TIGAER-DESIGN.COM_.v5 – Digital Art by Christian Hecker

Sometimes there are movies you can relate to in way that other movies do not. Even if they try. Gran torino is that kind of movie. It’s not an action movie. It’s not a FX movie. It’s a movie about our society and how people live with it, how they are connected with each other.

This is a movie directed by Clint Eastwood. He also played the main character. A bitter old man that just lost his wife and still struggles with his memories of the korean war that influenced him more than he might admit. Over the years he lived through all the changes that a neighborhood can go through. And most of the time such changes are negative. Still he refuses to move since his whole life he lived in that neighborhood. So our old man is not only struggling with his past but also with how his world changed over the years. Now there are tons of immigrants in his neighborhood and he is wondering when it all started to fall apart. With all the foreign people there is also a certain degree of criminality that arose over the years. Gangs, drugs… the usual suspects.

One day new neighbors, immigrants, moved into the house next door and our friend is directly confronted with all the problems that come with it. At first he decided to close his eyes to ignore everything but then things happen that cannot be ignored. Without actually wanting it he defends the family next door from a gang that starts to make trouble. Over time we see how the old man is trying to, not necessarily change himself, but to understand these people. He is becoming friends with them. He learns about their culture and they learn about his experiences and why he is that bitter man that he is. They try to help each other. Unfortunately the gang is still making trouble and our old man sees no other way than to do something.

While in the beginning our main character is the old bitter man, it’s nice to see how he is trying to understand the other people as well as their culture. We see that he’s not only a man who lived through some tragedies… a broken relationship to his kids, the recent death of his wife… but a man of principles. He appears like a man made of steel but someone who knows what’s good and right in this world. And that’s what he is trying to do. Whatever it might cost. That’s where i see myself in it somehow. I’m also trying to do the best thing possible. Holding up the old values like honesty and things like that. Whatever it might take. Often you get a kick in the rear for that. But nonetheless… you try to hold up the flag… because someone must do it. Another thing that relates to me is the fear of new things. Where our old man has problems to get in contact with other people. Because he really is the always grimly looking man. I know that too well. So i was glad to see that in the movie we can see how he is becoming friends with someone he never thought he could.

At the end of the movie you hope for the perfect ending. And it kind of is the perfect ending. The only possible ending.

Oh and yeah… the Clint Eastwood in that movie could still beat the sh’t out of some Bruce Willis or Vin Diesel. =) That’s for sure!

7.9/10

Gran Torino on IMDb

Sometimes you have movies you anways want to watch but you somehow never end up doing it. For me this one was a movie like that. I knew people say it’s good but meh… i don’t know. Yesterday i took me the time to watch it. Finally! And i don’t regret it. It’s a wonderful movie!

I think there’s rarely a person on this planet that cannot somehow connect to our main character. He’s definitely not mr. everybody. But in a way… he is… nonetheless. It’s weird i know. Lets just say i recognized myself within that character. Not completely… but in some of his facettes. Especially the guitar bit made me smile. Since i, now for a few months, have a guitar too and try to learn it myself as well as our man in the movie. The character i’m talking about is Harold. Played unexpectedly good by Will Ferrell. he’s an I.R.S. employee and surely doesn’t lead a too exciting life. Suddenly he hears a voice. The voice of a woman who is commenting on things he is doing at the very moment. Really funny to see how confused Harold is by that! Harold trys to find out what’s happening and finds a psychologist, played by Dustin Hoffman, who is willing to help him. After some trial and error they find a solution. In the mean time Harold falls in love with a girl, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, he met while doing his miserable job. The way this romance starts and goes along through the movie is very sweet. It’s interesting to see how all the happenings throw harold out of his daily loop. Which he was happy with! But ultimately all the craze and weird things happening made him experience things that he never would have experienced if there were not just a bit crazyness in his life. And it’s true! Lets just say i made my personal experiences. You can’t just do the same things over and over again. Sometimes something stupid and crazy must happen so you get new and fresh experiences that may change your life. And that’s what basically happens to harold. And i was happy to see how things turned out for him. Until he found out where the voice came from and what that meant for him. No spoilers here. :)

Since this is no vfx movie i cannot write a lot about that. Except for one thing. The design within the movie and how it transports the story is great! You will understand what i mean wihtin the first 2 minutes of watching this movie. I love these ways of animated design.

Awesome movie! Great acting through the bench… Ferrel, Thompson, Gyllanhaal… very nice! Sweet Story!

Perfect for a nice dvd evening with your boy/girlfriend.

8.0/10

Stranger Than Fiction on IMDb

A few days ago i watched the finale of the Battlestar Galactica TV series. Time for a review since this series was practically the only TV series i followed over the last few years. I know there are a lot of other good TV series out there but most of them always end with crazy cliffhangers and even more unanswered questions. LOST is a good example. I literally hated it to wait another week before i got one answer and two more questions about the happenings on the island. After a few episodes i had enough of that concept. Well, BSG on the other hand, has cliffhangers too. Nonetheless the writers managed it to make every episode a closed story in the end. BSG was a very very well written TV series with very strong characters and the interesting element that you could see, in a realistic way, how a race is fighting for survival. And what problems occur on the way and how they can solve them. The story as well as the FX and soundtrack were extremely good. The space dogfights between colonial and cylon fighters were always an eyecatcher. Not to mention the battles between cruisers and baseships. It was a lot of fun!

So the final episode finally brings them home. After an epic fight against an cylon outpost. The FX in that battle were just gorgeous. I never saw such FX quality in a TV series. Some real fireworks for the last episode. The way how they brought everything together for the end was very well done. All the characters depart into different regions of earth to settle. They find their final peace. After that epic journey they finished, they finally found a place to live. As a fan of the series you really feel good for them. They deserved it. I even shed a tear. Very touching stuff happening.

They cleared up every question except for one. That keeps you thinking even after the end of the series. Actually a good move because that way the series stays in your head. You won’t forget it too easily.

A thanks to the cast and all people who worked on it. Great piece of work!

If you haven’t seen it… get yourself the dvds and watch it. If you’re a fan of scifi and drama… my recommendation!

9.0/10

Battlestar Galactica on IMDb

Now this was a movie a lot of people really waited for. We also know the critics did not really embrace this movie. Now after i saw it i can understand why. I must also say that i do not know the actual comic. What i do know is that the comic itself enjoys a very high rating amongst critics and fans. Celebrated to be one of THE stories ever written!

Now i went into this movie without to know too much about anything. So, no big expectations… except for the fx. The movie shows us an alternative reality of the 1980s. Which, i found, looked and felt realistic. The world is still in a heavy cold war and on the brink of an atomic war with russia. At the time where, in our reality, first superhero comics came up, in the movie world the first superheroes started to mask themselfes to do good. That’s at least their intention. The introduction of how all this happened is done pretty good in the beginning of the movie. Some very stylish photographed work on the screen there. That, for me, shows that Zack Snyder belongs to a completely new kind of director. He knows what cg can do and he knows how to use it! Now in the movie our main characters struggle with society. They aren’t allowed to do their work anymore and are forced to live normal lives. Certain circumstances get them back into their costumes to do their business. Especially the Silk Spectre character is quite a sight! Flashbacks tell us the stories behind the characters and deliver some twists for the main movie plot. All this worked fine for me. Even if it’s hard to follow from time to time. The decision to go for actors that were not too well known was a good choice i think. Through that the movie has the chance to stay for its own, which it does. It also makes the whole setting much more believable. The costume work is quite a matter of taste but i have to say that the lighting work really made it all look nice. The niteowl costume for example doesn’t look too nifty. But it works because of the way they made it look and blend through the set lighting. The overall look of the movies was definitely a feast for the eye.

The cg work, except a few small things, worked really good too. I remember that scene where Dr. Manhattan dismantles a tank… that was the one scene where i thought “NO WAY!”. The texture work on the tank parts was so flat! It was ok but far away from believable! Another thing was the Mars surface. In one scene they do a little tour and i found the marsian landscape pretty boring. I can tell that what they did was quite good work. As a Mars fan, that i truly am, i would have wished to see a more exciting Mars landscape though. Aside of that everything was nice and once again a feast for the eyes!

For lovers of beautiful pictures a must see! For everyone else a recommendation. =)

7.9/10

Watchmen on IMDb

Last week i went to see ‘Valkyrie’ on the big screen. For me as a german this movie has a very important piece of history to tell, and i wanted to see what hollywood made of it. My expectations were not too high since ‘hollywood’ often means shiny, glowing and exploding worlds. You know what i mean.

The moviee itself was the total opposite. It was a rather quiet movie that retells history pretty accurate too. The overall acting, through the bench, was captivating. You could, at any minute, feel the pressure these people stood under. Every decision they had to make was very important. And you can see that in the acting. You could read these doubts in the their eyes… as well as the fact that they knew they had to do something against the madness. It not a typical Tom Cruise movie. This one was carried by all the actors who played their part in it. The small amount of fx in this film were done very good. Especially the fact that our main character lost one hand and some fingers on the other hand. Well done in this movie.

The only thing i had hoped seeing more of it was the psychological part of these happenings. Very rarely you see the characters alone or talking to their families. Especially the family of our main character surely has a story to tell too. about all the doubts and yet the knowing they had to do something.

Ultimately it’s good to have a major budget movie that’s able to show the world that germany, at the time back then, wasn’t full of zombie people. That there were enough people trying to fight against hitler and his insane ideals. And what they said, “You cannot fight hitler from outside the army! You need to be a part of it, you need to run along with it and then find the right time to destroy evil at its very heart”.(Not exactly that, but it comes close). That’s pretty much true. You had to run along with the crazyness to have at least a small chance of getting close to the roots of evil.

7.5/10

Valkyrie on IMDb

This is not a new movie but friends of mine very often told me to have a look at this one. So i did yesterday. I was interested in how Zach Braff handles a bigger movie. Not just this! Beside the main role he also wrote the story and directed this movie.

Alright, the movie starts and here we are, with this guy from the ‘Scrubs’ tv show. And that’s the thing. It’s very hard for actors to get the fact into peoples heads that you can do much more than playing that single character everyone knows from tv. So i wondered if i would watch this movie seeing J.D. from Scrubs or the actual character in the movie. Luckily, after a few minutes, you stop thinking about Scrubs and see the character Mr. Braff is playing. And he’s doing it very good. You really feel for him when there’s bad stuff going on and you hope for him when there’s good things looking at him.

In the end it’s one of lots of “go out, see the world and find yourself” movies. BUT! It really stands out. There’s so (imagine more o’s) much love in this movie. You feel for the characters and what they’ve been through. They all have something to say and the story makes you want to listen to them. It’s about decisions you make in life. You ‘have to’ make in life. And that you, often, should stop thinking and just do something. It sounds simple but it’s sometimes very hard to do. I know that first hand. Our main character really shows us how difficult it can be.

Beside all heart stuff that’s happening, there are also some unique funny moments in this one. Very subtle and hard to recognize when you see it the first time.

A true recommendation. Go check this out!

8.1/10

Garden State on IMDb

Is it possible to do a time travel movie with more or less $7000 budget that can be as fascinating as ‘Donnie Darko’? It is. ‘Primer’ shows how even small budget pieces can create an atmosphere more dense than most multi-million dollar projects from big studios.

The story basically is about two guys who accidently stumble over a way to make it possible to travel back in time. Past only. So they try to figure out how to use this discovered ability to their advantage. Whatever the consequences. And there are consequences. The way the phenomena of time travel is portrayed in this movie is amazing. Without superexpensive cg effects they still were able to create an amazing, convincing, plausible story.

I don’t want to say too much here. What i want is that you folks check out this low budget diamond!

7.9/10

Primer on IMDb

Few days ago i watched an all-time classic from my all-time fav list. First time in original english. So far i only knew it in german. First of all i must say that the original english spoken version is far better. The german translation is good nonetheless. So here we are with the movie that is a reference to one episode of the old original Star Trek series. I’m sure most of you already saw the movie so i’ll not go into the plot details here. Just want to say a few things about it. The performances of all actors are quite good, very believable and seriously performed. Especially William Shatner. He IS James T. Kirk. Ricardo Montalban, playing Khan, delivers a wonderfully sinister villain. The duel that both characters, Kirk and Khan, deliver is surely one of the best in moviemaking history. Khan always seems to be one step ahead, but to see how Kirk maneuvers him out one time after another, really makes this movie great fun. The final battle between the two ships, at the end of the movie, is kind of sci-fi classic too. The way they staged the nebula, visually and physically, really gives an outstanding feeling. The great plus for this movie is that you don’t necessarily need to know anything about Star Trek. It works anyway, for every kind of audience. Even with the cliffhanger at the end. Thumbs up for this great piece of Sci-Fi.

If you haven’t seen the Star Trek movie series. Treat yourself. It’s fun!

8.3/10

Star Trek II – The Wrath Of Khan on IMDb

This one was a movie i really waited for. When i saw the trailer, a few months back, i thought it would be a hell of a movie. Not knowing that the scenes in the trailer already showed the most awesome scenes of the movie itself. Too bad. First of all i want to say that, from the fx perspective, a truly awesome piece of work. The particle effects are a piece of art. That aside… i always had the feeling that they rushed the production. Just to make the movie a pure moneymaker… nothing more. It’s sad since this movie had the chance to really do something outstanding.

Our main characters played by Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly (love her) were a good choice. Especially Reeves, with his minimalistic way of acting, nails his character very well. I cannot figure out why Jennifer Connelly chose this movie. We already saw her amazing skills in movies like ‘Blood Diamond’ or ‘A Beautiful Mind’. Now this popcorn movie? Nonetheless she helps the movie in playing her part in a believable way. The kid, the mandatory kid character…, when you think the girl in ‘War Of The Worlds’ was too much, then you were wrong. Even if i can understand the kids feelings, i think he leaves so stupid comments on everything. “Kill the alien! He’s one of them! He’s evil and bad!!!” – man… and in the end the, also mandatory, happy end between the alien and the boy where they finally understand each other.

Alright, maybe i did expect too much. Quick reminder to myself: Don’t get too excited about movie trailers! =)

Overall i can say that it’s a solid good movie. But the earth definitely didn’t stand still these two hrs.

6.2/10

The Day Earth Stood Still on IMDb

This was the last bigscreen movie i watched 2008. So… i know the game since i played it… like… years, ages ago. Though i did not exactly remember the storyline anymore. To be honest i was not really excited for the movie. The trailer shows some nice action, so a friend and i took the chance to see it. The movie has action. But it’s also a slow burn. I also thought it could have some more action going on in the beginning. They build up the story in a way that works pretty good with the original game. Lots of familiar elements and definitely the style and graphical flair we know. It’s a dark movie. Much like sin city we have lots of contrasts going on in the night scenes. The overall design and camera work is quite good too which is the reason why the movie did not end up like so many other ‘game-story’ movies. I just saw DOOM again and… hell it’s so crappy. Tons of wasted chances to create something outstanding. Not so with max payne. They really did something with the material they had.

The original characters are played by Mark Wahlberg as Max Payne and Mila Kunis for Mona Sax. They both do a solid job. They both are kind of sexy and their performance works hand in hand with the style of the movie. Nonetheless you somehow wish that the max payne character would have been played by some other actor than Wahlberg. If you ask me then he’s simply… not tall enough. Nonetheless he’s playing it solid good. Maybe a taste thing. You’ll also see some other familiar faces. Beau Bridges and Chris O’Donnell for example. Which i, in the latter case, found interesting.

The ultimate conclusion for me is that it’s a fun movie. If you’re a fan of dark stories, combined with some action… then… see it. It’ll be fun for sure. If you know the game, you should go and see it too. They’ve created a good movie for almost everyone.

6.1/10

Max Payne on IMDb