As a part of my Computer Graphics final proyect ,I had to design UV textures for 3D models of cars. When I looked at them, I realized they look like cool suprematist compositions! hehehe. Here, take them, completely for free! Give them whatever use you want.
I’ll just say it plainly: This book is sensational.
So I came across this book by recommendation of a Narrative Structures teacher who constantly referenced it. Before it, I had never read anything from Ned Vizzini and I had not watched the film adaptation. I have to say that this story captivated me by surprise from the first page and kept me hooked until the last one.
It’s kind of a funny story tells the tale of a 15-year-old teenager, named Craig, who after entering to a prestigious high school, finds himself overwhelmed by anxiety and depression until one night he almost kills himself, but then he somehow manages to get checked into a mental hospital. The book is mainly about what he lives in there and how he starts to confront his depression.
Now, I know, this sounds like very heavy topics – like those found in a super dramatic novel- but in fact, the book is really light and friendly and it presents these topics in a funny way. You can get a good laugh as you go through Craig’s narration and his teenager way of thinking. But most importantly, it presents the themes of anxiety and depression so anyone can understand them. I personally suffer from anxiety (or better said, I live with anxiety), so I found myself relating with almost every thought that Craig shares in his story. Ned Vizzini really manages to make a stay in a mental hospital hilarious and heart-warming at the same time.
An important thing to mention about the author is that he spent time in a psychiatric hospital himself and he dealt with depression too during his lifetime. He provides an insight to what is like to live with the constant feeling of not being good enough and he does it with humor and ease. I think that is what is most deep about this novel.
The characters are funny and well thought. The narration, like I said, is simple yet clever, funny and friendly. It has romance but it is not the stereotypical teenager love story. The only thing I didn’t like about this book is that, in my opinion, it ends too soon and I, for one, am left wanting to know what happens with Craig and everybody after the story ends, but maybe it’s because I project my own anxiety on Craig’s, so I really want to know what the future holds for me. Hehe
In conclusion, I really recommend this book because it is light, it is funny and it is written with honesty. Doesn’t matter if you are going through psychological problems or not; if you ever had a day in which you wish your life was over, this story is for you. I believe it has been rated as one of the most important novels for teens of the recent years. Like I said before, there is a movie adaptation. I haven’t watch it but if you have the chance, do it too.
I cannot start this commentary without praising the amazing job that the painters and animators did in creating such a masterpiece. The work put into literally every frame of the film is amazing and truly like no movie ever seen before. “Every single frame a painting made exactly how I wanna make it”? Eat your heart out Kubrick.
But what is even more outstanding is that the story is not the least overshadowed by the visuals. Script and animation are at the same level and are amazing. The story is so good. It has this mystery, detective vibe that gave me life. You really develop a connection with the characters and you are really intrigued to solve the mystery behind Van Gogh’s dead. I really enjoyed its “memory-based” storyline, always fluctuating between past and present. It reminded me of the narrative in Alice Madness Returns, a game by Spicy Horse.
I thought I was gonna get visually tired of watching so many post-impressionist oil paintings but the fact is that I didn’t. The movie doesn’t exaggerate in this aspect and the frames are clear enough to understand what’s happening.
There is, however, one thing about this movie that I have to get off my chest and is this: I’m not sure the oil painting technique was used in its full potential. Besides the cool transitions between present time and memories, I don’t think there is another exploit to the technique (besides its aesthetical purpose). What I mean is...the story could be told perfectly without the oil painting format. Don’t get me wrong, I know that the biggest aspect of this movie is its achievement in technique, but take that away and what do you have? A man that goes and talks to some people and then talks to some other people. It could have been a live action film and the story wouldn’t be any different – Change my mind. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed that it was mainly dialog (Oh, and by the way I have to say that I really, really enjoyed the climatic part of this film. That is, when Armand talks to the doctor. It is not like the usual commercial movie climax, with chases and explosions. This one is purely psychological/emotional and so so powerful).
Loving Vincent is a fantastic movie and I am so glad that I got to live in the same time period that the one this movie was created in. From its wonderful soundtrack to its intriguing plot and the awe-inspiring real-life story that it is based off, it is truly a work of art and I definitely recommend it to everyone who loves cinema and art.
The girl who leapt through time is the kind of movie that you probably didn’t watch but you are sure you have seen somewhere before. At least that’s what happened to me. Given than I’m in Mexico, not every animated Japanese film that comes out arrives at my cinemas, and when they do, they are usually Ghibli. In fact, that’s really what happens with most animated Japanese films: if they are not Ghibli, they are overshadowed and forgotten. I’m not saying that every non-Ghibli movie is a complete underrated masterpiece, but that’s what usually happens (at least in my opinion). It’s kinda like the Disney of Japan.
But anyway, back to the film. I really liked it. The animation is great. The backgrounds are beautiful. The dialogs are fun. “Time travel” is a theme that can be used in a million different ways and the way this movie solves it is simple and effective. However, “time travel” is also a theme that can cause confusion if not managed properly and there is where I find the first con of this film. There was a point in which the rules for “time jumping” where not very clear. I was confused about when could Makoto jump voluntarily and when it was involuntary. It was also very confusing to me when Chiaki “froze” time and Makoto was in his time jump but he wasn’t in any of hers… Also, in that scene, if Chiaki ran out of time jumps, where exactly is he going away to? He can’t go back to his era so…where are you going bro? Also, if all he wanted was to see that painting, couldn’t he wait just a few days to see it restored? Unanswered questions that haunted my head after I finished watching the movie and that will haunt me forever.
Another aspect that I find weak about the film is the fact that it tries to cover a lot of side stories at the same time but leaves the main story rather unattended. I mean, it is nice to see the side stories about all the secondary characters (Chiaki, Kosuke, the kohai in love, the bullied kid, the aunt, Makoto’s friend…), but put them all aside and what you get? A girl that finds out she can time travel, uses it carelessly, hurts people, uses it consciously and finally loses his power and never tells their friends how much she loves them. I’m not really sure what are her motives and desires…what moves her forward and what exactly is her goal as the hero of the story? Oh! And by the way! What is the deal with her aunt? Why does she seem to know so much about time travel and everything else? Is she immune to Makoto’s time jumps or how does she know everything Makoto did if she went back in time before telling her??? What’s with her background story? I feel like there is something the movie is not telling us about her and that really stresses the shit out of me! WHAT IS IT WITH HER??
One last thing I feel could have been better in the movie is the fact that there were times when the elaborated, painted backgrounds felt too different in contrast to the simply drawn characters; as if the belonged to different movies. (ALSO, whoever did the 3D animated “dwarf clock” couldn’t be bothered to make is a little more similar to the rest of the picture. Like, that thing pops up like a pimple). But in conclusion, I really liked the film. It is very interesting and sure it is fun to watch! Every time Makoto rolled through the floor cracked me up so much! And remember: taimu waits fooo noo wan!
From the creative mind of talented filmmaker Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element), comes a larger-than-life, family adventure about a boy who, aft...
Arthur and the Invisibles – Comentary
Arthur and the Invisibles (or Arthur and the Minimoys, how I think it should be named, since that’s how it’s called in the rest of the world but whatever) is a very… curious film. I remember when I was a kid and I saw it announced on the cinema billboard, I… really didn’t feel like watching it. It just didn’t seem appealing to me and why would it? This movie has this style that’s not quite cartoonish but still not so realistic. Eerie, right in the uncanny valley. But is that something bad? No, I don’t think so. It just happens that the public is so used to the “pretty”, “Disney-y” style that it is hard for a movie like this to stand out.
In general terms I liked the movie, but of course it has some aspects that could have gone better. The first thing that pops up when watching the movie is its fast pace. It has got a fast edit and the plot events happen immediately one after another. That is to be thanked, because usually in kids’ movies they tend to have a very slow and boring pace. Nevertheless, there are some moments in the film where certain dialog or jokes are unnecessary and you just wish they stopped talking and continue with the story.
The animation receives a 7/10. Some of the acting and facial expression were off at certain moments. Again, uncanny valley. The best parts were the combat scenes, those were the ones with impecable animation. There were times when I felt I was watching cutscenes form a videogame rather that a movie. Fun fact, according to what I read on the internet (which might as well be false but it was Wikipedia so…), most of the animators who worked on this movie were animation students with no previous experience. Now that’s something interesting! Another fun fact that I found is that they used actors as reference for some of the sequences. They did not, however, used Motion Capture, but slightly different kind of software for capturing the movements.
In terms of character design, I think it is really good. The environments and the world design are really well done. It reminded me a big deal of ‘Epic’ by Blue Sky Studios but of course, that movie is from 2013, so the right thing to say is that Epic reminds me of Arthur. This is one of those movies where it’s world goes way beyond the length of the film. Fortunately, the director, Luc Besson, is also the writer of the books which this movie is based on, so I assume the intention is the same and the audience gets to know the world Besson has created gratifically.
The last thing I would like to comment about this film (and the main reason I said it was curious in the first place) is the fact that they broke all standards and presented an age gap love story. Now before you say anything, I know it is stated in the movie that Arthur and Selenia are “kind of the same age” but you can’t fool me, nuh uh, that little minimoy princess has the body and mind of a 18-21-year-old while Arthur clearly resembles a 10-year-old. I mean, I don’t have any problem with an age gap love story and I admire the production’s bravery to put such on screen, but it just might not be received well by the general public. No wonder that the film received negative feedback in the USA and was latter edited to remove the scenes regarding the love story. Too bad.
Let me introduce to you Benito and Miguel Angel. These are characters I created for a one-day-shortfilm called “Para tí” (For you). I tells the story of two little kids who learn the importance of sharing, even if it is just a sandwich. I was largely inspired by the style of Anina, a latinamerican animated film by Alfredo Soderguit. If you haven’t seen it, I really recomend you to do so :)
Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart is one of those films you wouldn’t watch casually because you have never heard or seen anything about it and it doesn’t have that ‘Disney’ appeal that other animated films usually have. I couldn’t be gladder I saw the film and that it has nothing ‘Disney’-y on it.
From the beginning to end, the modeling and the artwork are just fantastic. It may not have too much detail in light and shadows but the textures are great-enough to make the world seem more than alive. The designing of the buildings and environments are so creative. What’s so great is that the movie plays with the construction of the scenes, like in the sequences of the train and the skate board – the background feels as if it were made of paper and cardboard wonderfully. And the accordion-designed train was just brilliant! The scenes of the chase inside the train are so good.
Ok, let’s talk about the characters. Their design is so artistically crafted and their general look is so pleasing to watch! It was as if watching porcelain dolls come alive (and the eyes, man, the freaking eyes, they looked real). The fact that they were able to convey a realistic look combined with a cartoonish design (exaggerated proportions with life-like texture) is pure genius, and like I said before, it is nice to see another studio that achieves this other than Disney. The acting was good, however, I felt that there were some moments where the facial expressions were perfect for the emotions of the characters, and there were moments where the acting was erratic and incomplete. I didn’t know if Jacks perpetual grieving face was part of the character or just insufficient face acting.
The plot. I found the plot rather well done. The only moments where it didn’t make sense to me where the following two: when Jack was told that her love was not in that school, why did he keep on attending? And, when Joe, you know the bad guy, shows up in the third act and convinces Acacia that loving Jack is wrong, why exactly does she leave with him? She doesn’t love him. Where are they going? Other than that, I liked the rest very much. I haven’t read the book yet, so I couldn’t know just how much of the film is faithful to the original story, but I found out that the original author of the book, Mathias Malzieu, helped in writing the screenplay, so I think it maintains its essence and initial intentions.
In conclusion, Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart is a great underrated movie that I, as a fan of non-conventional films, enjoyed very much. Not only the design and artwork are beautiful but the soundtrack and the visual metaphors are well executed and awe-inspiring. I recommend this animated film very much.
Un banner informativo que realicé junto con una compañera en la semana posterior al sismo en México. Yo hice los dibujos y fondos y ella hizo el texto y la composición. Información extraída de sesamo.com
Hola querido ser humano. Ayúdame a juntar donaciones para los damnificados del sismo en México haciendo lo que me gusta. Todo lo recaudado será donado para la causa.