Multi Media Discussion

I've never bought a DVD. Wall-E might be my first. Just such a complete, well-executed creative vision that it inspires creativity in me.
The end credits were excellent. No "bloopers", just the characters animated and rendered in various art styles starting with cave paintings, through Roman mosaics and Impressionism to Atari graphics, all over a great new Peter Gabriel song.

First it was certain conservatives that had a problem with it, now apparently certain fat people don't like Wall-E either...

WTF? Hello? Get a life...

I finally saw Wall-E yesterday. I find it interesting that mentioning any dislike for this movie at all gets you labeled a "Republican". Whatever.

For me, what I liked about the movie was Pixar's usual attention to detail. You see other animated flicks these days (and there are a bumper crop coming out based on the previews) and think they are pretty good--until you see Pixar's latest, and then you realize the rest are rank amateurs. The camera shots, angles, and just amazing attention to detail in reflections, effects, etc. are just mind-boggling. I also liked the overall message of the film, which to me was take care of what you have, whether it be your body, a loved one, or the whole planet. The movie did not have the whole "man is evil" thing going on as some have cried. Not sure where they are getting that. Man is stupid, greedy, and lazy, sure. If the shoe fits and all that. ***SPOILERS****The first part of the credits were enjoyable, showing man and machine working together to rebuild. The whole movie had a strong redemption theme going, and that was good. I just wished they'd worked a bit more on the story.

What I didn't like: This struck me as the weakest plot line of any of the Pixar films. If you're bent on not returning to Earth at all, why send out the probes? Why go through all of the fanfare of bringing the discovery to the humans? Just get rid of it before hand. The AI in the movie demonstrated they could "reprogram" themselves, so following directive seems to be a weak argument for excusing the plot hole. I enjoy movies with messages, just don't get so hung up on the message that key elements get ignored. I also felt the credits were a disappointment; I'd rather see "bloopers" instead of a rehash of the movie in Atari 2600 graphics.

Some people thought I would hate Wall-E because they thought it was anti-corporate and they know that I am a hard core capitalist. I really didn't have any problem with it because the anti-corporation aspect was really just a plot device (and really, if you let politics get in the way of watching a cartoon, you need help). I actually thought it was a great Libertarian movie because it showcased what happens when you hand over control of your existence to another entity. Humans only changed their fortunes when they decided to start doing things for themselves.

As for the overweight thing, I can understand how it would bother some people and I don't think it's good to make fun of people because they are overweight because there are many factors that contribute to it. However, I don't think you have to pretend that a sedentary lifestyle where even chewing is considered too strenuous of an activity to do on your own is good for your health.

Agreed, Remy. I wasn't bothered by the anti-corporate stuff, but I also wasn't bothered by the overweight thing (for the record, I'm not fat) because I think in this case it wasn't a medical condition but pure laziness that got them where they were. And I think they made that clear.

I don't have a problem with the Too Big Corporations or pointing out that man is lazy/greedy/stupid or whatever. I won't, however, give something a pass just because it's got a good message.

>I don't think you have to pretend that a sedentary lifestyle where even chewing is considered too strenuous of an activity to do on your own is good for your health.

I do.

Do you think they could cut back on some of the details, crank them out faster, and make more money?

ICE AGE sucked for detail, but my kids loved it.

Okay, just got back from Wall-e. I wish I had my $5 and time back. Depressing movie. Too many rip-off moments. No laughs.

here you go, FLL.

ddt

Yep, I've been following that one. Looks fun.

Come on, BIll. It wasn't *that* bad.

Rip-off moments or tributes? I loved the 2001 stuff. Probably some other stuff I missed as well. And I found myself laughing at times. It was a decent enough movie and I'd recommend it. The movie was a bit negative, intentionally, but ended on an up note. Nothing wrong with that, in my mind.

The story just isn't up to Pixar's usual standards. On my Pixar list, it's at the bottom. But that doesn't mean it's a bad movie.

Want a bad movie this year? Indiana Jones. Ugh.

Buy'n'Large

Ooh, I want to start a corporate punk band.

best part of that joke site? the clip art "business people".

ddt

I am still (today/now) very disappointed I even have a memory of that movie.

bottom of the pixar list? Huh, I put it up with Toy Story myself.
Great story telling. I rhought it harkened back to Luxo, jr for it's ability to create charecters from non-speaking mechanical objects.

No argument about that. I think they did a great job of emoting characters without using voice. One of the things I loved about the movie. At no point did I really wonder what was going on where they were going or what they were thinking.

I just found the overall story arc weak in this one. Certain elements were great: the love story, themes of redemption, etc. were all there. But there was one big hole that I couldn't let slip by, and without that hole the way the movie was done, it doesn't end. I just wished they'd tightened the story line up a bit, then it would be up there with the best pixar movies.

Being too hard on them? Maybe. But with as good a job as they've done up to this point, I was disappointed in this one.

And it's a bit different than being disappointed in something like Cars. Cars wasn't as interesting to me, but I felt it had a solid story and was a great movie. I was much more interested in this one than Cars or Bug's Life or even Finding Nemo, but all of those had a more solid story line than Wall-E, so it was a let down.

Anybody going to see the one-night-only 25th Anniversary showing of WarGames next week?

I saw that poster. It was right outside of walle.

Don't think I'll make it. But it's a neat idea.

Perhaps it can erase the crappy memory from my mind. Heck, I'd piss on a sparkplug if it would get that movie out of my head. ;)

Unrequited greed got you down? Excess a bummer?