NoNamerGrit

This is probably one of the first experimental feature-length films I've ever seen. And I'd be lying if I said I haven't been flummoxed yet absorbed by this at the same time.

Shane Carruth's sheer involvement in this is nothing short of impressive (he wrote, directed, edited, acted in, and composed the soundtrack!), especially when you consider that this was achieved with a mere budget of fifty thousand dollars. This frugality, however, doesn't taint how conceptually ambitious and visually stunning this movie is.

Despite mostly being ambient and minimalist, the soundtrack has a unique and hypnotic personality that doesn't just accompany, but melds with the visuals perfectly.

I came away from Upstream Color quite spellbound in a way I've rarely experienced, and it definitely left many, including me, with a great deal to chew on. I'll most likely be ruminating over it for months or even years to come, until perhaps Primer (2004) comes and outdoes it. Meanwhile, I enjoy reading the various theories and interpretations by other reviewers, and I love how better this movie gets the more I think about it. Who knows, my rating of this might even increase with a rewatch.

With two-hours worth of ideas packed into an hour and a half of meditative placidity and oblique narrative(s) (if you can even call it a narrative), I must warn that this can either have you absolutely spellbound or bored to death. In my case it's the former, so I'm happy to say I have minimal to no issues with the pacing of this film, although if it's any longer it would have started to test my patience.

Curiously, there are the roles 'Biological Effects' (Bongani Mlambo and Jeff Walker) and 'Biological Effects Supervisor' (Tom Walker), which I've never heard of in film. They're most likely responsible for the otherworldly, documentary-esque, vivid (and you guessed it) biological effects in the more anatomy-related sections of the film.

Upstream Color, thankfully, lacks the technical and narrative clumsiness present in a typical 'student film' of this budget, but exudes with the filmmaking confidence of an experienced auteur, elegantly executed with such a distinct conceptual flair that I don't think I'm ever going to see from another filmmaker.

Simply put, this film is profound to me.

It isn't often that I stumble upon a video that currently sits above 12 million views that turns out to be this visually gorgeous. I fell in love with the eye-popping marriage of the various aspects of the cinematography here; from the vibrantly colourful production design to the meticulous framing of each individual shot. As a result, not once do I find any point of this film to be visually dull.

My favourite example of frames being lovingly filled with details for the audience's eyes to play around, would be the montage of teachers making complaints about the main character to the camera. Such a joy to look at.

I immediately find this charm reminiscent of what I have seen from clips of the works of Wes Anderson (I've seen another reviewer compare this to 'The Royal Tenenbaums') and, perhaps, Taika Waititi. Ironically, I haven't actually watched any films by either director, but this short film is a gentle itch urging me to.

I also like is propulsively playful soundtrack for the most part, despite the sentimental Pixar-esque music at the very end of the film being a touch too cheesy for me. But whoever thought of having that diegetic violin at the middle of the final sequence has my kudos.

Visually striking moments aside, I don't find subtlety to be the end goal here, and that's by no means bad by itself! It feels like a modern adaptation of a leaf affectionately plucked out of Aesop's Fables, intending instead to teach what are essentially a few simple lessons. To quote one of the characters, "Isn't that just the sweetest thing you've ever seen?"

I suppose, however, that my gripes with this are the children's performances, excepting the main child actor. At times, their acting seem somewhat forced, rehearsed, or a combination of both, particularly when they 'bully' the main character. Surprisingly, their restraint actually shines at the quieter moments, and it's worth mentioning that the main character never says a word in this film, possibly signifying how suffocated his voice (or lack thereof) is by the school system he suffers in.

All in all, it's a pretty sweet tale greatly bolstered by its visuals, and not many inspirational videos attempting to preach similar messages to this one can reach this level of artistry. I'd even go as far as to suggest that this is as every-frame-a-painting an inspirational-lesson video can go, and ultimately it doesn't come off as unintentionally obnoxious and eye-roll worthy at all (*cough* *cough* Dhar Mann *cough*).

It surprised me that this was made 19 years ago, and was only able to garner such a huge audience when Omeleto released it on YouTube a good 16 years later. But I think it deserves the attention it has gotten. There's passion and love behind it, and it truly paid off, even if if takes a slightly clickbaity title to do so.

Lasting less than 4 minutes, this perfect blend of the lighthearted and the disturbing made me squirm in a way I definitely did not expect (if you've seen it, you know exactly what scene I'm talking about).

I have the feeling there's an abundance of shabby PETA videos and extremely cheesy films dealing with this topic, only to inadvertently do disservice to the topics they tackle and the art of cinema, ultimately disrespecting the intelligence of the more discerning audience.

But I can confidently say that Save Ralph, the newest film made with the collaboration of Humane Society International, is not one of them, and I'll be positively gobsmacked if this can be expanded into a full-length feature film, even if it would take a few more years.

In particular, the puppet and set designer extraordinaire Andy Gent (well-known for his work as chief animator on Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' and head of puppet department on 'Isle of Dogs') knocked it out of the park here. During the short film's panel discussion, he described his stop-motion animation (which I regard as magnificently detailed eye-candy) for this film as a "labour of love". I mean, the production crew poured an entire year of hard work into the animation. What's not to admire about this film? I'm just glad that it turned out to be good including its animation.

*flashbacks to my 11-year old self in Sunday school shielding my eyes in terror from the second half of this 9-minute short*

At the time I was growing tired of many inane and clichéd Bible YouTube videos, this came like a lightning in a bottle. And I think this still holds up in some aspects.

Revisiting this 6-7 years later, it is a pleasant surprise for an animated faith-based short like this to not shy away from the blood-soaked agony of crucifixion. The squeamish gore in the second half is unexpectedly gripping. I also appreciate its own spin to the already well-trodden premise of Jesus Christ's death. This time it's told through the perspective of a thieving criminal sentenced to crucifixion alongside Jesus. And my, the protagonist's flashbacks and his expressions of utter guilt and fear contributed to the feeling of dread intended by the film itself. I find the fragmented, paranoid use of animation and editing during a specific flashback pretty gripping as well.

Yes, it can get cheesy at points (especially the ending). Yes, some of the music can unintentionally distract from the tension that's supposed to build throughout the film. But to me this is a rather promising step up from many other attempts at portraying the one of the most harrowing torture stories in possibly The Greatest Story Ever Told.

You can see it as a passion project that made a brave decision to portray the torture as an actual torture. It tried to do something unique. And for that, I don't consider this as a negative viewing experience at all. In fact, I find it commendable.

It's not nearly as brutal as Passion of the Christ, and not an animation marvel like Prince of Egypt. Not the greatest thing ever, but at least probably worth a watch.

The breathtakingly trippy visuals, unnerving soundtrack and compelling scenes make for a tense, one-of-a-kind ride that you will have to see to believe.

I experienced Alteration right after On/Off, which is another VR film in the We Are One film festival. This sucks you in right from the very start and doesn't let go. The sequence from the 14-minute mark in particular made such a lasting impression on me that... I penned my first Letterboxd review.

Unlike On/Off, the VR aspect does not feel like a crutch, but rather an important tool to enhance the experience, in my humble opinion. I mean, can you see for yourself the visual palette of the room's interior with the characters inside it morphing between trippy painting-esque animation and tell me it isn't at least impressive and serve no purpose to the plot?

Make no mistake, Alteration deserves more attention. This strikes me as a passion project where the filmmakers' efforts to utilize Virtual Reality to its greatest abilities truly shines through.

Hertzfeldt delivers a singularly disquieting and unflichingly powerful portrait of mental illness told in a bleak, surreal urban setting. This marks the first chapter of a trilogy, preceding I Am So Proud Of You (2008) and It's Such A Beautiful Day (2011).

We see introduced to our protagonist Bill, an ordinary man in the form of a stick figure leading an ostensibly mundane life with anecdotes told through constantly nonchalant narration, as increasingly disturbing hallucinations and dreams manifests and leads him down the spiral of madness.

This symphony of visual and auditory cacophony, Hertzfeldt's unique stylistic visuals paired with unsettling sound design, captures Bill's intense internal turmoil terrifyingly well. As they reach their boilling point, the nightmarish and incoherent assault both the eyes and ears.

As we think all hope is lost, the film pulls back and returns to its primary mood. Its resolution serves as a sort of reprieve while the soothing (albeit, intentionally, ever slightly discordant) music washes over you.

As the title of my review says, a remarkable, eye-opening trip to say the least. Masterfully executed start to a trilogy, the rest of which I'll be happy to experience if only I can find a copy of it somewhere.

Although this can be watched on YouTube for free, please give Don Hertzfeldt the money he deserves by buying the Blu-ray of his short films!

I watched this movie before I have even heard or read any critic reviews or ratings about it. So I walked into the cinema with an open mind and high expectations. And wouldn't you know it, I was severely disappointed at this movie. The movie struggled so hard to create funny moments which turned out to be cringy attempts at humor (especially the dance sequence). Don't get me wrong, I was impressed by the great animation, and that's the only good thing about this movie. I feel sorry for the animators who have put in so much effort into this junk of a movie. I feel like I shoudn't even call this a movie or a film. The Emoji Movie feels like an 86-minute advertisement with bland, cheesy, cringy dialogue and lazy writing. Other animated movies (for example the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy and the Toy Story trilogy) in comparison have so much more effort put into them. "But this is made for children! You're over-analysing it!" So are you saying that we shouldn't judge children films? Are you saying that every single movie made for children is great/perfect? According to this logic, Food Fight and Cool Cat Saves the Kids deserve 10/10, don't they? The target demographic of this movie does not, and will not, affect the fact that this movie is horrible. I'm so tired of hearing this excuse. By the way, if you say that this is the best movie you have ever watched, you're paid by Sony or the director of this movie to write a positive review, or you're sarcastic, or this is the only film you have ever watched. Go watch the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, Toy Story trilogy and others and see if they change your mind. Overall, the only positive aspect of this 'movie' is it's animation, but i's quickly overwhelmed by the negative aspects (writing, plot, characters, development, etc.). The animation brought this movie from 0/10 to 1/10, and that's about it.