Akira

I first saw Akira over winter break last year in a movie theater near my home town. It had been over twenty-five years since its original debut in Japan but after seeing it for the first time, I understood why it is so critically acclaimed to this very day. Not only was the animation far ahead of its time, Akira revolutionized the genre and allowed more animation like it to be localized to a western audience, specifically the U.S.A.     

The story takes place in the year 2019, where the original Tokyo has been destroyed in nuclear war and has been rebuilt as Neo-Tokyo. The plot revolves around Shotaro Kaneda, the leader of a motorcycle gang, and Tetsuo Shima, his best friend. Throughout a series of strange events, Tetsuo is transferred to a top secret government facility where they run tests on him and discover that he has the potential to use unbelievable psychic powers. Consumed by his own incredible strength, Tetsuo goes on a rampage, destroying everything in his path. He learns about a being that is very similar to himself named Akira, who has been locked away by the government and goes on a mission to confront him. Meanwhile, Kaneda must try to talk sense into his friend before the entire city is destroyed again and millions of lives are lost.  

Akira pretty much set the standard for Japanese animation after its initial release in 1988. It is action packed, over the top, and a hell of a lot of fun. It is very bloody and violent which some people say distract from the complex story that is going on around it but I disagree. It might be because I have developed a strong stomach for gore over the years, but I thought the violent scenes, especially the most brutal ones, really complimented the movie overall as it is an epic animated science fiction thriller. The animation is still breathtaking to say the least. In a time where animators didn't have the luxuries of the advanced technology we have today, it is unbelievable how much work and dedication went into creating this movie. From intense fight scenes to serene pans of landscapes and environments, Akira really nails it in every sense of the word.    

Overall, Akira is a classic in Japanese animation and it's hard to think what animation would be like today if this masterpiece was never created to inspire thousands of animators working today.

Blurring the Line

Over the past few months I have begun to rediscover my interest in video games. For several years I thought of them as childish and wanted no part of them. I have only recently looked at them as artwork, and that change in perpective was brought on by viewing the trailer for Assassin's Creed Revelations

I have never been so immersed in a trailer for a video game, at points I truly felt I was watching a film. The attention to and level of detail is astounding. This piece is phenomenal on every level, aside from the outstanding visuals that border on photorealism the music playing along with it is perfect. It captures the epic journey that is taking place within the brief length of the video.

The idea of video games as art is something that I ignored for far too long. I am excited to come back to the video game world with an entirely new perspective and re introduce myself to interactive art.

Expendables 2

Now I know I was talking about this movie just a tad in class the other day, however, I think this movie deserves a post because it was that EPIC. The Expendables movies are about a group of "older gentlemen" who are considered mercenaries. In the first movie they did a job for Bruce Willis, Mr. Church. They team finished the job however, there was more killing that went on than he wanted. In this movie, Church comes back saying that the job wasn't done to his standard and then sends them on another job for him. The job was to pick up someone from another country. When they get there, they run into problem after problem and killing is happening left and right. Now me watching this movie I thought it was just pure awesomeness. Though, to others, like my girlfriend, don't like it much because they think it's either dumb or just too gorey. Me personally, I love the gore and I love the people, therefore, I love the movie. It was the most awesome people in the movie, including Chuck Norris.

If you're a person who likes the kind of movies where you see peoples heads come clean off with a .50 Caliber sniper or by getting pushed into the rotters of a helicopter then this movie is for you.