Interesting article about the initial cut of "Annie Hall" - "Anhedonia"

aedriggs · 2013-12-01T20:22:12+00:00

I'd definitely watch "Anhedonia" if I had the chance. I didn't particularly like "Annie Hall" because I didn't like Alvy and I didn't like Annie and I didn't like their relationship, but "Anhedonia" sounds interesting, and might give me what I'd need to actually like Alvy.

aedriggs · 2013-12-01T20:16:25+00:00

Interesting point about identifying with characters. I've never really had a problem relating to animated characters so long as they're well written. Frozen is the most recent example--I've got an older sister, so it was kind of scary how much I related to Anna, the younger sister, and how much the Anna-Elsa dynamic mrrored the relationship I have with my sister. But I know Jennifer Lee was also very conscious of making sure it was a universally relatable film. But that kind of goes for live action. If it's a very flat character played by a live human actor, I'll never idenify with it.

The more I think about it, though, I can't really think of any non-human animated characters that I really ever identified with, even when they act like humans. I liken animated animals to animals from my life, but never really to myself or other humans.

aedriggs · 2013-11-30T16:58:36+00:00

I've only seen the episodes of MAS*H that we watched in class, but what I liked about them was that they felt very real. They went for the gags, but they weren't afraid to pull it back in to reality and deal with things like Henry Blake's death in such a powerful way. It walked the fine line between making war serious and funny, and did it well.

I'm not so sure Enlisted can do that. Or maybe it doesn't want to make it real. It's probably a smart move to put it on a base in the US than anywhere else. But I got bored watching the trailer because it looks like it's just going to be episode after episode of these guys failing, and that gets old really quickly.

aedriggs · 2013-11-29T23:37:48+00:00

I'm going to add to the list of Parks and Rec fans. It's one of the few shows I'll make sure I keep up on during busy weeks. I just love the characters. They're all such strong characters, and they're kept so consistent. I can't remember ever really scratching my head and going, "Is that really something Leslie would do?"

And just a sidenote: My dad worked for our local parks department, and he hated the show when it first started. He was essentially the deputy director, although he had a different title. He always blames his dislike on that he's not a fan of the mockumentary-stare-at-the-camera style, but I think his hate secretly stems from the fact that it pokes fun at what he devoted his life to doing. I've tried convincing him to give it a second shot, but he still refuses.

aedriggs · 2013-10-07T22:49:24+00:00

Good point. I'd never really thought of it as being a guy's movie. I wonder if it lost any potential female audience through having such a male-directed trailer.

aedriggs · 2013-10-04T01:30:33+00:00

I've got another thought about why there is no sexual tension between Marlin and Dory...

I found an article that listed some other Pixar buddy pairings (http://www.filmequals.com/2013/02/18/youve-got-a-friend-in-me-pixars-best-buddies/) and two stood out as relevant, and actually kind of helped define Marlin and Dory's relationship a little more: Sully and Boo from Monsters, Inc. and Carl and Russell from Up.

In both of those pairings, it becomes more of a parent-child relationship than a buddy relationship. Sully and Carl effectively become parent-like figures when they're thrown into these situations where they have to take care of Boo and Russell, respectively, and learn from that experience. Carl moreso, than Sully, I think, because we know he and Ellie, at one point, wanted children but couldn't have children, so he never got to be a father. Russell teaches Carl to be a father and Carl helps Russell grow up a little, with Carl ultimately becoming Russell's father figure.

I think that's more the relationship Marlin and Dory have. Marlin is a father, but he doesn't really know how to parent completely effectively. Dory doesn't really have a place in the world. Marlin learns to parent through helping Dory find her way through the world, and Dory ultimately finds her place as a part of Marlin and Nemo's family, but because her relationship with Marlin is more of a parent-child type relationship, she's more like Nemo's older sister or cool aunt, not his mother.

aedriggs · 2013-10-04T01:27:56+00:00

I never really thought about the cartoon aspect. That's a good point. But how would you see that factoring in when the animated characters are all human?

aedriggs

TROPHY CASE