Thursday, February 18, 2010

And the Oscar Nominees for Short Film (Animated) are...

French Roast



The music and the acting is what makes this short successful. The story is original and captivating It takes you in the cafe, literally, and grabs your attention until the last second. I really like the fact there is no dialogue, meaning that it relies solely, on the acting, composition and lighting (like a b&W movie). I loved the simple camera work (zoom in, zoom out, and dolly shots) that allows the story to progress without being distracting. This is not the case with the window, I found the reflection of the glass to be a bit distracting especially in the part with intense lighting (the part where the guy was high from all the caffeine). The character design is based on stereotypes, nevertheless, the acting is great and is what gives them a personality in the few minutes they are on screen. You can tell they did their research when the waiter picks up the glass of wine in a very graceful way; I really enjoyed that part. I like this film overall and it's a strong candidate (my personal favorite) to win the Oscar.

Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty



I like the way this story began and the combination of 3D and 2D animation makes this interesting. It's a different take on the Sleeping Beauty tale but with a predictable ending. I did manage to watch the whole thing although it felt like half an hour rather than 8 minutes.

The Lady and the Reaper



Agh.... actually, this started great. For the first few minutes I was enjoying this a lot until it got all cartoon-ish and my suspension disbelief went out the window. It has great a concept, too bad it goes downhill after the first few minutes.

Logorama - Trailer



This looks awesome! It would have been my favorite if it wasn't for the fact that I couldn't watch the whole movie online. There is a longer trailer on their website. The story is really great!

Wallace and Gromit "A Matter of Loaf and Death" - Trailer



not a big fan.

And the winner is...

For me, it's between French Roast and Logorama. But i'll go with Roasted Coffee just because it has coffee.

What do you guys think?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I love the Sleeping Beauty short! I've always had a thing for fractured fairy tales though...

Runner up for me would have to be the French Roast, and the Logorama short definitely looked interesting.

I enjoyed the Lady & the Reaper too - my favorite part was during the credits when death gets home and he has a three headed poodle waiting for him. Hahaha

Not really a big fan of Wallace & Grommit either...I'll watch them, but only when there's nothing else I really want to watch. Maybe because they're so British? They're well done, but I never really want to watch them...

Earguy said...

Hmm, how unfortunate that Wallace and Gromit seems to be just more of the same. Can't say I care much for the Granny either. Well done and all but not my cup of tea I guess.

Death and the Maiden has long been a favorite of mine. Schubert's piece I mean. The English title is rather awkward given the Spanish, there probably already was some animation made somewhere entitled "Death and the Maiden". Still, "The Lady and the Reaper" probably gets my vote.

Logorama is kind of hard to judge from just the trailer. Can be great and can really be a bummer...

Earguy said...

Oh, and then I forgot to mention French Roast, which I had seen quite a while ago. Nice gag, well done. Does not beat the reaper :)

Clarizzle said...

I think I'd have to say that either French Roast or Lady and the Reaper would have my votes.

I especially thought that the ending in French Roast was endearing and to me, was unexpected.

And the Lady and the Reaper was just fun to watch. haha twisted in a way, but enjoyable and funny still. haha

Didn't think wallace and gromit should have won, though its good. Didn't really enjoy that show that much..I just couldn't stand the way wallace would talk for the most part.