Oktapodi
A story of love, will and, uhm, not enough tentacles…
The work of Gobelins students Julien Bocabeille, FX Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier and Emud Mokhberi.
Winnder of Best Animation at Imagina Awards 2008. Best of show at Siggraph 2008.
Watch it. (Flash Video)
Making of. (Quicktime)
Eat Dog Cat Mouse
A frantic tale of revenge and relentless eating: before Mouse finds a way to delicious cornfield, it’s eaten by Cat, with dire consequences for the food chain.
A short movie made by Kwok Fung Lam for the 2005 edition of Mesh.
Download it. (MOV)
Watch it. (MPEG-4)
World War
A student project that looks like a million bucks. Great touch of comedy.
White Red Panic
Beautifully edited, directed and color corrected. More importantly, it is full of outstanding performances. The lead actor (Bass Stewart) needs an agent now, if he doesn’t have one already.
Makes my day when people submit stuff like this.
Watch it (official site, QT download available)
Sockbaby
I wish all action movie trailers were this much fun. And have you ever seen a trailer to have sequels, well this one does.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
One of the best trailers of the year. I am confident the film will live up to the hype. Fascinating story, based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. By the way, the cinematography looks incredible. One sad catch, it will be released around Christmas.
Easy Pickins
Home Alone but with a old lady instead of a kid. Sounds cliche, well it is. But thoroughly enjoyable.
Escape From New York: Deleted Intro
I heard you were dead
I always wanted to see this…
Watch it. (Flash Video)
Zoudov
A spy thriller with some office romance.
Superman: The Musical
Based on a failed 1960s Broadway musical, the 1975 TV special was part of ABC’s attempt at broadcasting “edgy” entertainment in order to compete with NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
Watch snippet. (Flash Video)
Great action sequence from Casshern
Never heard of the film but it looks fantastic. Sample video and other information.
Review of There Will Be Blood
Wow! Director Paul Thomas Anderson flexes some serious filmmaking muscle in this film. This is the Raging Bull of our times, less optimistic (imagine that), less character arc but they do share the same theme: a strong character who cannot escape from himself. In Raging Bull, the redemption or the self awareness comes, in There Will Be Blood, there is not even a hint of such notions.
The obvious checklist: great acting: check; best acting performance by Daniel Day Lewis: check; incredible detail to costumes and times: check; great supporting cast: check; great directing: check; great cinematography: check; fantastic editing: check; powerful story: check.
So all the great reviews you have read about this movie are true.
Here are some of my favorite moments from the film that you will not hear about:
- Daniel Plainview comes to a small farm to check out a family who are sitting on a valuable oil reserve and don’t know it. He shows up with his son pretending to be shooting quail. The family patriarch, Abel Sunday (played by David Willis) comes out to greet him. The scene is slow and awkward but real. Anderson and the actors weren’t simply recreating an awkward moment, they are recreating a moment from the early 1900’s (I can only guess, of course). David Willis is simply incredible, he manages to play a character without a brain, a simple minded man. Of all the great acting in the film, his performance manages to stand out.
- Another great piece of acting from David Willis is the close-up shot of him eating, right after Daniel Plainview has beaten up his son. At first, he seems to have taken a stand against Daniel but the following close-up of his son (played by a wonderful Paul Dano) indicates that he is actually standing up to his son. Willis manages to show his simple minded choice of ignoring the problem but all the while knowing what is at stake. Fantastic.
- When the baby strokes Daniel Plainview’s face on the train. Such an easy moment to indicate that he is going to father the child. Simple, no fancy shots of paper signing or whatever.
- The bowling alley in Plainview’s house is one of the best set pieces I have ever seen. Seriously, how cool is that. And Daniel chasing Paul around the back, it is playful. You forget how powerful those bowling pins can be. Which is wonderfully relevant to what happens next.
- The final line “I am finished” can be interpreted in so many different ways. From what is just happened to what will happen in the future to the actual movie.
- When Daniel talks about the peachtree dance hall and his brother can’t remember. My reaction to the information mimicked Daniel Day Lewis’.
One of the greatest movies of all time.
Watch the Oscar nominated Animated shorts online
Just like last year, I have been able to find most of the Oscar nominated Animated shorts online. I have been generally happy with the Oscar nominations this year. However, I think Atonement deserved a best picture nomination (update: it did get nominated, what was I smoking?) and I think Kate Blanchett did NOT deserve a nomination for Elizabeth. The animated Oscar shorts nominees are quite strong. Certainly, a lot stronger than last year.
Moya lyubov (My Love) Part one, two & three - A moving painting that captures love in all of its longing. And like some of the other nominees, the style of animation is so bloody unique. This short would be tremendous on the big screen with all of those moving pixels/ paint strokes. No English translation available but the visual imagery tells the story for the most part.
Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven) - The only 3D animation in the bunch which comes as a surprise as it has become the dominant form. I think the slapstick story fits that style perfectly.
Peter & the Wolf (Part one, two & three) (divx version) - A cute story about a little boy with no fear. Again, the technique is tremendous. I am not sure it is all claymation. Some of the background and even some of the objects look 3D. It is especially hard to see the difference when watching it online.
Madame Tutli-Putli - The plot and scenes move along slowly, giving us enough time to invest attention on every detail of the frame. In my opinion, in terms of style, this short is heads above the rest. And that may well be the case with any animated film you compare it to. It is simply that good.
Trailer for I met the Walrus & Official site - Couldn’t find the film online. It looks like an elongated motion graphics experiment coupled with some choice quotes about war and peace.
Great selections, one from every animation sub-genre. I am having a harder time finding the live action shorts, any tips would be appreciated.
The Running Man - by Yoshiaki Kawajiri
I miss this kind of animation. There is always a touch of madness. In this case, madness is everywhere. It is cathartic, like an excursion to all of potential rage possible within a being. Don’t miss this classic, a mix between sci-fi noir (Blade Runner-like) and Akira.
Quentin Tarantino in Muppets’ Wizard of Oz
Quentin Tarantino pitching Kermit how he thinks the big fight scene should go, in his cameo in The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz.
Watch it. (Flash Video)
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