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Reviews
Nibbles (2003)
Fast Food...
This film follows in the steps of Bill Plympton, only on fire and at a 120 mph. Unlike Plymptoon's, which only succedes in presenting isolated bits of novelty animation, "Nibbles" steps it up a notch, creating a jarring rythm and pace that lurches to a halt, then takes off, then backs up, and takes off again. By the time the film ends, you barely know what hit you. The sounds are perfect, the content well chosen, and overall, this is a very complete short that leaves you very content, yet hungry for more. The animator has a VERY keen sense of motion, and knows how to exhaggerate it without losing a sensitivity to natural physics. This is a fantistic five minute adventure in animation.
Luke (2004)
Atypical Allusion
I managed to see this film when it opened Jafar Panahi's "The Circle" at the Lucas Theater in Savannah. "Luke" impressed me because, unlike most shorts, it had the professionalism of a Hollywood feature, while at the same time establishing a distinct pace and style. The camera blocking isn't swooping like most rigid tracking, but instead "breezy", much like some shots in "Rabbit Proof Fence."
The subject matter is tackled ambitiously, and Director Michael Chaney doesn't offer answers or even questions, he leaves the audience to ask their own. Although the purpose of each sequence is quite definable, I feel like whole offers something more that I can't quite pin down, and therin lies the success of this film. Chaney obviously knows the intelligence of an audience, and succeedes in tickling the threshold of our capacity to understand.
Magnolia (1999)
Spliced Drama
I have to say, I spent most of this movie worrying that all the storylines would be united in a single car crash, or somehow having them all end up in the same building. I was pleased that their connection was more sublimated. The characters seemed to fill roles in each other's lives, whether they physically met or not.
I do wonder whether the frogs were necessary, I guess it was nice having one common thread through all the stories, but......i don't know, it seemed like more of a cheep shocker than a legitimate addition to the story. Same goes for the bookend sequences, as much as loved them, I think there was enough meat in the story without them.
Last year I watched "Time Code" on IFC, which is basically a failed attempt at a similar structure only with video. Sometimes a clever idea can take over a film, and carry it while the film suffers from other factors. Another example would be "Run Lola Run". Magnolia is the perfection of what one might call "spliced drama", for it still manages to be "about" the characters, and not how they are related.
Blacktop: A Story of the Washing of a School Play Yard (1952)
Art in Asphalt: A Definitive Experimental Film
Blacktop is one of the most purely experimental films I have ever seen. Though it does have a distinct beginning and end and claims to be a "story", it lacks many of the entertaining virtues of conventional film, and exists primarily as an exploration.
For starters, the film contains nothing more than soapy water washing across the blacktop of a school play yard. Though it may not seem like enough content to justify the length of the film, Ray and Charles Eames manage to frame close-ups that are compelling compositionally.
After some time, it becomes apparent that more than just the liquid is moving. There are many layers, each moving at different relative speeds. There is asphalt, then water, then soap bubbles. In many shots, small bits of debri are consumed by the flood, also moving at their own individual pace. Add the movement to the camera to these, and suddenly it becomes difficult to discern which layer is stationary. In one wide tracking shot, the camera moves at the same pace as the water while framing the wide expanse of runoff. When the camera comes to a stop, suddenly it feels like it is drifting backwards, even though it is only the surrounding water that is moving.
Discoveries such as this and many more are what make Blacktop a successful experimental film. I was comfortably absorbed after three minutes of watching. If I recall correctly, it was accompanied by awkward organ music, and you may want to select your own soundtrack. If you can see more than just water and blacktop, I suggest you check out the cloud sequences in Koyaanisqatsi, Godfrey Reggio's experimental epic.
Overall, this film succeeds in every way that it possibly can; it finds art where there previously was none. Whether or not this is enough for you, I cannot say.
American Pop (1981)
spectacular animation
People who are frustrated by the choppy animation in "American Pop"(Ralph Bakshi) must be expecting computerized movies from Disney and other similar companies. I believe the animators for "American Pop" have an incredible sence of movement that you won't find in "Tarzan" or "The Land Before Time XII". Some scenes to point out in particular- -mobster killing in Barber shop -African-American Couple dancing -Punk Dancing to "Pretty Vacant" (Sex Pistols) -Arguement before recording of "Night Moves" (Bob Segar) The animation is not goofy and exaggerated like Disney. The violent clips of WWI, the Mob, and WWII are not only as graphic as real acting but display the agony of the characters debatably better than any actor could. I would also like to defend the use of music. The film is not just about music. It is a chronological reflection of the impact of current events on popular music in America. The music is great, I wish somehow a soundtrack could be made available, because some of the songs are hard to find. I am curious as to who sang "Don't think twice, It's all right" (Bob Dylan) in the film. I greatly enjoyed how the the music played on the moods and events["People are Strange" (The Doors), the jazz right after Bella dies from the mail-bomb, "This Train" with the hobbos]. Selfishly, I am glad Bakshi made this film before Spice Girls and New Kids on the Block entered the pop music scene.