Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Adam Elliot: "Brother"

Hi folks! Hope your 2009 is going well so far where you are ... here it remains cold and somewhat dreary, only compounded by a malingering cold and overheated work schedule, thus my infrequent posting (again) of late. Honestly, with all the analysis and report writing I've had to do before and since the "holidays," I've been more than a bit tapped out in the word department. So, unless anyone objects, I'm going to continue to feature a few short films by the very talented Australian, Adam Elliot, creator of Harvie Krumpet most recently posted here. I do hope some of you have taken a look and enjoyed what you have seen....

Tonight's little film, Brother, is from 1999 and recounts the obviously eccentric relationship between young "Adam" and his older brother. If you're familiar with his more recent work, you'll certainly notice there's a definite stylistic evolution that has occurred since the earlier films. Though he always works (as far as I know) in the claymation medium, he has definitely become much more polished over the ensuing years ... so take a look at this odd little film!

And finally, it's no surprise that my favorite claymation characters are the wonderfully realized Wallace and Gromit ... and I can never recommend them enthusiastically enough. Though Wallace is overly (and eccentrically) chatty, I've always loved Gromit for her/his ability to convey a wonderfully rich array of ideas and emotions with nary a blink or wrinkling of an eyebrow. If you've never seen any of the Wallace and Gromit films or short subjects, you're missing some real treats, just chock full of humor of that oh so British kind, but lacking the sometimes insufferable "forced wit" that characterizes some attempts. This little film is for those who are already tired of winter (me among them), and is one of the Cracking Contraptions series of short films ... it's called The Snowmanatron. Enjoy!!

14 comments:

Larry Kollar said...

Of course, you've seen "Chicken Run." The only movie where evil wins. ;-)

boran2 said...

I hope that you've been well, IVG.

Shady Gardener said...

Hopefully things slow down soon... I'm missing your visits. We just received a "bunch" of snow this morning. That means I get to stay home this afternoon!! ;-)

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey FAR,
Believe it or not I never saw Chicken Run, guess I should now, given your plug. I have Mel Gibson issues and didn't know much about Aardman work back then....

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi B2,
Thanks for stopping by ... the cold has finally pretty much abated but work has not, thus my inactivity here. Hoping to change that very soon though! There's news on the horizon here but I can't announce it just yet for fear of mucking it all up! So just stay tuned....

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Shady,
Thanks for stopping by! It may slow down a bit later this month or early February, but for now, it's non stop nuttiness at work!

I've just been too tired to get inspired! :-(

Roses and Lilacs said...

Hi IVG, between your posts and the Golden Globe awards I have a list of movies to view;)
Marnie

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Ooh, I love Wallace and Gromit! Oddly, my favorite story remains A Grand Day Out... there's just something about that thing [what do you think that appliance is, anyway?] skiing on the moon. I just love how expressive Gromit's face is! The local PBS station has been showing reruns of Last of the Summer Wine, which the man who voices Wallace plays one of the three main characters in. I hadn't seen a W&G since watching LotSW, and now I can't get the actor's face out of my head when looking at Wallace! Fortunately, they don't look all that different!!
~Monica

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Chicken Run actually came after A Grand Day Out, the Wrong Trousers, and A Close Shave. I liked Chicken Run but preferred the earlier shorts. The Warerabbit one was about on par with Chicken Run. I've forgotten how long I'd been a W&G fan. I didn't know about the contraptions shorts in You Tube, though. Oh boy!
~Monica (again)

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Marnie,
At least these are short films, so they won't take up too much of your time! I'm really ignorant of most of the awards contenders (as usual) this year, but I am very curious about Benjamin Button. We've just sort of lost track of movies for the past several months with all going on around here ... wait for video as usual, lol.

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Garden Faerie/Monica and thanks for stopping by! Always great to meet another W&G fan, and as you can see, I try to spread the joy. :-)

As for that appliance thingie ... sort of a parking meter crossed with an oven and maybe a TV? It sure is an odd creature.

I've always been really glad that Gromit never speaks, because he says so much more with those eyebrows and eyes than words could hope to express.

The Cracking Contraptions are included on the 3 Cracking Adventures DVD (Grand Day, Wrong Trousers and Close Shave) as well as on youtube. Just search W&G and you'll find plenty to entertain you, even if the video quality isn't always the greatest. There's a brand new one, A Matter of Loaf and Death that just came out at Christmas in the UK but it's blocked in our part of the world right now, so you can't see it yet. :-(

Check out www.wallaceandgromit.com for lots of fun stuff, all W&G, in case you haven't been there yet.

Thanks again for stopping by, and please come back when I finally get back into regular garden blogging ... once we emerge from our snowy January tomb! We got another 3" tonight on top of all the rest! Yuck....

Sylvana said...

I am so glad that I stopped by here today! I am going into to work late since it is SO COLD here and is not expected to get near 0F until after noon. I found the Harvie Krumpet film very interesting and now want to watch the rest of them!

And, of course, always a HUGE fan of Wallace and Gromit.

oakleyses said...

iphone 6s plus cases, nike trainers uk, mont blanc pens, herve leger, new balance shoes, chi flat iron, nike huaraches, bottega veneta, soccer jerseys, iphone 6 plus cases, p90x workout, oakley, wedding dresses, lululemon, timberland boots, mcm handbags, louboutin, vans outlet, instyler, ralph lauren, north face outlet, hollister clothing, abercrombie and fitch, asics running shoes, iphone 6s cases, iphone cases, mac cosmetics, babyliss, iphone 5s cases, valentino shoes, nfl jerseys, jimmy choo outlet, soccer shoes, north face outlet, longchamp uk, giuseppe zanotti outlet, hermes belt, iphone 6 cases, baseball bats, insanity workout, reebok outlet, s6 case, ipad cases, celine handbags, hollister, beats by dre, ghd hair, nike roshe run, ferragamo shoes, nike air max

Unknown said...

www1026

coach outlet
asics shoes
ed hardy uk
dsquared2
ferragamo shoes
michael kors outlet