Dao Minh Nguyen

Film reviewer

[daominhn]

The Christmas Setup and Dashing in December - Escape from 2020 to homo spirit...

After so many cheesy Christmas movies for straight people on television, finally Lifetime and Paramount has decided to make two movies with main roles are same-sex couple. Be ready to dip in Holiday spirit, because this year two smashing gay love stories will be featured on tv with all the cheesiness, festive and extremely adorable feeling that LGBTQ+ community can relate to.

The Christmas Setup (TCS) by Lifetime and Dashing in December (DID) by Paramount are first two movies ever feature same-sex couple as main role among all other traditional Christmas movies. In TCS, Hugo – a successful lawyer from NYC returns to his hometown and find himself reconnect to his childhood crush – Patrick. Under the pushing effort by his mother – Kate, they have great time together until Hugo has to decide if he will take the promotion or follow his heart… Sharing the same motif, DID shares story about Wyatt, also from NYC, returns home in Colorado for holiday. At family own ranch, he meets Heath and two guys share intimate feeling until Wyatt has to decide if he wants to sell his family ranch then move on, or fulfill his lonely heart with the guy he likes.

In very long time, our television in December, especially family network such as Hallmark or Lifetime, are full of cheesy, festive, bubbly Christmas movies. They share the same story, same plot, type of characters but zillion of people are still hungry for more years after years. All those movies are featured with heterosexual couples and they are usually extreme tone-deaf about diversity. For that reason, TCS and DID like a fresh wind which blows through us gently and remind LGBTQ+ community that finally, there is queer characters, there is homosexual love, there is same-sex couple will be featured in holiday movies. Finally, LGBTQ+ has been given the power, the voice to tell our own love story in holiday.

TCS and DID do not fell out of holiday movie genre. Both of them are all super cheesy, so predictable, very cliché, too naïve. However, more important than trying so hard to escape themselves from those characteristics, both movies offer us a darling view, sweet look and warm, fuzzy feeling about just two more couples – who are happen to be gay and that is it. Straight people have been lived in holiday fantasy and spirit for a long time with more than enough holiday movies. TCS and DID make sure the rest of the world – LGBTQ+ viewers, has one good reason to turn on tv this year to look for holiday movies that tell love stories that we can relate too.

Lifetime not only makes their first gay Christmas movie ever, but also they let real life couple Ben Lewis and Blake Lee plays Hugo and Patrick in TCS. Their chemistry is so real that they seems do not have to try so hard to fell in love on screen. Besides, the one and only Fran Drescher with her over the top voice in Hugo’s mom – Kate role is wonderful addition to the cast. TCS is all about love, reconnection, Christmas spirit, cute humor, adorable flirting and sweet kisses.

Meanwhile, DID by Paramount also do not want to fell behind the gay race. Both actors Peter Porte (Wyatt) and Juan Pablo Di Pace (Heath) are openly gay. DID production is little bit more expensive than TCS: the music, the outside location, etc. Besides, DID tries to offer more depth to story plot when two handsome characters Wyatt and Heath have to deal with their own personal drama before their hearts find the same beat. The only downside about DID is the chemistry between two characters. It is not sparkling or so believable. While Peter acting is too dense, Juan seems not try so hard and look tired most of the time. Rather than that, DID is still a sweet love story of two handsome cowboys that everybody will appreciate and enjoy.

Eventhough two movies only offer mainly white male characters (except Juan who is Latino) so far, but considering everything takes time to adjust and adapt, I believe in near future, we will have more LGBTQ+ diverse characters such as trans, bi, color etc as main role very soon. While waiting for those, TCS and DID are truly Christmas miracle has happened, especially in the end of such a year like 2020. They offers us an escape to fantasy world where we can feel the warm, comfort and romance ooze from two handsome, good looking couples. They are type of movies that you can watch while wrapping yourself in warm blanket in front of fireplace, drinking hot coco with your lover in cold December night and forget about the world.

[daominhn]

Analysis Paralysis (2018) - Fell in love while having anxiety disorder...

With only less than ten characters, two (or maybe even one) locations, the small but very excited in messy way love world of Taylor would entertain you from the very beginning to the end. Analysis Paralysis – the gay indie movie with strange name – is a perfect example of how a gay theme movie can avoid all the cliché, stereotype lifestyle, at the same time, can fell into exactly the viewers’ desire to watch a normal (ok, not really normal) gay man in his own journey to find true love.

There are so many good things about Analysis Paralysis (AP), that is directed and written by Jason T. Gaffney. He also plays the main character Taylor – a young gay author who has suffered an anxiety disorder called “analysis paralysis”. Through the movie, we will join his own battle inside his mind where his anxiety leads him to various situations with all the imaginary outcome from everything happen to his love life with Shane (Kevin Held) – a cute guy lives nearby.

From the moment eyes meet eyes, face to face, pick up line to the first kiss, making out, having sex, to name a few, the movie is a true comedy gold with a lot of hilarious moments. Especially when we see poor Taylor fights back his anxiety with lots of “what if” in funny, cute and horrible, awkward outcomes. AP is a very rare rom-com gay movie that finds a perfect way to balance between comedy and romance. We laugh with Taylor’s anxiety, but also adore the way his mind functions. AP explores the story of a man (who is gay is just a fact, not an issue) with disorder finds his own way to be loved, and find love. Taylor and Shane shares a lot of cute, adorable moments together. The fact that Jason throws some hot steamy sex scenes here and there does not make the movie looks “cheap” or “gay baited”, but it does makes the whole movie completed and more attractive.

Although AP is an indie movie with the limitation of budget, Jason and his team easily defeat all the obstacle. It is true that AP only has couple characters, same location and same scenes repeat over and over again. Small budget movie like this easily would be rather cheap, tacky, unrealistic or even boring. However, everything happens or used in the movie serve their own purpose, from the way same scenes start over and over again that describe vividly how Taylor’s anxiety is taking over, to every details of the props (real books, the change from Taylor’s room decorations, etc)...

The chemistry between two actors Jason and Kevin is also a big help to make AP more interesting and funny to watch. I personally have no problem with straight actors take gay role, but the fact both Jason and Kevin are out actors is something extra special that make the story, the characters become more sparkling – cute – adorable – likeable – lovely. I even had to google to find out if Jason does have such disorder in real life or not, just because his performance as a goofy young guy is so on point. Besides, Kevin with extra overacting in all imaginary sequences are very entertaining.

I must say AP is a surprisingly decent indie films among all “not that good” gay indie movies out there. There is hard to find anything bad or negative to say about this cute movie that put a big smile to my face until the end. AP promises a lot of good laugh, vividly sex scenes, romantic moment among others. Because it is a rom-com movie, you also do not have to worry about all the melodrama or tragedy with shitty ending. I promise, AP will make you believe in love with a lot of anxiety.  

[daominhn]

Breaking Fast: Love, food and religion

Sweet, romantic, soft, soothing, heartwarming… are not enough to describe about this upcoming movie named Breaking Fast. Have you ever heard about it? Probably not, cause this amazing piece is so underrated. It is written and directed by Mike Mosallam, Breaking Fast leads viewers to the wonderful love story between two men in modern world, where hooking up, sex and love seems have no boundary anymore…

Mo (Haaz Sleiman), a Muslim man lives in West Hollywood never can get himself seeing another guy after last relationship with his ex end one year ago, no matter how his gay best friend Sam (Amin El Gamal) pushes him out of his comfort zone. However, everything happens during the month of Ramadan would change his dating life forever when Mo meets Kal (Michael Cassidy) – a white man who offers to break fast with him…

Breaking Fast has simple story, seems little bit cliché with love story between one broken heart and one savior in West Hollywood where all sex, drug, drunk nights and hook up are all the gays talk about every days and nights. However, from the moment the movie begins, it introduces viewers to the world of a different character, whom his religion, belief and personal life become the central topic. Some of us would raise the question: why choosing Muslim? Why portray a gay character who is put under such harsh religion? In the end of movie, there would be chance that answer may be found. Nevertheless, Mo’s story is a struggle that many gay people with religion out there has to face off everyday.

The journey of main character, Mo, on one hand is so personal, on others it is extremely relevant. Of course did the movie talk about gay relationship, but the way Mo finds a way to heal his broken heart through Kal is beyond every cliché romantic story we used to see on other film. No need to go deep into their story behind bed room and steamy sex scene, Mo and Kal simply show us how two people from different but also similar world can understand each other, love each other and be with other.

Mike Mosallam – the director – develops this project from the short film of same name back in 2015. He handles the story in Breaking Fast so well that it gives the feeling whole movie is wrapped up nicely and well executed. Almost every single details from the food, the presentation of culture from religion are mix and blend together perfectly. Nothing is too much, none is too less. The feeling of comfort, sensual keeps spreading out through every moment two main characters are together.

Breaking Fast is perfect example that a LGBT+ film has challenged a cliché, easy predictable storyline among gay world. It is not about coming out, or sexual identity struggle, or sex, drug and all dark side of complex characters arc. Watching this wonderful love story, I suddenly find myself with “aw” feeling that not many movies can do recently. Breaking Fast has everything that viewers want from decent, lovely movie: good script, good directing, great actors and lots, lots of moment that make us just cuddle together and giggling…

[daominhn]

The Mummy 2017: Tom Cruise is wrong, include everything else

Even with Tom Cruise, The Mummy 2017 does not only meet the right expectation for a reboot (or remake) for Dark Universe, but the movie is also the perfect example of a failing, poor, non-creative production of Hollywood today. What wrong with this movie: everything, include the man of the box office: Tom Cruise.

To be clear, The Mummy 2017 does not pick up any event from the trilogy with Brendan Fraser in the past. However, there is some small Easter eggs that The Mummy 1999’s loyal fans (me) are able to appreciate. Tom Cruise plays U.S. military officer who accidently wake up one of ancient Egyptian princess named Amunet. This woman is not only pure evil, but also was cursed to be mummified alive. To thank Nick for release her from the coffin, Amunet choose him to be the sacrificed one. While running away from Amunet with the help of an archeologist, Annabelle, Nick realizes that there is no way to escape his destiny…

Trying so hard to stay away from the big shadow of The Mummy 1999, this version by Alex Kurtzman is absolutely failed to make viewers believed that this is one, strong, independent movie. The whole plot about a mummy who woke up by some curious people is so familiar that The Mummy 1999 had used so well before. The Mummy 2017 only try to reverse the role of gender between the Egyptian Goddess and the chosen one. This is totally not enough to save the whole story from falling into a deep sinking and stinky mess.

The Mummy 2017 brings out the feeling of a cheap, copy-cat version rather than a high, shiny new remake movie of such iconic monster in Dark Universe. The movie lacks of fun, humor and everything we love about the mummy-rider kind of style is missing from beginning to the end.

The way story is unfolded and all climax has such strong connection to The Mummy 1997. I have to agree that the scene when Annabelle smacks one bodyguard with Book of Amun-Ra in library is so hilarious and priceless. Nevertheless, everything else roughly reminds us how good The Mummy 1999 is.

Every characters appear in this movie doesn’t leave any impression, or play really strong role to make the story more attractive and charming. Tom Cruise is a good actor. That is non-negotiable. However, his character in this movie is just confused, acting mostly nonsense most of the time. Nick doesn’t know what to do, what to react or expect what is coming ahead even thou he is main character and the key to solve every problem in plot. Nick is such inferior example to Rick O’Connell by Brendan Fraser in 1999 version. Even the mummy by Sofia Boutella still needs to learn a lot from Imhotep by Arnold Vosloo. Those performance in 1999 is not praised at all by critics, but now we know how they should be appreciated much more when watching Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella chasing each other in a weak, pale, seems to be dark journey.

No one says The Mummy 1999 is a classic. It is just a damn good adventure, fantasy movie about a famous monster in Dark Universe: The Mummy (Egyptian style). However, we have to acknowledge that this version is so underestimated by critics. It has a lot to offer than The Mummy 2017 with all fancy visual effect. It takes one really bad film to recognize how good the other is. In this case, The Mummy 2017 has gone wrong all the way when too hurry to pick up some leftover from a good decent meal, and throw them right away to a big mess that turns out to be the worst opening movie of Dark Universe in 2017. Brendan Fraser, where are you!

[daominhn]

Wonder Woman - Gal Gadot is Magical

I remember what I just read a random review on Facebook about Wonder Woman. It said no one really understand why this movie gets more than 9.0 rating on Rotten Tomato. However, everyone knows this name: Gal Gadot. She is freaking Goddess with the voice, the face and the spirit of our newest Wonder Woman on big screen. This movie is fine, but Gal Gadot’s performance – 99% of the time – is fantastic. She is, no doubt, the most powerful female superhero on any comic cinematic universe at the moment.

Anyone who watched Batman vs Superman has to come to the same conclusion that this movie had been forgotten if Wonder Woman didn’t show up to steal the show. To continue this vibrant echo, Wonder Woman solo movie begins with the untold story behind infamous vintage photo of Wonder Woman and four strange soldiers. Diana was a small princess on Themyscira island, home of Amazons. Her destiny is saving mankind by defeating the son of Zeus – Ares God of War, who enslaves and corrupt mankind’s heart and soul for centuries.

After all hard training, Diana rescued a pilot named Steve Trevor when his plane crashed near island. She found out that the world outside Themyscira is plunged deep into blood war (WWI) between nations. Believing Ares is the one who causes the corruption in mankind, Diana decides to go with Steve and hope she can kill him and end the war. To do that, she has to become the one and only: Diana Prince – Wonder Woman.

Under the direction of a female director Patty Jenkins, we can easily see why the feminist look, or even feminist gaze through the story of Diana Prince is so effective. On one hand, the way director Jenkins describe and tell Diana’s story is little bit soapy, or even melodrama. On the other hand, this feminist look also praises and boosts up Diana’s role as Wonder Woman. From some close-up sexy look to her detail stunning costume to the whole noble look of her identity as a beautiful warrior, the movie has been praising, and praising feminism in superhero’s cinematic universe.

Because of a good superhero’s characteristic, viewers can’t expect any dark twist plot in her story. From beginning to the end, Diana’s journey is pretty much similar to a coming out of age movie. She begins her story as Diana and end up as a love, peace, mankind’s guardian named Wonder Woman. This movie is a perfect re-introduction of Wonder Woman to the world by Jenkins. It’s not a crumble roller coaster, or train wreck motion. The story is more simple, cliché and easy to predict than most of superhero’s movies today. However, the editing, especially soundtrack has played perfect role to arouse viewers’ satisfaction at exact right moment.

Gal Gadot is the soul of this movie. Even though some emotional scenes still show her lack of face expression but more monotone of acting, in positive side, she completely nails her role as Diana Prince. Wonder Woman, under her performance, is really brought back to “life” and big screen as many comic geeks used to remember her. Gal Gadot was cast for this role not because of her experience in acting, but the way she makes us felt breathless and speechless when putting on Wonder Woman’s costume and start fighting. The spirit, the charisma, or even the look Gadot gave audience already makes us swoon to our feet.

At this point, it is not ambitious to declare that Wonder Woman is the only heroine that has come further than any superheroes, male or female, in cinematic history just by her second appearance on big screen. Thanks to Jenkins and Gadot, Wonder Woman finally scores one big fat point for DC and Warner Bros after everything they had done with Suicide Squad. It is also an important statement to the world that we cannot underestimate feminist power. Don’t trust me? Go listening to the soundtrack and feel the damn vibe run through your vein when Wonder Woman shows up. It is magical.

[daominhn]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2: Just shut up so Pratt can take my damn Money!

By repeating the magic touch of James Gunn on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol2, this sequel has been proved to be one of the most highly expected Marvel’s movie in this year. Quirky, funny, vivid visual effect, cheesy humor and smooth, sparkling chemistry between adorable casts are just some of highlight positive note that helps bring back the charm that everybody has fell in love since Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1.

After couple months of forming group named Guardians of the Galaxy, our favorite team with Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Racoon and baby Groot have to find a way to learn how to work with each other without jumping right into other’s throat. While Rocket stole some batteries from Sovereign race and causes an intense bounty hunting, Quill has a surprise encounter with his biological father – Ego. The team got separated when their spaceship got crashed. Two groups: first was leaded by Quill, followed by Gamora and Drax decide to travel with Ego to his planet. Meanwhile, second group was leaded by Racoon, baby Groot and their “prison” Nebula stays back to fix the spaceship. However, everything got blew up and messed up by Ego’s real agenda, and the bounty hunting was hold by Yondu’s crew.

Everybody goes to theatre with their highest expectation that this sequel will make a right move to continue everything that James Gunn had done in the first one. Surprisingly, viewers’ urge to see baby Groot, or Drax’s stupidity and Quill’s charming nerd characteristic has been fully satisfied. This infamous team’s adventure is described as highly entertained, full of colorful detail and classic humorous journey. Like the first one, this Marvel outsider story is not simple as blowing up and save the universe. It is really James Gun’s signature highlight master piece in his career when he wrote such a wonderful storyline, with humorous characters. No one in Marvel’s MCU (except Deadpool so far) has ability to make viewers fall in love, go nuts and become obsessing with like Guardians of the Galaxy team.

Each characters in Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2 captivate exactly right moments to shine, include new faces, such as Ego or even Mantis. Chris Pratt – the “star” of the movie has gone beyond his role as a character, but become such a “new icon” that he deliver a heart-throbbing performance as Peter Quill/Star-Lord. Pratt, at this point, makes us believe that Peter Quill is written just for him only.

Nevertheless, Pratt is not the only star of this movie. Amazingly, Drax and baby Groot by Dave Bautista and Vin Diesel are actually the comic-relief gods. James Gun seems to know his characters very well, so he gives this duo a lot of chances to show off their quirky, cute, not that smart personality. They capture our heart by just some silly, honest comment from Drax, or just some random act by baby Groot. That is just enough to draw all the attention from the big fandom of MCU.

Following by a lot of hard critics, the truth is Guardians of the Galaxy volume 2 is not better than the first one. It plays the almost perfect role to continue the journey, adventure that we are so ready to throw money bills at screen from the moment baby Groot show up. Somewhere between the storyline, James Gun has carried away too much of everything, and make us feel just little bit an ache in stomach. However, in positive side, there is no way that we stop looking forward to the volume 3, which is set up by 5 different post and after credit scenes. Guardians of the Galaxy volume 2, shut up and take my damn money.

[daominhn]

Power Rangers 2017 - It’s Morphin time

Corny, cheesy, cliché, childish, etc, there are more than one thing to describe newest movie about five superheroes named Power Rangers, but suck. This third installation in Power Rangers’ series really stands up in front line and plays perfect role to recall all about the “great” thing about the old childhood, and Power Rangers’ franchise that many young kids used to know.

As a reboot of the series, Power Rangers 2017 introduces five new young trouble teenagers who accidently found Power Coins in an abandon gold mine. Jason, Kimberly, Billy, Trini and Zack have no choice to form a powerful superhero team. Their main mission is training under the guidance of Alpha 5 – a robot and Zordon – formal Red Ranger to defeat and stop Rita Repulsa – main villain and enemy of Power Rangers before she can steal Zero Crystal – Earth’s life core crystal.

Power Rangers’ tv series is well-known for the cheesy, naïve, and ridiculous childish fighting scenes. However, the franchise’s kid fans are seemingly satisfied with how the message is delivered. Power Rangers is a part of pop culture phenomenon that no one can take it seriously, literally. For those reasons, it is obvious that Power Rangers’ fandom has raised a lot of doubt how the new movie will take that “non-seriously” thing and slide it into new CGI and visual effect of 2017 technology.

In fact, Power Rangers 2017 has merged perfectly every elements that make the old series popular with whole new cheesy plots about trouble teenagers in modern time. For the record, even though the old cheap, fighting style and overreact movement of all Rangers are completely got rid off, on the other hand, it turns out that this new version of five Super heroes in alien armor needs a little bit of seriousness, a lot of teen drama and seriously acting.

It is true that some of the Rangers need to step up more about the acting, especially the Asian kid in Black Ranger suit, includes the weak performance of Rita Repulsa by Elizabeth Banks. However, the whole cast has tried pretty damn hard to bring out the nerdy feeling that all the fans have when they were watching Power Rangers series. Each of characters, each of Ranger really has their own personality, characteristic that implies perfectly coming out of age teenagers today.

Furthermore, watching Power Rangers 2017 is thoroughly enjoyable and well entertained ride. The story telling, characters development and dry humor is good enough to keep viewers stay on their seat. Even though decent visual effect has helped to bring out excited fighting scenes in final battles sequence, the old style fans who are familiar with “Go, go Power Rangers” tone still have a chance to jump on feet when 10 seconds of this infamous melody is played in such sequence.

For any critics out there who are spending so much effort to put this movie down, it’s totally not worth it. Power Rangers, of course, will not fulfill any satisfy about perfect acting, excellent script with blockbuster action scenes. This movie should be considered more like a perfect upgrade of the most well-known franchise in television show history. It delivers, once again, almost everything that the fans want and expect. In the end, when “Go, go Power Rangers” song turns on, no one can stay still anymore.

[daominhn]

Kong: Skull Island: Vietnam is beautiful, blah blah blah... and what else?

More than two straight hours with tone of heavily action scenes, bunch of “scary-ist” big giant monsters, include Kong himself, spider, water buffalo, octopus, komodo dragon look alike, etc. in the end what Kong: Skull Island has offered is no more than showing off how visual effect has improved recently, and plays perfect role as a promoter for Vietnam’s tourism.

Kong: Skull Island has chosen to follow different direction than Peter Jackson’s remake version had done in the past. In this movie, Kong is a mystery – turn out to be real – creature is living on an island. American, who just announced they gave up on Vietnam’s war, once again, find another seemingly arousing reason to drop some bombs on that island. This act, of course, pissed the hell out of Kong – the guardian aka King of the Skull Island. Kong and the American teams: include post-Vietnam war’s soldiers, couple scientists, one not that beautiful photographer woman, a British hunter-tracker… start to know each other in a bloody battle. It devices them into several groups in different locations on island. At that moment, they realize Kong is not the only living nightmare who are resident on Skull Island.

Because Kong: Skull Island took place in “somewhere” in middle of Pacific ocean. Hollywood has been picked several famous locations in Vietnam (and Hawaii, Australia, etc.) as shooting scenes. Ha Long Bay, Tam Coc, Van Long, Trang An are some of the recognizable names. From the scenes where fly-cam took place has really show off how magnificent exquisite Ha Long Bay is. In the purpose of trying to capture the rare, wild and breath taking beauty of Ha Long Bay from above, the director of Kong: Skull Island really knows how to please audiences (especially Vietnamese viewers).

In addition, Skull Island is described as a beautiful, but very dangerous and mystery place by changing the color of background, adding a lot of smoky color tone. Ha Long Bay, Tam Co, Trang An or Tam Coc in real life are actually more beautiful and vividly than in the movie. However, it is such a decent job that visual effect has interfered to transform those sight seeing scenes into very memorable Kong’s home town.

Beside a right choice of locations, Kong: Skull Island also deserves a praise for outstanding visual effect. Of course, the movie itself doesn’t try to bring out any renovated technology, or outcast any blockbusters in the market today. On the other hand, visual effect in this movie plays an extreme crucial role for most of the battles between Kong and other monsters. You have to watch it to believe it that the final battle between Kong and giant lizard is really worth million bucks.

Unfortunately, Kong: Skull Island offered no more than a nice choice of locations, and outstanding visual effect. The story itself is slightly better in one way, but also is no more than a cliché, vapid, old time plot. More than one time, viewer can easily recognize there is something familiar in Kong: Skull Island, include Jurassic World: The Lost World, Platoon, Apocalypse Now, or even Saving Private Ryan. We can call this movie a not good, nor not bad mixing soup bowl, which ignites multiple tastes, but none of them are really on top.

Kong, King Kong, or Giant Monkey is actually a super star in this movie. The human group, on the contrast, are really stupid, lack of creativity, and some of them are really just a bump, worthless accessory: include Tom Hiddleston’s character.

Kong: Skull Island is a good choice for anyone who is looking for different story about a well-known, infamous giant ape, and also want to see how beautiful Vietnam is. Requiring more than that, you should come back to Oscar’s nominations then. Oh, one more thing, it is definitely not a Marvel movie, but be patient and wait for the post-credit scene, you will not regret it.

[daominhn]

Logan - Hugh Jackman now can finally “retire” in glory with Wolverine!

After two disaster, pump-up action nothing more, nothing less solo movies of Wolverine aka Logan, finally Hugh Jackman can be so damn proud of himself and his legendary character with the third installation of Wolverine’s trilogy: Logan. This is the perfect goodbye statement for such iconic character in X-Men universe like Logan/Wolverine, because it’s deadly serious, full of darkness emotional journey. It’s nothing like any Wolverine movie you ever seen before.

In this final chapter, Logan (Huge Jackman) has to face with the deepest fear of his life and power: he’s dying from inside. Choosing the underdog life as a driver, Logan also takes care of Professor X (Patrick Stewart) – who is suffered from multiple seizure. The fact that Logan and Xavier are only rare mutants still alive in the modern world is nothing compare to the great danger Logan has to deal with when he has met with his “daughter” – a young mutant was born by his DNA named Laura aka X-23 (Dafne Keen).

Logan finally gives Hugh Jackman a chance to redeem all the bad, ridiculous non-sense things ever happen in his last solo movies. Among 17 years of portraying Wolverine characters in nine films, this Australian actor has gain so much attention, and fame because of what he did to Wolverine/Logan. It is no doubt that Hugh is the only Wolverine that Marvel comic’s fans love and adore so far, however, beside all X-Men’s movies his character appears in, two solo movies of Wolverine are pretty vapid, monotone with weak story line, full of nonsense action scene and obviously does not give Hugh a chance to show how great an actor he is.

Logan – like a simple “nick name” of Wolverine was picked as the third movie’s title, is also a sign to show to the world that in this movie, Hugh Jackman is no more a Wolverine – a fearless, gruesome, macho and fury killing mutant. Indeed, he is just an old man who aged horribly with his fading healing ability. Hugh Jackman with his greatest, amazing performance in this movie has successfully deliver the finest moment of Logan. In the darkness, semi noir themed style of story, we finally witness a Logan that is so much different than the young version of himself: be scared of the past, willing to die and accept his poor, rough destiny as a dying lonely old man.

The audience are plunged into an unexpected journey, a bloody, gut-splitting violent running with tough love between the trio: Logan, Xavier and Laura X-23. As Logan describes, Xavier plays the grandpa role, while he is a father of a young, non-talkative strange daughter Laura. This powerful, weird triangle soon to swift into the relationship between Logan and Laura, who tries desperately to stay alive and get to know each other at the same time.

Logan explores the side of a superhero that we never seen before. Logan is able to maintain the balance between action (a lot of violence and bloody scenes, nudity and curses), dark humor, and drama. It proves that FOX (and Marvel) studio finally has done something right to nicely wrap up Hugh Jackman’s famous character. This is the type of Wolverine, or Logan that audiences urge to see from the beginning. He is old, tired, grumpy but more human than ever before.

No doubt, Logan is the finest Marvel superhero movie of 2017 so far (cross my finger for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2). Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Dafne Keen have done their job so perfectly that they capture all the emotion, darkness, or even mood-swing in their characters’ journey. Every superhero needs a break. And Logan is the most suitable, roughly beautiful break for both Hugh, Patrick and Logan, Xavier.

[daominhn]

The Lego Batman Movie: I’m Batman... Lego Batman!

Yeah, he is not original, full of darkness Batman that we used to know. He is the one and only – Lego Batman. With the amazing voice casts and extraordinary story line, The Lego Batman Movie, once again, makes us swoon on our feet and laugh our ass off because of everything they show on screen, literary.

Back in the time when The Lego Movie with Chris Pratt in leading role (I meant leading voice), there was absolutely doubt that the idea of making children famous, phenomenal game into main stream animation movie would be totally disaster. Amazingly, The Lego Movie makes all audiences, include parents and their children went crazy. Once again, Lego Batman repeats the charming, intelligent sense of humor in story line or every single characters. It is a perfect magnet that draws everybody to the theatre, no matter what age you are.

Let be clear, Batman (aka Bruce Wayne) in this animation only is half of the superhero that we used to know in main stream media. He is still lonely, kick-ass vigilante with the mask, cape, and six pack abs, etc. However, Bruce Wayne (voiced by Will Arnett) refuses to accept the fact that The Joker (Zach Galifianakis) is his greatest enemy (while family is the thing Batman is afraid the most). So The Joker has a super bad plan to explode Gotham city with the help from bunch of greatest villains. It creates a big, nasty mess with explosion, blood, guts… ok, I’m joking, that mess with all the Lego colorful, variety shape bricks everywhere. And Batman, with Alfred, Robin and Batgirl have to form a super hero team to save Gotham, again.

The most wonderful and brilliant thing about Lego movies in general, and in Lego Batman movie in specific is the creation team behinds loveable, completely nuts tiny characters. Each of them are so unique, but at the same time is so familiar and adorable. Their characteristics are so funny, attractive and wicked crazy. They interact with each other, and act in the most adorable, and unpredictable way that comic book geek fans cannot see it anywhere except Lego universe.

Against most of usual critics, Lego Batman does repeat a lot of things from The Lego Movie, include how director, writer form story’s structure, or story telling. Nevertheless, this second Lego movie in the franchise really does embrace and ignite the best thing about Lego games. Watching this movie is compared to a ticket to adults’ childhood when they were playing with Lego hours and hours. Lego Batman makes viewers feel like the story is actually being told by couple children who love their Lego game so much. This beautiful message is also the hard core of the story in The Lego Movie.

Besides, Lego Batman does not even try hard, or at least make viewers feel like they are doing it desperately to make everybody laugh so hard. Hardly any moment in this movie that can turn to wrong impression. Even a single long scene with Batman heating his seafood meal in microwave alone is enough to busted us to joyful tear. And don’t even mention the scene when Batman in his mask and pajama is rolling around while keeps saying “No, no…” And we have to thank Will Arnett for his smoky, deep but truly hilarious and wicked funny voice. Maybe 3D technology brings the cuteness for Batman/Bruce Wayne’s Lego figure, but Arnett is the one who give Batman the soul that we love and adore so much.

Lego Batman is just second movie in Lego franchise, but is enough to make us go crazy. It reflects everything about Hollywood today: lack of innovative and original idea, but at the same time, give audiences exactly what they want to see in an animation film.

[daominhn]

A Dog’s Purpose - A must for dog’s lovers

What do you expect from a movie like A Dog’s Purpose: mostly laugh from comic relief, “ooh, aww” moments and tear, a lot of tear. Amazingly, this movie has full-filled it’s duty. This is a honest, heart warming journey which guarantees making every dog’s lovers or animal lovers out there have to use tissue. A lot!

Now, let make it clear. A Dog’s Purpose’s script is based on a novel of the same name, that I never read (or even if I had a chance, I would never read neither). So this review will roughly be my own point of view and does not include any comparison to the novel.

A Dog’s Purpose is an incarnation dairy, a biography of a dog’s spirit, whose first name is Bailey. Bailey is a Golden Retriever, belongs to a boy names Ethan. They spent most of the time together and Bailey, who plays the best friend, guardian role to Ethan, witnesses his boy grow up and eventually left for college. Bailey grow old too and died, but that’s not the end of story. His spirit came back again as a female K9 German Shepherd dog named Ellie. She serves in Chicago P.D. enforcement and was killed while trying to protect her human.

After that life, Bailey came back as a Corgi named Tino, and this time he spent his life with Maya from her college life until she got married and has her own family. After helping Maya escape from her loneliness, Tino died, again. Finally, Bailey incarnated to another dog (which I never know what type it is) and has a chance to reunite with Ethan in his middle age.

Blah blah blah, yeah, it is such a long story to sum up but as far as we know, they reveal mostly everything in the long official trailer. Everybody knows  the story before decide to see A Dog’s Purpose. It’s usually a bad sign, but actually in this case, it doesn’t matter. It’s a movie for every dog’s lovers, who cherish, “worship”, and consider them as an unreplaceable member in family. Simple like that.

Lasse Hallström - the director, one more time, waves his magic wand and transforms equally the story from the book to the screen like what he did in Hachi: A Dog’s Tale in 2009. Using voice over which is provided by “the one and only Olaf” – Josh Gad, audiences are easily got hypnotized into a world that see through by a dog’s eyes. This idea doesn’t provoke any statement, but the movie, on the other hand, definitely tries so damn hard to “tear off” our heart, including shred it into broken pieces when we witness some emotional scenes with heart breaking moment. It’s so close that A Dog’s Purpose could end up in a tear mess like Hachi, or any sad movies about pets out there (like Marley and Me 2008). Fortunately, a lot of sense of humor from Josh Gad’s funny, lovely, goofy voice, include some smooth, quick, dorky transition between Bailey’s lifes has saved us from a real breaking heart.

A Dog’s Purpose doesn’t deliver or try to claim any renovated aspect in telling story. It’s just about a dog, who dies, again and again until he finds out what his real purpose in this “cruel” world. However, the way all the characters, mostly Bailey’s doggy forms have captured all the intention and make it so easy to forgive and forget all the flaw in story telling and other weak performance by human’s characters in this movie. We love Bailey’s story like our own pets’ story, and that’s fair enough.

It’s true that the incident witht leaked footage from TMZ has jeopardized audience’s judgment. I decide not to watch that video cause I believe what we see isn’t necessary to be true, due to a lot editing and manipulated technique out there. Just give this movie a chance and I believe A Dog’s Purpose will capture our heart and melt it down (even though a little). It’s truly a must for animal lovers and a “middle, half-full” emotional roller coaster ride, that makes you waste a lot of tissues.

[daominhn]

Saving Private Ryan & Inglorious Basterds: Two Perspectives on Wars through the Opening Sequences

Every director has his or her own way of looking at wars, especially important ones who have made their marks in the world such as Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino. These two directors offer their very different visions of World War II in Saving Private Ryan   and Inglorious Basterds   respectively. Though the films were released quite far apart, it is interesting to put them side by side and compare their perspectives on WWII. Through the opening sequence in which the allies landed in Normandy, Saving Private Ryan describes a bloody war that wrecks havoc on both sides, showing Spielberg’s serious approach to wars. In contrast, Inglorious Basterds’s opening sequence in which the Jewish family is massacred shows a somewhat humorous and satirist way of looking at wars in general and war agents such as Hans Landa in particular.

Both opening sequences are effective and make great impressions on audiences. They set the stages, establish the tones, and play an important part in conveying the themes of the films. Saving Private Ryan opens with an old man visiting a military cemetery with his family in the present, then switches to the past when the battle in Normandy takes place, and ends when the allies win. In this 20-minute sequence, Spielberg uses a hand-held camera and camera angles that suggest a subjective view of the war.  Indeed, as the troops start to land, swerving eye-level angles and fast, close-up panning shots directed at such details as a soldier vomiting on the ship and anxious faces of other soldiers give audiences the feeling of being present at the event and directly taking part in the war. Though Spielberg uses the narrow-angle or telephoto lens in many scenes, he always tries to put the characters at the center of the frame to maintain an insider’s subjective view. The subjective view isn’t just limited to the allies but also shifted to the Nazi soldiers, showing the violent nature of the war as experienced by both sides. Camera movements are also intentionally synchronized with the fierce battle since every time a bomb explodes or a gun fires, the camera jerks incessantly. All of these realist techniques are aimed at creating a sense of reality for this sequence, as if it were part of a documentary.   Besides camerawork, sound also contributes to the realism of the film.  Background music stops when the film cuts from the eyes of the man in the cemetery to the battle scene. From that moment on, sound in the film is only a cascade of deadening noises of guns, bombs, and people screaming and yelling. In the scene in which the allied troops jump from the ship into the sea, the low angle camera which takes in the view of the action from the sea coupled with sudden underwater sound effects create priceless moments of intense fear and suspension. These moments are further developed with John Miller’s subjective view shots. In an instant, the world around Miller is reduced to a buzzing sound. It is all he knows and hears. The sequence amply introduces Miller’s character and vulnerability with such sudden changes in sound. Besides sound, the use of colors is also telling. Stately colors such as the tombs’ bright white or the grass’s rich green in the cemetery scene turn into gloomy ash grey in the destructive battle scene. In the last scene of the sequence, this ash grey color and the long streaks of red human blood melting into blue ocean waves create a deadly painting.   Contrary to Spielberg’s realism, Quentin Tarantino’s film is a humorous and satiric work. The realist quality of the opening sequence of Inglorious Basterds is minimized with a narration that starts with “Once upon a time… in Nazi-occupied France ”. The most noticeable and longest part of this sequence is the conversation between officer Landa and farmer Lapadite in the house. At first, Tarantino uses many static camera angles to record this conversation. Landa is given lines and actions which show personality. His real self is hidden underneath an impeccable uniform, a friendly handshake and polite greetings. Static angles force audiences to focus on the dialogue and behaviors of the two main characters, and even though the camera remains faithful to the 180-degree axis rule, one still feels Landa’s dominant presence. Later, however, the continuous static angles are interrupted by a shot than pans from the table to underneath the floor to show the Jewish family in hiding. Such revelation by a panning shot serves the film’s omniscient narration well.  It creates great suspense because the film reveals part of the information and immediately switches back to the original, more limited point of view.   The space inside the house in which the conversation takes place is made smaller by simple arrangement of objects. The table serves as the axis through which the frames rotate. Whereas outdoor space is filled with natural sunlight, inside the only thing that receives any lighting is the surface of the table. Landa is kept almost hidden in a dark corner and lighting is directed only at the ordinary objects on the table. This lighting does not just suggest Landa’s unfathomable dark side but it also creates a tense atmosphere often found in police interrogations. While there is no background music in the battle scene in the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan, the use of For Elise and Spanish-style guitar in Inglorious Basterds suggests a humorous, confusing and satiric story. There is no background music in the important conversation between the two characters, forcing audiences to concentrate on what is being said. However, the background music gets louder and becomes urgent in order to keep pace with Landa when he orders to the Jewish family to be massacred, marking the moment of the “explosion” of the sequence.   The two opening sequences of Saving Private Ryan and Inglorious Basterds obviously show two different takes on wars. In Spielberg’s movie, audiences can be easily overwhelmed by the efforts to re-create, with special effects, the destructive battle scenes. Spielberg’s perspective on wars is clear. It is a deeply ideological view which condemns wars but glorifies wartime heroism, especially American heroism. Tarantino, on the other hand, doesn’t make any attempt to reproduce the reality of WWII. Instead, he tells an obviously fabricated story to satirize war agents of both sides and wartime heroism. There is no hero in Tarantino’s film. The supposedly evil Nazis are polished, humorous and attractive while the supposed heroes who defeated the Nazis are insanely bloodthirsty.

[daominhn]

The Power of the Image in Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

One only needs to see South Korean director Kim Ki-duk  ’s Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring once to be overwhelmed by its breathtaking visuals whose compositions completely overwhelm audiences with their powerful symbolic picturesque frames.  

[nelsonme-ft-blog]

Ralph Steiner - H2O

Like most of the film we’ve watched this semester, Ralph Steiner’s first experimental film, H2O, runs like a cinematic poem. Even though we see water move almost everyday of our lives, looking at it through the camera’s lens allows us to focus in on the immense beauty...

[daominhn]

My feedback to Nelson Mejia's blog:

In general, I really like your blog and your short review paragraphs about Avant-Gardes films which we watched at class. Your paragraphs are well-organized, interesting and very original. Even though I understand that it's unnecessary for ungraduate student to have to write a whole page and compare the films to each other, however, I still am able to connect all your short paragraphs together to make them become a whole piece. You consciously (or unconsciously) connected all your reviews by putting some similar/different works together. For that reason, I, as a reader, find it's more profound and interesting when reading your blog.

In percific, you always know how to balance between your personal thought, point of view or perspective with other "general" points. It's great to feel that we, as the newbie for Avant-Gardes film field, can keep our original thought and sense when blogging about the films. I don't deny that you didn't do the reading, nevertheless, it would be helpful and powerful for your argument and point of view if you can cite somes from our reading.

As we know, in general, Avant-Gardes film's content is not easy to comprehend or explain by logical thought. But through your blog, suddenly I find myself being convinced by your explanation and interpretation. On the other hand, you still control very well the reviews' organization, such as the capacity of direct examples from the films, background information, argument about concept, sense and form, and so on. That's why it's easy to recognize that you focused too much on the concept, instead of the form in some reviews.

[kt-watches]

I try to be polite, but I have, and will always, hate The Reflecting Pool by Bill Viola. I’ve watched a lot of things that are a waste of my time and this is at the top of them. This is one of the few times that I don’t care about when it was made or considering the technology of the time. It is so poorly filming and constructed and boring. It is not creative or innovative  because feature films at the time were doing ten times more interesting things.

[daominhn]

If counting the time I want to shut down the screen just because of boring watching something, it will be uncountable. However, with Reflecting Pool, I believe the reason why you hate it because you don't want to see through it's form, maybe. We still focus too much on the concept instead of pay attention to the form and how filmmaker did it. In this case, the interesting point is Viola transformed the pool into a gate, a connection, a invisible road between two worlds: our world which we can see by our eyes, and another which we can't see it. The reflection through the pool's surface also refer to Buddhism, which is Viola's favorite religion. It also refers to the born, reborn and reincarnation of human through the diving of filmmaker himself into the pool.

[daominhn]

Final Week: Haptic Imagery and Liquid Perception

In the last week of studying Avant-Gardes films and movements, we were presented to two new norms: haptic imagery and liquid perception. According to Laura Mark in her essay "Video haptics and erotics", haptic perception usually involves with the combination of tactile, kinaesthetic, and proprioceptive fuctions, the way we experience touch both on the surface of and inside our bodies". It means that through haptic point of view, our bodies becomes one of the character, who can feel, touch and experience all the motion beside our eyes. Likewise, liquid perception is one of three signs of perception-image, which "...marks the transition of the solid to the gaseous, or of the gaseous to the solid. This is where the camera in movement constructs flowing images in long takes continually reframing environments and bodies... and sees images beginning to be organised to compose characters..." Watching the works of some Avant-Gardes film-makers, such as Bill Morrison, Ralph Steiner, Stan Brakhage, Bill Viola, Carolee Schneemann and Ann Marie Fleming, we are able to experience such notions.

Experience the world through liquid, H20 by Ralph Steiner and Commingled Containers by Stan Brakhage mostly shared the same point of view. With H20, which is a silent poetic short film, Steiner's desire is showing the most well-known form of water: liquid in many form: river, lake, fall, rain drops, to name a few. He also prefers extreme and medium close-up shots to capture all the aspects of water. Water, or "H20" in Steiner's film is always flowing, moving and overlap each other. Such moving creates a common and specific sense of touching water, feeling the flexibility and the unstable condition of it. Besides, music, which was composed strictly for the moving of images in H20 really constructs the beautiful of the visual context. Likewise, Brakhage also put his camera into "...the waters of Boulder Creek, Colorado to capture the patterns created by the friction between water and rock..." Differentiates from H20, Commingled Containers was born by Brakhage's own experience when he "was diagnosed with bladder cancer". Amazingly, Brakhage's film successful conveyed such experience. Intentionally, the visual which Commingled Containers got through a camera under the water really has power to describe what Brakhage had been going through with his bladder cancer. The patterns, the breakdown visual, the vaporous images combine with powerful and hunting extreme close-up shots to steam. "Commingled Containers is often interpreted in light of Brakhage's health problems at the time, and is considered to represent the director's own spiritual quest". Hence, both H20 and Commingled Containers also were trying to see the water world through the water vision.

With Bill Morrison, we approached to his two works, include Lost Avenue (1991) and Light is Calling (2004). Morrison is known for "often making use of rare archival footage in which forgotten film imagery is reframed as part of our collective mythology". For that reason, most of his films, performances are collage films. Lost Avenue is a short color film which is made from old footages from old videos. The main narration, as I can assume so far, is about the whales, working, fishing, over exploiting resources and hunting whales. First, Lost Avenue shows us the image of the whale, in normal color. Suddenly, the image is distorted and re-colors. It seems such images about whale under the ocean, and people who are walking, working, fishing, hunting whale were decayed. The blur and unclearly visual images put the audience into mixing feeling. In this movie, we can sense and experience the haptic perception by watching and feeling the vision, music not only with the eyes, but also with our bodies. Treating the old footage with the same strategy, in Light is Calling, Morrison continued distorting the vision by using old scene from The Bells (1926). In Light is Calling, there are only two characters: the woman and the solider. There are three separate parts: the solider is riding on horse, the woman's waiting and the meeting between them. Once again, the visual effect (or actually decaying of film strips) is responsible for the melting, mystery, dreamy and surreal scene.

Involving with water, too but in another form of presentation, The Reflecting Pool really impresses me by the way Viola done with visual effect back in his time by analog video tape. For the concept, the film describes the scene surrounds the artificial pool. The pool reflects everything except the freezing shot when Viola screams and jumps into the pool. Though such shot is freezing, the pool continues reflects the things which not actually happens at the same time. The Reflecting Pool is the voice from Viola's mind, which brings out the idea of born, re-born and meditation in Buddhism. The pool, which shows and reflects everything which doesn't happen before our eyes is the amazing metaphor for the way we experience the world around us: what doesn't happen doesn't mean they don't exist. The another dimension (inside the pool, or on the surface of the pool) is where we connect between our world (before our eyes) with the world (we can't see) but only feeling it by our mind and body. The idea of reflecting, and surface of the pool remind me about the very famous film of Kim Ki Duk "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring", when Kim seems use the same metaphor with the surface of the artificial lake to reflect all the things happens inside it and surround it.

Feeling the water through our body is the main purpose of Ann Marie Fleming in her masterpiece's Waving (1987). In Waving, Fleming filmed herself into the pool. Waving is narrated by her voice over, which is about her relationship with her dead grandmother. Waving can be divided into three parts: first part is the sense of vision of Fleming's body into water, second part is the strong connection between her and her grandmother, and the third part is the combination of voice over, water, and audience's sense of body when we experience the same thing as Fleming does. Indeed, her moving body in water is another image, or vision of floating body, no matter it's dead or alive. Her body's floating into water, get through by her narrative voice over and dramatic soundtrack. Obviously, we can't watch Waving with our own bare eyes, or bare ears. The water, her body is the reason which pushes us to throw our body's sense to the water and recognize her pain, her feeling.

Finally, with Infinity Kisses - The Movie by Carolee Schneemann, we can get through a totally different experience. Simply, Schneemann captures all the still images of her and her cat. Such images show many different kisses between them: a person and a pet/an animal. First, watching The Movie by our bare eyes, we can sense the relationship between human being and animal in here: it's rare, it's abnormal and it's odd. Second, the screen is split into two screen: the large one shows the whole photo, the small one out-focuses on single detail. It's silent film, but the soundtrack is one of other weird element to push audience's mind into different level. It makes us think about kissing. Kissing used to be a forbidden act, but now it's a normal act to show the intimate relationship. Kissing shows love, but in Infinity Kisses, it's the love of woman and her pet. It's not hugging, petting, it's kissing. Is it appropriate? Is it disgusting? Is it beautiful? The sense of feeling will be the judge of Infinity Kisses.

[daominhn]

Week 11: Avant-Gardes in the Digital Age

Since the invention of computer, artists have been found the new innovative way to produce and create their art works. Reducing the works which usually involved with normal, casual tools, Avant-Gardes film-makers from 80s, 90s had a chance to use new media methods, such as digital computer, digital equipments, and so on, to made a new culture avant-gardes happen. Indeed, computer revolutions in 80s gave the Avant-Gardes film-makers a great opportunity to innovate the norm of technology avant-gardes films. It cannot denied that computer has been a powerful tool in so many aspects of life. It shifts the role of creative tools from original one to a completely new methods, which is automatically digital technology. Such technology has been replaced almost of regular men's works in life, include a part of creative art-making process. However, no matter how the artists, the Avant-Gardes film-makers rely on computer, they still are able to leave their mark, creative idea in their works.

Being made since 1961, Catalog by John Whitney was one of the very first computer avant-gardes films ever made. Besides, Whitney also was considered as one of  the fathers of computer animation. Being known as an American animator, composer and inventor, Whitney's works involved a lot with computer, especially his analog computer (which he built from a WWII anti-aircraft gun sight). Catalog features different color patterns and cubes. The distinct movements of such patterns and cubes really remind us to other Avant-Gardes movements, such as Dada, or Visual Dance. For example, the movement of color patterns in the beginning of Catalog can be compared with what Oskar Fischinger had done in Fantasia. The  most noticeable impression from Catalog is the very simple animations and visual effect Whitney made to create something is anti-narrative and non-structural.

Being influenced by Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase picture, Cheap Imitation by David Rokeby totally made a transformation from a still image to a moveable video. By using computer, Rokeby creates third dimension of a still image. This image by Duchamp describe abstractly a body figure is walking down a stair. The movement of such body is hidden behind the abstraction of a stair. This picture, in my opinion, creates two dimensions: visual and depth. The installation of Rokeby put another dimension, which is the actual movement of that abstract movement, on the screen. Moreover, as the name of this installation: "Cheap Imitation", it seems like Robeky only imitated the "hidden" movement of Duchamp's picture. As Rokeby said "I have cut up Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase into the several hundred facets that make up the work. The faceted image is projected approximately life-size (such that the nude is life-size) on a wall of the gallery. Each facet is interactive, emerging from darkness only when there is movement in front of that facet’s exact location in the painting. If there is no movement, the projection is all black."

Conveying the same message, with Watch (1995, 2003), Rokeby shows us two separate screens which describes the still images and movements of the footages. A camera was set up to record the movement of a public street corner. "The live images are transformed by a computer". This project is a proof for the experience of motion, stillness through the "eyes" of a computer, which people can't experience that with normal eyes. The two screens also reveal the comparison between different norms: motion/stillness, edges, presence/absence. This project demonstrates to the completely new definition of "watch". As he defied in this film "Watch is made up of simple mathematical processes, but the results, when seen by human eyes appear to be more completely interpretive." The still images hold the image of people who are walking by our eyes, but such visibility also is fading away at the same time.

Thus, Stan Vanderbeek's Science Friction pretty much deals with the computer animation techniques. Vanderbeek combines a series of different irrational images and tries to create an ironic narration: rockets, instruments, faces, scientists, places... Such narration seems convey the craziness of science and scientists under the humor and ironic montage: stop motion, cutting, editing, etc. Science Friction is the mocking voice, which aims to the chaos and nonsense. Familiar with collage film, Science Friction also reminds us about how he collects various of images, puts them together and creates something extraordinary abnormality. Using completely other technology method, Woody Vasulka and Brian O’Reilly applied Tom Demeyer’s ImX software to make a series of scan visual textures in Scan Processor Studies. We can realize the similarity between the images in Scan and the images scientists collected when using the same software to look inside the ground. It's normal to admit that such visual textures in Scan are very difficult to understand or observe.

Finally, with Street of Crocodiles by Brothers Quay, the animation with stop motion technique was pushed to another level. Bases on original short story of Bruno Schulz, Street of Crocodiles reveals, exposes, and digs into the secret, dark and mystery world of a mute puppet. Obviously, Brothers Quay make use of stop motion technique to create their protagonist and other subjects, such as "screws, dust, string, and wind-up monkey", to name a few. In addition, beside the vivid objects, characters which were made by computer, the camera movement in Street of Crocodiles seems paid so much attention to the movement of such characters, instead of focus on the irrational, complicated narration and story. Many medium or extreme close-up shots were used to describe each movement of characters and objects. The intense sound and music also pay a tribute to the structural theme.