Summer Movie Wrap-Up

Now that summer is officially over, I will take the opportunity to look back at the movies I saw. Unfortunately, because I was studying for the bar exam and unemployed, I missed out on a lot of summer flicks.

Best Summer Blockbuster

Star Trek - What a delightful surprise this was! It was full of action, adventure, cameos, and zippy one-liners - everything that a summer blockbuster requires. This movie starts from the very beginning of the Star Trek story, making this saga accessible to a new generation of viewers.

Biggest Disappointment

Up - I think this movie was technically perfect and the characters intriguing and well-developed. However, I thought the talking dogs were cheesy and a cheap laugh (In the movie, an old man lives in a blimp with dozens of dogs. The old man invented a talking collar so that his pets can talk to him). I also found it creepy that the old man lived with so many dogs. I must be the only person in the planet who didn't leave the movie with a big smile on my face, but I just couldn't get past the creepy dogs. After hearing that this was the best Pixar movie yet, I couldn't have been more disappointed.

Biggest Surprise

The Hangover - Hilarious! The story follows a bachelor party in Las Vegas gone awry. I wasn't familiar with any of the actors so I wasn't expecting very much, but it was a riot from start to finish.

Guilty Pleasure

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra - I watched this on a rainy afternoon in Madison just to kill some time. For those of you who remember the t.v. show or original animated movie, this movie is everything you could want in a G.I. Joe Flick. Terrible Acting. Cheesy Dialog. Far-fetched Plot. Sub par special effects. A random character screaming out "Go Joe!" Enough said.

Best Movie of the Summer

Inglorious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino's latest film does not disappoint. This movie was as suspenseful as any Alfred Hitchcock film, although slightly more bloody! Although I always enjoy looking at Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz playing Col. Hans Landa, a Nazi, stole every scene. I wouldn't be surprised if he is nominated for an Oscar. For those of you who listen to podcasts, I recommend listening to this interview Quentin did on NPR for some insight to the movie. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112286584

What about you? What movie will you remember most from this summer?

3-D Follow Up

I couldn't resist following up my previous post after I read Roger Ebert's review of "The Hole" at the Toronto International Film Festival. It sums up my views exactly!

"The Hole." Now forgive me if I bring up once again the tiresome subject of 3-D. Of the content of Joe Dante's new horror film I will write nothing until it opens. Of the choice to use 3-D, you can't stop me. The 3-D process in this film is the best I've seen in live action, and that includes the preview footage of "Avatar." It's technically impeccable. It makes no contribution to the overall experience.

Now that I've see live action 3-D done as well as it's likely to be done for some time. I realize more than ever this truth: The 2-D process creates a perfect illusion of depth. The 3-D process interferes with that achievement by adding additional information that reduces the illusion of depth, creating distinct planes within the image which our minds are forced to recognize and process. If there is a future for 3-D, and I hope there isn't, it's in animation, which isn't supposed to look real in the first place, and not in live action, where it's a distracting abomination. If you're a director with something to say, don't let your process interfere.

Is 3-D a scam?

Welcome to my innagural post! To kick things off, I am going to start with a topic that I feel very strongly about: 3-D movies. In my opinion, 3-D is a gimmick used to jack up ticket prices by $3-$8. It contributes absolutly nothing to the story or to my enjoyment of the movie. It was a gimmick when it first was used in the 1950s and it has returned as a gimmick in the 2000s.

Case in point: I recently attended a 3-D screening of Harry Potter 6 at the Great Clips Imax Theatre in Apple Valley. Tickets were $15.00 per person but fortunately, as a member of the zoo, I only had to shell out $13.00 for 2 tickets. Before the movie started, we received detailed instructions on when to put on our thick, plastic glasses and when to take them off during the movie. It turns out that some of the previews were in 3-D so I had to put on my glasses right away. I continued to keep the glasses on through the first scene of the movie. After the first scene, the screen flashed instructions to remove my 3-D glasses. I did so and kept my glasses tightly gripped in my hand, ready to thrust them back on my face at any moment for the next 3-D scene. But the opportunity never came to put the glasses back on. Only the very first 5 minute scene was in 3-D. Not even the quidditch match in the movie was 3-D. In fact, there were move previews in 3-D than the actual movie!!!

What a scam!! And from what I have heard, other peoples' experiences with 3-D has been similar. I have yet to hear of a movie where the 3-D actually contributed to the work, with the possible exception of The Final Destination 3-D (a movie which no doubt utilizes a multitude of gimmicks). Yet every weekend, more and more movies are being released in 3-D. What gives? Why take a fine film like UP and add 3-D? To jack up ticket prices.

Roger Ebert, my idol, has similar views on 3-D. To read about his thoughts yourself, visit: http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/05/up_up_and_away_in_my_beautiful.html

Here's an excerpt:

There is also the annoyance of 3D itself. It is a marketing gimmick designed (1) to justify higher ticket prices, and (2) make piracy harder. Yet as most of the world will continue to use 2D, pirated prints will remain a reality. The effect of 3D adds nothing to the viewing experience, and I have never once heard an audience member complain that a movie is not in 3D. Kids say they "like" it, but kids are inclined to say they "like" anything that is animated and that they get to see in a movie theater. It is the responsibility of parents to explain this useful truth: If it ain't broke. don't fix it. Every single frame of a 3D movie gives you something to look at that is not necessary

What movies have you seen in 3-D? Do you think it made the movie better or worse? Do you agree with Roger and Me - is 3-D a scam? I want this to be a discussion-based blog so your comments are encouraged!

The limits of contemporary animation

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion among film critics about whether we are in the golden age of animation. I don't think I would go as far as to say that we are in the golden age , but it is certainly true that contemporary animated films are pushing the boundaries of the genre.

It seems that increasingly, animated films are targeted at adults just as much as children. No longer are movies about princesses in love and their talking animal friends, but they tackle serious adult themes. The plot of last year's Wall-E, one of the best films of the year, centered consumerism and its negative effects. This year's Up featured a heart-breaking scene early in the movie of a couple's miscarriage.

But this is not all about Pixar. The movie Waltz with Bashir single handedly pushed the limits of animation more than all animated movies combined have done in the past 50 years. Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary from Israel. Yes - an animated documentary. The movie is about the film director's efforts to reconstruct his memories of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. He has a reoccurring dream about his role in the invasion and he doesn't know if the dream is true. To find out, he interviews several other Israeli veterans. Every veteran's story is incomplete, and the gaps have been filled in with their own dreams. What works so well in this film is these very dream sequences. The animation really allow the viewers to gain a deeper understanding of the veteran's visions. Dream sequences in live action just cannot have the same affect.

Techniques in animation have become more advanced as well. Pixar has mastered CGI animation, many studios are experimenting with 3-D, and other studios are revisiting the wonders of hand-drawn animation (this year's Ponyo comes to mind). Persepolis - an biographical story of growing up in Iran in the 1970s and 80s, uses black and white and 2-D animation to great effect.

These are just a few examples of how contemporary films are pushing the boundaries of animation. I encourage everyone to explore some of these films and others! Let me know if you have suggestions on what I should watch next.