The Critic

Everyone's a critic,
That doesn't mean everyone's a good critic.
I myself am a critic, that's why I have this blog but what astounds me now is how people when they are giving their opinion on someone else's work... it's usually a bad one?
I mean, people! There is a difference between criticism and constructive criticism... but you just don't understand!
Take me for an instance.
If someone asks my opinion on something I'll immediately look for the first thing I liked (even if most of it wasn't great) and I'd point out everything I like about something before I even say "But if I were you, I would just add this, or maybe try something different here"
I know I may be complaining but the thing is I can take criticism, as long as its constructive. But if you only tell me what I'm doing wrong instead of what I'm doing right I am going to feel very disillusioned. So if you are taking criticism from someone else just ask, "Okay... but what did I do right?"
Always see what you did right so you can work on that and what you did wrong, you can try to change to get that right too the next time.
Criticism, it's hard to hear, but as long as the person tries to add a positive, I'm willing to accept.

Rugrats Movie

You get a lot of kids films, so many that only the ones like the Lion King or Shrek are remembered.
But an animated film to first break the mode is this one, the first non disney film to crack the box office was the Rugrats Movie in 1998.

This film, it really affected me when I was young... I rented it so many times as a kid and when I saw it a year ago in a DVD shop I had to get it.
This would probably have to be one of the darkest kid films I have ever seen, (And I'm including Coraline in that description)
Everything about this film is dark. In the most innocent of ways.
Five babies in the wilderness with a wolf trying to kill them.
No one seems to remember that fact.
Tommy actually breaks and was going to sacrifice Dil.
No one seems to remember that bit.
This movie... everything about this movie so outreaches what the show was about in so many levels.
The premise was simple, what they did with it was amazing.

This movie was made for 3 year olds, but it has the depth of any adult film. It shows children real life things, not fantasies, and it is always films like this that get me.

But I ask you Hollywood, why is it that we always have to wait years apart for films like this and Coraline? Why are you afraid to go to these dark places that kids need to see.

This movie shows life through the eyes of babies, and how things we don't think are important as adults were so much more important as children.

I may be a baby watching these kids films, for only watching  these kid films and refusing to grow up to this reality where we are meant to care more about money and sex than this.

But if we have kids films like this, all I ask is, why should I?

Perfectionist

Hey... I've been writing this blog for two years now and I'm starting to see... I'm a perfectionist.
I don't know why but whenever I have a favourite film it's always the ones that are most flawed in my opinion  but which I love to watch, just to pick out scenes I would change.

The reason why I don't read a lot is because I am a perfectionist and whenever I read something I always look for ways to improve it, even my own stories that I read to this day.
I've come over time to accept this flaw... I'll always be a perfectionist but I can still enjoy my movies because just like me, some of their scenes are flawed and they'll never be perfect, just like I'll never be and that in a way is what makes them perfect.
Their flaws.
These are the movies I can watch the most because they are flawed to a considerable degree and that's why I love them so much.
In Kiki's Delivery Service there is no action and interactions between people that don't seem real.
In Stand By Me there is absolutely no plot and yet it still draws me in.
And in Treasure Planet the whole Planet scene totally pisses me off but I still watch these films because I know they are greatly flawed and that's why I love them.
And that's why I love this new film in my collection Paranorman because it is so flawed in the middle with the zombies that I have to love it.
I have to love things that are flawed because I am so completely flawed that if they were perfect I couldn't love them.
I love the film Back to the Future 3 and Jurassic Park but they are so perfect in their viewing that they almost take me out of the film because I am not looking for what is wrong.
And that is why these films are my favourites because they are flawed in the most perfect way and that makes them great.
Accepting your imperfect flaw and still being spectacular to me is all that matters.
Thank you.

Consistency is key

Now you know a show has consistency when you don't notice any difference between episodes but for a show that's so popular now, My Little Pony has one problem. No consistency in their characters.

I say this with the highest respect. I think the show's writers all have a different concept of what they want the characters to be like and that pisses me off.

A show has to have an instruction to write these characters a certain way each time and all the writers are doing half the time is taking the main element of the personality and flanderizing it. Some episodes are good, I'll give it that, but other episodes that characters are so off it's not even funny and I've only ever noticed this with Friendship Is Magic. I think the writers have to have a discussion about the characters and how each one will treat them, instead of just taking the basics and doing whatever the hell they want.
You hear me writers! Get consistent with your characters because I don't know how much more I can take!

A good example of consistent characters in a kid show would be Gravity Falls. New but still making headway.

Scenes I hate in movies I love

I have yet to find a movie where I love every single bit of it but from the movies I do love there is always just a little scene that ruins it for me and I don't know why exactly but let's get started.

Stand By Me- Gordie's story

Okay, now I know this is a very small scene in the grand scheme of things but this story really pissed me off.
First of all Gordie's meant to be a great storyteller but from what I saw in this scene, he really isn't.
Granted I will take that this scene was meant to show the boys being young and immature in their humor but to me it's just pointless. This scene doesn't add anything to the movie, it just feels like it's thrown in for no reason and all they have to do to make this movie perfect would be cut this scene and that's it.
Just CUT THIS SCENE!

Treasure Planet- When they get on the actual planet.

Okay, now the reason why I hate these scenes is because of Ben.
Now Ben is a fine character but the biggest thing wrong with him is this
HE DOESN'T BELONG IN THIS FILM
He is loud, obnoixious, in your face and the complete opposite of all the other characters.
I just have to ask the question. Why was he added? What does he really bring to the film besides one plot point? I actually wouldn't mind the scenes on the planet if it wasn't for Ben. The movie should've solely been based around Jim's and Silver's relationship but all of the sudden they add in Ben and try to get Jim to have a relationship with him when Ben is so out of context in this it ain't funny. If they had never added Ben this movie would've been perfect... but alas, they did...

Paranorman- Aggy's passing on/First few zombie scenes

Okay, now there's just one scene that really annoys me in this film in particular and that's when Agatha passes on. It's so small it really shouldn't bother me but it does and this is why

It's just too quick, it should've been really slow to keep pace with the rest of the film but is a fast passing on and to me throws off the pace in what should've been one of the most important scenes in the film

And the whole zombie thing... for the first half hour of it I had no idea where it was going. Instead of what could've made this movie great they cater to the kids a little too much with these zombies and I think the zombies could've been treated with more respect, just saying

Kiki's Delivery Service- Crow Scene

Okay I fucking hate this scene. I hate this scene so much. It's just the crows, they are SO annoying! SQUAWK SQUAWK SQUAWK! FUCK OFF! This scene is just so annoying to the ears. Get rid of the whole crow scene and this movie would be perfect but alas... no they do not.

And the winners of absolutely best paced films are-

Back to the Future 3 and Jurassic Park.

These two films win the perfect film category because they have no annoying scene in them and show just how perfect a story can be told. So I tell you all aspiring film makers. If you want a well told, good paced movie just do one thing.

Don't add in anything the needn't be there.

That's it, that's all you have to know.

If it doesn't contribute to the story in the slightest then don't do it.

All these films would be perfect films if they just kept to this motto but alas... these small scenes just add up to the rest of the film and because of that never engross me fully.

So remember these rules filmmakers, 

Remember. 

Why Applejack is best pony

Okay, I usually don't stand by a character that much but when I see a character get so backlashed for no reason it really annoys me.
I have favourite characters for a reason.
For instance, Junior from Cleveland Show is my favourite because of his strange psychology and how he's more dangerous than what you think.
And Applejack is my favourite pony because she is so much more than what people think.
I mean, c'mon people! She is like the ONLY relatable character on the show so I don't see why she get's so much hate. She is a person you'd truly want to meet in real life and sticks up for what she believes in but isn't afraid to back down when she sees she is wrong.
She also sees what's best in the bigger scheme of things and when ever she is arguing with another character, for some reason, her points always seem more valid.
She is the only real character, the only one that you know isn't cliched so why all this hate?!
All the other characters, even Twilight are cliche characters and because Applejack is the only original one we're meant to hate her?
And she can be funny when she wants, half the time not even realizing it and that's what makes her great. Plus her actual jokes are just terrible and when you play the song "Who's a silly pony? Applejack!" she is the least silliest out of them all.
I don't know why AJ get's so much hate. I think she is an admirable character and the only reason why I watch the damn show.
C'mon people, so she's stubborn? That's a lot more of a realistic flaw than the other character's who are so over exagerated it ain't funny... really, people just annoy me at their arrogance.
Applejack for best pony,
Yee ha!!

High Expectations

People have too high expectations when it comes to film and TV and I truly question, why?
For instance, even though I may hate something the first time I see it, I give it three chances and I usually like it after the third.
Or else I'm completely blown away the first time and it is after repeated viewings that my enthusiasm for it decreases.
One film which I never really liked the first time was Stand By Me... but after a few viewings I could completely understand it and love it.
I don't know what people expect when they see something, I always go in with a completely open mind, just wanting what ever they give me and most the time they deliver... even if it wasn't in the way I expected.
So what I say to people is don't expect anything, and you'll be happy with anything you're given.
Hope that helps ;)

A Taste of An Apple Part II

Part II of A Taste of An Apple is the only story that I have written myself which gets into my favourite stories list. The only one.
There is just something about this small story, that really makes it shine.
I don't know what it is, but if I'm guessing it is this.
Applejack.
She is the one that makes this story. She is the one that I read the story for.
Her stubbornness, her blindness, and how she actually grows as a character in that part II. How she changes for the better.
In the show there's always the issue of her stubborn pride, and this part explores her biggest flaw and makes her finally realize that it is not doing her any good, but how she becomes more rounded, developed and does the right thing, even though it scares her.
Applejack's only enemy was herself. And she didn't even realize it. But it is through realizing it we get to see her become so much more of a character, someone we would want to be. Someone I would want to be.
The story deals with characters realizing that even though things will forever be different, that doesn't mean that things have to be forever bad, it means that you can accept them and work with what you have.
You can't change the past, you have to deal with where it has led you. And it is in your way of dealing with it and accepting it that can make you happy or sad. It's your choice.

Character Analyses- Kiki

Kiki... Kiki.
I really like this character, I like who she is, I like how she is real and I like how she develops.
This whole movie was just about her developing.
How she was so eager to leave home but didn't realize how hard it would really be.
How she had been niave.
And how a thirteen year old has to live with being an adult well before her time.
Nothing happens in this film. NOTHING.
But that is what makes it so unique.
It's not following a story line, it is just showing things happening and how it affects Kiki.
How in the end, she has lost her enthusiasm for her adventure but learns what it is to be brave.
The film was all about her, her just trying to be an adult, trying to be competent, trying to take care of herself but what Kiki gets in return is a deep depression.

She just didn't realize how hard it would be.
She knows no one in this world and it is only by the goodwill of people themselves that she pulls through but her own inner demon is what she has to win against.
She's insecure, shy, but it is through her courage to be accepted that she makes it.
There is no bad guy trying to make Kiki's life hard, she is doing that herself.
Every personal problem that was caused in this film was caused by herself.
And it is only by accepting herself in the end, that she grows.
She expected some great adventure but got in return reality of just how hard it would be.
And even though she knows that the rest of her time won't be roses and daisies, she still knows that she can do it. And that's all that matters.
Kiki is a very unique character.
And one we don't always understand, but try.

My favourite duos

My favourite duos are relationships between friends that I just go AWE! over.
I don't know if I could pick my favourite but I'm gonna point out my favourite duos and why in this post.
Let's get started.

Jim/Silver- Treasure Planet.

The reasons for all of my duo choices is this, these duos have amazing chemistry and strong friendships and this one is no different.
This one actually got me into the movie, the sole reason I watch it for the Jim and Silver scenes.
I love this duo, for the reason with a lot of duos is because these two bring out the best in each other.
Jim brings out Silver's goodness, and Silver brings out Jim's bravery.
Silver is the father Jim never had, but also the friend Jim never had.
The two grow a ever lasting friendship even though they spend only a short time together and it feels after only a few minutes like they've known each other forever.
It's a deep bond, and one you don't normally see in kids films, or any films for that matter.
That is why I love it.

Doc Brown/Marty McFly Back to the Future 3

To be honest, the only reason why I watch the third so much more than the other two films is because in this film they take a step back, examine the characters and actually develop them and I think it is really in Back to the Future 3 that Doc's and Marty's relationship blossoms and you finally get a sense of what these character's are about.
In most of the films I used to ask, why are these two friends? But the simple answer to it is, they are both good people, Marty doesn't judge people, Doc doesn't judge people, it's that one thing they have in common that makes them friends and it's a beautiful thing.
The only thing that Friendship needs is acceptance of what the other person is about and these two accept each other, even though they are from different worlds and that is why I love this duo.
It is a great friendship, the two understand each other, or at least try to and that's all that matters.

Chris Chambers/Gordie Lechance

Okay, this is probably my all time favourite bromance because it is done just so well.
These two were made to be friends, and the chemistry between them is just 'wow'
Again, they bring out the best in each other like what a good friendship should but they are always there for each other.
I think the thing that really makes this relationship shine is just Chris Chambers himself. He is the most genuine well meaning person in the world, I think the kind of person you would die to have as a friend.
He is strong, he is kind, and he knows what is best. And he is only 11 in this??
He makes Gordie stronger and what does Gordie give in return? His friendship, and even though Gordie doesn't completely understand how to be a good friend like Chris, it is with his time with him in the film that we see him become wiser, see him learn from Chris and see him grow.
To be honest, the way we are shown the relationship is that Chris is Gordie's dead brother's replacement. Gordie needs a new hero, and Chris (who doesn't realize that the story is about him) is that hero. A hero he was since he was born and the hero that will never realize he is.
This friendship is just beautiful.

Honorable mentions,
Applejack/Twilight- My Little Pony (show seriously needs to develop this one)
Mable/Dipper- Gravity Falls (Brother/sister friendship. A close family bond)
J/K -Men in Black 3 (The relationship is nice, but feels slightly forced on K's side)

Gravity Falls

Gravity Falls... a show I can't make up my mind to if I like or don't.
This show has so many elements that I love, the quirky characters, the interesting humour, the plots, the continuity of each episode... but... I just can never really remember an episode after seeing it.
I love the show... yet it is so hard to pick out the defining moments in an episode that really sticks in my mind.
I think this show has a lot going for it and I will keep an eye on it.

It's clever and I think that's the thing that impresses me most.

Paranorman

What can I say about this film?
Simply Wow.
I have known about this film for over a year but when finally seeing it, it blew all my preconceived notions and was just, just, miraculous.

The themes this movie dealt with were so much more than the average movie.
How fear caused scared people to kill an innocent child.
I mean... once I saw that bit in the movie... once you realize that it is about so much more than just bullying, it's about a little girl being killed because she was different.
And that's the main goal of this movie.

To shock you, and to make you realize this fact to its greatest extent.
The moments after where Norman whispers in near tears,
"How could you...? She was just like me."
I mean... never have I seen that in a kids movie, becoming reality for a split second.
The kids' movies this year have just been magnificent. This year was truly the year for movies yet this movie for me personally breaks the mode.
You really get Norman. He is not some over exaggerated character. He is just a boy, a lonely boy and this movie has a slight melancholy to it, but the hope is what it really shows.
That in the end, we are all just people. People who do stupid things when we are scared, but there is always good people, and deep down... we are all one of them.

There is no villains in this this movie... there is only people.
And how we all have bad... but we also all have good. 

Original songs I love from movies.

 Paranorman

Norma's Walk

Okay, now you know when you see a movie and you think it's the moment that's beautiful but really it is the soundtrack that brings it to life?
There's one movie with such a beautiful song like that in it and that is Paranorman.

I'm gonna do a seperate review on that movie but there's just one song that is so beautiful, so sad, yet full of life and that is the scene in the movie where Norman is walking by himself, and seeing ghosts.
This beautiful piece of music is so aptly name "Norman's Walk" 

The song becomes more symbolic as the movie goes along and never tires of what it stands for, love and understanding.
I'll get more in depth about the movie later, but for me... this song makes it beautiful.

Madagascar 3 Afro Circus

Now this song is fecking catchy!

I haven't seen the movie yet but I know I'm gonna love it.

This song however, it's the beat of life, the jam of fun and ecstasy and there's not really much more to say about it... just listen.

Lorax

How bad can I be?

Now, I will admit, I liked the Lorax a lot.

I liked its pace, loved its song and thought it had a good message.

But the song I loved most of all was the villian song song by Onceler. The one thing that pushed this movie from good to great was that song.

It made a kid's film scary for a split second and I thank it for it.

These are really the three songs that have caught my interest in films, and I love them for it... this year three quarters done, let's hope for more awesomeness to come.

Toy Story

 I was just looking back on Toy Story and even though it in its basis is about a toy being replaced, to me what I see is fear of modernity.

Woody was the old way of life, then technology came and replaced him.
I just never really took notice of that before.
Just one thing I wanted to make note of.
Very deep for a kid's film.
Apart from that, this movie has many layers, many things happening at once and this one is often sidetracked because it's not really noticed much in the film.
Old and wooden or shiny and smooth?
I should really watch this film again

Puss in Boots

I have been struggling since I saw this film in deciding if I like it or not. I think I like it, when I watch it I enjoy it but there's still something that pulls me away from it.

Puss is a very developed character in this, a typical foreign lover. He is loyal, kind and lets face it, one sexy cat but there's still the... so what is it I don't like?

It's not the characters, I like the three protaginists. It's not the villan, so what? I just can't put my paw on it. The story was some of the most original Dreamworks has done for an animated film in my opinion. The way it was directed was beautiful and every time I see I give it 9/10.

It's an awesome movie but I think I know what it is now that makes me forget it almost instantly.

There's just not anything particularly memorable about it.

It does some of the most unique things any animated film has done in the last three years but there is no one scene which makes you go, this is a film I must have.

This here is a film I like to watch, but wouldn't be drawn to watch again.

Great film, just not for me.

Top 5 Animated films

I decided to sit down today and comprise a list of my top 10 animated movies when I realized to myself, there are so many animated films that I like but not so many that I love. So here are my top 5 favourite animated films, subject to change but have been in my playlist for the last three years.

                                     5. Wallace and Gromit, Curse of the Were Rabbit.

 It may not be my favourite animated film anymore but back in 2006 I couldn’t get enough of it. The story didn’t have any morals, nothing that would normally draw me in to something but the two key factors were Wallace and Gromit’s friendship and the subtle warm humour.

I swear there wasn’t a bad bone in the film, as even though it was obviously G, it still managed to have me swept up in its humour once upon a time and even though it may be more than a year now since I last saw it, it still remains a memorable film that got me to look into the shorts that came before it.

                                                           4. Kiki’s Delivery Service, 

Some people may say this isn’t Hayoe Miyazaki’s best film and they’d be right, some may even call this movie one of his most boring (I know I have.) but one thing that always makes me think of this film is how unconventional it is, even for something main stream. It doesn’t have any driving plot until the last twenty minutes but it’s just watching the film unfold and the realisation that it’s a girl trying to live away from her parents and that’s it, really gets to me.

The animation for an 80s film is brilliant, some of the best. The character of Kiki really is just a normal girl trying to help people, when she forgets that she has to help herself. The story is so simple yet when it finally has that moment when Kiki looses her magic, and she talks about how she took it for granted, makes this movie for a tiny second more mature than the average kid film, and the climax, even though it is odd how they choose to show it, is something which not many films make me actually pay close attention to. I wouldn’t give this movie more than 8/10 but just for the last thirty minutes of it, that’s what I always remember and that’s why it made the cut.

                                                                   3 The Iron Giant. 

 I don’t know what it is with me and picking less than memorable films, but this movie does still have some dedicated fans, and I would be a new one. When I first saw this movie on a plane when I was 6, I found it so boring. I turned it off straight away and watched Nicktoons instead. But as I hit 17 my interest for animation was suddenly reunited and I was all of a sudden digging up films from the past, examining them and falling in love. And this here, was exactly how I tried this film out again. For one of Warner Brother’s only successful animated films, this one definitely deserves the title and I’ll tell you why. It’s one simple line of dialog which has never been spoken in animated film I’ve seen since

“It’s wrong to kill, but it’s not wrong to die.”

How deep was that? How deep?! For a kids film (and I really do mean kids film- this was the nineties) that was incredibly mature. Where people always blame others for dying we must remember that death is a natural part of life. I don’t think I ever heard a film give that message, whether animated or not and that is a very important one which made me look twice at this film only recently. Number 3, definitely.

                                                                           2. Coraline

  We all have our guilty pleasures, and even though Coraline is a great animated film on it’s own the only reason why it’s so high up on the list is because of its animation. I know this was helmed by the director of Nightmare before Christmas but the reason why I love this film so much was for the stepping stone it gave for Stop motion. It really advanced the industry, made stop motion finally raise its stakes yet for some reason I don’t seem to hear many other people noticing this.

The movie itself in other aspects is incredibly stylised, the character are not what you’d necessary call mainstream and it is a lot more darker than any other kid’s film released in the last ten years but you know what, I completely ignored all those facts because I could buy the animation, I could buy the facial expressions and I could buy the story. Now to be honest, when I first saw this movie I didn’t like it, and I think the reason why was because I expected it to be something mainstream. But mainstream isn’t always right, and this even though still keeping things PG, has an atmosphere that I still can’t put my finger too even after 3 years. This movie showed what Stop motion could be, Screw Tim Burton and his limited “Corpse Bride”, this film pushed the boundaries and now that I see the studio Laika (the creators) newest film Paranorman coming out I can tell that they pushed stop motion further still, I just wished Arrdman and Tim Burton would realise that this is a golden opportunity to go further than before; but seeing their upcoming films, it seems style is more important to them than improving the animation, shame.

                                                                     1. Treasure Planet,

Dum, dum, dum! Yes, have you heard about this film? One of Disney’s big flops of the early 2000s and basically destroyed any thoughts of hand drawn animation in the future. This movie pushed the boundary in trying to make CGI and hand drawn work as one and you know what, it did it. I don’t understand why this movie was a flop or why no body remembers it but I am guilty of that fact too. I only stumbled upon it in a library early 2011, decided… well this looks lame but I can rent it for free and you know what… I liked it. I watched it a second time and you know what, I really liked it.

This movie is mainstream down to the very last detail but that doesn’t bother me and you know why? Because it had no romance. For once a Disney film had no romance. You wouldn’t even miss that fact. This movie was targeted at boys but I fell head over heals for it myself and you know why.

 For once Disney gave us a real character. Jim could’ve literally been a teenager grabbed off the street and put in this film. He was moody, back answered, lethargic and not bothered to talk to anyone about his real feelings. His father also abandoned him which is very common but hardly ever presented in a Disney film (the other parent is usually killed off). This story, even though it was about pirate aliens in space was the most realistic in how it dealt with Jim. And also how they presented the antagonist/protagonist John Silver.

 He isn’t your typically Disney villain, he actually has a heart, and heck, even though Silver is as Ugly as Fuck, I still fell in love with the guy. He was a charmer. And Jim and him make such an unlikely bond that I had to give this movie props. The friendship was real; it developed slowly and won over everything in the end. It also showed Disney that a film can still be good without an evil bad guy, even if it doesn’t draw in the money. I’d take Silver over Scar or Jafar any day. This movie, even though I may only watch it every once in a while (and that for me is every two months) still brightens my day and proves that you shouldn’t throw away your future just because you don’t think your worth anything, but fight for a better tomorrow for yourself and your family.

AND THAT is my top 5 animated movies. As you can probably tell I prefer character development stories more over typical romance stories and also that I like a whole range of animated films. I still love most Disney and Dreamwork productions, heck some of them could possibly be in my top ten, but these are the five films I remember most.

Honorary mentions: Basically any animated film ever made.

Ta ta!