u/Lopsided-Vehicle2740

Michael Caine dropped this jewel

Robert Sammelin is an artist who developed the modern visual identity and aesthetic of the Battlefield Franchise, starting in 2010 with Bad Company 2, extending all the way to Battlefield V in 2018.

He created the key art, title design, and concept art for these games, and we have been all the poorer as a fanbase, and as a franchise, for his absence.

These designs are iconic. The icy blues meshed together with the burnt oranges, the grittiness and haptic texture of it all. They are all unique for the game and setting they are in, yet there is a cohesive vision linking them all, a unified theme and direction behind them. I don’t understand why this design template was cast aside.

His departure signaled a change in the visual identity of Battlefield 2042 and Battlefield 6, extending to seemingly every artistic choice made in these games. The soulless, mobile gamification of it all, the lazy streaming service menu tiles, the unoriginal and nausea inducing way they present the battle-pass. Just a mindless checklist of unlocks and hideous weapons stickers, the Microsoft paint Esq. player cards and emblems, the nonexistent ribbons, the dog tags which display no meaning, no sense of pride or achievement (and which are barely visible), and on and on.

This is a franchise that currently has 4 STUDIOS working on the main game. 4 Studios, all of whom pay a kings ransom to over 250 artists. That employ “professionals” in this field. It’s just sad that for whatever reason, the people who made Battlefield what it is, over multiple games, no longer fit into DICE’s vision for the franchise which made them.

People like Robert Sammelin.

Did I forgot to say 4 STUDIOS😭😭

In 2015 during a deep dive into the work of Hans Zimmer, I was introduced to this film. Not being able to find a physical copy, my search took me to EBay, where I saw this beauty.

Such an elegant design, such a tasteful work of art. If they ever release this in 4k, I’ll still hold onto it.

I love the weET edition but looking for any Fury Road Steelbook.

I sometimes forgot until a rewatch what a momentous accomplishment this film is on a technical level. So many short, almost throwaways shots are like this. As beautiful as a painting.

The fleeting moments they all were together, like a family, gave a glimpse of a life they could have known. Beautiful stuff really.

strange days

This little snippet from the appendices really distills what makes these films so special. Two of the UK’s finest thespians, veterans of both stage and screen, pouring their heart out to a crew who may not have grasped how rare their commitment and devotion to this project was.

Rhys-Davies words in particular bring tears to my eyes. With those parting words, you get a sense of a man who came to Hollywood full of excitement, with the world at his fingertips. But the years wore him down, the cynicism of the business may have brought disillusion to his heart. It does to many. And yet in the mountains and hills of New Zealand, he discovered all over again, what that calling was he felt so many years ago. People that loved their work.

An excerpt from GQs new cover story about The Odyssey. It’s unheard of. Just unbelievable.

The greatest photo mode in any game, surely?

The final collaboration of one of the great British duos of all time. Sir Michael was a hero to Chris growing up, and I can only imagine the thrill it was for them to work together.

“I have a country house and I was there on a Sunday and the doorbell rang and I was near it so I answered it. And there was a man standing there with a script in his hand and he said he was a director of movies. He said, ‘Can I come in?’ And he said to me, ‘I want you to play the butler in Batman.’ So I said, ‘The butler? What do I say, ‘Dinner is served?’ He said no, he was the foster father of Batman and it’s a much bigger part. That was the first thing I remembered about Christopher Nolan. And playing the movie was absolutely fantastic. The thing about Nolan is nothing is as it seems”

My one small gripe with On the Beach. We should have been able to have a strand link system with NPC porters, helping them with deliveries, aiding their network. Getting rewards and cosmetics from them. Perhaps getting connection star levels from ones we helped a lot, with protection, and through carrying deliveries. I think it would have made the world feel more alive, more connected.

“Me?I’ve always loved porters. Through freezing rain, and biting wind, across rivers, mountains, and endless deserts. They come to deliver something priceless. A glimpse of a life I’ve never known. They’re my windows, my sole connection to the outside world. And I know they’ll be back again……..Today”

Created by Gianluigi Toccafondo, the Italian rotoscope master (who coincidentally created the Scott Free animation) this was by far the best part of Gladiator II.

It actually tricked me into feeling a real rush, and a thought that perhaps there was a great movie in store. Rarely have my expectations been so throughly shattered.

I’d be hard pressed to come up with a better promo run by a Boutique Blu-ray company than when Mondo got their hands on BR2049. They commissioned two artists who totally captured the essence of the film, while coming from two totally different aesthetic places. Wonderful work by Pascal Blanché and Dan Quintana.

Peak. All around.

My go to recommendation for someone wanting an entry point into Korean cinema.

Nolan’s last dance with Wally Pfister, I often wonder how the artistic style they created together would coalesce on future projects, especially considering Wally was the first cinematographer to really use IMAX cameras in film. It’s an interesting alternative timeline.

I feel like Rises is overlooked from an aesthetic standpoint. For me it’s a visual treat every time, and marks an endpoint for one of the great artistic collaborations of our time. It’s a lucky thing Hoyte von Hoytema filled the gap.