The Good Doctor

Worlds collide...

UPDATE: fresh from a viewing of the latest episode. Holy Capaldi. I recently had the chance to remind him of his transcendent speech in The Zygon Inversion. We high fived. After Heaven Sent I'm showering him with the equivalent of a knighthood. As well as among Steven Moffat's best episodes, credit also goes to Stuart Biddlecombe, Rachel Talalay, Michael Pickwoad, MFX et al for giving us so much glorious, frightening imagery, whether it was underwater, in the corridors, atop the castle, or the Veil creeping in negative space. Every layer of the Doctor is shredded in this nightmare palace within 55 tear/sweat/squirm/chill-inducing minutes. Simply jaw-dropping.

***

A month after the Cineworld screening, receiving the last of the summer's sun in Cardiff two days back-to-back was therapeutic, and magical especially as Russell T Davies was down the Bay producing a new version A Midsummer Night's Dream. Eight years since our last meeting, here we were, fangirling about Peter, authorising the coinage 'Twelfies', discussing the viability of certain formats – animation would require higher budget/insurance, and a live episode would look like video – and the upcoming Doctor Who Festival at ExCeL. The following day, I succeeded(???) at staging an impressionable method of networking...

Imagine me on this bridge, handing the writer my business card

That was followed by a walk to the studio entrance when we reminisced our first exposure to Who, the 'Shoot for the Moon' story, and TV scheduling issues. Seriously, Series 9 is exceptional, ballsy television, but for youngsters and over-worked mothers it's on TOO DAMN LATE.

I'm still awkward at communication, but the conversation flowed seamlessly from one subject to the next and gave me a bit of perspective on proposals and setting budgets.

On the eve of the Festival, I found my hotel after a lovely afternoon with Lindsay (AWUK) and a failed attempt at getting into a recording of The Graham Norton Show near Waterloo. Not even the Prime Minister of India could get priority tickets to see such an incredible lineup of guests. I mean, Peter Capaldi sharing the couch with Tom Hanks, David Walliams and Duran Duran? Prior to that, Johnny Depp AND Benedict Cumberbatch. What a time to be alive.

The BBC Children in Need benefit concert (with Rob Brydon and Tom Jones) gave me a pang of homesickness. But I knew the Festival would in a way bring me back to Wales. I would be reunited with friends and make new ones to celebrate a show that's carrying us through tough sheep.

Opposite the hotel was a roundabout – Frobisher Road

Here we go again. This is where I queued for Benedict last April

The weekend was reported to be much busier than Friday, which was a relief. Three sets, exhibits, two talk stages and the Shopping Village which took up most of the space. Main panels took place in a separate theatre hall.

My first cosplay; Christel Dee praised the idea – Clara cosplaying as Classic Twelve – as highly original

Defending TARDIS from a Dalek; finally saw Real SFX show as I missed it at Sherlocked

There was a selection of props/costumes from recent episodes including the red velvet coat and guitar. I even bumped into Bernadette chatting to costume design legend Ray Colman, who liked my Mission Dalek. The Millennium FX exhibit (and the panel) was a treasure trove of creativity. After the monster-filled panel I ended up in Level 0 and stumbled upon the 50th Anniversary couch; up ahead was Mark Gatiss talking about Robin Hood movies with a dude. At Production Village I asked Michael Pickwoad about becoming a storyboard artist; he explained pretty much what I had done last month.

Talking of small worlds...

As he greeted me Peter looked surprised to see me again. “Lucy! It's so good to see you again! I like your coat!” I told him about my cosplay; he said Jenna was due to appear over the weekend, which made me feel deeply sad.

The motivation behind my cosplay was that Clara is making/made herself more Doctor-y. All it consists of are my normal clothes and hairstyle.

Before the photoshoots, the co-creators of Sherlock discussed how the idea of 'Immortal Woman' was pitched with Catherine Treganna. The video below is a tiny portion of the Cast panel. Michelle Gomez and Ingrid Oliver summed up how they cope with the pressure of delivering great performances, while Peter demystified the gap between the Twelfth Doctor's regeneration and his first adventure:

After another fantastic, brilliant, cool, good, and uplifting day in the world of Who, I was brought down by the godawful news of the attacks in Paris. Mum and Dad were more than relieved I was safe home.

The Doctor's anti-war speech in The Zygon Inversion couldn't be more relevant.

I returned to London a week later, to attend another Disney/Pixar advance screening/panel at BFI.

The Good Dinosaur is one of those films that not only pleases the dino-loving child in me, but, like Series 9, also has some deeply affecting moments. I related to Arlo overcoming his fears as he journeyed through the wilderness, figuring out his role in society. Full of inventiveness, tenderness and (digital) scenery porn, it's like a Miyazaki film.

Director Peter Sohn explained how The Good Dinosaur, Inside Out and all the movies express stories in which challenges are thrown at the characters:

“Story-making at Pixar is a very therapeutic one. The process of it is digging into every pore of what it is to experience being human on this planet, from birth to childhood to death to being a parent. And so these ideas, this film in particular, we really try to create haiku moments, poetry in the film that do echo certain things for sure but at Pixar there really is behind every film the same crew of people that have been working there for 25 years. What's so interesting about that place is that you can feel the storytellers in each one of those films and it really depends on what that storyteller is doing – they're amazing film-lovers and amazing parents and amazing people and artists there that put their hearts into the work. And so, life is injected in there...”

Pixar goodies from the BFI advance screening

Lindsay recommended me Dude, Where's My Career? a book aimed at lonely graduates facing the uphill battle of pinning down a job.

For a while between Oct-Nov I was consumed by anxiety, doubt and the belief that I was unemployable. The fact that death creeps closer towards two members of my family made it worse/making it worse.

But as GBBO 2015 winner Nadiya says,

“I'm never gonna put boundaries on myself ever again. I'm never gonna say I can't do it. I'm never gonna say 'maybe'. I'm never gonna say 'I don't think I can'. I can and I will.”

I'm no good as a salesperson in business. I aspire to be like the aforementioned storytellers.

In the face of overwhelming odds I'm left with only one option: I'm going have to art the shit out of this!

Life in Toon Boom Motion

From the House of Lords to the House of Blues, I've been around the world - sort of - while slowly getting back into the swing of things. Storyboarding is underway as the script for Scampi Catches a Drift is reviewed. Removing one certain detail from the story only slightly changes the denouement. It doesn't always have to be the focal point.

I had applied to join Animate Projects' DRIVE programme. Quite a sought-after one as they received over 60 proposals; only five artists would be supported. I'm not one of them unfortunately. Generally the reasons were that animators working in conventional areas of their field weren't accepted, and some applicants didn't fully explain their contribution.

24th June

I was once again invited to the Rethinkyourmind prize presentation, the second since the project's inception. I met some new and familiar folks - some were winners of the national competition - while enjoying the catering's excellent snacks, overlooking the Thames. Prior to arriving in Westminster, I couldn't pass on the opportunity to see John Byrne's A Matter of Life & Death exhibition at the Fine Art Society. Everything that day was so perfectly timed (except rebooking the coach). I did not expect it to end on such a high note. Before heading home I stumbled upon and joined a crowd to watch a performance outside BBC Broadcasting House. Mika was a guest on The One Show, promoting his new album No Place in Heaven.

My sister was ecstatic.

27th June

It was Postgraduate Careers Day at Heritge House. Along with another freelancer I was requested to talk about the trials and successes of setting up a business. In front of a class. If I can hold a conversation with Smaug, this talk would be a breeze. Although it overran it was very well-received.

8-11th July

Doctor Who fan art lit up the House of Blues in San Diego. My watercolour was among the selection, after submitting it to BBC America's call for entries on Tumblr. I've been to enough conventions/festivals to get a sense of SDCC's immensity. But to think there was piece of me floating around... I was there in spirit, as we all got to see world exclusives.

Thanks to MJB Stallmeyer for capturing the slide (main image, bottom left). It's ironic - we met at the Caerphilly filming, on the day of the Comic Con announcement.

18th July

BFi hosted a preview of Lava and Inside Out. It is a such a beautiful, warm, funny and heartbreaking film. Haven't cried that much since The Imitation Game. It was followed by Q&A with the legendary Pete Docter, Jonas and Amy Poehler. GASP! I asked them:

Q: This film on a technical and emotional level, seems to be a culmination of all of [Pixar's] films. Congratulations! I've noticed that all or most of the films run parallel to an audience of a certain generation. […] Is the Braintrust this generation's Headquarters?* 

Pete: “[The Braintrust] are not working on our films, they're in a better position to see it, and give us opinions on what works and what doesn't […] it does end up being a very helpful thing because you get very close to things, as you're drawing or writing anything for any length of time you start getting so absorbed into small little details that nobody can really see or the wrong things... This process of showing it to people about every 3 months, though we hate it at the time because it all feels like 'WELL IT'S NOT DONE YET!' You're sort of forced to do it. But in the long run it ends up being a very good thing.”

Jonas: “Pixar is a place built for filmmakers so there's no real executives other than John Lasseter...he's the creative executive, he's a film director. So everybody comes to the table... my boss Jim Morris is a general manager as a filmmaker, so you get in that room and all you're basically doing is channeling a really smart audience of people that want to go to movies, and we never thought of these movies as anything other than movies. People often say, 'oh you know Animation's a great genre, you guys are great in that genre.' We've got to back up with that, we never thought of it as a genre. Western's a genre. Horror movie's a genre. Animation is a medium. And we've always approached it as a medium and we don't start from a point in trying to make films for kids. Although we do, we make films for families. We really make films for us, and I suppose we're like kids, but the truth is these are films we want to make. We never thought 'should this be simpler or more accessible for kids or what's in the market, should we'... we sort of four-wall ourselves up there, for better or worse, and we make what we want to make. It's not perfect there but it's a great support for creativity and I think we're all proud of the way the stuff comes out of that way.”

Amy: “It's like 'Women in Comedy'...'Animated Film'.

*I spun that query on the spot. To be clear, Ratatouille was released when I was a fresher at university. Toy Story 3 was released when I graduated. The respective films are about chasing your dreams and moving forward. Inside Out touches on looking at cherished memories differently, holding on to childhood innocence and coping with change.

20th July

My Dad flew a plane over Leicester 2500ft above ground at 100mph. It was one of his 60th birthday gifts. We all felt proud of life.

Finally...

Is there a full scale statue of this?

Also, how sweet does The Good Dinosaur look/feel? November's gonna be good!

The Owl and the Pussycat

The beautiful town of Caerphilly was bathed in sunlight. A mysterious fog surrounded the Castle.

As I was searching for the entrance, I learned from DW brand manager Edward Russell that the Aberavon Bay sequence went down really well at the Symphonic Spectacular, and that Peter thought those watercolours were “fantastic”.

Filming took place in the north-west tower and then atop a hill across a drawbridge. Besides all the forthcoming promotions, this prequel/minisode will be the first thing to be broadcast. The start of Series 9. Or presumably Timmy O'Toole is stuck down that well?

Rachel Talalay came to watch the action. She said the free-fall sequence in Death in Heaven (LOVE it) was so much fun to shoot. She also recommended seeing Mad Max: Fury Road. I saw it the next day at the Reel Cinema by the seafront. Incredible. Even the pregnant tabby cat loitering outside wanted to experience it.

Daniel Hoffmann-Gill (Bors in the Series 9 opener) and extras dressed in medieval garb would appear at intervals. I chatted with one of them about careers, working on sets of blockbusters and TV shows - the latter have quicker turnaround times - and Steven Spielberg's efficiency and professionalism on War Horse.

The whole experience was basically fantasy made real. The entire time I still could not... this was more than just a television production. And whatever was going on inside the tower - everything seemed like figments of my imagination. A loud bang shook the place into a brief silence.

After making new friends, reuniting with familiar ones, and playing with a pair of gorgeous setters, it wasn’t long until the Doctor himself strutted into the courtyard.

Every moment spent in his company becomes the new greatest moment of any Whovian's life. I felt more confident around Peter, despite my legs turning to jelly. Happens every time I meet a Time Lord. When he signed my pencil case I explained why it was relevant but then stopped myself in case I might offend him. Doubtful. Owls are among my favourite animals.

The pencil case illustration is Paperchase’s, not mine.

This moment was one of the highlights. It made all the kids laugh.

Why do I always bungle my communication in front of the Doctor?

After 5pm I made sure a few buddies who missed the chance got to meet Peter. Even after a long day, his eyes still sparkled green like the Doctor's signet ring. He demonstrated his drawing skills, was impressed by mine, was delighted to hear about my contribution to Glasgow School of Art’s restoration, and I thanked him for making me believe in magic. That's what Doctor Who is. It inspires folks to do good.

Oh what a day. What a lovely day.

Creative Cat and Doctor Hoo

Rocking my world in 2013

Career highlights

• Graduating from De Montfort, before moving on to freelancing. Sod's Law that I got the worst flu in my first week of work
• I was a runner up of the Business Venture Competition at DMU
• Prince's Trust, Spring and Startup Loans supported me with starting up, marketing and finances. I used the loan to purchase software and communication tools. A proper website, at last!
• Somewhere to_ teach young people to draw from life, capture and observe what they see at the SkyRide event. With the O2 Think Big grant I also bought an HD camera which is great for wildlife footage.
• I was a student of Michael Morgan's Summer Animation program, improving my skills in 3D animation, nailing down the weight and balance. That reel was ready to be shown at...
• Escape Studios' VFX Festival. It was amazing to meet so many folks who were pumped for the industry. The panel debate. The Gravity presentation. The afterparty was like the party I missed at uni. But better, it was proper networking!
• If there was anything that could beat that occasion, it was the reaction on Georgina's face from showing her the result of pencil tests I had taught her to do, and the final animation. It was to be part of our Gold Arts Award participation. Emma of Enter Edem made the recommendation; I then met Georgina, which overall led to a very lovely experience, sharing each other's art practice. How wonderful it was to see her and other talented artists take to the stage!

Film/TV highlights

• Many of us dressed in green in support for VFX professionals, after Rhythm N Hues, despite winning accolades, signed for bankruptcy.
• On the other hand, traditional animation is once again cooler than bow ties, merging with old/new tech to produce anything from Paperman to the Bear & Hare ad campaign.
• Talking of beautiful works of art, it was a good year to be a Cumberbabe. Even when the Benedict was playing Big Bads, you couldn't help but feel aroused, and I still get warm and fuzzy seeing his name in the credits. It's been that way for nearly 10 years since Hawking.
• Last year I made a promise to see any big movie in IMAX 3D. Any day I was in Cardiff Bay, I caught Pacific Rim and Gravity on opening weekend and day respectively. The latter was the best presented. Things would fly slowly or rapidly into you. It evoked something that few movies have given me of late. WONDER. I hadn't felt that way since Coraline. If it's playing in IMAX, imma hit that thing again...Promise.
• Ironic that I bought my iPad right before watching The World's End, if you know what the themes and twists are. Possibly my favourite of the Cornetto trilogy - not just because I love mint flavour above all else - it was nuanced, deeply affecting, funny as hell, and aims higher with social commentary on "Starbucking". Most were quite taken aback by the ending, but it's damn perfect.
• The Last of Us, though I didn't get to play it, grabbed me and never let go. Likewise, World War Z had one or two nerve-shredding sequences and a sense that was almost on par with Jurassic Park.
• Shortly after that, Peter Capaldi was announced as Doctor 12. We realised he played "WHO Doctor" and all of us laughed for a good 5 mins. Even I initially pointed out, W.H.O. based in Cardiff? Love how my favourite city gets name checked in a Hollywood film.
• Summer for me was dominated by catching up with Breaking Bad. Every season is a daring mix of humour, character development, twisted morals, beautiful cinematography, career-defining acting, moments that shake you. Ozymandias even made me yelp loudly on a coach; Felina left me beaming, elated, satisfied and grieving.
• The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who was another lovely communal experience shared with the world. Whereas An Adventure in Space and Time was profoundly more moving, Time of the Doctor had the mother of all fangasms. It was impossible to frown upon.
• Mum was obsessed with The White Queen, which inspired me to sketch an iPad drawing of Richard III. That was then retweeted and favourited by Aneurin Barnard, spreading over his fan community for a little while. Wasn't expecting that, neither did I expect Peter Serafinowicz to Follow me. He was praising Princess and the Frog; myself and the director of Flushed Away joined the chat. That was a great evening.
• Out of the only three fully-animated feature films I saw theatrically this year, Frozen is my firm favourite. Love the design; the sister's relationship is ultimately, genuinely moving; Let It Go, so spine-chillingly good! Prepare yourself for it is a proper Disney musical, and I'm a sucker for that.
• Desolation of Smaug - Hobbit 2: Big Ass Spiders - finally took us to the fireworks factory Milhouse was itching to see. Even though it felt like the mid-section of the Greatest Adventure, and the aura of advance Royal Premiere buzz was nonexistent at the two screenings I caught, there was so much pleasure in the detail, set pieces, the world PJ and co have visualised. An Unexpected Journey gave me anticipation from its bookends alone. This one gave me exactly what I wanted, including Inside Information. Bloody marvellous. That would make a terrific survival game. The stuff of nightmares. Just started reading Alex Alice's Siegfried graphic novel. Tolkien found plenty of influence in The Ring of Nibelung, no doubt about it.

Everybody's Music

Everybody's Music from Lucy Crewe on Vimeo.

2009 in Movies

1) Star Trek
2) Up
3) Drag Me to Hell
4) Avatar
5) Let the Right One In
6) Slumdog Millionaire
7) Coraline
8) Inglorious Basterds
9) Fantastic Mr. Fox
10) District 9
11) Sherlock Holmes
12) Watchmen
13) Michael Jackson's This Is It
14) Paranormal Activity
15) Zombieland
16) The Hangover
17) Where the Wild Things Are
18) 500 Days of Summer
19) Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
20) Public Enemies
21) Bolt
22) Moon
23) The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus
24) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

on my page over at Spill...

End of Summer doodlespam

Summertime doodles

2008 in Movies

It was a really strange year, albeit a very morbid one too. And let’s be honest, it wasn’t a particularly great one either. There was the credit crunch, rising food, oil and gas prices, flash floods, and the property boom. IS NOTHING SAFE?! To take our minds off it all a lot of us caved in and spent our hard-earned cash on the most questionable form of entertainment – Mamma Mia! The Movie, which was the movie-goer’s answer to prozac, really.

It's time to gush with gleeful praise at the world of movies, the big cinematic outings of an acquired taste and age group that hit British screens in the past 12 months. I saw only 10 of them.

HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE
This is more or less exploitative of the shallowness of fame, more of a rom-com later on, appealing to both sides of the Atlantic in terms of humour. Hilarity is never far away as the Peggster is likeable as the loathsome tabloid journalist who is notorious for his contemptuous interacting with celebrities. Megan Fox meanwhile plays a caricature of herself, although does she really sound like that? Overall, it’s a right good laugh, with dynamic performances and a great ending. I was especially happy to see a few familiar faces in the opening few minutes. (Those names are Katherine Parkinson, Thandie Newton, Fenella Woolgar, Chris O’Dowd, James Corden, Miriam Margoyles.)

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES
Rather like Harry Potter and the The Goonies meet Jumanji. Because come on, does Thimbletack not remind you of Dobby? Similarities aside, how Freddie Highmore manages to pull off two distinct personalites in a single frame will blow your mind. There’s no doubt he will go a long way. Now I’m probably a bit old for the book series, but I flicked through them one time and loved the artwork. The theatrical adaptation was delightfully gruesome for its demographic. All that slashing, biting, spitting, scalding, stabbing –it’s anything a kid could want, one who enjoys wandering into the woods and finding something to poke with a stick. And for you film score fans: listen closely and you’ll hear the James Horner leitmotif.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN
The follow-up to The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe is a little more bloodthirsty, with bigger, longer battles when there are only a few pages in the book. The spirited young cast yet again flex their acting muscles. I just wish they’d look more genuinely awe-struck by the fact that they once fought an evil Witch, team up with background extras from the Lord of the Rings and seek advice from a wise lion who speaks in a sexy Irish brogue. Kids, you’re not at school – you’re on a trip! There’s one scene that’ll give youngsters many sleepless nights from the menacing sight of a werewolf and a fugly hag. The sequence with the trees pummeling the Telmarines bares resemblance to the Ent's attack on Isengard from another aforementioned epic. Helm’s Deep much? Bottomline, the Narnia series are essentially Christmas movies, and that’s why this film was kind of snowed under at the box office.

DR. SEUSS’ HORTON HEARS A WHO!
A wubbulous fantabulous adaptation of the book by warrior poet Ted Geisel. Whilst accomplished to the Seuss material (no pun intended), this is an orgy of squash and stretch, particles and deformers, highly stylised shapes and pastel colours. Both Whosville and the jungle of Nool look marvellous, the vocal talents are equally impressive, and the sound design for the musical climax is wicked cool. The aptly named House of Cool created the ninja sequence, which is brief, but rather lovely.

CLOVERFIELD
JJ Abrams took a simple idea: giant kaiju attacking NYC - nothing new, but from an onlooker's p.o.v. gives the genre a fresh, personal perspective, one that is unmistakably post-9/11 and 7/7. Packed with unbelievable moments that stick with you, it delivers faux realism at its very best, topped off with Michael Giacchino's overture. The past and present are ingeniusly paced. Even if the characters don't captivate you, you're urging them to rescue Rob's girlfriend "and get the hell outta Manhattan!" I felt particularly sorry for Hud, even if his camera skills did suck. Thankfully they didn’t give me motion sickness. As for the main attraction, I only half-expected the creature to be hungrier, angrier, meaner, uglier, and less beefy. If there’s one thing we’ve learned, we all love Clover.

A film initially released in North America last xmas…
JUNO
Maybe it was little too ‘hipster’ for some, but I really felt for the strong female protagonist as the pressures of adulthood weighed on her. Oscar winner Diablo Cody has created a world where even the adults throw comeback lines at their minors. This adorable little gem from Jason Reitman has great performances and a down-to-earth, uplifting coming-of-age story that left a big stupid grin on my face. Ellen Page and Michael Cera, again, two young leads who will go very far.

A Golden Globe-winner also released last xmas…
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
I loved every ruby-dripping minute of this. Depp and Burton once again keep it all in the family as their rendition on the urban legend has a lush score and songs, dream cast, melodramatic gore, unexpected!Anthony Head and an electrifying revenge story. What more could you ask for? So why didn’t it deserve a sing-along? While I'm okay with slit throats, I would imagine this is no worse than the BBC dramatised version. You see, Musicals and Splatter Horror are like mice and spiders: mixing the two together isn’t going to be everyone’s ketchup and mayo. While it’s alright for some. Just watch The X-Factor.

I had to tie the next two…
From Dreamworks it’s…
KUNG FU PANDA
I got a real kick out of its near-the-knuckle action sequences and toongasmic intro/end credits, both of which scream Samurai Jack. It's rather like a comedic version of T’ai Fu: Wrath of the Tiger on the PlayStation – only with a Panda who probably has trouble wiping his down-belows – with gravity-defying martial arts and highly stylized CGI in which the animals move like animals, actors sound the part, and Tai Lung makes Sylar look like a pussycat. It would have been a pop culture reference too many, instead it’s just a hilarious pastiche on Zhang Yimou’s filmography. I wouldn’t rule out on sequels. Bring 'em on!

And from Pixar…
WALL*E
Heartmelting, thoughtful and suprisingly dark, it’s required viewing for kids, adults, animators, and anyone who will have great grandchildren. It'll make you think how precious our planet is, and make you sneer at every advertising reference. It’s amazing that you can still get away with body language and Oscar-worthy sound design to tell a good story. My favourite scene has to be when WALL*E and EVE – the most endearing pairing since Hiro/Ando - are flying around the Axiom ship. M-O also deserves an honourable mention, ‘coz he’s gangsta.

So how does it compare to the other likely contender for Best Animated Feature? Well, both these films charmed audiences with loveable characters and the awesomeness and heart of their genres, but I will say that WALL*E is more akin to staring up at a clear night sky where the suns of a million galaxies burn from many lightyears and beyond. Whereas KFP has the Wuxi Finger Hold…who can say no to that?

And now for the #1 cinematic experience of 2008…
Rarely does a film hold me on the edge of my seat as it lashes out at my mind, body and soul, until I’m left shell-shocked with awe and disbelief. I screamed not once, but twice. In my earnest opinion, it is The Dog’s Bollocks.

THE DARK KNIGHT
I mean, Holy Shit-Sauce, Batman! Editing and setpieces so heart-pounding, multi-layered plot twists so involving it makes every other film in any genre look amateurish. It’s a really well-crafted comic book crime thriller, and proof that sequels are undoubtedly better than the original. Undeniably grim, its purview covers the morality of human nature, a semi-realistic view of being the hero, and how the terrorists have fun ruining everybody else's. Anyone who’s seen this will bring it up in any conversation and the first thing they rave about is…

-The truck flipping over, or the Tumbler regenerating into the Batpod
-Harvey’s injuries, that weren't meant to be gross-out but were
-The Mayor of Gotham wearing guyliner
-Michael Caine racing past my house on Christmas morning in his underwear.

The latter really did happen. In a dream. No, I am of course referring to Heath Ledger. His magnetic performance as the impervious Joker was so deliciously creepy. With his chalky white face, panda eyes and the stench of evil rolling off his purple and green attire, this clown is an unpredictable death machine. One of his darkly comic highlights was his man-to-man with Harvey, which has to be the most bizarre combination of images and dialogue ever put on celluloid. Think about it: he’s a District Attorney, he’s a terrorist; he’s a burn victim, he’s a raving sociopath; he’s a changed man, he’s a man in drag…
Bottomline, this was the best birthday present I ever treated to my father to, and we would kill to see this in IMAX. Alas, we just never got round to it…never mind, don’t think I’m missing out on much…
"Oh you have no idea…!"

So that was 2008, but whatsay '09? Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Bolt, Watchmen, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, Monsters vs. Aliens, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Star Trek, Coraline, Terminator: Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Public Enemies, Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince, Up, Where the Wild Things Are, A Christmas Carol, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Lovely Bones, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Wolf Man, Avatar...

Summer Doodlespam

22/1/84: The Dawn of Macintosh

"Hey, we were watching that!"
That famous 1984 commercial aired during half-time at the Superbowl, the first of ‘major-event’ spots. The Orwellian/Blade Runner scenery was visualised by Ridley Scott, in which Big Brother is about to have it handed to him when an anonymous young female athlete hurls a sledgehammer at the big screen. Beats talking like robots.

For the first couple of days during Easter break we went to stay at Nana and Bampa's in Port Talbot, even though Emily had the flu. It was chilly down the Mumbles, but Mum got the shoes she wanted. In Cardiff, while Mum and Mick stayed in the warmth of the Millennium Centre in the company of the children's choir, I frolicked off for a bit like I usually do. We would have spent longer there if the weather was warmer and we took the train rather than the car.

I saw Horton Hears a Who! last Saturday. It's a wubbulous fantabulous adaptation of the book by the warrior poet Ted Geisel. Whilst accomplished to the Seuss material (no pun intended), Blue Sky's love for animation is evident in their films. This one has the most vigorous use of squash and stretch, deformers, particles (furs! feathers! holy freaking field of clovers Oh My!), expressions, and highly stylised shapes and colours in a CG toon. Both the jungle of Nool and Whosville are marvellous; the vocal talents were equally impressive, and the sound design for the musical climax was just wicked cool. The random 2D and anime kung fu spoof sequences, created by the aptly named House of Cool, were brief, but rather lovely. One of the animators has a blog.

Also looking forward to Ice Age 3 (dinos!), as well as Kung Fu Panda (which I hear will the best thing to come out of Dreamworks since Shrek 2) and WALL*E (again it's Pixar, so no-brainer), the kids at the screening were doing spot-on voice impressions.

Because of the Local Disk's increasingly low memory, I recently had to order a 500GB external harddrive.

Cultural Exchange

My sister went to the discussion about Women in the Music Industry, where she asked Jacqui Norton if there was anyone she didn't enjoy working with. The reply was no. We were intending to see Sue Townsend but that panel was full. On the one hand I learned a lot from Paul Wells, a professor at Loughborough Uni who has published books in the animation field and screenwriting and recently scripted on soaps and even Lost. Even without Curse of the Were-Rabbit producer Claire Jennings, who was not in attendance due to Stateside commitments, the lecture was an articulate insight into the creative process of writing cartoons. He showed clips from Bob Godfrey's DIY Cartoon Kit - which looked quite Pythonesque - and the Oscar-winning short Harvey Crumpet.

As for this year's Awards, I was both happy and a little baffled by some of the winners, at least for Daniel Day-Lewis representing the Brits; No Country for Old Men, well you know the Academy loves Westerns; #Falling Slowly beating the three Schwartz/Menken tunes was a bit of a surprise. I didn't think Kristin Chenoweth's performance was as bad as others thought, but they should REALLY have done something with Amy's set. And, VFX-wise, Transformers lost to The Golden Compass? Alright I guess. Glad that Ratatouille, Peter & the Wolf, the Art Direction for Sweeney Todd, and Dario Marianelli's Atonement score each got a gong!

Construction sites, council estates, traffic jams - these are things I know, not a tremor as sudden as that! I was in my room getting changed when what sounded then felt like a row rumble of a freight or an early trash lorry hitting speed bumps, only to be FREAKING OUT as it dragged on and the shelves were shaking. It was amazing. 5.2? Come on, the house could have split! Mum was woken up by it , whereas Emily was watching The Mighty Boosh on Dave.

The sebaceous cyst below Molly's left ear is festering, weeping, sore, mottled and stinks of carrion. Our neighbour Brian needs to take her to the vet to have it removed, SRSLY. I worry about her. Her meows have been waking me up these past few mornings.

Finally, check this guy out. He's got a wonderful style.

Someone out there likes me!

Although I'm a runner up - Best of the Rest, not bad eh? - I am so overwhelmed with gratitude it's unbelievable.

This will be another reason for my parents to be proud of me, when or if I tell them. Even if the guys didn't pick it - I don't know if they even liked it or not! - coz the winner's much better than mine, it didn't just prove I can draw squat. My entry for this competition demonstrated my ability to record ideas and present a personal response*. Soon after the abysmal attempt to make it to the Brum signing due to the adverse weather conditions, I felt the kick to do some art. Because Mumble HappyFeet tol' me to! And after the effort to come up with an original and clever composition, and after the nerve-wracking patience, it finally paid off.

It will be such an honour to sync this winning soundtrack to my player. Furthermore I'm gonna do 'em proud and keep on drawin'. It feels like being picked to play for the top team. So just for the record, big hugs and thanks to the guys and Universal!

*This is what the art exam currently requires.

I've got red on me

The first time I watched this was when it was one of our case studies for the British horror genre unit in Media Studies with Mr Lissaman - a reintroduction to Simon Pegg that was to be the start of a beautiful relationship. My heart swells with admiration as it does from a single episode of Spaced. I highly reccommend you also see Hot Fuzz, because Edgar Wright's style and the funny as hell script are just as awesome too. I was no hardcore gore whore, but Pegg, Wright and Nick Frost have helped me overcome my hurdle, so now I see a living corpse as a figure of fun.

Shaun of the Dead is airing on ITV2 tonight and tomorrow, if I watch it with the whole family it would be a [Sunday] night like no other!