Review: I AM

            The point Tom Shadyac tries to make in his documentary I AM is something we have all thought or heard before. Nothing new is said in here, but it was about time someone said it out loud. This film is about the personal journey of Shadyac as he travels around the world interviewing spiritual leaders, scientists, environmentalists, historians and a whole array of different people trying to find the answers to two loaded questions:

            What is wrong with the world?

            What can we do to change it?

Review: I LOVE YOU PHILIP MORRIS

Once I learned that most of the events of I Love You Philip Morris are completely factual, I liked the movie a bit more. I scoured the internet after the film ended searching for more information about Steven Jay Russell. Everything I read only made Jim Carrey's portrayal of him even more fascinating.

Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Ok, so here's the thing. This is easily my favorite version of the story I've ever seen. It's really, really good.

But I'm just so sick of this story!

Snicket Sequel Still Possible?

It's been about 5 years now, but it still might be possible to see a sequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Brad Silberling, who will be premiering Land of the Lost soon, has expressed interest in the sequel for some time now, and said recently that a sequel is still on the horizon.

Also, this may one of the only sequels Jim Carrey ever does, as he expressed interest in returning to the character of Count Olaf.

Good thing too, because no one can do it like he can.

Review: YES MAN

Since I was about six years old, Jim Carrey has been, to me, the pure, physical manifestation of perfect, comedic acting. I grew up treasuring Liar Liar and the Ace Ventura series. Bruce Almighty proved he still had it in him, and, to this day, he has never let me down. I'm one of those fans who believes he even does a great job in his more dramatic roles like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Majestic. Even though I didn't particularly like The Number 23, I still thought he was great. Jim Carrey has truly never let me down. He's one of a kind. He's a master.

He's, in a word, majestic.

Siggraph 2008 - New Information Revealed!

Another Siggraph has come and gone. For those who do not know, Siggraph is a convetion devoted to Film Technology, Animation, Special Effects, and other Film Media. This year it was held in Los Angeles, at the LA Convention Center. Many studios and effects houses were in attendance, including, Laika, LucasArts, Walt Disney Feature Animation, PIXAR, Image Movers Digital, Blue Sky, Autodesk, and many many more. Each had its own booth full of displays and demos, ready to show to the masses and line up some incredible stuff for the coming year.

Motion Capture technology is moving away from the little suits with balls on them, to suits with bend-proof metal straps that allow the user to capture motion to a computer with absolutely no cameras, and easily trackable data.




Robert Zemekis' "A Christmas Carol" looks absolutely fantastic. Many of the sets are more epic than Beowulf, and the graphics are even more astounding. Jim Carrey plays Ebenezer Scrooge, a crotchety old man who hate everything except money, as well as plays the three ghosts that help him change his life for the better. As more images are released, they will be posted here.



3D Stereoscopic projectors are the future of film. Or so I was told. Or so I was shown. Starting next year, 99% of animated films are going to be created in Stereoscopic 3d, meaning it will feel like you are in the movie. With a pair of open/close 3D glasses, films will take you into an immersive world where you are a player and not just a critic. It seems that this will soon roll over to normal film and then (hopefully the industry says) to home viewing, where you pop in a game to your PS4 or Blue Ray player and instantly are a part of what before you could only see. The projectors I was shown were dual-HD meaning that you can see HD in each eye and through each lens. Also, the 3d creates itself in a way that it does not require someone to throw something at the camera to show you the effect. With a projector like this, and a set of surround sound speakers, I think this may be the coolest idea for gaming and film viewing ever... at least, so far.

Disney had lots of people demoing drawing and showed many clips from Bolt, which has already been covered by this Blog. Russ Edwards (animator) came in and animated a scene for the upcoming "Princess and the Frog" (see previous post) and then Andreas Deja (animator), dropped by to draw some pictures, give a history lesson of his life, and sketch out the Character of "Mama Odie" who he is animating for "Princess and The Frog". Very exciting stuff indeed.

Andreas Deja draws a frame of 'Mama Odie' from the upcoming Disney flick "The Princess and the Frog". Read more about "The Princess and the Frog" in the previous devoted post.


Siggraph 2009 will be held in New Orleans. See You There!