Films like Prehistoric Beast are why, even with the tremendous advancements made in animatronics and CGI, I wish to God we got a Jurassic Park film made with stop-motion. Brilliantly detailed puppets and sets, incredible character-driven animation, all in service to a simple, yet grippingly effective premise that, as some have noted, feels like a dino-slasher with the T-Rex playing the part of the killer. Phil Tippett, heretofore "The Mad God" himself, is one of the best to ever do it. I wonder if Harryhausen ever got to see this...
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Calculated Movements 1985
I'd say Larry Cuba's Calculated Movements is best described as moving graphic design. Crisp, clear-minded abstract computer animation that, by its nature, creates a special kind of monochrome tapestry I'd expect to find in living color on the glossy pages of a hip 80s magazine. The simple electronic score that accompanies the various motions is at once stark & melodious and then percussive to the point of musique concrète. One of those fascinating curios from the early days of computer animation that grows more impressive knowing the tech limitations of the time.
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Manhunter 1986
Instead of a fuller review, I just wanted to take a moment to speak on one key element of Manhunter that I adore: the atmosphere. From its lush analog synths to Dante Spinotti's blend of intense color & tenebrous lighting, what Michael Mann has made here is a beast of a film unlike any other. I don't think I've ever been as haunted by a film as I have with Manhunter. It gets under your skin, embracing you all the while.…
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The Lighthouse 2019
WHAT. A. FILM./10
My first actual theater experience of 2019 (always go to theaters late in the year, idk), and what an experience it was. Dafoe and Pattinson are impeccable in Robert Eggers's sophomore feature, The Lighthouse. The grim pastoral Dreyeresque qualities of The VVitch are melded into a maritime setting and an expressionist grandeur that recalls everything from Murnau to Laughton's Night of the Hunter. The descent into madness is so mesermizing I couldn't leave my seat. Every frame…