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Non-Review Review: How To Train Your Dragon 2

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Darren

How To Train Your Dragon 2 is a staggeringly beautiful piece of work. Every frame of the movie is elegantly crafted and beautifully composited. It’s a wonderful example of how computer-generated animation is every bit as artistically valid as the classic hand-drawn style. The vistas are breathtaking, the choreography is stunning, the design work is elegant. It’s a wonderful piece of animation that is never anything less than visually amazing.

Structurally, How To Train Your Dragon 2 is well-constructed – perhaps a little too well-constructed. It’s a wonderful demonstration of just how fantastic the sequel structure established by The Empire Strikes Back can be when applied well. The sequel is meticulously put together, carefully and precisely calibrated to strike the right notes at the right time with the right intensity. As far as constructing a sequel goes, How To Train Your Dragon 2 is following some impressive blueprints.

There are moments when it feels like How To Train Your Dragon 2 adheres a little too rigidly to formula, but given how well it pays off, it’s easy enough to forgive.

Sky hopes…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: animation, art design, character design, design, dragons, hiccup, How to Train Your Dragon, sequels, the empire strikes back, toothless, twists | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Epic

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Darren

Epic looks stunning. While it doesn’t necessarily push the envelope in terms of 3D rendering or animation, it’s often quite beautiful to watch. Even in 3D, the vibrant greens radiate off the screen, with the characters having a pleasant elasticity to them. The action sequences are well-staged and the choreography is generally impressive. However, despite this, Epic winds up feeling rather shallow. Perhaps it’s a result of the decision to develop the world as a priority, rather than the characters inhabiting it.

The story is more a collection of familiar tropes and set-pieces than a compelling narrative, and none of the lead characters are ever developed beyond basic archetypes. There’s the plucky heroine, the roguish hero, the gruff mentor, the free-spirited wise oracle, the drôle accented bad guy, the comic relief and even the kooky dad. None feel of any real substance, which is a problem when you’re executing a plot as straight-forward as this.

It’s a slug’s life…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Amanda Seyfried, Android, animation, Archer & Armstrong, arts, Beyoncé Knowles, business, Chris O'Dowd, colin farrell, design, epic, film, Flight envelope, games, Josh Hutcherson, kung-fu panda, Las Vegas Nevada, Movie, non-review review, pixar, Queen Tara, review, The Girl Of My Best Friend, United States, video games | 10 Comments »

Where’s Your Head At? Floating Head Syndrome & Movie Posters

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Darren

Iron Man 2 has had a fairly spectacular pre-release buzz going on. It’s the sequel to a beloved film, it’s got an all-star cast and two spectacular trailers. So the movie poster should be made of awesome, right? Em, not really. The first question which occurred to me was “where is Sam Rockwell?” The second question that occurred to me was “where is everyone else’s body?” Yes, the poster had succumbed to the dreaded ‘floating head syndrome‘.

Should Tony Stark be more worried that Mickey Rourke is trying to kill him or that the lower half of his body has phased out of existence?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: design, films, floating head syndrome, floating heads, graphic design, hype, iron man 2, posters, publicity | 11 Comments »

Best Picture Poster Porn…

Posted on March 7, 2010 by Darren

Here’s a little treat to get you in the mood for this evening’s festivities. BAFTA hired artist Tavis Coburn to basically design retro-style posters for their own awards – you know, like Turner Classic Movies did last summer. Since there’s significant overlap between the Oscars shortlist and the BAFTA shortlist, it’s a nice way to get yourself geared up for an interesting night. It’s a shame there isn’t an Inglourious Basterds poster, as that movie is arguably the best suited to a retro reimagining, but I guess the recent charity redesigns will have to do.

The posters are below. Click for bigger versions.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: an education, avatar, awards, baftas, best picture, best picture nominees, best picture oscar, chic, design, movie posters, posters, precious, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, retro, the hurt locker, up in the air | Leave a comment »