FilmVomit

Ok, so I’ve seen it twice now. Appropriately projected on film once, projected on crappy crappy digital once. I don’t really remember much but Mr. Ledger’s performance. I don’t really need to remember much beyond that- the Joker will never be appropriately played again. The pacing, of course, because editing is Mr. Nolan’s forté, is exceptionally good, and surprising in ways that films don’t often surprise me any more. And there is a clever contrast between the limpid cinematography during the Joker’s ultraviolent escapades and the opaquely shot work of the Batman- enough of a contrast to bring Mr. Nolan’s own morality into question, though his other work has frequently done the same, so this is no surprise. The film also borrows a page from P.T. Anderson’s book (and, by proxy, David Lynch’s) in using, instead of overwrought tension-building music, an atmospheric whine at very appropriate junctures, and an utter lack of diegetic sound at others.
The film wants to be something more than it succeeds in being, unfortunately, though Nolan has gotten away with quite a lot. There is a choppiness in the last act- an inability to bring the story to a proper conclusion, that leaves me wanting. It is, by Hollywood standards, an exceptional film. But I prefer not to disrespect the celluloid by holding things up to such a short stick.
On a not completely related but certainly tangentially appropriate note, I would like to know how in g-d’s name they managed to control Mr. Ledger on the set, when he was not in front of the cameras. Had he lost his mind as thoroughly as it seemed? Or did he maintain control until the film wrapped, and then succumb to madness? Because he was mad, this much is clear. So very little of him was apparent in that role that I think he may have erased himself entirely. And that is the sort of thing from which one does not return.

As an exercise in storytelling, the film is exceptionally well done. Put together well, told with the proper highs and lows, following a good give-and-take arc. The people are engaging and interesting and the topic is well chosen and delightfully weird. As a visual and auditory aesthetic thing, however, I have some issues. Not as many issues as I generally have with documentary, which is refreshing, but still some issues. There were some questionable transitions, a few very poor choices musically, and some points at which the FinalCut pulldown menus started to flicker before my eyes in the form of canned effects. And some shots of a beach fire where the color correction had changed what should be orange-red to neon pink. Overall, though, everything was quite smooth and quite lovely. And, more importantly, I really did enjoy it. Which may have partly been due to the company.

Surfwise

Lewis showed three pieces which I do not feel like separating into different entries- The Pharoah’s Belt, Valise, and episode two of The Diptherians. The first two pieces, like much of Lewis’s work, are completely entrenched in his own world of near semaphoric communication- indecipherable except superficially to nearly everyone, and at the same time mesmerizing and beautiful and possessed of a subconscious clarity completely unique to Klahr.
The Diptherians features Willem Dafoe. I don’t really have anything else to say about it.

Lewis Klahr

Georges Schwizgebel animates by painting on glass. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of paintings that morph, one into the next into the next. Jeu, with its Escher-feel, is the most geometric piece I have seen from him. But everything that I have seen from him is a beautiful circular carousel ride. Circuitous without becoming redundant. It feels, somehow, like a trance-song, intended to put one into a state of sublime bliss.
I would dearly love to see this piece on film, because digitally the textures are lacking and it feels like the depth of the paint is not captured. When I first saw La Course à l’abîme it was possible to see the shadows on the brushstrokes, and I have a feeling that this would be true of Jeu as well. But when something tastes as divine as this on a digital projection, it would be pure serene ecstasy to see it projected on film.

Jeu

First off, I have to say that, while I love The Lyric, the projection on this was disappointing. Remind me not to see anything you guys are showing on DVD, okay? Also, matte your screen properly please, and put up something black behind your silvers so that I don’t get doubled text and bounceback glare. It’s annoying, and I’m spoiled rotten.

And now, on to the show. Which was also disappointing, but my expectations were WAY up after the last three. I suppose that MTV’s involvement was never going to bode well. I’m just gonna address each piece in order, I suppose. Though there are a couple of pieces that will get their own post later, as well.

Psychotown (Oranges):
Clever in the way that Australian animation tends to be- you are laughing, and you are not quite sure why. It could be the accents.

Burning Safari:
The animation wasn’t good enough to justify the one-liner of a gag that it turned out to be. Sad, because it had potential.

Yompi, the crotch-biting sloup:
From the people who brought you Ricky, even more obnoxious claymation. Ricky was funnier though. Much funnier. I do appreciate the work that goes into any sort of claymation, but can’t it have a payoff?

Operator:
This was honestly incredibly clever, well animated, expressive, and mildly touching. I really, really enjoy intra-frame reactions, and the cat was a clever one. Animation is exceptionally good at pulling off this sort of gag.

Mr. Scwartz, Mr. Hazen, and Mr. Horlocken:
The animation was exceptional for the most part, especially the POV bits. And the story made me laugh, though the end shot didn’t really need to happen. I could’ve done without certain extra MSPaint looking bits, but mostly it was really lovely.

Love Sport: Paintball:
Completely pointless and completely entertaining.

Angry Unpaid Hooker:
Falls in the Home Movies school of really amusing, deliberately poorly animated stories about complete misunderstandings. I love it.

Psychotown (Therapy):
The first mini-sode was cute, this one was brilliant.

Blind Spot:
The tendency of animation to exploit sight gags and little else notwithstanding, this piece was absolutely brilliant. Subtle, properly built-up, incredibly well animated. The interplay of the seen and the not seen is a lovely comment on the idea of filmmaking and the frame/window that is the screen. I’ll have more on this later.

Jeu:
In the first installation of The Animation Show, Georges Schwizgebel’s piece La Course à l’abîme utterly astounded me. His painted-on-glass animations are transcendent and mesmerizing, and compete with the work of Stacy Steers in terms of sheer devotion to the craft of animation. Again, there will be more on this piece later. Suffice it to say, I was blown away.

Prof. Nieto Show Ep. 1:
There is a good idea here. A great idea, even. But the execution is sorely lacking. At any rate, I look forward to seeing how Nieto evolves.

Voodoo:
Clever, light, and funny. Not much to it, but it was well animated and it made me laugh.

John and Karen:
Nick Park, by way of Creature Comforts, already did this sort of thing. And much better. It was sweet, but not much to look at.

(I didn’t catch the name of the next piece because the titles were HORRID):
It was about chickens. That’s about all I recall. Chickens in a race to see who can make it to the pressure cooker first. Not offensive, not memorable.

Key-lime Pie:
OK, death has a retractable scythe hidden inside a tommygun. I can get behind this. Kind of an amusing take on vice/virtue. The animation was very lovingly done.

Raymond:
Fabulous. Reminds me a bit of last year’s City Paradise. Very very well done, and incredibly funny. I’ll have to watch it again, of course, but I really liked what I saw.

Forgetfulness:
Totally charming. The animation (is that AfterEffects? I think it is) was a bit choppy, but nothing terrible. And I really enjoy the collision of animation and spoken poetry.

Psychotown (Coup):
Ok, so the first one was clever, the second one brilliant, and this one is astoundingly funny. Because re-creating the scene in The Wild Bunch where they all die… great idea.

Hot Dog:
Plympton’s little dog just tries so damn hard. I love Bill’s combination of utterly charming pencil animations and incredibly subtle lewdness. Well, occasionally subtle. Sometimes not so subtle.

USAvich:
So goddamn obnoxious that I want to remove my eyeballs and soak them in lye.

Western Spaghetti:
I lack fondness for PES. I don’t know quite why. I think perhaps it is my annoyance with the lack of depth displayed. Someone so clever ought to be going a little further than the visual riffs he seems stuck in.

This Way Up:
This piece owes a bit to Tim Burton, but it stands alone incredibly well. I love the pacing of it. Much less MTV than a lot of the other pieces, much more conducive to thought.

And that’s a wrap. I am disappointed that Don and Mike seem to be playing to their new-found MTV audience, because I hardly think that these are the best animated films to be found. And the programming was choppy at best- things could’ve been organized a bit better. But I thank them for it anyhow, because seeing Jeu was worth the rest.

The Animation Show

Not being on drugs has done wonders for Robert Downey Jr.’s appearance. 
I have nothing else.  

Iron Man