The Best Animated Feature Talk

So here's my query:

If Pixar isn't gonna take the award this year, who's it gonna be? Suddenly the category of Best Anmiated Feature is interesting. Most years it would seem an upset if Pixar wasn't the victor. Think about it, how many years in a row, since the category's inception, has Pixar won the prize? First two and then... Four (that's in ten years... they've won six out of the ten awards... literally 3/5ths the awards that have ever been won. That's a nuts number when you consider how many production companies have actually won the award even once. Nothing comes close. Dreamworks only has two awards to its credit. Studio Ghibli (which I love) only has one and Warner Bros defeated Cars (1) back in 2006.

We not only have a general dislike from audiences of Cars 2... but an example of the franchise coming short with the academy in years past. How many more ways can you say No?

So here's my very short list...

Winnie The Pooh

It was amazing! Perfectly suited to the source material... and a big BRAVO for non cg animation. I found myself laughing constantly. It seriously is that clever. If you haven't given it a chance, you should. If you don't want to see it at all, I suggest you stop complaining about there being no good films out anywhere.

Kung Fu Panda 2

The original was deservedly nominated. It lost to Wall E which is probably Pixar's most adult feature to date... kind of hard for a GREAT family flick to come between the academy and an actual possible human issue. But Kung Fu Panda 2 earns its moments. The reviews were all positive calling it a "worthy sequel". This is praise Cars 2 has not received.

Rango

Man this one was surprisingly adult... but that's what I hope for out of Nickelodeon as a studio. For years they've been about not dumbing down to your audience no matter the age. I'm not ashamed to admit I used to even watch Nick Jr sometimes while I was in middle school. But I'm getting off track.

Since it was such a small category last year and I don't know what other animated films are coming out (if any) before 2012, and since I despised Rio I guess that's my whole short list for this year.

Post to this. I'd very much like to hear your opinions.

Favorite Films: Modern Times

In 1936 something special happened. Charlie Chaplin brought sound to his film Modern Times. Never before had we really heard the Tramp utter a word and then we got this wonderful scene:

That's one of those classic moments you don't forget. Modern Times is one of the quirkier Chaplin flicks. There are sequences where the Tramp feels just like a cartoon character.

But despite all the craziness, this film still has so much heart. I don't normally watch old silent flicks and think about the girls I'm watching on screen, but DAMN Paulette Goddard steals my heart away every time I see this.

Between Charlie's amazing comic timing and Paulette's heartbreaking abilities to match his level this movie grasps at that unreasonable target of Perfect Film. If you've never seen Modern Times, I suggest you go down to your library or check your Netflix or whatever it is you do to catch oldies... they screen it frequently at the silent theatre and I can tell you without hesitation, there's nothing quite like the experience of seeing a great silent film with a live band accompaniment on the big screen. But don't take my word for it...

No do. Do take my word for it. This flick is great!

The List So Far:

1927 - Metropolis - Fritz Lang

1928 - Steamboat Willie - Ub Iwerks

1931 - M - Fritz Lang

1932 - Tarzan, The Ape Man - W. S. Van Dyke

1933 - King Kong - Merian C. Cooper +

1934 - It Happened One Night - Frank Capra

1936 - Modern Times - Charles Chaplin

1957 - Funny Face - Stanley Donen

1966 - Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? - Mike Nichols

1984 - Brazil - Terry Gilliam

1986 - Labyrinth - Jim Henson

She Don't Know

Sometimes these titles make more sense long after inception than I anticipate.

This month has been a rush of craziness. It's summer, it is most definitely that. And working at a movie theatre really takes its toll during this time. Mostly on my private life. Something I am inclined to say keeps me sane. Why do I bring this up? I'm feeling emotions more strongly than I have ever allowed myself. Recognizing my negativity, or rather uncomfortableness on some very specifically off-putting occasions I've kind of been feeling myself coming back to life for the first time in a little while. I know it's passe to say this, but what people perceive of me and what I'm really thinking are usually two very different things. Sometimes it works out for me, sometimes it doesn't. But lately I've been feeling more of a connection between those two worlds (mind and mask). I've been trying to focus on stating my most honest heartfelt opinions.

Oddly enough, in doing this, I have somehow begun lying far more frequently... What?

Yes. I recognize that humor and good company call for taller tales. You may be laughing at how simple this sounds, but it has taken me a little while to recognize what I've been doing and I don't know if I care to stop.

The problem with leading by the tip of my tongue, I find, is that often people don't know how to view my intentions. If I'm giving a solid example then of course they manage to agree or at least listen. And I've been learning more and more how to make those examples flow... I am a creative creature after all.

The upside; I've found myself attempting to more positively affect peoples' lives on a regular basis.

The downside; I get angry. I try not to show it. But sometimes spite hits me after I feel I've been wronged. And I try to not let it effect the way I carry myself... but that's impossible. The funniest thing about it all is the spite stems from positivity. A lot of positivity. But as usual She Don't Know:

1. Victoria Lucas - Moby
2. Little By Little - Radiohead
3. Radio Cure - Wilco
4. Liberation In A Dream - A.R. Rahman
5. Rhythm & Soul - Spoon
6. Eine Kleine Lift Musik - blur
7. All For Leyna - Billy Joel
8. Lonely Lonely - Feist
9. One Pure Thought - Hot Chip
10. Think I'm In Love - Beck
11. Canto De Ossanha - Jurassic 5
12. Guitar Flute And String - Moby
13. Heard The World - O.A.R.
14. I Want You So Bad I Can't Breath - OK Go
15. Honey Honey - Feist
16. The Rafters - Moby
17. In A Future Age - Wilco