Diva's Movie Review - Spider-man: Across The Spider-verse Is A Dazzling Work Of Art

Just after two weeks of its theatrical release, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE raked in an impressive USD 400 million at the global box office. Achieving this box office number is no mean feat for a superhero animated film, and ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, the sequel of 2018's SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, is now Sony's highest-grossing animated release in history. The film continues its money-making gains at the international box office by crossing the half a billion (USD) mark this week.

ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE follows about a year after the events of the first movie. Back at her own world, Gwen Stacey/ Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld) has been dealing with her personal demons. She is feeling emotionally fraught after losing her best friend Peter, and being not able to reveal her secret identity to her dad. Later on, Gwen is roped in to join the Spider Society, which is headed by Miguel O'Hara (Oscar Isaac), the intense and intimidating Spider-man 2099 from Earth 928B. The secret society had been created mainly to prevent the collapse of the multiverse, and consists of numerous Spider-variants as members.

Local Animators Shine At Singapore's National Day 2021

It is one of the stalwarts of Red Dot Island's National Day celebration for about 4 decades. Every year, a new National Day song will be written and performed. Some of the songs are quite forgettable, but there are few that never fail to stir the spirit of our island's people.

Dick Lee's “Home” is a number one favourite for most people. So is the straightforward, no holds barred rousing anthem like “We Are Singapore”, which was written by Canadian advertising guy Hugh Harrison, who was working for McCann Erickson during the 1980s.

This year's National Day song, composed by local singer-songwriter Linying and music producer Evan Low, is like a breath of fresh air. “The Road Ahead” sounds youthful. Even so, it was able to touch the hearts of all generations with its underlying message of hope and encouragement for an uncertain future. During a stubborn and invasive pandemic like this, “The Road Ahead” soothes the soul.

Animated Musical Over The Moon Reimagines The Legend of Chang'E With Sumptuous Visuals

Every time the Mid-Autumn Festival comes around, Red Dot Diva is awashed with nostalgic childhood memories. She remembers her parents asking her to choose a traditional paper lantern from the nearby provision shop (she usually ends up with a dragon, phoenix or a dog), and then, help her to light the candle in the lantern.

In more than one occasion, someone was not as careful with the matchstick, and the poor lantern ends up in flames, accompanied by the inevitable flood of tears. But more often than not, little Red Dot Diva gets to happily parade around her old neighbourhood's cul-de-sac, carrying her pretty lantern under the light of a full moon.

This year, that same warm, magical feeling is most likely to come from Netflix's animated musical feature OVER THE MOON. The movie is directed by the Oscar Award-winning animator Glen Keane who has gifted us with unforgettable animation in Disney films like Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. John Kahrs (Paperman) acts as co-director of the film, which is jointly produced by Pearl Studio (Abominable) and Netflix.

We Bare Bears: The Movie Premieres on Cartoon Network and Warner Media Channels on 12 September 2020

Life is going to get better again on 12 September (Saturday) at 11 AM when WE BARE BEARS: THE MOVIE premieres simultaneously on Cartoon Network (Starhub TV 316, Singtel TV 226) and other WarnerMedia channels like Boomerang, HBO, HBO Family, Warner TV, Korean entertainment channel Oh!K, as well as streaming service HBO GO.

As most of us are still in some form of lockdown or social distancing measures during this coronavirus pandemic, a beary big dose of pawsitivity is exactly what we need! Fans of WE BARE BEARS will have a chance to give a proper farewell to Grizz, Panda and Ice Bear, as the 70-minute TV movie wraps up the beloved Cartoon Network animated series after four memorable seasons.

Cartoons Underground 2019 (9 November 2019) Shines Spotlight on Women Animators

Animation movies are more than just Disney princesses and a bunch of talking toys. To get familiar with the sheer variety of topics and directorial styles, head down to Cartoons Underground 2019, Asia's leading indie animation festival, at Kult Yard, 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace next Saturday, 9 November, 6PM to 11PM.

The Cartoons Underground festival began in 2012, by founders Patrick Smith, Director of MTV Daria, and Vicky Chen. This will be the event's 8th year celebrating the visual wonders of animation films.

There was a record-breaking 1,416 entries from all around the world, as film makers vie for a spot in the festival's screening schedule, as well as to compete at the coveted Golden Durian Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Student Film and Audience Choice Award. After much deliberation, 19 short films were selected for screening by Cartoons Underground's Programming Director and recent Singapore Young Artist Recipient Tan Wei Keong.

Some of these entries have won awards at Ottawa Animation Festival, Zagreb Animation Festival and Edinburgh international film festivals. 13 of these films showcased during the event are by women directors.

Why “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is THE Best Spider-Man Movie

Sony Pictures' animated movie “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” has created waves across the geek world with its simple yet iconic storyline that has a lot of heart and chockful of easter eggs, accompanied by eye-popping dash of colour and a snappy pace. Red Dot Diva loved the movie too, and thought it was the best animated movie of the year.

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” translated the characters from the 2D comic book pages to animated form, by fleshing out the characters whom we love, like Peter Parker (Jake Johnson for the scruffy 'B' version), Gwen Stacy (Hailey Steinfeld), and the latest Spidey hero Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) in such a delightful manner. It made us even feel a little for the villain, Kingpin (Liev Schreiber). 

The animated feature is also a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to Spider-man's creators Stan Lee (who passed away a month ago), and Steve Ditko. For those sniffle-worthy moments, do not forget to stay on for the movie's post-credits, for which there are two.

Red Dot Diva's fellow geek pal Wayne Rée watched the movie and loved it as well. Here's Wayne's review of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”:

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I’ll just say it right up front. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” isn’t just my favourite movie of the year, it’s also one of my favourite superhero movies ever, one of my favourite Spider-Man stories in any medium, and easily my favourite Spider-Man movie.

Your mileage may vary on all the Spider-Man live action movies thus far. I personally think that Sam Raimi and Marc Webb’s respective series were both flawed overall, but with moments of brilliance, and while Homecoming very much got the spirit of the character right, a lot of the action was pretty choppy. (Don’t @ me, guys.)

Why Into the Spider-Verse tops all of them for me, however, is that it’s the one that didn’t just nail the spirit of the character, but it also tapped into the idea of why we al love Spider-Man.

Dreamworks Animation - The Exhibition: Diva Took A Peek Into What Happens Behind the Scenes

As a fan of many of Dreamworks' animated movies, like "Shrek", "Puss in Boots", "Kung Fu Panda" and "How To Train Your Dragon", Red Dot Diva was eager to step inside the special exhibition that is held at the ArtSci Museum.

So once her calendar was available on Hari Raya Puasa, she made her way to the museum together with her Evil Twin. Not surprisingly, there was a long line for tickets because it was a public holiday, but the queue moved quickly enough and they did not have to wait too long to buy their passes.

The exhibition, which is curated by the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) in collaboration with DreamWorks Animation, showed the flow of the film-making process in a logical sequence through three different galleries called Character, Story and World.

Diva Cannot Get Enough of Baymax - At "Big Hero 6" Preview, Funko Toy Exhibition and the Movie Review!

Red Dot Diva simply cannot resist it. She has met Baymax and he is soooooooooo cute!!!

Thanks to the folks at the local Disney PR, she was invited to a special preview screening of "Big Hero 6" last Saturday at Bugis+ Filmgarde. "Big Hero 6", a creative result from Disney's acquisition of Marvel and her properties, is the studio's latest superhero animation film which will out on theatres islandwide tomorrow, 13 November.

MOVIE PREVIEW AT BUGIS+:

"Remember to come early!" urged the Disney PR representative. "There will be fringe activities. Red Dot Diva had little idea what these fringe activites were, other than being pretty sure there will be a life-sized version of Baymax on display, but she headed down "early" to Bugis+ Filmgarde, anyway.

Meet Disney's Latest Super-Nerds When "Big Hero 6" Opens on November 13!

The date of November 13 looms near, and it's a somewhat terrifying thought for Red Dot Diva.

Why? That's when Disney's animated movie "Big Hero 6" will be premiering in theatres island-wide, and Red Dot Diva is not sure if she can handle the extreme kawaii-ness of inflatable robotic nurse, Baymax! Ahhhhhhh!! 

Just when she thought she was about to get over Dancing Baby Groot, here comes another cute huggable thing to coo over. *whimper* HELP!

The team behind "Frozen" and "Wreck-It-Ralph" returns - this time with Walt Disney Animation Studios' adaptation of a defunct Marvel comic with the same name.

"War Of The Worlds: Goliath" Now Steampunking Its Way To Viewers

Long awaited indie animated movie "War of the Worlds: Goliath" is now readily available for its viewers in the theatres and in other formats.

The 2D/ 3D futuristic action adventure - a joint collaborative venture between Malaysian set-up Tripod Entertainment and American creators like director Joe Pearson (Epoch Ink), Executive Producer Kevin Eastman (CEO, Heavy Metal) and writer David Abramowitz (head creator of the "Highlander" series) - has been several years in the making. The story, which is loosely based on the world created by H. G. Wells, also features many familiar talents voicing its characters, for example - Peter Wingfield (Highlander/ Caprica/ Sanctuary), Adrian Paul (Highlander), Adam Baldwin (Chuck/ Firefly), Mark Sheppard (Supernatural/ Leverage/ BSG) and Elizabeth Gracen (Highlander).

Ever since it's inception around mid-2000's or so, geeks and fans who knew about the project have been eagerly waiting to view the finished product in the cinemas and in digital formats.

Interview: Studio Ghibli's Geoffrey Wexler Talks About "The Wind Rises"

It is a rare chance indeed to be able to meet an executive from the Japanese animation film outfit, Studio Ghibli, founded by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.

Through the years, the animated movies from Studio Ghibli, like "My Neighbour Totoro", "Princess Mononoke", "Grave of the Fireflies" and "Spirited Away", have touched the hearts of audiences all around the world, despite language and cultural differences.

Yesterday morning, in view of the local premiere of Oscar-nominated "The Wind Rises" on March 19, Red Dot Diva had the opportunity to interview Geoffrey Wexler - Chief of International Division from Studio Ghibli, and one of the Executive Producers of the English language version of "The Wind Rises".

"The Wind Rises" - purportedly Hayao Miyazaki's latest and last film - is a tale about the life of aeronautical engineer Jiro Horikoshi, and his legacy of a killing flying machine - the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter used during World War II. The long awaited English-dubbed version features well-known voice actors like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci.

Held in a cozy meeting room at the swanky Fullerton Hotel, a very warm and knowledgeable Geoffrey Wexler (or Jeff, for short) shared about "The Wind Rises" as well as his insights on Studio Ghibli and the animation industry.

Pixar's New "Brave" Scottish Heroine

At last! A spunky heroine princess who doesn't just sit around combing her hair, singing to little blue birds (or crabs... or talking furniture) and waiting for a darn prince to come.

Pixar will be featuring their first lead heroine in a full-length animation movie called "Brave". The feisty Scottish princess is called Merida and has a head full of wild, flaming red hair! Red Dot Diva luuurvves all things red.

Merida will be voiced by Kelly Macdonald ("Trainspotting", "Boardwalk Empire") and other voices will be done by Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Billy Connolly and Craig Ferguson.

Get Environmental - "The Incident At Tower 37"

In just 10 minutes, the CG-animated short film (in HD) "The Incident at Tower 37" merges beautiful, evoking visuals with a crucial message about water conservation and saving the environment.

The movie was released in 22 March 2011, in conjunction with World Water Day and has won many awards in various film festivals.

"The Incident at Tower 37" starts with a special ops by a race of small, amphibious creatures against a man-built water station called Tower 37.

The purpose to their dangerous tactical maneuver? To release their main mode of survival - Water - which had being slowly siphoned off by the tower from their lake.

Inside the giant tower, a lone human steward does his comfortable but monotonous job manning the water station. He happens to meet the fish-like insurgents for the first time, and his ignorance turns into sudden realization of Tower 37's impact on its surrounding environment.