inspiration(animation+film): mega movie blitz
I know, I know, it’s been a minute since I’ve written anything. My bad. 
 Months have just flown by in a snap. Now it’s April, and seeing as how this is my birthday month, I figured now was as good of a time as any to get back on track. Over the last month or so, I’ve been watching quite a few animated movies. I was going to blog about them separately, but I thought it would be more interesting to make this a super post. So here goes.
WATCHMEN
Ok, so the first movie up at bat isn’t an animated film at all, but it contains computer graphics, so I’ll allow it. I wrote a blog a while back about the awesomeness of the trailer, and I was counting down the days until the release of the movie. At the time of that post, I had yet to read the graphic novel but I was intrigued enough by the trailer to do so. I ended up loving it and reading it twice. If you haven’t read it, I would highly suggest you do so. It is a richly layered story that is both engaging and thought provoking.
ANYWAY, back to the movie. I went on opening night with the fanboys and got to see it again a few days later on IMAX. Overall, I thought that Zack Snyder did a very good job given the extremely dense text. He stayed pretty faithful to the comic, both in storyline and visuals. There were some scenes in the movie that were ripped straight out of the graphic novel, and I thought that was a nice touch.
Funny enough, the very thing that I loved about the trailer is what I hated about the actual movie: The music. I found the music choices to be extremely jarring and distracting. Some of the song choices were too iconic (“Hallelujah”, “All Along the Watchtower”). Technically they fit perfectly within their respective scenes, and that is what ruined it for me. The songs seemed TOO obvious and at times made the movie feel campy. I understand that some of these songs were from the time period, but I didn’t feel like it was necessary do that. I also know some songs like, “All Along the Watchtower”, were taken from references within the graphic novel, but I still didn’t like it in the actual film. Bottom line: Watchmen was very good, but I probably would have liked it even more if it was as successful as meshing the music and visuals together as well as the trailer.
CORALINE
I’m usually good about keeping up with upcoming animated films, but I only found out about this movie after reading a behind-the-scenes article in Wired magazine. The amount of detail and patience that goes into stop motion films never ceases to amaze me. From tiny, hand-knit sweaters, to tree blossoms fashioned out of painted popcorn, Coraline is visually stunning.
What made the movie even cooler was seeing it in 3D. I’ve seen 3D movies before. The effect is usually cool for a few minutes until you start getting a headache, and then it just gets old. There is now a new 3D technique being used called, “RealD” , which is a LOT more successful. First off, previous so-called 3d movies were not all in 3D. Usually there was only 20 minutes or so of 3D effects, and the rest of the movie was normal. An icon would pop up telling you when to put your 3D glasses on or take them off during certain scenes. It did not make for a seamless movie going experience. On the flip side, I watched Coraline with my 3D glasses on the entire time. The effects looked more natural and realistic, and it never hurt my eyes. I was very impressed.
Oh yeah, and the story is great, too. 
If you’re not familiar with it, it’s about a girl who feels neglected by her parents and comes to discover an alternate world where she finds the perfect version of her parents. Or so she thinks. It may be too late to see it in 3D, but I would highly recommend checking it out when it comes out on DVD. In the meantime, visit the film’s official YouTube page for interesting vids about the process.
MONSTERS VS. ALIENS
Seeing Coraline in 3D impressed me so much, that I was curious to see another film using the same technology. It was just as cool. I went to see the movie on a night when I was in a crappy mood. I was hoping it would be a pick-me-up, and it did the trick. It’s a cute film that’s entertaining and funny, and the animation was very well done. It also comes with the message, “be comfortable with who you are”, so you can’t go wrong with that.
WALL-E
I, like most other sane people, am in love with Pixar films. They are extremely well crafted and usually become instant classics. That being said, I had NO desire to see WALL-E in the theater when it first came out. The trailer looked boring, and I didn’t think Wall-E was that cute. I knew that as a Pixar film it had to be good, but that still didn’t pique my interest. It was only after I started hearing everyone rave about it that I decided to give it a chance. I tried to catch it in the theater but never got around to it. Then, there was a huge wait on Netflix, so that delayed me from seeing it even more. Finally, I broke down and bought it last week during Virgin Megastore’s “going out of business” sale. I’m really sad about that….but, I digress.
Yes, I LOVED Wall-E. I was in yet another crappy mood (I had a rough week lol), so this made for a perfect calming evening. I turned all my lights off, curled up in a blanket and watched a robot love story. I was worried that the repetitive cries of “Wall-E” and “Eva” would get on my nerves after a while, but it didn’t bother me. In fact, I was amazed that a movie with minimal dialog (and minimal action in some parts) could keep from being boring. The animation was gorgeous. I definitely regretted missing it in the theater, but I bought it on blu-ray, so that was a good runner-up. I’m very happy to have it as part of my DVD collection.
BOLT
I actually did want to see this movie in the theater, but I never got around to it. I wish I had, because I found out it was in 3D, as well. It turned out to be a sad, yet adorable movie. It is about a dog who believes, with every fiber of his being ,that the tv show he’s a part of is real. He then gets let loose into the real world by accident, and he thinks he’s still a crime fighting dog with super powers. Watching the poor, delusional dog try to figure out why he no longer has heat-vision will make you laugh and break your heart lol. And if you watch it for no other reason, Rhino the hamster is hilarious!
So, there you have it folks. It’s my mega movie blitz in a nutshell. Oh, and in case you think I’ve been sitting on my butt, watching movies all day, I’m about to launch a few websites…so stay tuned. One of them will be a relaunch of my site, Fotogirl.net, on my 30th birthday!
I am not big on politics. Let me just put that out there. I try my best to keep up so as not to look like a complete imbecile, but I’m not usually itching to get into a discussion about it. Goodness knows, watching a debate is horribally painful for me. So, imagine my surprise when I eagerly dvr’d the Palin/Biden debate, as well as countless other Obama ones. I had a friend text me McCain’s VP choice when it was announced, and I thought, “when has my friend ever texted me about something political”? I thought it was awesome. I loved seeing my friend’s comments and status messages on Facebook during debates and interviews. No matter who you wanted to win, the beauty of this whole election process was that it made a lot of people care and get involved.
I wanted Obama to win though, so I’m very happy with the outcome. That day really is a moment I hope to share with my future children. I was prepared to be up late watching the poll predictions trickle in. My brother decided to make steaks, so I bought a bottle of wine. I was getting comfortable with glass in hand and CNNHD on screen when the words “President Elect Obama” popped on screen. My bro and I stood there in disbelief for a second, and then started screaming. We both ran to the terrace to listen to the revelers at the bar across the street, and celebrated with fellow terrace shouters.
It was then that we decided to head to Times Square, camera in hand. I’ve never been to the New Year’s Celebration, but that moment is what I’m sure it ususally feels like. Thousands of people were packed together, giddy and excited. Eyes were glued to the jumbotron’s and chants of “Obama” broke out every few minutes. It was awesome in the true sense of the word. My bro and I called up our parents, as well as all four of our grandparents, whom I was thankful were still alive to witness this insane moment in history. It was something I will never forget, and I’m so happy I was able to be a part of it.
I’ve been fascinated by the High Line for some years now. I mean, who doesn’t love abandoned train tracks? There’s been only one issue standing in the way of my decrepit mecca: it’s not open to the general public. There are plans to turn it into a public space…but then it wouldn’t be abandoned, now would it?? Sadly, no.  Fortunately, my friend and fellow lover of all things crumbly and deserted let me know about Open House NY. One weekend a year, people get access to buildings, landmarks, and other establishments that are usually off limits or restricted. I was delighted to find the High Line was on that list.
I was discouraged to find that a ton of other people were delighted as well. There were so many delighted people, a lottery had to created to determine who was eligible for the tour. My friend and I both signed up and kept our fingers crossed, and sure enough I recieved a lovely email saying, “Congratulations! Out of 5,000 people who entered the lottery for High Line tours during openhousenewyork weekend, you have received one of 700 tour slots.” SWEET!
The tour only lasted a 1/2 hour, but my friend and I made the most of our time and got some cool shots of the area. We were surprised that we were pretty much the only ones wielding a camera. Some people actually wanted to go JUST for the tour. Go figure. I wish they gave us more time to wander around the area, but I’m just happy we were lucky enough to check it out before it becomes a park. Not that a park wouldn’t be nice…
When I was younger, I used to listen to a Sesame Street album, “Let Your Feelings Show”, which featured Grover singing a tune called, “Proud of Me”. It was a delightful little tune about feeling self confident and loving yourself, yadda yadda yadda , and it always stuck with me. Now I’m about to let you in on a little secret…to this day, sometimes when I’ve accomplished something cool (or at times, even when I haven’t) the song will pop into my head, and I will silently start singing it. I do the same thing with Sharon, Lois, and Bram’s, “I am Slowly Going Crazy” when I’m super stressed out…but, I digress.
The point is, the other day, I decided to try to find the song online as I only have a copy on vinyl. I came up empty handed at the time, but discovered something even cooler. I stumbled upon a box set of classic Sesame Street tunes called, “Songs from the Street: 35 Years of Music”. I rediscovered songs long forgotten, and I was hit with waves of nostalgia and overall giddiness. Aside from all of that, listening with a more “mature” ear gave me a deeper appreciation for the music, and Sesame Street as a whole.
While the show was obviously created for children, it maintains a level of sophistication that makes it enjoyable for everyone. Unlike other kid shows, it doesn’t feel the need to produce trite, sugary sweet songs or characters (ok, maybe Elmo ruined some of that…but that’s another conversation). The reason why the show has continually been successful for the last 39 odd years is because it doesn’t underestimate a kid’s intelligence. Story lines and songs are presented in a way that make it easy for a kid to digest, yet it’s done without “dumbing it down” (to borrow from Lupe Fiasco). Just the fact that they tackled death with the passing of Mr. Hooper showed that they weren’t afraid to take chances that other shows wouldn’t.
This applies to the music as well. The creators made the songs catchy and easy to learn and did so using a vast variety of musical styles. Established musicians of all kinds have lent their talents to the show, which has made for numerous memorable moments. I just discovered a duet with Diane Schuur and Elmo. What I love most about Sesame Street is that it continues to stay current. This season includes Feist doing an adorable rendition of “1,2,3,4″, as well as a spoof called “30 Rocks” which features a bonfide Liz “Lemon”. My future children will be raised on Sesame Street. Barney will be banned.
Feist’s “1,2,3,4″
*Bonus- My friend reminded me of Ray Charles’ awesome version of “Bein’ Green”.
I refuse to update my website until I redo it (all in due time, people), so I am posting here lest people think I’ve been sitting on the couch watching cartoons all day. I’ve worked on a  couple of cool new websites over the last few months.  The first was the redesign of the Prince Street Gallery website.  The members wanted something simple yet sleek to best showcase their work.  I’d been wanting to do a nice minimal site for a while now, so I jumped at the opportunity.
I got to produce another sleek site with halsell.net. Halsell New Media is the site for New Media guru, Michelle Halsell. I’ve had the pleasure of working with her on quite a few intriguing projects, so I was very happy to be able to create a site for her.
Though I claim to be an anime fan, it was my music obsession that led me to the beautiful film, Tekkonkinkreet. Plaid is one of my fav electronica groups, and while doing a routine check on their site , I discovered that they had recently done the music for a random anime I’d never heard of. I quickly Netflixed it, though I was really more interested in hearing the music. A quick search remedied that. Gotta love the interwebs. I liked it, but it definitely sounded like “soundtrack” music, so I was eager to see (hear) how it would translate when combined with the animation.
The movie quickly exceeded my expectations. The animation is stunning. There are layers of artwork within the film along with different styles that seamlessly mesh together. The story is about two orphans fighting for survival amongst a gritty landscape, and the animation does a wonderful job of painting that picture.
The icing on the cake is, of course, the music. Hearing Plaid’s work in its proper context made all the pieces fall into place and gave me a greater appreciation of the soundtrack. The opening and closing tracks alone do a wonderful job of encompassing the mood of the piece. Even some of the songs I didn’t care for on its own, integrated perfectly with the accompanying visuals.
I’m certainly not a movie critic, but I highly recommend this film (Will I get sued for giving it two thumbs up? ). I’ve seen it twice (the second time on Blu-Ray which was extra yummy), and it will definitely become part of my anime collection.
I know everyone and their momma has been talking about this trailer, but I don’t care. I had to get on the bandwagon and join in on the chorus of “oohs” and “ahhs”. I will start by saying that I have not had a chance to read the graphic novel, so I didn’t know much anything about the story upon viewing. A quick Wikipedia search (and a geeky friend) remedied some of that, but I will still be getting my hands on a copy in the near future. The trailer didn’t give the non-fanboy any hints either, and yet I was still intrigued. Am I easily swayed by shiny, pretty graphics? A little bit. No Judging. I was able to see it on an IMAX screen though, so I doubt many could blame me.
It wasn’t the graphics alone that reeled me in. I’ve gushed before about my love for the perfect music/visual combo, and this trailer is a wonderful example of that. The song used is an old Smashing Pumpkins B-side, “The Beginning is the End is the Beginning”. The dark mood of the song meshes beautifully with the gritty graphics, and is only enhanced when certain actions on screen fall in line with the beat. I always know a good combo when I’m dying to hear the song long after the images fade, and when I do, it causes the images to instantly replay in my head. Seeing as how I’m listening to the song as I write this, I can safely say that this trailer was a success in that regard. If you haven’t seen it (or want to see it again), take a peek below.
It is safe to say that no matter how I’m feeling, bubbles always make me happy. Blowing bubbles is a simple pleasure that, over the years, has become my favorite summertime tradition. As soon as the weather hits 70 degrees , I head to the store to purchase a 99 cent bottle of instant euphoria.
Imagine my giddiness when I found out about a “Bubble Battle” taking place during the Summer Solstice. I didn’t think I’d ever find a place where I could openly share my love for the soapy goodness, but I was wrong. At precisely 6:21pm, in the heart of Times Square, hundreds of people gathered together armed with bottles, bubble guns, bubble machines, and one machine powered by a sock monkey. I overheard a person proclaim it to be “Bubblepalooza”, and I deemed it very appropriate.
The event lasted around an hour, and it drew a ton of confused and curious onlookers. I had a few people approach me and ask why we were doing it, and all I could tell them was that we were doing it for the love of bubbles. And that is what made the event so awesome. There was no ulterior motive, no cause we were celebrating or protesting. A bunch of random people gathered together simply to have -and create- an enjoyable, whimsical moment in the midst of a chaotic city. It felt partly like a hippie love fest and partly like an art happening, but whatever you want to call it, it was one of the most touching, surreal moments I’ve had, and I was happy to be a part of it.
In fact, the whole day was a testament to the beauty of New York in the summertime. I had wandered the streets for most of the day ,since it was so gorgeous out, and stumbled upon a few other events in my neighborhood. When I had ventured out to Times Square earlier in the day in the vain attempt to find a bubble gun (Toys R Us let me down), I got to witness a giant yoga class taking place. Much like the bubble battle, it was interesting to see people participating in something that is so peaceful, in a place that is anything but.
Later on, I ran into a small block party on 48th street. It had a very homey, neighborhood feel to it. There was a cool old-school rock band playing, and people were just hanging out on their stoops enjoying the music and weather. Toward the end of the block was a dunk tank and other games, so I watched the poor woman get constantly hurtled into the water by various players with good aim.
Aside from the bubble battle, the highlight of my day was befriending an older gentleman who was chillin on his stoop. He seemed so happy and serene, that I felt compelled to wave at him as I passed by. There are times when potential photos just pop into my head, and the minute I saw him, he looked like a classic black and white image. However, I sometimes don’t like photographing random people on the street because I feel like I’m invading their privacy. As I continued on, the image in my head kept nagging at me, so I finally decided to turn back and approach the man. I told him that he looked really cool sitting there and asked if I could take his picture. He was very sweet and said, “Of course”, and then posed for me. He was totally accommodating while i snapped a few shots, and I thanked him profusely when I was done. That brief encounter with a kind soul helped make my summer solstice a memorable one.
My friend, Rachel, and I share a love for all things abandoned, decrepit, and crumbly. So when she suggested a trek to the Green-Wood cemetery, I was all for it. It was a gorgeous day for shooting, and I was surprised at how lush and expansive the grounds were. REALLY expansive. We wandered around for about three hours and barely made a dent in the place. It didn’t help that I lost the map as we were trying to find the way out! Luckily, we were semi-close to one of the exits, so I didn’t doom us to life in the cemetery. There are apparently quite a few notable residents of Green-Wood, but we narrowed our sights to just two: Leonard Bernstein and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Bernstein ’s grave site was relatively easy to find, and it turned out to be a nice memorial bench and plaque surrounded by flowers. The flowers were surrounded by bees, so Rachel and I just admired from afar. I was very thankful for my telephoto lens at that moment. People left rocks and coins by the plaque, but one go-getter thought to leave his business card. I hope that works out well for him.
The next stop was Basquiat’s grave, and we had high hopes for that one. We conjured up all sorts of ideas about what a Basquiat grave could look like, it being Basquiat and all. However, it turned out to be a simple, modest gravestone. It was so simple and modest that it took us about a 1/2 hour of searching to find it. When we finally did find it, I was a little dissapointed that he didn’t get more ornamentation. A few people left coins, rocks, and flowers (no business cards this time ’round), but otherwise not much fanfare for such a prolific artist. Someone did take it upon themselves to draw a Basquiat-like crown on his tombstone, so that homage made it a little better.
There was a lot we didn’t get to check out, so we’re hoping to go back again before the summer’s out. Maybe next time we’ll stalk Samuel Morse and Louis Comfort Tiffany.
I’d been slacking on my museum attendance, so I finally got a chance to catch up on a few shows. The first exhibition I went to see was the Whitney Biennial. I was none too thrilled with the last biennial, so I didn’t have high hopes for this one. Secretly, I wanted to be proven wrong, but alas, that was not the case. I’m certainly not trying to bash anyone. At the end of the day, those artists have their work in the Whitney and I don’t! With that being said, I had to search long and hard to find anything inspiring. Some of the pieces begged to be seen as cutting-edge art, but really just came off as contrived or old. (Blank canvases?? Really??) A few people expressed that they liked this exhibition better than the previous one, but I have to disagree. I found a lot more interesting pieces the last time around. I just hope the Whitney will step its game up for the next one.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed the Takashi Murakami exhibit @ the Bklyn Museum. I’m a sucker for Japanese pop art anyway, so this was right up my alley. It’s a great retrospective of his work, and I’m happy I had a chance to see it.
I love the fact that he doesn’t just straddle the line between fine art and commercialism, he blurs it. To drive that point home, the museum set up a small Louis Vuitton shop right in the middle of the exhibit. (For those who don’t know, he designed some limited-edition bags for Louis Vuitton). It was also cool to see two of his sculptures that I had only seen in art class. It’s only up until June, so I’d definitely go check it out.
As an added bonus, I also checked out the work of Ghada Amer while I was there. I’d heard about her from another blog, so I made sure I didn’t miss her show. She uses embroidery(and other mediums) to challenge ideas of gender roles, sexuality, love and war. Her pieces are very layered, raw, and beautiful. It’s been a while since I’ve discovered an artist I really like, but Ghada Amer’s work is very evocative , thought provoking, and inspiring. 
Subscribe
