In the digital age, it should come as no real surprise that a number of animators have created one-man films. One thinks of such efforts as Machines Don’t Cry (2006), Flatland and The Chosen One (2007), and of course, the hand-animated Nova Seed (2016). I have a lot of respect for those willing to take on the incredible burden […]
Read more "Archon Defender (2009)"I”ll confess that my expectations for this one were quite low. I’m a big fan of the original Bullwinkle show and have been thoroughly disappointed by every attempt to make a feature film based on the series. The original was such a strange and quirky sort of effort that it is hard to imagine any […]
Read more "Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)"You have to see this one. As I’ve noted before, most animated films these days are stuck in the rut of Pixar. Every major animated film out there, it seems, has to be CGI — and clean, semi-realistic CGI at that. Only a few movies (outside of Japan where the official style is Miyazaki-lite) dare […]
Read more "Nova Seed (2016)"“Metanoia” refers to a moment of spiritual growth brought on by an act of penitence and true remorse for one’s actions. As curious as naming a fictional video game after a Christian theological term may seem, it seems more curious that the main character of this film does, in fact, undergo such a change. Perhaps […]
Read more "RPG Metanoia (2010)"“The following transmission has been translated into local Terran dialect. Some visual distortion may occur” I have no idea what in the world Antonio Llapur and Matt Sjafiroeddin were smoking when they created Space Detective. I just hope someone buys them more of it – and soon. I find myself at a loss what in […]
Read more "Space Detective (2017)"This is an incredibly lush and detailed anime movie, with tons of action, some truly imaginative imagery, and a unique, densely imagined – if somewhat repulsive – alternate history world. But it’s just too darn long. It just seems to go from climax to bigger climax – and even when it finally reaches the end, it […]
Read more "Shisha no teikoku [The Empire of Corpses] (2015)"This is a strange, strange, strange little film. It is as far from the Disney model of animation as it is possible to get, and it makes Ralph Bakshi’s edgy underground films look remarkably…conventional by comparison. At least as far as his animation style goes. It also borders on being pornographic – let’s call it […]
Read more "Mutant Aliens (2001)"