Invisible miracles.
All I seem to be able to write about these days is films.
Ah well.
In the past I have mentioned that I am a sucker for well-executed special effects, especially when they are not the in-your-face kind of effects, but the ones you read about afterwards and you think to yourself, 'that was a special effect? No way!'. Notable examples of these kinds of sfx are to be found in Forrest Gump, War of the Worlds, X-men 3, all of which I mentioned in an earlier post; even Davy Jones' face, in the latter two Pirates films, is a special effect so seamlessly executed, and so well done texture- and lighting-wise, that, despite it clearly being an effect, you sometimes look at it and catch yourself wondering if it's not just a very realistic looking mask instead of digital trickery. It is difficult to imagine that it is made out of pixels instead of actual squid skin, that's how well done it is.
X-men 3, as mentioned earlier, has an excellent example of subtle, invisible effects when, early on in the film a very youthful Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart appear on screen. I will not go into the details (which you can find here) but this scene never ceases to amaze me. Take a look at this:
It is incredible how they took 25 years off of these actors, especially considering they didn't do it for the above image alone, they did it for an entire scene. Retouching a single image to that degree is enough work as it is, but retouching 24 images a second for a several minute scene is an astounding feat.
Too bad the film was crap.
So why all this geekboy obsessing about special effects, you ask? I'll tell you why. I've just watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and you guessed it, it contains some downright jaw dropping effects.
The way Fincher superimposed Pitt's face upon the body of an old, shriveled man not for a few shots or even several scenes, but for the entire first hour of the film, can only be called groundbreaking, cutting edge and insanely awesome (ahem); they leave you breathless. It is so utterly realistic that I can imagine Brad Pitt slipping into an existential crisis from looking at himself 25 years down the line. This right here is the new standard for computer generated effects, and it comes as no surprise that it is David Fincher who set the benchmark - he will have to enjoy it while it lasts, which is until James Cameron's already revolutionary Avatar is released in september of next year.
Back to the point. Benjamin Button is a CGI masterclass and its effects alone are reason enough to catch this film - the fact that the film itself it quite good too should make this one a must-see.
Ah well.
In the past I have mentioned that I am a sucker for well-executed special effects, especially when they are not the in-your-face kind of effects, but the ones you read about afterwards and you think to yourself, 'that was a special effect? No way!'. Notable examples of these kinds of sfx are to be found in Forrest Gump, War of the Worlds, X-men 3, all of which I mentioned in an earlier post; even Davy Jones' face, in the latter two Pirates films, is a special effect so seamlessly executed, and so well done texture- and lighting-wise, that, despite it clearly being an effect, you sometimes look at it and catch yourself wondering if it's not just a very realistic looking mask instead of digital trickery. It is difficult to imagine that it is made out of pixels instead of actual squid skin, that's how well done it is.
X-men 3, as mentioned earlier, has an excellent example of subtle, invisible effects when, early on in the film a very youthful Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart appear on screen. I will not go into the details (which you can find here) but this scene never ceases to amaze me. Take a look at this:
It is incredible how they took 25 years off of these actors, especially considering they didn't do it for the above image alone, they did it for an entire scene. Retouching a single image to that degree is enough work as it is, but retouching 24 images a second for a several minute scene is an astounding feat.
Too bad the film was crap.
So why all this geekboy obsessing about special effects, you ask? I'll tell you why. I've just watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and you guessed it, it contains some downright jaw dropping effects.
The way Fincher superimposed Pitt's face upon the body of an old, shriveled man not for a few shots or even several scenes, but for the entire first hour of the film, can only be called groundbreaking, cutting edge and insanely awesome (ahem); they leave you breathless. It is so utterly realistic that I can imagine Brad Pitt slipping into an existential crisis from looking at himself 25 years down the line. This right here is the new standard for computer generated effects, and it comes as no surprise that it is David Fincher who set the benchmark - he will have to enjoy it while it lasts, which is until James Cameron's already revolutionary Avatar is released in september of next year.
Back to the point. Benjamin Button is a CGI masterclass and its effects alone are reason enough to catch this film - the fact that the film itself it quite good too should make this one a must-see.
3 Comments:
Ben Button is 30 mins too long. I enjoyed it though.
I disagree. It's an entire lifetime you're witnessing, albeit in reverse. Length is good.
3 hours?! That's 30 mins too long. I didn't care about the war part.
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