freelance paradigm

Man on the Moon - Saw it in theaters years ago, just had to see it again
Elvis and Anabelle - really nice
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - well... not that it is not fun and all... but...
The Sunset Limited - more movies like this, please
Watchmen - omg, why is this so long? I had a version of 3 hours and 24 minutes... this story could be well jammed into 1h30 (not that it is that bad of a movie, it is just toooooo loooong). The visuals are amazing, though.
The Man Who Planted Trees - No words to describe this masterpiece. You just have to see it!
28 Days Later... - I regret watching this.
The Chronicles of Narnia - The whole trilogy, actually. And I liked it!
House of Flying Daggers - A couple inconsistencies aside, this is an amazing piece of cinematography. The story has a few very interesting twists which spice up the movie.
Sucker Punch - Stunning visuals, hot girls and that is probably it. But it is entertaining!
Nineteen Eighty-Four - This is fucked up.
Koyaanisqatsi - Beautiful...
Norwegian Wood - I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. Having read the book I can say they didn't ruin my memory of it. In fact, they found quite good actors to bring this story to life. Of course, they left a lot out and Midori had a lot shorter hair in my imagination, but film has some of its own rules... Perhaps making movies out of books is not such a good idea in general. Perhaps it would be better to write stories for movies separately.
Bathory - A good story ruined with bad directing.
Battle: Los Angeles - What we have here is an alien invasion movie WITHOUT a presidential address, secret UN meetings, NASA expert groups, new-age lunatics all the rest of the ET welcoming protocol. What is left is just another rescue mission and that is all there is to it. But you don't need aliens for that. All the money spent on CGI seems kinda wasted.
Letters from Iwo Jima - Damn good movie. Nuff said!
Fight Club - Every now and then you just have to rewatch this.
Rabbit Hole - Despite the fact that Nicole Kidman is giving a superb performance and that this movie has some stunning cinematic qualities, I believe this story would function much better as a book.
The King's Speech - OK, it is a very good movie, but not that good. It is certainly not better than Black Swan.
Water for Elephants - Really nice. Good story, good cinematography... perhaps even good enough to watch this movie more than once.
2046 - This is a marvel... perhaps a bit too long, but the cinematography and the story are both amazing!!!

Julie & Julia - Relaxing and entertaining, yet not stupid and moronic. Thumbs up.
The Man Who Fell to Earth - That was.... weird.
Greenberg - It's good for the most part, and what is not covered by "the most part", is a terrible bore.
Metropia - Loved it!
Hot Tub Time Machine - You'll have some fun with it.
Tupac Resurrection - Quite serious documentary. Almost entirely trough his words.
Kurenai no buta - A Hayao Miyazaki classic.
Clash of the Titans - Nice fireworks...
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - Good stuff...
Eyes Wide Shut - Even better!
Shrek Forever After - The last two or three Shrek's look more like a series episodes than films. Only longer. They could go on with this foreva after, and if it pays off, they should. But I'm not watching.
Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta - On the run to see all Hayao Miyazaki films. Worthwhile indeed.
Inception - It was like the first time I saw The Matrix. That awesome!!! I do hope that they don't make a sequel and ruin it all... It's a cult film already, let's leave it with that!
Forbidden Planet - Haha... funneh. It's cool to see some old classics in HD.
Kill Bill: Vol.1&2 - COOL!
Where The Wild Things Are - Really enchanting. I somehow didn't get the right feeling of closure on that island (not to spoil anything), though. But I liked the graphics and the idea A LOT!
Ondine - The first half of the movie is really beautiful, but then the story gets a bit to cliché for me. I really liked the cinematography.
The Last Airbender - We've seen better adaptations...
Step Up 3d - OK, I had free tickets... Not that I didn't enjoy it.
Eat Pray Love - I think I would support the philosophy that is behind this movie, but not the particular movie.

Every once in a while you can spot twenty- or thirtysomethings argue on forums, blogs or facebooks whether or not the cartoons were far better "back when we were kids". Perhaps they turned the TV on by accident, out of curiosity, by or because they have kids of their own now, but they seem largely to agree that cartoons are now far worse than they were. Present day cartoons ought to lack important qualities of storytelling, graphics and benevolence, while violence, shallowness and simplistic graphics took over.

The opposition might make an argument that most of what we experienced as kids didn't come trough the tubes but rather happened in our heads. Children have a tremendous power of imagination and most of the cartoon happens there. No matter what we would have watched, we would be equally romantic about it today.

But still; the change is visible no matter how you value it. I for one don't even try to join either of camps but rather embrace both arguments and find a personal balance between them. It is also true that creators have to make shortcuts while budgets go down, production time becomes shorter and demands even greater. What we see might be actually a result of the tragedy of the commons. I am sure many networks would gladly have well written stories, superb animations and music done by world class composers merged into their cartoons, but frankly they cannot afford it for their daily program.

So I was so much more surprised when I came across this little series by Nickelodeon called Avatar: The Last Airbender. This series has everything a goood cartoon needs; a good story, a very complex set of characters which are by no means shallow or simple, nice graphics, humor and most of all, what I call the right set of values just underneath the surface. There are no absolutely good or bad characters; they all make their decisions, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but they always face the consequences of their actions and pay the price or collect the awards. Even the good old benevolent cartoons like The Smurfs or Tom and Jerry (which are often praised as examples of the good old times) fail at that. Gargamel is simply evil and that's just that.

It made me think which are the lessons that a good program should promote. I am sure you have your own set (which I would be more than happy to discuss below), but "Work hard for the things/people you love," or "People do stuff for a reason, those who appear mean are most likely hurt and fragile," or even "If you made a mistake, face the consequences" might be among them. Of course; good graphics and overall quality serve well to develop a refined taste of every individual.

I am happy to admit that Avatar-Airbender series embodies all these qualities and many others. Even though it was intended for a younger population, it will get you hooked no matter how old or young you are. I cannot recommend it more. You have three seasons of fun, each better than the last, and everything ends in an epic series finale. The story is concluded in the best possible way (I think writers did better "finale job" here than with Battlestar Galactica, although BSG had its story more complex).

The Boat That Rocked - Something that people who fight internet piracy should see.
District 9 - WOW!
Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel - Actually very cute movie.
Terra - 85 minutes of pure awesomeness!!!
Shrink - Even though I am a huge fan of Kevin Spacey, this was a torture to watch. But the first scene with Spacey and Robin Williams was epic. Seeing those two giants together in such an electrified scene was really worth sticking trough the whole film.
Away We Go - I liked it, but the intermezzos with weirdos were a bit too long. If the story was a bit more focused on the couple, it would make a better movie.
9 - Yes, yes... nice one!
Orphan - I'm really not into horror, but I didn't have anything better to watch. I can't tell you what bothered me without spoiling the movie... so, see for yourself.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - Once I was able to neglect the fact that Germans speak English, I really enjoyed it.
2012 Supernova - such a crap that you must see it.
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan - As a huge BSG fan I was kinda disappointed. I really expected a bit more than a mash-up of deleted scenes. OK, so it tells a story about the Cavils, but who cares about the Cavils anyway. There were many more interesting and unanswered questions in the series...
Moon - Finally a good SciFi! Something that could be put next in line of 2001, Solaris, etc.
Up - Awesomest evar!
Mery and Max - Fantastic!

Bolt - Entertaining.
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People - Less entertaining, but still OK.
The Oxford Murders - Quite entertaining. I never miss a chance to see an Elijah Wood movie (except LOTR).
Valkyrie - Tom Cruise as a German? Not really...
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder - Better than previous two.
Slumdog Millionaire - OK cool, but a bit too much hype on this one
Passchendaele - Caroline Dhavernas made such a superb performance that even Paul Gross' unconvincing acing (to say the least) couldn't spoil.
The Day the Earth Stood Still - Not nearely as bad as one might think. Of course this kind of movies have more holes in their plot than Swiss cheese, but we are not watching them for the sake of dramatic consistency, are we? It is just fun to watch some fireworks from time to time, right?
Caprica - Pilot - Wow! A bit less mystical than Battlestar Galactica, but definitely GREAT!
Cry of the Owl - Just couldnt watch more than 35 minutes of it... Despite Caroline Dhavernas. :S
Transformers - Dunno... kinda fun to watch! If you don't expect much more than action eye-candy from Michael Bay movies, you'll get a fun ride!
Impact - It is not that I watch this kind of stuff for the sake of realism, but this was a bit too much anyway.
The Young Victoria - Enjoyable, especially from the cinematic point of view.
Push - This movie tries badly to look artistic, and it almost makes it... It has Asian environment, high-grain shots, hand shots, low saturation shots... But it also fails on many levels; like predictable script, ending battle, a bit stupid dialogues...

This is what I've seen in the last 6 months or so...

Who Killed the Electric Car? - Interesting
The Last Hangman - Amazing British movie...
Kung Fu Panda - We are getting spoiled by these 3d animations, aren't we?
Mamma Mia - I have seen better musicals...
Fireflies in the Garden - Patient viewers will be rewarded with great acting and realistic storyline.
The Visitor - A lovely movie that puts a human face to the whole imigratioin issue. Must see!
Burn after reading - About stupid people! Great performance by Brad Pitt!
Blindness - Really really good atmoshpere. Almost like in Children of men, but in a way - better. I'm reading the book now.
Man on Wire - Beautiful documentary on a man who followed his crazy dream!
Revolutionary Road - This ain't no Titanic...
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - This one will give you nightmares. In a way I regret watching it. And it is too damn long... Two and a half hours???
City of Ember - Cool. Reminds me on Logan's run, but this one is a lot more watchable (especially for kids). I kinda liked it. It's simple and honest.
W. - Not bad! Not bad at all! It is a quite decent film not a mockery.
12 - A Russian masterpiece.
Ballet Shoes - Charming little British flick... Happy ending and all that... It will serve you well if you had a hard day and you're not in the mood for anything more demanding.
Bin-jip - This movie could hardly be any more beautiful. Very asian, very contemplative...
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - A lot of fun! I must say I like the side characters ( and ) even better than the main ones.
The Fall - Very impressive scenography. Really really cool.
Grand Torino - Much has been said. It's simply a stunning movie.
Yes Man - Entertaining. Zooey Deschanel never looked cuter.

I decided that not to write about every movie I see, but just about the ones that deserve to be noted (no matter the reason). As usual; the bigger the font, the more I liked the movie.

Juno - Awesome, simply awesome!
Across the universe - A couple of things really made me say "WTF is this part of the movie?", but overall a nice work. There are some really good Beatles cover songs on the OST.
Vexille - The graphics are like OMG! ...and story is well done too. You must see this!
Lars and the real girl - An other must see. It is amazing how little is needed to make a good movie, and on the other hand; how hard it is to get a good idea. This movie is based on just one simple idea (I'm not telling what it is, it would be a spoiler)... Everything else, like execution, is totally simple and low-budget... and that's the beauty of it!.
August Rush - Loved every bit of it!

Persepolis - Stunning, stunning, stunning!
My blueberry nights - It wasn't really as I imagined, but then again; I couldn't picture Norah Jones in any other... At first I didn't know where it was going, but then it gets very watchable.
It's all gone Pete Tong - Don't waste your time on this one...
Ondskan - Fantastic!!!
Jumper - Hayden Christensen and Samuel L. Jackson are getting into some good ol' Jedi fights again. They even have some sort of lightsabers. But of course, the force is strong with Hayden and he gets to win at the end. OK, it is entertaining, but it is not something memoriable.
The air I breathe - It's like Crash and Vanila sky all over again...
No county for old men - I don't get it...
Logan's run - mixed feelings about this one... rather bad.
Wristcutters: A Love Story - So boring that I stopped watching after 10 minutes...
The golden compass - I must say I rather enjoyed this one. But mostly due to awesome graphics and cool analogue designs.
Music within - Good one!
Meet the Robinsons - Also cool, but I'd expect a just a little bit more from Disney. The story is quite good.

Yes! I finally get it what the Star wars saga is all about! It took me a long time, didn't it?
But in the previous years, when episodes I-III were comming out, I didn't have enough patience and knowledge to fully understand, even though I did saw episode I and II at the time. Now, during this hollidays, I saw all six of them in a couple of marathon evenings. I watched it in the same order as they were filmed. You must know it was a powerful and overwhelming experience.

And afterwords it was worth to see Family Guy - Blue harvest and have a really good laugh!!!

Black Snake Moan - It's about the blues, baby... Must see
300 - One of those trully graphical movies.
Moulin Rouge! - OK, if you are a true Nicole Kidman fan, then go for it. She is awesome! But if you're not, then buy a ticket for Puccini's La boheme instead!
Sex, lies and videotape - Not bad...
Sunshine - Just a couple of days ago I was thinking there aren't many good SciFi films anymore out there. So when I spotted this one, I was really excited. And so I contiued to be for the first 45 minutes of watching. The idea seemed to be good, it had capacity to present some real moral and ethical dilemas, this shall be a great movie, I said. But then, they had to fuck it up. They had to put zombie in it... Like a mission to save the Sun isn't hard enough, like it is a smooth job, where nothing can go wrong and no technical, scientific, logistic difficulties and even moral doubts can emerge and only zombie can put them in jeopardy. So, to conclude, it is a movie you have already seen, if you saw Sphere, Even horizon, 2010 and so forth. Only the visual effects are better...
EL Laberinto del fauno - We live, we die and even kill for own fantasies...
Breach - Really cool spy movie.
The Bridge - Crappy documentary about people who jumped oveer the Golden Gate Bridge. Nothing about the bridge, really. Just miserable suicide stories. Don't waste your time on this!
Snow cake - OK; not that I didn't like the movie, but I have to ask something: why is the most watchable character killed right at the beginning of the movie??? Besides that, a movie is about 15 minutes too long.
WarGames - Not bad... a pre-PC movie, not so much about computers than it is about cold war.
The Adams Family - I'm into goth right now so I thought I might check this flick. Well, it's entertaining enough...
Scarface - a true classic! And Michelle Pfeiffer is fabolous!
Mr. Brooks - Wow! That was fantastic!
1408 - Really cool. Not many horror movies drag me in like this (usually I don't even watch), but this one looks like a 1st person documentary on schizophrenia.
Longford - A nice European drama about a guy who believes in second chance!
The lost room - I loved it, but an answer "You wouldn't understand it" appears too many times.
The number 23 - lame... serously, it was a torture to watch this.

Here are some movies seen after my last posting on this matter...

Stranger than fiction - well, it's nice to see a romatic comedy with an intelligent plot. The ending is rather dissapointing (but then again, my version wouldn't make it a comedy).
The Prestige - very nice! A lot better than The Illusionist... (why do movies come in such pairs???)
Notes on a scandal - The unstopable Eros meets inevitable Tantos. A nice movie by British cinematography.
The Queen - Thumbs up for Hellen Mirren and Michael Sheen. Besides that, the plot looks like it's been written by Tony Blair himself.
The Conclave - hm... dark... a bit boring...
Bridge to Terabithia - That was so nice! Finally a well made movie for the kids, that even adults can appreciate. (Just because kids are small and young it doesn't mean they are retarded).
The Fountain - This is what I call masterpiece! MUST SEE!
Proof - Gwyneth and Anthony are worth watching! Other actors are not up to their level, which spoils a well thaught movie. I think it might have been even better than Beautiful mind, if it wasn't for Russel Crowe and Jennifer Connelly.
Sliding doors - Nothing dramatic. Gwyneths is cute, movie pleasntly unrealistic and simple.
Chapter 27 - I don't know why this movie got so many negative critics. I quite liked it! Even the psyhotic state of mind (of a murderer) is IMO realisticly portrayed.
Living 'til the End - The script could make a really nice movie, but this looks like it's been filmed and edited with my pocket camera. There are a few very basic begginer's mistakes... (zooming, wrong cuts, light shifts, color temperature... etc).