It's this time of the year again to post my products for a shameless plug. Naw I don't feel guilty. I just want to show you some alternatives. I'm sure you don't mind...

If you are planning to invest into something big, then I would recommend going for this nice book. The pictures in it represent some of my finest work and are printed on quality paper. To make the pictures work in their full glory they are printed on two page spreads. That allows the viewer to dive into the rich detail I always tend to put into my work. Details that are mostly visible in big prints only.

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

Yet again I have to announce something that makes me proud. For the past year I sat down and created a neat little art book. This book contains 9 of my personal portfolio favourites on a very high quality 30×30 cm / 12×12 inches paper. All of them on two-page spreads. So basically 60cm wide. That gives some amazing detail! Additionally it's packaged in a very well produced and manufactured binding. For details feel free to check this page. There you can find all necessary info about the book as well as detailed photos.

Check The Preview - Here

Buy The Book - Here

This one was a surprise and I even almost missed it. I'm very happy that it got the award of course. The feedback that came with it, over the past couple of days, was very positive and appreciated a lot! I'm glad there are so many people enjoying the view and may come back for more! Things like that are a great motivation.

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

Comic fans around the world, for a long time thought, that a movie like this one would be impossible. And their concern is quite understandable. Marvel, for the past 5 or 6 years, slowly built up momentum for this movie. They did it with small little scenes in all the superhero movies. Most famous one probably the one after the credits in the first Iron Man movie. Where we get to see a Nick Fury character for the first time. Since then we had similar scenes in Hulk 2, Thor and Captain America.

Especially in Thor and Captain America we finally really knew where it all is heading. The Avengers movie. All of the movies were quite successful and managed it to appeal to a wide audience. Some more… some less. But altogether, quite a lot. So the inevitable, almost impossible had to happen! All of these heroes in oooone big show! I, honestly, had no big hopes. And I didn't care too much too. I'm not a big comics guy. Even though I enjoy the movies they made. 'Doubt' was written all over that Avengers movie.

The name 'Joss Whedon' spawned hope though. Some say he's one of the most overrated guys ever. Others think he is a god amongst men. He's the guy that brought us Buffy – The Vampire Slayer, Angel and one beautiful season of Firefly. Somehow he knows how to create characters that work great together. His way of writing is able to create a very good chemistry between characters. The one point that spoke against Whedon was the fact that he never directed a really really big movie. Until now. Everyone had a good right to be sceptical. So ultimately Joss Whedon was a perfect and very risky choice.

And well, what's to say? Joss Whedon literally must be a god amongst men. He managed to get that impossible project right. And he did it all, ALL, right. The Avengers is certainly the best comic movie out there. Right next to The Dark Knight. One thing The Avengers do different though, is the humour. That's the one component that really makes The Avengers shine. These well dosed moments of refreshing humour. Sometimes very unexpected humour. Perfectly timed. Mixed with action that was quite amazing too. Well… all around great experience.

The actual story of the movie requires a little backstory from the Captain America and Thor movies. But it's not entirely crucial to know these things. All characters get introduced properly. So that even newbies understand who is who. Ultimately it's about a bad guy, Thors half-brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who wants to conquer Earth. But he needs a mystical energy source that was discovered in the Captain America movie. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his buddies from the 'Shield' initiative try to fight that. But they alone surely aren't enough. That's why they try to recruit guys like Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans) and Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Of course all these characters start out with problems. Especially when Thor (Chris Hemsworth) joins. That's nice to watch because it also reveals all the little character moments. All of them have their strenghts and weaknesses. And the movie does it right to bring it all into the spotlight. It also gets it right, letting all the characters shine when they work together. Of course they understand, they have to work together, to beat the bad guys.

Loki's motivation is of course revenge on Thor (for happenings in the Thor movie). Loki wants to attack Earth because Thor gave an oath to protect the planet on all costs. So the best way to hurt Thor would be to attack the beloved thing he tries to protect. So Loki formes an alliance with some evil alien race (that is not further introduced in the movie… possible hint to a second Avengers movie), to lead their army through a gate to Earth. And Loki manages it to open that gate. It's nice to watch how Loki is following/unfolding his plan. And I admit… I like Loki. It's a great character and Tom Hiddleston surely gets it perfectly right. Now all the superheroes forged an alliance to cross Loki's plan.

The movie does a remarkable job, giving all these strong characters all the demanded screen time, all of them really deserve. And because of the fact all the characters are so distinctively different, it's very easy to set them apart from another. Each one of them has a certain skill and look. Easy to recognize. Which leads to the action sequences. These are done so flawlessly fluid that all the Transformers movies could take a lesson from that. No shaky cam, no lightspeed cutting. All scenes are well choreographed and easy to read. A pleasure. Which leads me to the 3d. The 3d in the movie was really good. A seldom case where I enjoyed the effect. Even though I must admit, that it only works when you look at the screen areas the movie demands you to look at. So it's hard to study elements of the pictures, other than the intended focussed spots. Nonetheless… the 3d worked fine. They used the right cameras to film it.

The VFX, once again, pretty much flawless. It's always amazing to see how well they can integrate the live action footage into the cg. Only the Hulk still looks a little too CG. Nonethelss, fun to watch. Again it's amazing how seamlessly they are now able to blend it all together. Especially in the final big fight in the city.

Pretty much everyone expected a catastrophe of a movie. I had no big expectations too. But they made it right. They did the impossible. Joss Whedon certainly plays a big role in that. But it's surely not him alone. I guess everything fell into the right hands and places.

Oh and I still like the Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) character a lot. This short scene of her with Tony Stark is so fun to watch. Great chemistry between the two. But also in general… the chemistry between all the actors in this movie works so great. Another remarkable achievement that lead to an almost perfect movie.

So yeah… great movie… perfect entertainment. Go check it out! The first big one 2012.

For me a 8.5/10

Marvel's The Avengers on IMDb

The whole time, while watching this movie, I had this question in my mind. Why does this movie function so much better than the first FOUR! movies? It's actually pretty astonishing. None of the previous films managed to get it as right as X-Men First Class did. X-Men (2000) gets close though. By getting it 'right' I mean my personal feeling of watching a good, entertaining movie.

'First Class' shows us how all the X-Men thing (according to the story) started in the 1960s. While Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is still studying to become professor, Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) is seeking revenge for the happenings in a concentration camp during World War 2. Especially on a person that didn't really do good things to him, when he was in the camp. It later turns out, that the person Erik is looking for, is a Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). Who is a mutant as well and planning to overthrow human society, to make place for mutants… to rule the world!

We see Eriks efforts to find Shaw and he eventually meets up with Charles. Charles, in the mean time, got hired by the CIA to find more mutants. Their plans are to create a special mutant department, to make use of their special abilities. And that's how Charles and Erik find each other. They find out what Shaw is planning and, of course, try to cross his plans.

We pretty early see that Charles and Erik follow different directions and motivations. McAvoy and Fassbender deliver great performances with their characters. Maybe it's these two actors who make the first three X-Men movies a little more plausible now. I never really got into the Magneto motivation until now. Yeah, I know what he's trying to do. But without all the backstory we now got with 'First Class', all previous movies felt empty in certain areas. At least to me. On the other hand all previous four movies were pretty much 'Wolverine' movies, if you ask me. So maybe it's because of the fact that in 'First Class' we see a much broader picture… why this movie works so much better than the rest?

Since the story of the movie is set in the 1960s, it's of course important to get the mood and tone right. And they did it fine. Even if the X-Men were always super fancy hi-tec people… we now see that they started out from scratch too. There are also some musical choices, in certain scenes that deliver some nice vibes, from the 1960s times. Especially in that one scene where these newly recruited mutant kids party around a little. I liked the scene where the kids showed off their powers. That was fun to watch. And then there was this one short scene, where Charles and Erik come into a bar, and it's Wolverine sitting there, telling them to fu** off, before they even said a word. That was a nice laugh, I admit it!

Sebastian Shaw's plan takes shape and he gets everything set into position. And that includes russians placing nuclear warheads on Cuba. What leads the whole X-Men story to a fascinating history twist. So Charles, Erik and the gang are eventually out to stop Shaw and the 'missle crisis' that's about to happen.

What I missed a little is more information about Sebastian Shaw. Maybe I was deaf and really missed it. But… who is this guy? So he worked for the germans. Is he a german? Did they hire him to, I don't know, follow their idiotic plans to create a super race? Shaw mentioned something about his power to absorb energy and we see it in action numerous times. Does this power keep him young as well? How old is he? It seems like he's just 'there' to be a bad guy. Kevin Bacon's performance was cool though. Would be nice in general to see some more work from him again. Then there is January Jones as Emma Frost. I just saw her in Unknown Identity and found her way of acting pretty cold. And I had the same impression here. As if she didn't care much about her character. At least she gives some nice views for the men, when she's in the picture.

The visual effects left a mixed impression. There are nicely executed scenes. When Shaw is entering that CIA building to get the mutant kids for example. He blows up quite some stuff there. Then there is the scene where Magneto is guiding missles back to their ships. Now when the missles exploded, it looked great. But the missles themselfes looked far far far too clean. That stole a lot of credibility. And that mixed impression went throughout the whole movie.

It's a good film with some nice acting and action. It manages to leave an impression… and both McAvoy and Fassbender play a big role in that. Their motivations and actions are understandable, and we now know where it's really coming from. Especially with Magneto who, in the end, becomes very much that what he tried to kill in Sebastian Shaw. A guy with a narrow vision, only looking out for his own kind. That was missing in the other films from my point of view. So this movie gives a little more meaning to all the other X-Men films.

Check it out! It's a fun one!

7.7/10

X-Men First Class on IMDb

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

This is the first movie this year that owned a big bright spot on my movies radar. The trailers looked fine and made me interested. It 's also always interesting to see what studios and directors can make of a very very old Scifi story. Especially when it comes to design things.

The original story 'The Princess of Mars' came out 1917 and was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. In the following 30 years more books and shortstories spawned. All of them exploring the fantastic world created in the first book. Due to the indeed very old story I found it very appealing to see what Hollywood can make of that material. Also the fact that Andrew Stanton, (creator of Pixar's Wall-E and Finding Nemo) former animation movie director, is now attacking a live action movie.

The story is actually told rather quickly. A former soldier of the american civilwar gets captured by some of his old army colleagues. They want him to join back into the army. They got their reasons and he surely got his reasons to avoid it. He waits for the right moment to escape. When he finally breaks free he is forced to find a hideout. The only one he finds is a mysterious cave. There he encounters something that transports him to Mars. At first he's not sure what the hell happened and it takes him a while to understand. On Mars he's the outsider. He finds a world that is in a war he actually doesn't want to be a part of. Much like the world he just left. From there on he's trying to understand this new world and trying to find his way back home. But home is relative… isn't it?

The feel and the tone of the movie is pretty much an 'adventure' one. They market this movie like "a mix between starwars and avatar". Which is completely useless. There is maybe 10% Starwars and 5% Avatar in it. It is a movie on its own. The design and look of the movie stands on its own feet. And that's what I liked a lot from early on. Of course you have seen everything anywhere, sometime or somewhere but the movie manages it to keep it fresh. So visually you really get to see something stimulating.

The presentation of the storyline is a little rollercoaster. You have great and impressive battle scenes. A lot of action and speed. Then comes the romantic stuff. And I must admit that there is maybe a little too much of that. But on the other hand it's exactly this what gives the movie a very certain tone that reminds me of older movies from the 60s or 50s. I don't know if that was planned by the makers but for me it felt that way. The story of the movie technically plays 1866 and with that comes certain behaviour by certain characters. Last but not least comes the humour. There you can kind of see where the director originally came from. To me it felt like a very Pixar'ish humour.

When it comes to the acting and its quality then there is not much to say. It's certainly not overwhelming but it was ok. I'm not sure if I will become a fan of Taylor Kitsch (even if his work in this movie was totally fine). Lynn Collins as princess Dejah Thoris was a perfect cast though. She really felt and looked like a true princess. Overall the casting was fine and felt organic enough to leave an overall good impression.

The design and VFX work belongs to the best that's out there nowadays. The integration of all the CG into the live action footage looked pretty much flawless and convincing. It was a lot of fun watching the action happening. Explosions, huge cities, exotic aircrafts and all sorts of creatures. Creatures that, for once, really felt like there was a thought process behind them. Overall good stuff.

It may be the age of the original story that some parts in the movie feel a little hokey but I would say that this is just a certain charme that most movies are not able to capture anymore. The director kept its movie relatively close to the original material. The charme of an old fashioned Scifi movie. Nowadays everyone is trying to reinvent everything anew. This isn't necessary! You can create something entertaining too by just using methods that are already there.

If you're planning to see it on the big screen then try to catch a 2d showing. The 3d isn't horribly bad but it wasn't good enough to let me say "yes!". Otherwise wait for the bluray. I'm sure it'll look great in HD.

I enjoyed this film.

7.5/10

John Carter on IMDb

When I first heard that title I was thinking "dear lord what can be expected from that?!". Then I read that Jon Favreau is the director. This guy is pretty good in what he's doing. The Iron Man movies are entertaining and not too stupid. The first one much better though. Beside that we also have some of Hollywood's best producers and writers on this movie. Now what's Cowboys & Aliens about?

It's about a guy who wakes up alone in the desert. He is not able to remember anything. From then on we follow him trying to remember his past. Soon enough first things clear up when he manages to get into a small town. Last but not least some aliens show up and abduct people from the town. Then our hero and some of the town folks move on to get their beloved friends and family members back.

Yes, the aliens appear out of nowhere without much of an explanation. Until the end of the movie we don't learn why these creatures are actually on earth. So it's best you go into the movie without anything… no expectations at all. The title pretty much tells you upfront that it's pure enterainment and nothing to make your brain think. Much of that can also be found in the screenwriting. There was some weird dialogue happening at certain points that partly took me out of the movie. I was thinking "Who in the world is talking that way?". Some weird choices there.

Daniel Craig is the main character and I admit he nails his character. He's the ultimate badass. Kinda like his James Bond interpretation. Then we have Harrison Ford. One of my all-time favs. I grew up with this guy swinging laser guns and whips at bad guys. He's one of my heroes! Well, in this movie not so much. At first he's written like a bad guy characters. He kinda gets together with our hero to rescue his son from the aliens. So his character leaves a weird impression and has a strange story arc overall. Sam Rockwell is the only actor in this movie who plays a character I was able to kind of connect to. He plays a saloon owner who is also a doctor. When the aliens come in, they abduct his wife. He wants her back! Beside that he's just an awesome actor. Adam Beach left a good impression too. This guy should get casted for other movies too. He's got some potential to do some more heavy lifting roles. Last but not least we have Olivia Wilde. She's basically only there to be sexy and does that nicely. Ultimately the weird writing of the partly hokey dialogue leaves an overall strange impression of all the characters. I can imagine they had some serious problems to give these characters something to say at all. I bet you could do this movie without a single spoken line!

The VFX work is overall very solid. ILM certainly did a fine job there. When it comes to the concept work for the aliens and related things then it's also well done and works in context of the movie. But then again I always wonder why the aliens always have to look like us? By that I mean you can clearly recognize a head, two arms and two legs. Star Trek aliens so to speak. I know it would be very difficult to go for a more insectoid or whatever approach… but meh… a little more originality wouldn't hurt in that department. And don't get me wrong. I know for certain how much work goes into the design of these aliens. I highly respect the work.

In the end it is a fairly simple movie. Nothing that keeps your brain too busy. It's popcorn entertainment. Is it good? Well… it's entertaining for sure! And hey, Olivia Wilde is a cutie in her own way and looks good on the screen. So you want some humans kicking alien ass? Go for this movie.

6.6/10

Cowboys & Aliens on IMDb

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

Due to its earlier release in the US I read and heard quite a lot about the movie and decided to see it now, since it finally reached europe. This review contains spoilers so be warned if you're interested in seeing the film.

Pretty much all the reviews I saw mentioned that the movie has quite the 80s tone and feel going and I have to agree. All that made me not expecting too much since I'm not too much of an 80s fan at all. And I guess half the audience that was in the theater did not get the movie they expected. I, on the other hand, got the movie I expected and… really really liked it!

This movie is about a young man, we call him driver (Ryan Gosling), we don't really learn much about. He's just there, living his life. This life includes being a stuntman for movies what makes him quite an impressive driver. Beside that he's working in a friends' (Bryan Cranston) car repair shop. This friend also has some questionable contacts that will come into play at a certain point in the movie. Now our driver tries to live his life between doing a few driver jobs for quick robs, work in the repair shop and being a stuntman. The driver character is a little hard to explain and leaves room for interpretation I think. We soon learn he definitely has a dark side. We, in fact, learn that right at the beginning. Right there we also see that he's an exceptional driver with quite the instinct for certain situations. We never learn where he got that from. Which, at least for me, doesn't hurt the character at all. It adds a mysterious feel to the character.

Our driver lives in an appartment building, next to a woman (Carey Mulligan) and her kid. Our driver meets them when shopping and recognizes her car broke down. For a moment we can see the thought process in his head. "Do I help them or do I mind my own business?!". He decides to help them. There we see that he also has a not so dark side. He's helping her out and both kind of develop a connection. We can see that there is more happening and that's because the movie gives enough space for the characters to play their parts. There isn't too much dialogue happening but lots of things happen in the faces of the actors. Long cuts with a lot of room. No unnecessary explanations like so many movies do nowadays, because studios seem to think the audience is dumb and needs an explanation for everything. If you're not mentally and emotional retarded then you're able to understand what's happing between these two people. And there we have our interpretation point again. Our driver is a pretty introverted character. He's careful with whom he opens up to. His life depends on it. He even may have never loved someone before. The woman and the driver deepen their connection, in a very innocent and lovely way, further and now even the dumbest person on the planet can see that they really like each other. Even the kid seems to really like the driver. We also learn that the woman is actually married and her husband, in jail, is soon getting out and coming back. Which leaves driver in a not so easy to manage position. I found it very interesting to see how he gets through that.

The husband and the driver soon are confronted with each other. One day our driver comes home and sees the husband lying bloody on the floor. Driver helps him and asks what was going on. We learn that there happened some risky protection business in jail. The husband now has to pay off the dept he owes to the people that protected him in jail. Driver decides to help him and both go to a person that has the right job for them. The bad thing is that the job is not going as expected.

At the same time driver and his car repair shop friend land a deal with some mafia/organized crime guy to finance a stock car race endeavour. And that's when it all comes together.

The money our driver and the husband are stealing is connected to the crime people who finance the race plans. It's also bad that the husband of the woman gets shot and dies… which leads the bad guys to the woman and her kid… and of course to the driver who lives next door. All this was a long planned setup to upset the east coast mafia from whom the stolen money was.

To find out who set them up and how to resolve that complicated situation our driver really goes down the violent path. Somehow he knows exactly how to handle the people he's dealing with. We still don't know exactly why and it doesn't matter. He wants to protect the woman and her kid… no matter the costs. The second half of the movie then is of course the one that gives us quite some bloody and disturbing scenes. Well placed and timed!

I realize that my description of the story doesn't make much sense but believe me… the movie get it all together soooo damn well. It's impressive.

This movie is a slow burn. The first half we have some wonderful character development. The movie takes its time with that. The cinematography, lighting, colours… the whole mood is almost mezmerizing. There are a lot of scenes where driver is just driving. We see his face and all the streetlights, all the different colours of that universe that Los Angeles can be, reflecting in his face. These scenes could easily be boring but somehow they give the viewer some room to understand what previously happened in the film. Like short intermissions. In the second half the movie starts to speed up a little. Our characters are confronted with certain situations and problems. These need to be solved as soon as possible.

The driver character sometimes has a psycho feel to him. But the way I see it he's able to control that notion. He's introverted and likes to stay by himself. This woman and her kid change his world. She could be his first true love and he's willing to do everything necessary to know that she's fine. He doesn't expect anything in return. Kind of a classic movie hero.

The woman is a little torn apart. On the one side her husband and the other that guy who is just there and creates a lovely atmosphere everytime he's around. I think she loves both of them and feels sorry. Carey Mulligan really does a beautiful job with that character. Again lots of quiet scenes that just speak for themself.

Bryan Cranston is also a great addition to the film. It's cool to see him getting big A list roles now. It almost seems he's getting bombarded with offers nowadays. Well… his 'Breaking Bad' performance surely helps him. In this film he is kind of the tragic figure that wasted its second chance.

The bad guys played by Albert Brooks (phenomenal) and Ron Perlman do a nice job too. It's interesting to see Ron Perlman play such a small role. But he fills it and gives it some depth. Albert Brooks certainly isn't playing his usual role here. It's even hard to call him a bad guy character here. In the end he's torn apart by the decisions he has to make. He just does what has to be done to resolve a situation.

This is not a 'Fast and Furious' or 'Transporter' movie. This isn't a movie made for 'entertainment'. It's a movie that requieres some investment and patience. If you're willing to do that then you might see a movie that mentally lasts a little longer than just that one evening you saw it. This movie, for me, certainly did. I wrote this review over 5 days and I'm still fascinated by the film.

Is it a movie I could watch over and over again? I think no. Like I said. It's not an entertainment film. You need to be in the mood for it. Or you need someone who you really want to show the film to. Make a nice evening and later talk about the film. And I'm sure it will be interesting to hear the perspective on the movie from another person.

8.4/10

Drive on IMDb

It got quiet with Mel Gibson. After that strange telephone call thing that got through all the media it seemed he took a time out. Looks like he got some problems but to hell with it… we all have our problems. Only difference is that we don't have psychos who record our phonecalls. Now this movie 'The Beaver' was the first one Gibson was in after the media buzz the phone thing caused. A movie directed by Jodie Foster who also plays one of the main characters in the movie. She's also a good friend of Gibson and may have thought "lets give him another chance!". That's what friends do and she did not get disappointed for sure.

The movie is about a Walter Black (Mel Gibson) who is the manager and head of a toy company that is sort of on a downward spiral. Right from the beginning of the film we notice that he's not on top of his game and it feels and looks like a big depression. We see how everything slips out of his hands. First his job, then family and last but not least his own life. When he tries to kill himself some switch gets on and suddenly a handpuppet of a beaver starts talking to him. Now the puppet on his arm he starts to climb out of this big hole of a depression he's in. Sometimes we all need someone who seriously kicks our ass to make us understand or do something. For Walter it's this puppet. Walter doesn't really understand what is happening but we as the audience can see how the puppet is helping him finding back on track again. While we watch him getting back in contact with his family and job we also notice that the puppet cannot be the ultimate solution. At some point the puppet has to go away. We also notice that it me require some heavy measures really get rid of it.

The movie not only shows what Walter has to go through. It also shows how a family can go down because of all the things a depression comes with. Walter's son, played very awesome by Anton Yelchin, has the most problems handling the situation. He lives in constant fear that he might become too much like his father. He also doesn't understand the whole thing with the beaver and distances himself even more from Walter. Now there is a younger son too. He of course has no problems with the beaver. He easily finds a connection to his dad again through this puppet. Walter's wife (Jodie Foster) is happy about how things slowly get back to normal. But she can also see that if this puppet thing continues… things will fall apart again. And who knows if there is a second chance. Jodie Foster's performance works really well since she manages it to make all the inner conflicts visible.

So what does the movie want to tell us here? Yes, depression is quite a serious subject. The movie tries to make the audience understand that it can be a very complicated dealing with these things. All the things with the beaver is a little weird but, at least for me, understandable. I think when you're in a situation like this one you try to hold on every little thing that might help you to get out of that mess. So is the movie a success for what it wants to be? I think yes.

Mel Gibson. Well… start to give that guy jobs again! Please! He is a good, very good, actor. He may have a complicated private life but hell… who are we to judge that? That's not our business. We as an audience should only judge Mel Gibson for what we see in his movies. May it be as an actor or director. I love both roles of him. He can create quite some epic movies. And yes, I say 'Passion of the Christ' is an underrated and misunderstood movie. But that's a review I still have to write some time. Anyway… I can see Mr. Gibson as a new Clint Eastwood. He's a champ in both disciplines.

So yeah… final words… well… sometimes it literally needs a clear cut to solve some personal problems.

7.5/10

The Beaver on IMDb

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

Alright, here we are. 2012 is the year and it sounds so damn Scifi. It's funny how we outran Scifi stories/movie like 2001, 2010 or Terminator to only name a few. Not long and we catch up on Blade Runner. All these possible futures that did not come true. It's a fascinating topic actually. That may be discussed at a later point. Anyway... hope you all had a nice party into the new year. Now lets see what it brings.

My frst review in 2012! But anyway… the story for this one is told in 5 seconds. "Adventurer gets trapped in a cave and has to cut off his right arm to survive." And yes, I don't consider this a spoiler since it's really no secret. But the gross moments of this movie aren't the ones that make this movie. They play a role in the solution of the story but that's all.

The movie is about Aron Ralston. A person that actually exists and who really had to go through all the things this film shows. In the beginning of the movie we see him take a break from his city life and job. He's an adventurer who likes to explore landscapes. Mostly alone. And that's what'll haunt him through this movie. Aron is out having fun in the desert, surrounded by canyons and deathtraps. The movie does a great job also showing the beauty of the landscape and nature itself. Almost establishing it as a character of itself. James Franco, who plays Aron Ralston, does a nice job here. You can see in his face how glad and happy he is to be out there. Pure freedom. Then when he tries to climb down a, pretty harmless looking, canyon… he slips. Falling down along with him there is a rock. When both hit the ground Aron's right arm gets caught between the cave wall and the rock. He's trapped. That's the moment where you sit there thinking "how unfortunate can one be?!". James Franco is great in that moment. Since the camera is pretty much always straight up in his face you needed an actor who can really work with his face. James Franco is one of those. In that particular scene, when he realizes he's trapped, you can see a hint of panic in his face. At the same time you can see how a thinking process begins to start. "How am I going to get out of this mess?". You can read that off of his face and eyes. Nice job with that Mr. Franco. From there on we're captivated. Even if we already sorta know how the story will end. We want to know what all happens on the way.

Technically the movie is very well made. Keeping in mind that most of the movie happens under these close quarter conditions. A lot of Danny Boyle typical cuts bring in some diversion. Flashbacks and hallucinations of Aron fill in certain parts we need to know about him. The Make-up department did a nice job too. Later when Aron's body starts to sorta give up. The Make-up really made all this visible. Which helps the audience to understand how bad things are for him. The specific "cut off arm" scenes are intense. But not because of the blood. They actually don't show too much. Which is good. Often enough a simple sound generates the pics automatically in your mind. Far more efficient than blatantly showing it all. They never go too far and keep it all as, what I think, realistic as possible. There are nonetheless plenty of moments where you possibly let out an "Ouch!".

Ultimately the movie is about learning of the importance to not always do things on your own. That it's never wrong to let people know where you are and what you're up to. Don't be an egomaniac for the sake of being independent. It's hard to believe but yes, there is a certain breed of people who really are that way. I met the one or another person who is that way.

So yeah, this is a good movie. Not one for a 'just for fun' evening though. It's not a party movie. There are parts that are a little hard to sit through. But it's worth it. A movie with a message. Can't be wrong can it?

7.9/10

127 Hours on IMDb

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

Ten years is a damn long time. There is a lot that can happen in ten years. For me, well... some things did change, others not so much.

Now when it comes to the work I do, a lot of things indeed did change. Ten years ago I had no idea what to do with myself, fresh out of school. The only thing I knew was that I had a talent for computers and stuff. I discovered the magic of a, still rather young and new, internet. I met some people online who sort of pushed me into a certain direction. One person in particular then brought me closer to Photoshop. At the time I was playing with Corel Photopaint and had the opinion that it was the far superior tool in comparison to Photoshop. I turned out to be not completely but slightly wrong. Photoshop 5.5 is the ultimate foundation I started with. A time of playing, testing and experimenting started.

Then I discovered deviantart. At first I wasn't a fan of uploading my stuff to let the entire world see. Believe it... I'm a rather shy person. After a short while I overcame my doubts and gave it all a shot. I registered on deviantart.com. And today I must say that it was one of my best decisions ever.

Deviantart ten years ago was quite different. Of course it was smaller. Much smaller. And therefore it was also more of a community than it is today. Or lets say it was a different kind of community. It was all a little more closer. I imagine the site had nothing more than a few thousand members and compared to what the site has now it's just nothing. The thing that struck me the most back then was the sheer possibilities of digital art. That field of art just started to become popular and you could already see so many amazing things. And that's why it was a good decision to get here. All the stuff I saw on here just kept me motivated to continue. I wanted to be able to do manipulations, abstracts, fractals, paintings... you name it... I wanted to be able to do that kind of stuff too. And yes, sometimes it was frustrating to see all the great artwork without to know how they did it and sometimes you even feel that you'll never be able to get there.

Like I mentioned, deviantart in the beginning, was a much more closed community than it is today. Of course a lot of the technical webdesign/programming wonders weren't still there yet. So the site was also much simpler to navigate. It was mainly about art and not so much about the social components that came in later with the chat, groups and reworked message center. Now it's still about art but it also became a lot like an ordinary sharing space where people share their latest holiday photo collection. I hate to say it but 'facebook' comes to mind. And the comparison isn't maybe a good one since deviantart still has a big 'digital art' component going. But anyway...

The site started to grow and become popular. So much in fact that I remember times when deviantart was so busy that half the time it was down. You were lucky when the requested page loaded right away. That was a difficult phase I can imagine. Nonetheless it kept going and growing. Technical issues aside, the site still had its fascination and so much talent that showed its art. People came back when the site ran fluid again. And it became more people.

I cannot recall the exact year but it must have been between 2003 and 2004 when I got invited to become gallery director for wallpapers. Man, back then... that was an honour for me. It was an interesting time having that post and a small insight to the background of the site.

Soon after that deviantart began a long time of restructuring. By that I mean the outside as well as the inside. A lot of us gallery directors had to pack up and leave their posts. Including me. We didn't even get an explanation what exactly was going on. The dark days of deviantart started.

As far as I remember there was quite a buzz about the original founders and that they had different opinions on where to go with the site. It even got to the court. Now it looks like Mr. Angelo Sotira, who was not an original founder and came in a little later, is the CEO of deviantart and obviously won whatever was going on in the background. The other guys had to pack up and leave as well as us gallery directors did a few months earlier. But... in my opinion some real sh*tstorm was going on behind the curtains. So it looks like Mr Sotira is a pretty much icecold business person. And that's what you have to be these days. And work ethics are a different story.

I think the whole direction and future of deviantart changed between 2004 and 2006. That's when every veteran really began to see where the site is heading. A lot of changes were introduced and some of them really really unnecessary. The site grew and got much more attention than ever before. It now attracted even bigger artists from the games and movie industry. Other artists who started to show their work here found their way into the industry. The site became big and very popular among digital art people in general. Not just people who accidently stumbled over it via google or word of mouth, like me back then in 2001. The word got spread and now you have people from around the world. Now you got some of the best digital art from around the world!

But do you see the best digital art from around the world too? Well, no. In 2008/09 the site finally became such a monster that it became really hard to find the really really good stuff. Or to say it differently... the site had so much good stuff that it was too much. You would never have the chance to see it all because much of it just drowns in the masses. Deviantart is often also a victim of trends. I remember the abstract 3d phase from 2002/04 - then the manga/anime from 2005/07 - then the emo photography from 2007/09 - after that I didn't follow it any further. So it is really hard to really make yourself a name on that site. Because like I said... it is easy to drown in the masses.

On the other hand it now looks like deviantart is splitting up into different fields. If you're a good painting artist then you will probably get your followers in that particular field. It's not the 'i have to get popular and dominate every field with my stuff' anymore. Which what was happening for a very long time. Now it's different and if you're good in a certain field then you have good chances to make yourself a name in that certain field. Of course there will always be these superhero artists who have a giant following. For whatever reason. Sometimes hard to understand.

Deviantart today is half money making machine and half community. It's really became the facebook for art lovers. And the title 'Facebook' nowadays is almost a bad word (at least her in europe). Deviantart has not gone as far as facebook when it comes to spying out its users and I pray to god they never will. I never heard that deviantart spied on its members and I hope that will not change. That's the problem with things that grow too big. Too many interests come into it. Some interests that really don't care about privacy and people aaaat all. And deviantart will keep growing. I can imagine that it's now a multimillion dollar business. And stuff like that easily attracts other corporations who really only see the cashcow it is.

So my hope is deviantart will be careful and not only look out for the cash. They have something special here. It's really easy to fully ruin things like that in no time. So I have my hopes. This place is where I started my endeavour into the field of digital art and I want this place to be/stay a source of inspiration for everyone. I found some great people here who helped me a lot. Gary Tonge for example. We first made contact when I was gallery director and since then stayed in contact. He was and still is a great source of inspiration when it comes to SciFi work. And beside that he's a fine person. Just got his two books... reviews shall follow. Beside him I even found people I regularly see now. Most of them in germany of course. Also cool people that I would have never met without deviantart.

Yeah... so much for me looking back. Lots of things changed of course. Some to the good and others to bad. But that's just how it goes. What would we have to bitch about when everything would be perfect?

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

The Luminarium just released its latest art pack/exhibit. The topic was 'Asylum'. There are some interesting submissions in this pack and I recommend checking it out. In this pack there is a collection of digital art, abstract, digital painting, music and photography work. So, pretty much something for every taste and profession. Check itout for some inspiration.

Asylum Exhibit: [link]

Previous Exhibits: [link]

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

Some of you might have noticed that my most recent submission was part of a tutorial I wrote for the current issue of the Advanced Photoshop Magazine #90. In this tutorial we talk about how to implement a sky that complements the scene and change the overall atmosphere of the picture to make it all match. For all who read it I hope it will help you in future projects. If you have additional questions feel free to send me a note or mail. Thank you.

Just thought I could post my movie reviews here again too. Maybe it generates a discussion. Otherwise... enjoy the read.   On that note I would like to disclaim that I'm not a professional writer or critic... so these reviews, for me, are a just for fun thing. These reviews are just a short analysis of how I experienced the film along with points from the movie that are worth it to be pointed out.

Holy smoke where do I start? First of all I have to say that I absolutely don't get it. By that I mean all the cash this series made. I can understand that someone goes to see a movie to have a fun evening with friends and doesn't care much about the movie. And yes, I can see how the series has a certain appeal and entertainment value to it. But man... parts of the series are an insult to my intelligence. I'm sure other people would agree but simply don't care. They just wanna see big robots ruining whole cities while they're fighting for... I don't know anymore. And there we have one of the biggest problems.

All three movies are more than two hours long. And half of the time we don't even see robots because we follow the plot of that Shia Lebeauf character. And some other pretty much useless people. Ok, I agree... they're just there to give us a human point of view. The robots on the other hand are there too, yes. But they're nothing more than 'supporting cast'. If that term can be accurate. I don't know. I use it anyway! So half the time we see Shia running around, doing things... things we mostly don't care about. Especially when his parents come into play. Turn your brain off or you'll end up drooling yourself while bouncing around in a padded cell. There's also 'the girl' factor in these movies. Part one and two had Megan Fox. Now in part one lady Fox was stunning. I mean... sexy as hell. Of course Michael Bay knows how to put sexy women on celluloid. In part two then, I don't know. I'm fairly sure that Megan Fox had some surgery going in her face. I may be wrong but I felt she looked different. Which was a little turn off. She was stunning to look at in part one. And that's the only reason why she was in the movies. To look sexy. Now in part three they dumped lady Fox because she refused to to work with Mr. Bay again. Apparently he must be quite the a**hole and treating women not very gentlemen like. Good for her. It was a ballsy decision to say no and it deserves support. Now the new girl (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) they casted was visually less my taste. But! She gave her character more life. I felt she had more screen presence and is, from my pov, the most likable character in TF3. Unbelievable! Shia Lebeauf's character is a total idiot in this movie. Up until the last 45 minutes of the movie. Then he kinda got his shit together somehow. Anyway...

Now the third movie starts and we learn that all things we learned in the previous movies were for nothing. Fu** continuity! Thanks to you, overpaid hollywood writing talents. Did I say talent? Anyhoo! In the first 1 1/2hrs we follow Sam Witwicky and his weird shenanigans while he's trying to find a job. He's unemployed and lives in a flat that probably costs $10.000 a month. Well, yeah... his new girlfriend apparently earns quite a paycheck in her job - nonetheless, everything around that guy screams 'money'! How can he afford all that? Makes no sense.

We also have to witness some of the weirdest timed comedic scenes in movie history. Especially John Malkovich. What exactly is the reason he's in the movie?! There are more well deserved actors in this train wreck of a movie. I guess they just wanted to have some mindless fun. Can't blame them. They surely knew it can only be hilarious when they read the script. And they indeed had fun. You can almost see it in the movie. Except for Shia Lebeauf. There's rarely a minute where I thought he enjoys to be in this. Will be interesting if he's in the fourth movie too. And yes I would bet my brain that there will be a fourth one. No doubt! And so far it looks like Mr. Bay will not do it. So it could be interesting to see what a different director will do with that material.

If you survived the first hour the movie slowly begins to speed up. Things start to happen. Things blow up while giant robots do their graceful waltz of destruction through the windy city of Chicago. Now that's where the movie can turn the tide a little bit. It shows the Decepticons killing people and destroy the city. The movie makes us side the Autobots in their fight. And that fight surely is some of the best VFX work ever put on film. I cannot even fathom how much work went into all the stuff that happens in the last hour. Quite some stunning moments. Too bad it all went into a movie that delivers such a poor story and unsatisfying ending. And yes. With such a vfx overkill it soon starts to become uninteresting. "Yeah another explosion! *Yawn*" - something like that. It, nontheless does look great. Then the last ten minutes of the movie feel as if they wanted to wrap up the whole storyline (if you can call it that) of the three movies. It all happens very fast and whoop the movie is over.

In a recent review I read that Michael Bay should stop being a director. He should do more pure cinematography. And I couldn't agree more. His movies look absolutely amazing. The way he establishes shots. His lighting, composition and style in general are top notch. So the conclusion can only be that his specific directing skills are below the level useful. Unfortunately. I don't know to this day how he managed to make 'The Island' such a decent movie.

So Transformers 3 can be an entertaining flick when it comes to certain points. Throw all hopes for logic over board and be younger than 14 years old and you would surely be perfectly entertained. For everyone else skip the first half and only watch the visual effects benchmark demo reel part. That's honestly very impressive material there.


6.3/10

Transformers 3 on IMDb

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

It's been a long while but here is the final part of the list. All these films have inspired me in one or another way and helped me to come up with certain ideas for projects. Beside that it's also a collection of movies that give you some nice stories and characters that may help you if you plan to write something in the field of SciFi. Let me know what you think about the movies and what may have inspired you.

Part One: [link]

Part Two: [link]

Part Three: [link]

Part Four: [link]

Part Five: [link]

Part Six: [link]

Part Seven: [link]

Batteries Not Included

I really like this one since it shows pretty good how we humans actually are. It shows the full spectrum of human behaviour. Greed, violence, hate, hope, love... all these things that make us... human I think. I really dig the concept of these little alien kinda robot/spaceships. Especially when they give birth! Yes! It's one of the cutest things I've ever seen! How they show the process of learning. How the collaboration of humans and aliens results in something great that has a chance to live on. How much different species with different backgrounds can have in common. How much we sometimes depend on each other. This one is a recommendation... especially if you're a R2, Wall-E or generally a robots fan.

Batteries Not Included on IMDb


The Thing From Another World & The Thing

While the old movie seems a little harmless (with a large portion of charme), it's the newer one that really shows how alien (space)Aliens can actually be and look. Both movies are considered scifi classics and should definitely exist on every scifi movies list. Especially the creature in John Carpenter's The Thing is almost a piece of abstract modern art. Disgusting and fascinating at the same time. I just saw the Bluray that has a nice documentary on it. The practical creature FX worked so well that I don't understand why they used so much CG in the 2011. It all looks fake. Anyway... the 51 and 82 version are the way to go!

The Thing From Another World (1951) on IMDb
The Thing (1982) on IMDb


Predator Series (not AvP)

Oh lord what can I say about this one that hasen't been mentioned somewhere else already. To me these weird AVP movies don't count. THat's for sure. The games were better. The newer 'Predators' movie was good too. Even if I hoped for a more exotic alien jungle and environment. The old movies, part one and two, are awesome! The first one is a classic. The second one is very very good too and also pretty underrated if you ask me. It's cool to see Danny Glover being a complete badass cop. Especially in that one chase scene at the end of the movie. Just great action. Also... the guy who had this idea with placing an Alien skull in the trophy chamber of the Predator ship... GENIUS! Interlinking these two universes made sense. Both are dark, gritty and violent. It all falls into place so well. It's also stimultes your own fantasy and imagination.

Predator (1987) on IMDb
Predator 2 (1990) on IMDb
Predators (2010) on IMDb


Serenity

Now there was this tv production called 'Firefly'. It was a great season! Excellent cast! Some serious fun to have! And it got canceled. And the people who canceled it didn't even care. A true shame. However... the dvd box was such a success that they decided to make a movie to round up the existing episodes. Unfortunately the movie really closes the story. But that doesn't make the movie a bad movie. No no! This movie has some really awesome moments! The cast, the mixture and the design works pretty much on every level! Even if you haven't seen the tv episodes. I saw the movie before the tv episodes. The cast, story and the characters within that storyline are so unique and interesting that it is really sad that we did not get more of this production.

Firefly on IMDb
Serenity on IMDb


Silent Running (1972)

While this one might not be the most actiony film it still delivers a nice concept and some good acting. It's basically about some huuuuuuge transport ships that are used to preserve the last bits of nature that is left from planet earth. When suddenly the order arrives to destroy the cargo to get the ships back to commercial duties. One member of the crew then takes matters into his own hands to keep that little piece of nature alive. Yes it's a very hippie'ish plot, but nicely written. I like the overall design and look of it all. Surely one of the smaller SciFi gems out there.

Silent Running on IMDb


End of part 7. And the last part for now. I think the movies listed in all the parts deliver a great inspirational foundation if you want to go into SciFi art direction. The movies not only deliver visual inspiration but also some very memorable stories and characters. Something writers struggle so much with nowadays. But that's a different thing. Also I want to say that the movies listed are films that inspired me. It's not a SciFi best of list or something. So of course there are a lot more movies out there. 'Outland' with Sean Connery for example is a nice one too. But yeah, for now I hope you found some movies you haven't already seen. Seek them out and maybe the creativity in these movies will spawn some ideas and concepts for your own work too.

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

Again it's time for another shameless plug. Again i made it into the wonderful digital art collection the Exposé book series represents every year. I wrote a short review about this years edition on my site here: [link] Again it's hard to describe the majestic quality of the art in the book. It's just great stuff if you need some inspiration.

Now some of you might have noticed the art pack release from #theluminarium. This time the topic was 'Sequential' and gave us members the opportunity to create a series of pics and therefore a chance to tell a short story with our pictures. I Had something like that in mind for a while and so i found my personal approach rather fast. You may have also noticed that i posted my pics here on DA over the last couple of weeks. However! I took that project to create another nice and large and juicy wallpaper pack! Includes even hi-res 1920x1200 and 1080p versions. So... check it out here: [link] - just scroll down to the bottom of the article.

Hope you dig it.

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

Now between Pt5 and Pt6 i took myself a longer break. Other things had higher priorities. And before i miss it again... a big thanks to `igy for suggesting Strange News (From Another Planet) for DD! As well as all the resulting feedback. Again a wonderful motivation. Thanks for the support!

Alrighty...!

Now it's time to continue the series of Scifi movies that will forever inspire me when doing Scifi art. Again it's a mix of classics and newer movies. As always i can recommend seeing all of the movies. But if i would have to pick absolute favs then 'Fire In The Sky' and 'Quiet Earth' have a special place in my heart. Now lets jump into it...

Part One: [link]

Part Two: [link]

Part Three: [link]

Part Four: [link]

Part Five: [link]

Part Six: [link]



Part Seven: [link]

Forbidden Planet (1956)

It's always fascinating seeing that young Leslie Nielsen in that film. This is one of the movies the words 'Sci-Fi Classic' were invented for. Again it's a movie that took new visual directions. You never get to see the old alien race that once lived on that planet... but the environment they left behind suggests on so many levels how they could have looked. I, particularly, love the Matte Painting work in the underground alien factory/generator thing. They really took some stuck concepts and got a bit further with them. Who said aliens had to look humanoid? They really managed to make the aliens take shape in our heads. Instead of showing us and taking away our own imagination. A really nice movie to watch with some tea and cake on a rainy afternoon.

The Forbidden Planet on IMDb


Fire In The Sky

This is one of the most scary movies i ever saw. It actually is a movie about a guy who got abducted by aliens. The movie shows it all from the perspective of his buddies who had no other chance than to run away. To leave behind their friend. While everyone is thinking these guys murdered him. No one is believing their story. No one can find their friend for days. When he suddenly shows up again he is completely changed. Shocked. Can't even start to explain what happened. You may ask what's so scary about it. Well... they show the inside of the UFO. Where our guy got captured. What he lived through on that ship. They have some really cool design going on in that part of the movie. That alone makes it worth watching. But it also has that amazing atmosphere. I really like this one. And it's after a true story.

Fire In The Sky on IMDb


Soilent Green

Another classic in my list. Somehow i love the old Charlton Heston scifi movies. I bet everyone has seen this one at least once. I really like the concept and the technical execution. Back when it was released i can imagine that the whole breakup, of what soilent green actually is, was quite an eye opener. The picture of the future we see there nowadays doens't look too far away and could sooner or later become our actual reality. So the movie was quite ahead of its time and gets my highest recommendations.

Soilent Green on IMDb


The 5th Element

When i first went out of the theater after seeing this movie i wasn't sure what to think of it. And i still get the same feeling when i watch  the movie today. While i really really like the feeling of the movie, i also really really don't like the french influences that found its ways into the movie. That certain kind of humour. Visually the movie is a fantastic example of how detailed you can portrait a futuristic world. So many things going on in it. And Bruce Willis kicks ass. This certainly is one of his best works. Even if he's playing only a darker version of John McClane again. And you can never go wrong with McClane. Oh and Gary Oldman... love his evil characters.

The 5th Element on IMDb


The Black Hole (1979)

Now this one has a special place in my heart. I remember when i was young i got a cassette tape as a gift from my mom. I don't know anymore what the occasion was. And that tape was this movie. It was weird getting that story told without the actual pictures to it. A while later i saw the movie and it really looked how i imagined it when i was listening to the tape. What really stands out is Maximilian Schell as the crazy scientist. He is so awesome in it. Of course the movie is pretty outdated now but some of the visuals are still very inspiring to me. So it definitely belongs into this list.

The Black Hole on IMDb


Quiet Earth

This is also a movie that i saw when i was very young. Probably too young to understand the movie as a whole. A few years ago i dug it out and rewatched it. Then i knew again what fascinated me so much. There are many movies like this one but there's only a few that can capture the atmosphere that good. The story is basically that a failed experiment made all people disappear from the face of the earth. Except for one man. This man belongs to the crew of scientists who worked on that experiment. Now this man is trying to find out what went wrong. The fact that there is no one left makes him slowly go crazy. There is also something happening to the environment. Something that points to a radical change. This is a movie that you can watch for the last two minutes of the movie. Like movies you only watch for that one awesome moment that you love. The end is one of the most amazing eye openers i have ever seen. Have to watch it again soon.

Quiet Earth on IMDb



End of part 6. Now here we had some great examples for movies that deliver great visual qualities. But we also have movies that leave room for your own imagination. 'Forbidden Planet' is a perfect example. Like i stated above... you never see the aliens... but the architecture gives us hints how they might look like. Instantly my imaginion starts to create the craziest looking creatures. Having things like that in a movie creates a lot of fun and challenges the viewer. I love that.

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

The Luminarium just released its latest art pack/exhibit. The topic was 'Energy'. There are some really nice submissions in this pack and i truly recommend checking it out. Especially the musical pieces represent the pack nicely. We got some nice digital art, abstract, digital painting music and photography work. So, pretty much something for every taste and profession.

Energy Exhibit: [link]

Previous Exhibits: [link]

Not too much going on. I have a few more pics in the pipeline and ready to submit. Later this week i'll shoot up a painting i'm really excited to know what you people think of. I used my recent expeditions into custom brushes and concept art for this one and made it a little more grander in scale. It'll definitely look different from the stuff i did so far. I, for my part, fell in love with it. Here a little preview: [link]

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

The past weeks i worked on a project for two guys who wrote a quite nice scifi story. I promised to spread the word a bit and here i am. The book starts 1969 with the famous moon landing, continues into our time and far beyound our known universe. It's quite an adventure! A lot of time went into the writing and the guys behind it have some plans with it. Recently the first part was released for free and can be obtained here in pdf shape - [link]

The next part is almost done and if you liked the first one you might be hooked and want to know how it all continues. However... check it out if you're scifi story fan. It's worth to give it a shot.

There isn't much happening right now. I'm concentrating a little on concept art and brushes. Also waiting for the LUMINARIUM pack to be released. It'll be cool! I still have to post a new part of my 'must see scifi movies' list. Hope to do that soon. Aside of that i should write more journals... Generally i'm a little depressed right now. Politics here and around the world drive me crazy. There are also the usual personal things that do not work the way they should. Like car stuff. Our car has to be fixed and it'll be hellish expensive. Crap. Everything a little 'blah' here atm. But hey, our city's football club has a winning streak going. That doesn't happen too often. Usually they're in the lower parts of the overall team standings. They got a nice team this year. Feel happy for them. Oh yeah and the weather is getting better. Finally. This winter was a pain in the ass.

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)

This time we have some movies that, from my point of view, are quite underrated. First of all 'Mission To Mars'. It doesn't get good reviews and overall it doesn't seem to have a lot of fans. I, for my part, really really like it. The visuals are amazing and show a Planet Mars that looks real to me. some really beautiful matte work in it. The other one is  Disney's Treasureplanet. This movie is visually so inspiring and unique that i wished it would have a higher ranking within all these movies Disney made over the years. There is this one scene when they leave the spaceport and these flying whale like creatures fly along with the ship. I truly love that scene. But enough intro talk for now...

Part One: [link]

Part Two: [link]

Part Three: [link]

Part Four: [link]

Mission To Mars

A lot of folks don't consider this movie to be a rather good one. I loved it from the first moment on. We get to see some amazing Mars vistas! The ideas in the movie are quite cool too. There are some really good moments. Especially the one where they try to rescue Tim Robbins character in space. Or when they discover the survivor on Mars. I like these movies that try to make you understand that we have absolutely no idea what's possible out there. It inspires imaginaton.

Mission to Mars on IMDb


The Fly (1986)

Holy crap. When i was younger, and saw this movie the first time, i had nightmares! David Cronenberg is well known for his sort of weird movies. His 'Naked Lunch' for example... so many weird visual ideas! But the design of the 'Brundle Fly' at the end of the movie is so amazingly disgusting and yet fascinating. It makes you want to close your eyes but you can't because you cannot beleive how ugly that thing looks! The movie as a whole is pretty fascinating. The whole picture of how our main character begins to change/transform. Fantastic!

The Fly on IMDb


Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow

This one is almost an art movie. Pretty much everything is CG and very high quality. The actors really master the fact that there is almost no reference to see except the green screen. That's quite an accomplishment. On the other hand it's good to see a fantastic Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and a (even if she's normally not my case) quite sexy Angelina Jolie. Great camera work... amazing things going on... great design... a must watch!

Sky Captain And The world Of Tomorrow on IMDb


Disney's Treasureplanet

Probably one of the most underrated movies ever! The richness of ideas and beauty in this classic book adaptation is unbelievable! All characters are lovely and even our hero kid is not the usual jerk they try to make us feel sympathy for. Visually it's quite a feast, full  of creative energy and a recommendation for some good inspiration!

Treasureplanet on IMDb


Fahrenheit 451

One of the movies the words 'scifi classic' were invented for. Now this movie, after a story from ray bradbury, really manages to picture a very desperate future. I just recently watched it again and must say that the topics covered in the movie are still very very prominent. The government basically tries to control the population by literally making them dumb mindless androids though controlling the media. I also had the opportunity to watch a lot of tv lately... and dear god... no wonder people become more and more stupid these days. Amazing.

Fahrenheit 451 on IMDb


Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)

I couldn't even describe how much i love this movie. Yes there are many versions of that story but this movie tells it best from my point of view. From minute one i love the atmosphere it creates. The acting is so good and believable. Really love Donald Sutherland in this one. The visual style they use to show the transformation of the people into these hive controlled zombies is just crazy. I would so freak out if i would see stuff like that. The movie never goes too far though. A balance act that so many movies fail to manage. This one gets it perfectly right.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers on IMDb

End of part 5. This part again contains some of my all al alltime favourites. Especially the Body Snatchers. I'm so in love with the atmosphere it creates. Never had a siimilar experience in another movie. More stuff to come... stay tuned!

"While I respect the Judeo-Christian ethic, as well as the Eastern philosophies and of course the teachings of Mohammed, I find that organised religion has corrupted those believes to justify countless atrocities throughout history. If I were to attend church, I'd be a hypocrite."

Hyde - That 70s show

"I never know what I want but I know when I'm low that I... I need to be in the town where they know what I'm like and don't mind..."

(Elbow - Station Approach)

"...Just because you know there are people with far worse problems than yours... doesn't mean you don't deserve a piece of that cake called 'luck' too."

(A Friend - 07.2007)