hishe animation

So for this week's blog I decided to research one of my favorite cartoons, How it Should Have Ended, better known as hishe.  I found out alot about hishe's animation process this week, mainly that the entire cartoon is done using one of my favorite software programs, after effects.  What happens is each character is made part by part ad then peiced together and seperately animated to bring a character to life.  What impressed me the most was that every character had a different style, so each individual character was animated with its own flair, all by one guy.  I ussualy love after effects, but the tasks that this guy did looked like it was enough to make me hit my head against a wall.  None the less, it looks like the guy has fun with his job, and overall in my opinion, hishe is the best modern day cartoon on the web.

Avengers

Alright, so for this week, I decided to go out and see the movie the avengers, and I was thoroughly blown away. Not only did the actors do an incredible job, but so did the story writers. Although there was a completely different actor for the hulk, he did a fantastic job at filling in, and overall, each character shared the spotlight with performances that in other movies could easily steal the show. In addition, the avengers dealt with very realistic and convincing animation, and was able to bring the world of comic heroes to life. All in all, the avengers gas won my nomination for the best superhero movie ever, and has a good chance of winning.

Rango

 Ok, so over the weekend I was able to have the opportunity to watch the movie Rango, and was thoroughly impressed.  The movie was animated to what I believe was the best of its ability.  The voice acting brought the characters to life, and the action and slapstick humor was enough to keep me interested to the end.  The plot wasn't particularly great, but the movie was still able to keep everything funny and interesting.  All in all, I would say that this movie is a keeper, and that one should go out and get it.  

4500 dvc

So recently I have finished competing in an event known as the 4500, and despite all the stress that unavoidably occurs each year I do it, I always find it to be a great decision. One reason I would suggest to anyone to join the 4500 is because of the fact that it is a good way to receive constructive criticism on your work, just, not ussually from the judges. It is also a great way to incorporate skills on multiple levels. Others may provide you with helpful hints, funny and creative ideas, or maybe just a great time. Although I can speak from only my exeriances, this dvc was an experiwigs well worth the stress.

The Hunger Games

Over the weekend, I went out tO the thwarted with my girlfriend to review a recently popular movie, the Hunger Games. Although it was slightly gory at certain points, the overall movie was well put together and written. The plot itself was intriguing, yet believable with an excellent cast of characters in an overall creative and stunning environment. There was only one mistake I saw that bothered me slightly, but didn't take away to much of the overall movie. Being an adaptation from a book, I found it helpful that I brought my girlfriend along, who is a great reader, unlike my self, and she explained that the movie only took out parts that were long and drawn out in the book that contributed little to the plot. All in all, the hunger games was a success in my mind, and is worth it for a thought provoking storyline that will keep you thinking about a variety of topics.

midnight in paris

So over the week I have watched the movie midnight in Paris, and I must say that I was pleasantly suprised that Owen Wilson didn't frustrate me.  The plot, though alittle unexplained, was well thought out and the shots were well placed along with almost believeable acting.  I only say almost because of the couple at the begining who were about to get married.  The people had nothing in common, one blatently made fun of the other, and they were both constantly disagreeing and showed little to no emotional attatchment whatsoever.  If i wasn't paying attention to the dialogue, I probably would have missed the fact that the two were about to get married and think they were recently divorced.  all else aside, the movie looked great, had a plot with surprising morals in it, and presented the past of culture in a whole new light. 

HUGO

So over the weekend I had the opportunity to watch HUGO, a movie that won quite a few academy awards this year.  Now, before I start, I would like to say to people expecting a mind blowing movie, lower your expectations.  HUGO was an overall great movie, it had a good storyline, decent child acting, and stunning visual effects.  Now, I for one enjoy a great plot line with thought provoking twists and turns, and hugo frankly didn't have that.  The plot it did have was overall strait forward and entertaining, but nothing to obsess over.  The acting was also well done, and the movie was pulled together very well by using only a few repeating actors.  Even the dogs in the movie were believeable as animals that seemed natural and weren't trained to behave like a human.  The real impressive part about this movie however was the visual effects.  The overall atmosphere of entire scenes were moving cogs and gears, which I am guessing were visualy done through animation and well done at that too.  If not, then the set design was incredible, so either way, visually amazing.  I would say that this movie is a keeper and a definite buy for families.  The movie is appropriate and visualy entertaining with a plot that even the simplest mind can follow and be entertained, and of course, it has a heartwarming ending. 

Oscar Impact

So as many of you well educated and well connected people know, last night was the Oscars.  I assume you are well educated and connected, but if not, then just know that the Oscars were on last night, and you have stumbled upon my blog on the brilliance of today's modern media, lucky you.  Anyway, there was a large amount of people watching the Oscars, about 39.3 million.  (For those who are mathematically impaired, that means a lot...) This number exceeded expectations for audience, but did it have a real impact on society as a whole?  I believe that it did, but I am a fan of movies and it is fair to say I am obviously biased.  The Oscars was watched world wide and people from all over the world were hoping for their homeland movies to win.  To say it did not have any real direct affect to anyone's life other than those directly involved is a fair statement, and it could only change lives through an adjustment in sleep schedule or the reason to have a party is also able to be justified.  HOWEVER, if such is the case, the same may be said about the Olympic games, and although I am not a fan of sports I know that the Olympics does have a great impact, and in a similar way, so does the Oscars. 

Castle 2 part event.

Alright, so after reviewing my past few posts I noticed how original and fresh my work was, so I decided to blog about Castle... Actually, the reason I chose Castle tonight was due to the end of the two part episode that made me guess the killer uterly wrong.  I was slightly disapointed at first, but excited that I was totally surprised by the ending.  The plot of the show ran relatively deep, but in the end I found that it did contain enough clues to point to the actual culprit, so either I am losing touch, which I'm not, or Castle is better than ever, which it is.  Now, although I have never been a fan of some of the minor side characters in Castle, the development of them in this weeks episode was briliant as not over emphasized, so overall, this week, Castled earned two thumbs up as compared to the ussual one thumb uop I give it.

celebrity deaths

Over the past few months, two deaths have been covered by the media fairly well.  The death of Joe Pa and Whitney was a main source for many reports, but I think that much of it was unnecessary.  The media was right to report the events and burial and likewise things, but the coverage is over the top.  In fact, Not just the news, but other sources focussed heavily on the deaths.  If people played a game where they would take a shot every time the name Whitney was said at the grammys, they would be straight up drunk.  In fact, the focus was so heavy on celebrity deaths that I believe that people focus more on what's happening now with the Celebrity rather than recognizing the passing of a human being, who happend to touch the lives of many.

Woman in Black

Ok, so this week I decided to see the movie woman in black, and in retrospect, I probably should have brought more pairs of pants.  The movie was filled with a handful of intense scenes, creepy scenarios, and moments that make you jump in shock.  The movie starred Daniel Radcliff in a preformance which he will most likely be most well known for...  maybe.  He kept a believable portrayal of fear and determination while showing reason in his decisions unlike others in horror/thriller movies.  Along with the acting, the camera shots were all briliantly placed, showing us enough to keep us scared, but leaving out enough to keep us captivated.  This combined with a briliant plot that was simple enough to understand, but complex enough to keep us guessing made this one of the best thriller movies I've seen in a long time. 

TV vs. Movies

This week's post is about a question I have been thinking about for a while, and tonight I believe I know the answer.  The question, which is currently better, TV shows or movies?  The highlights of what make these two forms of media great is the accessibility, the cost, and the use. To start, the accessibility.  I just watched an hour long show for free in the comfort of my own home, but for a movies, I would need to see show times, plan a trip to the theaters, and pay for food.  Secondly, cost.  A show costs nothing, but a movie is often as pricey as the food sold in theaters.  Finally, the use.  TV shows are opportune for advertising, and allow modern culture to be shown and made, however, movies are pure entertainment that is uninterrupted.  Overall, I believe that although close, TV shows have become more relevant in today's society than movies.  TV is fast, free, and the number of options for shows is theoretically unlimited, movies are great here and there, but there will not always be an amazing movie out in theaters. 

dependency

So, this week I have decided to focus on the idea of human dependency on technology.  Rather than defend the idea that human beings aren't totaly dependent on technology like so many other people I know, I will just come out and say it.  People are dependent on technology.  Now it is true that much of todays modern media isn't necessary for life, and if it all went away we could just all turn to the Amish society for help, but the fact is it all isn't going to magically disapear, and everyone reading this right now is already using technology, so...  I do believe we as people are dependent.  Every day before I leave the house, I at the very least am carrying an iPod in my pocket.  Cellphones are replacing house phones and traveling with people everywhere.  Smartphones, iPads, Teleporters (ok, so I made the lastone up... sue me)  and other bits of technology are being used everyday, becoming apart of our lifestyle.  Despite all of this, I feel absolutly fine about it.  In many of my posts I am critical of much of our modern society for a variety of things.  Overuse of cursing, sating Imma for I am going to, certaint veiws on specific actions... but technology is apart of development.  It is advancement on humanity, and like tools were in ancient time, technology is a stepping stone to the future.

Happy new year

Alright, well to start I might as well say Happy New Year.  Actually, in honor of the new year, I have decided to do something I have never done before, I am going to write a video-game review.  The video-game I will be reviewing is the latest of the iconic Legend of Zelda series, Skyward Sword.  To start I would like to comment on the presentation.  The Legend of Zelda has been one of the more successful video-game titles Nintendo has created, and although each game roughly follows a similar storyline, this version has followed the same template while bringing up no shortage of creativity.  Although the graphics are slightly cartoonish, it is fitting for the overall clasic feel of the game with new twists.  Next, I would like to move onto the gameplay.  With the Wii motion+, The game practicaly imerses yourself into an actualy challenge.  For example, if surrounded by enemies, you would need to be able to correctly attack with the proper sword slash while in other games it is more of a button-mashing fest.  One thing about this game I dis-liked was the bosses.  Some bosses are made to be almost impossible to defeat unless you have some key information, which is ussually told to you after you die and fight the boss for a second time, which can be pretty frustrating.  All in all, I would say this game throws itself out there as one of the best in the Legend of Zelda series, and I would suggest it for anyone who is a fan of the series, likes video-games, likes puzzling challenges, or for someone with free-time on their hands.

SNL: Alec Baldwin

Alright, so SNL has been a huge source of comedy for years and years, mainly through an all-star cast and offensive and outlandish humor, however, some people can't seem to get a joke.  Last SNL, Alec Baldwin appeared in a mustache and uniform claiming to be a pilot, and made a "public apology" to himself.  This was a reference to an event that had happened earlier where he was kicked out of a flight because he didn't want to stop playing words with friends.  The airlines apparently don't know how to take a joke, especially a funny one.  They responded as if their entire profession had been ridiculed, and apparently the majority of the people offended, were not anywhere on the flight.  American airlines is, however, expected to be grouchy since they are going through a tough time right now, but seriously, if that was the case, they should focus on themselves, not "offensive" comedy from SNL.  When you get down to it, the point is comedy is hard to come by today.  There is the fairly easy genre of slapstick, but you can only drop anvils on people's heads and have people smack into painted tunnels so many times before it isn't funny.  There's also an immature genre, but seriously, fart jokes on South Park... well, not really funny unless you have the mental capacity of a two year old. Humor that is considered to be more sophisticated takes good time, energy, and thought to create, and what's even worse, it needs to be re-thought of fairly often.  The only reason that is so is because if you use the same material over and over, eventually, you'll end up like Jeff Dunham.  What I am saying is, if you are offended by good comedy, realize that it is merely a joke. 

Muppets

So, in case you don't know what this post will be about, please read the tittle.  Over the break I did go and see this fantastic movie, so I have decided to highlight some of its many great features.  for one, the musical numbers were verry original and the entire movie had a verry classical original muppet feeling.  I for one did watch the old muppet show, so alot of the humor used really did come from the old show, but was fresh enough to be new and funny.  The acting was well done for puppets and the storyline was creative enough to keep me hooked until the end.  Over all, a fantastic movie worth seeing more than once.

earlier every year

So this week I have decided to talk about Christmas comercials.  to start, yes, I realize that companies call them holiday commercials, but believe it or not, Santa hats are the most often worn clothing item on holiday commercials, and Santa comes from Christmas.  Politicaly correct and actually correct are not the same people.  Two, every year a new record is set.  This year, I believe the earliest commercial for christmas was about K-mart layaway, before Haloween, which was a little spooky.  (sidenote: the K mart lightbulb was wearing a Santa hat)  Even now, before Thanksgiving, I find it hard to find a channel that doesn't have one christmas commercial.  I believe that after thanksgiving, a huge boom in commercialism as Charlie Brown might call it, will happen, and everyone will be in the Christmas spirit... in November...  That's just saddening...

HISHE

So this week I have decided to review HISHE.  For those of you who are not familiar with this, it is an acronym that stands for How It Should Have Ended.  It is a website that makes comical cartoons that point out certaint things in movies that should have changed the entire plot.  The website is funded by Starz media, but originally started out on its own.  I personally like this site due to the many random facts it points out about movie plot lines which many people often miss.  Recently, HISHE has been redoing endings for videogame plots as well, which I believe is not as funny, but still retains some good humor.

Captain America

So this week, I red boxed Captain America, and was impressed.  Not only was the acting great, but the plot was interesting enough to get my attention, but simple enough to not over-complicate things.  The real thing that surprised me was that this movie was a set up movie.  This means that the movie was really just made to pathe the way for another movie, in this case, the Avengers.  Most set up movies are generally not the greatest, like the second pirates of the caribean.  The movie set up for an extrordinary third movie, but was simply not outstanding in many ways.  Captain America had a solid story line that was fetched far enough to be captivating, but reasonable enough to be believeable.  All in all, Captain America would deffinitely be a movie I would buy. 

Winnie the Pooh

So yesterday me and my friend Alex decided to redbox the new Winnie the Pooh movie, and I decided I might as well blog about it.  To be honest, I was impressed at how much it reflected the original cartoon.  The only questionable thing about it was the character of Rabbit, whos voice was a bit off and behavior was way off. I also felt the movie was short, but at the same time the amount of plot given in the movie was good for what it was.  All in all, I would say that the little jokes and the classic feel of the movie would deffinitly make it a keeper.