Alternative Magazine Online

by Martin Mulrooney | 30/11/2009 · 12:00 pm

INTERVIEW – In Conversation With Gary Goldman (Don Bluth Productions)

By Marty Mulrooney

GaryGoldman

ALTERNATIVE SPEAKS EXCLUSIVELY TO THE STUDIO CO-FOUNDER ABOUT THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF DON BLUTH PRODUCTIONS…

Continuing onwards with the resurrection of articles taken from the original print edition of Alternative Magazine (the inspiration for this site!) I am proud to present a chat that took place earlier this year between myself and Gary Goldman, one of the founding fathers of the world-renowned Don Bluth Animation Studio, responsible for such timeless classics as An American Tale and All Dogs Go To Heaven. There is also some exciting new artwork to see from Don Bluth’s achieves, so I hope you all enjoy this exclusive interview!

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Filed under Alternative Musings, Film

Tagged as 20th Century Fox, All Dogs Go To Heaven, An American Tail, Animation, Banjo The Woodpile Cat, Don Bluth, Don Bluth Productions, Dragon's Lair, Gary Goldman, Sissor Sisters, Titan A.E, Walt Disney

by Martin Mulrooney | 28/11/2009 · 12:00 pm

FILM REVIEW – Harry Brown

By Marty Mulrooney

Harry-Brown-poster

I knew from the trailers for Harry Brown that it could end up being amazing, a British Gran Torino, Michael Caine’s swansong, a sharp commentary on British society and gang culture. I also knew that it could potentially be a complete disaster… not everything Caine touches turns to gold and this is director Daniel Barber’s first feature film after all.

To be honest, first impressions were not so good. Shaky camerawork shows a gang of thugs in an underpass, darkly lit, showing off guns and doing drugs. I HATE shaky cams and I was nearly ready to zone out, when I suddenly realised this was actually being recorded from the point of view of an unseen member of the gang on his mobile phone.

We then cut to what has to be one of the most shocking opening scenes I have seen in years, as said thug videos a high speed bike ride from behind one of his friends, before doing something completely chilling to a young, terrified mother in a public park. Once we cut to regular celluloid, Harry Brown has arrived. I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. But I now had hope that it could actually turn out to be a decent little flick.

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Filed under Film

Tagged as Ben Drew, British Gangs, Clint Eastwood, Daniel Barber, Emily Mortimer, Gran Torino, Harry Brown, Harry Brown Film Review, Michael Caine

by Martin Mulrooney | 27/11/2009 · 12:00 pm

INTERVIEW – In Conversation With Merlin Crossingham, Lead Animator At Aardman Animation

By Marty Mulrooney

This interview was originally published within the print version of Alternative Magazine Online, going towards my media degree (on my 21st Birthday actually, January 09). Since then, Aardman (who recently celebrated their 20th anniversary!) have kindly given me permission to reproduce the interview in full on Alternative Magazine Online’s rapidly growing site. I hope you enjoy it!

One thing that Alternative learnt during it’s pursuit of an interview with an Aardman employee, was this: they are always busy. But we persevered, and that is how this interview came to fruition. The fact it is conducted via mobile phone whilst the interviewee is on a train only further drives home our point, but we think the results were worthwhile.

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Filed under Alternative Musings, Film, Television

Tagged as A Close Shave, A Grand Day Out, A Matter of Loaf and Death, Aardman Animation, Chicken Run, Fluffles, Merlin Crossingham, Nick Park, Shaun the Sheep, Stop Motion, Studio Ghibli, The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit, The Wrong Trousers, Wallace And Gromit

by Martin Mulrooney | 26/11/2009 · 12:00 pm

How Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s Single Player Short-Changed Gamers

By Marty Mulrooney

call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2

I have recently had a terrible time trying to obtain a copy of Modern Warfare 2 for the PS3. To start, my original pre-order went missing in the post, and the retailer I had bought it from was out of stock and couldn’t offer me a replacement. (Only just got my refund today!)

Then, the next copy I ordered came damaged in the post (Hardened Edition) so it had to go back. Then, the retailer (I won’t name them to save embarrassment) took so long to process a replacement, I asked for a refund (still waiting on that, over a week now) and re-ordered again. That one came with a dent as well, so I gave up.

But I digress! I am actually HAPPY all of the above happened, because it somewhat killed the buzz of playing the game on release day, and let me approach the game long after everyone had already played it to death with a less hyped mind. Let’s not beat around the bush either; it is a fantastic game. But it also has some very serious flaws that make me think Infinity Ward were very lazy when it came to creating the single player campaign… (Contains Spoilers!)

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5 Comments

Filed under Alternative Musings, Games

Tagged as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Single Player Campaign, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Hardened Edition, Infinity Ward, PS3