TheBrainRocks

So I just had a chance to see Coraline again, which made it evident to me that it had to find its way onto this blog. I really, really like this movie, and I think it is worth seeing even if you are not usually into watching kids’ movies. The movie is based on a book by Neil Gaiman that I have not read, but I am somewhat familiar with Gaiman’s works, having read most of his Sandman series of graphic novels, and watched the movies Mirrormask (screenplay by Gaiman) and Stardust (based on a Gaiman novel). Now there is no doubt that Gaiman is a talented author, Sandman are stunning graphic novels, I really liked Mirrormask, and Stardust was unorthodox, at least.

In the case of Coraline, however, the greatness of the movie is not merely a reflection of its literary predecessor. The story is a pretty straight-forward Alice in Wonderland-tale, albeit inhabited by several weird and charming characters. Where Coraline really shines, however, is in its images: They are simply stunning, at once trippy and playful, beautiful and scary. Harnessing the power of both stop-motion and computer animation, the film makers manage to make the other world that Coraline discovers a wonderful warped mirror image of her own world. See it in 3D if you can, but 3D or no 3D, you will be transported into a radical alternate universe, and like the main character, you will not believe your eyes. The voice acting is brilliant too, and the music (by musical heroes of mine, They Might Be Giants, among others) is both fitting and beautiful. A final word of warning: If you do take your kids to see this (and you should) keep in mind that this a pretty scary story with a few quite disturbing images, so perhaps the smallest moviegoers should be left at home.

In other news, I now have a website for professional use at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~kohler/. This is where I will publish my demos, links to articles and other items of interest, allowing myself, my friends and my colleagues to keep track of what going on in my scientific career. Feel free to drop by, and please let me know if anything looks or sounds weird.