Film Review #3: The Go-Getter

K, guys.  Let's go.

The Go-Getter.  One of my favorite films.  Kinda a classic decent-but-really-great movie, ya know?  Anyway.  It's about a guy whose mother has died, and so, in something like a pre-mid-life-crisis, steals a car in search of his long-disconnected brother, in something between seeking to tell him the news, reunite with him, and change his life a bit.  It's just kinda about the adventure on the way, and the final outcome.  All in all, it's interesting, fun, and relatable.  Lots of deepness and whatnot, but these things are best left to seeing the film, not reading a crappy review.

Now, specifics.  Cinematography is pretty nice.  Shiny-glowing, like a sunset mixed with Moonrise Kingdom (in mood.  Not Wes cinematography).  Soundtrack is amazing: Black Keys, M. Ward, more amazing artists.  No complaint there, even in the songs I might not listen to on a daily basis…  In context to the film, they work brilliantly.  Acting's great (Zoe Deschanel, c'mon.  Don't know if I spelled that correctly, no internet, don't really care.  Lots of other actors in their earlier roots.  So great).

Not much else I can really say about it.  Be warned, it's (probably) rated R for a reason.  Just see it, it'll give you that nice just-slightly-unsettled-but-in-a-good-sunny-kinda-happy-way feeling.  A bit like Moonrise Kingdom, in that respect.  Watch it.

Trailer doesn't do it justice, nor portrays it quite in the right light.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6u3Xn3ZfsA

What I did today

Somehow I got the impression we have to put up what we did today.  I made a couple concepts for the Human Rights #17 poster:

and also began making a CG toaster, as toasters are, of course, crucial to symbolizing universal morals.

Merry Christmas, have a good day.*

*No, it's not really Christmas.  Sorry to shatter your dreams.

Symbolism assignment-- concepts

K, guys.  Let's go.  Symbols:

(I think I lost the paper)
-hand with index and middle fingers up, others in fist (peace)
*-hand with thumb and pinkie extended; others in a fist (hang loose)
*-nuclear disarmament sign (peace)
-Tim the Enchanter
-Anderson family crest elements
*-goats
*-Bella the dog
-dead trees
-semi-hollow-body red electric guitar
*-boss hats with feathers
-fire axe
-skull

There's some other stuff, but I've forgotten it.  It'll come to me; else-wise, best hope I find that paper.

If I were to use any of these, it'd probably be Bella, some goats, and the nuclear disarmament symbol…  Bella because Bella's my awesome lunatic dog, goats because they're bosses, and the peace sign because it's part of my creed.  With that in mind, I'd probably also throw in the hang-loose hand.

How am I gonna organize these?  Well, frankly, I don't want this poster to look cool.  In fact, I'd prefer it if it were a bit unsettlingly insane.  Thus, I've made a sketch of what I want it to look like.  This is gonna be fun.

They kinda speak for themselves.  Lots of anatomical horrors and such.  Obviously these might be a bit overdone, what with the time frame, but hey, shoot for the moon, even if that means lodging tiny bovine and canine heads in your eyes.  Via photoshop, that is.  Yeah, definitely photoshop.
So yeah.  Unless anyone has any objectives, I'm doing one of these.  Merry Christmas, good day.

Film Review #2: Breakfast Club (film)

Yes, we all know Breakfast Club.  Well, you know what?  It took me until last week to watch it.  Shame, I know.

So, first the initial stuff.  Style all-around is super-80s/70s.  Silly, straightforward camera work, somewhat cheesy acting, an absolutely ridiculous number of sexual innuendos.  All expected.

What I didn't expect were the characters.  Well, I did.  After a while these things become pretty predictable for the most part when you see the early archetypes.  Nonetheless, they were mostly likeable, in a way that reflected how you should have thought of them had you met them as real people.  All well and good, really.

The film doesn't really have any deep meaning nowadays (let's face it, for about 15 years all that came out were dramas about embracing life, who you are, and other people, and that the STRUGGLE IS REAL), but nonetheless, it's enjoyable.  Not much more to say about it...  Just watch it, would you?  Thank you, good day.

Human Rights ideas

Let's see.  If I were to do one of these, it would be 12 (right to privacy and such), 17 (right to property and such), or 19 (freedom of expression and such).  I'm on the fence about which to do right now...  Were I to do 19, it would certainly maintain a sort of 60s-comic aesthetic...

Something looking more like that one super-hero with the laser eyes, though.  I dunno.  Really retro.

12 and 17 would follow a similar style (posterized, dilated, ect.), though more digital, with sharp, black shadows.  They'd be roughly semblant of meme stylizations when taken from films.  12 would have a guy making the hands-up "step off!" gesture, with a furious facial expression.  17 would be a guy tenderly hugging and caressing a toaster.

No, I can't just decide on 2.  GOSH.  Ok, if I were to, it would be 17 and 19, or 19 and 21, or 17 and 21.  One of those.   Heh...

Film Review #1: I Am Legend

Big budget, apocalypse, Will Smith.  'Nough said.

No, not 'nough said.

Thing is, nearly every recent big-budget film (in my eyes) has been poorly written, composed, etc.  It's depressing.  Thus, I Am Legend cannot simply be summed up as an apocalyptic big-budget blockbuster.  No.  Thing is, I loved the movie.  I may be alone in that view, but it was beautiful.  First off, aesthetics: every shot was fluid and well-composed, tuning in intensity to the action of the moment, the mind of the character of focus, and the scenario that had just played/would immediately play out.  Lighting was altogether quite dynamic, with a coherently decrepit style ranging directly from gold-orange-brown to a grey-blue.  Different hues meant different tones, and towards the end it could get you on edge without your realizing it.  The scenery was brilliant.  I gotta know how they got that location to shoot at at all (center of NYC, c'mon) or if they used CG for it...  Either way, beautiful.  Convincing, unique take on the abandonment of humankind's ventures.  Of course, then, there's Will Smith.  What a boss.  Great choice for that role.  His temperament and internal struggle with delusions to (ironically) keep himself sane amidst a near hell is explored through his gait, perception of the world, voice, and action/living.  The movie in all was suspenseful and, emotionally speaking, fairly dramatic, but more than everything else intriguing.  Great score, too.

Now, if I were to rant about anything in the film, it would be the plot toward the end.  It wasn't in any way bad or poorly written...  But they failed to delve more into other characters.  The mother and son who show up are never quite set up to be relatable, and thus the viewer fails to quite connect as well with them as would be optimal.  Of course, the film wasn't about them, but Will Smith; in my mind, they were an event in his life, and no more.  The film's more about the protagonist's struggle for hope and progress than about them...  And thus, they are simply lost souls he must guard and guide.  He embraces this, obviously, and thus the relationship between the viewer and the mother and son is less so much direct as a loose bind through Will Smith.  There is another little plot inconsistency toward the end, but it isn't really an inconsistency so long as you accept that there was more to the protagonist's setup than met the eye, in the form of escape.  Anyway.  I Am Legend.  A good film, you should watch it.

A not-very-good trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFNPNT_4Qww