Saw Cars 2, it was entertaining, but not the best as people have eluded to. My take is that Pixar went for a more traditional story paying homage to the Bond flicks. This changes from Pixars original story lines and makes the movie feel more emotionless. I also felt that the characters became too much of a cliche for the sake of the story line. That being said, I thought it was fun watching the translation of a cool action flick with humans replaced by vehicles.
I think Cars is by far the weakest Pixar property. I don't find the conceit of the talking Car World interesting or original, less so for the fact that it is not internally consistent in terms of the setting. From just the first movie: Why do they raise wheat if they use gas? Are all animals cars or just flies and cows? Why do the cars have gender? How do they have babies?
But Brave! Brave... So excited about that, you have no idea. Friends and I were geeking out at work. Beautiful atmospheric backgrounds, appealing and courageous female protagonist, action! This is what I search for in my 3D films. Less of the shiny chrome shaders, more of the heart.
Okay, something that bothered me about that trailer for Brave - A person that size would have a very, very hard time riding a horse that big, particularly at a gallop as in seen in the trailer. She'd never be able to even stand in her stirrups, and galloping like that, she'd be bruised from damned near ankle to bellybutton. She'd not be able to walk!
I think the worst decision of my life was leaving all my Pixar DVDs with my family when I moved out. It's either that or the time I decided to ride my friend's incredibly shoddy bike that broke apart while I was riding downhill, nearly snapping my neck in half, and leaving a scar on my chin that I now cover up with a goatee. I do miss those DVDs though..
Up's going to be broadcasted on TV this Sunday, and while I do like the story, it's probably going to be a bittersweet memory for me.
I was talking with a friend today about it, and how it somehow made people w2ish they could enjoy a happy, long marriage like that one, and growing old. It's a powerful lesson for us all.
I was talking with a friend today about it, and how it somehow made people w2ish they could enjoy a happy, long marriage like that one, and growing old. It's a powerful lesson for us all.
I just remember a miscarriage and someone putting off achieving his goal until it was too late to share the experience his wife.
Well, the miscarriage shows us that they kept the promise of "in the good times and the bad". And well, life just can't be always how we want it to be. Life's not always a pink-colored happy story, and the fact that they couldn't have kids and couldn't make their dream come true while Ellie was alive shows more realism than what we often get in movies, including ones with real actors.
I didn't say it wasn't realistic, or that life is always happy, I'm just pointing out that while I saw a long happy marriage, the lesson for me was not to wait until my partner dies before visiting a place I've dreamed of visiting my entire life.
Hence: Serengeti safari and Victoria Falls in March.
The only reason Carl kept putting off his and Ellie's dream was because life kept interfering with them going. They had to use the money to keep on surviving.
I think the worst decision of my life was leaving all my Pixar DVDs with my family when I moved out.
If that's the worst decision of your life, you're doing pretty damn well my friend.
I don't know how many I'll be able to bring when I leave, but I am not letting my parents keep the Toy Story box set.
See, this is why we have four copies of My Neighbor Totoro. Enough for everybody, plus that godawful Fox release just because. And yeah, the Toy Story box set goes with you!
As to Up (kinda spoilery, but not if you've seen the first 20 minutes or so):
I love the way the movie uses the house to represent Ellie, and the enormous 3D white spaces to represent Carl's grief. This was probably the first time I'd seen 3D used to support the narrative of a film, and not just as eye-candy.
So I watched both Cars 1 (saw it before) and 2 (first time) today. As already elaborated by others in this thread, Cars is Pixar's weakest property. The reason for this is that Cars, particularly the second one, is less concerned with entertaining adults and more about entertaining children. Cars 2 is less of a family film than a kids film. There aren't any big heartwarming messages (except the obligatory "stay true to yourself and screw the haters") or truly great moments as in other Pixar films, but that doesn't necessarily make the film bad.
The movie has some problems as well. When I started watching my first thought was "why are we suddenly in a spy film?" as the genre shift was somewhat jarring. I think it would have worked a whole lot better had they simply used different characters and used only the setting of Cars, similar to how Planes apparently will work. That would have also helped the completely unexplained lack of Doc Hutson, who wasn't in this film because Pixar didn't want to recast the role after Paul Newman's death. But yeah, they wouldn'd have been able to advertise it as "Cars 2" then.
A lot of the negative reviews probably simply came from the fact that Cars 2 does not stack up to the other Pixar films that came before. However, simply on itself Cars 2 is still a serviceable film if you simply take it is a fun-filled joyride.
Other than that, while I missed Brave when it was in the cinema, I can't wait to get my hands on it on DVD.
I agree that Cars is pretty weak. I've never liked it.
I haven't seen Brave yet.
Nemo is probably PIxar's crowning achievement, in my book, although Toy Story is a close runner. Toy Story 3 was a little too contrived for me and lost the franchise some points. The incinerator scene really had no business being in there. Way too dark for the audience.
It's fun seeing the different varying opinions on what is Pixar's best vs. worst.
I will say that the next volume of Pixar shorts is coming out next month. I haz it pre-ordered. It has La Luna on it, which is the best short so far from Pixar. However, Partysaurus Rex is the funniest.
The incinerator scene really had no business being in there. Way too dark for the audience.
Possibly, but the entire film was about death really. The end of existence as a toy, one that has run its course of being played with. The incinerator scene just made this explicit and gave the film its dramatic finale.
The incinerator scene really had no business being in there. Way too dark for the audience.
Possibly, but the entire film was about death really. The end of existence as a toy, one that has run its course of being played with. The incinerator scene just made this explicit and gave the film its dramatic finale.
Too much, too manipulative, too intense for the young end of the expected audience.
Comments
But Brave! Brave...
So excited about that, you have no idea. Friends and I were geeking out at work. Beautiful atmospheric backgrounds, appealing and courageous female protagonist, action! This is what I search for in my 3D films. Less of the shiny chrome shaders, more of the heart.
I was talking with a friend today about it, and how it somehow made people w2ish they could enjoy a happy, long marriage like that one, and growing old. It's a powerful lesson for us all.
Hence: Serengeti safari and Victoria Falls in March.
As to Up (kinda spoilery, but not if you've seen the first 20 minutes or so):
http://io9.com/5904619/new-brave-trailer-and-footage-shows-off-pixars-rebellious-princess/gallery/1
The movie has some problems as well. When I started watching my first thought was "why are we suddenly in a spy film?" as the genre shift was somewhat jarring. I think it would have worked a whole lot better had they simply used different characters and used only the setting of Cars, similar to how Planes apparently will work. That would have also helped the completely unexplained lack of Doc Hutson, who wasn't in this film because Pixar didn't want to recast the role after Paul Newman's death. But yeah, they wouldn'd have been able to advertise it as "Cars 2" then.
A lot of the negative reviews probably simply came from the fact that Cars 2 does not stack up to the other Pixar films that came before. However, simply on itself Cars 2 is still a serviceable film if you simply take it is a fun-filled joyride.
Other than that, while I missed Brave when it was in the cinema, I can't wait to get my hands on it on DVD.
I haven't seen Brave yet.
Nemo is probably PIxar's crowning achievement, in my book, although Toy Story is a close runner. Toy Story 3 was a little too contrived for me and lost the franchise some points. The incinerator scene really had no business being in there. Way too dark for the audience.
I will say that the next volume of Pixar shorts is coming out next month. I haz it pre-ordered. It has La Luna on it, which is the best short so far from Pixar. However, Partysaurus Rex is the funniest.