Trailer: "Paprika" (2007)

I watched a very trippy and interesting Japanese animated film last night, "Paprika." This is definitely not a kids film. Here is a synopsis:

With PAPRIKA, Satoshi Kon (TOKYO GODFATHERS, MILLENNIUM ACTRESS) unleashes another eye-popping anime adventure. The visually striking thriller is set in the not-too-distant future, where doctors are developing a groundbreaking new psychotherapy treatment called PT. This coincides with the invention of a device called the "DC Mini," which enables researchers to enter the dreams of a subject and explore matters of the unconscious mind. But one day, a "DC Mini" prototype goes missing, and the doctors are thrown into a world of confusion. They realize how dangerous a turn of events this could be, and to ensure that things don't spiral out of control, they embark on a mad quest to track down the missing prototype. The pretty but timid Dr. Atsuko Chiba teams up with the food-loving Dr. Tokita to find his assistant, Himuro, who has disappeared. Unfortunately, it is at this time that Atsuko's boss, Torataro Shima, tries to commit suicide. Dr. Tokita calls in an old friend, Detective Konakawa, to help the team find an answer to the rapidly devolving problem. As the characters use their dreamworld alter egos to enter the dreams of troubled patients, the line between reality and unreality begins to blur, until no one knows for sure what is real and what isn't. An adaptation of a story by the acclaimed Japanese writer Yasutaka Tsutsui, PAPRIKA tells a tough-to-decipher, but spellbinding, tale. Kon's thought-provoking film features an absurdly catchy J-pop score and an unforgettable visual landscape.

Here is the trailer:


Here is the visually stunning parade scene from the film:


Check it out. It is definitely worth it...

Seen any good movies lately?

Diversionary Tactics... Psychedelic Ads!

In honor of John McCain's never-ending, chicken-shit diversionary tactics, I take this opportunity to step away from all the political and economic silliness swirling around right now, to show you some really trippy ads and psa's from the 1970s:

Here is a psychedelic bicentenniel ad by the U.S. Information Agency:


Peter Max video for The Beatles, "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds":
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Here is the infamous 1974 7-Up "Bubbles" ad ("We see the light of 7-Up!"):


Here is the follow-up 1975 ad by 7-Up:


Sesame Street's Psychedelic Alphabet:


Here is a Hanna Barbara Anti-Drug PSA from 1970:


Here is an anti-smoking PAS by Peter Max:


Here's a 1968 Peter Max 7-Up ad:


Here is a 1970s Peter-Mix-ish Intermission Cartoon:


Trippy 1970s Cinema Ad:


Psychedelic McDonald's Ad:


Here's a trippy Levi's Blue Jeans ad from 1977:


F&F Throat Aid psychedelic ad:


And even Campbell's Soup got in the act:

David Byrne Radio

I like David Byrne, former lead singer and creative madman behind the genius of the Talking Heads. Byrne has a great website you should spend some time with. In particular, check out his free online radio station, which plays all kinds of interesting, rhythmic, genre-blending, globe-trotting music...

OK, while I am at it, watch this trippy, hilarious interview with David Byrne, by David Byrne, from the "Stop Making Sense" days:


And, here is the classic opening of Stop Making Sense, one of the great live music films of all time:

The Reactogon

A little while back, I posted about the "reactable," interactive synthesizer-table. Here is another version of the same cool technology. Check it out:

77 Optical Illusions

When I was in elementary school, I got fascinated with optical illusions and did what seemed at the time like a huge report on visual trickery. Ever since, I've always had a soft spot for such things. Here is a website with 77 different optical illusions for your enjoyment...

Flaming Lips - "Do You Realize"

This is a really beautiful song.

If you have never seen the Flaming Lips live, you really owe it to yourself to catch them. An amazing experience, chok full of streamers and glow sticks and people dressed up as animals and superheroes and aliens and santa claus, and strange videos, Wayne Coyne talking about God knows what... Awwwwww, forget it. There is no way to adequately explain it in words. Just trust me. Go see 'em...

Miro-esque

"Across The Universe"

We went and saw Julie Taymor's 60s-fantasia, "Across the Universe," last night and really dug it. In case you haven't heard of it, the film uses 31 Beatles tunes as the connective tissue in a generational story about the 60s, a la "Moulin Rouge." You have to allow yourself to be open to the film (I suspect many will cynically dismiss it as cheesy), but if you are, it is hard not to fall in love with it. Taymor's creative vision is intoxicating in many spots. In addition to music, she uses animation and puppetry to great effect to touch on youth culture, Vietnam, anti-war activism, civil rights, LSD, music, radicalism, repression, etc. Bono makes a fun appearance as "Dr Robert" - actually, he is playing Ken Kesey! - and sings "I Am the Walrus" after everyone drinks LSD-laced kool-aid at a party. Really trippy... Selma Hayek, Joe Cocker and others make guest appearances, as well.

Here's the trailer:

Like my mom, Drea can fall asleep in the best film... shortly after the opening credits. As an indication of how interesting and groovy this film is when viewed in the right frame of mind, Drea actually stayed riveted for the entire 2:05!

Here is the NYTimes review, which I think is fair-minded:
Stephen Holden, "Lovers in the 60s Take Magical Mystery Tour"

As the reviewer wrote,

"Somewhere around its midpoint, 'Across the Universe' captured my heart, and I realized that falling in love with a movie is like falling in love with another person. Imperfections, however glaring, become endearing quirks once you’ve tumbled."

He goes on,

"Most of the historical events are lightly fictionalized in a movie that maintains only the fuzziest of timelines. Its 33 Beatles songs (two without words) have been re-recorded and sung by the actors. Yet “Across the Universe” feels emotionally true both to the Beatles, whose music today seems to exist outside of time, and to the decade it remembers. Smart, uncluttered musical arrangements help reposition the songs to address the situation at hand. As a result, music that has congealed in collective memory — especially the clever, breezy early Beatles songs — emerges refreshed."

Check it out! If you've seen it, what did YOU think?