The new standard for horror entertainment has become the lo-fi, filmed on VCR fodder that had lent something of a realism to even the more outlandish premises. The aesthetic has been used in a lot of facets of horror in the last eight years, including horror movies. The classic ARG aesthetic just works and it works well for the short from skilled animator and concept artist Vivien Forsans entitled “Bedroom People.”
Tag Archives: Animation
Inside Out 2 (2024)
Now Exclusively in Theaters.
2015’s “Inside Out” felt like such a genuine and sincere attempt to figure out not just emotions but the importance that both negative and positive emotions can have. It simplified itself through normal subconscious cues like colors and characters, but through it all “Inside Out” was touching and a complex look at dealing with our feelings and learning to accept them. “Inside Out 2” is a perfectly okay follow up that has a lot to live up to. Its predecessor set the bar high and the sequel never quite hits that bar. “Inside Out 2” is stuck in the middle of trying to figure out what it’s trying to say and hitting that bottom line of introducing new characters for the sake of merchandise sales.
Txotxongiloa (2022) [Film Maudit 2.0]
Director and Writer Sonia Estévez’s short stop motion film is a beautiful depiction of the life span of the normal woman and how she perceives their existence as a whole. The idea of the normal woman being depicted as some one living on strings is a fascinating bit of symbolism. Over the course of ten minutes, the animation depicts her as someone being held up by strings who seeks independence almost immediately.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: Frigid Hare (1949)
Frigid Hare (1949)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Michael Maltese
Animation by Phil Monroe
Music by Carl Stalling
I think “Frigid Hare” is the point in Bugs Bunny’s career when he stopped being a mere foil or protagonist and started being something of a hero. When he finally steps up to defend a small penguin named “Playboy,” who–a very small cute penguin… from the wrath of an inuit. That’s the exact time Bugs started becoming something of a hero for the little guy. All of the other scenarios of Bugs giving in to his baser urges to be egomaniacal, or just plain antagonistic are a bar he’s just toppled. With “Frigid Hare” the animators and writers set a high bar with a short where we’d see him defending and fighting for other smaller animals in the near future.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: The Windblown Hare (1949)
The Windblown Hare (1949)
Directed by Bob McKimson
Written by Warren Foster
Animation by John Carey
Music by Carl Stalling
I am one that was never much of a fan of cartoons like “Rocky and Bullwinkle” or “George of the Jungle.” I always found those series to feel cheap and kind of dull so I was never a fan of their fractured fairy tales. Besides, Warner bros. always set the bar high when it came to taking fairy tales and distorting them for their own twisted purposes. “The Windblown Hare” is a hilarious take on the Three Pigs and Red Riding Hood, the first confrontation with the three pigs for Bugs and his second confrontation of Red Riding Hood’s universe. While not as funny as “Red Riding Rabbit,” this visitation to the latter’s world is small but hysterical as the writers take this whole dynamic and twist it up for some prime comedic material.
Every Bugs Bunny Ever: The Grey Hounded Hare (1949)
The Grey Hounded Hare (1949)
Directed by Bob McKimson
Written by Warren Foster
Animation by John Carey
Music by Carl Stalling
“The Grey Hounded Hare” is one of those shorts that always played in the very middle of marathons on cable TV and it almost always made great background noise. That’s mainly because “The Grey Hounded Hare” isn’t really anything to write home about. When it comes to Bugs Bunny he’s done better, and the writers have found better ways to utilize his ongoing feud with dogs. The short by Bob McKimson is pretty much the repetition that these shorts are known for but without not too many laughs. Sure it’s clever and it’s high energy, which is always a plus. But the whole concept just kind of feels stale and forced. That’s punctuated by the fact that the short has no real foil for Bugs Bunny.
Five Favorite Fictional Movie Stars
This year’s “The Fall Guy” is not just an action picture that adapts the classic Lee Majors series, but it also triples as a fun satire of Hollywood and an ode to the noble profession of stunt performers. In “The Fall Guy” Colt Seavers is attached to major movie star Tom Ryder, a bloated, obnoxious super star who shows little respect to Colt. When he suddenly goes missing, it’s up to Colt to find him and hopefully bring him back to his job in one piece.
In honor of Tom Ryder, I thought I’d list five of my favorite fictional movie stars, these are five people that are absolute Hollywood nightmares.