Tonight, I will finally (and hopefully!) see a little movie that you might have heard of, called The Dark Knight. I'm pretty anxious for it, since everyone raves on and on about how brilliant it is and I have yet to hear one bad thing about it. Well, not only because of THAT, but I admit that the fact everyone is loving it that much is making me a bit more curious.
Since I knew this would be the movie pick for the weekend, I saw Gotham Knight over the week. Gotham Knight is a project that consists in 6 animated shorts, each by a different director, and that takes place between the events in Batman Begin and Dark Knight. It's sort of like what they did with Animatrix.
The varying animation styles and stories make it interesting throughout, and it never gets boring. Some shorts have outstanding animation, others are not that great, but they're all pretty entertaining. I like how they focus on different things and elements of Batman's world but still keeping it centered around Batman himself - the first short comes to mind, it's about the different perceptions that different kids have of Batman. I really liked the concept and I guess it ended up being my favorite, in a way. I definitely recommend Gotham Knight to Batman fans, especially if they like animation and if they want something to "cool" their curiosity until Dark Knight comes out (I know in some countries it'll still take a while).
Thank you to Mr. Cosmic for providing me with this! ;)
I've never been much of a Trekkie (or Trekker, or whatever they like to be called). Sure, I saw the ocasional Star Trek episode back when they consisted of Captain Kirk beaming into some planet's surface and seducing an alien female, a random federation member dying and Spock being logical; but I've never been a hardcore fan.
That being said, I'm kind of curious as to what J. J. Abrams will do in the new Star Trek movie. The cast is pretty interesting, and J. J. Abrams always finds some cryptic way to make movies and plots more interesting The new poster is being distributed on the San Diego Comic Con. It's actually made of four different pieces, and each person will only get one (source: I Watch Stuff).
Look at Kirk's seductive look and Spock's pointy ears! Live long and prosper! *does Vulcan thing with her hand*
For today's sketch, I did a crappy Krillin on MSPaint. If you don't know who Krillin is, get out of here before I use the Vulcan Nerve Pinch on you.
I don't know why I even keep posting about this movie, which will almost certainly be a piece of crap bigger than the Everest, but there was a new poster unveiled this week, and here it is.
For its credit, it's the image that most resemble the manga/anime so far. But it's still bad. I have no hopes whatsoever for this movie, it just amazes me how far out of their way they went to make something that looks nothing like the original! I mean, fucking Mutenroshi. What have they done to him? Why can't they shave Chow-Yun Fat's head and stick a beard on him? It's not like you need a million dollar budget to do that. And yeah, I think I've said this last time I mentioned the movie, but bare with me. It's just upseting.
I've started to re-read the manga, out of heartache for what they're doing with the series. It's so funny, and as cool as I remembered it to be. Long live Dragon Ball! And because I have no sketch for today, here is a photo of some of my little Dragon Ball Z figurines. Not the same, I know - sorry guys!
On a post-ending note, I was interviewed recently by my friend Nicolas, so if you want to check it out, go to his blog. Make sure to read the other posts too!
I confess I never read a single one of C. S. Lewis' books. I just never felt curious enough, despite them being fantasy classics, and after flipping through the first one I found it, on a glance, too infantile for my taste. I'm probably already over the target-age for them, but anyway.
I saw the first Narnia movie not knowing very well what to expect, since I was largely ignorant of the story, I only knew that it was about some kids that went to a magical world through a closet. Silly, right? Could have been. But I actually enjoyed the movie, I thought the characters were endearing, the story was interesting enough, and the fantastic element was always very present and well-balanced. The action sequences weren't that brilliant, but in the end the movie worked well and was, if nothing else, a nice movie-going experience. I think almost the exact same thing about the sequel.
"Prince Caspian" finds the Pevensie siblings traveling to Narnia again, where they find out a cruel ruler, Lord Miraz, wants to usurp the throne and drive all Narnians - the magical creatures - to extinction. Prince Caspian, the legitimate heir to the throne, is the one that sumons the Pevensie kids, the Kings and Queens of old, to Narnia, so they can help him take the throne that is rightfully his. As far as character development goes, only the kids and Aslan reprise their roles, so we're familiar with them. Well, sort of. Peter Pevensie was the most changed character, he actually came off as a bit of a cocky bastard, and not in a cool way. I know he was meant to be like that in the movie, as it actually serves as a starting point to some jokes and puns, but I didn't really like it. Prince Caspian was a little bit of a wuss. I know he's supposed to be kind, and noble, and all, but I'd like to have seen him be a little braver. It's not like he didn't do anything, but he just came off too delicate and almost "lady-in-distress" like. The character might actually be like that in the book, as far as I know, but I wanted to see him kick a little ass. I wanted him to impress me and make me respect his character, but that didn't happen. Oh well. Lord Miraz is just your token evil guy. He has a pointy beard and a cool war helmet, but not much more. The other characters are also kind of forgettable, which is a shame, because in the first movie, Mr. Tumnus, one of the supporting characters, was pretty endearing and ended up captivating the viewer. They also tried to hammer-in a romance subplot that was wholy unnecessary, in my opinion.
You can see they tried to focus more on the action in this sequel. That is all well and good, but one can't avoid compare them to the action in Lord of the Rings, which is far superior, and the comparison leaves kind of a sour taste. The action falls short of being enticing or awe-inducing, but it's pretty enough and entertaining. Last complain I have is that the movie is a bit too long. But that's a minor issue. All in all, it was an okay movie. It was good watching a fantasy flick, it's not the most common movie genre ever. I know I shouldn't compare it to LOTR, because both the movies and the source material were meant for kids, while LOTR was meant to a more mature audience. I think that as far as kids fantasy goes, this movie was pretty well accomplished, and I'm sure I'd enjoy it tons more if I was younger - especially because the stars are KIDS in the movies, and I'd be able to sit in wonder and wish I was them, running with the Centaurs in Narnia. I'm giving Prince Caspian 3 out of 5 stars.
Be sure to check out the "Narnia Rap" too, if you've been living under a rock for the last 3 years and haven't seen it. :P
The Watchmen trailer is finally online, and guess what? It's bloody awesome. Love the buildup, the effects, the characters looks, and it's just a trailer! I want to see this movie already!!
EDIT : the trailer is now, in all its awesomeness, on the Apple website, so please do yourself a favor and go see it here. It kicks all kinds of asses.
Yeah, but it's never gonna happen outside of the world of figurines and/or action figures. I was recently presented with a little Wolverine figurine by Mr. Cosmic and decided to play around a little, and take a few photos of it along other figurines I somehow have salvaged in a drawer. This was one of them, but you can see a bunch more in my flickr account.
Today's sketch, to go along with the photo, is a very quickly done Logan. I really need to get off my ass and do a proper Wolverine drawing - you know, maybe with inks, or, let me dream, even colors. It's not right that I like this character so much, and still don't have any complete drawing of him. For shame.
Also, because I'm your friendly neighborhood blogger and I want you to be happy, I'm posting a new TV spot for the movie "Pineapple Express". I loved Superbad, and Seth Rogen is pretty funny, he seems to make a good team with James Franco, and so I hope this will be a funny stoner comedy. I'm sure it'll be better than the awful pile of diarrhea that they try to pass as "comedy" these days. Disaster movie? Meet Dave? Are you for reeeaaal? God, those movies piss me off by merely existing.
The first teaser trailer for the new Terminator movie, Terminator: Salvation, hit the web today, and here it is!
I am somewhat excited to see this movie, despite the 3rd one being really crappy. I think Christian Bale will do a great job as John Connor. I'm more excited to see the Watchmen trailer, though! It will premiere on Empire by Friday, but I'm secretely hoping someone will film it on the theater and upload it on Youtube. I'm just really damn curious.
And that's it! Sorry guys, no sketcharoo for today. Been a busy day. I'll post tomorrow, promise!
No, not X-Men's Beast (although he is pretty cool too).
Beauty and the Beast continues to be one of my favorite Disney animated movies of all time. Say what you will about CGI and 3D animation, this stuff was the real deal. The characters were so lively and expressive, that you can't help but feel drawn into their story. The classic tale of the girl who learns to love a beast is funny, beautiful and moving, and I like this movie so much that I even forgive it for having Celine Dion sing the main theme!
That being said, my favorite part of the movie was the Beast himself. His character is complex, and it's great how we come to discover his kind, human side throughout the story. And as far as drawing goes, he is one of the coolest character concepts ever. So I did a little sketchy tribute to this piece of my childhood, during a genetics class, last year I think. Enjoy!
I'll be honest with you: the prospect of the animated Dreamworks movie Kung-Fu Panda never really excited me much. I watched a few trailers, and a few promos, and I even wanted to like it simply because it had Jack Black doing voice-acting - and I have a soft spot for Jack Black - but none of these things really delivered to me. The trailers just seemed bland and sort of unfunny, like they had a lot of stuff that would be funny for kids (like the panda tumbling down a bunch of stairs and hitting the vilain in the face with his big panda ass), but would it be funny for me, even if I'm sillier and more childish than your average 23 year old? I wasn't thinking about watching it, until some reviews started rolling in. People were really enjoying this flick. Random comments on Deviantart stated that the animation was really good, and that the movie was actually a pretty decent, nice one. So last night, it was decided that Kung Fu Panda would be a laid-back movie to watch, and could even hopefully create some good spirits for the upcoming week.
The sinopsis of the movie is very simple: the main character, a fat and loveable panda named Po (like the damn Teletubbie) is "accidentaly" chosen by an old Kung Fu master to be the Dragon Warrior, the mightiest warrior ever and the only one that could defend the Peace Valley from the menace of Tai Lung. None too happy with this are the Furious Five, the 5 legends of Kung Fu - Tigress, Monkey, Crane, Viper and Mantis - that hoped one of them would be the One. Now it's up to Master Shifu to train Po from clumsy bum to kung fu master before his former pupil Tai Lung escapes and wreaks havoc in the valley.
First, I have to say the animation is amazing, very well-done indeed. The first couple of minutes of the movie are actually done more traditionally and were beautiful, they made my eyes shine with glee, I was so happy :D The fight scenes were all wonderful as well, with smooth kung fu movements and great choreography.
My next concern was about the HUMOR, this being a kid's movie I was worried it would rely too much on childish fart jokes or something, but I was so glad I was wrong. Of course there are a lot of instances of Po falling down stairs, knocking his head on walls, and generally being clumsy, but they are all so well done and intertwined with the story that it doesn't get annoying. It was great, and although I wasn't rolling on the floor laughing, I did laugh out loud a few times, and had a smile almost throughout the whole movie. It was pretty funny.
The voices... I thought Jack Black was on the spot as Po. He was great, and his little quirks really fit the character. Most of the Furious Five only had a couple of lines or so, which was a shame. Ian McShane did a pretty good job as the villain, and I also really dug James Wong as Po's father (who, by the way, I would have liked to see more of).
Overall, I had a great time watching it, more than in any of the latest movies I watched. I definitely recommend Kung Fu Panda!
Another of one of this year's summer blockbusters is the movie Wanted, adapted from the Mark Millar's graphic novel of the same name. The movie stars James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, and was the first american movie directed by Timur Bekmambetov (known for his 2004 movie Night Watch). I saw Wanted last night. I wasn't expecting much out of it - I was only hoping to be entertained.
I can't speak for the movie's fidelity to its original source, because I never read the graphic novel, but I'm aware that some parts of the story were cut, and in my opinion it was probably for the best. If the adaptation tried to be completely faithful, it would probably be too scattered and would fail on the big screen. That's just my two cents though, and I can be totally wrong. The movie follows the events that change the life of the "most insignificant asshole in the world", Wesley Gibson, as he morphs from a boring, stepped-on accountant into a member of an elite society of killers, called The Fraternity. It's a violent process, but also a funny one, as the movie is filled with a sort of dark sense of humor I really enjoyed. James McAvoy does a decent acting job, and so do the other cast members - nothing to write home about, but not bad either. The special effects are all pretty stylish, but it's obvious the movie took a lot out of earlier classics like The Matrix, and even, in my opinion, Equilibrium - the gun fight at the end really reminded me of this poorly-known flick. Still, they work well and provide eye candy, even if they're not overly original. The story has some clichés - I won't point them out because I don't want to spoil anything - and is very predictable at times, and that was probably my biggest problem with the movie, along with, maybe, the excess of slow motion scenes. Ultimately, the movie's message is to take control of your life and make your own choices, but not all of us were fated to bend bullets :P Of course, this movie is no Godfather, so don't go in there expecting to see the best movie of all time - but if you pay your ticket in hopes of seeing an action-packed movie that will entertain you and not insult your intelligence too much, you might just get what you're going for.
Illustrator. Biologist. Art lover. Movie & comics addict. Geek.
If you want to buy any of my stuff (prints, paintings or t-shirts) leave me a comment or send an e-mail to shirakawa_otori@yahoo.com
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