Category: Good Watch

Graphic designers are key to bringing life to the set of a film. While we might not always have the resources to hire a professional graphic designer, their contribution can make the worlds created on screen legendary. In this video from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (You know, the Academy), graphic designer…

Movies often spend a lot of time world building: immersing us in the rules and characters of the universe of any particular film. That’s a good thing, and generally makes for a better moviegoing experience. But, it not always necessary, as proven by the short Tuck Me In. Ignacio Rodó‘s 2014 film is less than…

Mark Duplass (and his brother Jay) first landed on the indie film scene when their 2005 film The Puffy Chair debuted at Sundance, and later screened at SXSW. I was at that SXSW, when it felt like we were on the cusp of an indie revolution. In addition to the Duplass Brothers, that year also…

The world lost one of the most notable and unique directors of our time when David Lynch, 78, passed away in January 2025. There were many interviews with Lynch through the years about his feature films including Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and The Elephant Man. Oh, and here at Scrappy Cinema, we recommend the odd…

Way back in 1908, (We did the math for you: 118 years ago) a frenchman by the name of Émile Cohl created what is widely considered to be the first animated film, Fantasmgorie. Through its one minute and seventeen second length, the film tells the tale of a stick figure protagonist who goes through a…

Ah, Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us… Love is in the air. (Along with general dread, but let’s try to keep it light…) You might be wondering just what movie to watch with that special someone this weekend. Well, look no further than the first two-thirds of the greatest indie romance trilogy: Richard Linklater’s Before…

The Academy Awards are almost here (March 15th, 2026), and while a lot of the films fall outside of what we’d consider the “scrappy” type, the shorts, and in particular the animated shorts, of course exhibit a lot of independent, scrappy ethos. One of these films is Papillon (Butterfly). This animated short, which follows the…

Every film set is different, and every director brings their own style to set. I always find it intriguing to see the “vibe” of a set, and to think about how it relates to our perception of the director, or their films. Previously, we had a glimpse of Sean Baker’s style during The Florida Project.…

Hand-drawn animation, as you may have heard, was the foundation of Walt Disney’s early success. You probably also know that the studio’s renaissance in the late 1980’s/90’s was due in very large part to a return to hand-drawn animation that was lovingly crafted, with projects being given the time and resources to make some of…

It’s time for Thanksgiving, and for many, a long weekend here in the United States. And that also means family visits, that might be tinged with varying degrees of awkwardness, uncomfortable confrontation, and maybe plain old dislike. But if you’re looking for something to (hopefully) make you feel better about your own family strife this…