Alright. I know it's been about a month, since I've updated. I've been working on getting everything together so I can finally graduate. Only two more weeks and I'll be getting my degrees. It's left little time to watch movies, let alone review them. But I've been able to free up enough time to write a couple. Enjoy my thoughts on The Incredibles (which you've all seen by now) and Moog, which is hitting various art house theatres across the country as we speak. Later, expect reviews for Sideways, and Kinsey.
In January, look for me to release one of the major projects that's keeping me away from filmbrats. I'm working on a study on DVD audio commentaries and their educational value. It's an intensive project and you'll get to see the fruits of my labor once it's all finished. A filmbrats exclusive. Thanks for staying with us.
The Incredibles
Review by Jon Waterman
***1/2
After a bunch of lawsuits come out, superheroes are forced into hiding. Now, they’re stuck living normal everyday lives all the while sitting on their powers. Unable to help the world, Mr. Incredible is becoming increasingly depressed. However, his wife, Elastigirl, is perfectly happy being the Mary Tyler Moore stay-at-home mom type. So, Mr. Incredible, sneaks behind his wife’s back to fight crime and eventually finds himself captured by an evil supervillain (as if there’s any other kind). Now, the rest of the family has to come to the rescue to save him and the city. Can it be done?
Here’s the latest effort by the Pixar bunch. Once again, the animation is pretty good. Even though, I’m sure the methodology and techniques have improved this time around, “Monsters, Inc.” looked better to me. This stuff doesn’t look bad at all, but we’re dealing with imaginary monsters as opposed to cartoon humans. I know there’s a line of realism you don’t want to cross in a movie like this and the people look a heck of a lot better than they did in “Toy Story,” but the detail really popped out at me with “Monsters, Inc.”
I probably liked “Finding Nemo” the least of all critics, but still found it entertaining. One of my main criticisms of it was that it wasn’t as funny as it should have been. Here, the movie isn’t exactly all that funny either. However, you don’t have professional comedians in the key roles. You have comedic actors delivering their lines amazingly well, but the lines themselves aren’t that rip-roaring. However, the story is extremely solid. The characterization of the family works very well and writer/director Brad Bird adds a great “everyday people” relatable element to the superheroes. Even though the people have super powers, you can still related to the core emotions and feelings and to the scenarios where you wish you had those powers. It’s a tough job to juggle the cartoony side, the real/emotional side, the funny side and the action side, but the film does just that.
Welcome back, Coach. Craig T. Nelson is perfect as Mr. Incredible. Wallace Shawn is hilarious as the boss. The rest of the cast didn’t exactly impress me. They weren’t bad. They did what they had to do, but they hardly stood out. I was surprised with Nelson’s acting here. He seemed to understand the character more than the rest of the cast. He didn’t punch it up or exaggerate anything. That kind of performance is pretty tough to find in a children’s cartoon.
This is one of the best movies Pixar has made. Like I said, the storyline is great. The characters are fun. The movie is occasionally funny (the ending is hilarious). And best of all, it’s not overdone. It’s a great family film that the kids have to love. My guess is the parents will too. If you thought “Finding Nemo” was good, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Simply put, incredible.
++++++
Moog
Review by Jon Waterman
***
This documentary tells the story of Robert Moog and his usual rise through the ranks in the music industry. His inventions were slow to catch on, but eventually found their place in history and music hasn’t sounded the same since. His synthesizers revolutionized the way notes were formed and heard. They could be manipulated beyond anything anyone had seen before. Some saw it as the portent of the cultural breakdown of civilized society; others saw vast opportunity and expansion of the art.
The documentary does a good job of balancing the subject matter and telling us what we’d want to know. We learn about the nature of Moog himself as well as the machine as well as the artists that use it. The movie is complete with history of the invention and its eventual impact. It seems like a lot for a 72-minute film to handle, but this one does and does it well. It even has time left over to give us a few musical breaks to show us concert footage from a synthesized music festival.
The movie is quite interesting and the pacing is perfect. The archival footage and interviews all provide substance and further the structure along its path. The stories are funny and lend more insight into the situation then they probably realize. What’s interesting is that aside from Moog, there really aren’t any interviews. Instead, we get Moog talking about the good old days and the good new days with the people that helped him out in developing and distributing this crazy contraption and the artists that have mastered it. They aren’t interviews, they are chats, and that adds a lot to the overall impact of the movie.
The cinematography seemed a bit amateurish to me. I got the feeling that the project was made either by students or recent graduates with little prior experience. In fact, director/editor Hans Fjellestad has only one other movie under his belt. From what I see here, he’ll find his touch eventually. What’s missing is a definitive look and feel. It’s all very basic. Perhaps this is the downfall of all the subjects. There was too much to cover in too many locales to really find a vision for the movie. Most of the stuff is handheld. Surprisingly enough, it’s rather steady, which is an increasingly rare find. Everything is composed well and we aren’t made dizzy from a roaming/zooming camera.
Seeing how the history of the instrument and the culture it spawned came to be is worth the price of admission, even if you don’t particularly care for the sounds the synthesizer produces. The soundtrack is catchy and, of course, all synthesized. If you know nothing of the music, the movie deserves a look. If you’re a fan of the genre, then “Moog” can’t be missed.
In January, look for me to release one of the major projects that's keeping me away from filmbrats. I'm working on a study on DVD audio commentaries and their educational value. It's an intensive project and you'll get to see the fruits of my labor once it's all finished. A filmbrats exclusive. Thanks for staying with us.
The Incredibles
Review by Jon Waterman
***1/2
After a bunch of lawsuits come out, superheroes are forced into hiding. Now, they’re stuck living normal everyday lives all the while sitting on their powers. Unable to help the world, Mr. Incredible is becoming increasingly depressed. However, his wife, Elastigirl, is perfectly happy being the Mary Tyler Moore stay-at-home mom type. So, Mr. Incredible, sneaks behind his wife’s back to fight crime and eventually finds himself captured by an evil supervillain (as if there’s any other kind). Now, the rest of the family has to come to the rescue to save him and the city. Can it be done?
Here’s the latest effort by the Pixar bunch. Once again, the animation is pretty good. Even though, I’m sure the methodology and techniques have improved this time around, “Monsters, Inc.” looked better to me. This stuff doesn’t look bad at all, but we’re dealing with imaginary monsters as opposed to cartoon humans. I know there’s a line of realism you don’t want to cross in a movie like this and the people look a heck of a lot better than they did in “Toy Story,” but the detail really popped out at me with “Monsters, Inc.”
I probably liked “Finding Nemo” the least of all critics, but still found it entertaining. One of my main criticisms of it was that it wasn’t as funny as it should have been. Here, the movie isn’t exactly all that funny either. However, you don’t have professional comedians in the key roles. You have comedic actors delivering their lines amazingly well, but the lines themselves aren’t that rip-roaring. However, the story is extremely solid. The characterization of the family works very well and writer/director Brad Bird adds a great “everyday people” relatable element to the superheroes. Even though the people have super powers, you can still related to the core emotions and feelings and to the scenarios where you wish you had those powers. It’s a tough job to juggle the cartoony side, the real/emotional side, the funny side and the action side, but the film does just that.
Welcome back, Coach. Craig T. Nelson is perfect as Mr. Incredible. Wallace Shawn is hilarious as the boss. The rest of the cast didn’t exactly impress me. They weren’t bad. They did what they had to do, but they hardly stood out. I was surprised with Nelson’s acting here. He seemed to understand the character more than the rest of the cast. He didn’t punch it up or exaggerate anything. That kind of performance is pretty tough to find in a children’s cartoon.
This is one of the best movies Pixar has made. Like I said, the storyline is great. The characters are fun. The movie is occasionally funny (the ending is hilarious). And best of all, it’s not overdone. It’s a great family film that the kids have to love. My guess is the parents will too. If you thought “Finding Nemo” was good, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Simply put, incredible.
++++++
Moog
Review by Jon Waterman
***
This documentary tells the story of Robert Moog and his usual rise through the ranks in the music industry. His inventions were slow to catch on, but eventually found their place in history and music hasn’t sounded the same since. His synthesizers revolutionized the way notes were formed and heard. They could be manipulated beyond anything anyone had seen before. Some saw it as the portent of the cultural breakdown of civilized society; others saw vast opportunity and expansion of the art.
The documentary does a good job of balancing the subject matter and telling us what we’d want to know. We learn about the nature of Moog himself as well as the machine as well as the artists that use it. The movie is complete with history of the invention and its eventual impact. It seems like a lot for a 72-minute film to handle, but this one does and does it well. It even has time left over to give us a few musical breaks to show us concert footage from a synthesized music festival.
The movie is quite interesting and the pacing is perfect. The archival footage and interviews all provide substance and further the structure along its path. The stories are funny and lend more insight into the situation then they probably realize. What’s interesting is that aside from Moog, there really aren’t any interviews. Instead, we get Moog talking about the good old days and the good new days with the people that helped him out in developing and distributing this crazy contraption and the artists that have mastered it. They aren’t interviews, they are chats, and that adds a lot to the overall impact of the movie.
The cinematography seemed a bit amateurish to me. I got the feeling that the project was made either by students or recent graduates with little prior experience. In fact, director/editor Hans Fjellestad has only one other movie under his belt. From what I see here, he’ll find his touch eventually. What’s missing is a definitive look and feel. It’s all very basic. Perhaps this is the downfall of all the subjects. There was too much to cover in too many locales to really find a vision for the movie. Most of the stuff is handheld. Surprisingly enough, it’s rather steady, which is an increasingly rare find. Everything is composed well and we aren’t made dizzy from a roaming/zooming camera.
Seeing how the history of the instrument and the culture it spawned came to be is worth the price of admission, even if you don’t particularly care for the sounds the synthesizer produces. The soundtrack is catchy and, of course, all synthesized. If you know nothing of the music, the movie deserves a look. If you’re a fan of the genre, then “Moog” can’t be missed.
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