product.
I’ve posted the clip on my blog so you can see for yourself.
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Video | bendrix | 
August 27, 2009 11:27 pm | 
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