OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTS – Live Action and Animated (2011)

Greetings again from the darkness. Every year I mention how the Magnolia Theatre in Dallas presents one of my favorite movie events … the Oscar nominated short films. Three hours of quality filmmaking! It’s also a reminder of just how frustrating it is that so few people actually get to see these interesting short films.  Why aren’t they screened periodically throughout the year in association with major film releases?  Pixar manages to do this successfully, so it only makes sense that others could follow suit.  With all of that being said, I must regrettably report that this year’s batch didn’t light the fire for me the way past years have.  The quality of the filmmaking was present, but the creative storytelling fell a bit short.

Below is my recap by category, and in order of preference:

LIVE ACTION

 THE SHORE (Ireland) directed by Terry George.  This one is probably the most mainstream/accessible because it tells a story that is easily relatable.  Ciaran Hinds stars as a man returning home to Ireland after 25 years.  He has his grown daughter (Kerry Condon) in tow, and she is much more anxious than he to reassemble the pieces of his past. As he reconnects with his former best friend and fiancé, we learn they have each harbored secrets and guilt since last they saw each other.  Watching how it plays out is actually quite touching, and includes some humorous moments as well.

TUBA ATLANTIC (Norway) directed by Hallvar Witzo.  Our lead character is an elderly man who has been told by his doctor that he has six days to live.  He is then visited by a self-described Angel of Death – a teenage girl volunteering to spend time with him, and help him through the stages of dying.  Their time together involves her causing him to lose one of his six days thanks to sleeping pills.  She also joins in on his personal vendetta against the local sea gulls, who clearly have been a menace for years. We also see the giant tuba that brings him some peace.

TIME FREAK (USA) directed by Andrew Bowler. One of the two characters has invented a time travel machine for the purpose of realizing his dream of visiting ancient Rome. Instead of visiting Caesar, he jumps off-track due to his inability to get over the minutae of life.  We also get the best Oceanography reference since “Seinfeld”.

PENTECOST (Ireland) directed by Peter McDaniel. We are dropped into 1977 Ireland as a young alter boy makes a critical mistake during mass.  His punishment forces him to miss his beloved futbol team’s big game. Given a second chance, we witness quite a funny pep talk by the local priest.  The sports analogy is impossible to miss, but the young man proves he may be a bit more hard-headed than first thought.

RAJU (Germany) directed by Max Zahle. A young couple travel to India to adopt an orphan boy. What they soon discover is that they are mere bit players in a human trafficking scam.  We see how differently the two people react and how self-interest can sometimes cloud one’s judgment.

ANIMATION

 THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR MORRIS LESSMORE (USA) directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg. Despite a title that is impossible to remember, this little film was my favorite of the day. In a pretty creative way, it touts the impact that books can have on our lives. It has a tribute to Hurricane Katrina and The Wizard of Oz while it reminds us of the role books can play in providing hopes and dreams.  Humpty Dumpty and Pop Goes the Weasel both play a key role as we see books spring to life, and bring color to the world of kids and adults.

LA LUNA (USA) directed by Enrico Casarosa. This category wouldn’t be complete without the latest gem from Pixar. We see a young boy being introduced to a most unusual family business run by his father and grandfather. His real challenge is finding a way to keep them happy while still making his own mark. He succeeds in very dramatic fashion.

A MORNING STROLL (UK) directed by Grant Orchard. A NYC street scene plays out in three widely different eras: 1959, 2009, 2059.  The twist here is we see a chicken doing the same thing in all 3 time periods, while the people he confronts, and the environment, shift each time.

DIMANCHE / SUNDAY (Canada) directed by Patrick Doyon. A boy is searching for something interesting to do while his family carries on with their Sunday visit.  Things involved include a house-rattling train, 3 crows that mimic the old men, a “mounted” bear and a bunny rabbit.

WILD LIFE (Canada) directed by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby. An English gentleman settles into a simple cabin in the harsh Alberta frontier in 1909.  His letters home paint a rosier picture than what reality dishes. The film compares his plight to that of a comet, replete with burnout.

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

 Greetings again from the darkness. Not that I am hoping for marital strife, but I like it when Steven Spielberg wants to get out of the house, especially when he joins forces with Peter Jackson (serving here as Producer). This year he has delivered awards contender War Horse and this crowd pleasing motion-capture animation film (also) for the whole family. If you are unfamiliar with Tintin, it is a long-running, extremely popular European comic series by Herge’, who passed away in 1983.  This is Planes, Trains and Automobiles … plus Ships, Rowboats, Motorcycles, Zip lines and just about every other form of transportation that comes to mind.

Tintin (voiced by Jamie Bell) is an investigative newspaper reporter who looks 14, but clearly isn’t. He lives on his own, travels the world and is treated as an adult by those with whom he crosses paths. There is an early scene where Tintin is sitting for a local artist and the resulting portrait is an exact replica of his simple look in the comic series. Tintin has a trusty sidekick … his genius little dog, Snowy. Together they go on adventures that Indiana Jones can only dream about! This particular story focuses on the hunt for the lost Haddock family treasure. Tintin literally stumbles into the drunken sea Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) who is more concerned with his next swig of whiskey than the the fact that he has been kidnapped by the bad guy Rackham/Sakharine (Daniel Craig). This bad guy has unlocked the mystery location of all the clues to the lost treasure and needs Captain Haddock for the final step. Unfortunately for him, Tintin and Snowy get in the way and try their darndest to stop him.

 The action sequences are amongst the most exciting and thrill-packed that you will ever see. They look like “Jonny Quest” on steroids. The story is quite convoluted and complicated, and small kids will be totally lost on exactly WHY the characters do what they do. But it won’t much matter, because the visuals of each scene are captivating. There are even a couple of Interpol agents on the trail … Thompson and Thomson (voiced by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, respectively).  Expect many site gags tossed in to offset the breakneck pace of the globe-trotting adventures.

 Spielberg has always done nice work when he can go after a kid’s imagination – even big kids like me. The look of this movie is pretty amazing, especially when compared to 2004′s The Polar Express. If you doubt how far technology has come, look at these two side by side.  Many of the characters here are as close to lifelike as we have seen – check out the skin and facial contours of Captain Haddock and Sackharine.  Wow.  Herge’ creation is given script work here by Steven Moffatt, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. The great John Williams provides the score. This is one you can bring the kids to and all will enjoy.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you are fan of animated family fun with loads of action OR you just want to see how far motion-capture technology has come

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: to you, Indiana Jones is the be all and end all of action heroes in the movies OR you refuse to get props to anything with French origins 

watch the trailer:

FATHER OF AMERICAN ANIMATION

 British born and NYC-raised, J. Stuart Blackton has been called the “Father of American Animation”.  As a reporter in 1896, he was fortunate enough to be assigned an interview with Thomas Edison.  The two men hit it off and that meeting inspired Blackton to become expert at stop-motion animation, and combine that skill with his vaudevillian talent of lightning sketches.

 

His oldest surviving animation is from 1899 and copyrighted in 1900.  It’s called THE ENCHANTED DRAWING

 

Blackton’s most famous animation is from 1906 and is entitled HUMOROUS PHASES OF FUNNY FACES

 

Blackton enjoyed a long and prolific career as a film director; however, it’s his pioneering of animation for which he is best remembered.  His early stop-motion work continues to influence animators more than a hundred years later.

RANGO

 Greetings again from the darkness. I just can’t believe it. Last year I was raving about Toy Story 3 being my favorite film of the year, and now here I am again extolling the excellence of another animated feature. However, Rango is a different experience … these are all new characters and a whole new look for animation. I would even say this is more a film for grown-ups than for kids, though kids will certainly get a kick out of Rango, a colorful chameleon energetically voiced by Johnny Depp.

 The story and film pay homage to many classic movies and especially to spaghetti westerns. You will easily spot the tributes to Star Wars, Apocalypse Now, Hunter S Thompson, Sergio Leone, Lee Van Cleef, Clint Eastwood, High Noon, and of course Chinatown. The main story line is nearly identical to Chinatown … the control of a town’s water. Here we get the Mayor, voiced by Ned Beatty, in the John Huston role. For film fans, this is just so much fun!

Rango the chameleon is a very likable character who just wants to make friends. He dreams of being a hero so that people will look up to him. Of course, he learns the hard way what being a hero really means. The town of Dirt, the desert, and multitude of characters are all fantastically drawn. There are times the film has a look of live action with terrific lighting and detail, and the colors are perfect.

 The voice acting in the film is truly outstanding and it starts with Depp’s fine work. Also contributing are Ned Beatty (Mayor), Bill Nighy (Rattlesnake Jake), Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Stephen Root, Alfred Molina (Armadillo), Ray Winstone, Charles Fleisher (from 1988′s Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) and Timothy Olyphant as the Clint Eastwood character no-named Spirit of the West. There is also a useful and very funny Mariachi band that pops up periodically to push the story along.

Director Gore Verbinski is known best for his Pirates of the Caribbean movies (with Depp) and he really gets to go all out on his visual style here. He is helped immensely by George Lucas‘ Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and their first foray into animation. Heads up Pixar … you definitely have some tough competition!

A note of caution: I did notice a lot of younger kids seemed to get bored and had trouble following the story.  There are some terrific action scenes, but there is also a great deal of time spent on the story and characters – not exactly perfect for keeping a kid’s attention.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you love a good western or good animation (this one is both)

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you have very young kids … there are long dialogue-driven sequences between the few action effects

THE ILLUSIONIST (L’illusionniste)

 Greetings again from the darkness. While this animated feature absolutely stands on its own, a little background makes it even more interesting.

Jacques Tati is legendary among cinephiles. He is responsible for a small, but fascinating clump of films that span 25+ years. His best known are Mr. Hulot’s Holiday and Mon Oncle, the latter of which makes a quick appearance in this film. Tati wrote the original script in the 1950′s just prior to his career exploding in popularity. He intended the script to be filmed as a live action production, but he died in 1982 without ever getting around to making the film. Instead, his daughter held onto the script and eventually gave it to filmmaker Sylvain Chomet, who is responsible for the fantastic 2003 animated film The Triplets of Belleville.

Mr. Chomet’s animated version is quite the tribute to Tatis. The lead character shares not only Tatis’ birth name (Tatischeff) but also his look and mannerisms. He is a technically adept magician whose time has come and gone … his sly skills and popularity replaced by the obnoxious noise of rock stars. He is now confined to run down music halls and finally a department store showroom window. A true relic on display … ironically hocking the hottest items of the day.

 Along the way “down” he meets a girl who seems to worship what magic he has left. She cooks and cleans and caters to him. Her attention leads him to spend what little money he has on buying her new shoes and clothes. A sad spectacle played out in real life entirely too many times. The girl’s presence does give him a reason to go on … if for no other reason that to keep up with her whims.

Of course, nothing last forever. Neither the magician, nor the girl’s adoration. The details of Edinburgh and the characters are a tribute to both the Tatis script and the brilliant eye of Chomet. It is a rather sad and bleak story told with a most unusual pace and nearly no dialogue. The characters movements and the beautiful score leave little doubt what is occurring with each character and in each scene. This is wonderful animated filmmaking and it certainly deserves it’s Oscar nomination.

SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you have an appreciation for animated world cinema OR (like me) you believe The Triplets of Belleville to be one of the finest animated films ever made.

SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you believe animated films need to be very wild, noisy and colorful to hold attention

DESPICABLE ME

 Greetings again from the darkness. Can’t imagine there ever will be, but if there were to be a court trial against Pixar claiming unfair world animation domination, Despicable Me would surely be logged as Evidence A from the prosecution. It’s a well made, pleasant enough kids film that parents won’t dread sitting through.  However, with the unfortunate luck of being released in the same year as Pixar’s masterpiece Toy Story 3, it’s just no match.

I am happy to report that the kids in the theatre seemed to respond very well  … especially to the Minions. If you have been to a movie in the past year, you have probably been exposed to the Minions – a group of cute, yellow tennis ball-looking creatures with either one or two eyes, a unique squeaking language and an infectious giggle/laugh. I found them to be the highlight of the movie as well.

Basic story has Gru (Steve Carell voice) on a mission to be the world’s best villain. He has had some success, but has been a financial disaster. We learn this when he visits the Bank of Evil and they reject his loan for his newest project – stealing the moon! Gru is in competition with a new, younger, overblown evil mastermind named Vector (Jason Segel voice). Gru and his inventor Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) are a step behind in technology, but manage to come up with a strategy.

The plan involves cookie-selling orphans who Gru adopts. The story is pretty simple in that he initially plans to use them to trap Vector, but of course, Gru is the one who has his heart stolen by the 3 girls.  Yes, a bad guy is cast as the hero.

It’s mostly a cute presentation of a very simple story. Younger kids will get a kick out of it … and didn’t seem to be as annoyed at Steve Carell’s odd accent as I was. It comes across as a cross between Russian and German, but is easily enough understood.

Don’t expect the brilliance of Pixar, but it will entertain the youngsters.

TOY STORY 3

  Greetings again from the darkness. Has there ever been a bad Pixar movie? Nope. And as many really good movies they have created, there are now two truly great ones: Toy Story and Toy Story 3. The first one (released 15 years ago) transformed the way animation is made and set the standard for kids’ movies that parents can also enjoy. This third installment takes animated story telling to the next level.

Of course all the great voices are back: Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles, Estelle Harris), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Hamm (John Ratzenberger) and Sarge (R Lee Ermey). Imagine assembling that cast and then adding two fabulous new characters: Lotsa Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty), Ken (Michael Keaton); expanding Jodi Benson’s Barbi to a key role, and re-vamping Slinky-dog with Blake Clark taking over for his deceased friend, the fabulous Jim Varney. This is major star power and an over-abundance of talent!

Then again, we have all seen stellar casts fall flat without a worthy script. Fear not as Pixar legend John Lasseter (Exec Producer here) has passed the reins again to director Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc.). This story is brilliant and engaging. I challenge anyone from age 5 to 95 to avoid being drawn in to the themes of separation, friendship, loyalty, and power.

There are some laugh outloud moments along with the usual wise cracks from Buzz and Potato head. This time we are also treated to some darker moments with Lotsa, a power-hungry stuffed bear, and his band of misfits that include a giant baby doll and Chuckles, the creepiest clown this side of Poltergeist, and especially the frightening/funny monkey working security.

Some Pixar touches include the voice of Andy is provided by the grown up voice actor who did Andy in the first, a couple of glimpses of the evil kid Sid (first Toy Story) who has grown up to be a garbage man (same shirt) and the re-use of Randy Newman’s classic song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”. Too many other “little” moments to mention, but this is pure film genius and should not be missed.