Spirited Away

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
12 November 2015

Spirited Away

Spirited Away is a hand animated film created by Hayao Miyazaki in 2001. It's about a little girl who discovers a magical world in order to try and save her family from a curse, and the girl ends up making many friends and overcoming challenges beyond her years. I thought Spirited Away was very good, I loved the story, the characters were very likable, but the animation was easily the best part. Scenes were consistently beautiful and very well thought out, the textures were pleasant, and overall it was a very, very good movie. I would say they used hand drawn animation to make the movie feel more personal, to make you real invest in the characters and become immersed in the story. 

This shot really tells a lot of things about this film. First off, the drawings are beautiful, it's very colorful and detailed. Secondly, it shows all the friends that she made along the way, and really tells a story in itself. Everything about this movie was very pleasant and happy, and it was overall just a very good movie, one of Miyazaki's best, though I still prefer My Neighbor Totoro

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
5 November 2015

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil is a comedy horror making fun of slashers about two friends going to their vacation home in the woods. They have the look of serial killers, but are actually sweet normal people just trying to fix up their house. College students are camping in the woods at the same time, and the two guys ultimately end up accidentally kidnapping one of them, leading the college kids to thinking they are serial killers. After a series of unfortunate events involving a woodchipper, spear, nail, and gun, most of the students are dead, Tucker and Dale are completely confused, and Dale is fully in love with the girl they're helping. The lead college kid catches on fire and tries to kill them, fails, and Dale and the girl begin dating, because of course the do. The movie is hilarious, the acting is good, as is the writing. It's very clever and very good.

Futurama ep. 1

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
5 November 2015

Futurama: Space Pilot 3000

I'll preface this by saying that Futurama is one of my favorite television shows ever, and I love every episode equally. Futurama is one of those shows that doesn't really have to reach for ideas, everything feels natural, the characters are likeable, and the writing is excellent. Episode one is as good of a place to review as any, even the pilot is great. The show starts with "Fry" in a pizza restaurant working as a delivery boy, he goes to make a delivery on new years eve, 1999. He arrives, it was a prank, and obviously he becomes frozen for a thousand years. He wakes up in 3000, goes on a large adventure through "New New York" trying to escape from a purple haired Cyclops with his new robot friend, "Bender",  bending robot. They eventually all meet up, and become the new delivery crew for Fry's elderly nephew. The episode is hilarious, the jokes are quick, the characters develop as the episode goes on, and it introduces you to the premise of the show very well. 

Satan's Little Helper

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
5 November 2015

Satan's Little Helper

This may be the worst "horror" movie of all time, and that's what makes it so wonderful. The premise is incredibly stupid, a small child is obsessed with a video game about being a helper to Satan, and when a serial killer dressed up as Satan walks through his neighborhood on Halloween, the small child knows what he must do, befriend this man, obviously. The kid is completely oblivious to this man obviously not being Satan, and also obviously actually a serial killer committing crimes, and the kid is just going along with it, in complete blissful ignorance. It takes the serial trying to kill his entire family and causing "entrails"(large gummy worms) to fall out of his father before the kid finally discovers the truth, and also apparently how to act as well, the kid actually acting might be there scariest part of the movie because it's so surprising. The camera work is weird, the acting is non existent, and the entire movie feels like a surreal fever dream more than a movie. It's the funniest thing I've watched, and I attached a clip that I think sums it up perfectly. 

The "star" of the "film"

Survive and Advance

Patrick Mayhorn
Lemberg
Film Art
5 November 2015

Survive and Advance

For the last few years, ESPN has run a series of documentaries about different things in sports, each done by different directors, about widely different topics. They span all sports and cover many different topics, each with different underlying tones and themes. Almost all of them are fantastic, and Survive and Advance (2013) is no different. Survive and Advance tells the story of Jim Valvano and the 1983 NC State Wolfpack defying all odds to win the championship over powerhouse Houston. I once wrote almost 2000 words on Jim Valvano and this story, so I'm very farmiliar with this documentary and this story, and this documentary is probably the best source there is to learn more about Jim. The cinematography is great, the music fits perfectly, interviews are well timed and meaningful, and the classical clips perfectly progress the story and by the end you're completely invested in the story. It honors Jim perfectly and is 100% worth watching.