Sunday, June 30, 2013

Uncle Harry (My Uncle Buck)

RIP Uncle Harry


Today was my birthday, but lets put that on hold for a moment.  Today was a horrible day for the Dorta family.  My Uncle died this morning due to complications of diabetes, at age 57. 



This is the first real death that has me shaken, due to the fact that he was relativley young, and the amount of memories that I have had with him is tremendous.

I will always remember a man that:

Made me laugh
Did the best Bill Cosby impersonation
Told the best stories
Great musician
Great Sculputre, Painter
A sharp dressor
Was a great video game partner
Wonderful fisherman
But more importantly, was always in every aspect in my life, from New York, Puerto Rico, to Florida.



I will see you again Harry.  God bless you. 

Monday, June 24, 2013

This is the End

This is the End


This has been the best movie I have seen this Summer by far.  I'm not to big on comedies, but this one really delivers.  I am a huge fan of Freaks and Geeks, so I love the fact that Seth Rogan, James Franco, and Jason Segal, have all stood friends, and continue to collaborate with each other.  Their are also so many Judd Apatow cameos in this movie, that it gave me the feeling that these guys made this movie for their fans...  Na, who am I kidding, these guys made this movie for themselves, and that's why it works.  This is the End, is just a bunch of friends making a movie together, having fun, not giving a shit whether their movie wins an Oscar or not. 



This is it will go on my list of all time favorite comedies along with:

Anchor Man
The Hangover
Ace Ventura
Waynes World.
and a bunch of others I'm sure I've forgotten.

Saul Bass





Saul Bass was a genius. 

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Exercise 5 (Rough Draft)

Hierarchy Assignment 

Apparently I am a being forced into being a Graphic Artist...  





Friday, June 14, 2013

Man of Steel Review


Man of Steel



I have been an avid Superman fan for the last 16 years, with that said, I have been waiting for a GOOD superman movie for a long time.  I know a lot of people enjoyed the Christopher Reeves version of Superman, but I found those movie to be to campy.  In 2006 Superman Returns primiered, and it was God awful.  Sadly, I must say that Man of Steel is one step below Superman Returns, and here is why.

Source Material:  A lot was changed in this movie for the sake of changing things.  Superman is such an iconic story, and I am all for taking creative liberties, but damn, so many rediculous changes to the Superman lore,  just for the sake of changes?

CGI:  I think its safe to say that if I am complaining about to much CGI, we have a problem.  Watching Superman fight in this movie, was almost like watching a cartoon or video game. 

Narrative:  This story was all over the place.  The Krypton scenes were a snoozefest, and it seems like they tried way to hard to make the  Krypton story much deeper than it needed to be.  The flash backs were out of the place, the pacing of the movie were even odder. 

Clark Kent:  Who?  Clark Kent in this movie was unrecognizable, instead we get a wooden, emo representation.

Perry White:  Irrelavent

This movie had no heart.

This script was fluff.

This is not Superman.

To say I am disappointed in this film is an understatement, and whats worse is, I'm going to have to hear how GREAT this film is from everyone, just like I had to listen to how GREAT the Dark Knight Rises was.

3/10  my worse rating yet this summer. 

Movie Reviews (Summer Edition)

Anyone who knows me, knows I love movies!  So lets just dive right into this.

Oblivion

 

I kicked off the Summer movie season with OBLIVION.  For all of you out their that HATE Tom Cruise, you can not deny that this man is a great actor.  I am a huge fan, and I don't care what weirdo thing he worships.  That's exactly why this movie is worth seeing, if seeing at all that is.  Tom Cruise puts everything into this role.  Other than that, this movie is boooring as hell.  It's an easy story to tell, yet its a bit on the confusing side.  The visuals are beautiful, and being a visual effects student, this made the movie worth seeing alone, but others will find themselves looking at their watch.  Netflix this one, or just skip it all together.  

4/10

Iron Man 3


After watching Avengers, I went into this movie with big expectations, part 3's after all, tend to be the end when it comes to movie series.  Now I didn't expect Iron Man 3 to be better than the Avengers, that would be unfair, but I did expect it to be at least better than Iron Man 2, which was complete dog shit.  Suffice to say, Iron 3 was better than Iron Man 2, but was still nowhere as good at Iron Man 1.

I was entertained by the film, but I wouldn't watch it again.  Iron Man 3 is worth the money to see in theaters, but it is in no way a top 10 superhero movie.  Most people are really going to love the twist in this movie, as did I.  Unfortunately, people who read Iron Man comics, all three of you out their, will probably shake your fist in anger. 

Robert Downey Jr. once again kills in this role, as does pretty much everyone in this film, especially Sir Ben Kingsly.  What I think Iron Man suffers for most, is the fact that he has one of the worst Rogue Galleries in comics, and that is why his films will never achieve greatness. 

7/10


The Great Gatsby



I am a big Baz Lurmann fan.  I loved Rome and Juliet as a kid, and I respect his other endeavors, due to the fact that his movies tend to replicate theater, and are a bit on the grandiose side.  I did read the Great Gatsby in high school, and like everything I read on paper, that does not contain pictures, I only remember bits and parts, but one thing I did remember was being bored out of my mind.  A lot of people complain about how stylized and over the top, this film is, but I think it has to be.  Other versions of the Great Gatsby have been made, so why not approach this a little different.

The cast was fun, the visual kept you engaged, and for once I was finally emerged into this Fitzgerald classic.  I guess the only other thing to comment about this movie, is the music.  For those who don't follow Lurmann, he tends to take modern music and enter it into other time periods.  I think he pulls it off though.  Kudos Mr. Lurmann.

7/10

The Hang Over Part 3


 
The Hang Over Part 1 was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, Part 2 however, was just okay.  A lot of people are saying that Part 3 is greater than Part 2, but I think it is actually a step down.  They made a lot of likely characters like Mr. Chow, and Allen unlikeable, or maybe its because it seemed like the movie focused on these two more than the Wolf-pack.  This is the first film that actually didn't use the formula of being hung over, and even though I applaud them for that, it just didn't work.

Don't get me wrong the Hang Over 3 is funny and you will have a good time watching it, but, I definitely wouldn't go see it on repeat viewings.  An okay end to a series on life support.

7/10

Star Trek into Darkness



I must have been the only person on the planet to hate the revamped Star Trek movie, however I must admit Star Trek into Darkness shut me up.  I found the first movie to have to much going on, but this one was pretty much a straight forward popcorn flick, with good effects, a good villain, and most of all a great cast.  You see this is where Star Trek shines, it's casting choices.  Not only did each of its characters feed our nostalgia, but I actually think they are more fleshed out versions then their predecessors.

I know people are going to hate on me for saying that, but lets be real, the 1960's weren't know for very complex characters when it came to television shows, but now we have a Spock with tremendous layers, an Uhora, that actually does stuff, and a bad ass Zulu.  Go see this movie, just for the fact that it is a lot of fun. 

7.5/10


Now You See Me



So far I have been a little bit disappointed with the Summer Movie season.  Every movie I have seen has been good but nothing great.  I was hoping Now You See Me, would be the movie that would change things, because it seemed so different.  I was also rooting for it, because it wasn't a superhero movie, or a blockbuster that we have been waiting months for.  I will say that Now You See Me, is a good movie, but eh, I could of easily ordered it when it hit Netflix.  Their was a lot of good ideas in this movie, but none of which were fulfilled to their potential.  Their were a lot of great actors in this cast, but I found all of the characters unlikable.  I didn't feel like I should be rooting for the police or the magicians, since both seemed cocky, and got on my nerves.  Michael Cain, and Morgan freeman felt like they were sleeping through this movie, just saying.  Even with all of this, I was still intrigued by the mystique of this movie, but just to warn you the end is so blah, that it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.  The fact that every movie now and days feels that a twist needs to be put in place... that's just lazy script writing.  

6/10


World War Z



A friend of mine got a free screening to this movie and invited me.  I of course accepted because, I was really interested in what World War Z was, but wasn't exactly sure if I was willing to pay to find out.  First off don't waste your time seeing this in 3D.  I think there was just one moment when I noticed anything noteworthy as far as 3D.   Any who, World War Z is yet another movie that isn't horrible, but isn't great.  It's just a meh experience.

Brad Pitt does his thing, and for the most part he always does a decent job in movies.  This movie was just really predictable though.  If you liked 28 Days later and Outbreak, then that's what your basically watching here, expect those two movies did it right.  This movie will have you saying, wtf every 5 seconds, due to the poor choices characters make, and the unbelievable things they expect us to buy (Air Plane Scene).  With a movie theater filled with better than okay movies, and this movie just being okay, I say Netflix this one. 

5.5/10

Movies I will not be seeing this Summer

Fast and the Furious 6
Epic
After Earth
The internship

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Before VFX

This is why I wake up everyday. 

 Iron Man 2

 Watchmen

 Green Lantern

 The Dark Knight

 Ted

 The Muppets

Captain America

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Top 10 T.V Shows of All Time (According to Me)

 10)  Family Guy

Why? I used to think South Park was the most vulgar cartoon show on t.v, but after watching Family Guy, South Park seems G rated.  Funniest cartoon ever.


09)  Boy Meets World

Why?  It  defined my childhood, that's why.  Then again, its responsible for me having delusions, about how great life is supposed to be.


08)  Monk

Why?  A world class detective in the style of Sherlock Holmes, is enough to get me watching.  Add in Tony Shalhoub,  and a character you can route for, and you got an addicting television show. 

 07)  Rome

Why?  One of the smartest shows to ever grace T.V.  Great characters, and about 95% historical accurate. 


06)  The Office

Why?  One of the most original comedies to air, the Office used a documentary style approach.  Everyday characters, and incompetent boss is what made this show great.


05)  Batman the Animated Series

Why?  A Film Noir style Batman that is closer to any source material (until Arkham Asylum).  Nuff Said.






04)  Lost

Why?  Greatest continuity on Television.  Lost was a show about mysteries, which I tend to love.  Some might complain that it didn't end well, they may be right.  Even with that, the first three season of Lost are so good, that it doesn't even matter.  Best three seasons of T.V ever, and I will defend that til my death. 



03)  It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Why?  It's Always Sunny is like Seinfeld on steroids.  These guys have produced the best comedy in the last decade.  No topic is off the table.  Charlie Day, and Danny DeVito knock this show out of the park.


02)  The Twilight Zone

Why?  Rod Serlings writing is genius, and holds up to this day.  The show changed cast every week, and was one of the first t.v shows to contain horror theme genres. 


01)  Seinfeld

Why?  I could watch Seinfeld everyday for the rest of my life.  Actual I do.  Best characters, best episodes, best writing, best repeatability.  Best Show Ever.

Fall Semester

I am so pumped about the upcoming fall semester, I will be taking the following courses:

Advanced Motion Graphics
Adobe Illustrator
Fundamentals of Interactive Design
Advanced Digital Video and Sound
and
Possibly an Exploratory Internship

Unfortunately 90% of my workload will come from Advanced Digital Video and Sound, which is the only roadblock between me and my dreams.  

Random Picture of the Day


If I were to ever get married, which I won't, I would love for my wedding photos to have a theme like this. 



Sunday, June 9, 2013

New Blog

I think it's about time that I start blogging again.  I realize that I have no friends, so I mine as well keep my mind company right?

Things this blog will feature?

My progress on becoming a Digital Artist
Movie/Comic/Video Game Reviews
My quest to achieve a perfect body
Lastly, my yearly goals

Random Picture of the Day





Apparently they are selling these at The new Simpsons land at Universal Studios.  Grrr, I am regretting my decision for not renewing that damn thing.  I love me donuts!