It's That Time of Year Again

            When the start of December comes around so does the start of Christmas movies. Sometimes even before December the Christmas movies start pouring in by the cable networks. For example, ABC family has the 25 days of Christmas, and they also have the count down to the 25 days of Christmas. They show multiple Christmas movies throughout the day, sometimes showing up to eighteen of these movies in one day. This is where they show all of the classic Christmas movies that we grew up with. Like Santa clause, year with out a Santa clause, Rudolf the red nose reindeer, and it’s a wonderful life. This is where I spend my time watching Christmas movies.

            When talking about Christmas movies the hallmark channel also needs to be included in the discussion. They have the countdown to Christmas marathon, which is very similar to the 25 days of Christmas on ABC family. The movies on hallmark are a little different then those on ABC family. They are a little more serious and are all about the “magic” of the season. Most of the time they seam more like love stories then the classic Christmas movies.

            A lot of the time Christmas movies are low budget strait to TV films. Normally I can’t stand those types of films, however with Christmas movies I am more okay with it. There is just something about a Christmas move that can make your day a little better. And remember, they are only around for about a month per 

The Tree of Life

              I went into watching the tree of life not really expecting much. I have heard from other people that it is a very difficult movie to watch, so I did not really have high expectations. I knew nothing about the movie going in and was surprised when I saw Sean Penn and Brad Pitt in this type of movie. It was odd because this was extremely different then the films that they normally do. During the film I never did really figure out what it was about.

            At some points throughout the film, I felt like it was more like a Discovery channel documentary, like planet earth or something, then a movie. I was confused when the dinosaurs and every thing entered the picture. I was not really sure what was going on. I think what was going on through out this movie was Mr. O’Brian’s (Brad Pitt’s Character) son died when he was 19. It showed his oldest son jack, (Sean Penn) later in life in the modern times living his life. It cuts back between that and the boys growing up when they were younger. This was definitely a long and difficult movie to watch. It was only a little over two hours, however it felt much longer.

            Overall I did not think this movie was very enjoyable to watch, and did not really know what was going on. I think that if I could understand what was going on more, and then maybe I would have enjoyed it a little more. 

The Power Of Documentaries

I believe that documentaries can be one of the most powerful types of filmmaking out there. They show stories that are powerful and  real. Most address problems with the world, and inspire change. When people see these films in inspires them to help out with the cause even if it’s only in a small way.

For example, just look at the reaction from Invisible Children and Lost Boys of Sudan. The Invisible Children Organization has made great strides to capture the war criminal Joseph Koney. He has captured and forced children to fight in his rebel army, and has done many other horrible things.  Their films have brought attention to the world about what this man has done.

The filmmakers of the Lost Boys of Sudan—Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk, have also done significant things in order to help the people in their films. They have organized over 1000 community events, and other types of fundraisers. There goal is to replace immigrant children into proper homes.

I think all these things just show how powerful a documentary could be. They show the world things that they would never ordinarily be able to see. Documentaries can show problems in the world and also in people’s lives. They can play an important part in showing issues and eventually improving them.  

Quiz #2: Rockfish

Throughout our series on animation, the film I enjoyed the most was Rockfish. The film had great CGI animation done by Blur Animation Studios, and I thought it had a very well thought out and creative story. I liked the relationship between the fisherman, and what I believe to be his pet. His pet always wanted to be with him, while the fisherman wanted to protect him. I remember the scene when the “fish” is pulling them around, and the man hangs off of his machine to pickup his pet. Sometimes through out this film, I was reminded of a boy and his dog type story. I also thought the story was a cool concept about how this man goes out and uses his machinery and technology to go fishing.

            I also thought the animation on this film was done incredibly well. I thought they did a very good job of animating the fisherman and his pet. The background and machinery was also done beautifully. When the laser was shot into the ground it looked amazing. I loved how the dust blew around afterwards, and appreciated the work it took to make it. I thought this was the best, and most beautiful film that we have watched over the past few weeks, and it also contained a great story.

Pixar and Animation

Pixar is the leader in modern animation. They changed everything with their film “Toy Story” in 1995, and have made twelve feature length films since then. They are known for their spectacular stories and their stunning visuals. The Pixar stories are what set them apart from the competition. In the reading they tell us some of their foundations for story telling. One I found interesting was the one about how they use the animation simply as a medium not as a genre. They say, “be original. Dare to be stupid. When discovering your story, you have to be in a creatively safe environment.” It’s interesting, because Pixar’s main goal on their films is making the story count. They work very hard to make a very well written, solid story. They also work very hard to have good character development. They talk about in the reading how the people at Pixar spent 36 months writing the first Toy Story because of all of the character development. While on the second Toy Story film they only spent three months because they already knew the Characters. They also talk about how making a film like this is a team effort, belonging not just to an individual. It takes a whole crew of animators and storytellers to make it successful.