Robots (PG) (2005)
The general plot follows a young robot (voiced by Ewan McGregor) from
birth (assembly) to his aspiring career as an inventor, where he wants
to go to the big city to show off his inventions. There is an
inventors guild which runs the city and the guild is run by Bigweld, a
really big robot (voiced by Mel Brooks), however he has since gone MIA
and the company is now being run by an executive who wants to destroy
all robots who cant afford robotic upgrades.
The movie investigates what a world would be if there were no other
signs of life aside from the robots themselves....sort of. I
think if it took this angle a bit more it would have been a little more
interesting, but it would have been hard to get a big plot line going
with villains and heroes, so I guess thats why they didnt fully do
that. Unfortunetly I feel this film had more weaknesses than
strengths. Its a computer animated film, made by the same people
who made the wonderfully done
Ice Age. For
Robots,
they hired an all star cast top to bottom, no matter how big or small
the role, they seemed to hire someone who is well known in the industry
which can be good, but sometimes it can be very bad. I felt there
was lots of wasted talent here, but it was still adequate for the
purposes of the film.
The plot was a little unenthralling, I guess thats one way to put
it. I dont feel that I was really interested in what the plot had
to say, what it did or how it would be resolved. And thats a huge
weakness if you really dont care what happens to the characters or what
the film does. And I really hated it when they started throwing
in the plot line about the trash collector. I mean its straying a
bit far away from the original topic. I guess it caters to those
with ADD then. It was all a bit simpleton. And that can be
said about a LOT of things about this film. It was very
simpleton.
The jokes were off target I felt, almost all the time. I knew
they were trying to be funny, but thats all they were...just
trying. Many jokes had so many layers of cheese on it, it would
make Pizza Hut jealous. Whats even worse is that several of them
were referrences to current pop culture things, like Brittany Spears,
you know. Which is clearly targeting its audience, but a bit too
specifically. And if you really want to think about it, why would
robots in the distant future be referrencing a 2000's pop idol?
Meh.
But on the good side of this film, its very asthetically pleasing to
look at. The computer animations for this film were absolutely
top notch. I mean it is a computer animator's dream for 2005, it
could become dated over time but its just so pretty and well
drawn. Its just a shame the film wasnt really enough of a vehicle
to promote it. I felt it had plenty of potential but couldnt
fulfill it.
4 out of 10
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The Incredibles (PG) (2004)
As I said a while ago, I watched this film and thoroughly liked it. Heres my review.
Another chapter in Pixar's movie making experience, and I had yet to
see one of their films I didnt like. The plot follows a pair of
ex superheroes who have gone into retirement...and parenthood, with the
typical 2 young kids, son and daughter and the newborn, a son in this
case. However there is a dire need for superheroes as a new
villain has arrived on the scene who could change superheroes forever
Now I did the criminal thing of actually going into this film with a
bias. I felt I wouldnt like this film very much for various
reasons, like for all the hype or the thought it could be a
ripoff. And when I left with such a positive outlook on the film,
I think it really speaks volumes about it, because first they had to
convince me not to hate the film, and then they had to convince me to
like and then love the film. Now Im not saying its the best thing
since sliced bread, but it is pretty good.
The animation is typical Pixar. They had struggled with the human
form in all of their films, and I think they still struggle with it a
little, but they made the characters cartoonized, they werent meant to
look all that "real" persay, so it fits very well. The scenery is
fantastic...I mean the battle in the jungle absolutely blew me
away. The battle scenes in this film are fast and furious but
arent so chaotic that the audience has a hard time following whats
going on.
In the end, just like Nemo, Pixar delivers a film that can appeal to
almost any audience and brings forth a movie that becomes very hard to
criticize or even critique. Im sure you could have critiqued the
plot if you cared to and there were a couple times where the film was
very predicatable but those flaws are miniscule in comparison to the
film as a whole. See it, you'll probably have a good time
10 out of 10
If at first you dont succeed, dont try skydiving
Both diapers and politicians need to be changed--and usually for the same reasons
