Movies

Trailer : Paul

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hljxH-QJq1g]

Just return from the cinema where watched “Rango“, a cartoon that I’ve been waiting for a bit after seeing the trailer. I have to say that trailers for this animation are slightly better than the final result, but not by too much. It is a rather brave take on westerns with way more blackness and drama than most other kid’s animations allow.

It was a bit slow at places, and for Maxim’s taste there was a bit too much talk, but the story was good, the characters were interesting, and the whole feel to it was … unfamiliar. If it was a movie, it would probably be one of many. But being an animation, it stand on its own.

Music deserves a special attention. There was as much of it as you could squeeze into a film without making it into a musicale. It helped with atmosphere, entertainment, and more. It changed from Mexican el mariachi to classical orchestra and back. It faded from background to foreground and back. And it was by my movie measures exceptional.

Overall, I’d rate the animation as 4 out of 5. Recommended for adults and for older kids mostly, but anyone would probably enjoy it.

P.S.: If you are watching it in K-Cineplex Limassol, make sure to pick up your portion of nachos with cheese sauce at the cafeteria, which are a special served for this movie only. Helps with the whole Mexican atmosphere, and they are indeed yummy.

Despicable Me

The other day I got my hands on a copy of “Despicable Me“. Maxim watched all of it and somewhat enjoyed it. For me though it was a disappointment. One of the biggest setbacks were the characters. I think that characters are one of the main things that separate animations from movies. Movies are more or less forced to cast actors. And the best actors are only a few. So movies have to rely a lot more on the acting talent in order to create unique characters. In animations, the characters are drawn. And while that is not an easy job either, I think it is much easier to draw a new character than to create one in the actor. In this animation, all characters were carbon copies of characters from other cartoons. And that alone is enough for me to disregard this cartoon.

On top of that, the story was anything but engaging and original. And to add insult to injury, I personally thought that the voice of Steve Carrell didn’t match Gru’s character. Every time Gru spoke, I had a feeling that there was someone else in the scene, someone who was actually speaking, someone that I could not see.

As a result of all that, I got bored and disgusted by the animation and left the room about 20 minutes into the story. And that is, I assure you, not something that I do very often. Hence, my overall rating is 1 out of 5. There are so many beautiful animations out there, and this one is not one of them.

Movie bar codes

Here is an interesting bar code idea for – compress a movie into a collection of colorful lines. Some films are easily recognizable this way, some are not. But wouldn’t it be nice if one could decompress a movie from the bar code? It would. Too bad it borders with technically impossible. Some day, maybe.

The Fighter

The other day I watched “The Fighter” – a sports drama based on the life and career of the boxer Micky Ward. As with most other sport dramas, the main course of the story is known and predictable. Those movies are not done, watched, and enjoyed for their twisted plots. Instead, they are all about people and specific circumstances. And this film is not an exception.

To be honest, I’ve never heard about Micky Ward before this film. So it was interesting for me to discover who he is and how he came up to be what he is. It was also interesting to see a rather realistic approach to the story – less glamor, hot chicks, and big fights and more of hard work, sweat, personal drama, and overall resistance. The film helps to illustrate the idea that champion is 1% of talent and 99% of hard work. It also shows how impossible it is to satisfy everyone and how that often leads one to very hard choices, and how those choices have to be made.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film. Interesting characters, good acting, and authentic cinematics all make this film so much better. A 4 out of 5 from me. Recommended.