Archives For short film

Years… well, maybe a year ago – I ranted Peruvian animation not being compelling enough. I have also ranted about how tired I feel of 3d animation (most of the times), but there are times when I have to talk about things because they are important to note.

Machu Picchu Post is an animated short from Clement Crocq, Margaux Durand-Rival and Nicolas Novali. They are French, and did their whole Machu Picchu Post style reference from research. Research!!! Research is so important, and this is why I ultimately decided to blog them.

I have always found Alpamayo (and most recently, the team in charge of the Dolphin story blah blah) to be lacking research, not storywise (though I beg to differ sometimes) but on execution. Of course, you don’t only research styles, textures, colors, etc… you also research movement, and light quality. It’s not enough to just HAVE the best computer equipment… you also go on field trips, you do experiments.

Anyway, this is my brief rant. French animation students (and now animators) are creating more compelling animations regarding Peruvian culture. Here’s the video:

WOOOOOO!! A freakin’ year~~~~

Yu Aoi - Year One

Today a year ago, I was introduced to Yu Aoi’s work on Shunji Iwai’s All About Lily Chou Chou, and the Shunji Iwai-related Rainbow Song. Little did I know that the characters that interested me the most in the films were played by the same actress. Nine days later, I watched Hula Girls, and a month later I was completely hooked with Yu Aoi, and yet another Shunji Iwai film… Hana & Alice.

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Mia Wasikowska

Mia Wasikowska is also Australian (like Tim Pocock, the first Actor Spotting), and is 19 going on 20. You might have seen her on HBO’s In Treatment with Gabriel Byrne, and you can also see her on I Love Sarah Jane (after the post break) directed by Spencer Susser who is set to direct Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Natalie Portman (who is also producing) on the film Hesher.

You will next see her as Elinor Smith on the Hilary Swank Amelia Earhart bio-film Amelia, and next year as Alice on the Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland.

She was also named one of Top10 Actors to Watch in 2008 by Variety.

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I finally got to see Tsumiki no Ie (or La Maison en Petits Cubes)!! This year’s Academy Award-winning animated short~~~ I remember I had only read the synopsis, after watching all the other four nominated shorts, and thought “Wow, that’s a pretty interesting write-up. I’m giving it my vote” and then it WON. Woohoo!

Well, perhaps it was just chance~~ After watching it, I feel it was very deserving. To tell you the truth, I’m a little tired of 3d animation, so watching this was like a breath of fresh air. It’s a quiet little piece that explores the memories of an old man that was forced to ‘bury’ part of his history… I liked it. It made me feel very melancholic~~ NO dialogue… though I’ve read the Japanese version has a voiced-over version (by Masami Nagasawa… which surprised me a little.) – However, I don’t think the piece needs narration~~~

Check out the shorts after the break,
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I just posted YAM 003 over at my portfolio~~

There’s a lot of international flavor in it… all by chance actually. It really wasn’t planned, it all just came together like that. There’s a couple of rant articles on movies and music, loads of reviews including complete non-fanatical reviews of Ao Akua, Utada Hikaru, DBSK, Hathaways, U2, Madeleine Peyroux, and Michel Gondry/Bong Joon-ho’s Yu Aoi’s Tokyo!

ALSO! A special on the Peruvian film winning the Berlinale’s Golden Bear top prize~~ The Milk of Sorrow, and some of the discussion regarding the original name “La Teta Asustada”.

YAM - Issue 3

Head over there now!

Oh, Hugh… what happened to thee~~

But that’s another subject~~ It’s not like I despised Beyonce, and the Disney people on ‘my’ stage. I didn’t like them, that’s all. LOL’

It’s not like their Moulin Rouge number was totally unnecesary, instead they should have performed the Original Songs separately… and NOT have John Legend trying to butt in Jai Ho. On that subject, the drums… VERY COOL.

Natalie Portman… hot. + Ben Stiller doing Joaquin Phoenix??? Just OH!-Some~~~

Natalie Portman and Ben Stiller - Oscar 2009

What else is cool (though mildly surprising…) – JAPAN WINNING, not ONE BUT TWO!!! For Best Short Film Animated – which was great – but also getting FOREIGN FILM, when I so totally thought Waltz with Bashir would win. Okuribito (Departures) took back home Foreign Film~~ I totally FLIPPED.

Other cool moments… Best Actress. GOSH! Sophia Loren… Shirley MacLaine… Marion Cotillard (My Marion, OUR Marion), Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman. AND! Kate Winslet winning! Introduced by Marion! And Sophia Loren with her accent… introducing the fab+++ Meryl! I’d die for an intro of any of those two.

Actually, that was my favorite category of the night, haha. I’m glad for Best Actor… and Supporting Actress~~~ Penelope!! I have to update an old post on Oscar Studded Films~~~

And Tina Fey!! She was funny~~ as James Franco was.

I think I did pretty good on predictions (20/24) … I hope no one did better than me in the contest I entered hahaha.

Slumdog took 8, while Button took 3, Milk 2, Dark Knight 2 – the rest, if not mistaken took 1. xD

Winners and more photos below the break~~

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For a change of pace, Dazed Digital has just released the Francesco Vezzoli’s Greed faux-perfume commercial starring no other than Natalie Portman and Michelle Williams. It’s an odd, yet interesting idea for a sort of a short film~ and man! Williams must be tiny, since she looks tinier than Portman in here.

Head over here to watch it.

Feb 4

TOKYO! – in a City Near You!

Just a few months after some Hawaiian residents had a chance to catch TOKYO at the Hawaii International Film Festival, Liberation Entertainment brings TOKYO! to a city near… or at least nearer you this March. Below the break for more info~~

[iframe width=”560″ height=”349″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/z1qzGPOXjQk”]

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Once again… imcomplete internet data makes me keep track of films in here~ xD Sept. 4 –

WOW, it’s the end of the month O_o, geez Time flies by~~~ The following were on my list of latest buys of Region 3 from Hong Kong:

  • Kiraware Matsuko no Issho
  • Love Letter
  • Hoshi ni Natta Shounen
  • Swing Girls
  • Niji no Megami
  • RIRI SHUSHU (Lily Chou Chou) no Subete

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Well, couldn’t find stills of Eve, but apparently the debut of Natalie Portman behind the director’s chair is doing pretty good, with the first reviews being positive. **EDIT**

Eve - Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara

Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara in Eve, Natalie Portman's directorial debut.

Read about it at NP.com~~~