Frankenweenie (1984)

I enjoyed this very much. It of course had the promise of early Tim Burton on it's side, but there was also a Speilberg-ian quality to it, maybe that was aided by the presence of Barret Oliver (who always makes me think of 'The Twilight Zone Movie'). Great cast.

2012 Oscar Nominated Shorts: Animated

So I took in the Live Action Shorts last week and the Animated Shorts this week. I think the animated nominees themselves might be a little weaker, but the overall program (the nominees plus the "Highly Commended" shorts) made for a more enjoyable experience. The weakest link, for me, was "Sunday," although it was closely followed by Pixar's entry, "La Luna." The other 3 nominees were all pretty strong, but my favorite was "Wild Life," a lovely, funny, and touching short about an Englishmen who buys a ranch in the American West in the early 1900s. The story is told through his correspondence with his family and from unfavorable testimonials from the locals. I thought it was very good.

"Morning Stroll" was fairly cute, and "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" started off with way too much sentiment and whimsy for me, but halfway through managed to find it's footing and engaged me. It will probably win.

2012 Oscar Nominated Shorts: Live Action

Well, I took in the Live Action shorts last night; "Pentecost," "Raju," "The Shore," "Time Freak," and "Tuba Atlantic." Of the five I enjoyed "Tuba Atlantic" the most. It's a Norwegian film about a crotchety old man living out his final 6 days with an "Angel of Death," a teenage volunteer who provides the "service" of helping the dying finish out their lives.

I also enjoyed "Pentecost," which mixed the very different worlds of Alter Boys and Soccer Players, it's short and sweet, well executed. "Raju," which is about a couple accidentally adopting a kidnapped child in India, is probably the frontrunner for the Academy Award, it's just seems perfectly suited for the Oscars. "The Shore" was a bit long, but wasn't bad. It seemed more like a shorten feature. "Time Freak" is one that stood out to me as maybe not being worthy of a nomination. It wasn't bad at all, but I just didn't think it was in the same league as the others. Still, it's worth a look it is fairly funny.