Oscars

Oscar Nomination Reactions

| Rachel's Reviews

Hey guys!  Today the Academy released it’s Oscar nominations and here are my reactions:

If you don’t want to watch the video basically I will sum it up.  I don’t get the love for Bridge of Spies.  It was dull, conventional and average.  Particularly the nomination for best screenplay I find baffling but as I seem to be one of the only people I know who feels that way I can’t say I am surprised. At least it isn’t offensive like last year’s baffling nominee and winner Birdman.

I was surprised to see no nomination for Aaron Sorkin for Steve Jobs– especially with how much the liberal Hollywood love his writing. Steve Jobs was way better written than Bridge of Spies.  Come on?  Nice to see Adam McKay get nominated for Best Director for Big Short and was surprised he took Ridley Scott’s spot for The Martian.  There was little love for Quentin Tarantino’s Hateful Eight and that surprised me a little bit.

I’ve actually seen all 8 of the best picture nominations and aside from Bridge of Spies they are fine.  I would have subbed out Creed or Inside Out for Bridge of Spies but again in minority on that one.

I was glad to see Inside Out get a nomination for best original screenplay and Brooklyn for adapted screenplay.

I think the documentary Amy is overrated and uses too much home video.  I didn’t find out anything I didn’t already know.  To me it was kind of shallow but again in minority on that one.

The most absurd nomination of the night is The Revenant for production design.  The whole thing is basically set in the snow!  Are we giving the team credit for designing the snow, forest and river?  Ridiculous.  Brooklyn, Carol, Cinderella, Star Wars: The Force Awakens all had much better production design than The Revenant.

But expect The Revenant and Spotlight to take home big awards come February.  Sylvester Stallone in Creed and Kate Winslet will win supporting actor trophies.

I was glad to see A Bear’s Story, World of Tomorrow and Sanjay’s Super Team all get nominated for Animated Short.  They are all excellent.  World of Tomorrow should win if enough voters have seen.  I don’t even understand it completely but it should win.

And now for the big snub….

No nomination for the Peanuts Movie.  It is ridiculous.  To me it was exactly what a Peanuts movie should be.  If you think about the specials they are about Charlie Brown trying to gain confidence.  The Great Pumpkin is really the only one that has a complex plot.  Think about the Christmas special it is about Charlie Brown worrying about the holidays.  The Thanksgiving special is about him trying to make a meal for his friends.  What were people expecting storywise? I don’t get it!

I at least got exactly what I wanted.  A story about Charlie Brown gaining confidence to talk to the Red Haired Girl.  It was sweet.  It was emotional, and it was funny.  And even if you don’t love the plot the animation was so great.  The use of the hybrid animation with a flat 2D style combined with CG was brilliant and groundbreaking and deserved a nomination.  It really did.

All I know is Boy and the World better be really great.  That came out of nowhere but maybe it will be 2015’s Song of the Sea and it will all make sense after I see it.

For now I’m sad for Peanuts but in the end it’s the Oscars.  They usually get it wrong (Birdman winning over Boyhood…) so I don’t really care.

And we have to listen to Chris Rock host.  Groan.  But I’m sure there will be a few nice moments and at least this year I’ve seen all 8 nominees, so there’s that.

What did you think of the nominations?  Put in the comments section.  Thanks!

Annie Awards Nominations 2015

| Rachel's Reviews

Tonight they put out the nominations for the latest Annie Awards for greatness in animation.  Pixar was the big winner with 21 nominations between Good Dinosaur and Inside Out.  This year they divided the best feature nominations into an independent and best category which seems strange to me.  I personally would have included When Marnie was There in the all-out best category but they put it in Independent. That movie seemed to resonate more with me than other people so I get it (what else is new!).  Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet also got a nomination which despite issues I think was deserved for the quality of the shorts.

I would be shocked if the 5 for Best Animated Feature are not the Oscar nominees.  Shaun the Sheep is certainly deserving.  The Peanuts Movie is fantastic and Anomalisa I’ve heard nothing but great things about (it doesn’t get released by me till 2016).

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

“Anomalisa”
Paramount Pictures

“Inside Out”
Pixar Animation Studios

“Shaun the Sheep Movie”
Aardman Animations

“The Good Dinosaur”
Pixar Animation Studios

“The Peanuts Movie”
Blue Sky Studios, Twentieth Century Fox Animation

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE-INDEPENDENT

“Boy and the World”
Filme de Papel

“Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet”
Ventanarosa

“The Boy and the Beast”
Studio Chizu

“When Marnie Was There”
Studio Ghibli

For television we have some worthy nominations but nothing too unexpected.  It might have been nice to see Star Wars Rebels or Rick and Morty get some nominations but hard to argue with what they picked.  Wander Over Yonder and Gravity Falls particularly deserve the shout-out.

BEST GENERAL AUDIENCE ANIMATED TELEVISION/BROADCAST PRODUCTION

“Bob’s Burgers”
Episode: “Can’t Buy Me Math”
Twentieth Century Fox Television / Bento Box Entertainment

“BoJack Horseman”
Episode: “Brand New Couch”
The Tornante Company

“Moonbeam City”
Episode: “Quest for Aquatica”
Titmouse, Inc. / Comedy Central

“The Simpsons”
Episode: “Halloween of Horror ”
Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox Television

BEST ANIMATED TELEVISION/BROADCAST PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN

“Clarence”
Episode: “Turtle Hats ”
Cartoon Network

“Gravity Falls”
Episode: “Not What He Seems”
Disney Television Animation

“Harvey Beaks”
Episode: “A Day of No To-Do”
Nickelodeon

“Sanjay & Craig”
Episode: “Street Dogg”
Nickelodeon

“Star vs the Forces of Evil”
Episode: “Blood Moon Ball”
Disney Television Animation

“Steven Universe”
Episode: “Jail Break”
Cartoon Network Studios

“Wander Over Yonder”
Episode: “The Breakfast”
Disney Television Animation

 

For full list of nominees and all the other categories go to http://variety.com/2015/film/in-contention/pixar-picks-up-25-annie-nominations-1201650793/

What do you think of the nominees?  Anything surprise you?

 

Animated Oscars Tag

| Rachel's Reviews

Hi guys!  As you all know I recently finished up a series on my youtube channel reviewing the Oscar nominated animated films.  You can read my written posts and see the videos here

To conclude the project I thought it would be fun to create a tag and ask different youtubers and bloggers to give answers to a variety of questions about film.  Here is the video explaining the tag:

Here are the questions to the tag:

Animated Oscars Tag

1. Tangled- a film that should have been nominated but wasn’t
2. Shark Tale- a terrible film that was nominated for Oscar
3. Rango- a movie that won an Oscar you don’t care for
4. Wall-e- a film about a robot you love
5. Triplets of Belleville- film with no dialogue you love
6. Wreck-it Ralph- film you like but everyone else loves
7. Lilo and Stitch- film which has grown on you each time you see it
8. Song of the Sea- movie you wish you could convince everyone to watch
9. Pirates: Band of Misfits- an underrated comedy
10. Coraline- what is a movie made for kids (or marketed to kids) that scares you or that would have scared you.
11. Persepolis- movie based on graphic novel you love
12. How to Train your Dragon 2- sequel better than original
13. Spirited Away- favorite movie with ghosts
14. Fantastic Mr Fox- favorite Wes Anderson film
15. Frankenweenie- favorite Tim Burton movie
16. Princess and the Frog- movie you like parts but really don’t like other parts
17. The Incredibles- movie about a family you love
18. Wind Rises- movie based on a true story you love
19. Happy Feet- movie that takes strange turn in act 2
20. Big Hero 6- favorite Marvel movie
21. Frozen- Favorite Disney Princess movie
22. Ernest and Celestine- favorite movie about 2 friends

Extra (if applies)- Rachel- Film you want to see after watching these videos about the nominees

You don’t have to give animated answers to these questions. My answers are all films I watched in the series- not necessarily my end all of all films.

In fact, you can answer it any way you want!  Anyone is open to do the tag but I am officially tagging. (And this is of course completely optional.  I won’t be offended if you don’t do it).

Mark at Animation Commendation

https://markb4.wordpress.com

Animation Curation

http://theanimationcuration.com/

Kyle’s Animated World

http://www.kylesanimatedworld.blogspot.com

Disney Freak with bit of Mascara

https://ncdavis2003.wordpress.com/

Disney in your Day

http://www.disneyinyourday.com/

Drew’s Movie Reviews

https://drewreviewmovies.wordpress.com/

Richard at Velociraptor256

https://velociraptor256.wordpress.com/

I would tag Swanpride but I think she said she doesn’t do tags any more.  Nevertheless I have appreciated her comments in this series.  Thanks!

Anyone else who would like to do it please do!

And some of you like Matthew David Cline comment frequently but don’t have blogs that I am aware of at least.  If that is the case put your answers in the comments section!

Thanks and what a glorious time to be an animation (or movie) fan!

Did the Right Film Win? 2014 Animated Oscars

| Rachel's Reviews

Well my friends I have finished my series of watching all of the Oscar nominated films for Best Animated Feature Film.  Last year I said 2014 was one of the best years in animation in a long time and now after seeing films going back to 2001, I stand by that claim.  You can make an argument for 2009 and 2010 but for not having a Pixar movie it was pretty darn good- and really diverse in style, tone and everything else.

So here is my video breaking down my thoughts on the 2014 nominees:

This is the first year I was doing this blog and have reviews for all of these films, so my thoughts probably aren’t a surprise to any of you.  Nevertheless, here is a little summary:

How to Train Your Dragon 2- A rare sequel that improves upon the original.  An epic feel to the story and some of the best animation Dreamworks has ever done.  I find the story with the 2 alpha dragons to be a little confusing and I think they give the Mother too much of a free pass for leaving her family.  But still a very satisfying, entertaining, exciting film.

Big Hero 6- A film with real heart from Walt Disney Animated Studios.  I love the character of Baymax and the relationship of Hiro and Tadeshi.  I found the villain to be clever and surprising and Sanfransokyo was extremely creative.

Boxtrolls- A wonderful stop motion film about a town whose leadership gets to wear white hats and eat cheese.  Snatcher the villain wants to wear the white hat and be respected which I think is a unique motivation and a good lesson for kids about labeling through clothing and other items.  The Boxtrolls are sweet and the humor worked for me.  The ending didn’t 100% work for me and the lead Eggs is a little flat and I don’t love the drag queen segment but it is very entertaining.

Tale of Princess Kaguya– A movie that has improved each time I’ve seen it.  A true artistic masterpiece and a story unique to Japan.  It is about a girl found in a bamboo stalk who is trained to be a princess.  She has independent instincts but she chooses to be obedient.  At first that was challenging to accept but now I love it’s different perspective.  It is so gorgeous to look at and uses music very well.   It’s a little bit of an artistically challenging movie but worth the effort.

Song of the Sea- A true masterpiece.  Even with Inside Out, Song of the Sea is the best film I’ve seen this year.  It’s got the emotional depth of Inside Out with Ben trying to deal with the loss of his mother but the hand drawn animation is stunning.  Ben’s sister is a Selkie and Ben must get her back to the sea before it is too late.  Along the way they meet an Owl Witch and other creatures so it is exciting, heartbreaking and tense.  It made my Top 10 Favorite Animated Films.  The music is stunning and I wish I could convince everyone to see it.  I love it so much .

So if I was giving away the award I would pick Song of the Sea, despite my liking all 5 films.  Of the mainstream nominees I do think Big Hero 6 is the best so in that sense the right film did win; however, I think Song of the Sea is the best of 2014.

What about you?  What do you think of these 5 films and which would you pick as best of the year?

 

Did the Right Film Win? 2013 Animated Oscars

| Rachel's Reviews

Hi guys!  We are up to 2013 in my series on the Animated Oscars and I have a special treat for you! Queen Elsa has come to visit to review all 5 films!

elsa2I admit in my review for the Disney Canon of Frozen I was a little defensive and perhaps overly concerned with trolls.  This time I took a different approach and just decided to have fun with it. I know people feel all kinds of ways about Frozen and I explained it as best as I could.   But there are plenty of great animated films for everyone so hopefully you can enjoy hearing my thoughts on one I enjoy.

The other 4 films are also worth seeing (no Shark Tale skunks in this year!).

Ernest and Celestine- Done by some of the same team that did The Illusionist and The Triplets of Belleville.  This is a watercolor sketchbook style story about an unlikely friendship between a mouse and a bear.  They kind of become bandits and the friendship evolves over time and then when both are put on trial they teach their societies something important about love, labeling and racism.  A real gem of an animated film (and can also be very funny).

Despicable Me 2- I think the Despicable Me movies are just ok and I wasn’t a big fan of Minions, so I wasn’t sure what I’d think of Despicable Me 2 on the rewatch.  I think the disappointment of Minions actually made me appreciate this film even more.  It has a lot of solid laughs, which didn’t happen in Minions.  I really like seeing Gru with the 3 little girls and being an overprotective Dad.  The Minions are also funnier in small doses than the main attraction.  It’s no masterpiece but a decent comedy for kids.

The Wind Rises- The strongest competition for Frozen.  A great film that just gives us the life of a man and we decide what we think of him and his dreams.  It is a story about hope and how a dream can carry you through tough times.  It is a magic-free film from Miyazaki about the life of a airplane designer named Jiro during World War II.  It made my top 50 animated countdown so clearly I love it.   It goes without saying the animation is stunning.

The Croods-  This was a new one for me from Dreamworks.  I’d heard bad things about the film and you know what? I actually enjoyed it.  I liked it was about a family and thought the script was pretty funny.  I liked how the created new animals and world for them to meet.  It made it unpredictable and surprising.  I liked the voice cast especially Nicholas Cage who has a freak-out even animated!  It’s not a masterpiece but liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

I’d still give the Oscar to Frozen because I think it has the best characters, music, story and everything else.  One of my favorite animated films from Disney.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!  🙂

Did the Right Film Win? 2012 Animated Oscars

| Rachel's Reviews

So I finally finished my video on the 2012 Oscars.  Sorry this one took me so long (and it was a pain to edit today also!).

In 2012 we had 5 nominees and they all have their strengths.

Brave– I recently talked about that in my Pixar review.  It is a flawed film that doesn’t deliver what it promises in the first 15 minutes.  It is supposed to be an epic legend but turns out to be a domestic dispute between a mother and a daughter.  I don’t mind that but it is a letdown when we are promised something mythic.  I do like Merida, the music and the animation is top notch.  I personally feel they took a lot of the lessons from Brave and used them to make Frozen better.

Paranorman- My favorite Liaka film and a film that made my top 50 animated films (so clearly I like it).  I really like the character of Norman and the fresh take they have on the bully narrative with the bullied becoming the bully.  I think it is very scary and funny with unique world building and character design.

Frankenweenie-  This was a new one for me.  I had avoided it because I really don’t care for Tim Burton’s style of movies.  However, I must admit that I thought it was charming.  I really liked the relationship between Victor and Sparky.  It makes you want to cry when he loses his dog and all the homages to the classic horror films are a lot of fun.  I also enjoy how they made it in black and white.  Overall a very entertaining film with a lot of heart.

Pirates Band of Misfits- One of Aardman’s best films with incredible attention to detail it is an underrated film.  They pack in the laughs and yet still tell a good story with the Captain wanting to win Pirate of the Year and his interactions with both Charles Darwin and Queen Victoria.  If you haven’t seen it trust me it is worth a watch!

Wreck-it Ralph– A film that starts out and ends strong but gets mired in a bland Sugar Rush world in the middle section.  Most people love this film but I think it is good but not perfect.  I like the character of Ralph but Vanellope I find annoying.  With the power cord train station they promise you all the worlds of the video games and yet spend 75 minutes in Sugar Rush, which to me is a disappointment.  But it is still an enjoyable film.  The villain reveal is done very well and I love Sergeant Tamora.

Like I said in the video, I think most people would pick Wreck-it Ralph for 2012 Oscar.  I can totally see that.  Of course, Brave won in a bit of an upset.  I personally would give it to Paranorman but I know I’m in the deep minority on that.  They are all enjoyable films. 🙂

What would be your pick?

Did the Right Film Win? 2011 Animated Oscars

| Rachel's Reviews

Hi guys!  Time for the next in my animated oscars series.  Today we are looking at 2011 which was an eclectic year for animation with no Pixar or Disney nominations.  I personally would have nominated Arthur Christmas and Winnie the Pooh but the 5 they went with are interesting in their own right.

This is a bit of a long one but I think you will enjoy it.

Basically I thought Puss in Boots may be my favorite film from the Shrek universe.  I like how they kept the parody elements down.  I also liked the 3D back when I first saw it and think the animation holds up very well.  The voice work by Antonio Banderas is good and I like the action which was a loving homage to Zorro and those kind of classic films.   On downside I didn’t love how they handled the Salma Hayek character.  She starts strong but isn’t treated with much respect and ends up having to be rescued and as an ordinary love interest.  I also think it can feel a little episodic and gets a little convoluted at moments.  But overall I enjoy Puss in Boots.

Kung fu Panda 2 I really enjoyed.  I know many readers don’t care for it, which is cool.  Always good to have a variety of opinions.  I think they toned down the humor and made a real kungfu movie with good fight scenes and battles.  I think they also majorly upgraded the villain with Shen voiced by Gary Oldman.  I like the adoption subplot and the development of the Furious Five is much better than in the first.  Overall, I think it is a good martial arts movie!

Then we have Cat in Paris which was a huge surprise for me.  I had never heard of it and I really liked.  I thought the animation was unique and beautiful.  I really liked the Mother character and felt she was well developed and interesting.  The story surprised me and didn’t go exactly as I thought it would.  The music is really strong and it’s both scary and funny.  Its a real hidden gem.

The fourth nominee is a foreign film called Chico and Rita.  This is a very adult animated film with a lot of nudity and I had to skip over sections.  That said, I liked the character of Rita and the music.  The animation I thought looked rotoscoped and generic; although, there are pretty moments.  I didn’t like the character of Chico and felt the movie was a little to easy on him.  He’s a real jerk and doesn’t deserve Rita.  The jazz music is really catchy and I can see why it was nominated even if it isn’t my cup of tea.

The final nominee is Rango.  If you have been a fan of the blog you might remember my review of Rango last year. I was pretty tough on it and I must admit I liked it a little bit more this time around.  The beginning has some interesting surrealist touches and towards the end the story picks up.  I appreciate they were trying to do something different but overall the pallet feels very beige to me so everything ends up looking bland and the same.  I also feel it takes way too long for the story to get going and don’t find Rango ambling around very funny.  Granted I haven’t seen many Westerns it is spoofing so that may be part of it.  I think the characters are underdeveloped and you go long stretches without characters which makes them even weaker.  Overall, I’m just not a fan of Rango but I see why others like it.

Of course, Rango won for the year and I think in this case the wrong film won.  There just isn’t enough story and the artistry is too bland for me to get behind Rango.  If I had to pick out of the 5 I would go with Cat in Paris.  I think it is visually inventive, the story surprised me and I really liked the characters.  Overall, it is a real delight.

What would you pick out of the 5 films?

Did the Right Film Win? 2010 Animated Oscars

| Rachel's Reviews

Hi guys!  The next year is up in my review of the animated Oscars.  We are at 2010 and this is the first year where I really think the academy got it wrong with the Tangled snub.

I think Tangled was the best animated film of 2010 for a lot of reasons.  First, it looks beautiful and I saw it in 3D and scenes like the lanterns was breathtaking.  I also love Rapunzel because she isn’t weak like an Aurora but she’s also not a cliched warrior woman.  She has pieces of both inside her.  I think Flynn is a great character and I LOVE Mother Gothel.  I also like the music unlike some people.

Anyway I think they got it wrong but that’s what they did.  Here are my thoughts on the 3 nominees.

The Illusionist is by the Sylvain Chomet who directed The Triplets of Belleville.  It is from a screenplay by the French actor, director, mime Jacques Tati.  It basically tells the story of a magician who is old fashioned and can’t get a good gig.

He meets a girl who is in awe at his tricks.  He buys her presents because her adulation feels so good.  The animation is beautiful but I didn’t respond to the film.  I never felt like I got into the heart of the magician.  It kept me at a distance which made the tragic story less compelling.

The next nominee is How to Train Your Dragon which is one of my favorite Dreamworks films.  I really like the character of Hiccup and find the story of his bonding with Toothless to be very engaging.  I have a few little complaints with the Jay Baruchel vocals, the treatment of the Astrid character and some of the design of the dragons but they are minor.  It also has a lovely message about having the courage to see things in a totally new way and from a new perspective.

I just wrote about Toy Story 3 so I won’t repeat myself too much.  It’s a beautifully animated, thrilling prison escape movie.  The villain is menacing and the ending is pitch perfect for the Andy part of the series.

In my opinion the right film won of those 3 nominees.  What would you pick?

Did the Right Film Win? 2009 Animated Oscars

| Rachel's Reviews

Hey guys!  So 2009 was a very strong year for animation.  It was a year with 5 films nominated for Best Animated Feature Film and all 5 I enjoy.  There were also strong films that I personally think could have gotten a nomination in another year like Ponyo (I know you’all disagree with me on that one but oh well!), 9 and A Christmas Carol, to name a few.

Not only are the 5 films nominated very strong but they are also really different so I had a lot to say about each.  I ended up making 2 videos about them (my editing software was also giving me all kinds of grief so I got up what I could in 2 batches).  The first video is about Princess and the Frog and Secret of the Kells.

Basically I’m hot and cold on Princess and the Frog.  There is a lot I love about it and then things I really don’t like.  I love the animation, the character of Tiana, vocal performances and 3 of the songs.  I don’t like the voodoo elements, the convoluted story or Prince Naveen.  He is not Tiana’s equal.  All in all, that puts it in the middle of my Disney rankings. It’s certainly worthy of the nomination and worth a watch even with some major flaws.

Secret of the Kells is beautiful and looks like illustrations from a book.  It is only lessened in my opinion because I think Song of the Sea by the same team is much better.  Maybe an unfair comparison but I can’t help it when they are so similar.  Nevertheless, Secret of Kells has a beautiful look to it.  I like the story and the lead character Brendon is very appealing.  The Aisling of the forest is beautiful with stirring music from Kila.

The next video has the remaining 3 films- Fantastic Mr.  Fox, Coraline and Up.  You all have heard my thoughts on Up ad nauseam but I did get a little emotional when talking about it and how it reminds me of my Grandpa who I love.  It’s a special movie to me and I filmed the review several times but each time I started to tear up.  That was my honest response so I left it in. 🙂

Fantastic Mr Fox is a very creative film directed by Wes Anderson.  I love the world building and the story is a lot of fun based on Roald Dahl’s book.  I really like the characters like Ash, Mr and Mrs Fox.  The story is unpredictable even for someone who has read the book and it is extremely creative.  It is actually my favorite Wes Anderson film and while I don’t find it super funny I do enjoy it.

Coraline is a film from Liaka and I liked it much more this g0-around.  I always enjoyed it but for whatever reason I really was charmed while watching it this week.  It is directed by Henry Sellick who did Nightmare Before Christmas and it has the same dark tone and style of that film.  I love the character of Coraline.  She is sincere, quirky, endearing, inquisitive and in the end loving.  She ends up getting presented with another version of her family through this magic portal and it leads to some big scares but also a huge heart.  I love that she comes to accept her parents for who they are, even though they aren’t very good people in a lot of ways.  She still loves them anyway.  It’s really surprising and visually inventive.

In this case, I clearly think the right film won because Up is my favorite movie.  If I was going to pick a second place I would pick Coraline, but I can see people’s arguments for all 5.  What would you pick?  Thanks so much for your comments and for watching the videos.  It has been a great series both on the channel and this blog and next up is 2010 where my Tangled got snubbed (wa, wa, wa,….).  I look forward to watching the Illusionist for the first time.  Thanks!