Thursday, November 16, 2006
Moving back to hazylium
I'm merging this blog back into my main one- hazylium. This blog was an interesting experiment, but seperating out my interests doesn't work too well for me. I'll keep on blogging about movies, animation, comics and other entertainment stuff on hazylium, along with my other postings.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Read Cory Doctorow's new story- I, Row-Boat
Cory Doctorow's new story I, Row-Boat (a "riff" on his earlier, Hugo-nominated short story I, Robot), about "the theological wars between an Asimov-cultist AI boat and an uplifted coral-reef," can be read online at Flurb Magazine (as part of the fledgling science-fiction magazine's first issue). It's a stellar short story- Cory is one of the few science-fiction writers who has the ability to take an unimaginably futuristic science-fiction concept (such as the post-Singularity future of I, Row-Boat) and craft a story with real, human emotion out of it. Very, very impressive stuff indeed.
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Banksy Punks Paris Hilton!
Guerrilla artist extraordinaire Banksy has made the news again for his latest prank- replacing 500 copies of Paris Hilton's latest album with his own doctored versions, complete with all-new artwork (warning: slightly NSFW) and music- in the form of a 40-minute long track titled "That's Hot", mixed by DJ Danger Mouse (the same man who produced the infamous and brilliant Grey Album- get yourself a copy here if you haven't already- and, more recently, Gnarls Barkley). You can find the track here as well as here (though honestly you can hear all the good bits in the following video, where Banksy shows us exactly how he pulled off the stunt).
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Bill Plympton's Don't Download This Song music video
The video for "Weird Al" Yankovich's new song, Don't Download This Song, is directed by none other than the phenomenal Bill Plympton!
The song, a parody of your typical inspirational ballad (with lyrics that lampoon the RIAA's attempts to deal with music piracy by suing the heck out of music downloaders), is pretty funny. The video, a cautionary tale of a boy who illegally downloads music and is subsequently chased down by the police as a hardcore felon, is truly hilarious. If you'd like to see more cartoons by Bill Plympton, check out this blog entry by Shawn, which lists all the Bill Plympton videos that he found on Youtube (including the Oscar-nominated short Guard Dog). Thanks, Shawn!
Well, it looks like "Weird Al" has recruited some truly awesome animators to work on the videos for his new album (for which Don't Download This Song is the lead single). John Kricfalusi, creator of the famed Ren & Stimpy cartoons, is working on one of them (along with the talented illustrator Katie Rice)! I can't wait to see it.
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Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Two brilliant CG shorts by Polish animator Tomek Baginski
I discovered Tomek Baginski through the excellent animation blog The Progressive Animation Review, which highlighted his short film Fallen Art. I was highly impressed by the piece (which is winning awards everywhere), a stylish black comedy that builds up to the most hilarious yet disturbing climax I've seen in any film this year. It's definitely a must-watch for animation aficionados.
Naturally, I google'd Tomek Baginski to see what I could find. Turns out that Fallen Art was just his second released animation! His first film, Cathedral, tells a highly abstract science fiction tale about a pilgrim who visits a cathedral (what else?). One thing is clear from watching the two shorts- Baginski is not a man who likes to repeat himself. The two shorts are very different in both style and content. You can see how his directing and animation skills have improved from the first to the second. This really bodes well for his future, methinks. I look forward to seeing his future works.
Both shorts were animated and rendered in 3D Studio Max and were produced by Polish animation studio Platige Image. To learn more about Tomek Baginski and his works, check out these interviews:
Max Underground Interview with Tomek Baginski about Cathedral
Max Underground Interview with Tomek Baginski about Fallen Art
CGSociety Interview with Tomek Baginski about Fallen Art
Cathedral (2002)
Fallen Art (2004)
Naturally, I google'd Tomek Baginski to see what I could find. Turns out that Fallen Art was just his second released animation! His first film, Cathedral, tells a highly abstract science fiction tale about a pilgrim who visits a cathedral (what else?). One thing is clear from watching the two shorts- Baginski is not a man who likes to repeat himself. The two shorts are very different in both style and content. You can see how his directing and animation skills have improved from the first to the second. This really bodes well for his future, methinks. I look forward to seeing his future works.
Both shorts were animated and rendered in 3D Studio Max and were produced by Polish animation studio Platige Image. To learn more about Tomek Baginski and his works, check out these interviews:
Max Underground Interview with Tomek Baginski about Cathedral
Max Underground Interview with Tomek Baginski about Fallen Art
CGSociety Interview with Tomek Baginski about Fallen Art
Cathedral (2002)
Fallen Art (2004)
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Saturday, September 02, 2006
Masters of animation- Derek Lamb
Animator, director, producer, writer, musician and teacher- the late, great Derek Lamb was all of these. He created works for the National Film Board of Canada, Sesame Street and UNICEF, amongst others, leaving a legacy of great animations. Here's a few that've made their way onto Youtube:
Every Child (1979)- produced by Derek Lamb, directed by Eugene Fedorenko.
This Academy Award-winning short film was created in celebration of UNICEF's Declaration of Children's Rights and the International Year of the Child. It illustrates one of the ten principles of the Declaration- that every child is entitled to a name and a nationality. It's a brilliant piece- the animation is visually dynamic, the A capella sound effects are wonderful and the story is both touching and wryly comic.
Special Delivery (1978)- produced by Derek Lamb, directed by John Weldon and Eunice Macaulay.
Another Oscar-winning short, this one is a hilariously twisted tale of a man whose life changes completely after he makes the simple mistake of forgetting to to clear the snow off his porch.
Mystery! title sequence(1980)- directed by Derek Smart.
Oh what joy! Derek Smart brings the darkly humourous drawings of Edward Gorey to life in this fantastic opening sequence for the classic PBS TV series "Mystery!".
Finally, here's two animations Derek Lamb made for Sesame Street in the 1970s.
I Get Mad- designed and directed by Derek Lamb, animated by John Canemaker.
"It aint baaad to get maaaad!"
This cracks me up every time I see it. An adorably gruff goat sings a song about how it's ok to let off steam when people act like asses toward you.
Simple Simon and the re-arranged animals- directed by Derek Lamb.
A short yet really funny absurdist piece about a group of animals whose limbs have been re-arranged. Good stuff, especially the character of the snake- the way he says "Something is wrong... but this is great!" with a huge grin on his face is just classic!
Every Child (1979)- produced by Derek Lamb, directed by Eugene Fedorenko.
This Academy Award-winning short film was created in celebration of UNICEF's Declaration of Children's Rights and the International Year of the Child. It illustrates one of the ten principles of the Declaration- that every child is entitled to a name and a nationality. It's a brilliant piece- the animation is visually dynamic, the A capella sound effects are wonderful and the story is both touching and wryly comic.
Special Delivery (1978)- produced by Derek Lamb, directed by John Weldon and Eunice Macaulay.
Another Oscar-winning short, this one is a hilariously twisted tale of a man whose life changes completely after he makes the simple mistake of forgetting to to clear the snow off his porch.
Mystery! title sequence(1980)- directed by Derek Smart.
Oh what joy! Derek Smart brings the darkly humourous drawings of Edward Gorey to life in this fantastic opening sequence for the classic PBS TV series "Mystery!".
Finally, here's two animations Derek Lamb made for Sesame Street in the 1970s.
I Get Mad- designed and directed by Derek Lamb, animated by John Canemaker.
"It aint baaad to get maaaad!"
This cracks me up every time I see it. An adorably gruff goat sings a song about how it's ok to let off steam when people act like asses toward you.
Simple Simon and the re-arranged animals- directed by Derek Lamb.
A short yet really funny absurdist piece about a group of animals whose limbs have been re-arranged. Good stuff, especially the character of the snake- the way he says "Something is wrong... but this is great!" with a huge grin on his face is just classic!
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Friday, September 01, 2006
Cover songs don't have to suck
I submit the following songs as proof of the above statement:
Ted Leo's acoustic cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone." The perfect trash-pop song, covered by my favourite rocker. He even one-ups the original by smoothly segueing into the chorus of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's Maps about halfway through.
Speaking of which, here's the Arcade Fire's cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Maps". It's a pretty good take on what I consider one of the best rock songs in recent years.
I've saved the best for last. An absolutely gorgeous acoustic cover of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy by American folk singer Ray Lamontague. Not knowing who the man was, I didn't expect anything from the cover so I was floored when I heard this gorgeous, husky voice singing with raw, emotive passion. I'm actually going to buy his debut album on the strength of this song!
Ted Leo's acoustic cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone." The perfect trash-pop song, covered by my favourite rocker. He even one-ups the original by smoothly segueing into the chorus of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's Maps about halfway through.
Speaking of which, here's the Arcade Fire's cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Maps". It's a pretty good take on what I consider one of the best rock songs in recent years.
I've saved the best for last. An absolutely gorgeous acoustic cover of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy by American folk singer Ray Lamontague. Not knowing who the man was, I didn't expect anything from the cover so I was floored when I heard this gorgeous, husky voice singing with raw, emotive passion. I'm actually going to buy his debut album on the strength of this song!
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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
State of Shounen Anime: 2006
Shounen anime used to constitute the bread-and-butter portion of my anime diet. While my tastes have shifted to anime with experimental animation and/or unusual and mature storytelling (FLAG, Kemonozume, Mushishi and Ayakashi are good examples from this year) I STILL enjoy a solid shounen-style anime every now and then. Here's what I've been watching lately:
Naruto was for a long time my favourite shounen anime. More than just a faithful translation of it's source manga, the show proved it's worth with excellent production values and beautiful animation. The highlight of the series was surely the climatic episode 133, where master animator Norio Matsumoto showed off his skills in a virtuoso fight sequence that is already considered by animation connoisseurs to be one of the greatest fight scenes in a shounen anime, ever. Sadly, the series dove from that high point into filler hell, where it's remained for the past year! I'll start watching Naruto again as soon as it resumes the manga storyline, but not an episode before.
Bleach started out pretty strong when it debuted in 2004, with an interesting premise, engaging characters and a nice mix of action and humour. However, the series suddenly switched gears in it's 2nd major storyline, which introduced a massive cast of superfluous supporting characters (beloved by fans because of their admittedly gorgeous character designs) and a plodding, overly-complex plotline designed to impress those who mistake complexity for depth. I stopped watching it after the 60th or so episode as it'd just become another example of everything I hate about mainstream anime.
Yakitate!! Japan, on the other hand, is an example of a great show that, despite hewing very closely to the standard shounen anime formula, managed to consistently be wonderfully entertaining. I took a break from watching it early this year as my sister, who I watched every episode with, went off on an overseas trip. She's back, but we haven't gotten around to catching up with the show just yet I was pretty surprised to find out recently that the series ended with it's 69th episode! I'm kind of disappointed- wacky, unique and fluffy-fun series like Yakitate!! Japan don't come around very often (or rather, they do but they're frequently not that good).
Eureka 7, which launched in 2005, was a surprisingly heartfelt show about growing up, young love, freedom, responsibility and giant surfboard-riding mecha. A weird combination, to say the least, but somehow the series (directed by Tomoki Kyoda of RahXephon fame) managed to make it work. I'd fallen way behind on my viewing and sure enough, the show seems to have ended! By all accounts, it was pretty good til the end. I can't wait to see what I've missed.
Noein is probably the most interesting new shounen anime I've seen this year. The first episode is all I've seen so far, but what I saw was really gorgeous! The animation was delicious, with loose, sketchy drawings (that probably made loads of regular anime fans recoil in horror) and beautiful movements. The fight scenes are truly a marvel. Disappointly, the second episode seemed to revert to a "normal" anime look, with detailed characters that lacked the free-flowing sense of movement that they had in the first, but Ben Ettinger (who has a keen eye for good animation and runs the very cool Anipages Daily blog) mentioned really great work done by the animators on later episodes so I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of this series (which ended earlier this year).
I was really looking forward to Blood+ as I thought the movie it's based on was an excellent mood piece and relished the idea of it being fleshed out. However, the best part of the series turned out to be it's first ten minutes- a stylish extended introduction animated in a similar style to the original Blood movie. The rest of the show, which took the safe route with typical-looking character designs and animation, just alienated me. The storyline of the show turned out to be just as prosaic as it's look and by the 5th or 6th episode, I'd lost all interest.
If you're an anime fan, you'll have noticed that none of the above are anime from 2006! Disappointingly, none of the shounen anime released this year have been very good.
A friend of mine recommended Air Gear, citing it's similarity to SEGA's thoroughly hip Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio (aka Jet Grind Radio). Unfortunately, the show tries it's darndest to ape JSR but fails completely. The music sucks, the animation is totally boring and the storyline and characters just grate (to my horror, there's even a loli character). BORING. 'Nuff sed.
I do have a couple shows on my to-watch list that might be cool:
XXXHOLic & Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle- I really liked the first volume of CLAMP's XXXHOLic manga and it's sister manga, Tsubasa Chronicle sounds pretty interesting too, so I figure I'll check both anime adaptations out.
Tokyo Tribe 2- Santa Inoue's manga Tokyo Tribe 2 (released in English as Tokyo Tribes by Tokyopop) has fast become one of my favourite manga with it's epic story about warring street tribes on the streets of an alternate Tokyo- one that's rife with crime and corruption. Santa takes his cue from the great Hollywood gangster movies by centering the story around two characters- Kai and Mera, ex-best friends, now members of rival gangs and embroiled in what's about to become the biggest gang war to ever go down in Tokyo. The anime is being produced by the always reliable Madhouse Studios and will be directed by Tatsuo Sato, who made the surreal and experimental Cat Soup, amongst other things. Pretty exciting!
Naruto was for a long time my favourite shounen anime. More than just a faithful translation of it's source manga, the show proved it's worth with excellent production values and beautiful animation. The highlight of the series was surely the climatic episode 133, where master animator Norio Matsumoto showed off his skills in a virtuoso fight sequence that is already considered by animation connoisseurs to be one of the greatest fight scenes in a shounen anime, ever. Sadly, the series dove from that high point into filler hell, where it's remained for the past year! I'll start watching Naruto again as soon as it resumes the manga storyline, but not an episode before.
Bleach started out pretty strong when it debuted in 2004, with an interesting premise, engaging characters and a nice mix of action and humour. However, the series suddenly switched gears in it's 2nd major storyline, which introduced a massive cast of superfluous supporting characters (beloved by fans because of their admittedly gorgeous character designs) and a plodding, overly-complex plotline designed to impress those who mistake complexity for depth. I stopped watching it after the 60th or so episode as it'd just become another example of everything I hate about mainstream anime.
Yakitate!! Japan, on the other hand, is an example of a great show that, despite hewing very closely to the standard shounen anime formula, managed to consistently be wonderfully entertaining. I took a break from watching it early this year as my sister, who I watched every episode with, went off on an overseas trip. She's back, but we haven't gotten around to catching up with the show just yet I was pretty surprised to find out recently that the series ended with it's 69th episode! I'm kind of disappointed- wacky, unique and fluffy-fun series like Yakitate!! Japan don't come around very often (or rather, they do but they're frequently not that good).
Eureka 7, which launched in 2005, was a surprisingly heartfelt show about growing up, young love, freedom, responsibility and giant surfboard-riding mecha. A weird combination, to say the least, but somehow the series (directed by Tomoki Kyoda of RahXephon fame) managed to make it work. I'd fallen way behind on my viewing and sure enough, the show seems to have ended! By all accounts, it was pretty good til the end. I can't wait to see what I've missed.
Noein is probably the most interesting new shounen anime I've seen this year. The first episode is all I've seen so far, but what I saw was really gorgeous! The animation was delicious, with loose, sketchy drawings (that probably made loads of regular anime fans recoil in horror) and beautiful movements. The fight scenes are truly a marvel. Disappointly, the second episode seemed to revert to a "normal" anime look, with detailed characters that lacked the free-flowing sense of movement that they had in the first, but Ben Ettinger (who has a keen eye for good animation and runs the very cool Anipages Daily blog) mentioned really great work done by the animators on later episodes so I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of this series (which ended earlier this year).
I was really looking forward to Blood+ as I thought the movie it's based on was an excellent mood piece and relished the idea of it being fleshed out. However, the best part of the series turned out to be it's first ten minutes- a stylish extended introduction animated in a similar style to the original Blood movie. The rest of the show, which took the safe route with typical-looking character designs and animation, just alienated me. The storyline of the show turned out to be just as prosaic as it's look and by the 5th or 6th episode, I'd lost all interest.
If you're an anime fan, you'll have noticed that none of the above are anime from 2006! Disappointingly, none of the shounen anime released this year have been very good.
A friend of mine recommended Air Gear, citing it's similarity to SEGA's thoroughly hip Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio (aka Jet Grind Radio). Unfortunately, the show tries it's darndest to ape JSR but fails completely. The music sucks, the animation is totally boring and the storyline and characters just grate (to my horror, there's even a loli character). BORING. 'Nuff sed.
I do have a couple shows on my to-watch list that might be cool:
XXXHOLic & Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle- I really liked the first volume of CLAMP's XXXHOLic manga and it's sister manga, Tsubasa Chronicle sounds pretty interesting too, so I figure I'll check both anime adaptations out.
Tokyo Tribe 2- Santa Inoue's manga Tokyo Tribe 2 (released in English as Tokyo Tribes by Tokyopop) has fast become one of my favourite manga with it's epic story about warring street tribes on the streets of an alternate Tokyo- one that's rife with crime and corruption. Santa takes his cue from the great Hollywood gangster movies by centering the story around two characters- Kai and Mera, ex-best friends, now members of rival gangs and embroiled in what's about to become the biggest gang war to ever go down in Tokyo. The anime is being produced by the always reliable Madhouse Studios and will be directed by Tatsuo Sato, who made the surreal and experimental Cat Soup, amongst other things. Pretty exciting!
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Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Korgoth of Barbaria
On the strength of it's pilot episode alone, I'm declaring Korgoth of Barbaria the best new American animated series of 2006. Yep, even better than The Amazing Screw-On Head, which was cool, but nowhere near THIS cool. Korgoth of Barbaria is an action-comedy that parodies Conan the Barbarian, Heavy Metal comics and well, the swords-and-sorcery genre of fantasy in general.
It's created by Aaron Springer, who storyboarded Spongebob Squarepants (and even wrote and directed some episodes), and the pilot episode's animation was directed by none other than Genndy Tartakovsky (the genius behind Dexter's Lab and Samurai Jack). With animation bigshots like that, you expect quality and Korgoth delivers in spades.
The show looks great, with unique character designs, excellent animation and surprisingly lovely painted backgrounds (done by Bill Wray, according to Cartoon Brew). It's also gust-bustingly funny, thanks to some killer dialogue (people will be quoting this stuff everywhere on the web by year-end), deft comic timing and the totally over-the-top heavy metal music used in the show. I can't wait for the show to debut in September (sadly, Cartoon Network Asia sucks SO MUCH that we don't even get Adult Swim in Singapore, but there's always Bittorrent!).
So check out the pilot episode on Youtube (part one, part two and part three) or download the torrent and know the awesomeness that is... KORGOTH!
*cue wailing guitars*
Note: I forgot to point out that Korgoth is, true to it's sword-and-sorcery roots, a really violent show- blood and limbs fly everywhere during fight scenes. Suffice to say, it ain't for the faint of heart. You've been warned.
It's created by Aaron Springer, who storyboarded Spongebob Squarepants (and even wrote and directed some episodes), and the pilot episode's animation was directed by none other than Genndy Tartakovsky (the genius behind Dexter's Lab and Samurai Jack). With animation bigshots like that, you expect quality and Korgoth delivers in spades.
The show looks great, with unique character designs, excellent animation and surprisingly lovely painted backgrounds (done by Bill Wray, according to Cartoon Brew). It's also gust-bustingly funny, thanks to some killer dialogue (people will be quoting this stuff everywhere on the web by year-end), deft comic timing and the totally over-the-top heavy metal music used in the show. I can't wait for the show to debut in September (sadly, Cartoon Network Asia sucks SO MUCH that we don't even get Adult Swim in Singapore, but there's always Bittorrent!).
So check out the pilot episode on Youtube (part one, part two and part three) or download the torrent and know the awesomeness that is... KORGOTH!
*cue wailing guitars*
Note: I forgot to point out that Korgoth is, true to it's sword-and-sorcery roots, a really violent show- blood and limbs fly everywhere during fight scenes. Suffice to say, it ain't for the faint of heart. You've been warned.
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Friday, July 21, 2006
It's the 80's all over again- TMNT trailer!
Wow- movie studios are really milking 80s nostalgia for all it's worth. First Transformers (with it's very underwhelming teaser trailer) and now everyone's favourite pizza-eating amphibian ninjas get their own trailer for their upcoming big-screen comeback. Surprisingly, it looks really good!
Love their new look!
The upcoming CGI feature film (directed by Kevin Munroe, a veteran animator) is set after the first two live-action films, much like the recent Superman Returns. Another similarity with that movie is that both look to set new standards in depicting the way their title characters move by utilizing the wonders of computer animation. The flying scenes in Superman Returns were nigh-incredible and the acrobatic way the turtles run and jump across the rooftops of New York city is far above and beyond anything the first two movies, with actors clad in clunky full-body turtle suits, could offer.
With director Kevin Munroe saying that the tone of the film will hearken back to Eastman and Laird's original comics (by far the coolest version of the turtles), this movie looks to have quite a bit of potential. Colour me excited.
Love their new look!
The upcoming CGI feature film (directed by Kevin Munroe, a veteran animator) is set after the first two live-action films, much like the recent Superman Returns. Another similarity with that movie is that both look to set new standards in depicting the way their title characters move by utilizing the wonders of computer animation. The flying scenes in Superman Returns were nigh-incredible and the acrobatic way the turtles run and jump across the rooftops of New York city is far above and beyond anything the first two movies, with actors clad in clunky full-body turtle suits, could offer.
With director Kevin Munroe saying that the tone of the film will hearken back to Eastman and Laird's original comics (by far the coolest version of the turtles), this movie looks to have quite a bit of potential. Colour me excited.
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Friday, July 14, 2006
Trailer for Chris Nolan's 'The Prestige' is a Must-See!
I hadn't even heard of Chris Nolan's (who directed a small indie flick called 'Batman Begins' last year) 'The Prestige' until I saw the trailer down at the Apple Trailers site, but it's just shot up to the top of my Must-Watch list. One of the best trailers I've seen all year (right up there with Spider-Man 3's scintillating teaser), the movie promises to be one hell of an exciting ride.
Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Christopher Priest, the film is about the rivalry between two magicians in Victorian England. Said magicians are played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman (Wolverine and Batman together in the same movie- will you fancy that?). It also stars Michael Caine and my favourite young actress Scarlett Johanson. Everyone looks to be at the top of their games in this. Superbly compelling stuff, really. October 27th (the film's release date, in case you're wondering) can't come any sooner for me!
Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Christopher Priest, the film is about the rivalry between two magicians in Victorian England. Said magicians are played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman (Wolverine and Batman together in the same movie- will you fancy that?). It also stars Michael Caine and my favourite young actress Scarlett Johanson. Everyone looks to be at the top of their games in this. Superbly compelling stuff, really. October 27th (the film's release date, in case you're wondering) can't come any sooner for me!
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Spider-Man 3 gets a sexy 3D poster!
Superherohype.com, that fine purveyor of all superhero-related filmic goodness, has brought us this first image of the new lenticular (that snazzy 3D effect where a picture changes as you walk past it) poster for Spider-Man 3. Check out the twisted emblem for Spidey's black costume! It looks totally evil- but in a good way. ;-)
Symbiote suit!!!
Symbiote suit!!!
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The funniest, coolest ad of the year comes from Thailand!
A 4-part series of ads for Smooth-E Babyface Foam is by far and away the most hilarious advertisement I've seen all year. Heck, it's funnier than most films released this year. It's just totally entertaining. There's a Youtube version here but I'd recommend you watch the high-res versions of the ads at the Cannes Lions website (here's the links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of the ad), where the ad won Gold in the Film category. Personally, I think it should've gotten the Grand Prix 'cos it's way cooler than the actual winner- a big budget CGI-fest made for Guiness. But that's neither here nor there. What's important is that you watch these ads, laugh merrily and then go out and buy some face wash so you can find true love. :P
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Genius animator Makoto Shinkai is making a new film!
In 2001, an artist began work on an animated short film. He worked alone, using his Macintosh G4 PC to produce the animation. The film premiered in 2002 and went on to win no less than six awards as well as the adulation of the Japanese animation community.
The artist was Makoto Shinkai. The short film: 'Voices of a Distant Star." Unerringly beautiful, poetic and heartfelt, the film was unlike anything that had ever come out of the Japanese animation scene. 'Voices' used what could have been a standard science-fiction scenario- a soldier leaves Earth to fight a war in distant space while leaving his (in this case, her) lover behind- to tell a deeply personal, emotionally-charged story about love and seperation. It really is a brilliant work- one of the few anime that could possibly be considered a work of art.
Having established himself as one of the finest animators of his generation, Shinkai then proceeded to make his first feature-length animation- 'The Place Promised in Our Early Days.' This time, he worked with a full production staff and the results show in the increased technical quality of the work. Once again, the film melded science-fiction with a personal story of friendship, love and loss. Once again, the film earned much praise, winning four awards. However, a criticism often made of the work is that the pacing suffered with the longer length- perhaps unsurprising given Shinkai's inexperience at making feature-length films.
It is interesting, then, that his next animated film, '5 Centimeters per Second,' will consist of 3 short stories, centered around a boy, that take place in Japan from the 1990s til today. Dividing the film in this way should allow Shinkai to play to his strength in creating short stories, while also allowing him to create a rich, deep work. He's also decided to eschew the science-fiction trappings of his previous works, instead focusing on making the story and setting as realistic as possible.
However the story turns out, one thing's for sure- the film will be utterly gorgeous, if the trailer on the film's site is anything to go by. Both streaming or HD-downloadable versions of the trailer are offered and I highly recommend the latter if your PC can support it. Fansubbing group The Triad has also kindly released a translation of the trailer on their BitTorrent tracker.
'5 Centimeters per Second' is set to debut in Spring 2007- it'll surely be one of the animation highlights of the year! I await it's arrival eagerly.
The artist was Makoto Shinkai. The short film: 'Voices of a Distant Star." Unerringly beautiful, poetic and heartfelt, the film was unlike anything that had ever come out of the Japanese animation scene. 'Voices' used what could have been a standard science-fiction scenario- a soldier leaves Earth to fight a war in distant space while leaving his (in this case, her) lover behind- to tell a deeply personal, emotionally-charged story about love and seperation. It really is a brilliant work- one of the few anime that could possibly be considered a work of art.
Having established himself as one of the finest animators of his generation, Shinkai then proceeded to make his first feature-length animation- 'The Place Promised in Our Early Days.' This time, he worked with a full production staff and the results show in the increased technical quality of the work. Once again, the film melded science-fiction with a personal story of friendship, love and loss. Once again, the film earned much praise, winning four awards. However, a criticism often made of the work is that the pacing suffered with the longer length- perhaps unsurprising given Shinkai's inexperience at making feature-length films.
It is interesting, then, that his next animated film, '5 Centimeters per Second,' will consist of 3 short stories, centered around a boy, that take place in Japan from the 1990s til today. Dividing the film in this way should allow Shinkai to play to his strength in creating short stories, while also allowing him to create a rich, deep work. He's also decided to eschew the science-fiction trappings of his previous works, instead focusing on making the story and setting as realistic as possible.
However the story turns out, one thing's for sure- the film will be utterly gorgeous, if the trailer on the film's site is anything to go by. Both streaming or HD-downloadable versions of the trailer are offered and I highly recommend the latter if your PC can support it. Fansubbing group The Triad has also kindly released a translation of the trailer on their BitTorrent tracker.
'5 Centimeters per Second' is set to debut in Spring 2007- it'll surely be one of the animation highlights of the year! I await it's arrival eagerly.
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Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Pirates 2 smashes box-office records!
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest raked in an incredible $135.6 million dollars in it's opening weekend, setting a new box office record for the highest three-day opening, ever(Spider-Man was the previous record holder, with it's $114.8 million opening weekend)! Wow. I knew the film would do well (you'd have to be a right curmudgeon not to love Captain Jack Sparrow) but this is astonishing. I don't think even the guys who made the film predicted it would do this well. I can't wait to see it for myself this weekend (oddly enough, it's not out just yet here in Singapore)!
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Monday, July 10, 2006
Amazing Screw-On Head Debuts Online on July 13!
The Sci Fi Channel's animated adaptation of Hellboy-creator Mike Mignola's weird, wonderful and hilarious one-shot comic 'The Amazing Screw-On Head' will be premiering on the networks's Pulse broadband channel in just 3 days! According to Newsarama, viewers will be given a survey to fill out to help the network's executives decide whether to green-light the series or not. Given the show's unique premise and well-known cast (see above picture!), I think this fantasy-adventure-comedy series has a good chance at capturing viewers.
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Don gets an uninspired first poster- plus SRK's costume from KPBW remake!
The upcoming Bollywood film Don is one of my most highly-anticipated movies of the year (over and above even Superman Returns and Pirates 2!) for 2 reasons:
1: It's a remake of the 1978 movie of the same name- one of the most superbly entertaining Bollywood masala-films ever made, starring Amitabh Bachchan at the height of his coolness. The song Khaike Paan Banaras Wala (abbreviated in the post title for length), an ode to India's favourite snack (and mild intoxicant!), alone is worth buying the movie for.
2: It's directed by Farhan Akhtar, whose 2001 movie Dil Chahta Hai is still, for my money, the best mainstream Bollywood film of this decade. Judging by this interview, he's as much of a fan of the original Don as I am- which hopefully means his remake will be far from a soulless retread of the original.
Oh and it also happens to star Shah Rukh Khan- by far and away India's most famous leading man. If anyone can fill the mighty Amitabh's shoes, it's this guy.
So suffice to say, I have very high hopes for this film!
However, the film's first poster is completely underwhelming.
Ripping-off 'The Matrix' in 2006? Way to bore your potential audience! Where's the fun in this?
On the bright side, Farhan Akhtar has stated in an interview that his Don will deliver a new version of the 1978 Don's highlight sequence- the delightful Khaike Paan Banaras Wala song and dance sequence.
Heck, SRK even wears a similar outfit to Amitabh's, as seen in this photo of SRK on the set of Don (posing with a fan):
(Photo from IndiaFM)
Well, he's got the look. But can he beat Amitabh's funky performance? We'll find out when Don comes out on October 21, 2006.
Meanwhile, check out the original Khaike Paan Banaras Wala song, courtesy of Youtube:
1: It's a remake of the 1978 movie of the same name- one of the most superbly entertaining Bollywood masala-films ever made, starring Amitabh Bachchan at the height of his coolness. The song Khaike Paan Banaras Wala (abbreviated in the post title for length), an ode to India's favourite snack (and mild intoxicant!), alone is worth buying the movie for.
2: It's directed by Farhan Akhtar, whose 2001 movie Dil Chahta Hai is still, for my money, the best mainstream Bollywood film of this decade. Judging by this interview, he's as much of a fan of the original Don as I am- which hopefully means his remake will be far from a soulless retread of the original.
Oh and it also happens to star Shah Rukh Khan- by far and away India's most famous leading man. If anyone can fill the mighty Amitabh's shoes, it's this guy.
So suffice to say, I have very high hopes for this film!
However, the film's first poster is completely underwhelming.
Ripping-off 'The Matrix' in 2006? Way to bore your potential audience! Where's the fun in this?
On the bright side, Farhan Akhtar has stated in an interview that his Don will deliver a new version of the 1978 Don's highlight sequence- the delightful Khaike Paan Banaras Wala song and dance sequence.
Heck, SRK even wears a similar outfit to Amitabh's, as seen in this photo of SRK on the set of Don (posing with a fan):
(Photo from IndiaFM)
Well, he's got the look. But can he beat Amitabh's funky performance? We'll find out when Don comes out on October 21, 2006.
Meanwhile, check out the original Khaike Paan Banaras Wala song, courtesy of Youtube:
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Update: Newer Snakes on a Plane trailer and a new poster!
Samuel L. Jackson on a plane full of snakes- what beautiful insanity! Check out the new trailer here.
Update: There's another trailer up here (in the crappy Flash video format that's all the rage these days).
I just love this new French poster for the movie. That crazed look in Samuel L. Jackson's eyes is priceless!
Update: There's another trailer up here (in the crappy Flash video format that's all the rage these days).
I just love this new French poster for the movie. That crazed look in Samuel L. Jackson's eyes is priceless!
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Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Meanwhile, India gets it's own superhero
On June 23rd, Bollywood's first superhero movie (correction: Wikipedia claims he's the sixth- but nobody remembers the first five anyway), Krrish, will hit cinemas in India. Krrish is the sequel (a rarity in Indian cinema!) to "Koi... Mil Gaya," an 'ET-meets-Forrest Gump' science-fiction movie that made oodles of money in it's homeland and swept quite a few awards, too. I thought it was kinda crap but I couldn't get past the pseudo-ET stuff, frankly (though I have to admit, star Hrithik Roshan- who's daddy directed both movies- wasn't too bad in it).
I wasn't very interested in the sequel given it's pedigree but I must admit to being piqued after reading this New York Times article about the movie. Since the Times tends to block access to their content after a while, I'll just cut and paste the relevant bits (emphasis is my own).
Will this be India's Spider-Man or it's 3 Dev Adam (i.e. so baaaaad that it's good!)? More importantly, will it rake in the big bucks? 3 more days 'til we find out! One thing's for sure- this movie is going to usher in Superhero Season into Indian cinemas (Superman Returns on June 30th!).
I wasn't very interested in the sequel given it's pedigree but I must admit to being piqued after reading this New York Times article about the movie. Since the Times tends to block access to their content after a while, I'll just cut and paste the relevant bits (emphasis is my own).
Rakesh's biggest concern was making Krrish look sufficiently world class. After all, audiences that have lapped up Western heroes — "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2" are the No. 3 and No. 2 Hollywood releases in India, after "Titanic" — would have little patience with cheesy special effects. So Mr. Roshan turned to the Hong Kong-based action choreographer Tony Ching, acclaimed for his work on "House of Flying Daggers" and "Hero."That's quite a team they got there- though it must be said that good action choreography and visual effects does not equate to a brilliant movie.
This Bollywood-Chinese martial arts combination presented some distinctive challenges. Because Mr. Ching speaks no English, Mr. Roshan narrated his script via an interpreter. In an e-mail interview (also translated by interpreter), Mr. Ching said that what attracted him was the story, which "was very romantic and touching."
"Their ideas of the action were beautiful and exactly fit my style," he said. "Everything just matched well."
To fit Bollywood's comparatively smaller budgets, Mr. Ching slashed his fee — though even that bargain rate, Mr. Roshan said, was more than the paychecks of India's biggest stars. Last January, Hrithik went to Hong Kong and trained for 30 days, learning how to wield sticks and swords and adopt the correct postures for the harnesses. At the end of the daily six-hour sessions, Hrithik said in an interview in Mumbai, he "barely had enough strength to crawl into bed."
The action sequences, which Rakesh described as poetry, were filmed over 90 days, mostly in Singapore. To perfect the visual effects, Rakesh imported two experts from Hollywood, Marc Kolbe and Craig A. Mumma, who worked on "Godzilla" and "Independence Day" (and also on "Koi ... Mil Gaya"). The orchestration for the film's background score was done in Prague.
Will this be India's Spider-Man or it's 3 Dev Adam (i.e. so baaaaad that it's good!)? More importantly, will it rake in the big bucks? 3 more days 'til we find out! One thing's for sure- this movie is going to usher in Superhero Season into Indian cinemas (Superman Returns on June 30th!).
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Monday, June 19, 2006
The advance buzz on Superman Returns is hot, hot, hot!
Superman Returns is by far and away my most anticipated movie of the year, simply because of the trust I place in director Bryan Singer. His first X-Men movie was amazingly non-sucky- the second one was just flat-out brilliant. Still, the question remained: Was this man up to the Herculean task of creating a Superman movie that could possibly live up to the collective expectations of audiences around the world?
Judging by the first few reviews that are trickling out, he's succeeded magnificently. Time Magazine loved it. As did Newsweek. Variety.com's fairly-glowing review of the movie predicts that it will "pull down stratospheric B.O. around the globe."
Perhaps the most encouraging sign of all is the reception the movie is getting from the geek crowd. Harry Knowles', head geek of Aint It Cool News, ecstatic review of the movie. Now, the man does occasionally display questionable taste in movies, but where comic book movies are concerned he's been right on the money every single time (at least for my money :P). Aint It Cool's Massawyrm has a similarly positive review. Comic Book Resources' Jonah Weiland claims "with total confidence that it was everything a comics fan - and movie fan - could hope for."
So far, the movie's garnering praise from both the mainstream press and the geek set! A backlash is inevitable, but I dare say that this movie might turn out to be the Lord of the Rings of comic book movies. What I love most about is the sentiment echoed in every review I've seen: that Bryan Singer has, in Superman, made a summer blockbuster that's filled with heart (the one element that is notably missing from his otherwise excellent X-Men 2). My froth-meter for this movie is redlining. ANTICIPATION OVERLOAD!
Judging by the first few reviews that are trickling out, he's succeeded magnificently. Time Magazine loved it. As did Newsweek. Variety.com's fairly-glowing review of the movie predicts that it will "pull down stratospheric B.O. around the globe."
Perhaps the most encouraging sign of all is the reception the movie is getting from the geek crowd. Harry Knowles', head geek of Aint It Cool News, ecstatic review of the movie. Now, the man does occasionally display questionable taste in movies, but where comic book movies are concerned he's been right on the money every single time (at least for my money :P). Aint It Cool's Massawyrm has a similarly positive review. Comic Book Resources' Jonah Weiland claims "with total confidence that it was everything a comics fan - and movie fan - could hope for."
So far, the movie's garnering praise from both the mainstream press and the geek set! A backlash is inevitable, but I dare say that this movie might turn out to be the Lord of the Rings of comic book movies. What I love most about is the sentiment echoed in every review I've seen: that Bryan Singer has, in Superman, made a summer blockbuster that's filled with heart (the one element that is notably missing from his otherwise excellent X-Men 2). My froth-meter for this movie is redlining. ANTICIPATION OVERLOAD!
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Saturday, June 17, 2006
Superheroes meet Fine Art
Worth1000.com recently ran a Photoshop contest challenging people to incorporate superheroes into pieces of fine art. The results are amazingly creative and well-done.
This is one of my favourites:
This is one of my favourites:
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Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Twitchfilm reviews 3 Dev Adam & Seven Swordsmen!
Twitch, that font of news about indie, cult and world movies, has posted 2 reviews that rather pique my interest. Both of the reviews are by Todd, Twitch's founder and editor, who's a true movie buff and has great taste too (or so I gather from his reviews and posts).
The first is for the Turkish cult film 3 Dev Adam- which I wrote about 3 posts down. Sounds like Todd liked it:
The second review is for the Tsui Hark-produced TV series Seven Swordsmen- based on the same story as his movie Seven Swords, which I reviewed quite positively for Aint It Cool News here. Mind you, that review should be taken with a grain of salt- I really did enjoy the movie but I glossed over it's many, many faults in my review. Now, it's main problem was that Tsui Hark was trying to cram too much story into too little screen time. Todd describes the problem well:
The first is for the Turkish cult film 3 Dev Adam- which I wrote about 3 posts down. Sounds like Todd liked it:
3 Dev Adam is essentially the equivalent of the Dozier produced Batman TV show on acid. Played resolutely straight faced it is nonetheless a monumentally ridiculous film loaded with goofy action sequences, bizarre set pieces and absolutely littered with plot holes. The script is the flimsiest of things, existing only to get these three unlikely co-stars from fight to fight. It's as camp as camp gets, a film that aspires to B status, and appreciated on that level it's great fun.Mmmm... sounds tasty! I'll be placing my order for a copy of the 3 Dev Adam DVD.
The second review is for the Tsui Hark-produced TV series Seven Swordsmen- based on the same story as his movie Seven Swords, which I reviewed quite positively for Aint It Cool News here. Mind you, that review should be taken with a grain of salt- I really did enjoy the movie but I glossed over it's many, many faults in my review. Now, it's main problem was that Tsui Hark was trying to cram too much story into too little screen time. Todd describes the problem well:
Now, the Seven Swords TV series is 39 episodes long- ample time to tell the long, convulated story of the Seven Swordsmen of Mt Tian (who give both the and the movie and TV series their titles). Todd gives Seven Swordsmen a pretty positive review overall, though he didn't like it's soap operatic tendancies (unavoidable for a Chinese wuxia series, really). Here's his final word:
The edit was rushed and cramped and far too many supposedly key figures – including most of the titular heroes – slipped by the wayside doing little more than poking their heads on screen to remind people that they were still around.
While it stops short of being a classic or essential viewing and is not without some serious shortcomings Seven Swordsmen represents a significant step forward over the theatrical Seven Swords in the area where fans felt it needed it most: in the story. Very similar in tone to the theatrical release this version gives fans far, far more in terms of characters. While Swords often felt cramped and rushed Swordsmen has ample space for everyone to stretch out and get their moment.As a fan of the movie who really wanted to see more of the intriguing story it told, I can't want to see this series!
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Friday, June 09, 2006
Ratatouille trailer is online... again!
UPDATE: You can watch the trailer, in English this time, at Apple's trailer website here.
The French trailer for Pixar's next big animated feature film, Ratatouille, leaked onto the net a couple weeks ago but was quickly taken offline. Well, a quick search for Ratatouille on Youtube uncovers 5 videos of the trailer- I guess they can't stop every single uploader. Also, blogger and animator Bartek Kujbida has kindly mirrored the Quicktime version of the trailer on his site. It's a lovely trailer- the visuals are gorgeous, as always with a Pixar movie, and the animation is great! I really like the main character's design. This movie's being (co-)directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant), so I've got high hopes for it.
The trailer's in French, but here's a rough English translation, courtesy of Ain't It Cool News:
[Beginning]
And tonight before dessert, for your enjoyment, we introduce the cheese plate. We have this delicious goat cheese bell, real lite, real sweet. Then, an ewe that will satisfy you with its generous perfume. But, last but not least, a real old and real special...
It's a rat!
[freeze]
- And there I am. I think I have to reconsider my life. There's nothing I can do, it's over my strength, I love good food, ok? And good food is very hard to find for a rat.
- You would find I you weren't so requiring.
- I don't want to eat in dustbins, dad... What's that?
- I have no idea.
- You have no idea, but you eat it anyway, don't you?
- You know, if you can close the exit after you throw up, you have a whole lot of possibilities for food.
- Voilà ! That's exactly what I meant.
(Over the movie title) Nothing of this would have happened I we did not live in Paris! And it's sooo easy to find good food in Paris! But... it's dangerous. [un-freeze].
- You have to reconsider you life!
- You know, he is right!
- Dad, it's enough!
[End]
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Batwoman is gay!
Sweet costume!
There's a new Batwoman in town and it seems she goes for girls! This juicy piece of news has been stirring up the comics world- heck, even the mainstream media's gotten ahold of the story! Pretty interesting- now a cynical observer would say that DC Comics is just doing this to get publicity and for the opportunity to put loads of cheesecake girl-on-girl smooching scenes in the comic. However, she isn't the first major gay character in Batman's world (no bad Robin jokes, please :P)- the very best story in the excellent and sadly-cancelled series Gotham Central had Detective Renee Montoya outed as a lesbian. The mature and nuanced handling of that story makes me think that DC could actually make this new Batwoman's sexuality more than just a cheap novelty. I'll be interested to see where they go with this.
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In Turkey, Spider-Man has face-eating gerbils!
The insanity!
I've seen some crazy movies in my time, but nothing as amazingly weird as 3 DEV ADAM (3 Mighty Men)- a movie in which Captain America and mexican masked wrestler (and national icon) El Santo team up to battle the evil... SPIDER-MAN!!! I kid you not. Apparently in the 70's and 80's, mere trifles like lack of a budget or copious copyright violations didn't stop Turkish filmmakers from making movies with, well, whatever they felt like.
Case in point: The Man Who Saves The World, AKA Turkish Star Wars- a movie that used footage from the original Star Wars along with music from Battlestar Galactica and Raiders of the Lost Ark to tell a completely different, and completely ridiculous, story! Check out the video clips at ifilm and see for yourself (the one simply labelled 'Fight Scene' is really great- the hero beats up a dozen muppet-looking monsters, killing one by ripping off it's arms and impaling it with them!!!).
OK back to 3 DEV ADAM! Spider-Man is really, really evil in this movie (I'm guessing he's bitter at losing all his powers and having grown a beer belly and bushy eyebrows). How evil? Well, in the opening scene he orders his hench-men to bury a woman up to her neck in sand and then gets them to back up a boat towards her. Propeller meets head = DEATH (don't worry folks- the nasty death occurs off-screen. The audience just gets to see a splash of blood)! If that wasn't enough, he later uses gerbils (yes, GERBILS) to eat a guy's face (it's in the trailer, folks!). This Spider-Man also enjoys strangling girls in showers and stabbing Mafiasos with switch-blades. For a full breakdown of the crazy plot, check out I-Mockery.com's multi-page review.
Oh boy, the Turkish translators for Marvel comics must've been terrible if they gave people the impression that Spider-Man was a super-villain, and an INSANE one at that! Anyway, this marvel-lous (hyuck, hyuck) movie just got re-released by Onar Films- I figure it's worth checking out for sheer humour value alone. What I really want to see, though, is a 1966 black-and-white Turkish Spider-Man movie, the existence of which I found out from this FFWD Weekly article about the world of Turkish cinema. Look at his costume!!!
Psychedelic, baby!
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TRANSFORMERS movie is coming!
More than meets the eye, indeed.
Ain't It Cool News got this new teaser poster for the upcoming Michael Bay-directed Transformers live-action movie. Hoo-boy. Bay's always been a very on-off director for me, but The Island was almost a good movie so maybe he'll get it right with his second science-fiction effort. One thing's for certain though- it's gonna be awesome seeing everyone's favourite Autobots and Decepticons on-screen in all their CGI'ed glory.
Also, the official Transformers movie site is up and it's counting down to some event 26 days from now. I'm guessing we'll see the first teaser trailer then.
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Thursday, June 08, 2006
Movie Review: Cars
When I first heard about Cars, I was doubtful. The movie's premise (a remake of Doc Hollywood set in a world full of cars!?!) just didn't excite me. Neither did the fact that NASCAR- a sport that I have little to no knowledge about and no interest in- seemed to figure heavily in it. The various trailers didn't do much to change my mind- the movie looked good enough, but I expected nothing short of brilliance from Pixar (by far and away my favourite movie studio) and Cars didn't look brilliant. Heck, a month ago when I watched 'Over The Hedge', I was convinced that this would be the first year in which Dreamworks would make a better movie than Pixar- and I declared so to my friends!
Well, Pixar, you've made me eat my words. I will never doubt this studio again. Not only is Cars a truly GREAT movie, a movie made with obvious love and passion, it's also one of Pixar's most emotionally mature works- one that, while appealing to kids, will only be fully appreciated by adults. On the surface, the story really is 'Doc Hollywood with cars' but Pixar's genius is that they always manage to make an old story feel fresh. The secret's in the characters. The studio's movies are always, first and foremost, character journeys- no Pixar hero is quite the same at the end of the movie as at the start. This is especially true of Cars.
The protagonist of Cars, rookie racecar Lightning McQueen (played by Owen Wilson) starts out brash and cocky, so obsessed about winning that he has no time for other people. He's a bit unlikeable, frankly, though he earns our sympathy when it's shown that his lifestyle and behaviour has left him bereft of any real friends. The movie introduces McQueen and his world of NASCAR racing perfectly, beginning in a loud and almost-obnoxious manner with a visually-kinetic race scene.
The sudden change in pace that occurs when McQueen, through a series of mishaps, gets stuck in the small town of Radiator Springs is jarring enough to be noticeable (indeed, I got a bit restless for the first ten minutes of the movie's 2nd act) but the movie quickly regains it's footing as we are introduced to the cast of characters who inhabit the town. The three main players here are the world-weary but wise Doc Hudson (Paul Newman in a great performance), the beautiful lawyer Sally (Bonnie Hunt) and Mater (comedian Larry the Cable Guy)- the dim-witted, rusty but loveable tow truck who takes a liking to McQueen.
No doubt you'll hear this from others, but I'll say it here too- Mater is the heart and soul of this movie. He's not just the comic relief sidekick that he's shown to be in the trailers (make no mistake, though- he's hilarious in the movie), he also teaches McQueen about the value of friendship by being the first person (car?) to ever befriend him and completely place his trust in him. The friendship that develops between him and McQueen is truly touching.
Cars also manages to give each of it's large cast of supporting characters their own little moment to shine in the movie, in a manner similar to the Toy Story movies. In fact, my very favourite scene in the movie features a character named Guido, a little Italian forklift and racing fan who only speaks one phrase in English. I won't say anymore- you'll know the scene when you see it- it made the audience at my screening fairly howl with laughter.
I said Cars holds greater appeal to adults than to children- that's because the movie is also a celebration of one of the icons of 20th Century America: the famous Route 66 (which ran all the way from Chicago to LA). Immortalized in song, fiction and even a TV series, Route 66 was a symbol of freedom, exploration and romance. Through Cars, director John Lasseter (the man who we're all counting on to save Disney) communicates his love for this now-defunct road.
The movie laments the loss of the communities that sprung up around Route 66 with the advent of modern Inter-State Highways that just take people from Point A to Point B, too fast to appreciate what lies in between (the fictional town of Radiator Springs in the movie is said to be strongly inspired by the real-life town of Amboys, California). Now, it's possible to get overly-preachy with this kind of thing- and in one speech given by a main character, the movie nearly does. Ultimately, though, the movie's nostalgia is endearing and fits in well with Lightning McQueen's character arc.
What's left to say about this movie? It's just great, heart-warming stuff. The movie commemorates Pixar's 20th year and serves as a tribute to the late, great Joe Ranft (who worked on the stories of all of Pixar's films, including Cars, and famously acted as Wheezy the penguin in Toy Story 2 as well as Heimlich the catterpillar in A Bug's Life). It's sad the man didn't live to see the movie, but I think he'd be real pleased with it.
Incidentally, in case you're wondering, the movie is also visually gorgeous. You won't even notice that this is a computer-animated movie- it just feels like a really well-shot, well-animated movie (which really is the highest compliment you can give Pixar on their animation). The music's great, too, with a surprising number of songs and a decidedly Southern flavour.
Alright then, I've said enough. Now just go watch the movie already. You'll love it. Oh and don't go to the theatre late- you don't wanna miss 'One Man Band,' the animated short film that airs before the movie. It's great stuff. The screening of short films at the beginning of each of their animated feature films is just another thing to love about Pixar.
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Wednesday, June 07, 2006
In Japan, Spider-Man has a Giant Robot!
Supaida-Man!
Strangely enough, it seems that the style of Japanese superhero show that was popularized in the English-speaking world by the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers may actually have it's origins in a true-blue American superhero- Spider-Man. It's true! In 1978, Toei (the same studio that produced Kamer Rider and the shows that the footage for Power Rangers was taken from) made a Spider-Man TV series. Instead of following the comic book storyline, this series gave Spider-Man a uniquely Japanese spin. Here's a synopsis, taken from Wikipedia (emphasis added by moi):
Young motorcycle racer Takuya Yamashiro sees a UFO falling to earth, in fact a combat spacecraft named the "Marveller". Takuya's father Dr. Hiroshi Yamashiro, a space archaeologist, investigates the case. The incident also brings the attention of Professor Monster and his evil Iron Cross Army (Tetsu-Jyuuji-Gun), an alien group that plans to rule the universe.What'd I tell ya? The Japanese Spider-Man totally has a giant robot! According to this review on Japanhero.com, this series was responsible for popularizing the Japanese superhero standards of giant transforming robots and monsters that enlarge in size when defeated (and hence need to be defeated again, by said giant transforming robots)! That's incredibly cheesy, and yet totally awesome. Mmm... Giant Robots and Spider-Man, two of my favourite things. Who'd have thought they had such a deep connection?
The Iron Cross Army murders Dr. Yamashiro, and also attempts to kill Takuya. Takuya's life is saved by Gallia, prince of the Spider Planet, who came to Earth in the spacecraft. Gallia gives Takuya a bracelet that injects him a liquid which not only heals his wounds but also gives him super strength, the ability to climb walls and a special sense of danger (i.e. Spider-sense). The bracelet give him his web-shooting ability, is also a communication device used to summon Marveller, and finally can be used to store the costume.
Takuya battles Professor Monster's "Iron Cross Army". After Spider-Man beats up on the human sized monsters they turn into giants. Spider-Man then calls on the Marveller to fire missiles at the monster, then transform into a giant robot, Leopardon.
You can watch the entire first episode here, as well as a comedy fansubbed version. It's actually pretty entertaining. Even though the show strays far, far, faaaaaaaar away from the original Spider-Man in terms of plot, they did a great job in depicting the way he moves and fights- heck, he strikes all the right poses, too! Oh and I love this clip where Spidey gets saved by an el mariachi singer with a machine-gun guitar. Brilliance!
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Movie Review: X-Men 3
Funny thing- I was actually pretty entertained the first time I saw X-Men 3, mostly because the movie is so loud (so VERY loud in the theatre I watched it in!), fast and stupid that I scarcely had time to think about the ridiculousness of the proceedings while I was watching it. Even so, I left the theatre with a bad taste in my mouth because of something the X-Men did near the end of the movie- a morally questionable act toward one of their enemies that none of them had the slightest qualm about. Something so completely out-of-character for all of them that I couldn't believe a fan of the comic books had written the script.
The movie is full of moments like that. The more I thought about them after the movie, the more I didn't like it. By the second time I watched it, I outright hated it.
It's not director Brett Ratner's fault. The opening scene with younger versions of Magneto and Professor X (complete with the much-vaunted de-aged versions of Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart) meeting an adolescent Jean Grey is very well done indeed. So is the rather harrowing follow-up scene with a young Angel. Clearly, Mr. Ratner can do a good job if he sets his mind to it. No, what really lets the movie down is its script. The premise was awkward from the start- both the Cure and the Phoenix storylines could each be a movie by themselves. Stuffing them both into the same movie was just a terrible idea as it's impossible to do them both justice at the same time. One of them had to get short shrift- sadly, it was the Phoenix story that suffered here.
That's not the end of it, either. For such a short movie (it's barely over one and a half hours long), it has way too many extraneous characters. What's Beast doing here (looking terrible, despite what Halle Barry as Storm might say)? Or Angel, for that matter? A character important enough to be introduced in a pre-title sequence should not get all of 5 lines in the movie! Oddly enough, with the sheer amount of useless mutants in the film (like, every single mutant in Magneto's army- none of whom he needs because they all get massacred by US Army troops and the X-Men, after which he ends up fighting the good fight with just Pyro at his side anyway), they forgot to bring back the coolest mutant of all (at least in these movie versions)- Nightcrawler. They don't even refer to him in the movie.
Now that's lazy script-writing. Bah. One of many examples you can find in this mess of a movie. Eventhough I followed the debacle of this movie's production online, via sites like Aint It Cool News, so I knew it'd probably turn out as bad as it did, but somehow I went in hoping it wouldn't be a pile of crap. So much for that.
That being said, people who aren't big fans of the series are likely to enjoy themselves- this is very much a summer movie- big, loud and stupid, like I said at the start. The Armageddon of comic book movies, if you will. But as someone who really loved the first two X-Men movies (especially the second one), I was just incredibly disappointed- especially as it looks like this is the last real X-Men film we're going to get. Way to end a series, people.
The movie is full of moments like that. The more I thought about them after the movie, the more I didn't like it. By the second time I watched it, I outright hated it.
It's not director Brett Ratner's fault. The opening scene with younger versions of Magneto and Professor X (complete with the much-vaunted de-aged versions of Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart) meeting an adolescent Jean Grey is very well done indeed. So is the rather harrowing follow-up scene with a young Angel. Clearly, Mr. Ratner can do a good job if he sets his mind to it. No, what really lets the movie down is its script. The premise was awkward from the start- both the Cure and the Phoenix storylines could each be a movie by themselves. Stuffing them both into the same movie was just a terrible idea as it's impossible to do them both justice at the same time. One of them had to get short shrift- sadly, it was the Phoenix story that suffered here.
That's not the end of it, either. For such a short movie (it's barely over one and a half hours long), it has way too many extraneous characters. What's Beast doing here (looking terrible, despite what Halle Barry as Storm might say)? Or Angel, for that matter? A character important enough to be introduced in a pre-title sequence should not get all of 5 lines in the movie! Oddly enough, with the sheer amount of useless mutants in the film (like, every single mutant in Magneto's army- none of whom he needs because they all get massacred by US Army troops and the X-Men, after which he ends up fighting the good fight with just Pyro at his side anyway), they forgot to bring back the coolest mutant of all (at least in these movie versions)- Nightcrawler. They don't even refer to him in the movie.
Now that's lazy script-writing. Bah. One of many examples you can find in this mess of a movie. Eventhough I followed the debacle of this movie's production online, via sites like Aint It Cool News, so I knew it'd probably turn out as bad as it did, but somehow I went in hoping it wouldn't be a pile of crap. So much for that.
That being said, people who aren't big fans of the series are likely to enjoy themselves- this is very much a summer movie- big, loud and stupid, like I said at the start. The Armageddon of comic book movies, if you will. But as someone who really loved the first two X-Men movies (especially the second one), I was just incredibly disappointed- especially as it looks like this is the last real X-Men film we're going to get. Way to end a series, people.
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Thursday, May 25, 2006
Movie Review: The Da Vinci Code
One would expect a movie based on the most controversial and best-selling book in years, a movie that's been banned, protested against and boycotted to be deucedly exciting.
Sadly, this isn't the case with The Da Vinci Code. Speaking as one of the very few people left in the world who hasn't read the bestseller which the movie is based on, I must say I was terribly disappointed. I expected a fast-paced, intelligent-seeming-while-not-actually-being-intelligent movie but what I got was mostly an exercise in tedium.
I was bored throughout the movie, with the notable exception of the scenes featuring Sir Ian McKellen's character- the delightfully named British Aristocrat, Sir Leigh Teabing. Sir McKellen chews up the scenery with gusto and turns in a wonderfully over-the-top performance that miraculously makes the movie watchable for as long as he's on the screen. As far as I'm concerned, this movie could've been called "The Madcap Adventures of Sir Teabing- bookended by some boring scenes with other people."
The worst offender amongst said "other people" is Tom Hanks, who, with his incredibly silly hairstyle, looks for all the world like he walked onto the set by mistake.The poor man really seems like he has no idea what he's supposed to be doing (which is perhaps understandable- his character seems to be completely unneeded in the movie). Co-star Audrey Tautou does a serviceable job, given that her role mostly consists of running a lot, having flashbacks and looking surprised the rest of the time.
The bad guys are a little bit more interesting- Paul Bettany's murderous, self-flagellating albino monk Silas could have walked out of a '70s action movie and Jean Reno is his usual cool self as a tenacious yet misguided cop. Alas, neither of them gets enough screentime to save the movie.
Most of the blame for what the movie's mediocrity has to go to scriptwriter Akiva Goldsman (a truly overrated hack- sure he wrote A Beautiful Mind but he also wrote the wretched Batman & Robin screenplay and turned I, Robot into a dull action movie) and director Ron Howard, who like Hanks, is out of his element here. In the hands of a different director, The Da Vinci Code could probably have been a rip-roaring adventure. As it is, it's unlikely to excite anyone but overly-sensitive religious folk.
Sadly, this isn't the case with The Da Vinci Code. Speaking as one of the very few people left in the world who hasn't read the bestseller which the movie is based on, I must say I was terribly disappointed. I expected a fast-paced, intelligent-seeming-while-not-actually-being-intelligent movie but what I got was mostly an exercise in tedium.
I was bored throughout the movie, with the notable exception of the scenes featuring Sir Ian McKellen's character- the delightfully named British Aristocrat, Sir Leigh Teabing. Sir McKellen chews up the scenery with gusto and turns in a wonderfully over-the-top performance that miraculously makes the movie watchable for as long as he's on the screen. As far as I'm concerned, this movie could've been called "The Madcap Adventures of Sir Teabing- bookended by some boring scenes with other people."
The worst offender amongst said "other people" is Tom Hanks, who, with his incredibly silly hairstyle, looks for all the world like he walked onto the set by mistake.The poor man really seems like he has no idea what he's supposed to be doing (which is perhaps understandable- his character seems to be completely unneeded in the movie). Co-star Audrey Tautou does a serviceable job, given that her role mostly consists of running a lot, having flashbacks and looking surprised the rest of the time.
The bad guys are a little bit more interesting- Paul Bettany's murderous, self-flagellating albino monk Silas could have walked out of a '70s action movie and Jean Reno is his usual cool self as a tenacious yet misguided cop. Alas, neither of them gets enough screentime to save the movie.
Most of the blame for what the movie's mediocrity has to go to scriptwriter Akiva Goldsman (a truly overrated hack- sure he wrote A Beautiful Mind but he also wrote the wretched Batman & Robin screenplay and turned I, Robot into a dull action movie) and director Ron Howard, who like Hanks, is out of his element here. In the hands of a different director, The Da Vinci Code could probably have been a rip-roaring adventure. As it is, it's unlikely to excite anyone but overly-sensitive religious folk.
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Wednesday, May 24, 2006
2 new trailers for Ghost Rider!
I'm not a fan of Marvel Comic's Ghost Rider character- never read any of his books- but this new movie starring Nicholas Cage as the fiery skull-faced biker looks like it could be really fun. Take a look at the trailers here (or if your PC can handle the superior-quality HD trailers, here).
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Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Read a Scott Pilgrim story online for free! PLUS: Fearless Griggs rocks.
Bryan Lee O'Malley (who is both the best English-language mangaka around and a kick-ass musician) recently made a free, stand-alone installment of his excellent Scott Pilgrim comic for the annual Free Comic Book Day (May 6th- it really should be a holiday worldwide. Free comics, people!) event. For those of us not lucky enough to get a copy of the comic, NEWSARAMA.com has kindly put it up online here. Check it out!
The printed edition of Free Scott Pilgrim also came with a backup story called Fearless Griggs: Victory at Sea. It's drawn/written by Andy Helms and it's totally awesome. Don't take my word for it. Go here and download the entire story.
The artwork is part-manga, part-Mike Mignola (ya know, the brilliant artist who created Hellboy) and the writing is deft and funny. It reminds me of Howard Shum's wildly-entertaining Gun Fu comic- both books feature lead characters who anachronistically speak in modern slang in period settings, to great comedic effect. If the upcoming Fearless Griggs graphic novel can live up to the promise of this preview, it'll be something special. Can't wait to get my hands on it!
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Introduction
Hello, new reader! Welcome to Robot Eel, your one-stop resource for news, commentary and reviews about movies, music, TV, animation and comics- pop culture as filtered through the perspective of a 21st century geekboy. This blog picks up where my old self-titled blog- hazylium- left off, so take a look there for a preview of what to expect from here.
Why the name change? Well, I had fun blogging on hazylium but the fact that I posted about almost everything that interested me (and I really am interested in EVERYTHING) made it suffer from a particular lack of focus. It was also all over the place, tonally. So I've decided to split it up into multiple, theme-focused blogs to provide a better reading experience, just for you. Robot EEL is the first of these.
So I hope you enjoy your stay here at Robot Eel. Sit back, relax and enjoy the smooth flow of entertainment news brought to you from the depths of the Internet.
Why the name change? Well, I had fun blogging on hazylium but the fact that I posted about almost everything that interested me (and I really am interested in EVERYTHING) made it suffer from a particular lack of focus. It was also all over the place, tonally. So I've decided to split it up into multiple, theme-focused blogs to provide a better reading experience, just for you. Robot EEL is the first of these.
So I hope you enjoy your stay here at Robot Eel. Sit back, relax and enjoy the smooth flow of entertainment news brought to you from the depths of the Internet.
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