Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

I have to say, I wasn't expecting all that much from this movie. At first glance it felt like I was looking at "Happy Feet" with owls. However what I experienced was very different. First I must say, this movie is extremely well crafted as far as visuals are concerned. While not everyone cares stylistically for the soft subsurface-y look that you can get in cg, it was well executed. With breath taking vistas and well groomed hero characters, this is a must for fans of the art of computer graphics and computer nerds. Also note worthy are the awesome effects in the film from the rain to fire to "energy fields."

While it is an awesome film to look at, it has some visual flaws. Some of the "scruffy" owls looked more like muppets than owls and betrayed the suspension of disbelief. I also hated the "Happy Feet" eyes that all the characters had, there was a little to much character resemblance between the films. For the most part the lighting was great accept for a handful of shots which were a bit of an eyesore.

As for story, the film was okay. My son, who is almost eight, loved the armor clad owls and was captivated by the story. My youngest son, just turned two, couldn't have cared less. He spent the show running around the theater. Thankfully, the theater was virtually empty and the other families there had small children. You might say, "But he is only two!" And yet, might I point out my son will sit through any Pixar film over and over, and was quiet as a mouse all through "Toy Story 3," riveted! While the story is aimed at older kids compared to most Pixar films, it still lacked the sophistication to hold a broad audiences attention. Fighting Owls may be cool to eight year olds, but the rest of us would like a little more character and a little more substance.

As for the action, it was comically, "300" for kids. Just before every blow of an opponent we would be ramped into super slow-mo! Instead of the cg blood splatter, flying feathers and armor cladding. It was very text book "300" style action. This isn't all that surprising as both films share the same director, Zach Snyder. On that note it was fairly violent considering the typical audience and at times made me wince a bit at having all my kids there. But that should be placed on my lapse of judgment I suppose.

I did not opt to see this film in 3D, however I heard it was well executed and brought greater depth to the imagery. So if you have some extra cash burning in your pocket, you may consider seeing this one in 3D.

All in all, it was enjoyable. Where the story lacked I could fill my time looking at the "pretty pictures" and admire all the craftsmanship and hard work that went into making this film. While not the pinnacle of film making it was entertaining, especially if you are eight.

The all powerful GPU

GPU computing is revolutionizing computing, especially for the world of visual effects. It is putting more power in the hands of the artist and allowing for breath taking simulations that previously would have been financially inconceivable. Check out how the power of the GPU was harnessed at ILM for "Harry Potter" and "The Last Airbender."

Bollywood BlockBuster?

Is this the dawn of the summer blockbuster for Bollywood?

As more and more Hollywood companies out source to India and other Pacific region countries, it was only a matter of time before the "Blockbuster" found its home in the rapidly expanding "Bollywood" film industry.

The film "Enthiran" or "Robot" is the biggest budget film in Indian film making history. While the actors and production crews are predominately from the Indian film industry, many big name Hollywood players have been enlisted to help bring this project to the silver screen. Stan Winston Studios, known for their work on "The Terminator," "Aliens," "Jurassic Park," "Iron Man," and "Avatar" to name a few, brought their craft to this film designing the awesome animatronics and visual effects for the film. Additional big Hollywood companies lend a hand to the visuals including, ILM, Tippet Studios, and Cafe EFX.

Big names like Mary E Vogt for costume design and Yuen Woo Ping for laying out the complex stunt work add to the list of elite Hollywood talent.

It is very exciting to see the expansion of mega budget movies to other film making industries. Hopefully it will inject new life into the decline American visual effects industry. Only time will tell.

New images from "Sheriff"

We are finish up the final artistic touches and technical fixes on the rooster. I am so excited to see things coming together.

"Cats and Dogs" in 3D

While vacationing with my parents and my wife and kids we decided to go see a movie. Since we had the kiddies in tow, we figured we would go see something "family friendly." The options were, "Despicable Me," they had all seen it, "Flipped," kids would never sit through that, and, "Cats & Dogs." We had a bunch of free movie tickets so thought, "Hey, why not. The first one had some funny moments with the evil Mr. Tinkles."

The first let down came at the ticket window. The film was only showing in 3D. This meant almost a hundred dollars for the group to see the film. Ouch. Seeing there was nothing else and not much else to do, and the children had been promised a movie, we coughed over the dough (paying the difference after using the free tickets that didn't cover the cost of a "3D" ticket).

All I can say is this film was terrible. The 3D was awful. The cg visual effects were terrible, except for some of Kitty Galore, the rest was terrible. The story line was lame. The jokes lacked any punch. Even my kids were getting bored in the film. I was excited to see a cameo from the hilariously funny evil Mr. Tinkles from the first film, but the writing was so awful that I couldn't stand anything that came out of his mouth. Maybe I am crazy for thinking the first one was quirkish and funny. All the characters in this sequel were weak. There was almost no motivation to move any of the story along, at many times the writers didn't even try to string it together and just hoped the audience wouldn't notice the incoherent story. You don't care about any of the characters at all ever during the film.

In conclusion, I wouldn't spend a cent on this movie, not one. Given the chance to go back in time and get our money back I wouldn't hesitate. If you find this movie at all interesting, watch the trailer on iTunes and save yourself the money. It's a complete waste of time.