animation
07/27/2007
Beowulf
Zowie. Robert Zemekis follows up his motion-capture family extravaganza The Polar Express with the motion-capture fantasy spectacular Beowulf. The fact that those two projects are bookended by the basically-one-man-show Cast Away and the planned motion-capture remake of A Christmas Carol start to make you think maybe Zemekis just doesn't like working with live actors all that much. But this project looks mighty damn cool.
With the increasing dominance of CGI in the fantasy film genre, it's amazing no one's really run with this concept before. Mo-capping the actors gives them the same visual texture and intensity as the backgrounds and effects, making the whole world blend together seamlessly. It's really pretty gorgeous.
And to those who say mo-capped actors look plastic and creepy, I say puh-leeze. Like Angelina Jolie didn't already look like a goddess crafted from Sculpey anyway.
06/29/2007
WALL-E: Pixar's Next Genius Move-E
Playing in theaters before Ratatouille, this trailer for Pixar's next animation classic-to-be is a teaser in more ways than one. The animation looks stunning and the character design is full of charm -- but this is still only the barest glimpse of a plucky little robot's quest for something bigger and better.
The rest of the teaser is devoted to a retrospective of Pixar's greatest hits, implying that Wall-E is cut from the same cloth as Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc. From any other company, such parading of past hits might seem grandious. But if any company has earned the right to brag in this fashion, it's Pixar. I'm looking forward to watching this teaser again this weekend -- on the big screen.
12/13/2006
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
In the new movie, the four reptilian brothers seem to have more individualized looks than they did in prior adaptations -- where their weapon and colored eye bands where the only way to tell the characters apart. With muscles that flex and bodies that reflect their turtle roots, the “world's most fearsome fighting team” has been upgraded and redesigned to coincide with the anticipated CGI greatest.
So, with no Shredder and Splinter returning from the dead, what could we possible fear? That is, besides the devastating slaughter of childhood memories? The New Animated TMNT revival series that aired in the late 90's was horrible. And re-watching the classic men-in-fiber-blend-costume movies can be quite the let down a decade later. Case and point: I refuse to be let down by the idealized super heroes of my childhood memories again. Hopefully, the modern adaptation harnesses the surfer/frat boys within the half-shells to be as funny as the animated series.
Cowabunga, dudes! Wait, they don't say that in this trailer. Turtle Power!
