robolly Reviews

Botnik! (2008)

Exuberant!

[10/10 · 16 March 2009]

BOTNIK! is the most thoroughly enjoyable cartoon short I've seen in a long time. Visually it does have a "retro" look to it, but also injects more modern touches as well (to excellent effect). Exuberance is the word that comes to mind when I've viewed this - the design, colors,animation and music are all filled with such fun energy.

I've had the pleasure of seeing BOTNIK at several screenings, and each time I find some funny little thing I didn't catch the previous time (book titles, visual references etc). The cartoon being about artists (and beatniks!), of course one is treated to the sight of the artwork produced by the characters -- each of these paintings is a mini-masterpiece on it's own, I'd say!

I'm sure the film will appeal to all types of audiences, but at the last screening I was at, there were some artists, and they were not just impressed with the technical aspect of the cartoon, but felt that there was a real (and humorous) insight into the mind of artists.

And I must ad that the music is superb, and fits perfectly with what's on screen.

I think this is really a new "classic" cartoon, something that one will be able to see many times, and it will still be fresh, exciting and funny.

Basquiat (1996)

So what?

[2/10 · 11 April 2002]

Saw this film at a preview screening back in 1996. The director was there to tell us how great it was. There was some nice photography, but the way the story was told, I found nothing compelling about the character. I guess we're supposed to care because, you know, they made a movie. By the end of the film I thought "So what?"

I Love a Mystery (1973 TV Movie)

Worth seeing

[10 February 2002]

Saw this when it was first broadcast in 1973 and than again perhaps 8 years later. It's based on an old radio series about three insurance investigators. This film is played for laughs, and the opening sequence is hilarious, but the pace kind of slows down after that. Still, as a whole quite amusing and fun.

Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)

Great Dialog and Characters

[9/10 · 3 January 2002]

Just saw Bunny Lake at "Wide-Screen Wednesday" at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The great pleasure for me with this film was not the "surprise ending" (though I was surprised), but the great dialog and characters (Noel Coward is hilarious!). There is a great deal of humor in this movie. Visually the film makes great use of Wide-Screen, so definitely try to see it WS.