The last several years, I have gone to special showings of the Oscar-nominated shorts--both live action and animated. I am very fortunate that I live in an area where they have these showings. I am predicting here BEFORE the Oscars are announced that I think LOGORAMA is the odds-on favorite to win out of the five nominees. While I have a few minor misgivings about it, it was an incredible film and is among the most creative and amazing shorts I've ever seen. However, this film is actually my second favorite of the shorts and I still am pulling for THE OLD LADY AND THE REAPER, but it's the sort of film that's unlikely to win. Plus, I have found that if a short is my favorite, then it's bound to lose!!
If you are looking for a short with a deep story or that makes a lot of sense, then do NOT watch LOGORAMA. It will probably make your brain hurt if you try to make too much sense out of it. However, it is one of the most stunning films visually and the concept is just brilliant. It consists of a magical land where everything is logos--advertising signs and figures used throughout the world. Here, the AOL man, Bic pen man, Bob's Big Boy and many others live and the buildings, wall, etc. are all advertising logos. And, interestingly enough, Ronald McDonald is an evil psychotic!! This, however, is not the reason that this film was shown last after a special warning appeared on the screen indicating this last film was not appropriate for children. It's because the film is very violent and the language is amazingly harsh. Little kids might be traumatized to see the characters acting in a very R-rated manner!
I really wish, however, that they'd shown the movie in French with subtitles--as I assume the version I saw was dubbed into English since the film was made in France. If there is no French version or if you know how I can find it, let me know.
Aside from a relatively weak narrative and language that could have been toned down a bit to make this a better film for a wider audience, this is a brilliant film and I respect the great job they did. As I said, I won't be surprised if it's picked and can easily live with this result...as I had a great time viewing it.
By the way, for all you "Futurama" fans out there, look carefully--there is a logo for Slurm Cola during this film!! Pretty clever!
UPDATE (3/7/10)--well I picked this one correctly. Too bad I wasn't so talented when it came to Best Live Action Short! I was really wrong there!
If you are looking for a short with a deep story or that makes a lot of sense, then do NOT watch LOGORAMA. It will probably make your brain hurt if you try to make too much sense out of it. However, it is one of the most stunning films visually and the concept is just brilliant. It consists of a magical land where everything is logos--advertising signs and figures used throughout the world. Here, the AOL man, Bic pen man, Bob's Big Boy and many others live and the buildings, wall, etc. are all advertising logos. And, interestingly enough, Ronald McDonald is an evil psychotic!! This, however, is not the reason that this film was shown last after a special warning appeared on the screen indicating this last film was not appropriate for children. It's because the film is very violent and the language is amazingly harsh. Little kids might be traumatized to see the characters acting in a very R-rated manner!
I really wish, however, that they'd shown the movie in French with subtitles--as I assume the version I saw was dubbed into English since the film was made in France. If there is no French version or if you know how I can find it, let me know.
Aside from a relatively weak narrative and language that could have been toned down a bit to make this a better film for a wider audience, this is a brilliant film and I respect the great job they did. As I said, I won't be surprised if it's picked and can easily live with this result...as I had a great time viewing it.
By the way, for all you "Futurama" fans out there, look carefully--there is a logo for Slurm Cola during this film!! Pretty clever!
UPDATE (3/7/10)--well I picked this one correctly. Too bad I wasn't so talented when it came to Best Live Action Short! I was really wrong there!