Screen Squinty's Reviews
 

Film: Song of the Sea.
Directed By: Tomm Moore.
Released: 2014.
Running time: 93 min.

From the production company Cartoon Saloon that created The Secret of Kells (2006), Song of the Sea is an Irish traditional animation, about the relationships of family, in this case a brother Ben (David Rawle) with his younger sister Saoirse (Lucy O’Connell), whom he holds little affection for due to his mother’s disappearance on the same night of her birth, though events surrounding her disappearance threaten to take his sister as well, and he is forced to face his own failings and fears to protect her.

This is quite simply a brilliant masterpiece of animation. The combination of modern and ancient commingles in both the narrative and the animation style, topping it off with some gorgeous music, wrapping everything together in a solid and creative movie experience.
Ben as the protagonist was somewhat less enjoyable at first as he comes across as a bit to bratty, but it is an honest child-like bratty that eventually is shed as he comes into his own. He realizes he has done wrong and to make up for his attitude, a good character development throughout the film, and your opinion in him somewhat changes as he does.

The narrative itself flows well, and the two siblings relationship grows throughout the movie which was well paced. The layers of similarities between some of the mythological characters and the human characters, particularly Ben and the Mac Lier giant and the destructive nature of tragedy, and Ben’s Grandmother and the immortal Macha as mothers who come across as bad due to their ultimately overprotective actions with their sons, with correlation further enhanced by near similarity in character style and the fact that they were both voiced by the same actress Fionnula Flanagan. These comparative relationships add just the right touch of thoughtful complexity to a contemporary fairy tale, and the theme of the relationships between stories and people.

An animation that is a work of art to be appreciated.

Shaun The Sheep: A Review.
 

Film:Shaun the Sheep Movie.
Directed By: Richard Starzak and Mark Burton.
Released: 2015.
Running time: 85 min.

Shaun The Sheep Movie is a based off the British television show of the same name (2007-present) which was a spin-off from the famous Wallace and Grommet franchise (1990-2013). It features the titular woolly sweater preludes looking for a day off from the monotony of being grabbed and sheered, so they hatch a plan, masterminded by Shaun, the boss ba-er, and in the process loose the farmer for their efforts and have to go into the big city to get him back.

There is some great use of humour in this, from slap stick to adult humour, it works well in this film with gags often paid off in both plot and laughs, and physical humour that are enjoyable in their chain reaction style, but at the same time was able to keep a touch of emotion here and there without impacting on the lighthearted tone of the film.

The stop motion animation was done well, you can tell that the animators put a lot of effort and attention to detail in the animation with the city and its population, creating a great backdrop for this film, with both the animation and the character designs remaining faithful to the source material, but also introducing new characters with great designs of their own.

The only thing that didn’t work well in the film was that the non-diegesis pop songs weren’t really needed, as the musical components included in the narrative stood well on their own, particularly as this is a non-dialogue film, and scenes had just the right amount of impact without the additions, though there wasn’t to many, and didn’t last too long, so not a hamper on the overall experience.

The fact that there is very little actual dialogue was a strong point of the television show and what is spun off from, which carried into this movie, and with a well-paced plot, the story carries through and fleshes out the characters without the need for a comprehensible word given.

This is a great film that is an exercise in good story telling, with great pace, humour, characters, and animation, something that children, teens, and adults alike would highly enjoy.

The Last Unicorn: A Review.
 

Film:The Last Unicorn.
Directed by: Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass.
Released: 1982.
Running time: 84 min.

The film is a traditionally animated film from Rankin/Bass Productions, based off a book of the same name by Peter S. Beagle It features a story of a sheltered unicorn who finds out that she is the last of her kind. Troubled by this, she leaves all she knows behind her and journey’s out into the world to find other unicorns, meeting colorful characters along the way.

The strongest feature of the film is the simply gorgeous and unique character designs by Lester Abrams, and animated by Topcroft, who would later be hired by Hayao Miyazaki to work on one of his titular films with the core members eventually going on to form Studio Ghibli. Abrams and Topcraft captured the illustrative concepts of a fairy tale splendidly with particular individual attention paid to the look of each character; details that make them stand out visually from each other,and the scenery is like something from a medieval water color at times or others a twist of angles in the fantastical, or the merging of the Gothic within the very structure of the setting such as King Haggerd’s dilapidated castle and the twisted faces that made up much of the walls.

The music was exactly what was needed for the film, enjoyable and supported the tone of the film for the most part, the only flaw perhaps being the love song between Prince Lir (Jeff Bridges) and Lady Amalthea (Mia Farrow). It was a little to schmaltzy for the tone of the film, but it served its purpose to progress the plot.

The narrative flowed well, with a plot that was decently paced, barring a few to quick moments here and there between the characters that could have used a bit more set up, but not overly distracting. The themes of the film, which there were many, were well couched, themes that explored the notions of perception, nature, innocence, love, determination, obsession, and regret, with the normally portrayed positive themes, such as love, shown in the light of the negative and harmful consequences of said emotion, though still ultimately positive as well. All this was layered well within the film, though that could be because the author of the book it is based off of also wrote the screenplay.

The characters were good, though the best would have to be the unicorn and King Lir:

The unicorn’s character development from a sheltered naive creature into something braver, surer, and mature which carried her through the movie she represented the mythos of unicorns, but at the same time was separate from it, due to her experiences, and her design of course is perhaps one of the best unicorn animated characters ever made.

King Lir, was a significant antagonist and the great personification of the ultimate unhappy man and the insanity that is part of that. He is a cold thing that one would normally pity, when it comes to unhappy people, but the unique juxtaposition of obsessive mercilessness one moment, and uncaring dismissal another moment, only involved with his own pleasure, which he has little of, makes him compelling to watch and in the end you feel disturbed in how to react to him.
That is another facet of the movie that that is just so fascinating, the fact that characters are not cut and dried; they are complex enough that no one is clearly without faults, even the protagonist(s).

This is a film that I would recommend to families to watch, especially in this day and age where there is a lot of family movies that stick trope-ish cut outs, or become so over time, appealing in its visuals, adventure, and complexity. The Last Unicorn is a film that stands on its own.

Cosmos Laundromat, First Cycle: A Review.
 

Film/Short: Cosmos Laundromat: First Cycle.
Created By: Blender Institute.
Released: 2015.
Running Time: 12 min.

This delightful animation is spearheaded by Blender Insitute, which is a company that provides open sourced 3D computer animation software of the same name. This is the fifth open movie project from the company. The purpose is to make a feature length animation created by an international coalition of animation studios using the Blender program, each releasing a part of the story in chapters dubbed “Cycles”. This first installment was directed by Mathieu Auvray about a suicidal sheep named Frank (Pierre Bokma) who is approached by a man named Victor (Rienout Scholten van Aschat) who gives him a proposition.

The animation and style in this is phenomenal! A very promising start that utilizes an attention to detail, and texture, particularly with Frank, such as the individual hairs on this sheep’s face and his wild wool, and in particular his eyes, which were well rendered in this great close up moment as he contemplates Victor’s words. The colour in this pops at you in both setting of mood and a sense of the saturated trippy fantastical when Frank’s ride arrives. Everything about this is a visual treat that keeps the eye riveted; you can tell the animators put a great deal of effort into this.

The sound in this was very well done. The music by Sebastien Krause was perfect; adding an extra touch of wow to the moment when the vortex descends and chases after Frank, with the backup of Frank’s fellow sheep in chorus was a nice touch.

The premise of the story is intriguing, using a rather unique character, and the set up for what is to follow does well to incite interest, neatly starting Frank onto his journey and providing a good cliffhanger segway for the next installment. The only problem I can see is that the sheep somehow inexplicably knew that the device would take him somewhere, but it never readily explained how the sheep knew that what Victor offered him would do anything at all and that he wasn’t just some crazy person tying something to this neck. The dialogue between Frank and Victor could have been a bit more filled out. Otherwise, it doesn’t overly take away from the enjoyment of it, and will perhaps be better handled in the next installments.

The individual characters introduced so far are good, Victor comes across with just the right amount of intrigue, presented in a manner that explains what he is without outright stating it while his motivations appear to be yet to be realized. Frank being a suicidal sheep of all things combines a sense of depressive comic tragedy about him. Right off he is presented as a creature that struggles, and boy howdy does he! When he drags that broken branch he had tried to hang himself on, you practically feel this guy’s determined effort as he pulls that heavy thing across the island to the cliffs, panting and struggling with everything in him. You just want to know what this guy’s deal with wanting to die is, and hopefully one of the other contributors this project will take the time to flesh out Frank’s motivation.

Overall this is an animation to look forward to with each progression, where it goes and how the other contributors will add to this wonderful project.

Justice League Gods and Monsters: A Review.
 

Film: Justice League Gods and Monsters.
Directed By: Sam Liu.
Released: 2015.
Running Time: 72 min.

This direct-to-video animation presents an alternative universe in which the Justice League is manned by its own alternative versions of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman who dispenses justice in a much harsher, bloodier manner then their original counterparts.

This animation was a hail back to the style of the earlier DC Animated series from the 90’s and early 2000’s with a bit more blood and polish, perhaps because of Bruce Timm, the man who was behind a lot of the character designs for DC animated series and films, is a producer in its creation. The character designs are nostalgically brilliant, the action sequences were slick and well animated with attention to angle and impact, and the voice acting was perfect for each character.

The characters themselves were an interesting roster of alters in this alternative universe, each were well rounded, given a moment of back story, particularly Batman and Wonder Woman. The sense of moral ambiguity is there, and the challenge to personal belief systems, particularly in Superman was there, but this moral ambiguity is engaged to shallowly to be as effective overall as the narrative suggests it should. Batman and Wonder Woman should have also been given these moments of facing their own moral interpretations, not just Superman, and even then it’s not so much of a struggle as a too readily done acceptance.

Another unfortunate flaw was that the characters needed better dialogue with each other, since they are a team. The movie would have been stronger character-wise if the movie had taken the time to include a flash back as to how they come together, and perhaps a bit more interaction with each other present time outside of smashing skulls and possible world domination **** hits the fan meetings.

The plot was kept at an intensive pace for the most part from beginning to end, with the possible potential of a sequel or a spin off but not in your face about it, and can stand on its own if that happens or not. The pace does work with the darker themes, and the gratuitous violence is not to over the top (though there is a lot of it) but works within the narrative. The battles are entertaining and the neat little twist in the end was good. This is a decent story that perhaps could have benefited from a bit more screen time to flesh out the story more.

This is one of the better DC Universe Animated Original movies, with a mildly decent plot and intriguing premise, good pace, excellent animation and character designs, good voice work, and over all something that DC animated fans should give a gander.

Dark Skies: A Review.
 

Film: Dark Skies.
Directed by: Scott Stewart.
Released: 2013.
Running Time: 96 minutes.

The Film Dark Skies is an American horror story about a suburban family, the Barretts, who are tormented by inexplicable happenings and their attempts to understand and ultimately try to defy their fate.

The opening is an economical ground work of the type of setting (suburbia), people (suburbanites), and protagonists (suburban family) that the narrative is going to center on. The opening is good at establishing tools for filmmakers to work their intergalactic horror story through. You see hints that this is a community that is very much about appearance and reputation, gossiping with each other about this or that neighbor during a BBQ at the protagonist family’s house. You see hints that the father is stressed over an important position, the family’s lack of funds to support their middle class life style, his annoyance over his eldest son’s older friend, and his wife is too busy with her own work to have sex with him, providing a possible psychological component that could be utilized, perhaps to add an element of question in regards to the father’s perception of events.

Alright, so far so good, a solid opening foundation to work some modest cinema magic, with such possibilities hinted at in the beginning and an interesting premise to work through them, spectators should be in for a pretty decent horror film.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen.

Admittedly, there are some vague references to the protagonists dealing with some flack as the parents come across as possibly abusive, as the most tormenting happens to the youngest child, with the father having violent anger issues displayed to all and sundry when he tries to beat up his eldest son’s friend, but it is only shallowly scratched, with one passing possibility of child services taking the children, but nothing comes from that plot point and this prime opportunity for drama is wasted (which would have really added to the tension of the climax if the parents had to steal away their children before the aliens could). There is barely any interactions with their judging neighbors other than a few passing dirty looks and aghast faces. This could have paved the way to some necessary character and story development, some stellar drama, and gripping tension, but nope, those vital cinematic treats are not tossed the spectator’s way.

Things just happen in this movie, and granted there are some creepy scenes, and the actors did well with what they had (Keri Russell played an even better Keri Russell this time around), but the film maker’s set-up all these possibilities, and then just seemed to not know how to use any of it, a trend which went all the way to the ending which had a frankly unneeded half-assed last scene.

All in all, the movie is a “meh,” without much going for it other than some decent performances and a few scenes here and there. Though I am not one to promote remakes, this film perhaps needs a more knowledgeable hand in narrative development to really make it shine.

Uninhabited: A Review.
 

Film: Uninhabited.
Directed by: Bill Bennett.
Released:2010.
Running Time: 93 min.

Uninhabited is a an Australian Horror Film about a young couple, Beth and Harry, who decide to have a vacation on an isolated island on the Great Barrier Reef and while there, are haunted by a vengeful force.

There is a frustrating trend in cinema now a days where you get some beautifully wrought films where you can tell that a great deal of care and attention is going into them, but only in one aspect of the film, leaving other aspects, necessary ones, like a flat tire that could have made for an otherwise smooth ride, and this movie is a prime example.

The focus, and thus the strength in this movie are the visuals. There is this almost too beautiful super-realism to it, a sense of texture that a spectator can almost feel with their eyeballs; the sheen, heave, and ripples of water, the grit of sand on the bodies of the two protagonists as they embrace on the beach, the deadly rough edges of a stone fish, the drips of water as one of the protagonists take an early morning dip in the cooling shallows. It adds a layer of visual experience to the movie that makes spectators almost feel the sand down their shorts.

The film also deserves credit for knowing how to use angle, close ups, and perspective shots in this film. There is also this trend in films from time to time where the creators get a little to enamored of a particular type of shot and often it is used in a way that does not work well with the plot (for example a pointless pan across in M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs, used where nothing of any great tension or obvious oddity is happening, which is one of the reason’s filmmakers normally use the method, to heighten these moments), this is something that the movie fortunately doesn’t do. The low angle first person shot of Harry as he looks up at the attacker who struck him with the gun, the use of in and out of focus, and the occasional over exposure give a sense of the surreal state of in and out of consciousness that Harry is experiencing.

It’s not just camera though, the soundtrack highlights the sense of location while at the same time, winding the tension in the spectators more successfully than the narrative itself is in presenting the supernatural malevolence that haunts the island. It provides an auditory flavor that is beautiful and eerie at the same time without being intrusive. Sound in this film is properly used as a narrative aide, and not just there despite the narrative.

Despite these positive qualities, the weakness in this film lies in the narrative.

The transitions between these beautiful visuals to the actual plot happening (when it eventually does) gives a sense as if someone were filming an IMAX beach documentary and some semblance of a story wanders drunkenly onto set from time to time, reminding the viewer “oh yeah, I am watching a movie.” The transitions between these moments are jarring and weaken the experience of the film.

Said drunken narrative itself is a lazily put together ghost story with the revelation of the reality of the ghost to the characters shoe horned in with an exceedingly weak-ass plot device. The two leads played by Geraldine Hakewell and Henry James, are portrayed well enough, particularly Hakewell as Beth, but all you really know about them is that they are in wuv and on vacation, with shallow dialogue that reveals practically nothing about themselves, except that one of them is a marine biologist, and that’s it. There is nothing character-wise to hold on to in this film and it makes it hard for spectators to empathize with them as they have no internal conflict.

The ghost itself has an overused motivation of blind vengeance, and is just as two dimensional as the protagonists. There is no relationship between the ghost and her victims, other than the fact that one of them has a generalized trait, that there is a man on the island, which incites her actions. Her back story is too rushed and clichéd, and other then a brief moment where Beth feels a sympathy for the woman and how she died, there is nothing between the two women that fleshes out the ghost from the perspective of the victims, or vice versa. This is echoed in the conclusion of the narrative, as Beth’s fate leaves a groan and eye roll at how freakin’ unimaginative and nonsensical (in a bad, lazy way) it is within the established narrative – what there is of it.

This movie was frustrating to watch because of all this amazing visual detail and excellent use of sound, but the narrative in contrast was so bad, that it leaves one feeling unfulfilled against the promise that the technical side of things makes, but doesn’t match with story-wise. It’s a shame because if the narrative had even been half way better than it is, this would have been one of the better contemporary horror movies out there.

The Celluloid Closet: A Review.

Film:The Celluloid Closet
Written by: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman.
Released: 1995.
Running Time: 107 min.

This is a traditional style documentary about the portrayal of homosexuality in Hollywood Cinema leading up to the time of the documentary’s release, utilizing a combination of Film clips from all parts of Hollywood cinematic history and interviews with guest speakers. It was based off the book of the same name by Vito Russo.

The premise of the topic of homosexuality and Hollywood was very concisely articulated through the documentary style, and utilized a chronological overview that lays the ground work coherently and engagingly, with just the right particular attention to both the various stereotypes and tropes of homosexuality, censorship, and the utilization of purposeful, yet subtle, innuendo that many filmmakers throughout the years utilized in history to work around censorship.

The interviewees were a good selection of scholars, actors, and filmmakers. The Narrator, Lilly Tomlin, did a good job of narrating, expressing just the right tone and infliction for the subject matter. Despite there being a narrator, what was being said in the film did a good job of being expressed through the cinematic images being utilized, the narrator, and the interviewees such as Tony Curtis, Whoopi Goldberg, and Daniel Melnick to name a few of those whom contributed.

Overall it was an excellent basis for the topic, very engaging despite its traditional documentary format, and you can tell that a fair about of care and attention went into its production. Despite the fact that it might be a little dated by 2015’s standards, it is still relevantly informative and fascinating, and is something that should still be watched even now if you are a cinema history buff or just plain love cinema.

*Celluloid Closet can be found on youtube.

Re: Screen Squinty's Reviews
 

Two good choices for me which are justice league and dark skies. Both good movies.

La Luna: A Review.

Short: La Luna.
Made by: Pixar.
Released: 2011.
Running time: 7 min.

This is a computer animated short directed and written by Enrico Casarosa that premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France and was later paired with Brave (2012). It is about three generations of laborers who clean stars off the moon.

The animation style was very much like the illustrations from a child’s book with simple lines, yet unique characteristics as well as colourful and eye-catching. The use of gibberish dialogue forces the viewer to perceive the dynamic between the three characters strictly by action, which was well utilized in this short. The use of objects such as the hat and cleaning tools was a clever way to express the arguments and resolution.

This is more a story of the arguments of two generations (grandfather and father) trying to raise another generation, the son, in different ways that they both think to be the better, with the son eventually finding his own way of interpreting tradition. Working the theme of next generational contention though a child-like contemporary folktale worked well with the moral being expressed.

A great little animation that kids and adults can appreciate.

I watched La Luna for the Top 100 Animated Films Countdown that we did here earlier this year, and I loved it so much that it was #14 on my list.

The Visit: A Review.

Film: The Visit.
Made by: Blinding Edge Pictures and Blumhouse Productions.
Released: 2015.
Running time: 93 min.

The Visit is urban legend style horror (possibly a bit of comedy) film written and directed by M. Night. Shyamalan about two children Rebecca and Tyler who go to visit their estranged grandparents John and Doris for the week and during their stay notice something increasingly odd is going on with the elderly couple.

From Technical perspective, the found footage style worked well with the film and the filmmakers were fierily consistent in maintaining the style throughout. It added an extra layer of experience for the viewers of the children, and combined with a good use of environment (tight confining crawl spaces, sprawling fog shrouded farm land), enhancing the horror and humour elements, the technical were pretty solid.

The Characters worked well, each actor pulling of a stellar performance, particularly Deanna Dunagan as Doris; you can tell she was having a blast playing her role. The older girl was the least enjoyable, coming across as perhaps a bit to pretentious, but that could be purposeful, possibly a mild self-parody at some filmmakers in general.

Narrative wise this was perhaps one of M. Night. Shyamalan’s tighter stories; there was the absence of the inexplicable plot holes that existed in some of his other films (Signs for example) or a weak climax (The Village for another example); the plot progression flowed well enough, and though it took a bit of a slow start in the beginning, it did use that slow start to establish the two protagonists well.

The manipulation of tension was one of the stronger parts of the film. A sense of “will it or wont it” sinisterism that purveys some of the scenes, like the one where the protagonists are playing under the porch when they are suddenly beset upon by their rather creepily scuttling grandma only to have her pop out after them from under the porch after them and proclaim in an amused manner that she was just playing. It turned the moment of tension and jump scare into a moment of playful eccentricity, making it more a “what the Fay Dunaway was that?!” type of scene, but in a good way. This sentiment is carried out throughout the film, and keeps the sense of slightly skewed tension well.

while the film does have its flaws here and there, it’s an enjoyable watch with some good tension, great acting, and decent cinematography. One of Shyamalan’s better films as of late.

SHUDŌ: A Review.

Short: SHUDŌ.
Directed by: To-Anh Bach, Charles Badiller, and Hugo Weiss.
Running time: 2 min.
Released: 2015.

This is a very short promotional animation from Goeblins Le’Ecole de L’Image that features a fight between two swordsmen, Hayate and Iwa out in the snow.

This is an excellent little animation, almost like a clip form some larger project really, with this amazing visual dance between the past and the present as the relationship is shown between the two battling swordsmen, the images between fighting and embracing were particularly poignant given the ending.

The animation style itself was unique, and attention to detail, such as the cloths whipping in the blizzard wind, the angle and the choice of cold colors for the present battle, and warmer tones for the past scenes was well done.

This is how film should be, showing. There is no dialogue, and the actions in the animation play out a deep relationship within such a small space of time, that it rivals many feature length films.

Well Done!

*SHUDŌ the animated short can be found on youtube.

If you enjoy animated shorts, you should check out Goeblins and CGbros, I've done a few reviews of their stuff.

Re: Screen Squinty's Reviews
 

If you enjoy animated shorts, you should check out Goeblins and CGbros, I've done a few reviews of their stuff.

Goodnight Mommy: A (short) Review.

Film: Goodnight Mommy.
Written and Directed by: Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala.
Released: 2014 (eng sub 2015).
Running time: 93 min.

This is a Austrian Horror film about two brothers who have a contentious relationship with a woman that they doubt to be their mother whom returns to them after plastic surgery.

This is a movie about ambiance. Everything from the amazing
cinematography, the rife symbolic imagery, to the character portrayals is about the experience of hallucinating. Even though you
know early on the secret surrounding the two boys. Its not about
revelation of the secret surrounding them, so much as watching the fallout of that realization, and some of the extremes it can go to.

The child actors were natural with just a hint of something off, without being to much one thing or the other, the mother was a bit…off as a mother figure, but that could be considered as the key part of the plot, or in general a portrayed faulty person being interpreted through a skewed lens.

A great deal of obvious film making talent went into this Austrian
masterpiece, a bit laid back here and there, not an overly jump scare kind of film, which is perfect for the story being portrayed, adding yet another layer to the definition of Horror.

Blindsight: A Review.

Short: Blindsight.
Created by: Florian Puchois.
Released: 2015.
Running Time: 2.39 min.

This is a computer animated short about a person who creates the world around him visually, using a contraption that creates Polaroid brail pictures.

This was a lovely animation that puts an interesting turn on the construction of perception. It utilized elements and time splendidly to express its theme, and the Polaroid brail as a means was an innovative touch, including the element of artificial aides into the theme.

The music was a good choice, keeping it upbeat, the colour palate was visually appealing, and the character design was a nice simple utilization for the theme.

A great animated short as an example of exploring the theme of perception, keep up the good work!

Die Young, Animated Musical Short: A Review.

Short: Die Young.
Created by: Vizipop
Released: 2014.
Running Time: 2.40 min.

This is one of those independently made animations that was created purely for the love of the medium of music, in this case “Die Young” by Kesha Rose, being expressed through animation.

The crowning glory here is the character designs. These are unique and imaginative creations that have this flow about them, a lot of swirl and curve to the characters fitting space around each other when the main focus in a manner like what you find on yin-yang symbols or round edge puzzle pieces, and great facial expressions on both the main character and the background characters, expressing an energetic mischief that helped to really solidify the tone of the piece. Combining the eye catching, and sometimes wild, colour scheme, it’s a very appealing looking animation.

There are a few minor things like slight sync issues with the music to mouth of the main character, and a few areas within the back ground characters that should have been moving with the song’s implied pace but not to noticeable with the sheer flow and energy being expressed in the main character and her little pink fox, combined with the excellent song choice, the theme of which this animation expressed brilliantly.

This is a wonderful tribute to the song and great effort on part of the animation team. Good job!

Dip N' Dance: A Review.

Short: Dip N Dance.
Directed by: Hugo Cierzniak.
Released: 2014.
Running time: 6.18 min.

This a an award winning French independent animated short produced by Delapost Paris and created by Hugo Cierzniak, about a conceited narcissist with a gadget fetish that is suddenly faced with his collection putting him through his paces.

The short is a hilarious warning about being owned by the objects that we own. It is reminiscent of the Buster Keaton classic The Electric House (1922) which had a similar premise of household automations causing hijinks. In this short’s case, the hi-jinks through puppet master musicality of this single individual in a towel, who has just the right amount of pompous ridiculousness himself in the beginning, was well executed.

If I had any issues with this piece, it would be the scene of him kicking his dog in the opening, it came across as a little to forced in showing what an arse the main character is, though perhaps can be mildly explained by the immediate follow up of the character whistling at his radio to turn it on like one would whistle at a beloved pet, perhaps juxtaposing the man’s favor of gadget over the behind the times loyalty of his affectionate pet, though this could be reaching.

Some imaginative settings, great use of light and shadow, excellent use of perspective, it’s colourful without being obnoxious, as well as its vaguely trippy moments carry through a rather fluidly animated enjoyable short.

Duo: A Review.

Short: Duo.
Directed by: Goeblins student team (unspecified).
Released: 2014.
Running time: 3.31 min.

Duo is an animated short done in a 2D animation style with miniature sets, created by a group of students from the Parisian School Goeblins, an institute famous for their spectacular animated shorts. The short shows the ending of a partnership of two sisters whose days of performing together are coming to an end while also exploring staging and performance as a vehicle for the theme of relationships.

The use of setting is very well utilized, the scenes of on-stage, which is the present time frame as the two main characters are preforming, and behind the stage, where the final moments before they go on-stage are playing out behind the curtain of Claire and Marla, uses a vibrant red and blue colour to express the transition and conflict, both hidden in the public and upfront in private was an excellent touch with the reddish colour seeming to represent the honest relationship between the two characters, while the blue represents the public relationship, the performance faces, that they put on stage. The colours also represent the relationship of separate personalities, evidenced through the opening scene of the side by side red and blue dressing room, one organized, one not.

While the particulars of the conflict are never fleshed out, the fact that we are watching this conflict behind the seeming harmony of their movements, becoming ever more intertwined together in their act, juxtaposes this unity with their conflicting desires, and in the moment of the final act when one of the characters lets go of her partner’s hand, the viewer is left in this tense moment of wondering if her fate was going to be influenced by the conflict between them.

This film intelligently expresses a theme of relationship and performance with a narrative rich in animated mise-en-scene subtext and an inspiring capability to express an engaging story within such a short period of time. I would highly recommend this animated short to any aspiring, or current filmmakers.