Shenanigen Blog by shenanigen

Waltz with Bashir

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So this is the third movie of my met film school series and this one by far has moved me the most. where as the first two were trippy and just fun, this one hit some core subjects. In a nut shell the movie is about a former soldier who doesn't remember a very gruesome part of the war he served in. so he retraces his steps and talks to fellow soldiers and other to piece back together his memory.

This is actually a foreign film and was nominated for an academy award. Though this is a war story told through the eyes of Israeli soldiers (i hope i have that right) it still has things that we can relate to, sadly. war is war, genocide is genocide no matter what race you are.

and i think that is what struck me about this film, that i forgot i was reading subtitles. i am seeing that animation more and more is no just a creative choice to be "different" but it can be a very powerful tool to help move your audience. Like i had stated in a previous entry that "drug" movies are more powerful if shown in ground breaking ways so it doesn't seem like the same thing. war movies can be the same. the animation kept me hooked from the opening title sequence. i feel those are vital in filmmaking. if you do not have your audience in the first 30 seconds, you wont keep them.

I think what also interested me about this film was the whole concept. the question is raised "is it easier to "digest" violent images in real life or in a digital way? meaning photos, videos, podcasts. for me i think as a society because of the immediate world we are in we are all growing numb. for example a kid can be beat up, and 2 min later its on youtube, thats how quick we are to get information out. but on top of that this movie also shows how the mind is amazing in its defenses to keep one sane. how you can forget after all these years and its almost a black hole in your subconscious. and is it really worth filling in that hole?

This video is just an except on the techniques that were used to create the look and feel in "Waltz with Bashir" and its over all impact. note there are similarities between Scanner Darkly and Waltz, but at the same time there are drastic differences as well

Posted Tuesday, August 04, 2009 10:09 PM by Shenanigen | with 0 comments

Wallace and Gromit Curse of the Were Rabbit

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I figured after a really tripy ride with A Scanner Darkly, that i would go to a lighter movie on my list. so i watched wallace and gromit curse of the were rabbit. This i would have to say was my first Wallace and Grombit movie. I feel for the dog, poor guys does alot of the work for Wallace. but at the end of the day they are both buddies. so this one i loved it was a light hearted movie, but just like Shrek and others that there were a few adult jokes in there that would go right over the little ones heads overall i enjoyed the movie, just light hearted and fun. again its good to mix it up from time to time. but really what fascinates me is this is still stop motion claymation. like chicken run and others, the only one that looked like the same animators but was digital was "flushed away" and i have always be fascinated by that, especially when things like liquid come into play or dirt flying, i wonder is that in computer or is that still practical. and also the mouth movements. now a days computers can match frame or other things, but when you are animating frame by fram you really need to also understand how the mouth moves as well. also i wonder alot on how those sets are done, and what scale, i mean camera can move closer or things like that. but there are several shots that i wonder ok not only is this hand animation, how are they doing a rising jib shot too? This video shows not the set from the movie, but how things are done a little bit (it was the best i could find on youtube) so sadly not to deep of an observation on this one, but again its just fun to watch and makes me scratch my head and want to watch more

Posted Tuesday, August 04, 2009 10:05 PM by Shenanigen | with 0 comments

A Scanner Darkly

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So i am starting a list of pre movies to watch before i start my course in February and i thought after each movie i would write a little reflection on what i thought and noticed. Now most of these movies i am more looking at the animation and visual effects aspects so some of the story line or other parts wont be mentioned.

First of all I could tell from the opening sequence that this was going to be a tripy ride. The opening sequence hooked me from the begining with a guy twiching out, but i had a feeling this was going ot be like fear and lothing after the first time i saw that. it was going to be one of those movies that i had to go back a second time and would get it.

my brother found the animation aspect actually quite distracting to where me on the other hand it was the complete opposite. it was the only thing that kept my attention. ok there were a couple other things. i guess i was curious about the characters and their interactions. but i lost some of the names in the fray so when they would mention a character by name i wouldn't know what that was. but back to the animation part (the part i am supposed to notice)

I think it really added something to this movie. i dont feel it was a gimmick, some would probably disagree. but for me i think it made the movie different than other "drug" movies. but at the same time alot of "drug" movies all are trying to make it different from the rest. look at Requiem for a Dream with the extreme close ups and repeating shots, split screens and new camera techniques. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, same thing with the lizard people. I mean if you think about it how can you describe or show visually a sensation or feeling? so to me it amost makes sense that these types of movies have to resort to new and different techniques to keep the audiences attention, other wise they feel like they are watching an anti drug movie and the moral is being jammed down their throats

Over all the movie was not my thing, again i know it was ground breaking in its use of the animation sense, but sadly i can be a little simple and this movie i need to watch again to fully appreciate all the aspects of this movie and not just the VFX parts

Posted Tuesday, August 04, 2009 10:02 PM by Shenanigen | with 0 comments

Whats this movie about again?

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The Black Dahlia (2006)

So I was into the movie when they started talking about the murder. But then when they started focusing more on the love triangle, and who is sleeping with whom. I really lost interest. They tried to make the movie film noir like, but some times it was sometimes it wasn’t. I wish it were one way or another. So of the acting seemed fake, other well. Again I don’t know if they were trying to play with the movie also reflecting the times. LOTS of backstabbing which got old. So maybe I am to straight forward I don’t like alot of backstabbing but I found this really boring. Great potential and they dropped the ball

Posted Thursday, May 24, 2007 9:57 PM by Shenanigen | with 0 comments

I accept that I really enjoyed Accepted

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Accepted (2006)

So I actually was pleasantly surprised with the movie Accepted. Good humor, nothing to crude like alot of college movies. I won't start to name off movies that play that card. I feel it is just one of those all good fun kind of movies to watch as a pick me up. Not meant to have a deep meaning or anything. But some moral value is in there. nice comedic moments, but not completely slapstick. So say what you want. I enjoyed it

Posted Thursday, May 24, 2007 9:48 PM by Shenanigen | with 0 comments

Surprise at the Museum

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Night at the Museum (2006)

So I watched Night at the Museum and I actually really enjoyed it, I am not a Ben Stiller fan but this wasn’t bad, I was worried they would show all the funny parts in the trailer, but they didn’t. And again over all a fun movie. Now there isn’t a deep meaning or artistic cinematography. But that is why we all go to the movies, for different experiences. Well I know this really wasn’t much of a review. I just enjoyed it

Posted Saturday, January 06, 2007 12:24 AM by Shenanigen | with 0 comments

The Fountian

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The Fountain (2006)

This weekend I saw The Fountain, and I thought it was ok. it is a slow moving movie, and in the first 20 minutes of the movie i was trying to figure what it was exactly about. but slowly it was revealing what and how everything was happening. I will say it was very visually stunning, camera angles matching in all the worlds, and stars were the running theme for lighting and set which was also cool From an editor's stand point this was different for a Darren Aronofsky film. Requiem was very face and in your face with jump cuts and ECU (extreme close ups) same as Pi. The fountain did have ECU's and Darren Aronofsky trademark, but everything ran smoothly from one world to another. I was sad Rachel Weisz did have as big of a role as I thought, but I still enjoyed the performance. I really don't have anything else to say, for I am not a critic. but if I was I would give this movie a B -

Posted Tuesday, November 28, 2006 12:13 PM by Shenanigen | with 0 comments

Shenanigen Blog

Waltz with Bashir

Wallace and Gromit Curse of the Were Rabbit

A Scanner Darkly

Whats this movie about again?

I accept that I really enjoyed Accepted

Surprise at the Museum

The Fountian

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