JOURNAL: Bowler

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  • So I finally watched Metropolis... 2002-06-05 00:16:49 And I had to turn it off before it was over. I don't think I've ever officially been *less* interested in something so damned pretty.

    Don't get me wrong. Visually, it was stunning and impressive. But I just couldn't get past a couple of things.

    This is going to sound very pissy and for that I profusely apologize. Feel free to stop reading if you really loved Metropolis and you have a hard time hearing some old man rip into it a bit.

    Let me start off by saying that a lot of time and money went into this picture, and it shows. The character designs and animation are very nicely done, and the background paintings and the bg CG werkz was also very nicely done.

    However...(you knew this was coming)...they don't match. The character designs remind me of a golden age sort of style with nothing but curved, bulbous figures. Almost like the early Popeye days. Question: Did the same person who did the Giant Robo designs do Metropolis? Because they looked a bit similar (good thing, not bad).

    Combine that with backgrounds that are at times photo-realistic and you have fire and ice. Water and oil. Jedi and Sith Lord. Whatever. They just don't marry well against each other. I was constantly straining to figure out just *what* look they were going for with this film. 30's Art Deco? Or WWI Comics? One is clean and hard and the other is round and 'toony. Normally I try not to be so critical of character designs, but I thought it could have benefitted a *lot* from a more crisp, clean line sort of character design. Like a Cowboy Bebop or especially a Fleisher/Batman (or Big O for that matter) style.

    Then the story. Ugh. I couldn't seem to figure out which (if any) characters I was supposed to care about. The old cop? The kid? The girl? The young Marduke? The old Duke? Who was supposed to be the focus of the story? I was so confused. It got to the point where I really didn't care anymore, and just shut it off so I could watch my old high school acquaintance rock out on Letterman (See previous post about Greg Suran and Goo Goo Dolls).

    But let's get back to the visuals. Good LORD were they nice. The CG reminded me a LOT of the quality and technical prowess of the Final Fantasy cutscenes (FF7 and up). I mean, Wow. Just wow. I loved how the cities were these enormous monsters of iron I beams, and trains ran suspended all over the city. It reminded me a bit of driving under the L trains in Chicago. (See chase scene from Riding Bean) And then the underground levels. Wowie wow wow. There were some incredibly beautiful background paintings there. Stuff that would have taken me weeks to churn out (and not even look half as good). The DETAIL. Good lord the detail. Pits of garbage fully realized with brush and paint. ::Drool::

    But then, jumping back onto the negative side for a second, there were scenes where the moving platform CG was rendered on "ones" (a new picture for each frame of film), and yet the animated 2D characters standing on said platform were still animated on "threes" (drawings held for three frames of film). It was a bit jarring, and I found it surprising even for a Japanese FILM production to do something like that; where the subject of the scene is done on threes. Typically that's reserved just for background characters who aren't stealing visual focus in a film. "Keep 'em moving, but just barely" sort of a thing.

    At any rate, it shor wus purdy, but I just couldn't buy into it, sorry ^^; 
  • More oddness is afoot at the Circle B. 2002-06-03 00:15:21 Got a call from my Aunt today, and it turns out that someone *else* famous graduated from my old High School (Lyons Township). And I don't mean me. David Hasselhoff was a graduate of my old high school, long before my time.

    So this someone *else* was written up in the local paper, and she forwarded me the article. It's a guy by the name of Greg Suran. You probably don't know who he is. I do. Read on, because you'll be pleasantly surprised :)

    Greg Suran was this soft-spoken, kind of lanky guy who sat across the table from me in Freshman art class in high school. He was this *incredible* guitar player. Insanely dedicated. He was playing Eddie Van Halen solos fairly accurately and playing at over 21 clubs with his band by the time he was a Sophomore.

    We were pretty good "associates" back then. I wouldn't say we were friends or anything like that, but we always said "hey" to each other in the hallways, and we always had a pretty good time in that art class we shared. We had a few running jokes. One of which was me always asking for his autograph, and him asking for mine, and of course we'd never give each other an autograph.

    So I dug up my yearbook to see what he wrote in it, because I remember he signed it (my memory is really really bad, so for me to remember it must have been somewhat important). I find what he had to write a bit ironic, if not rich with foreshadowing:

    "Steve (The Bowler Man), Look on p.32, you might need the #, ha! ha! [edit note: p.32 has a bunch of phone help hotlines, and the AIDS one is circled] Just kidding. You draw very well (no shit). [edit note: I didn't write the "no shit" part; he did] Well looks like no more autograph! Too bad!!! Come see me Aug. 22 at the Back Room, I'm almost certain we've got this gig! See ya in the movies! --Greg Suran"

    For those of you who don't know who Greg Suran is, he is the new lead guitarist for the Goo Goo Dolls. Way to go, Greg. I always had the suspicion that you'd go far :) You've certainly earned it, guy.


    Other stuff: Kyburg, I've FINALLY burned the Demo CD for you. I apologize for making you wait this long. It's going out sometime this week. Hopefully Monday or Tuesday.
     
  • Don't fall in pool of Panda! 2002-05-30 13:20:29 For all of you Ranma 1/2 fans out there...

    http://home.earthlink.net/~monolithgrp/LaNuMaMix.mp3

    Kyburg, you had *better* download this ;)...it's the least I can do for not sending out that demo reel disk yet. This weekend! I hope! :)

    Please give Phil some earplay. He'd love to know what people think of this one. Thanks. 
  • B.O.R.D. Bored. 2002-05-29 00:26:09 What a weekend. Spent wayyyyyy too much money. Purchased golf bag/shoes/glove/balls/all that ancillary crap that goes with playing golf. Played golf. Had a GREAT time. Didn't think I would, either. I guess I just had to mature a bit more before I could enjoy golf. And by "mature" I mean "make enough money so losing $9 worth of golf balls (read: nine balls) isn't that big of a deal." Didn't really even lose my temper, and I had every right to, considering they wanted to take our carts away from us. Jebus I'm in no shape to play 18 holes and walk them all.

    Scoff all you want. You swing a golf club (and hit the ball) about 200 times (I'm not that bad; I used the driving range first) and let me know if you're tired. Then walk a few miles while you're at it. It's not as easy as it looks ;)

    But I'm *really* proud that I didn't lose my temper. I stopped playing when I was about 15 because it made me so ANGRY. I'm actually halfway decent at the game, but I can't even begin to explain the frustration of having your 3wood drive go 200 yards forward, and fade 80 yards to the right completely across the fairway next to you, and then you lose it in the tall grass. All because you looked up for a micro-second when you made contact with the ball. Ugh. Baseball isn't half as hard.

    On Monday Liz and I went downtown for a mega-bike-sale and picked up some really nice bikes for "fell off the truck" prices, even though it was all very legit.

    Good god I love riding a bike. And I don't just mean enjoy it. It's almost spiritual for me. I especially love riding at night (dangerous as it is) in the summer like this because the air is so cool, and there's no sun making you hot. I could ride like that for hours. You can ride as fast as you want, or just coast along. The feeling of your skin cutting through the wind. I can't explain it. Moving that fast under your own power is so exciting. It must at least hold a candle to what birds must feel like when they fly. It's just so damn exhilarating. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it. I'll probably ride every night now (and every weekend) if I can help it.

    You know you're having a good time when going home just doesn't feel like a good enough idea :)

     
  • That's a mighty fine a mixin' and a scratchin'! 2002-05-28 14:58:42 I've noticed lots of folks enjoy sharing .mp3's, so I figured I'd throw one out of my own. Up 'till tomorrow evening.

    If you like Man of Constant Sorrow *and* dance music (hell, even if you don't), check it:

    http://home.earthlink.net/~monolithgrp/ManOfConstantTempo.mp3

    My buddy Phil did it. He's wack. I wish I had a thimble-ful of his creativity since his cup of mad flavour runneth much over. Extra Mad Props if you can tell me what the *other* song from the OBWAT Soundtrack is also mixed into this song. Here's a hint: It's backwards. And way in the background.

    After I pull this one down, I'm going to host his LaNuMa Mix. It evidently has something to do with Ranma 1/2. So Ranma 1/2 fans stay tuned. It's a funny/fun song. 
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