That to me is the secret sauce of Toy Story 3.

Short story, I loved it.

First up is the standard Pixar short I so eagerly look forward to. This one is an instant classic called Day & Night. I remember most of Pixar’s shorts, they are extremely creative and packed to the brim with details and creative touches. Night and day is probably the best yet. I think 3D is kind of essential in this short, 3D adds than distracts. It almost feels like a Early monochrome Mickey Mouse cartoon acting as a window to a glitzy glamorous future. And the future looks bright. Looking at this short, I believe 3D has a future. 3D seems like a forced technology not organic like moving from photographs to motion pictures, silent films to talkies, B&W to color etc… So regardless of the marketing push, I believe 3D will be niche but with creativity it can be a very very good niche and an enjoyable one. My point is, go to the cinema early and do not miss Day & Night.

What about TS3. It is kind of surprising that I have not watched TS and TS2. I do not know the characters well. That keeps the film fresh for me, I suppose for the fans of the prequels, familiarity will add a nice dimension and may be catch some of the references. Either way, I think the movie stands good on its own steam.

Pixar is a complex organization, they have a movie making philosophy tutored by the Japanese (specifically, Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli). There is a sense of Zen, a simplicity that envelopes complex ideas. At the same time, being owned by Disney and being part of the American Film industry, they need numerous cultural gags as fillers in the story. The studios seem to still believe the gags sell tickets. True, it can bring laughter in the cinema but a year down, I would not remember Buzz doing Salsa. WTF was that.

Anyway, Pixar does an amazing job of handling these two extreme points of view and comes up champs every time. The movie is amazing, the only problem for me is the loss in details due to the stupid 3D glasses (supposedly ‘precision optical equipment’ pinches my bloody ears and nose). The dark scenes looked downright dull with the glasses. It is a real pity but if you want 3D that seems to be the compromise but I don’t like it.

There were a few inspired moments, the Tortilla Man was a hoot, the cameo by (not sure I should say this, hmmm, well highlight here if you want the spoiler) totoro with his blinks and the big wide smile was my personal favorite moment in the story. And the cymbal monkey, I always thought that guy would be up to no good… Hmm seems like Pixar animators thought so too . There were sappy moments (cue in salsa Buzz) and a typical Hollywood rescue thrown into the mix.

With all this happening, I realized, there was one thing unique about the recent Pixar films that sets them apart. It is the pacing and the long cuts. Short, fast paced cuts is primarily a Hollywood invention to get the heart pumping in high action films. They work very well for certain genre’s but the technique is abused to make fillers when the imagery is bland. It is effective and has become a blunt instrument to bean the audience with when the film maker does not have much to work with. Pixar breaks this mold. Even in fast paced rescue sequences, the camera stay and moves slowly with the characters. The artwork is brilliant and one needs time to savor them. Pixar seems t o understand this and gives us time to enjoy the imagery. Or may be this is one of the things that rubs off of Miyazaki’s philosophy. Either way, I love that.

I think in 3D this is probably more important as it easily gets tedious when the movements become fast. The trailer for Despicable Me irritated me in 30 secs but I did not even notice (except the dark scenes) the 3D glasses during the 90 mins of TS3. But the glasses are still an hindrance, I would love to go an watch the movie in 2D, sit back, relax and enjoy the show. I think I will do that, the movie definitely deserves repeated watching. Even Dice recommends it.

Update: This is spanish Buzz. This is a filler in the movie. Pretty senseless sequence and felt like watching an Indian movie where people start a song and dance sequence out of nowhere. They use this for marketing the movie!! Disney should stop making a mockery of Pixar.

You might recall, I mentioned once about Apple putting up one of my favorite Hip-Hop artist on their iPod Nano marketing materials. Well, he has gone on to singing the World Cup Football Anthem and seeking worldwide fame.

Well, they are at is again. This time, a more popular singer that I recently discovered, and ‘boom’, she is gracing the marketing materials once again.

Charlotte Gainsbourg’s recent album is on my play list for the last 3-4 weeks and I cannot stop listening to her. Here is a link to her album on amazon if you intend to get one.

There seems to be an eerie connection between my musical tastes and Apple marketing’s tastes. Or may be I am just deluding myself to buy the next product that comes out from them

Seems like I have been going on and on about movies the past weeks, I guess thats how I roll. I tend to switch gears once every few weeks and keep my brain fresh and free from monotony.

I have been not writing much about biking simply because I have not been riding much. My commute has been rudely disrupted due to some security policy at work. Someone thought that Locker rooms and showers need ‘Security’. WTF is someone going to steal? A dirty Jock? Gym Sock? Smelly boots? Oh well. Another reason why I think some policy makers are retarded. Anyhow, I am working on my backup plan and should be regularly on the saddle soon.

Ah, rant aside, let me get back to the movie. I kind of Like silent films. I also enjoy movies that cross the line in terms of social acceptance. Controversial movies, I dig. May be just to see how it fits into the historical context. It is usually interesting that after a decade or so, the controversies look so tame that one questions what the big deal was all about.

Battleship Potemkin is a Russian Propaganda film and a marketing vehicle to promote the revolution in the 1920′s. It is a stylized reproduction of the real mutiny on the Battleship Potemkin in 1905. Though cinema was at its infancy, it seems like some people had a very clear idea of its appeal and its ability to convey messages and used it to good effect (Fritz Lang’s classic, The testament of Dr. Mabuse comes to mind). As is goes with propaganda films, the presentation is essentially one sided. The anti-aristo’s and anti-religious campaign is pretty much the central theme. Characters are merely caricatures to the point of looking comical. At some point, we see Vakulinchuk (incidentally, a real life revolutionary) sitting on a turret with legs straddled and another cadet cleaning out the cannon’s barrel which seems like an enormous setup to say that the workers are being F#cked about.

All the propaganda and innuendo’s aside, the movie is pretty brilliant. What I like about early movies (before use of mobile cameras) is the fact that most shots are still (only editing creates action). The director and cinematographer is forced to think very carefully about composition. It is almost like a still image with some motion (which is also carefully controlled). On board the Potemkin, the overpowering imagery is of the cannons, in an attempt to show that violent protest is the only resort to overthrow the czar and his cossacks.

The only time the camera moves about is during the pivotal “Odessa steps” sequence. The entire sequence is brilliant, the violence is pretty much over the top even by today’s standards. There were numerous shots showing closeups of insignia, clothing, emblems etc… the significance of them elude me. I wish I had better understanding of the politics of the time. Another innovation it seems to me is the hand-coloring of the flag that the revolutionaries raise on Potemkin. Red flag being the only color in the movie and is striking. Makes me look at Schindler’s List and go, hmmm so that’s where Spielberg got it from. Coloring film is a old technique but used very effectively for the flag sequence…

The film is filled with almost still shots of iconic imagery. The raising cannons, people sitting on the turrets, the flag raising sequence, close up shot of the various characters etc… I mean, I look at it as a photo montage set to mild motion and a powerful sound track. The sound track (supposedly remastered for the DVD)  pretty much gets the movie going.

An impressive movie that is worth watching if you are interested in either Russian or Cinema history and it is just lasts over an hour.

And Incidentally, I cracked the puzzle that has been haunting me a while. There were numerous cities in Russia where there are places / streets / stations that are called 1905. I figured it to be reference to a year but never know what that meant. Now I know, it is the year that technically a mass upraising started and hence the official start of the Russian revolution and it all started with the Potemkin.