(no subject)

[trinityvixen]

I seem to have misplaced my USB key, which is frustrating as it has my 2006 checklist on it and I want to update things. I should have glued on another keychain ring attachment or something. I just knew that without it literally hanging onto me, I wouldn't hang onto it.

Haven't caught up on Friday's Battlestar Galactica yet, though I have it ready to go when I get off work. That and the next Torchwood. So, no spoilers until tomorrow, please, then I plan on adding reviews to those on top of that for the next Heroes (it's new this week, right?). Still kind of pissed off at the week before's BSG, actually. Almost nicer to put off this past Friday's episode just to keep believing there's a chance that Roslin will airlock Helo for being a stupid ass. Alas, I am sure it's not to be (NO SPOILERS, not even to reassure me either way, thank you).

Saw Cars this weekend at home. Pixar, what hast thou done? It was basically a formulaic Disney movie right down the "insert your laughter after this hilarious set up" bits. I dunno, maybe my favorites are every bit as trite and played out (Finding Nemo is my favorite, followed closely by The Incredibles), but they didn't feel as tired as this one did. Disney-itis, I'd say. The voice acting is obnoxious--Owen Wilson, please just go away for a few years or something; Bonnie Hunt, get a better agent; Paul Newman, put yourself down; Larry the Cable Guy, you were actually funny for a change, so perhaps you should only do voice work. Stuff as many stars into the thing as you can, that's the idea. Plus, it was a movie about animated inanimate objects with living-object needs and desires (food = fuel, etc; contrast this with Toy Story where the toys didn't need to eat, sleep, etc, which makes it fine to give them life as magic, rather than a strained "life" as in Cars).

Also, I think I just had a problem with the retro is better message. The idealization of the past as some utopia, as better-than-now, blah. I thought we were over pretending that the old way is still the best way, people rush about too much these days, wah wah wah grandpa wants his mush. Anyone know what Pixar is doing next? I can only hope it's more inspired than Cars.

Comments

[droidguy1119.livejournal.com]

Ratatouille.

I never had much desire to see Cars. I love Pixar, but it looked kind of dim. Still, it looked visually stunning, and I've always thought their trailers were lame, but I guess I'm not missing much.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

It was dim and fairly uninspired--only Pixar movie since Toy Stoy I didn't go see in the theaters (and Toy Story was more about not having opportunity than not having interest). I'll have to look forward to this next one, then.

[deltagrl.livejournal.com]

Thank you, you just freed up a spot on my Netflix queue. So many animated movies make me cring these days. I just wonder what happened to casting voice actors rather than celebrites.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there's the problem there: voice acting is a skill. It is still acting. If you can't act very well but are a character actor, there's less than a 50/50 chance you'll be able to translate your schtick to animation unless you're wildly animated in real life (Hello, Robin Williams). Owen Wilson's weirdness doesn't really cut it, nor does Bonnie Hunt's smug bitter/cute duality. Paul Newman is all right, only because he's a great actor, but really the outsized personalities are the ones you remember--George Carlin as the VW van and Larry the Cable Guy as the redneck tow truck. But even there there are problems--Cheech Marin has done one too many of these movies as himself...