"Do not read me, I will bore the shit out of you."

**quote by Stefan Sagmeister**

Helvetica, 2007. Four Stars.

Too much to say about this movie. Seriously! I took notes. Lots of illegible pencil scribbles on an old envelope, because, even though I'm somehow not embarrassed to share my typed words on the Internet, I'm deathly afraid of someone reading my personal written words. Hence my terrible, unreadable handwriting that no one else can decipher.

Well anyways, I'll just give my general sense of the movie. And we can chat about it in person if you'd like!

If you don't know, Helvetica is a typeface. You can learn a little bit about it here. Like many designers, I have a love/hate attitude towards Helvetica: In my opinion, it's a gorgeously designed legible typeface whose neutral-ness can, when set in different ways, express different ideas; however, it's overuse and lack of inherent expressiveness can make it a total bore.

I appreciate that, in the movie, it was mentioned that the negative space of this 'face helps it read well. I concur!! I'm a big fan of negative space and what it can do for legibility and general aesthetics.

The gist: The beginning of the movie focused on the Swiss(-style) designers and their love of Helvetica. Then it concentrates on all the designers and movements that rebelled against Helvetica (and everything it "stands for" and such). Towards the end, it tells of current designers who have found a new and different appreciation for Helvetica. So it's pretty swell that the movie covered both "Helvetica" viewpoints, which truly helps the viewer understand this typeface even more.

You want some irony? I watched this flick with the subtitles, which were in Helvetica. But it was set poorly, so it looked and read like crap!! Haha!

IT WAS SO GREAT TO SEE ALL THE BRILLIANT DESIGNERS THAT I'VE STUDIED ABOUT AND TOTALLY DIG!! I'll talk about a few: Michael Bierut was the funniest!! Seeing Erik Spiekermann made me sad because it reminded me about how I missed him speak at the BPL last year. I think he's totally righteous. Paula Scher likened Helvetica to "fascism," which I think is a bit over-the-top and ridiculous (just like her, haha!). And it was cool to see Stefan Sagmeister in the movie, I have a bit of a crush on him. :D

"Art challenging technology, and technology inspires the art."

The Pixar Story, 2007. Four Stars.

I don't know anything about how computers work, or about computer graphics. I know about binary code, but I still can't wrap my head around it! It's very cool to see how involved Pixar was in the development of computer graphics. And it's cool to see their old stuff and how it all came about. And that Toy Story changed so radically (and for the better!), and how truly innovative it really was.

Collaboration and a fun environment equals creativity and a unique way of seeing! (I've always felt this way.)

Computers do NOT equal creativity: Couldn't agree more!!

I grew up watching Brave Little Toaster, and man did it do a number on me. It's so sad, and I'm still getting over the belief that inanimate objects are alive. That really messed me up. Even just thinking about that movie makes me anxious.

"Gay Muslim activists. That is a very rare job description."

Religulous, 2008. Three Stars.

Good movie, but exactly what you'd expect from Bill Maher. I thought it was funny. But I was a wee bit annoyed that, at first, he tried to tell people that he was "just trying to understand how people feel," but in the end, he really just bashed the entire concept of religion.

I think that, if he were really serious about getting his point across to a new audience instead of just preaching to the choir, he would have been less aggressive and offensive. For example, he ended the movie by saying that, in order for the human race to survive, religion must be completely done away with... A harsh assessment after a 90-minute beliefs-bashing romp!

It was, however, interesting to hear some of the weird beliefs people have, and how they use religion to validate them.

Also, there was lots of Michael Moore-esque editing. It makes for a fun-to-watch movie, but also makes one take the content a little less seriously.

"They Call Me Sensitive. Am I Too Sensitive?"

Autism: The Musical, 2007. Four Stars.

A very fun presentation, which makes it easier to watch something about such a devastating topic. The opening credits is adorable, and it's the best use of The Go! Team ever!

Elaine Hall is amazingly magnificent for her compassionate involvement with her son Neal's life, and for coming up with the Miracle Project. Basically, her son is autistic; she noticed that her son's therapists were having a difficult time understanding his unusual behavior, so she brought in a bunch of actors. The actors accepted and immediately joined in with his unusual behaviors, which brought them into his world. I think this was probably her main inspiration for putting on a musical with autistic kids.

One of the coolest things about this movie for me was seeing how this Jewish family celebrated some of their Jewish traditions. I'm not Jewish, and unfortunately I've never witnessed nor been involved in any of my Jewish friends' traditions, so this was interesting!

I loved seeing the process of how this play was put together, and the different involvement and strengths from each kid, and their interaction with "Coach E" and the other helpers.

Also, I learned so much about autism. It was heartbreaking to see how it can affect not only the kids who have it, but also how it changes their relationships with the people around them, and how it even affects the people around them's relationship with each other. There's a lot of heavy stuff to think about after seeing this movie, but there is a main message of hope, and fun, and love, which is awesome.