Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Playlist and Top 20 Albums of the Year
First of all, I have decided to change the playlist on the right to reflect my choices for music rather than the choices of my iPod's genius function. I found that the genius function wasn't as diverse as I would have liked, so you are left with my generating a weekly playlist via my handy old noggin. This weeks playlist is very acoustically based with exception of a few songs. In the midst of feeling very sentimental, I arranged a 13 song playlist that represents a set of songs that encompass how I have felt over the last few weeks or so. I hope you enjoy it!
In other news, I will be counting down my Top 20 Albums of the Year. Everyday, I will reveal the next album that I have included on my list. I will begin this process on the 12th of December in order to finish my countdown on the 31st of December, just in time for the turn of the year. Hopefully this becomes something to look forward to. Until then enjoy my playlist.
In other news, I will be counting down my Top 20 Albums of the Year. Everyday, I will reveal the next album that I have included on my list. I will begin this process on the 12th of December in order to finish my countdown on the 31st of December, just in time for the turn of the year. Hopefully this becomes something to look forward to. Until then enjoy my playlist.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Exciting News!!!
I have some exciting news. As of today I am now a part of the writing staff at Anomalous Material. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to write in a community with as much passion about film as myself. I hope that my time spent with them will further my knowledge of film as well as continue to push me forward in becoming a better and more seasoned writer. I appreciate all of your support and ask that you continue to support me as I move forward with my passions. I expect that the majority of my film blogging will take place over there, so you should go check it out now! I will still keep my other blogging here as I continue to explore the world of Music, Politics, and Sports.
Anomalous Material
Anomalous Material
The Year of the Animated Film
I have always had a soft spot when it comes to animated films. While many of my cohorts will simply skip the genre when such movies come funneling into town, I find myself sneaking away by my lonesome to catch a matinee. Animation thrills me in a way that live action just is unable to do. I am not one for overly fantasy based live action films, because I have a hard time relating to the characters and I dislike the fact that they are trying to make the impossible believable. But when it comes to animation, I am able to put those feelings aside. I am able to become a child once again, where I can believe that anything is possible.
This year in animation has been simply brilliant. I always get excited for what Disney/Pixar has to offer, and this year was most definitely not an exception. From the beginning with Toy Story, they have blossomed into their prime by concluding that same adventure with a second sequel of the 1995 film. Nostalgia got the most of me. I feel as though I grew up with the character of Andy, and I embarked on this journey with his toys, Woody, Buzz and the whole crew. In the end, Toy Story 3 concluded just as brilliantly as it had begun, leaving me smiling behind tears. After seeing the final part of the trilogy, I knew that it mattered very little what else came out this year, Toy Story 3 would be taking home the little statuette of a gold man come next March.
But the fact of the matter is that it does matter. I am but three animated films deep into this year’s collection, and I already can’t imagine a better field to fulfill the genres’ representation come award season. It is a shame that only 15 films qualified for an Academy Award this year, meaning that only three films will be allowed a nomination for the award. They were one short of threshold needed to expand the field to five as they did last year.
Disney also released Tangled, which is said to be their final Disney Princess film for quite some time, if not their final one ever. I didn’t have a lot of expectations for the film. I missed out on last year’s The Frog Princess, but for one reason or another felt compelled to see this film. When the film began, I was thinking that it might have been a mistake to commit myself to the occasion. But as it started to take form, I quickly began to enjoy myself, and fall for the characters. By the end, I was more than thrilled that I had decided to go with my instincts and see the film. I can’t say that it is in the same league as Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin, but it held its own. When you are dealing with Disney, the bar has been held high, and not every release is going to exceed that. But it did hold that same feel as some of the other great Disney films, the Alan Menken written score, the loveable characters, and an enchanted land beyond your wildest dreams (I can see my seven year old self getting psyched right now).
How To Your Dragon is Dream Works submission to the wonderful year of animated films. Whereas, I will still take Toy Story 3 as the best animated film of the year, How To Train Your Dragon demonstrates to me that Hollywood can still be creative and come up with innovative ideas in an industry that is set on littering the silver screen with remakes and sequels. I can’t complain about a single aspect of the film, as it is as good as anything that has been released this year across all genres, and deserves recognition in being so.
I still have yet to see the latest from Sylvain Chomet, The Illusionist, but from what I have heard and seen from the trailer, it looks absolutely fantastic. Chomet is the director of the critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated film The Triplets of Belleville. It seems as though everything he touches becomes Oscar bait. Unfortunately, I doubt that I will be able to see this film by the time award season comes to a close. Films such as The Illusionist seem hard to come by until much later after it initially comes out. But I look forward to catching it as soon as I am able, and it is sure to be a great addition to the already crowded field.
I have yet to see Despicable Me, Megamind, and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’hoole. I am going to make an assumption that none of these films are in the same league as the four previously discussed ones, but nonetheless have something to be said about the genre. Despicable Me and Megamind were both decently received by critics and ultimately did fairly well at the box office, and in almost any other year, at least one of the two would have likely scored a nomination at the Oscars.
The fact is that the animated genre is gaining a larger respect from the industry. I think that people are growing sick of the same old stuff, and the animated field is continually one of the few genres that are keeping things fresh with quality films. The genre is looking to boast a third all time Best Picture nomination, and second straight year to capture a nomination. From the sounds of it, Disney/Pixar is getting serious about their campaign. They are trying to make a run for the ultimate prize. From a logical point of view, more than likely this will not be the year that the Academy goes all the way for the animated underdog. However the genre is gaining ground, and maybe one day it will take home that top prize.
This year in animation has been simply brilliant. I always get excited for what Disney/Pixar has to offer, and this year was most definitely not an exception. From the beginning with Toy Story, they have blossomed into their prime by concluding that same adventure with a second sequel of the 1995 film. Nostalgia got the most of me. I feel as though I grew up with the character of Andy, and I embarked on this journey with his toys, Woody, Buzz and the whole crew. In the end, Toy Story 3 concluded just as brilliantly as it had begun, leaving me smiling behind tears. After seeing the final part of the trilogy, I knew that it mattered very little what else came out this year, Toy Story 3 would be taking home the little statuette of a gold man come next March.
But the fact of the matter is that it does matter. I am but three animated films deep into this year’s collection, and I already can’t imagine a better field to fulfill the genres’ representation come award season. It is a shame that only 15 films qualified for an Academy Award this year, meaning that only three films will be allowed a nomination for the award. They were one short of threshold needed to expand the field to five as they did last year.
Disney also released Tangled, which is said to be their final Disney Princess film for quite some time, if not their final one ever. I didn’t have a lot of expectations for the film. I missed out on last year’s The Frog Princess, but for one reason or another felt compelled to see this film. When the film began, I was thinking that it might have been a mistake to commit myself to the occasion. But as it started to take form, I quickly began to enjoy myself, and fall for the characters. By the end, I was more than thrilled that I had decided to go with my instincts and see the film. I can’t say that it is in the same league as Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin, but it held its own. When you are dealing with Disney, the bar has been held high, and not every release is going to exceed that. But it did hold that same feel as some of the other great Disney films, the Alan Menken written score, the loveable characters, and an enchanted land beyond your wildest dreams (I can see my seven year old self getting psyched right now).
How To Your Dragon is Dream Works submission to the wonderful year of animated films. Whereas, I will still take Toy Story 3 as the best animated film of the year, How To Train Your Dragon demonstrates to me that Hollywood can still be creative and come up with innovative ideas in an industry that is set on littering the silver screen with remakes and sequels. I can’t complain about a single aspect of the film, as it is as good as anything that has been released this year across all genres, and deserves recognition in being so.
I still have yet to see the latest from Sylvain Chomet, The Illusionist, but from what I have heard and seen from the trailer, it looks absolutely fantastic. Chomet is the director of the critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated film The Triplets of Belleville. It seems as though everything he touches becomes Oscar bait. Unfortunately, I doubt that I will be able to see this film by the time award season comes to a close. Films such as The Illusionist seem hard to come by until much later after it initially comes out. But I look forward to catching it as soon as I am able, and it is sure to be a great addition to the already crowded field.
I have yet to see Despicable Me, Megamind, and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’hoole. I am going to make an assumption that none of these films are in the same league as the four previously discussed ones, but nonetheless have something to be said about the genre. Despicable Me and Megamind were both decently received by critics and ultimately did fairly well at the box office, and in almost any other year, at least one of the two would have likely scored a nomination at the Oscars.
The fact is that the animated genre is gaining a larger respect from the industry. I think that people are growing sick of the same old stuff, and the animated field is continually one of the few genres that are keeping things fresh with quality films. The genre is looking to boast a third all time Best Picture nomination, and second straight year to capture a nomination. From the sounds of it, Disney/Pixar is getting serious about their campaign. They are trying to make a run for the ultimate prize. From a logical point of view, more than likely this will not be the year that the Academy goes all the way for the animated underdog. However the genre is gaining ground, and maybe one day it will take home that top prize.
Animal-like Instincts Make or Break Life in Animal Kingdom
Our world is filled with all sorts of unique individuals. Some are very nurturing and kind in nature. Others are ridden with evil, sweltering over into a lifestyle of wrongdoing. Our world has a dog eat dog mentality. Often what we receive in life comes down to how we go about achieving it. In David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom, he invents world of paranoia in which his characters do what they need to do in order to survive. They harness their actions through their lifestyles, and within the environments in which they have been brought up.
The film wastes no time in getting into the story as J or Josh, the centralized character of the film and played by James Frecheville, enters into a way of life beyond his wildest nightmares, when his mother loses her life to a heroin overdose. The underage young man finds himself left to live with his grandmother and uncles under a roof that is crowded with sketchy practices. Janine “Smurf” Cody (Jacki Weaver), J’s grandmother, acts as the queen bee of their dysfunctional family. It is hard to peg exactly what is going on with her motives throughout the entirety of the film, but as an audience member we are uncomfortable by her existence. Her sons are immersed in drugs and criminal acts that leave nothing to the imagination. The worst, Pope (Ben Mendelson), is somewhat of the ringleader, and by all standards insane with a killer’s instinct. Pope and his best friend, Baz (Joel Edgerton), get in over their head with the police and everything begins spiraling out of control. In the midst of all of this, J gets dragged into the family business. He is only able to find peace through his girl friend Nicky and her family, who are the closest thing that he has to a functionally operating family. When people start dying, J gets caught in a legal situation, where he is forced to decide whether to protect his family or himself. Detective Nathan Leckie, played by the wonderful Guy Pierce, consults with J as he tries to save the young man from falling too far into the troubled family’s ways.
I am not in particularly familiar with Australian cinema, but Michôd’s film styling impressed me. In his first full feature film, Michôd shows that he has a vision for telling a crime tale that rivals many of the greats. His in your face camera work frames the picture to put you as close to the action as possible without losing the presence of what is happening. On the flip side, he manages to keep the camera at a fair enough distance as to not encroach on the characters and their actions. When necessary the camera floats about the scene with little to no effort, allowing his audience to stay engaged rather than distracted by what he is trying to accomplish.
The film appropriately uses dialogue to build tension, and truth behind its characters. However, Michôd is not afraid to drown out the live sound and replace it with emotionally driven music in order to allow the visuals to tell the story. In some of the most powerful scenes, sound and dialogue take the back seat to emotion engulfed visual sequences. Throughout the film, I found myself uncomfortably adjusting my position behind clenched teeth in order to brace myself for what was about to happen.
The film has garnered some Oscar buzz for Jacki Weaver in her portrayal of a controlling mother-like figure. The character is haunting, as she almost seems to be in love with her boys in an incest-like sentiment. You understand there is something always clicking in the back of her mind, and though she never really acts out, there is evidence that she must be just as messed up as her sons. The testament that her boys are criminals, says something about her character. The Oscar talk is warranted. She is brilliant, and likely won’t be rivaled by many others in regards to a truly great supporting performance this year. But I am not convinced that in the political world of the Academy Awards, performance alone will get her a nod (i.e. Sam Rockwell for Moon in 2009, Paul Giamatti for Sideways in 2004). With that said, I hope that I am wrong. Her performance was clearly the most interesting within the film, but shouldn’t undermine the performances by Frecheville in the leading role, and Sullivan Stapleton as the drug-dealing Uncle Craig. Both of these actors, in my opinion, gave outstanding performances. Frecheville plays his character as an out of place teen trying to cope with the things around him. A scene in the final half hour of the film, where he finally breaks down showcases the young actor’s talents. Stapleton captures the essence of being completely on edge and fills the screen with paranoia in a way that swallows up the audience and spits them back out feeling rather unsettled. The rest of the cast was great, but gave nothing to film that was exceptionally noteworthy. I suppose, much of that should be blamed on the script, and the way in which the characters are played out.
My main complaint of Animal Kingdom is that at times the almost two hour film seemed to drag. At times, I thought, “Alright, let’s get to the point.” But in the end, it did get to the point. The script was beautifully crafted to say or show all the right things at all the right times. It all comes back to one common theme. In the world of animals, there is a sense that individuals are to fight for themselves. Michôd captures this idea through his title, conversations, and the actions being played out. Animal Kingdom, as the title so perfectly demonstrates, is a film about survival, and encompassing the traits of animalistic nature to the human race. In each of us, we have some animal-like instincts, how we harness these instincts is up to us.
4 out of 5 Stars
The film wastes no time in getting into the story as J or Josh, the centralized character of the film and played by James Frecheville, enters into a way of life beyond his wildest nightmares, when his mother loses her life to a heroin overdose. The underage young man finds himself left to live with his grandmother and uncles under a roof that is crowded with sketchy practices. Janine “Smurf” Cody (Jacki Weaver), J’s grandmother, acts as the queen bee of their dysfunctional family. It is hard to peg exactly what is going on with her motives throughout the entirety of the film, but as an audience member we are uncomfortable by her existence. Her sons are immersed in drugs and criminal acts that leave nothing to the imagination. The worst, Pope (Ben Mendelson), is somewhat of the ringleader, and by all standards insane with a killer’s instinct. Pope and his best friend, Baz (Joel Edgerton), get in over their head with the police and everything begins spiraling out of control. In the midst of all of this, J gets dragged into the family business. He is only able to find peace through his girl friend Nicky and her family, who are the closest thing that he has to a functionally operating family. When people start dying, J gets caught in a legal situation, where he is forced to decide whether to protect his family or himself. Detective Nathan Leckie, played by the wonderful Guy Pierce, consults with J as he tries to save the young man from falling too far into the troubled family’s ways.
I am not in particularly familiar with Australian cinema, but Michôd’s film styling impressed me. In his first full feature film, Michôd shows that he has a vision for telling a crime tale that rivals many of the greats. His in your face camera work frames the picture to put you as close to the action as possible without losing the presence of what is happening. On the flip side, he manages to keep the camera at a fair enough distance as to not encroach on the characters and their actions. When necessary the camera floats about the scene with little to no effort, allowing his audience to stay engaged rather than distracted by what he is trying to accomplish.
The film appropriately uses dialogue to build tension, and truth behind its characters. However, Michôd is not afraid to drown out the live sound and replace it with emotionally driven music in order to allow the visuals to tell the story. In some of the most powerful scenes, sound and dialogue take the back seat to emotion engulfed visual sequences. Throughout the film, I found myself uncomfortably adjusting my position behind clenched teeth in order to brace myself for what was about to happen.
The film has garnered some Oscar buzz for Jacki Weaver in her portrayal of a controlling mother-like figure. The character is haunting, as she almost seems to be in love with her boys in an incest-like sentiment. You understand there is something always clicking in the back of her mind, and though she never really acts out, there is evidence that she must be just as messed up as her sons. The testament that her boys are criminals, says something about her character. The Oscar talk is warranted. She is brilliant, and likely won’t be rivaled by many others in regards to a truly great supporting performance this year. But I am not convinced that in the political world of the Academy Awards, performance alone will get her a nod (i.e. Sam Rockwell for Moon in 2009, Paul Giamatti for Sideways in 2004). With that said, I hope that I am wrong. Her performance was clearly the most interesting within the film, but shouldn’t undermine the performances by Frecheville in the leading role, and Sullivan Stapleton as the drug-dealing Uncle Craig. Both of these actors, in my opinion, gave outstanding performances. Frecheville plays his character as an out of place teen trying to cope with the things around him. A scene in the final half hour of the film, where he finally breaks down showcases the young actor’s talents. Stapleton captures the essence of being completely on edge and fills the screen with paranoia in a way that swallows up the audience and spits them back out feeling rather unsettled. The rest of the cast was great, but gave nothing to film that was exceptionally noteworthy. I suppose, much of that should be blamed on the script, and the way in which the characters are played out.
My main complaint of Animal Kingdom is that at times the almost two hour film seemed to drag. At times, I thought, “Alright, let’s get to the point.” But in the end, it did get to the point. The script was beautifully crafted to say or show all the right things at all the right times. It all comes back to one common theme. In the world of animals, there is a sense that individuals are to fight for themselves. Michôd captures this idea through his title, conversations, and the actions being played out. Animal Kingdom, as the title so perfectly demonstrates, is a film about survival, and encompassing the traits of animalistic nature to the human race. In each of us, we have some animal-like instincts, how we harness these instincts is up to us.
4 out of 5 Stars
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Well, Well, Well...
So I apologize for my disappearance over the last 2 and a half months. But I am ready to come back full throttle to unleash upon you a whole new world of entertainment. I am going to try to catch up a little bit on what we missed over the last couple of months. So stayed tuned.
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