In Theatres : X3(Review)

Hmmmm...i loved the first 2 X-Men movies directed by Bryan Singer. A fine balance of popcorn Summer Entertainment and beleivable Character Development leading to a very satisfying movie watching experience.
So its was very unforunate for me to find that the 3rd and supposedly the final chapter in this franchise did not do the same!
This one was strictly "OK"...there were just too many things missing...
A) Where was Nightcrawler from X2? is he not there just cause the actor could not make it back?
B) Whats with the pigeon guy..?? why was he even put in if he was not gonna be explored or developed. He seemed far more interesting than the chick running through walls!
C)The "Fur Ball"...u gotta be kidding...his presence on screen drew the most(& there where many)unrequired laughs and snickers from me! not good!
D) Phoenix...i waited the whole movie for a cool..jaw hitting the floor "Phoenix Moment"...but all i got was her floating in the air crying "save me"& everyone around her running and turning into what looked like garnulated pepper balls! Phoenix was just not FIERY enough for me!
E)And at the end,I wonder how those mutant kids will learn to hone their talents in that school with the bald kid there now sucking in all their powers! Could be quite annoying!

I know this review sounds like its coming from someone who does not know the X MEN comics too well and thats true! SO,i dunno if thats how prof Xavier ,Magnetto, Cyclops etc actually meet their end or not...but it sure did not seem convincing in the film.I mean,it seemed too forced..lets just kill peeople off or turn them into "Homosapiens" (which BTW is so simple, like pushing a button...and EUREKA! instant de-mutation!) cause we need to raise the stakes and wind up the franchise!

Cause somehow it seems the story did not demand all these deaths!and that too in such a not-so-glorious fashion!! i mean...they were such super powerful beings ...and u just put a needle in him and thats it?!
Hell,its MAGNETTO we r talking about!!!!

It was not JUST not built up enough...their death was not the pay off that was required to satisfy the script...and i am the last person to have problems with killing off primary characters!
I wish the director/writers chose to explore the very intersting concept about the cure, and the arguements for and against it rather then "lets just kill the next Xmen we can think off"!

I just hope now that Superman Returns is worth this sacrifice, cuase then i will hold Bryan Singer resposible for ruining 2 movies this summer, one by directing it and one by NOT directing!! Now, that would be a first!;-)

"Moments" Scene 10

This is my rough line test for a new scene and it hooks up to another new scene, Scene 9 (posted earlier).
It's after the girl's doll has been knocked over by a man who is in a hurry to catch a bus.
The Girl gives him a displeased look for a short bit and then picks up her doll.

Horse In Watercolours

Though its not very new, i still remember it being lots of fun doing this quick life drawing with watercolours! Should do it more often!

First Flight & Moments

Hey Cameron,

I just wanna say, that i do understand that how this might be just a coincendence as most story themes are so universal.

Though that was on my mind while i was watching FF, its only after i read ur name in the credits that i thought "Moments" COULD have played a part in inspiring FF.

And then i read some articles on FF on AWN etc it said that it was pitched to execs in END of 2004 and Moments was screened for you in April 2004.
I was understandably surprised and a bit taken aback.

I wrote on my blog to put my thoughts out there...and you will see nowhere do I "ACCUSE" you or slander you...i am simply talking about what i saw and the similarities and coincendences associated with all this AND asking people for their opinions on both the films to know if people can even connect the two or not!!

Like you have too...i too have invested a lot of time and hard work in my film..and i have continued to work on it, make it bigger & better since April 2004 and its finally in post production now. So i just cannot "NOT care" about what i saw.It was and IS a valid concern from my point of view.

It was not my intent to come off as accusatory.I know how similar ideas and storytelling tools can be and i would respect a fellow film-maker enough to first approach you and ask you frankly before i maliciously accused you,if at all!

Again, i appreciate u leaving a message here and clearing this up and wish you all the best with "First Flight"!

Thanks
Kushal Ruia

Lip Sync Assignment

Just finished a Lip Sync assignment with Fred (Supplied Model).
Experimenting with different textures and shaders and stuff...

....and YES,thats Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector!

(unfortunately u dont see much of the acting in the eyes & stuff in this low res version and also the audio is a bit off after compression on YouTube it seems):-(

SHOCK & AWE!!!

Today Dreamworks premiered a brand new short film called "First Flight"before the theatrical print of Over The Hedge in the cinemas.
I was excited as it started,cuase I love short films.
As the film progressed, I was a little surprised to see that the story was quite familiar and within a few seconds my brother pointed it out too and then I knew it was not JUST my imagination!

As the film progressed its story seemed amazingly similar to my graduating film called "MOMENTS"which i made at Sheridan College in April 2004.
Not only are the story and plot the same, the similarity in portrayal of character interaction is striking...just one of the characters was different...a bird instead of a little girl and a different ending.

While watching First Flight today the thought going through my head was, "Wow! what an amazing co-incidence!!" But soon the surprise turned to shock when the film finshed and the credits rolled!

It was directed by Cameron Hood ...who COINCIDENTLY was representing Dreamworks at the Industry Screening of Graduating Films at Sheridan College,Canada in April 2004 where MY film,"Moments" made its debut as a student film!!!

For those who have seen my film and know what i am talking about...make sure u get there well in time to catch "First Flight" before Over The Hedge and let me know what u think!!

I mean...there is even a paper plane symbolising the bird being run over by a car!!!!
Will locate and post my April 2004 film shortly!
Like i said...i am pretty shocked...dunno what to make of it!

Stuff from my Short Film "Moments"

Sssssssuper Weekend!

WOW! Had an amazing weekend...and this one of the many cool things that i did...YES! thats indeed a REAL "Ball Pyhton" on my hand!!
And dont be fooled by the smile, i was PETRIFIED! I admit i did not have the balls to have him around my neck, but i settled for the hand after MUCH hesitation (putting it mildly)!

I think the pic says it all...i dont need to post the video clip to prove he was real and how i made a fool of myslef...i will let u use ur imagination!lol

More on the Sssssssssuper Weekend to follow soon!;-)

Nostalgic Fun: The Flour Sac & The Puddle

I was going through my Gigs & Gigs of data when i found some of my my pre-historic animation.
It was quite funny to see it all. Thought i 'd post a few even though they are very crude and old.

This particular one was my very first go at personality animation in my first year of college.
It had to be a flour sac interacting with a prop whos name i pulled out randomly from a hat.
I remember getting a "Mirror" first...but then i gave that up for a shot at pulling out some other more "Interetsing" prop, to only pull out a "Puddle", which had more or less similar possibilities as a "Mirror" but just add to it the fun of figuring out how to animate water if u wanna show some interaction! Joy!
Should have stuck with the damn "Mirror"!

In Theatres : Mission Impossible III (Review)

And Summer starts!!
Yes its a BIG studio, BIG star ,BIG budget BIG franchise but...small movie!
There were no real BIG explosive blow u away "did u see that ?" kinda special effects moments which one expects from movies of this stature.
Director JJ Abrams of Alias/Lost fame sticks to his Alias formula.
The movie is ineresting no doubt,holds ur attention the whole time and to the director's credit its cause of the "pure" action and the circumstances and the story telling thread and no sp.fx jazz!

Am not saying thats bad, its great!! but we know that Abrams is good with that, he has already established that in his Tv shows...how about shaking it up a bit for the big screen?

Essentially...its like watching Alias on the big screen with Tom Cruise instead of Sydney Bristow( Jeniffer Garner).
Its amazing to see how blatantly Abrams uses the very same devices and techniques and creates the similar moods with the score, colours, lighting and sets as Alias!!
Among many other things,is it a co-incidence that Alias opened with the main character strapped to a chair being interrogated?
or people having "charges in their head" a la Will Tippin from 2 weeks ago in Alias?

Why not just make a big screen version Alias instead?!

Ric Sluiter On Art Direction And More

Ric Sluiter Art Director of Mulan,Lilo and American Dog and Sheridan Alumni, was over at the college to give a little talk on Art Direction.
As expected ,cameras were required to be switched off once he started sharing artwork, so unfortunately i have nothing to show...but maybe i could just share some of the things he said and talked about.
His presentation was based on the work he was doing for an animated feature at the Florida studio, which was scrapped/cancelled/put on hold when the studio was shut down.
Many of u may know of it...though its title was ever changing...some of them were "My Peoples", "Angel & Her No Good Sister" and finally "A Few Good Ghosts".
He showed concpet art, final designs, test shots created for publicity etc etc. and they were very cool.
The humans etc were all 2d and the hero (Elgin), he made puppets of his ancestors and they were made up of things like brooms, buttons ,gloves etc etc and those were CGI.
The backgrounds were all 2d but painted in Photoshop.
The look was very different, specially the opening prologue which talked of a family curse and was very inspired.
Also i thought the heroine (Rose) was probably one of the most beautiful Disney Heroines yet...reminded me a bit of Tarzan's Mom (human one, not Kala) , who i think surely wins the "Hottest Disney Mom Who Dies In The First 7 Mins of the film" award!!
The story was a bit like Romeo and Juliet with Love Vs Fear being the theme.
Had the voices of Dolly Parton among others as one of the puppets.
It looked cool enough for me to want it to be finshed some day..hopefully it will!

Other things he briefly touched upon (some old, some new) which other animation/ disneyphiles might wanna know are:
1.He was working on Toy Story 3 before it was shut down. He just moved to American Dog .
2.Disney seems poised for a come back and everyone is very upbeat.
3.No more sequels.."...we wont be ruining Peter Pan anymore"
4.Stuff he has seen from Glen Keane's Rapunzel just blows his mind away..."...Its like watching beautiful Glen Keane drawings moving in 3D"
5.Rapunzel story has been reverted back closer to the classic story rather than spoof-ish take on it.
6.Ron n John are back at disney to make a film (2d maybe?)!
7.Eric Goldberg is on his way back too!!!
8.He loves Photoshop and paints only on that now!

I think thats all i can recall for now...and yes...i got him to sign my Lilo & Stitch 2Disc DVD from region 2 which has a lot of him and his work and the Mulan Sp. Edition too..i unfortunately did not have my Art Of books here with me...tragic!
But i got to speak with him for a short bit so it was cool and fun!:-)

Pics From NYC

I just realised, in my great enthusiasm for posting the Tarzan on Broadway Stuff...i forgot to post some other pics i took while i was in NYC last month...so here they r!

And yes..on friday we had an amazing presentation by Disney Art Director Ric Sluiter (Mulan, Lilo&Stitch and forthcoming American Dog)...he showed some real cool stuff & shared some amazing info and advice...so will put something together on that in a day or two!

The Empire State

Walk On Broadway

A Room With A View