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iStopMotion for iPad
Photo & Video and Education
App
*** Winner Macworld Best of Show 2013 *** *** Winner Macworld Best of Show 2012 and Mac Observer...
Lee (2222 KP) rated Early Man (2018) in Movies
Oct 23, 2018
Early Man is from Aardman Animation, the team behind Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Chicken Run. Following the devastation caused by a large meteor hitting the Earth many generations ago, a stone age tribe now lives in the lush forest within the crater it left behind. Fairly primitive, and fairly stupid, they hunt rabbits for food and don't really venture outside of the crater into the volcanic wastelands that surround them. But when a more advanced civilisation of bronze age people come along and take over the crater in order to start mining more bronze, the stone age gang find themselves forced out of their home and into the wastelands. One of the stone age men, Dug, follows the bronze age men back to their city and into their football stadium, where thousands gather to watch football. He decides to challenge the bronze age team to a football match, with the winner getting to keep the valley that they call home. Turns out that the stone age tribe invented football many generations ago, and now need to reawaken their passion for the game, and somehow get themselves match ready in time for the match.
As always with Aardman and Nick Park, the stop-motion animation and the attention to detail are top notch. There are some funny moments, but it's nowhere near the standard of some of the previous Aardman productions. It boasts a great line up for the character voices too - Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams and more - only it's not enough to lift this beyond being a fairly below average family movie, which is a real shame.
As always with Aardman and Nick Park, the stop-motion animation and the attention to detail are top notch. There are some funny moments, but it's nowhere near the standard of some of the previous Aardman productions. It boasts a great line up for the character voices too - Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams and more - only it's not enough to lift this beyond being a fairly below average family movie, which is a real shame.
Pimple Popper
Games and Entertainment
App
Whaaaa....a Pimple Popper app? Yes, it's true! Our app is so full of ooey, gooey goodness - it's an...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Shaun the Sheep is a spin-off from the popular British stop-motion animation show Wallace and Gromit. This one of a kind, smart, and loveable sheep burst on to the small screen nearly twenty years ago in the short “A Close Shave.” Winning the hearts of millions, it’s no surprise a movie was in the works.
This film starts off with a silent monologue of how Shaun, the rest of flock of sheep, and Bitzer, the loyal and always “by the book” sheepdog, came to live with the Farmer. Fast forward a few years, sick and tired of the redundant life of waking up early, being herded throughout the farm, shaved, and fed the same food every day, Shaun brilliantly devises a plan to give him and the flock the day off. Unfortunately, the plan of tricking the Farmer to fall asleep in an RV trailer goes awry when the trailer wriggles loose from its tire wedges sending the Farmer off on an out of control trip and ending up in the Big City with amnesia. Stuck on the Farm with no one to tend to their needs, the Sheep and Bitzer panic and set off to the Big City to bring the Farmer back home. And, so begins the adventure into unchartered territory.
It’s remarkable that a movie with no dialogue manages to convey so many messages and emotions-from anger, comic relief, sadness to gratitude and joy. My hats go off to writer-director duo, Mark Burton and Richard Starzak, and the rest of the animation team for paying such wonderful attention to detail with the characters, the vibrant scenery, and also being on point with the comedic timing.
Every generation will love this movie and it definitely proves that silence is golden.
This film starts off with a silent monologue of how Shaun, the rest of flock of sheep, and Bitzer, the loyal and always “by the book” sheepdog, came to live with the Farmer. Fast forward a few years, sick and tired of the redundant life of waking up early, being herded throughout the farm, shaved, and fed the same food every day, Shaun brilliantly devises a plan to give him and the flock the day off. Unfortunately, the plan of tricking the Farmer to fall asleep in an RV trailer goes awry when the trailer wriggles loose from its tire wedges sending the Farmer off on an out of control trip and ending up in the Big City with amnesia. Stuck on the Farm with no one to tend to their needs, the Sheep and Bitzer panic and set off to the Big City to bring the Farmer back home. And, so begins the adventure into unchartered territory.
It’s remarkable that a movie with no dialogue manages to convey so many messages and emotions-from anger, comic relief, sadness to gratitude and joy. My hats go off to writer-director duo, Mark Burton and Richard Starzak, and the rest of the animation team for paying such wonderful attention to detail with the characters, the vibrant scenery, and also being on point with the comedic timing.
Every generation will love this movie and it definitely proves that silence is golden.
Animation - Process, Cognition and Actuality
Book
Animation - Process, Cognition and Actuality presents a uniquely philosophical and...
The Storm of Creativity
Kyna Leski, John Maeda and John Antonelli
Book
Although each instance of creativity is singular and specific, Kyna Leski tells us, the creative...
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Bride of Re-Animator (1990) in Movies
Oct 3, 2020
The first Re-Animator definitely ranks in my personal top horrors of all time, and it's sequel isn't that far behind in quality.
First and foremost, Bride of Re-Animator is batshit insane, arguably more so than its predecessor. My the time the climax rolls around, there is just an unholy amount of crazy shit going on at once. It's genuinely quite challenging to take it all in, and it's nothing short of marvelous.
The effects work is outstanding. Practical effects and stop motion are used to bring a plethora of rejected experiments to life, and the whole film is just caked in gore and viscera (be prepared if you get funny about veins and ligaments...)
There's one particular moment that could well be one of the finest examples of body horror ever committed to screen.
The puppeteer of this madness is of course Herbert West, a bonafide icon of horror, and once again played by the great Jeffrey Combs. It's great to see David Gale and Bruce Abbott back for another stint as well, and Kathleen Kinmont gives it her all as the titular and showstopping Bride of Re-Animator.
The only real way that Bride falls short of the first movie is really down to pacing and structure. The payoff is fantastic, but the majority of film that comes beforehand feels a bit jumbled together (much like the Bride herself) and comes across as disjointed at times. Honestly, any character that isn't mentioned above is also just kind of there, but that's a minor grumble in a film that involves Hebert West.
Not quite as brilliant as the first Re-Animator then, but a suitably absurd sequel that can stand proud on its own merits.
First and foremost, Bride of Re-Animator is batshit insane, arguably more so than its predecessor. My the time the climax rolls around, there is just an unholy amount of crazy shit going on at once. It's genuinely quite challenging to take it all in, and it's nothing short of marvelous.
The effects work is outstanding. Practical effects and stop motion are used to bring a plethora of rejected experiments to life, and the whole film is just caked in gore and viscera (be prepared if you get funny about veins and ligaments...)
There's one particular moment that could well be one of the finest examples of body horror ever committed to screen.
The puppeteer of this madness is of course Herbert West, a bonafide icon of horror, and once again played by the great Jeffrey Combs. It's great to see David Gale and Bruce Abbott back for another stint as well, and Kathleen Kinmont gives it her all as the titular and showstopping Bride of Re-Animator.
The only real way that Bride falls short of the first movie is really down to pacing and structure. The payoff is fantastic, but the majority of film that comes beforehand feels a bit jumbled together (much like the Bride herself) and comes across as disjointed at times. Honestly, any character that isn't mentioned above is also just kind of there, but that's a minor grumble in a film that involves Hebert West.
Not quite as brilliant as the first Re-Animator then, but a suitably absurd sequel that can stand proud on its own merits.
Ronyell (38 KP) rated Coraline (2009) in Movies
Aug 4, 2020 (Updated Aug 4, 2020)
The Darkside of Wonderland
I remembered reading Neil Gaiman's book on this classic story about a young girl wanting a better life, but finding out the hard way that sometimes it's good to be satisfied with what you have rather than having a life that's not real and I have always loved how this story was set up and how creepy it was! So, when I heard that they were finally making a movie about this novel, I was super excited and my excitement was definitely not misplaced in this movie! I just loved how the animation really fit with the creepy tone of this story as it was jerky in your typical stop motion way and yet gorgeous to gaze at! I also loved the story itself as it was about Coraline learning that not all things are paradise when she visits the other world and I also loved the fact that Coraline took it upon herself to rescue her parents when they were kidnapped as it showed great courage in her character! I also loved Coraline's neighbors in both the real world and the other world, as they were eccentric yet helpful towards Coraline, especially Mr. Bobinsky, who was probably one of the most interesting characters in this movie!
The only problem I had with this movie was that the beginning was sort of slow and I wished that there was more action at the beginning that would have capture my attention of this movie from the beginning.
Overall, "Coraline" is definitely one movie you should check out, especially if you are a huge fan of Neil Gaiman's books or if you are a huge fan of weird and creepy animated films in general!
The only problem I had with this movie was that the beginning was sort of slow and I wished that there was more action at the beginning that would have capture my attention of this movie from the beginning.
Overall, "Coraline" is definitely one movie you should check out, especially if you are a huge fan of Neil Gaiman's books or if you are a huge fan of weird and creepy animated films in general!
Breach of Containment
Book
A reluctant hero must prevent war in space and on Earth in this fast-paced military science fiction...
Science fiction
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated The Wolf Man (1941) in Movies
May 25, 2017
A classic Universal Monster Movie (2 more)
Lon Chaney Jr
Claude Rains
Even a Man who is pure of heart....
Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms, and the Autumn moon is bright.
Heard that before in other werewolf movies, well this was it's origin. Created purely for the film, this poem even had some people believing it was an original folklore saying. If you have watched a handful of werewolf movies, then you will have noticed a lot of similarities;
- Silver bullets
- Wolfsbane
- Full Moon
- Not being able to retreat their acts from their loved ones
- Pentagrams
- Gypsies
- Gypsy Curses
- A Bite or scratch from the werewolf turns you
Some of these were originally created by the writers working on this film, and have become stereotypes that inspire many other werewolf films, TV Shows, Books, and Games etc.
The portrayal of Lawrence Talbot, by Lon Chaney Jr. is one that makes the classic Universal Monsters so special. Just like Frankenstein's Monster, the audiences of the 40's would have been frightened and horrified by these creatures, enough so that they wouldn't realise that they are in actual fact, suppose to sympathize with them, because when you watch the creatures being chased and hunted,the angry mobs fail to understand that these creatures never wanted this. Frankenstein's Monster never asked to be created, or to have the brain of a criminal mistakenly placed into his head instead of that of a civilized man. Larry Talbot never asked for the Wolf Man's curse, which he encountered whilst trying to save the life of a young female friend of his love interest.
With a great story and, at the time, revolutionary stop motion effects for the wolf man transformation, but of course the most important aspect, the beautifully crafted practical effects, the makeup that brings the creature to life, is incredible. My favourite of the classic Universal Monster Movies and one of my favourite movies of all time.
Heard that before in other werewolf movies, well this was it's origin. Created purely for the film, this poem even had some people believing it was an original folklore saying. If you have watched a handful of werewolf movies, then you will have noticed a lot of similarities;
- Silver bullets
- Wolfsbane
- Full Moon
- Not being able to retreat their acts from their loved ones
- Pentagrams
- Gypsies
- Gypsy Curses
- A Bite or scratch from the werewolf turns you
Some of these were originally created by the writers working on this film, and have become stereotypes that inspire many other werewolf films, TV Shows, Books, and Games etc.
The portrayal of Lawrence Talbot, by Lon Chaney Jr. is one that makes the classic Universal Monsters so special. Just like Frankenstein's Monster, the audiences of the 40's would have been frightened and horrified by these creatures, enough so that they wouldn't realise that they are in actual fact, suppose to sympathize with them, because when you watch the creatures being chased and hunted,the angry mobs fail to understand that these creatures never wanted this. Frankenstein's Monster never asked to be created, or to have the brain of a criminal mistakenly placed into his head instead of that of a civilized man. Larry Talbot never asked for the Wolf Man's curse, which he encountered whilst trying to save the life of a young female friend of his love interest.
With a great story and, at the time, revolutionary stop motion effects for the wolf man transformation, but of course the most important aspect, the beautifully crafted practical effects, the makeup that brings the creature to life, is incredible. My favourite of the classic Universal Monster Movies and one of my favourite movies of all time.