Ryan Colucci's Blog, page 19

Movie Review: Adventures of Tin-Tin, The

Seeing The Adventures of Tin-Tin just a few days after Rango, I couldn't help but be excited for the future of cinema.  The things filmmakers are able to accomplish visually through technically and craftsmanship is astounding. Although I think Verbinski left more of a personal stamp on his film, Steven Spielberg is no slouch and this thing is jaw-dropping at a visual level.

I listened to an interview with Spielberg and fellow producer Peter Jackson, who both made it clear that the most important thing to them in the animation process were the eyes.  And that giving the eyes life was the difference between being creeped out and a fulfilling experience.  I have to say – they nailed it.  There were some shots of this movie where I could have sworn I was watching a live action film.  It was just gorgeous and so incredibly real.

If there was one downfall it was in the story; it just wasn't that exciting.  Spielberg isn't just a master craftsman, he is the master craftsman.  So all of the action, settings and characters are top notch. There were some nice character moments and I particularly liked Captain Haddock, but the whole time watching this I felt like I was watching Indiana Jones-light.  Tin-Tin was never in much danger and the stakes never seemed to be all that high.

I don't believe this film would offer much on a repeat viewing and in a few years when the rest of the world catches up to masters like Spielberg and Jackson, this film may look pedestrian.  However, right now, it is breathtaking and well worth seeing in theaters at least once.

Filed under: Movie Review

Top 10 Films of 2011

I know, I know… we are 17 days into 2012.  But I was waiting for the co-host of my film podcast to get back from vacation to do our Best of 2011 podcast.  As that gets ready to air this Wednesday I am going to post my Top 10 films here.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Drive
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Another Earth
The Skin I Live In
X-Men: First Class
Paranormal Activity 3
Rango
Tie: Warrior / Young Adult

Honorable Mentions

Super 8
Captain America
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
Tree of Life
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Fast Five
The Adventures of Tin-Tin
Limitless
Ides of March
Insidious

All in all I thought it was a strong year for movies.  Some of the big blockbusters were a lot of fun, such as my #1 film, Captain America, Tin-Tin and Super 8.  And the arthouse films gave you more than enough to chew on.  Let me also say I have yet to see Shame, A Dangerous Method, Cedar Rapids, Beginners, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Our Idiot Brother.  So if I like them they will fall on my 2012 list.

Filed under: Top 5

Movie Review: Another Earth

Mike Cahill's first feature Another Earth is rivaled this year only by Sean Durkin's first feature Martha Marcy May Marlene.  Although very different, they both deal with complicated young women and are made with a sure, competent hand.  Like MMMM, Another Earth features a brave performance by a young actress with a lot of promise, Britt Marling.  Marling is also a producer and co-writer here.  I recognized her immediately from her one episode of Community.

Technically a science fiction film, it is more of a drama with a science fiction backdrop (like the far inferior Monsters).  Things here move a languid pace and it works quite well for the story being told.  This is a woman tortured by a decision she made one night that she must live with forever.  Although done on the cheap, the production value is good and the performances from Marling and William Mapother are strong and assured.  From the start, Cahill sucks you in and continues that slow suck, never letting you go until the end of the film.

I enjoyed this film greatly and look forward to more work from both Cahill and Marling.

Filed under: Movie Review

Saturday Screwing Around

Although I should be knee deep in the Penny Black script, I've got issues on my mind (will write about this this coming week)… so I figured that I would do some artwork for my football project The Beast.

The script is done, but I do not want it to be my first film as a director.  It is a contained thriller, more like Lord of the Flies than Friday Night Lights, but the cast is massive.  There are a lot of a moving pieces.  This is football.  There will be a lot of orchestrating going on.  No, it will be my third or fourth film most likely.

However, I am adapting the script into a novella.  I have been struggling with the perfect book art for a while now.  Going on over three years.  Pawel did a really awesome look piece – but it is more fitting as promotional artwork.

Karol and I were working on something, but we put it on hold.  And then I saw a piece of artwork that sparked my imagination.  So, at first I went one way.  Then, I remembered a surf video whose cover I fell in love with a long time ago – Adrift.  It's simple and I love the use of white space (no pun intended).  I wanted this for The Beast.  So I went in a totally different direction.  Then, I realized I could combine them.  Because the first idea didn't really work as the cover – it made more sense without the title on it as the back cover.

These are very early designs and work.  They need some tender love and care.  Also, I'd like to swap the arrow on the helmet with a tomahawk, as this is the mascot in the book (and more distinct).

Filed under: Filmmaking, The Beast

Movie Review: Rango

It was with a lot of trepidation that I sat down to watch Rango.  I am trying to catch up on all the films from 2011 that I haven't seen and sat through a few bad ones that got good reviews. And this may have been the most liked film, on average, from the critics I actually listen to.  It's not the top film on their year end awards, not sure why, but when it came out they all seemed to rave about it.  So I was a bit worried I was going to be let down again.

Like Captain America and a few films I missed in theaters, I was shooting White Space when this came out. It was definitely on my radar.  As someone who loves animation and doesn't necessarily buy into everything Pixar puts out, I was excited to see a new player stepping up to the plate. Directed by Gore Verbinski and voiced by Johnny Depp, this was something I have wanted to see but had to wait for on video…

And boy am I sorry about that.  From the opening frames to the closing frames, this was a visual treat.  I haven't had this much fun with a movie since seeing Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  Rango takes the western genre and classic animated fare, mashes them together – and then spins it on its head.  I can't believe this only got a PG rating, because there are some serious things going on in this film and with that is death.  And not the heart-wrenching Bambi kind.

Depp does a great job voicing Rango, and he is fully realized as a character.  In fact, the script is top notch.  But what really stood out to me was the visual style and directing of the film.  It may have been the most visually striking animated film I've ever seen.  Verbinski is obviously an accomplished director, but what he was able to pull off here – from tiny flourishes to big spectacle – is astounding.

There are some extraordinary sequences in this film that had me on the edge of my seat, as well as my jaw on the floor.  The townsfolk, led by Rango, get into a chase/battle with an outlaw gang that is worthy of the best animated film Oscar in and of itself.

There was one small issue I had with the film.  It was such a realized world they created, and then at one point Rango runs into the actual 'Man Without a Name'… Clint Eastwood as an animated character.  But he's a human and Rango is a lizard.  And we're in a world where these animals and lizards all interact, carry guns, build a town, etc… to see and interact with humans took me right out of this.  And it wasn't necessary.  As much as I love Clint, particularly during his western days, they could have achieved this without this scene and kept the story rooted in some semblance of reality for that world.  But this is a somewhat small gripe (and scene) within a larger, exquisite work.

I really can't say enough about this film. I'm sorry I missed my chance to see this on a big screen with great sound. It vaulted into my top 10 of the year and now I have to do some reordering.

Filed under: Movie Review, White Space

Harbor Moon: Trailer

There's no point in holding off any longer, as I've finished the sound mix… and when I uploaded it to YouTube it updated my twitter/facebook.

This is the full trailer for the graphic novel HARBOR MOON.  Music was done by Nathan Matthew David, who scored 4.2.3. as well.  I'm hoping to bring him on White Space, but the decision is not 100% mine.

Written by Ryan Colucci & Dikran Ornekian

Artwork by Pawel Sambor

Edited by Karol Wisniewski & Ryan Colucci

Story by Brian Anderson

Filed under: 4.2.3., Filmmaking, Harbor Moon, White Space

Cult Movie of the Week: The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

Every two weeks I'm going to be posting a cult movie of the week.  This could be a truly cult film, a forgotten film or a foreign film that I'd like to share.

The first cult movie of the week honors goes to The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, starring Andrew Dice Clay.  I almost went with Brain Smasher… A Love Story, but Ford Fairlane is so far out of the mainstream it deserved the initial nod.

Story revolves around Ford "Mr. Rock n' Roll Detective" Fairlane.  He is experiencing problems, and it's not with the opposite sex. One of them is that all the rock stars pay him with drum sticks, koala bears, food processors and bicycle shorts. Things really get hectic when he is hired to find a girl named Zuzu Petals, who turns up dead.

You don't have to be a fan of Andrew Dice Clay's schtick to enjoy this film.  It's like a zonked out Phillip Marlow detective story on benzedrine, complete with great one-liners, hot chicks (Lauren Holly and Priscilla Presley) and some decent action (directed by Renny Harlin, who may not make good movies anymore but knows what to do with a camera). It is worth your time just for Ed O'Neill's performance/character.

Filed under: Movie Review, Top 5

Movie Review: Trespass

When this Joel Schumacher film starring Nicholas Cage and Nicole Kidman came and went without a wimper, or even a television commercial, I was scratching my head.  Surely Trespass couldn't be that bad.  If they were lucky they got crazy Nicholas Cage.  If they weren't lucky, well, they had some decent eye candy and maybe Ben Mendelson would channel his crazy from Animal Kingdom.

But it was.  It really was that bad.  It wasn't crazy Cage, it was just bad-acting Cage.  This movie was so dreadful that Nicole Kidman, the most frigid actress around, may have been the most likeable character on screen.

It is complete with over-the-top, dumb as rocks thieves, coked up 15 year old wanna-be date rapists, a tired 'I hate my parents but come to love them through adversity' subplot and just all around bad acting and writing.

What happened to Joel Schumacher? This guy has made a good movie once or twice before. Many years ago.

Filed under: Movie Review

Harbor Moon Trailer: Score and Sound

I received the Harbor Moon trailer score from composer Nathan Matthew David a few days ago and have been working on enhancing the trailer with some light sound design (I say light because I'm not a sound designer and my mix probably isn't the best).  I have a first pass done, but am getting some feedback from Karol and Dikran before releasing it.  Want to make sure it is the best it can be.

Compared to other book trailers it is pretty bad ass.

Filed under: Filmmaking, Harbor Moon

Movie Review: Tiny Furniture

I don't know how I made it through this.  I will chalk it up to being so tired i couldn't work my Roku remote.  Lena Dunham's Tiny Furniture garnered her a lot of praise, from Indie Spirit Awards to HBO deals… so I have anxiously awaiting it's release on Netflix.

I knew going in that she made this for nothing and cast it with her family for the most part.  Still, it didn't prepare me for the fall out that occurred.  This is everything I hate about independent films.  From the bored subject matter, to the terrible camera work and lighting… to the bad acting.

The story revolves a frumpy film graduate with no hopes, no dreams and no desires (played by Dunham herself).  She is so bland she's not even unlikeable, because she's the person you immediately forget meeting because it's not worth your time.  She's not quirky, she's just boring.

When she gets banged in a steel pipe on a construction site it's not uncomfortable. I didn't feel sad for her.  I just felt pity.

When the unfunny nerd with a bad attitude won't even make out with her and uses her house as a hotel, I don't feel bad for her.  I felt like punching her for being such a dope.

I don't know what this film is trying to say… and if it isn't trying to say anything then what is its purpose of being?  As a sort of video diary for Dunham?  Well, I hope your life is a lot better and more exciting when you look back on this one in a few years.

Filed under: Movie Review