Rango

Leave it to Gore Verbinski to create a CG animated film that, at least to these eyes, finally rivals what the folks at Pixar are doing. As you watch this trailer, the fact that it is CG immediately fades behind the efficacy of its irreverant mood, skillfully dressed in sub-genre trappings that puts the sharp comedic wit front-and-center. This is not selling the CG. And is barely selling Depp's involvement which is even difficult to gauge with the one clear line delivered. It's selling story... Officially looking forward to this one.

Fumiko no Kokuhaku

Thanks to Twitch Film for putting the spotlight on this wonderful short film by young filmmaker Ishida Hiroyasu (aka Tete). The independent anime movement has been quietly growing ever since Shinkai Makoto paved the way with films such as Voices of a Distant Star and 5 Centimetres Per Second. Fumiko no Kokuhaku (Fumiko's Confession) is beautifully realized with expert comic staging and direction. The painterly backgrounds are playfully "imperfect" and bright in their palette, reinforcing the humor in the piece. Enjoy!



If Ishida is the sign of things to come, I can only welcome this upcoming talent and look forward to a full length feature sometime in the future. Ishida's official site can be found HERE where there are links to sketches and pre-production work for this film and other, what seem to be student works.

The Beatles: Rock Band

If you haven't seen it already, by all means hit the link below and check out the amazing intro cinematic for the latest Rock Band videogame expansion: The Beatles. No surprise it's awesome, having been produced by none other than Jamie Hewlett.

The Beatles Rock Band Cinematic

No news if the game itself will incorporate any of the intro's snappy 2D art style (likely not, and the actual gameplay trailer is sadly bland by comparison), but it sure is great to see such a fantastic art effort put together to promote the game.

Up

The magic that is a Pixar film is fairly well cemented with Up, had there been any doubt prior. Seen outside of the view from parents of young children or diehard fans of the studio, there can be no doubt left that a Pixar film is miles ahead of not only others placed into the CG genre, but simply most all other films combined. Up, specifically, is overwhelmingly refreshing in its ability to be accessible to everyone. There's no cornering of age groups or targeted demographics, it is at its most basic an undeniably good movie. Up's greatest accomplishment is with the ease it purports to do so, tho when given any thought there was clearly a tremendous amount of work and talent involved.

How this is achieved though a film whose base plot is that of a curmudgeonly old man fulfilling the dream of his dead wife while paired with a hapless boy scout is a wonder to watch unfold. Such a thing would seem to be the antithesis of a foundation for an adventure movie, with concepts that could go horribly wrong into the realm of schmaltz and false emotion. Yet the genuine heart of each character is told through care and craft at just the right pace and attention.

The running theme through Up is "The Spirit of Adventure," taking all forms from the everyday to the grand and sweeping. The story is so adamant in its search and delivery of adventure that no real logic need apply. Events snowball after each other that are so much fun to watch there isn't enough time to wonder why it's happening, just that it is and you can hardly believe your eyes. Before that suspension of disbelief is betrayed, we are brought back to earth (so to speak) to focus on the characters as they are set up for the next big leap. The characters themselves are a collection of oddities outside of the norm of perceived archetypes. And even though the film has a "bad guy," it's not the case in the traditional sense. It's a much more antagonistic involvement with believable and prescient motivations, albeit ultimately destructive. The main characters do set a wonderful tone for the film, following the arc of the acerbic and steadfast Carl managing his time with the unbridled young Russell in their continually peculiar situations. In that respect Up is 100% pure, storypoints seemingly lain out methodically and then toppling like dominoes as the audience tries to keep up. There are instances where you can almost hear Pixar subliminally bragging "Hey, every other movie, this is how you tell a good story. Please do not attempt this at home, we're professionals."

And then there's... the dogs. One can only imagine the story discussion that took place as Up was taking shape, starting simply enough and then cascading into what would become some of the biggest payoffs in the film.

"We should add a dog."
"We should add dogs."
"Like three or four dogs?"
"Like, a hundred and fifty dogs."
"Yeah."



Artistically, if any more adoration can be stood, Up is flawless. There is an acute level of detail on everything that not just raises the bar for competitors, it pretty much puts the bar in sole ownership of Pixar. Stylized characters mesh incredibly into a world that's not quite real but the viewer instantly believes it is so. A wood floor is warped just a touch. The fabric on a chair delicately patterned and worn. The bright color of a merit badge shows every stitch if inspected. The light refracted through a thousand balloons... stunning. As an added bonus, Up is available to be seen in 3D. While there are some cool "in your face" moments, the appeal of 3D in this instance goes more towards a viewing experience of watching a picturesque world come to just shy of life, perhaps like watching Tilt Shift photography on a scale yet unseen.

Up runs a gauntlet of emotion that has no reason to be in any ordinary film. At times sad and melancholy, yet at others laugh-out-loud funny and wide-eyed action. In any other hands, well, who knows. What comes out of the mix is an incredible amount of heart that is so rarely seen it's kind of weird to be found in. When was the last time you saw a movie that when the credits began to roll, the entire audience is just... happy? Odds are it was probably by Pixar.

Venture Bros. Season 3: When package design trumps features

The question wasn't whether or not to purchase the latest season of The Venture Brothers, it was which edition to buy: DVD or BluRay?

The BluRay had the advantage of being BluRay, making the entire season available on one disc, along with a bonus soundtrack CD that I'd no doubt enjoy. The BlueRay package is colored blue in a cardboard sleeve around the standard plastic case, retailing for $40.

The DVD on the other hand is a vastly more complementary orange-- in consideration of the brilliant tribute/mockery of videogame packaging from days of yore. Even tho it was shrink wrapped in the store, if past Venture Bros. DVD's were any indication, I knew there would be a fabulous work of art on the cardboard clamshell foldout that the BlueRay clearly lacked. $26.

As you can see from these pics, I was not disappointed. BluRay: Denied.

Wall-E makes me happy

Pixar, Pixar, Pixar.

Make no mistake about it, it is all Pixar and whatever magical aqua vitae they brew throughout their production process. And I know it's not all perfection in moviemaking with no cracks or flaws, but it is a hell of a diamond they crank out, leagues beyond the competition. This was made overwhelmingly apparent by the dreck I was forced to sit through for the preview trailers, each a sad offering in the 3D animated genre that Pixar itself created.


For Wall-E, it's just another reason to gush and laud over an unequalled level of art and creativity that never seems to stop coming from the parties involved. Some people like to talk about the solidarity of the story, others the characters, and others the technical proficiency of the animation and environments. Me, I tend to lean towards the art itself, and the design therein. Wall-E is a gorgeous film, finding an abstract beauty in the opening of Earth's sad legacy and evolving into a razor sharp Asimovian futurist paradise. The forced warmth of Wall-E's existence on a bleak Earth is told not only by character but by color, flawless in execution and full of endless lessons in mood and emotion told through palettes, lighting, and composition. Transitioning to the stark setting of deep space among the falsely active dormancy of the human society we are shown the cold but cool precision of an automated lifestyle; a design sense as detailed and coordinated as the robots that run it. God damn is it pretty.


The story is one that moves along at a steady pace and grows on you stronger and stronger, eventually moving into the trademark, frantic energy of a Pixar finale. The story is completely character driven, focused solely on the titular Wall-E and his appeal. This despite that fact that there is no dialogue for what might be the first hour of the film, such is the strength of Wall-E's personality, which I would think in the hands of lesser men would have come across as schmaltzy and cliché. Yet, man if that Wall-E isn't a cute little bugger.

Lastly I would hope-- hope with all my heart-- that the real message of the film sinks its teeth into the younger generations that watch it, keeping a death grip on their precious little psyches long enough to change The Way We Do Things. If that can be achieved, I will gladly accept the world of Wall-E as fanciful fiction instead of distinct probability.

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On a supplementary note to Wall-E, the opening short, Presto, may be one of the flat-out best cartoon shorts I've seen in my adult life. While drinking in the pure fun and comedy that is Presto, it really is a shame to think of what passes as children's entertainment these days. What with executive and marketing driven network fare that has sucked all the awe and joy out of the average, contemporary cartoon. Presto calls back to the days of Warner Bros. gold, where we must remember that cartoons were made for the primarily adult movie going audience, it's just that they were so good it was impossible for children not to enjoy them, too. Sadly it was all downhill from there (as John K. likes to say, "the hippies ruined everything"). Thankfully with Presto we see that the true cartoon is alive and well, and in very good hands. I can only look forward to more.