Beowulf: Unbelievable realism!

Yes…that is how I would describe Beowulf movie- Unbelievable Realism! But then, when I think again, that’s a paradox within. Realism should be believable isn’t it?!
Beowulf is packed with exemplary art work. The main models are detailed to the core. The textures and lighting are just perfect; can’t say much about the animation because it is motion captured. I said models and not characters because there was something still missing that made me look at them as 3d models and not as real humans. Though they managed to make awesome wet looks (Angeline Jolie rocks!), the models lacked any sweating, even when the golden dragon was spitting fire around them. This might be nit-picking, but can’t really help it.

Robert Zemeckis, the director, has taken a great leap from Polar Express to Beowulf, in terms of visualization and cast.
There is a question mark hanging around somewhere in the mind. Whey did they make this movie in 3d. It could have been done as a mix of live action and CG. That said, 3d has had a great role in converting the thoughts of the director into visuals and in the process converting a 50 year old 5’10” actor into a 6’3” hunk!



Sony Imageworks’ cutting edge graphics shows all that they have learnt from making Polar Express and Monster House. Now, the ultimate question is…..will it beat the ‘Rat’ at the Oscars? I don’t think so. Ratatouille caters to a larger audience unlike Beowulf which has gory monsters and some real hot nudity (Angelina Jolie again, ruthlessly seductive!)- definitely not for kids. While Rat is an original script, Beowulf is an adaptation of an old epic English poem. Well, that might not be a hindrance on its way to the awards. Whatever it is, Beowulf is a great step ahead in 3d movie making.

Ratatouille - too good !!!

The wait is over. I saw Ratatouille last week with thirty others from my workplace. This is one helluva movie! Pixar’s story telling has hit an all time peak. Apart from the articulate animations, awesome dynamics (cloth, water) and incredible lighting, the story itself is in an all new premise. The ‘Anyone Can Cook’ theme has worked so well in this movie and there is something in it that makes us believe that it could happen in our kitchens too!
It was wonderful to see kids bursting out with laughter when Remy trains Linguini blindfolded. Nobody is always right and nobody is always wrong (hmm….except Skinner) in this movie and that lends so much ‘character’ to all the characters. With all the twists and turns, this movie is one journey worth traveling.
On the technical side, I really enjoyed the water dynamics in the ‘Remy in the gutter’ scene. The cloth simulation on Gusteau (Remy’s figment of imagination) and wet cloth on Linguini were really cool. They must have had one damn rig for Linguini and that showed in many places, one of them was where Remy tries to wake up Linguini. The visualizations for tastes were a great effort, something never tried before!
In a nutshell, Ratatouille is Yummy!

Promoting a promotion

In my previous post, I discussed sequels. Eventually, this is the year of the ‘thirds’. The talk is all about Spider man-3, Pirates of Caribbean- the world’s end (third in the order) and Shrek -3. Each of these films has their own audience and they are all critically acclaimed. The makers consider them a safer bet because sequels don’t have the scare of losing at the box office easily. Marketing them is easier what with the previous versions doing really good and a lot of people already are familiar with the characters and have some idea of the plot to expect. It is better to have very high expectations rather than none at all.

Now, what is the stake of movies that are to be released without prior introduction? How are the makers going to create the expectations for them, competing with the sequels that are to be opened at the same time around? They really have to scream hard to get some attention and that is exactly what Disney and Pixar are trying to do for their latest release Ratatouille (pronounced as rat-a-too-ee), an original animated movie releasing in June.

Right from letting people familiarize the pronunciation of the title, to the plot line- (a rat called Remy wants to become a chef in a famous French restaurant. Rodents and restaurants-something that can never be together), extending to the challenges faced by the crew at the production and the crew itself, Pixar has left no stone unturned. The extent of their promotion strategies are none too familiar. They have to do it to stand amongst the giant sequels all of which are expected to have a cake walk.

To top it all, Pixar will be releasing a nine minute clip from Ratatouille to give the audience a glimpse of what to expect from the movie. Desperate move from the great story tellers, but the Pixar fans will only be too happy to see it. Come May 1, the clip will go public at Apple.com. What is more interesting is that, Disney will run a 90 second promotion material at prime time on American televisions, that will drive the audience towards the trailer that is to be released; a promotion for a promotion! Never heard of anything like that!

Come what may, we could only hope that the Disney-Pixar combo will entertain us as well as they usually do.

Some Images:

Image 1

Image 2

Videos:

Technical Ingredients - 48 mb

Trailer

Brad Bird-Podcast

Allegedly leaked out clip

Ratatouille contest and video player

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