I can’t quite remember what Tyler’s rules for movie release years are, but Paddington was first released in the UK in November of 2014, and then in the US in January.
I thought The Gift was fantastic, twice subverting the expectations of the genre, while never having pretentions of being above it. Reminded me of The Guest or You’re Next, though without the tongue-in-cheek “just kidding” tone.
I really didn’t know what I thought about it when the movie ended, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve appreciated it. Kinda similar to David almost talking himself into liking it more than he did, except I ended up doing that, haha.
Beyond that, though, I think it really hit at a core motif I’ve always been fascinated by: how the idea of “who” someone is can be more important, and more powerful, than who s/he actually is. It has two faces in this movie, both in how Simon bullied Gordo via an image of him he created, and how Robyn bought into an image of Simon that he sold her.
Today I went to see Aardman’s new Shaun the Sheep movie. The way Tyler talked about Paddington, I think he would really love this film as well. You both would, actually (as I know you both enjoyed Chicken Run). It’s stop-motion animation at its finest, purely visual storytelling with so many great gags. Highly recommended for the BP admirals.
What blows my mind about Aardman studios is how they manage to have PERFECT comic timing with STOP FREAKING MOTION. How is that even possible? Anyway, see it. It’s brilliant.
As far as British dislike of The Mighty Boosh goes, it’s worth noting that at least part of it was driven by the way that Noel Fielding became a media personality separate from the show. There was a time when he seemed inescapable, appearing on panel shows and gracing the pages of the NME all the damn time, and his schtick wore out pretty quickly as a result. That overexposure, more than the decline in quality from series two to three, is probably what drove the backlash.
I can’t quite remember what Tyler’s rules for movie release years are, but Paddington was first released in the UK in November of 2014, and then in the US in January.
I thought The Gift was fantastic, twice subverting the expectations of the genre, while never having pretentions of being above it. Reminded me of The Guest or You’re Next, though without the tongue-in-cheek “just kidding” tone.
I really didn’t know what I thought about it when the movie ended, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve appreciated it. Kinda similar to David almost talking himself into liking it more than he did, except I ended up doing that, haha.
Beyond that, though, I think it really hit at a core motif I’ve always been fascinated by: how the idea of “who” someone is can be more important, and more powerful, than who s/he actually is. It has two faces in this movie, both in how Simon bullied Gordo via an image of him he created, and how Robyn bought into an image of Simon that he sold her.
Looking forward to my rewatch.
Today I went to see Aardman’s new Shaun the Sheep movie. The way Tyler talked about Paddington, I think he would really love this film as well. You both would, actually (as I know you both enjoyed Chicken Run). It’s stop-motion animation at its finest, purely visual storytelling with so many great gags. Highly recommended for the BP admirals.
What blows my mind about Aardman studios is how they manage to have PERFECT comic timing with STOP FREAKING MOTION. How is that even possible? Anyway, see it. It’s brilliant.
As far as British dislike of The Mighty Boosh goes, it’s worth noting that at least part of it was driven by the way that Noel Fielding became a media personality separate from the show. There was a time when he seemed inescapable, appearing on panel shows and gracing the pages of the NME all the damn time, and his schtick wore out pretty quickly as a result. That overexposure, more than the decline in quality from series two to three, is probably what drove the backlash.
This is good insight to have! It’s not hard to imagine Noel Fielding being insufferable.
– David