Beat (2000)

Off Beat Off I will travel to see a film that is “folded“ in the simple sense this one is: writing about writing, especially when the story is historically based and most especially when the literary tradition in question is all about just this manner of folding. I also admire when a writer succeeds in… Continue reading Beat (2000)

Arabian Nights (2000)

In the Lamp One key to master storytelling is the art of folding. That includes all sorts of techniques of overlapping narrative, spanning from overarching metaphor to stories within stories. It is an ancient technique, as old as any story we know. It is especially present in the “Arabian Nights” stories, signified by what’s inside… Continue reading Arabian Nights (2000)

Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000-2015)

Abstraction Along the Folds The game of animation is in large measure a matter of moving further and further into abstract universes. The game of modern movies is a matter of folding along self-referential dimensions. The rate of abstraction has been pushed pretty far, from Beavis to South Park to the contenders today. The whole… Continue reading Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000-2015)

102 Dalmatians (2000)

Character Engineering Disney has the world’s most advanced character lab. That’s what these kinds of movies depend on. What we see are the broad strokes, but what’s more interesting are all the little touches that are added based on the science of discovery through tests. It all revolves around the notion of the wheels of… Continue reading 102 Dalmatians (2000)

Memento (2000)

Skin as Photograph I rate this very high on my scale, primarily for its ambition and intellect. Usually I get annoyed at IMDB comments that report the story as if it were important, but it is here: —Lenny’s home is attacked, wife raped, him injured. He develops this ‘condition’ which has no physical cause. In… Continue reading Memento (2000)

Animal Factory (2000)

Realistic Shmealistic Somewhere in the movie business there really are people who think that the more real a film is, the better. And I mean literally real. We’re not talking here about “Godfather” being the first mafia movie made by Italians, but a prison movie being made by cons whose only goal is to show… Continue reading Animal Factory (2000)

An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000)

Three Goofs There are three things about this little cartoon that should get you up-out-of-your-chair mad. And not just huffing mad, but pounding walls mad. The first is elusive. Walt Disney created Goofy and indeed all of his characters with a single notion: that they would be extremely abstract entities. These were NOT people, and… Continue reading An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000)