Disney/Pixar Cars 2

Disney/ Pixar's Cars 2, wow…what a theatrical let down? Look, before I get started on why this film needed to have gone straight to video, I want to start by saying, “Rest in peace, Joe Ranft (3/13/1960-8/16/2005).” Joe Ranft’s creative contributions will surely be missed and it definitely shows in Cars 2 because Joe’s inner child and creative sense of humor lacks in this production. Joe Ranft was the creative backbone behind Pixar and his sprinkle of innocence that he added would push the envelope of charm that this animation giant once had, but one can get a sense of what it lacks from Cars 2. Even though, Larry the Cable Guy is the voice behind Tow Mater, Joe Ranft created this goofy character and there was a particular vision that was envisioned by Ranft.

Cars 2, directed and story by John Lasseter, Brad Lewis, and story by Ron Fogelman while Ben Queen wrote the script (your eyes do not deceive you, yes; it took three guys to create the story and one to turn it into a screenplay. I just love seeing my name in credits, don’t you?). That is a whole lot of brains colliding if you ask me, but they came together to force comedic scenes of slapstick humor as well as inspector Jacques Clouseau (Pink Panther) bungling while in a 007-esque espionage façade. Kudos, to that mouthful, let’s not forget the magical theme of friendship, so don’t change who you are to impress strangers; just be yourself (I know you’re feeling my sarcastic tone right about now, but it gets better). I like animation with a moral theme and good values, but I think they already had a full plate, and the narrative suffered a bit from it. What did you expect when they try to jam environmentalist themes down our gullets? We were fed plenty in Wall-E, UP, and Toy Story 3. Let the audience eat more with Cars 2…RALPH! I like the idea of having a clean environment, but this can all be done with PSAs (Public Service Announcements), and Disney/Pixar can lead the campaign to healthier you, anti-animal cruelty, toay donation, clean water, immaculate skies, recycled garbage, alternative fuels, and solar energy, but wait, free doesn’t pay the bills, so let’s cram it in a 112min. movie that way mom and dad are forced to see it, and the kids can say, “Look Ma and Pa, we have to do something about our environment.” Thank you Disney/Pixar as if I don’t already chew the air we breathe here in Los Angeles. How many years did it take you guys to figure that out? I would never have known to by a hybrid vehicle or an electric one if it was not for Cars 2, gee thanks a mill or should I say you’re welcome for the millions you have earned at the box office, merchandise, and upcoming video release. Cheers!

The film gets a C- at best, but had it gone straight to video then I would have graded it a B- because it is slow to the start, but gains momentum towards something palpable. Some of the gags were subpar and (dare I say it) cute, but not strong enough to keep the attention span of my children and I read into it deeply. I will not declare WAR on this film, but I will tell those not to bother going to the theater to see it because it is an over-priced experience, but if you decide to rent it or catch it on cable, then by all means. You will be entertained at a slow pace.

The plot is a bit thin as well. Our hero Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) (Yippy, go NASCAR!) is on vacation, and decides to visit Sally (Bonnie Hunt) and his BFF (Best Friends Forever) Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). Lightning McQueen spends the day with his buddy Mater, but he wants to spend the evening with Sally as they have planned a dinner date. Mater becomes the third wheel and he tries to do whatever it takes to spend time with his BFF. Mater pretends to be a waiter and goes into the bar to order their drinks when he looks up at the TV screen and sees Miles Axelrod (Eddie Izzard) interviewing Francesco Bemoulli (John Turturro). Francesco calls out McQueen on national television and Mater calls into the show and defends his friend (*HINT* friendship theme). This gives rise to McQueen accepting the challenge where he and Mater go to Japan. Meanwhile, the international lemons and clunkers of the world are devising to do away with alternative fuel and increase the trade of fossil fuels, since they own the world’s largest untapped oil reserve, and they are in the works to add new modified parts to help them last longer as they will control the prices. They lemons have found a chemical imbalance within the alternative fuel which causes the car engines to ignite and blow up with an electromagnetic heat ray disguised as a television camera, so as the cars race along the track the clunkers zoom in on the cars with the view finder and activate the targeted cars (stunning isn’t it).

However, the action sequences with Finn McMissle (Michael Caine) are pretty cool and entertaining, especially, the Michael Bay explosions (Woo Hoo), and they definitely remind me of James Bond and how much more entertaining it would be to be watching a James Bond movie. Francesco’s character is colorful and his lines are quite humorous, so in that sense it was not all bad. It is a warm hearted film that pays tribute to all our favorite Spy Flicks, but its strength would have been greater in the world of video instead of the theater, and with that I leave you to tell me your thoughts of the film? Do you agree or disagree? Let down your thoughts. Until next time, see you around the magic lantern.

Captain America gets the Glory!

Avengers Assemble! This film needs to be glorified! Jack Kirby and Joe Simon would be amazed to see their hero (they created Captain America in 1941) in all his glory. I will have to admit that this film exceeded my expectations, especially, after seeing the horrible Captain America (two part television movie from 1979) or the Roger Corman-esque low budget Captain America, directed by Albert Pyun (released Dec. 14^th, 1990). Chris Evans performance is believable and his remarkable likeness to the comic book hero is uncanny; he was well casted for this role. Captain America: The First Avengers, directed by Joe Johnston, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely pays an amazing tribute to the creators of Captain America and the fans. Now, this is a true family movie, a film that my family and I could watch without covering the eyes of my children or hesitation. Sure there were some moments where there was use of foul language by Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones), but it was part of the character’s personality and it was not too offensive. The editing is clean and smooth. For example, there is a scene where Captain America (Chris Evans) is going to be mooned by a soldier as he is about to pull his pants down, the scene cuts away to the USO girls walking on stage. The technique of suggestion was a wise choice. Although the narrative was not compelling, thought provoking, or an extreme work of art. The narrative is very entertaining, definitely a fun popcorn movie that interweaves the other Marvel Superhero sagas like: Thor, Iron Man, and Iron Man 2, for the upcoming Avengers movie. (Definitely stay after the credits, so that you can see the unofficial trailer for the Avengers)

During the opening of the film sequence, the shot with the group of explorers walking up to an unidentifiable object seemed very classic, and that directorial approach caused me to follow along the camera pan with my eyes towards the object and slowly pull me in. An explorer slides down a rope after a laser drill cuts a circular hole through the ice with a turquoise beam of light. After the second explorer slides down, they creep through the hull of what seems to be some type of aerospace craft. They walk up towards a chair and brush off some snow off of what seemed to be a block of ice, and they notice an object inside the block, it would seem to be Captain America’s shield, then the film cuts to a flashback. I do not want to ruin the movie for any of you, especially, going in and dissecting scene after scene, spoiler after spoiler, but these series of shots really captivated and kept me in the movie.

The flashback sequence of the 1940s was really cool too, and I liked the fact that they kept that 1940s dialogue approach, making the world seem more authentic as well as the sets were dressed to look like the forties, and the characters were dressed in forties couture, and the cars were that of the 1940s models. The juxtaposition of the science fiction technology of the future with technology of the forties, gave rise to the age old argument of modern versus post modern ideology of the fifties and sixties. The dream of the flying car, rocket ships, microwave ovens, and televisions as well as the Stark Industry’s World Expo sponsored by Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) which was alluded to in Iron Man 2. The Expo scene introduces Howard Stark as a playboy like his son Tony and (in later sequences) also gives rise to his reckless nature. I would have to add that the scenes where the characters are watching the military propaganda before the featured film of the era were a nice touch. What I really enjoyed was the introduction of the Howlin’ Commandos, seeing them in action was like seeing them pop out of the comic-book pages. If you definitely want to check out a family flick that everyone can enjoy then check out Captain America: The First Avenger, neither your wallet nor your family should be disappointed.  The film makes one feel proud to be an American as well as patriotic. Nothing is more American than creating a hopped up super-soldier on steroids to fight a bunch of bullies while saving the ideals of freedom. Three cheers for the underdog or should I say, the little guy. This flick had a little bit of Americana, but the apple pie. What did you think about the film?

The Smurfs

Shall we glorify, not bother, or declare WAR?

Zookeeper

Shall we glorify, not bother, or declare WAR?

Disney/Pixar's Cars 2

Shall we glorify, not bother, or declare WAR?

Captain America

Shall we glorify, not bother, or declare WAR?

World War Blog: Film Forum (A Declaration of War Vol. 1) Part 1

Today, I declare war on Ehren Kruger and Michael Bay's Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), because ever since I saw this summer blockbuster, I cannot seem to get this horrible taste of subpar mediocre plot driven rubbish out of my mouth. My family and I needed to plan a mental voyage in the realms of fantasy and escapism, so we viewed it on Saturday, July 2^nd, while today is the 20^th, I can’t seem to cleave this bad flick out of my skull. There are political jabs towards Republicans, partisanship bias towards Democrats, immature name calling towards a past actress (Megan Fox), the character assassination of Optimus Prime, the lack of narrative, heavily plot driven, thin dialogue, the objectification of Rosie Alice Huntington-Whiteley, and over saturation of special effects. Yes that’s all a mouthful, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. This film is intended to draw families in droves, especially, a targeted demographics of males between 13-36 year olds, to introduce and re-introduce the nostalgia of the eighties cartoon characters from Hasbro, but is this a trap to get you in the theater so that a production can relinquish sophomoric immaturity, a fantastical narrative with a sprinkling of political and current events, to poke jabs at our government administration, mock our military, or to lift up the administration without any real political stance to add strength to a foundation of debate?

Let me start with the partisanship bias and prejudice within the film, I will have to admit that political discussion of current events and viewpoints are necessary, and can create a positive discourse when the writer uses a moment within the narrative that gives rise to movement of the character’s arch, the setting of its world, or if one is going to satirize the political figures, legislation, or injustices, then by all means, please take to the stage, release your opinions, queries, and indulge us, but do not treat us like we (the spectators) are mindless fools, to use this form of entertainment to create a forum of discourse without a proper foundation. Aren’t you (the audience) tired of the film industry trying to sprinkle their political prejudice and bias, just so they (those responsible) can have a moment of spectator acceptance? Is this subliminal narcissism, the allegorical pat on the back? Has political correctness made us weak? I think so, because we as Americans are afraid to use our First Amendment Rights to express our views, so that we do not offend anybody. We tiptoe around specific topics that need to be addressed because we do not want to seem like lunatics or fanatics, but what about being human? What’s wrong about being human? Being human isn’t so bad.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci the screenwriters responsible for Star Trek, Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, stood behind their work with a level of respect, integrity, passion, and love for the Transformers franchise and overall canon. There have been reports where they (Kurtzman and Orci) would bring their Transformers figurines into meetings to act out certain scenes when they pitched their stories. In an interview found in the May/June 2009 issue of Creative Screenwriting, they (Kurtzman and Orci) expressed how they felt about writing the sequel to the first Transformers movie. They did not want to write one because they felt that they dished out a great screenplay jam packed with all of the stops, but Paramount had already greenlit a sequel after the amazing box office success of the first one, and with all that being said, doesn’t that tidbit of information make you wonder why a third installment was made? There is nothing wrong about cashing in on a successful product, especially, since movie making is a business none-the-less, but where is the integrity and love for the product being sold? When one creates a product that has integrity then usually the product almost sells itself. Hasbro’s Transformer toy line as well as the cartoon on the HUB (Hasbro’s Cable Network) is creating fans as well as future consumers on a daily basis, so there is nothing wrong with product placement within the movie, but when you turn the movie into a two hour long commercial, then…yes, I do have a problem with that. For example, during the fighting sequence between Optimus Prime and Shockwave, Optimus Prime did not have access to his trailer which held a jet booster pack inside of it, and he was upset that he could not get to it which would have given him some sort of advantage over his foe unless he had it. Yes, this is the mighty leader of the Autobots. If he does not get his big accessory then he will have a hard time defending Earth, boo hoo.

Speaking of Optimus, the greatest flaw within the flick is also the great character assassination of Optimus Prime. Kruger has scripted him to being immature, whiny, weak, and murderous. Optimus is quoted saying, “I will kill Megatron,” and “I will murder you.”  I was extremely appalled when I heard that, more so, when my children heard that. They view him like one of the great mythological heroes of old.Growing up watching the cartoon, I can remember watching Optimus Prime beat Megatron with tactics and strategy, but when it came down to violence, Optimus Prime would occasionally beat up his antagonist Megatron, but he would not threaten his life or try to eradicate his foe, no matter how atrocious or heinous Megatron’s world domination plots were.  I would even cheer Optimus and the Autobots on as they faced the Decepticons in combat while holding my favorite Auotbot toy. I can honestly say that the torch has been passed down to my children as I see them do the same thing when they watch Transformers Prime (a new cartoon series on the HUB), and that is part of the nostalgic nuances that make these live action remakes of cartoons so awesome, especially, since the level of technology has risen.

I have so many important questions to ask Michael Bay and Ehren Kruger about this production effort like: “Where are the values? What was the theme? Why mock the United States Armed Forces, was it really necessary? Did they have to over stimulate and celebrate mechanical machismo? Can they justify the sex appeal, sexual innuendos, and the objectification of women in the guise of a family movie?”