July 22, 2010 : Happy Pi Approximation Day
It’s about that time of year (pun totally intended) – Happy Pi Approximation Day!
In case you were wondering, the approximation of Pi is only 0.04% off of the real thing. It shouldn’t be used for any serious engineering calculations, but it’ll pass for a pretty solid estimate.
posted by Pi Visuals at 3:29 pm
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July 13, 2010 : What A Tweest…
M. Night Shyamalan made another critically panned movie. Wait a minute, that’s not a surprise.
Although it’s disappointing that the movie didn’t live up to its potential, there have been several funny comments made in its criticisms:
* And The Last Airbender is a lavish parody of big-budget fantasy epics. It’s got everything: the personality-free hero, the nonsensical plot twists, the CG clutter, the bland romance, the new-age pablum. No expense is spared — Shyamalan even makes sure to make fun of distractingly shitty 3-D, by featuring it in his movie.
* Burdened by a never-ending onslaught of expository dialogue awkwardly delivered by actors giving career-worst performances across the board, THE LAST AIRBENDER is so outrageously bad it’s a wonder it ever got before cameras.
* Where to start with this one? How about this: If any movie ever warranted a class-action lawsuit against the filmmakers, it’s The Last Airbender.
* After his breakthrough with The Sixth Sense in 1999, M. Night Shyamalan’s career has been painful to contemplate. Hailed as the new Spielberg, he has made five movies, ranging from the awkward-but-promising (Signs) to the ridiculous (Lady in the Water).
* “The Last Airbender” is an agonizing experience in every category I can think of and others still waiting to be invented. The laws of chance suggest that something should have gone right. Not here.
* This one looks like “The Karate Kid” got lost in a Nickelodeon cartoon.
* “The Last Airbender” is a pacifist’s action movie.
Ouch. Not sure if all the criticism is warranted, but at least it’s entertaining. The sad thing is… this is supposed to be a trilogy.
posted by Pi Visuals at 7:37 pm
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June 25, 2010 : Cars 2 Sounds Even Worse Than Expected
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Pixar (although I haven’t formally declared this on Facebook); and it’s also no secret that I’m not a huge fan of sequels. That is to say, I don’t like sequels when they’re made simply to cash in on a franchise’s popularity. A great story can warrant a sequel; but more often than not, it’s better to leave things alone.
One of the reasons I respect Pixar (more so than say Dreamsworks) is that they tend to believe in the art of animation – rather than the business aspect of it. With Toy Story 3 now out, I’m fairly confident that the story will be decent. But honestly, I’d much rather see original material – especially considering the sequel heavy releases expected to come from Pixar over the next few years.
Speaking of which, the next Pixar movie to be released is Cars 2. Cars was by far my least favorite movie of theirs – and critics seemed to agree. I hated the premise, the story, the execution, the voice acting… everything. So news of a sequel being made felt like a kick square in the nuts. To make matters worse (yes, it gets worse), an interview with John Lasseter gave insight to the idea of making Cars 2:
When I was traveling around the world doing interviews for Cars, I just had the characters on the brain. I kept looking out thinking, ‘What would Mater do in this situation, you know?’
Yes… the thought process of making a sequel to this horribly disappointing movie was Mater – the most annoying character in the original movie (and quite possibly in all of Pixar’s pictures). And as a result, the story will have more Mater in it (ugh). In fact, one of the key story points will be:
Mater gets involved in a “Hitchcockian” case of mistaken identity, saves the life of a British secret agent called Finn McMissile (voiced by Jack Black), and becomes embroiled in a huge spy thriller.
If you’re anything like me, you plan on visiting a doctor over the next few days because you’re worried reading the above passage gave you cancer.
So to summarize: a horrible first movie combined with the death of several original cast members (Paul Newman, George Carlin, and Joe Ranft) doesn’t lead to shelving any sequel plans. Instead, it gives more screen time for an obnoxious character with a bizarrely inane premise and a new character with a British accent (shine your tires, gov-nah?).
I am getting more and more convinced that Cars 2 might be the first Pixar movie I won’t see.
posted by Pi Visuals at 2:45 pm
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June 23, 2010 : Death Of The Undying… Awesome!
There is a shortage of solid anime on TV nowadays, which is unfortunate considering a few years ago it was getting fairly popular among mainstream audiences.
Despite decreasing the quantity and quality of shows in this genre, Adult Swim is at least airing Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The series more closely follows the manga compared to its predecessor.
Last weekend, Adult Swim aired Death Of The Undying – and… that… episode… rocked.
I miss watching really great anime, and this episode reminded me why.
On a side note, Louie premieres on FX next week. I’m a fan of Louie C.K.’s stand up – plus FX has had some pretty solid comedies in the past few years. Those are reasons enough to be optimistic about the show… that and the fact that I have to wait a few more months to see new Venture Bros.
posted by Pi Visuals at 6:33 pm
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May 30, 2010 : We’re Gonna Need A Montage
Things have been pretty hectic lately – to say the least. Anyway, here you go:
Hopefully this sheds a little light as to why I haven’t been around to post in the last few weeks.
posted by Pi Visuals at 9:41 am
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April 30, 2010 : Meet Meline
A French couple spent two years creating a nice looking animation called Meet Meline. The nearly seven minute short goes for a realistic look and tells a nice story about a young girl. Above everything else, the lighting really stands out as impressive.
The accompanying website, in my opinion, is the really cool thing. It details a lot of the work throughout the process. In addition to a blog and production diary, a Making Of video was also released. This goes into a lot of the work required to create the short – from idea conception all the way through post-production. Plus, you get glimpses of the software and techniques used.
posted by Pi Visuals at 1:00 pm
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April 14, 2010 : Troy McClure In All His Glory
While I have soured to newer Simpsons’ episodes, it’s always fun to see cool sites devoted to the show. Simpson Crazy has compiled numerous lists, including:
- Troy McClure’s Movies and TV Series
- Grampa Simpson’s Rambling Stories
- Gay Hints From Smithers
- Episodes Of Recycled Animation
Most of these are references to the older (and in my opinion) better episodes. Plus, anything with Troy McClure rocks – I overlook his fish fetish and remember him for playing The Human in The Planet Of The Apes (the musical, not the planet).
In unrelated news, apparently Trigun will see new toys coming out via Revoltech. It looks like the figures will be just of Vash and Wolfwood, but they look bad-ass. The link has numerous pics.
posted by Pi Visuals at 10:23 am
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March 26, 2010 : Bugs Bunny, Meet Ichigo… Ichigo, Bugs Bunny
Apparently Warner Bros. is in the process of securing movie rights to “Bleach”. Peter Segal might produce (but not direct) the live-action movie about Ichigo and the Soul Society.
The article also states that the studio is already developing an adaptation to “Akira” – that one, I’m indifferent about.
However, the Bleach project could be worthwhile. Skeptics might be worried with Segal’s involvement – particularly since his resume includes such non-genre-related films as Tommy Boy, Nutty Professor II, and 50 First Dates.
I will remain optimistic, hoping that Segal is trying to grow as a filmmaker. After all, Jon Favreau didn’t do many action films before Iron Man.
posted by Pi Visuals at 3:47 pm
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March 14, 2010 : Happy PI Day!!!
Everybody’s favorite day has arrived. That’s right, Pi Day.
So to everyone – may you have a nerdy Pi Day.
As a reminder, IE6 and IE7 might have issues playing files from Vimeo. Therefore, it is recommended you use a different browser (I suggest Mozilla).
posted by Pi Visuals at 1:15 pm
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March 12, 2010 : Trigun: Badlands Rumble
Trigun: Badlands Rumble opens up in Japan on April 24. Not sure when it will reach the United States, but the trailer looks promising (even if it is in Japanese).
It looks like it will be similar to the Cowboy Bebop movie in that it will take place during the middle of the series – and that means probably no Knives or Legato – but it does have Wolfwood so it can’t be all that bad.
posted by Pi Visuals at 2:16 pm
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