The Genius of 2014’s: Over the Garden Wall

https://wallpaperset.com/over-the-garden-wall-wallpapers

The ten episode children’s horror/cartoon network produced anthology, is one of my favorite animated series of all times. Up there with Avatar the Last Airbender and Regular Show. It has an all star cast, amazing soundtrack, and weird but enticing visuals. With so many things to love about this show one it was hard to single out the things I wanted to write about the show. But three things really stick out about the show that makes it such an interesting watch and such an enduring show. The visuals & soundtrack and the themes.

The Cinematography & Soundtrack

The visuals of this show at first glance seem low-res, hand drawn, and reminiscent of the quality of the first scooby-doo’s one watched as a kid, (and not the “What’s New Scooby-Doo” series).

But upon further inspection, the detailed backgrounds, the odd character designs, and the sometimes sketchy animation, all comes together to create a feel that is specifically designed after the first animated cartoons in history. Including Felix the Cat, Betty Boop, Mickey Mouse, Popeye, and others that originated in the early 1900s to 1950s. With big eyes, over simplified character designs, yet compelling and detailed backgrounds, one may feel they’ve been flung into the dawn of cartoons. Almost as if you woke up in “somewhere lost in the clouded annals of history…”(Tome of the Unknown 2017).

The show is filled with a surprising amount of musical numbers. Each episode featuring at least one song sung by one of the main or supporting cast, or both. With influences from folk and colonel period music, strings, raspy voices, and cinematic impacts embellish the visuals of this ten episode anthology.

Over all the visuals create an eerie lost feeling that when combined with the wistful soundtrack harmoniously builds an original foreboding atmosphere.

http://conceptartworld.com/books/art-garden-wall/

Fun fact, though produced by Cartoon Networks, the cast includes actors such as Tim Curry (Pennywise), Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), and veteran opera singer Samuel Ramey as the Beast.

The Themes

With such an ambiguous (and some say unsatisfying) ending, interpretation upon interpretation has been proposed about this show. What does the beast represent? Are Wirt and Greg dead for most the show? What is the Unknown?

The number of theories postulated is in fact a great indicator of the quality of this show. It manages to bring you in, hold you, then let you go without revealing any answers. This in itself is the main theme of the show, the unknowable and how disconnected we actually are from our own reality.

The last episode, as well as the setting that most of the show takes place in is literally called the Unknown. A place that Greg and Wirt are transported to after they cross over the cemetery wall. In the last episode we see that Jason Funderberger (Wirt’s nemesis, the “total package”) is revealed to be an awkward overconfident boy with a nasally voice. This is the biggest hint that Wirt’s worldview is distorted, so much so that he is almsot completely disconnected from those around him, that is until he is transported to a strange land. A place whose rules come from folklore, one that is almost as distorted as his own worldview.

Through experiencing the strange, but wonderous land and all its dangers, Wirt gradually learns of the things in life that actually have value, his relationship with his half-brother, working hard, not giving up, etc… Until he regains consciousness in the river and has the courage to look past his tainted worldview. This is shown by his asking Sarah to listen to the tape at his house.

This is only one of many themes that is built into this curious little cartoon, with so much to dive in, Over the Garden Wall offers not only a fun watch, but a lot of left over brain candy to enjoy after the fact.

Conclusion

Over the Garden Wall is a must watch, a 9/10 show, with one point docked because I just want more.

https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/The_Beast_(Over_the_Garden_Wall)

 

Directed by Patrick Mchale

Created by Patrick Mchale and Katie Krentz

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3718778/

The Genius of 2016’s A Monster Calls

Original Theatrical Poster

A Monster Calls is a beautiful movie with a powerful and enduring message. With a small but capable cast it follows the emotional journey of a young man dealing with his mothers illness, and with bullies at school. It shows a coming of age story into an epic journey with beautiful visuals and unique soundtrack. Directed by J. A. Bayona

The Visuals

The visuals of this film are what make this movie so unique. Each shot is reminiscent of a painters style, most noticeable are the watercolor backgrounds to the Monster’s stories. The visuals warp reality enough to enhance the story without distracting from it.

The Themes

“There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between.”

“It ends with a boy holding tight onto his mother, and by doing so, he can finally let her go.”

Different quotes from the movie that hold significant meaning and profound messages. This film is brutal in the storytelling, it holds no punches, letting you experience raw emotion and telling you that feeling is human, and to truly heal one must accept them as part of yourself.

Conclusion

A Monster Calls is a unique film with a small setting, but with big messages. A big project to take on, with a unique but well-founded visuals this movie holds a bit of everything for everyone.

SOurces

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Monster_Calls_(film)

https://web.archive.org/web/20161010130601/http://moviepilot.com/posts/4096901

The Genius of 1968’s 2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey is more of an event of cinema, rather than simply a movie. If one is looking for a regular, character driven story line with a constant setting and emotional drama, you’ve come to the dead wrong place.

A Space Odyssey does something that no other film had ever done, and that is categorize the enter human race as one character. The other character in this, one that is still undecided as friend or foe, is the Black Monolith. This film focuses on the path humanity takes from simple apes in an ancient world, to a near future, to the step of evolution that is lost to coherent time or space, and nearly unrecognizable as human. An enigma wrapped in stunning visuals, a confusing timeline, and an iconic soundtrack, this movie shaped all movies after it.

Visuals

The visuals of this movie were before the time of computer generated effects, all the thigns were done in camera, practically and physically. To the anti-gravity scenes, the moon landing (which made some people wonder if Stanley Kubrick-the director-had faked the moon landing of 1969) and the wormhole-space travel were all in camera wizardry. The visual effects team behind Kubrick set the tone for all sci-fi movies after it, its legacy still scene in movies today, 50 years later.

Conclusion

This film is a journey, filled with awe-inspiring visuals, a beautiful soundtrack, and an enigmatic message.

Sourcers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_computer_animation_in_film_and_television

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)

The Genius of 2014’s Interstellar

Original Theatrical Poster

Interstellar was the first space movie written and directed by Chrisopher Nolan. It won the Best Visual Effects Award from the Academy Awards and was nominated for the Best Original Score, the Best Production Design, the Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.

Interstellar is one of my favorite movies for a couple of reasons, visual effects, soundtrack, etc. Another big reason is because of the controversial ending.

Visual Effects

The visual effects of Interstellar are amazing. With sweeping shots of cornfields, to grand spectacles of the cosmos to the edges of blackholes, the team of effects artists that worked on Interstellar created a universe that not only looks real, but also adds momentum to the science-studded cinematic event that is Interstellar.

The black hole scene near the end of the film took one year to create, with a team of visual effects artists, scientists and hundreds of computers to create the most accurate simulation of a black hole ever created.

This movie helped not only to break barriers of cinema but also to push the boundaries of science.

Soundtrack

Another Hans Zimmer masterpiece, the space movie needed a soundtrack with unity and flexibility, to accompany driving through corn, but also speeding through wormholes, to escaping mammoth waves on alien planets.

The soundtrack, at its core has the organ. An unusual pick, one might imagine a religious movie or instrumental documentary to have something as stationary as the organ be its foundation. But Zimmer builds an epic orchestral soundtrack around the solemn and enigmatic melodies played on the organ.

The Last Scene

The last scene has confused fans for six years now. What happened? It seems that a lot of build up was all for nothing as the last scene rather than gained applause, only garnered confusion from its audience.

The last, though confusing is a masterful combination of scientific theory and visual storytelling. Taking the confusing principles of theoretical physics, and incorporating it into a story that proposes new concepts is what this last scene does. Though confusing, it is a brave new step that pushes the audience to think hard and to ponder the movie long after the credits end.

Conclusion

Interstellar is a genius movie, worth watching multiple times. It not only pushes the boundaries of our understanding, but is also a great example of scientific discovery pulled into pop-culture. Accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack, Interstellar is a genius movie.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_(film)

wired.com/2014/astrophysics-interstellar-blackhole/

The Genius of 2002’s “Russian Ark”

To begin, Russian Ark, is one of the most beautiful and well thought out movies I have ever seen. In this blog-post I will be diving into the background of the film, the synopsis, and the cinematography and symbolism of this film.

Background:

If one hasn’t seen this movie than the symbolism is going to be incredibly hard to explain, so go watch it, than come back and read this post. Or don’t, either way this film deserves to be watched. This film has 2000 actors, 3 live orchestras, 22 assistant directors (a regular film has two to three), 65 costume designers, and a single continuous shot running through 33  rooms of the Heritage Museum as well as 300 years of Russian history.

The producers thought that it was going to be an easy one day of shooting, no editing cheap documentary, but they were mistaken. It took four years of preparation, and one long grueling day of shooting. Tensions were high, this film had thirty-three hours to complete filming, they had limited very limited attempts, one mistake and the four years of production would be completely wasted. 

One can see the behind the scenes for this film in the documentary called “In One Breath” at the following link on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORMTAKh4NHI

Synopsis:

We find ourselves watching a group of young people exiting a carriage, beautiful women accompanied by guards sneaking into the Heritage Museum. The camera is the point of view of our protagonist, a mysterious man (voiced by the director Alexander Sokurov) who narrates his thoughts, feelings, and discussions as he walks through Russian history. All we know of our protagonist is that he died of some mysterious accident and has found himself in the iconic Hermitage museum. The only other character in this that our protagonist interacts with is the French Marquis

The French Marquis is the foil to our protagonist. He is cynical of Russian culture and critical of anything non-European.

“Russian music makes me break out into hives!” -The Marquis

As the Marquis and our protagonist wander through the Hermitage Museum they comment and argue over different pieces of art, and significant historical Russian events such as the 900 day siege during WW2.

Cinematography and Symbolism:

The cinematography of this film is critical to it’s meaning. The camera is a fluid, unedited single shot that helps us swim in a dreamlike state through the rooms of the museum as well as through hundreds years of Russian History. This one shot also helps create a personality for our protagonist, creating a foundation on which to base our reactions to. It creates a vulnerability with the audience, the audience feels exposed and inside the museum.

Other than being a single-shot, every single frame of this movie, if paused, looks like a renaissance painting. It is beautifully framed, and the content of each frame is not only aesthetically pleasing but also provides symbolic significance. No shot in there is unnecessary, the director simply couldn’t afford to have fluff.

Now comes the million dollar question; what is the meaning of Russian Ark?

Why on earth would a director spend millions of dollars and spend four years of his to what could be interpreted as a semi-coherent drug trip through Russian history? Why would a studio approve of something so out there that it would probably be lost on most audiences?

Russian Ark is exactly what it states, and much more. It is filmed in the Russian ark, the Heritage Museum. A building that started off as a royal house has now become the vessel of Russian culture and history, carrying the identity of what it means to be Russian through 300 years of contention, war, hunger, and the rise and fall of multiple rulers. This film questions what it means to be Russian, what does the future hold for Russia? Will it be able to move forward from its rich but bloody history? How will the world react to the globalization of Russian values, history, and art?

Russian Ark is a beautiful film, one that asks questions, has a meaning that is up for interpretation, one that is deeply thought through and has a plethora of themes and motifs. With its dreamlike quality, and thought provoking questions, this film is a must see and a true piece of art.

The Genius of 1957’s “12 Angry Men”

In 1957 a film came out based off of a stage production and teleplay with the same name written by Reginald Rose. In this post we will be discussing the films themes and how they are portrayed in the film. *WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD*

Premise

This film begins with the court case of an 18-year-old boy who has supposedly murdered his father with a seemingly unique knife after going out to his friends to the movies. It seems like a fairly solid case at the beginning, the young man’s alibi is on shaky ground as he can’t remember what movie he went to see, and there is an eyewitness. As the twelve jurors are escorted to a private room we slowly begin to see each of the jurors personalities and backgrounds emerge.

Themes

The Power of the One

At the beginning of the movie all of the jurors believe that the young man is guilty, all but one. Juror 8 believes that there are some doubts about the court case and thus should not so hastily reach a “guilty”verdict, as it will sentence the young man to death. By reasoning and persuasion by the end of the film he convinces the jurors one by one that the young man is “not guilty.”

Prejudice

Each of the characters has a certain thing that they represent, one of the last and most profound events that happen is when juror 10 erupts in a violent monologue against “slum people.” After this blatant show of prejudice all of the other jurors except for 7 and 4 turn their backs on juror 10. This shows the theme that prejudice is an obstacle to truth and justice, as juror 10 is ostracized form the group and the groups purpose of finding whether or not the defendant is guilty.

Foils

A brilliant aspect of this film is that each character represents some aspect of society. Such as juror 10 representing prejudice, this adds meaning and opens up the doorway to other interpretations. One such interpretation is discovering why some of the characters conflict in the ways that they do.

For example juror 10 and juror 4 are complete opposites. Juror 4 represents the push for knowledge and truth. Juror 10 represents bigotry and unfounded hate. Rational vs emotional.

Conclusion

12 Angry Men is genius movie. With symbolism throughout, the arguments, premise, and conflicts within have far reaching and profound conclusions. With small nuggets of truth beneath the surface this movie is a well-worth watch

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_Angry_Men_(1957_film)

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-12-angry-men-1957

The Genius of 2016’s “10 Cloverfield Lane”

10 Cloverfield Lane is a Horror Movie with, we will be diving into the cinematography, writing, and any symbolism found, as well as the behind the scenes for the movie.

Poster for 2017’s 10 Cloverfield Lane, directed by Dan Trachtenburg

Synopsis:

The premise of this movie follows a simple question, whether or not to trust Howard. The movie follows a young women named Michelle (played by Mary Elizabeth Winsted) who finds herself in an unsettling situation. The movie begins with her in a doomsday bunker built by a man named Howard (played by John Goodman) and inhabited during an “apocalyptic event.” Certain events transpire either reinforcing the story Howard has told Michelle or showing his instability. On the sidelines there is a third player to this game of trust, the local hick Emmett (played by John Gallagher Jr.), a young man who helped Howard first build his doomsday bunker.

The Genius of 2011’s “The Artist”

The Artist, a black and white silent film in the era of “talkies” earned a well-deserved win for Best Picture in 2011. Now,an often overlooked film, I will be discussing a few of my favorite scenes from this film, as well as the concept design, and the music.

Concept Design:

The design of this movie is amazing, usually when I show this to a friend or someone, they ask, “Why are we watching a show from the 20’s?” I then smile and say, “Actually this was made in 2011.”

The design of this is obviously reminiscent of the silent era of films (around 1890’s to the 1930’s). The decision to do this allows for creative limits, as well as showing the transition Hollywood went through between silent and talking films.

 

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of this movie is unique in that it speaks for the characters. Since it is a “silent” film, the music becomes a part of the cast, speaking the lines, carrying plot points, and driving home emotional cues. It rides the line of complementing the characters rather than overpowering them. On top of all of this it manages to sound like a 1920’s orchestra.

Character Arc

This movie focuses on George Valentin (played by Jean Dujardin) and his fall from stardom. AT the beginning of the film we are introduced to Valentin as the top actor in the 1950’s starring in silent heros roles. A total ham, he loves the attention but also is a kind man with a good sense of humor. He is faithful to his wife (played by Penelope Ann Miller) though tempted by the young actress Peppy (Berenice Bejo).

As silent films begin to fade and “talkies” become the norm, the silent actor falls from stardom into obscurity. His fall is contrasted/emphasized by Peppy’s rise to the top of the cinema. This is shown in the story line but also physical with camera angles and beautiful sets. Symbolism is packed in stairs, paintings, to the use of sounds and silence.

Conclusion

The Artist is a brillaint and beautiully told movie. With a solid cast, beautiful sets, and moving music The Artist is a ready-made classic.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Artist_(film)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1655442/