I loved it, Heidi didn’t. I’ll let her explain why she didn’t like it in her own words, but the gist of it was that the main characters were robots, which she doesn’t like, and that there is little dialog for the first half of the film.

Of course, those two things are why I loved it. The detail and emotion conveyed by all the little details in each characters movements, gestures, and sounds were fascinating and engaging to me. The quality of the animation is also better than I’ve seen in a Pixar movie for a long time. The rust on WALL•E was just one example of the touches that really stood out to me. This is also the first Pixar movie I can think of that includes live action sequences with real actors. They’re worked in well, though the final effect wasn’t as strong as I thought it might be (animated people still look… animated).

The story was simple and fun (it’s a kids movie at some level, after all). While the overall arc was predicable (boy gets girl, er, robot), there were enough details and new aspects to the plot that made it interesting. Elements of the plot reminded me of Idiocracy, without the anti-intellectualism. These citizens are more disengaged than ignorant. And, like many Pixar films, it touches on and relies on universal themes throughout — the power of music to connect and bind, the importance of touch and physical closeness, and the basic need in all of us to love.

Definitely worth seeing. All those 9.0 reviews got this one right.

Update: I apologize for the crappy writing… too tired to fix it…

Go See It Now! Right now. If you hurry, you can still make the 10:something showing. This is easily one of the best Pixar movies in recent history. Though they haven’t really made one I don’t like, Cars and The Incredibles weren’t up to the same level as Monsters Inc or the Toy Story films. Ratatouille is one of the best Pixar films, period.

The impressive thing about this one is that unlike the last few films, this movie requires a heavy suspension of disbelief. Compared to say, Monster’s Inc, which exists in a complete fantasy world, Ratatouille is based in a more realistic world where some completely unbelievable things happen. High up on that list are that Remy, our protagonist rat, can understand English (French?) and can control his human friend by tugging on particular clumps of his hair. When we’re first introduced to the concept in the film, I couldn’t help but think of it as absurd. Normally, that’s where a film would lose me, when suspension of disbelief is broken. That didn’t happen this time because the story immediately became about the characters.

Ultimately, that’s why this movie is so awesome. The story is funny and entertaining and rich. Everything else is forgivable when you have that. There were entire stretches of the film where Heidi and I couldn’t stop snickering, giggling, and laughing along with the film. Most importantly, the movie ends on a really strong note with an awesome little twist that just makes the film.

As with all the movies I really love, I’ll leave you with a few other reviews. As always, my favorite comes from Salon’s Stephanie Zacharek, who calls the film “pure joy, a grand achievement — one of the most beautiful animated pictures ever made.” Rotten Tomatoes has this film at an almost unbelievable 95%. (Cars was a 76%, though The Incredibles hit 97%(!)).

Go see this, you’ll enjoy it!

Reading the various reviews of Cars around the web, especially the one at Kottke’s place, I was trying to figure out how I would rank the Pixar films (not including the short films).

• Monsters, Inc.
• A Bug’s Life
• Toy Story 2
• Toy Story
• Cars
• The Incredibles
• Finding Nemo

It’s pretty close, I think. The original Toy Story could really be anywhere in the list because it’s showing it’s age, but also because it was one of the best stories in the group. I go back and forth on the Incredibles, too, but my initial reaction was, “Eh,” so I’m sticking with that.

Leave your rankings in the comments. Curious to see how different your lists are.

Please note: I’m writing here for myself, not as an employee of Disney. These are my opinions, not those of the company. Thanks.

Spoiler alert — if you haven’t seen X-Men III, you may want to skip this review. There are no spoilers in the Cars review.

As I mentioned earlier, Heidi is currently away for two weeks in Ireland. I’ve been left to my own devices, which has included a lot of random housework and programming projects. For fun yesterday, I decided to do something Heidi has been trying to get me to try: I went to go see a movie by myself. No one else was around, and Heidi has suggested trying it. I did, but not content just to try it once, I decided to turn this into a double feature. I ended up seeing Cars followed by X-Men III: The Last Stand.

Cars

Cars was a really fun film. Though not at the level of the Toy Story films or A Bug’s Life, it was entertaining and fun. As you would expect, there were some great characters, fun gags, and, above all, phenomenal animation.

The animation was by far the star of the show. It seems every film that Pixar rolls out features some advancement in animation technology. I remember watching Monsters, Inc. and just staring in amazement at Sulley’s fur. The Incredibles was a disappointment because I couldn’t tell what the advancement was (I’m assuming there was one). With Cars, well… what can you do with cars to advance animation? They’re metal, after all, and far simpler objects, visually, than people or skin or fur. I was expecting another Incredibles. I was wrong.

True, the cars weren’t that special, but the roads, the lighting, and the rugged, Western terrain were spectacular. Now, you’re going to see lots of road and you’re going to think, “That’s not so special.” Just wait until the scene where Lightning and Sally go for a drive. These scenes make me want to move out west, they look that good. The light is the most amazing part of these scenes, the colors and the way light looks as it filters through trees is just right. It’s a jaw dropping visual.

The usual breadth of characters is there, including cameos by racing legend Mario Andretti and a bevy of NASCAR stars past and present. The Car Talk guys make an appearance as well. Don’t forget to stay through the credits. This movie is vintage Pixar, though perhaps a notch below the rest of the films.

I really enjoyed this movie, if you can’t tell. There’s just a lot to like about it and very little to not like. It’s not as clever as some of the other Pixar films, but it’s still smart and entertaining. By the way, you don’t need to be a racing fan or a car guy to get the jokes.

X-Men III: The Last Stand

X-Men III, on the other hand, was a letdown. The second X-Men movie is one of my favorite Marvel movies. To say that I had high expectations is probably understating it. I really was looking forward to seeing how Jean Grey came back and to the final battle between Magneto and Xavier’s armies.

Not having read the comics before, I was surprised by the change of Jean Grey into the Phoenix. The whole subplot there of her dueling selves made little sense. In fact, it was explored so little in the actual movie but so central to the overall story line, that it became an anchor holding down the whole movie. A full third of the movie is the quest to get Jean, to save Jean, to kill Jean. No explanation of Jean, though… why did she suddenly lose all the blocks that Xavier put in place? I guess I don’t really need character development (it is an action flick after all), but her character is completely wooden in this film. If it wasn’t for the big sequence at the end, the film could’ve been made entirely without her character. It wouldn’t have changed the movie at all. That’s terrible when you spend so much time around that character.

Some of the action sequences also didn’t make a ton of sense. How come more of those stupid darts weren’t being shot during the final battle? If Magneto is moving the bridge with magnetism, how come the cars didn’t move? Yes, I know, suspension of disbelief. The darts, though, are a big deal to me. Why not just start shooting the moment they show up on the bridge? And once you shoot them, how come these people don’t keep fighting? Think about it… Mystique’s mutant abilities are shapeshifting. Why can’t she continue to fight like she did before she lost her powers?

Anyway, like I said, I was expecting a lot more from this movie and it disappointed on nearly every front. The only memorable thing was that there was the arrival of Ellen Page as Kitty Pride (eventually Shadowcat). This is a far more interesting character than Anna Paquin’s Rogue, though the director managed to make this character uninteresting, as well. They’re both Canadian, by the way… is that a coincidence? Or related to the fact that this film is shot in BC?

I would say to wait until DVD for X-Men III, especially if you have a halfway decent home theater setup. You’re not missing much and, if you don’t know the comic mythos, you’ll probably end up as lost as I was. I second Eric’s comments, though. Stay to the end of the credits. You’ll know that this isn’t the last X-Men movie.

My Ratings

Other Reviews

Cars:

• Salon’s review
• Reelviews
• Rotten Tomatoes page for Cars
• Jason Kottke’s review

X-Men III:

• Eric’s pervious review of X-Men III
• Rotten Tomatoes page for X3
• Salon’s review

I know many of you may not have Salon accounts, but I really like Stephanie Zacharek’s reviews. I don’t always agree with her, but in this case, her review of X3 is nearly 100% in line with how I felt about the movie.

Please note: I’m writing here for myself, not as an employee of Disney. These are my opinions, not those of the company. Thanks.

I have Toy Story playing right now as I work and I just looked up and saw the writing credits. To my surprise, I see that Joss Whedon was the first writer credited. Joss Whedon of Firefly, Serenity, and Buffy fame. I would never have guessed that.