A Russian American fantasy directed by Jamie Bradshaw and Aleksandr Dulerayn, starring Jeffrey Tambor and Max von Sydow.
A marketing executive is involved in a media scandal and goes to live in the country. There he performs a ritual with a red cow, gaining the ability to see brand loyalty as monsters growing on people and buildings.
I love it! If only it were true... Unfortunately, it is too true in other ways. Advertising may as well be monsters with how omnipresent it is in the modern world. I could easily see fat becoming the new definition of beauty. Anyone who has been in a Walmart in the past decade or so would agree. Why do mostly fat people shop at Walmart? ...or is it Does Walmart make people fat? The plot is very interesting to me and the visual effects make it unforgettable. Some of the CG monsters are amazingly well done. I also liked how the company leaders and ad men have monster tendrils attached to them, feeding directly into the hive. The only thing that I didn't like about this is that there was Russian dialogue with no subtitles in the version I've seen. I rate it awesome for being a scorching social commentary as well as having great visual effects. You should really watch it.
A Russian science fiction action directed by Sarik Andreasyan.
A Mad scientist has made superheroes before the government turned against him. He gives himself super powers and the heroes have to defeat him.
Most folks think this is horrible. They say it has bad CGI, bad acting and a derivative plot. I disagree because I think it is more genuine and less contrived and forced than American superhero films. It seemed like everyone involved in making it knew that it was a cheesy superhero film and decided to just go ahead and make it so. I can't discuss the dialogue very much because I watched it with Russian audio and poorly translated (but on time) English subtitles. Any hokey one-liners must have been lost in translation. I like it for what it over-did well. The bear with a machine gun is the first thing to note (image). The CGI and special effects looked a little "video game"y, but it almost seemed intentional. The plot was a very standard and traditional superheroes vs villain. While not creative, it was simple and stayed out of the way to showcase hyperbolic super powers and crappy CGI better. I'm rating this adequate because I think that American superhero films take themselves too seriously and could learn something from a more "fun" Russian version.
A Swedish Norwegian Russian fantasy directed by Vladimir Grammatikov, starring Christopher Lee, Christian Bale and Susannah York.
A boy who is unhappy with his foster parents is transported to a land of fantasy where he is a prince. He goes on a quest with his best friend (from the real world, who is also in the fantasy land) to defeat the dark knight and save the children of his kingdom.
This is pretty standard, classic fantasy. The plot fits into the standard cliche like a puzzle piece. What I found hilariously cliche was the king approving of his son's quest to evil-land. The characters are shallow and stereotypical, as expected. The duo of main characters reminded me very much of Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings. We also have typical NPC-type characters and a "source of all evil" villain. The video was not too shabby, but nothing to get excited about. The audio also fit this mold. Style is where this film shines. It fits the mold of children's fantasy so well that it almost defines the genre. Everything is wrapped up into such a neat package that it set standards in cohesion. The plot points being repeated in dialogue and each section leading to the next makes it easy to understand for younger audiences. I also thought it was funny how the kite that had been flown earlier became the face of the old man in the sky that transports the main character to the fantasy land. Seeing how I like this genre so much, I thought it was great. Overall, a road map to children's fantasy. I rate this good.
A Russian animated romance directed by Aleksandr Petrov.
A 16 year old boy begins romantic relationships with a girl who is his friend and a slightly older woman.
My stop-motion and animation senses went gaga over this. Oil paint on glass is something that must be seen and enjoyed. The plot and characters were simple because of the 26 minute duration, but the video was amazing. It's like a series of impressionist paintings that move. That is the best way to describe this marvel. So what if the audio is in Russian? I barely read the English subtitles because I was all googly-eyed about the animation. I rate this best. WATCH IT!!!
A Russian documentary by Zecharia Sitchin.
Sitchin explains some of his interpretations of ancient texts involving interplanetary travellers from Nibiru.
I was unable to find an official title or date for this lecture. It was the first to come up when I typed his name into youtube. I stress that he is explaining HIS INTERPRETATIONS because there are so many who would disagree with what he says. He doesn't cite references at any point, preferring to focus on his subject matter, rather than validation of it. What he says is interesting and some of his information seems valid to me. The numbering of planets and astrological knowledge of the ancients are points upon which I agree with him. Looking at the subject as a whole, I think that he had certain correct puzzle pieces that could be incorporated into an in-depth study on alien visitation. Just like any of the other speakers I've heard, they all seem to have some parts of the story and if they could all get together, a real and valid story could be constructed from the parts they each contribute. If you're unversed in the Annunaki, this talk could be quite boring. I was not bored. I'm rating this adequate. It's not the total mind-F that I would hope for, but brings up some good topics.
A Russian documentary art film by Dziga Vertov.
Scenes from a busy city or town are shown with no explanation.
This is one of those wonderful films that I can't write enough good stuff about. Unintentionally being the first piece of psychedelic cinema, the filmmaker used every effect available. These effects ranged from playing with the speed of the film to multiple exposures and screen splitting. I can appreciate much of what is being done because of some experience with videos and a recent course in photography. The original film was released without sound and supposed to be accompanied by a live musical performance. The version that I saw had a soundtrack by Michael Nyman recorded in 2002. I liked this soundtrack, but I may watch the film again with one of the other 19 soundtracks. Some memorable scenes include the shadow of a doorway with people walking through, athletes doing high jumps, a magic show, stop motion of the camera getting onto the tripod and a scene of women putting a dark substance on themselves (picture, female anatomy points). I rate this best and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in photography and video.
A Russian animated film directed by Ideya Garanina, based on the original work of Rudyard Kipling.
A cat relates to a child the story of how primitive man met woman and they gathered to themselves animals to be their servants and friends.
This film had the same plot and characters as the "Himself" version, but was 3 times longer, weirder and more psychedelic. There is such a thing as too much style and this film does indeed have too much. The animation is all over the place with stop motion, cartoon and other styles mixing together to create a masterpiece which would best be enjoyed in combination with powerful mind-altering substances. The plot got a little murky because of this and I can't help but think that there was some type of "filler" element involved. If it had been a little more coherent, this would have gotten a better rating. I'm rating it adequate because it was just too desultory.
Image upload is not working right now, so no pictures for this one. Not my fault, so complain to google.
A Russian animated film directed by Alexandra Snezhko-Blotskaya.
The story is told of how primitive man and woman meet and gather animals to serve them and be their friends.
I'm really getting into these Russian films. The animation in this one was pretty standard for the time. It looked almost Disney/Loony Tunes-ish. The plot and style were both very good. The repeated bits of dialogue helped to reinforce the fable/folktale feel of it. I'm rating this good.
