REVIEW: Monsters University [2013]

“Technically I caught the pig” I entered the theatre with low expectations and a willingness to be surprised, curious towards Monsters University’s trailers lacking plot description besides a generalized notion of witnessing Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and Jimmy “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman) becoming best friends. What would first-time Pixar feature-film director Dan Scanlon and co-writers Robert L. Baird and Daniel Gerson have up their sleeves? How would they fill the inevitable gaping hole of not bringing back the adorable Boo from Monsters, Inc. due to their newest installment’s status as…

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REVIEW: The Blue Umbrella [2013]

The biggest impediment to Pixar’s short film The Blue Umbrella is how close its release is to that of sister studio Disney’s Paperman last year. Its story set in an evening downpour depicts the love at first site of the titular colored parasol and his red counterpart bobbing over a city sidewalk. With an unspoken attraction and embarrassed stolen glances, their would be union’s demise is simply due to their owners traveling in different directions. But much like the paper airplanes of John Kars’ 2012 film, destiny wins out with…

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REVIEW: Monsters, Inc. [2001]

“Kitty!” If there is one film type where a laundry list of screenwriters can actually help the finished product, it’s the animated feature. Sparked by the simple idea of “Let’s make a movie about monsters”, Pete Doctor’s directorial debut evolved immensely from its brainstorming lunch origins in 1994. What would ultimately become Pixar Studios’ second most inspired fantasy world piggybacked on the shoulders of a child’s imagination—the first being Toy Story’s brilliant concept of toys living full lives when humans weren’t looking—Monsters, Inc. took us inside the dark, scary closets…

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REVIEW: Downloaded [2013]

“No one’s going to share an mp3” Can you believe Napster existed at full capacity for only one year? One year! As the men—nay, boys—behind the peer-to-peer music-sharing phenomenon tell it, the program was perfected by December 1999 and unplugged February 12, 2001 thanks to an injunction by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). While launching in May 1999 and eventually limping to bankruptcy June 3, 2002 after ill-fated attempts to eradicate its copyright infringement issues, the disruptive force that changed the face of the internet was a newborn…

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REVIEW: Fame High [2013]

“Engage us” A real life version of Fame on the west coast, Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s coming-of-age documentary Fame High shows us the pressures of pursuing an arts education and career at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Shot over a period of sixteen months, the film follows four students as they battle expectations, desires, talent, hard work, and all the other teenage stuff us normal kids went through too. LACHSA has a 95% rate for college enrollment and prepares its students for the fierce competition inherent to…

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REVIEW: Man of Steel [2013]

“It wouldn’t be much of a surrender if I resisted” After Bryan Singer’s misguided attempt to stay true to original cinematic canon by having Superman Returns follow Richard Donner’s two Christopher Reeve starrers ultimately failed, a hard reboot was necessary. With DC Comics getting increasingly outplayed by every new expansion of the Marvel universe, it’s no surprise they would hand creative franchise control over to the man who reinvigorated their brand on the big screen in 2008. Producer Christopher Nolan not only found a way to rinse the ugly taste…

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REVIEW: Call Me Kuchu [2013]

“We shall ignore the right of privacy in the interest of the public” Created as a documentary to expose the horrifying human rights offenses committed by the Ugandan government against the LGBT community, directors Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall were given impressive access to the nation’s most vocal activists by following them as the fight raged on the streets and in the courtroom. With local newspaper Rolling Stone outing as many homosexuals as it could in tasteless, Tabloid-style photo spreads courtesy of paid infiltrators and a Christian zealot-led Parliament…

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REVIEW: This is the End [2013]

“Is the power of Christ compelling me? Is that what’s happening?” Way back in 2007 there was a YouTube trailer for a short film entitled Jay and Seth Versus the Apocalypse that whetted fans’ appetites only to never seen by the public. Time went on, nothing appeared to be happening—which wasn’t necessarily a horrible thing since the trailer wasn’t all that funny—and eventually word came down it was being retooled by the titular Seth Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg into their directorial debut This is the End. Now six…

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DESIGN: Angel – Ratio’s Chocolate Nest Eggs

It didn’t take long after watching the season 4 “Angel” episode entitled Smile Time before deciding that I needed to design something in homage to the brilliant demon puppets. If anyone of the gang seemed to get short shrift it was the giant purple creature named Ratio Hornblower. The fact he was also the one who perfected the Nest Egg system the others used to suck the life out of their children viewership was just icing on the cake. The concept that I kept thinking about to bring it to…

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REVIEW: Before Sunset [2004]

“Memory is a wonderful thing if you don’t have to deal with the past” The end of Before Sunrise contains a great sequence of moving snapshots epitomizing the film’s intrinsic romanticism. Every corner of Vienna that Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) visited is reshown in their absence—seemingly ordinary locales now unforgettably resonate pieces of personal history. We see how their unique spot in the park hasn’t only gained an empty wine bottle and glasses but also the priceless memory of a young couple’s love. Whether or not these…

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REVIEW: Dust Request: A Last Will and Testament [2010]

“If you could look into my eyes you would witness my soul missing you” There is a fascinating mystique surrounding Kevin K. Shah’s short film Dust Request: A Last Will and Testament that only bolsters the powerful hold its visuals possess. Listed as a documentary on IMDB.com and credited as starring Surya Chandra and her late husband Arjun, its personal account of a deceased man’s last wish can’t help but speak towards your humanity. The film’s only words come from an intimate recording Arjun left for his wife to hear…

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