Small Update

Just a little update on my life:

Being sick is possibly the worst thing that can happen at this time in the semester, mentally i'm feeling strong but physically my body is just not having it (let's just say I've been very limited). I'm still pretty icky but now we all guessing that it may be an internal issue rather than just a really really bad cold. Hopefully all goes well, but on the bright side (in some odd way) being sick has given me time to devote to all my interests like sketching and animating. I'm actually really proud to say that there looking really good (pretty quirky and adorable actually).

I'm also excited to say that I'm back art directing and production designing for a student film back home. I've been working with the script for a couple of weeks now and I've finally developed the final color schemes and began sketching the costumes. I guess the reason why i'm so excited is because the writer and director have given me complete creative liberty, which is rare usually they want you to draw their vision. It's still in the early phases of production but I'm excited to be working on something that isn't a project or for credit, its purely just for fun.

Not so fiction related news: I've began watching A LOT of Netflix documentaries, and for future reference if you're ever stuck in bed or have a long weekend, just skim Netflix and watch a couple! 

I wish you all a happy break!

"Free Birds" gobbled by critics

Free Birds

For my show The Screening Room this week I had to review the new animated film "Free Birds" which tells the strange tale of Reggie, voiced by Owen Wilson, an unusually smart turkey who attempts to get the other birds of his flock to realize their farmer master is fattening them up for Thanksgiving dinner. The graphics are not that impressive, but the storyline is amusing. There are not a lot of Thanksgiving themed films, besides of course the classic "Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving", so this one was intriguing and well timed. It has a great cast of Owen Wilson, Amy Poehler and the hilarious Woody Harrelson. Critics have been gobbling this movie to shreds, as they say it is"Technically proficient yet creatively moribund, Free Birds begs unfortunate comparisons with the dim-witted fowl that inspired it." Rotten Tomatoes gave this movie a 19%. Enough said. 

Yikes. Sorry folks if you were looking for an entertaining turkey movie! The only thing this movie ignites in the audience is hunger. Yum, turkey. This movie is also featured in 3-D which I literally don't understand. Why would this movie about striking turkeys need to be featured in 3-D? I personally don't like the whole effect in general but they are just going overboard.Overall, "Free Birds" should have never been set free to the public. It has all the right components but it just doesn't pull through. And Owen Wilson needs to stop being animated characters. 

Here's the trailer:

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving: Exploring the evolution of animation

Evolving Animation

I grew up with Charlie Brown, as each holiday came my family and I would watch these classic films. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is the compelling story of Charlie Brown and his quirky friends coming together and sharing Thanksgiving dinner together. This film was made in 1973, 40 years ago! It is insane to think this was created so long ago. 

I think it is very interesting how much animation has progressed. I believe Charles Schulz was ahead of his time and created descriptive and intriguing stories. He was the definition of what a real storyteller is and his stories were instant classics. 

The picture above is a clear depiction of how animation has truly changed and evolved at a rapid rate. Animation movies today are so real looking that at times I forget that I am watching drawn characters. Compare this picture to this adorable picture of Puss in Boots:

This picture is so realistic, compared to Charlie Brown and is almost three dimensional. " I absolutely love the modern day evolution of Disney and other animated filmmakers these days. The animation process continues to improve with magical and colorful visual effects, sensational facial expressions, and remarkable scripts" This quote is from an article I read called "The Evolution of Animation" and the author expresses that he loves the classic animation films, but also enjoys the modern day animations as well. The classics of older animation include most Disney movies, such as the classic "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".

The two pictures above are different styles of animation, however, in modern day we are using different and more advanced programs. The advancement of animation is incredible and amazing. I am excited to see what animation looks in another 40 years! 

Suburgatory

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a relaxing break, for me I have been in a food coma for the last three days. This was the first time in awhile that my entire family was under one roof so we celebrated by watching a plethora of great movies and TV shows. As a quick side note, American Horror Story: fantastic. During this TV binge we stumbled upon a show called Suburgatory, a show about a girl (Jane Levvy) and her father (Jeremy Sisto) living in the suburbs after living in New York city the majority of their lives.

The episode we watched was the Thanksgiving special, it was enjoyable, had very funny jokes and the acting was pretty good. Will I continue to watch it? Eh. Call me a pessimist but I do not have much faith in it. However this show was filled with actors everyone recognizes. It seemed like every five minutes one of my family members would go, "Oh damn its that guy!" As I said early Jeremy Sisto is in it, Cheryl Hines, and Alan Tudyk are all actors on the show.

This show was enjoyable for a couple of good laughs and seeing some great actors, will it last? Honestly I cannot tell but it is worth seeing the Thanksgiving episode at least.