Monthly Archive for July, 2008

The Animation Podcast

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by
Paul
on July 31, 2008
in Cartoons & Animation
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As some of you may know, I spent several years as a character animator for video games. Recently, I’ve been polishing my old demo reel and so my head has been in a cartoony space — well, cartoonier than usual anyway. Apros pos of that mood, I recently went back and listened to all 28 episodes of Clay Kaytis’ Animation Podcast over again in order. Kaytis started doing the show back in 2005. He’s an animator at Disney and, as such, has access to some real heavyweights in the field. Past interviews have been with John Musker and Ron Clements (directors of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin), Glen Keane (the animator of Beast, Ariel and Tarzan), and James Baxter (the animator of Belle and the animation supervisor for Enchanted). Each of the episodes runs between 30 minutes and an hour with most of the guests appearing across multiple episodes. Kaytis’ interviewing style is laid-back and polite and his own expertise in the field doesn’t hurt one bit. Although this may raise the only red flag that I can think of — occasionally the talk can get a little nuts-and-bolts-y, but I for one don’t really consider that a deterrent. I can enjoy shows about doctors and lawyers without grasping all of the jargon. The hook with those programs is the window into another world. I think you get that exact same experience with the Animation Podcast: a glimpse into a professional realm outside your own. Besides, the vast majority of the material presented is anecdotal or philosophical. The animators and directors mostly talk about their personal histories, the political goings-on behind the scenes and their views on life and art.

Listening to the entire run of shows from start to finish was an absolute pleasure. My only complaint when I got to the end was the fact there were no more episodes (although that’ll change soon — Clay’s getting them out at a rate of about one a month now). Anyway, my gist here is that if you are an animator yourself, an animation fan or if you have just wondered what it might be like in the crazy world of animated film, you need to listen to the Animation Podcast. All of the episodes are available on iTunes. Go. Now.

Dark City: Director’s Cut

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by
Paul
on July 30, 2008
in Reviews
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Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]

1998’s Dark City has a lot in common with The Matrix. In fact, were the two films more than a year apart, I would say that “City” probably influenced the Wachowski Brothers’ cyber-epic to some degree. Thanks to a botched marketing campaign and a story bordering on the esoteric, “City” did not enjoy the kind of far-reaching success as The Matrix. That’s a shame really because — and I know this is heretical — I find it to be more imaginative and more engaging than Neo’s little coming of age story. (Or maybe I’m just being influenced by the two “Matrix” sequels which, I think you’ll agree, soured the whole series for everyone).

Now, ten years after the initial release, director Alex Proyas has pulled a Blade Runner and restored Dark City back to his original vision. The parallels between those two films are remarkable actually. When Blade Runner was completed, test screenings were held, audiences were confused and a lame voice-over was added to dumb it down for Mr. and Mrs. Middle America. When Dark City was completed — you guessed it — test screenings were held, audiences were confused and a lame voice-over was added to dumb it down for Mr. and Mrs. Middle America. And now, just within the last year, DVDs have been released for both films which give us the original un-dummy-fied cuts. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised, in fact, if the commercial success of that Blade Runner disc prompted New Line to go ahead and give Proyas the Director’s Cut treatment as well. This new Dark City DVD won’t do nearly as well as Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner redux and that’s a shame because — and I know this is heretical — “City” is a better movie. At the very least, it’s more emotionally engaging, but I’ve always found Blade Runner to be a very cold film, an exercise in style over substance.

Anyway, I hope I haven’t been too effusive in my praise of Dark City — the film still has problems even in this new incarnation. Some of the visual effects are poor and there could be a little more mystery despite the excision of the aforementioned lame voice-over. Nevertheless, the movie deserves a wider awareness level than it’s achieved heretofore. If you’ve never seen it, do so now. If you saw it back in the day, check out this new version which gives you credit for having at least a little more intelligence.

John Carter of Mars

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by
Paul
on July 24, 2008
in Reviews
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Maybe I’m in the midst of a surprisingly benign mid-life crisis, but just here lately I can’t seem to get enough of the pulp-y adventure stories I enjoyed as a kid. I’ve always been a fan of Robert E. Howard’s Conan and I just recently took a spin through the world of Michael Moorcook’s Elric. One set of stories I’d never read — until now — is Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars cycle. There’re eleven books in this series and I doubt very seriously that I will read them all, but I did enjoy the first three quite a bit. The books’re hokey, and they rely very heavily on coincidence and hyperbole, but I will say this about ol’ Edgar Rice — he knew how to buckle a swash. Though the Carter tales are not nearly as sophisticated as those of the other two sword and sorcery mainstays I just mentioned, they’re good fun to be sure. Unfortunately, I had to take my little trip to Mars via a cheap collection of the first trilogy put out by Barnes and Noble books. Apparently, most of Burroughs’ stuff has lapsed into the public domain in the last few years so the Del Rey versions of my youth are long gone — a shame too since all eleven volumes sported a nifty cover from fantasy artist par-excellence Michael Whelan.

In addition to reading these books to scratch my pulp fantasy itch, I was also curious to see whether or not they would be adequate fodder for a movie adaptation. It looks as though John Carter will be Director Andrew Stanton’s next big project. For those of you not in the know, Stanton is one of the head honchos at Pixar — he directed Finding Nemo and this summer’s Wall*E. No word yet on whether or not his version of the classic series will be animated, live action or some combination of both. (It’s kind of trippy to think about Pixar getting into the live action business, isn’t it?)

The Dark Knight

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by
Paul
on July 21, 2008
in Reviews
. 29 Comments Tags: , .

If you’ve been paying attention at all lately, you’ve heard some of the hype leading into The Dark Knight. Most critics have been saying that Heath Ledger should probably get a posthumous nod for Best Supporting Actor, and a few particularly rabid commentators have dared to suggest that the movie should garner a Best Picture nomination. So, does the actual film live up to all that hype? No, of course it doesn’t, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Point of fact, it’s very good.

Director Christopher Nolan had a mission in 2005 with Batman Begins: he clearly wanted to give us a more realistic take on the Batman legend. With The Dark Knight, Nolan turns that mission into a crusade. There are no (apparent) CGI buildings darkening Gotham City’s skyline this time out. Batman’s hometown looks and feels like a modern American city (which it is actually — Chicago, to be precise). Given this less art-directed, grittier take on Gotham, the action that takes place at street level is more realistic as well. The set pieces in this movie feel like they could have come out of a more mainstream heist or crime film — a heist or crime film not featuring a guy dressed as a bat and another guy dressed as a clown. Overall, I found The Dark Knight to be very consistent across the board in terms of the tone of the action and drama and the look and feel of the visuals. That could be a problem for some people, however. In fact, the friend I saw the movie with considered the seriousness (and, let’s face it, bleakness) of the picture to be antithetical to his expectations. In his world, Batman stories have a sense of color, panache, derring-do and, well, fun. He also worried that this new outing didn’t really have a point of entry for kids — a fair chunk of the character’s target demo. While my friend’s take on things wasn’t at all where my mind was at when the flick was unspooling, I concede that he has some valid points. Of course, all of this is subjective, but your enjoyment of The Dark Knight may depend greatly on your expectations of the character — who’s had a widely varied career in his, what, nearly sixty years of existence. There have been numerous takes on The Batman, and “Dark Knight” may not jibe with your past favorites.

As for me, I do think this is one of the top five superhero movies done to date. Despite its flaws — it’s too long, a couple of plot points don’t mesh with the whole, the script gets a little too free with broadcasting its thematic stances as the climax nears, etc. — The Dark Knight had a lot for me to like. But Hell, show me a movie that doesn’t have some flaws. Taking that into account, color me impressed by Chris Nolan’s sophomore outing with the character. Go see The Dark Knight, but give a thought to my friend’s experience — factor in your own expectations (if you have any) and bear in mind that the word “dark” is in the title for a reason.

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

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by
Paul
on July 20, 2008
in General
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Y’know, I just have to support this…

“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog” is a made-on-the-cheap comedy/musical superhero show (in three parts) intended for distribution primarily on the internet (with a DVD to follow). This truly is someone taking the creative power into their own hands and forgoing the sort of crap they’d have to subject themselves to had they gone to a studio — hat in hand — to beg for financing. It helps that “Horrible” wasn’t made by a bunch of schmucks in Poughkeepsie, but, instead, by Joss Whedon, Neal Patrick Harris, and Nathan Filiian. No slouches all. I went to iTunes, I paid my four bucks, and I’ve watched all three episodes. The truth is, I would probably be recommending this thing even if it wasn’t a bold experiement in alternative distribution (read Joss’ letter explaining said experiment). “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog” is pretty darned entertaining, actually. The actors are all good, the songs drive the story (and are often funny in their own right) and the ending threw me for a bit of a loop. The whole enterprise is quirky and fun and wouldn’t have stood a snowball’s chance in hell of making it through the studio development system.

You only have until midnight July 20th to grab the episodes from iTunes and then the show goes into hibernation until it re-appears on DVD (presumably some time soon). C’mon people, support these guys. You want new and unusual programming untainted by Evil Hollywood Overlords? Then throw Joss and his boys a bone: download the show or snatch it up when it the disc eventually drops.

[Follow the banner above to go to the show's official site.]

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

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by
Paul
on July 14, 2008
in Reviews
. 6 Comments Tags: , .

Let me just say up front that I’m a fan of the Mike Mignola comic series. When Hellboy is on, it truly is one of the best comics in the field. In many ways, I felt that Guillermo Del Toro’s first feature film based on the material missed the essence of the books. The folkloric quality and the loopiness just wasn’t there. A recent re-viewing of the DVD (to prepare myself for the sequel) only served to confirm this — in fact, I think I dug the movie even less after watching it again.

Well, I’m happy to say that Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is a substantial improvement over the first film. The actors all seem more comfortable in their roles and Del Toro has (seemingly) surrendered himself to the gestalt of the movie’s universe and pulled out all of the stops. “Golden Army” is a fun movie and I’d hazard a guess that the director and his cast had a good time making it. It’s that very spirit of fun which may be off-putting to some people, however. This is a movie that does not take itself seriously at all. The tone — with its frequent doses of odd-ball humor — will probably not work for everyone. That odd-ball humor is mixed with some well-staged action and moments of real gravitas, however, and — for me at least — it was a deft juggling act. My hat’s off to Del Toro this time out. The movie still isn’t a literal adaptation of the comics, but it stands now as its own thing — cohesive and entertaining.

Batman: Gotham Knight

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by
Paul
on July 12, 2008
in Reviews
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Batman Gotham Knight (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

You guys remember Animatrix — the collection of japanimation shorts designed to bridge the gap between the first and second “Matrix” films? Well, Warner Brothers has gone and given the same treatment to Batman. Batman: Gotham Knight is (supposedly) the connective tissue between Batman Begins and the upcoming The Dark Knight. Before I go any further, let me just say that this is utter nonsense — nothing but marketing hype. “Gotham Knight” (a collection of six animated shorts which themselves are only tenuously connected) seems to have little or nothing to do with Christopher Nolan’s two live action features. Forgetting for a moment the supposed bridging aspect of “Gotham Knight”, it’s overall quality is pretty variable. Each of the shorts was done by a different Japanese studio. Some of them are okay. Some of them are butt-ugly. The writing in places is quite good and in others it’s bland and uninteresting. Actually, the first short (which has nothing whatever to do with the subsequent five) is a truly lousy story. It’s a plot they did on Batman The Animated Series fifteen years ago and, of course, they did it much, much better. I thought I was in for a crappy evening after that first segment. It got much better, but I still feel like I could’ve taken a pass on the whole show and been none the worse for it. Batman: Gotham Knight isn’t bad, nor is it good. You can probably find better things to do with your time.

[The one undeniable upside to "Gotham Knight" is the fact that Batman/Bruce Wayne are voiced by Kevin Conroy -- the same guy who played those roles in the aforementioned "Animated Series".]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

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by
Paul
on July 10, 2008
in Reviews
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Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Vista Series)

Animation Fest 2008 continues.

I hadn’t seen “Roger Rabbit” in five or six years and I was convinced going in that it wouldn’t be as good as I remembered it being. Well, it is lumpy, mis-shapen and suffers from a few gaps in logic, but I gotta say that it holds up pretty well. The biggest problem for me has always been how strident and unsympathetic a hero the film has. Roger, at the end of the day, is pretty annoying. That abrasiveness keeps him at arm’s length in a way that’s detrimental to the narrative. Over the years, I had sort of lumped Roger Rabbit in with Jar Jar Binks as one of the most obnoxious characters in screen history. Well, with this viewing fresh in my mind now, I must say that I’ve done Roger a dis-service all these years. Yeah, he’s annoying, but he’s not even in the same league as Mr. Binks. No, Jar Jar raises the bar on just how distracting a major character can be. But I digress.

It was great being reminded tonight of what Who Framed Roger Rabbit did for animation back in 1988. It was very definitely a part of the renaissance that included The Simpsons and such Disney “neo-classics” as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Yeah, the story doesn’t work 100%, Bob Hoskins seems like an odd casting choice at times and the quality of the animation is inconsistent throughout, but you still end up digging on “Roger”. It still works.

I, Robot

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by
Paul
on July 9, 2008
in Reviews
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I, Robot (Widescreen Edition)

I really wanted to like I, Robot and if it had stayed a futuristic detective story and not introduced some goofy-ass logic and absolutely ludicrous action scenes I probably would have. This isn’t an out-an-out dog we’re talking about here, but it’s not good either. It’s nowhere near as interesting as director Alex Proyas’ Dark City, which is a bit of an underground classic. I will say, however, that the lead robot (played by my boy Alan Tudyk — “Wash” of Firefly fame) is a pretty outstanding creation. Too bad that character’s not in a better movie.

My Neighbor Totoro

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by
Paul
on July 5, 2008
in Reviews
. 2 Comments Tags: , .

My Neighbor Totoro

Okay, well that’s a little more like it. After some real animated turkeys, leave it to Hayao Miyazaki to finally give me something decent.

Let me just say up front that I don’t much care for anime. Most of it is overwrought nonsense aimed right square (near as I can figure) at your average angsty teen. Miyazaki’s in a category all his own, however. If Akira Kurosawa and Walt Disney could somehow produce an offspring, Miyazaki would be it. His Spirited Away won the Best Animated Feature Oscar a few years ago and he’s virtually worshiped by the guys at Pixar. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, get off your ass and start watching some DVDs pronto.

My Neighbor Totoro is a fine entry in the esteemed Japanese director’s body of work. It’s aimed at a younger audience than Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke, but it’s a treat all the way through. Not only is it charming, it’s also one of the strangest, most unique kids films I’ve seen in quite a while.

I figure my sudden animation kick will continue for some time, but I don’t expect to see many better movies than “Totoro”.

Corpse Bride

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by
Paul
on July 3, 2008
in Reviews
. 10 Comments Tags: , , , .

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (Widescreen Edition)

Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton’s earlier stop-motion film, has something of a cult following. I am not a part of that cult. I remember being bored by it in the theater — most especially by Danny Elfman’s lackluster songs. On balance, Corpse Bride is quite a bit less engaging than “Nightmare”. If “Nightmare” has anything going for it, it’s its charming premise — the King of Halloween having to sub in for Santa Claus. It’s a Rankin Bass holiday special with Burton’s particular brand of cheery Gothic creepiness. “Bride” does not have a similarly engaging hook. It’s neither a good film nor a particularly bad one either — it just kind of lays there in that muddy middle region. And Elfman’s score is no better here than it was in “Nightmare”.

Corpse Bride is not anywhere near as bad as The Aristocats, but I’m about ready to see a good animated film now.

The Aristocats

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by
Paul
on July 1, 2008
in Reviews
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Prior to tonight’s viewing, The Aristocats was the only Disney animated feature I’d never seen and, despite the fact that some of the studio’s finest animators worked on it, it’s hands-down the worst of the bunch. We’re talking almost zero entertainment value. Ah well, the boys were in the twilight of their careers after all. Still, I’d love to have that 76 minutes back.