the groundhog day project

I have not watched many kids films for this blog. Even when going through movie fixtures from my childhood, there were a few child-friendly films but few made primarily for kids. Today, though, we've got An American Tail and I do not recall the last time I watched it. Once upon a time I loved this movie and had all the lyrics to all the songs memorized. As I wait for the first song, I get sidetracked by the history. After the assassination of Tsar Alexander II, some blamed Jews, and a series of pogroms followed. The Cossacks attack the town of Shostka because there are Jewish families there. The Mousekewitzes are just one. And, oh shit, I had forgotten that "There Are No Cats in America" begins with Papa explaining how his parents were killed. Damn, kids movie. And then other mice tell their sad tales in between joyful choruses. And, already I'm imagining the way a movie like this influenced me when I was just 10 years old. Refugees just looking for...

I don't imagine that I have much to say, if this were a review, about Ready Player One that would sway anyone either way. See it, don't see it. If you want to see it, you will likely enjoy at least some of what's up there on the screen. And, as I used to end my actual reviews on YouTube, if you don't want to see it, see something else; there's always something worth seeing out there . Also, if you don't want to see it, you should probably not let your friends drag you to see it, because it is long and your enjoyment will depend quite a lot on how much you buy into the gaming aspects or the nostalgia aspects of the film. The plot is so slight, you have to be there for, what one Twitter user called, quite aptly, "an overload of metaphorical nerd fantasy porn". I didn't read the book. I read a sample of it on my nook app and it didn't grab me. As I grew up in the 80s, have loved movies since before I knew what they were, and make a habit, her...

Shaun the Sheep Movie , Boy & the World , and When Marnie Was There each depend on a strong sense of location, which seems strange for animated films, where location can be anywhere at any. time. In fact, Boy & the World takes advantage of the formation its early scenes, creating an environment out of mostly blank space. All three of these films take their protagonists (Shaun and his entourage of sheep, the unnamed boy, Anna) from their usual locations (farm, farm, city) and relocate them (to the city; to larger farms, factories, cities and beyond; to a rural village and the nearby. marshlands) to dramatic effect. Where these films differ most, and most obviously, is in their style. Shaun the Sheep Movie is claymation; Boy & the World is mostly line drawing, with increasing amounts of colour as it goes; and When Marnie Was There is more classic animation, specifically Japanese anime. (I've previously watched and written about Inside Out (for this blog and my r...

118,089 frames. It's the little details in Anomalisa that really stand out. I don't mean the obvious stuff like the taxi driver not making eye contact (until he does, but only through the mirror) and the guy at the front desk in the hotel not breaking eye contact even as he types into and reads from his computer. Those things are nice touches. Another is the billboard that calls the zoo "zoo sized." Also, the fact that the movie's version of Lakmé and My Man Godfrey involve the same voice as all the people in Michael Stone's world. Or that character's breathe. Safe to assume there will be SPOILERS somewhere in here. They probably won't ruin the film for you, though. And you should watch it if you can. Something that I liked the first time I saw the film--and each time since--is the little movements of, say, Michael's hands and arms. When he's on the phone right now, for example, his right arm swings a little, and he touches his fingers to...

In the past 24 hours, I've watched Toy Story , Toy Story 2 and five Toy Story shorts (don't know the proper order, but they are the three "Toons" Hawaiian Vacation , Small Fry and Partysaurus Rex ; Toy Story of Terror! and Toy Story that Time Forgot ). For the record, I have never seen more than a couple minutes of the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command cartoon. Right now Toy Story 3 is playing. The "end" of the feature story, of course, leads into those shorts; they are all set after the toys become Bonnie's. Still, it is an ending of a sort of the story of these toys. (Those shorts focus more on other characters more than, say, Woody or Buzz (except Small Fry ) or Jessie (though the climax of Toy Story of Terror! does depend on her). Instead (taking the order above), they focus on Barbie and Ken (minor nitpick: Barbie and Ken stay at Sunnyside at the end of Toy Story 3 , so they really shouldn't be with Bonnie's toys), a fast food restau...

I've got a couple questions: Who is worse off-- Toy Story Buzz who thinks he knows who he is (with "years of academy training" in his memory) or Toy Story 2 Woody who doesn't know who he used to be (with years of cowboy adventures behind him)? Who are these toys, really? Hell, they choose to be toys; the "rules" are apparently voluntary and can be broken. They choose to live in servitude of an owner--recall Woody saying, "It doesn't matter how much we're played with. What matters is that we're here for Andy when he needs us. That's what we're made for, right?" It's a strange existence, built to be "played with" by others but having full consciousness of it. When Toy Story was on earlier--right now, I've got Toy Story 2 playing--I was talking with my daughter about there maybe being some metaphor or allegory for the practice of slavery in the way these toys exist for the sake of others... the differenc...

When Toy Story was released in theaters, November 24, 1995, I worked at a movie theater--the United Artists Marketplace in Old Town Pasadena... which doesn't exist anymore. I remember one of the ushers complaining about the tagline "The Toys Are Back in Town" being inappropriate for what was not sequel. I don't know how many times I've seen this movie, but I saw parts of it several times a week when it was in the theater. That happened with a lot of movies in the seven months I worked there. Also, since our theater had a deal with another theater a block away we could arrange to see movies for free at either theater. Except for the midnight premiere of Batman Forever , which I arranged somehow, we weren't supposed to use our free movie privileges to see "busy" screenings. (And, don't even get me started on the mess that is Batman Forever , except to say that watching the beginning of that movie and the end of that movie time and time again whe...

I wanted to write about masculinity and identity--Woody's and Buzz's conflicted relationship as a sort of testosterone-fueled contest, who can more fully fill the role of man . I wanted to tie this back into identity and how Buzz being all alpha male even when he doesn't really know who he is effectively reifies a notion that all is nature... and I wondered if that was reassuring or damaging. Or if I actually do read too much into things sometimes... Meanwhile, I just paused to check the photos on the wall by the stairs in the Davis household. I didn't see any picture of a couple. Nor on the mantle. Andy's mother is inexplicably single... And, that sounds like it's shocking or unusual, but I meant, literally, we are not offered explanation. Anyway, I noted out loud that there's a theory that Andy's father has died (Actually, the theory is about he and Andy's mom going through a divorce but I guess I conflated the two ideas in my head... but don...

There's a bit of brilliance to figuring out the various toys' personalities, except within the text, it's quite limiting for who they get to be. They don't fully have free will, is what it is. Mr. Potato Head is for "Ages 3 and Up" so he's a bit pretentious, full of himself. He's too good for, well, Andy's sister; that's probably the only kid under 3 close by. (He's also both the most expressive and the most... incomplete because of his interchangeable parts.) Rex is not an older kid's dinosaur; he's made for toddlers so he's timid, not even remotely as scary as he wants to be. Slinky Dog can lengthen his body, so he is both literally and figuratively stretched thin by his position as Woody's de facto assistant. Ham is not even a toy; he's made for holding money, but that makes him stingy, selfish, a bit of a know it all because he's not like the rest of them. Mr. Spell is made for teaching so, of course, he arra...

Let us just get this out of the way on Day One. Buzz Lightyear is a cinematic Christ-Figure. Or Woody is... maybe. Buzz is 1 tangible and 2 central and definitely an 3 outsider . He is not, strictly speaking, 4 divinely sourced , but as the toys' primary life (and there's a whole discussion to be had there ) is with Andy and Buzz was given to him by his mother... well, that is an outside enough source to qualify. 4/4 No 4.5 miraculous birth ... that I know of. But, since Buzz never knew his father, maybe there's something there (but that is outside this particular text--the original Toy Story ). Buzz definitely qualifies for the 5 alter ego and 6 special/normal points because of his amnesia. Hell, he almost gets the special/normal point because of the whole "toy" thing, but even more so because he thinks he's really a Space Ranger. 6/6 Buzz definitely has 7 twelve associates . (Remember, it doesn't have to actually be twelve because most movies...