January 25, 2010
January 24, 2010
Review of Fantastic Mr. Fox
I'm a little late in the game, watching all these 2009 animated films several months after their release in theaters, but here's another quick 'late review'.
My opinion of Mr. Fox.... WOW! What a fun film! I couldn't take my eyes off of it. So stylish, and so unique. There is no question that Fantastic Mr. Fox is undistilled Wes Anderson -- I suppose the only way it could've been more pure is if he did all the voices himself. The film is every trait from his live action movies magnified, or to put it more distinctly, expressed to their most accurate degrees.
I hate the fact that people assume the film was "purposefully made to look cheap". Just because it wasn't as fluid animation as Corpse Bride does not make it any less entertaining or any less difficult to design, produce and animate. It is a very deliberate and original style, both in design and motion. Consider the way the characters are shot; the art production of the sets; the way the characters act, the way their eyes move, the way they walk into a room, the way they are mostly still and are punctuated with rapid movement, and even the way they dance. Do you think Anderson could ever get his actors to dance that way?
The thing about animation -- and stop-motion animation in particular -- is that "preformances" have to be precise right down to every frame; and so with Fantastic Mr. Fox, we may have the ultimate Wes Anderson movie in terms of look and feel. It is fascinating to watch, and the story itself is also very delightful, as Anderson's sensibilities, sometimes too self-consciously twee with live actors, work extremely well in this animated format.
This story of a society of wild animals living in disharmony with some nasty neighboring farmers is about the call of one's individuality, and it's quite comedically voice-acted by George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and others. Now I'm starting to wish every auteur would go and make his or her own stop-motion animated flick. I was glad to watch the film in one of the animation classes that I instructed this week (lately, my only way to catch a movie), and I think this is my favorite Wes Anderson film.
My opinion of Mr. Fox.... WOW! What a fun film! I couldn't take my eyes off of it. So stylish, and so unique. There is no question that Fantastic Mr. Fox is undistilled Wes Anderson -- I suppose the only way it could've been more pure is if he did all the voices himself. The film is every trait from his live action movies magnified, or to put it more distinctly, expressed to their most accurate degrees.
I hate the fact that people assume the film was "purposefully made to look cheap". Just because it wasn't as fluid animation as Corpse Bride does not make it any less entertaining or any less difficult to design, produce and animate. It is a very deliberate and original style, both in design and motion. Consider the way the characters are shot; the art production of the sets; the way the characters act, the way their eyes move, the way they walk into a room, the way they are mostly still and are punctuated with rapid movement, and even the way they dance. Do you think Anderson could ever get his actors to dance that way?
The thing about animation -- and stop-motion animation in particular -- is that "preformances" have to be precise right down to every frame; and so with Fantastic Mr. Fox, we may have the ultimate Wes Anderson movie in terms of look and feel. It is fascinating to watch, and the story itself is also very delightful, as Anderson's sensibilities, sometimes too self-consciously twee with live actors, work extremely well in this animated format.
This story of a society of wild animals living in disharmony with some nasty neighboring farmers is about the call of one's individuality, and it's quite comedically voice-acted by George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and others. Now I'm starting to wish every auteur would go and make his or her own stop-motion animated flick. I was glad to watch the film in one of the animation classes that I instructed this week (lately, my only way to catch a movie), and I think this is my favorite Wes Anderson film.
Space Ace and Dragon's Lair playthroughs
Space Ace and Dragon's Lair complete playthroughs, which I was motivated to find after seeing this look at the ships from Space Ace.
"SPY" - from Beat Assailant
Written and directed by Nassim Maoui and Christophe Mentz
Graphic Design : Stephane Lamalle - Florian Fusy - Shu Yamamoto
Saturn's Hexagon Comes to Light
Believe it or not, this is the North Pole of Saturn. It is unclear how an unusual hexagonal cloud system that surrounds Saturn's north pole was created, keeps its shape, or how long it will last. Originally discovered during the Voyager flybys of Saturn in the 1980s, nobody has ever seen anything like it elsewhere in the Solar System. Although its infrared glow was visible previously to the Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn, over the past year the mysterious hexagonal vortex became fully illuminated by sunlight for the first time during the Cassini's visit. Since then, Cassini has imaged the rotating hexagon in visible light enough times to create a time-lapse movie. The pole center was not well imaged and has been excluded. This movie shows many unexpected cloud motions, such as waves emanating from the corners of the hexagon. Planetary scientists are sure to continue to study this most unusual cloud formation for quite some time.
January 23, 2010
Conan's Last Show
The late-night soap opera is finally over.
Conan O'Brien taped the last episode of his seven-month stint hosting The Tonight Show, as, behind the scenes, staffers were saying their goodbyes during commercial breaks. The show aired Friday night.
The crowd chanted his name at the onset and gave him numerous standing ovations. He implored them to sit down, pointing at his watch, saying: "We really have to go."
His final monologue began: "Ladies and gentleman, we have exactly one hour to steal every single item in this studio."
"We didn't rehearse today, because we didn't care. We've all been drinking."
"The terms of my settlement say that I can't host another show for seven months. So next week look forward to the "Andy Richter Show" with his sidekick, me!"
Since the turmoil started two weeks ago – when he said in a statement he wouldn't host the show if it was moved back to 12:05 a.m. to make way for a reinstated Jay Leno at 11:35 – O'Brien has mercilessly made fun of NBC and its executives. But on the show Friday he acknowledged his time at the network.
The final show's guests included Tom Hanks, musician Neil Young and actor Will Ferrell, who was O'Brien's guest on his inaugural Tonight Show episode.
Ferrell sang and O'Brien played guitar to Lynyrd Skynrd's "Free Bird" to end the show. Steve Carrell (The Office) was a surprise guest and conducted a mock exit interview with the host.
While O'Brien is losing his dream job and is walking away with a $32.5 million personal settlement, in some ways he's benefited a great deal from the late-night controversy. His ratings have soared and he's an even hotter commodity as he decides where he's going to make his next move. He reportedly has suitors including MTV, TNT and Fox.
Reports say the epic Irish Wake style after party was something to behold. Will Ferrell and "30 Rock" funnyman Jack McBrayer joined the departing staff for the bash, posing for photos and taking in an acoustic guitar performance Conan gave the studio audience after cameras stopped rolling.
O'Brien thanked the bleachers for "being the best audience in the world," and also for camping out in the rain that plagued L.A. on Friday.
Steve Carrell made a surprise appearance during taping, and guest Tom Hanks called the host's run a "noble experiment."
"In our house, you will always be the host of 'The Tonight Show,'" Hanks imparted to O'Brien.
I always preferred Conan over Leno or Letterman, and I hope he gets his own show by the end of the year, I look forward to seeing it.
Jay Leno will be reinstalled as the host of The Tonight Show on March 1.
Hulkamania
"Hulk Hogan & Rick Flair duked it out at the Hulkamania tour in Melbourne, Australia six weeks ago. This is an early edit released during the tour dates - to become a short film in the near future.
Shot on Nikon D3 and D3s bodies.
“HIP SQUARE DANCE”
Composed by J Clinton/C Doyle/D Tetau
Performed by The Wolverines
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