Archive for the ‘movies’ Category
Go See Davecat’s Transformers 2 Review for Lovers
Posted on July 3, 2009
 It’s over at Davecat’s place and it’s better than the movie. Even if you are somehow unable to enjoy his prose, you’ll have to admit that reading it took less money and time than watching this awful movie would.
I have not, nor will I voluntarily, watch TF:ROTFL*, but I did watch the first Bayformers movie and concluded that it was offensive to what passes for my intellect. |
 I’m actually quite surprised Davecat went to see the sequel in the theatre, as I couldn’t imagine a universe in which he could find that movie acceptable on any level other than ‘useful adjunct to an effective mental torture regime for purposes of extracting information from or inducing Stockholm Syndrome in hostile prisoners.’
Lord help me, I almost typed “prehensile prisoners” The real tragedy? Both these movies were so obscenely lucrative that there will inevitably be at least one more theatrical sequel and then a series of straight-to-DVD movies and possibly a goddamn Christmas special. |
* TransFormers: Revenge of the Fallen… Laughing?
Did You See Wall-E?
Posted on July 1, 2008
In the early nineteen-nineties I remember looking over my brother’s shoulder at a computer design periodical which featured some early images of the characters from Toy Story, including this disturbing doll-head-spider thing*. From that moment on I’ve been amazed by Pixar’s visual artistry.
And, other than during the late nineties when they seemed in danger of becoming the “buddy picture” factory (see Toy Story 1 &2, Monsters Inc, and to a lesser extent, Finding Nemo), they have consistently surprised me with story choices that avoid the handful of approved Hollywood formulas normally seen in children’s fare.
Wall-E is no exception. Consider this: an animated movie for which the first half hour takes place in a bleak, post-apocalyptic metropolis on a seemingly dead Earth which nonetheless manages to be light-hearted and delightful from the first frame. A movie with a robotic protagonist who only speaks a handful of nearly unintelligible words and yet manages to more effectively convey emotions than your average overpriced human star/starlet.
I loved this movie, and while I don’t discount the possibility that I’m suffering from a cinematic infatuation, I am tentatively putting it in my top ten movies of all time**. Congrats, Pixar, you now have earned a place in the worlds least significant pantheon***.
No, this isn’t a full review of the movie. Many many others have already done it and far better than I probably could. But there are things in this movie I want to talk about, and I have no one to talk to about it, so…
* This character is named “Babyface,” and is actually quite friendly. He/she/it is willing and able to reassemble you should you become unexpectedly dismembered.
** My number one will always be Blues Brothers.
*** I suppose an autistic child’s top ten collection of Discarded Candy Wrappers Found In Parkinglot On Way To Behavioural Therapist’s Wednesday Office might be less significant, but wouldn’t involve cinema****.
**** Unless it gets turned into a ‘quirky’ small-town indie film in time for this year’s Sundance titled Unwrapped Hope
