November 3, 2009 : Halloween: Bleach Style
It’s a few days late, but here’s a pic from Halloween.
Going with an anime theme this year, the costumes were characters from Bleach. I was Ichigo Kurosaki (the main character from the show), and to my right was Byakuya Kuchiki. My brother’s costume was much more involved than mine, and he did an impressive job with it (particularly on such short notice).
As expected, very few people got the costumes – and by very few, I mean zero. Fortunately, we had digital references via the iPhone to show people we weren’t making things up. Plus it was a good conversation starter.
All in all, a fun Halloween. But that goes without saying.
posted by Pi Visuals at 3:32 pm
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October 23, 2009 : The Iron Giant Turns Ten
Ten years ago, in August, one of the greatest movies of all time was released… to pretty much empty theaters.
The Iron Giant is one of my favorite all-time movies. More so than any other animated movie, live action movie, and even Ace Ventura (yeah, you read that right).
Tonight there will be a 10th anniversary panel discussion about the movie in Burbank. Panelists include the art director, lead animator, and the super awesome Brad Bird. Tickets for this event sold out within 24 hours; and because of its demand, the location was changed in order to sell additional tickets.
Going to this would be worth a trip out to Cali on its own. Hopefully there will be some video about it on the interweb.
posted by Pi Visuals at 1:48 pm
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October 22, 2009 : Reboot: In Development Hell?
It is unclear exactly how many hurdles Rainmaker Entertainment (formally Mainframe Entertainment) has run into while producing the Reboot Trilogy – although the original writer did drop out last year. The release of new Reboots has been talked about for a while and were even mentioned on this blog… twice. Despite all this time, there has been little to nothing leaked to its fans: no footage, screen grabs, general storylines, pre-vis work… nothing.
At least until now. A few weeks ago, Rainmaker released a teaser trailer – and the emphasis is on teaser.
It’s cool to finally see something, and it certainly brings back memories of the series. However, the clip is a mere 15 seconds long and has zero characters in it. Has anything of significance really been developed for the movie? It is slated for a 2010 debut, but who knows how definite that is.
Sigh… Apparently, it’s back to the waiting game. Wait, Astroboy is coming out soon? Okay, never mind.
posted by Pi Visuals at 11:21 am
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October 16, 2009 : Kevin Conroy: Best Batman Voice Ever
A few weeks ago, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies came out. It’s the newest direct to video animated film in the DC Universe. Besides the fact that the story involves Batman, it also has Kevin Conroy doing his voice (not to mention Tim Daly reprising his role as Superman).
The character designs are slightly different from the Justice League days but not significantly. They still look pretty sweet, which is more than what could be said for The Batman and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. In any case, this is a must see on my list.
As a side note, other people in the movie include John C. McGinley (some know him as Bob Slydell from Office Space while most know him as Dr. Cox from Scrubs) and Rachael MacFarlane (Hayley from American Dad and also the brother of Seth).
posted by Pi Visuals at 3:28 pm
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October 2, 2009 : Where’s My Show, Bub?
Being a fan of X-Men: Evolution, I was surprised to hear about the follow up animated adaptation – Wolverine and the X-Men. This is the first X-Men cartoon since Evolution.
Clearly, this was done to help promote the Wolverine-based movie that came out earlier this year. However, it does have the same creative team as Evolution (although it is not a continuation of that series). So it could be as disappointing as The Batman, but then again it could also be a nice follow up to Evolution.
One season has already aired, and a second season is in post-production. Unfortunately, the episodes run on Nicktoons – but they have released the entire first season on DVD.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:41 pm
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September 15, 2009 : A Villain’s Villain
Being a huge Batman fan goes hand in hand with being a fan of the Joker. This article on The Joker’s 10 Craziest Kills was a great read.
As a side note, Harley Quinn is pretty cool, too.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:07 pm
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September 3, 2009 : I Don’t Think The Onion Liked It
Most people probably heard about the failure that was Delgo. Its backstory made it tough to root against – an animator wanting to make a CGI movie not just outside of Hollywood (like Coraline) but also without a major studio backing. Unfortunately, its pipeline was plagued with an avalanche of horrible decisions and poor execution. Still, this review of the movie by The Onion’s A.V. Club was too funny not to mention. Ouch.
Also – Hayao Miyazaki’s new movie, Ponyo, is out in theatres. Like most of his work, it looks pretty sweet. My favorite is still Princess Mononoke.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:46 pm
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August 21, 2009 : FX Kicking It Up A Notch
Like many basic cable networks, FX is trying to expand it’s original programming slate. Until now it predominantly aired dramas, which is odd since everybody knows that is TNT’s bag – after all, they know drama.
FX already has one of my favorite shows in It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
As a side note, the new season premieres September 17 (insert giddy school girl laugh here).
Recently, FX has worked on getting new comedies to complement Sunny and build its comedic schedule. One show of note, is “Louie” – which stars the hilarious Louis C.K. He also will serve as executive producer, writer, and director of the series. The show is expected to come out in early 2010. An interesting side note: Louis C.K. portrayed Brendon Small’s estranged father in Home Movies.
Speaking of animated shows (one that was on Cartoon Network), another show that FX has greenlit is Archer. It’s creator is Adam Reed who co-created Adult Swim shows Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo. The cast is pretty stellar, including H. Jon Benjamin (the Home Movies comment earlier seems that much cooler now, doesn’t it?), Chris Parnell, and two Arrested Development alums: Jessica Walter (Lucille Bluth) and Judy Greer (Kitty). FX ordered 6 episodes of Archer, which should air this fall. By the way, the above link about the show also has a two minute clip for the show.
posted by Pi Visuals at 3:07 pm
Tags: Adult Swim , Home Movies , It's Always Sunny1 Comment | Post a comment
August 6, 2009 : Up And At Them!
This summer had a lot of highly anticipated films. Honestly, I was luke warm about most of them; and with the exception of Up, I didn’t see any of them. The movie that I am really looking forward to is actually coming out this fall:
Earlier in the year, movie costs put doubt as to whether or not Astro Boy would even get released. Fortunately, things got straightened out and is scheduled to come out October 23rd.
The cast is pretty solid, and Imagi Animation Studios has cranked out some decent looking films in the past. How well it is received by critics and fans waits to be seen, but hopefully it lives up to its potential.
posted by Pi Visuals at 11:09 am
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July 22, 2009 : Happy Pi Approximation Day
It’s pretty much the red headed stepchild to Pi Day, but Happy Pi Approximation Day.
An interesting tid bit: MIT has been known to mail its acceptance letters to prospective students so that they are delivered on Pi Day.
Nerds – you gotta love ’em.
posted by Pi Visuals at 5:17 pm
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