tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post2890643524590859934..comments2022-03-24T16:11:50.124-04:00Comments on The Man From Porlock: Happy Together (A Christmas Tale and Up)Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-76959254990775952692009-12-21T18:08:50.785-05:002009-12-21T18:08:50.785-05:00I love Pixar's Movies - though at first screen...I love Pixar's Movies - though at first screening , Wall-E Plot was indeed too flat but i really liked it at the second viewing when my hopes weren't as high.<br /><a href="http://www.disneycarstoys.net" rel="nofollow">Disney Cars</a> did do well in the merchandising aspect but the story and enviornment have too many holes. There are no people around and still you see a world fit for humans & built by humans.Disney Cars Toyshttp://www.disneycarstoys.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-23852215437619215662009-12-20T17:04:36.825-05:002009-12-20T17:04:36.825-05:00And do you really think "Up" with its el...<i>And do you really think "Up" with its elderly protagonist would have been the product of a typical Hollywood story committee?</i><br /><br />Very true. But I think had Pixar been genuinely committed to Carl's story they wouldn't have brought in the kid, the bird, and the dogs for box-office insurance. I understand the need to compromise -- they're not making <i>Ikiru</i>, after all -- I just didn't find those elements tied thematically into the narrative as cohesively as they should have been.<br /><br />Additionally, I'm convinced that <i>Cars</i> was a key turning point for Pixar in terms of taking pains to ensure critical insurance. (Though a bewildering majority still liked that one.) Their three films since have all made feints toward "art," with varying degrees of success; yet to hear the critics tell it you'd think these movies were all chestnuts for the ages, rather than well-crafted though predictable trips down Joseph Campbell lane. I seem to even recall comparisons of <i>Up</i> to <i>Ikiru</i>, now that I think about it. In both highbrow and populist terms, they've got their bases covered.<br /><br />I don't hate <i>Up</i>, or really any of Pixar's films, let me clear. Most are decent entertainments and one or two are a little more. What I want to see -- especially now that Pixar has the cache to do it -- is something truly adventurous. As things stand, it seems hard for them to stay focused on the story when they've got one eye on the critics and the other on the audience.<br /><br /><i>I do agree with you on "A Christmas Tale". I saw both this and "Kings and Queen" for the first time late last year and added Desplechin to the list of directors making the kind of films Woody Allen doesn't have the ambition to make anymore. I loved the film's refusal to define the characters with pop psychology and to allow the family's various relationships to be messier at the film's conclusion.</i><br /><br />I'm very high on <i>A Christmas Tale</i> and thought Mathieu Amalric gave one of the great performances of the past ten years. (Sad he's most famous for playing the wimpiest Bond villain ever in <i>Quantum of Solace.</i>) <i>Kings and Queen</i> is up there in my Netflix queue.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-57892706346912330212009-12-20T16:12:46.419-05:002009-12-20T16:12:46.419-05:00I know that my feelings about Pixar films are on t...I know that my feelings about Pixar films are on the opposite end of yours. But I don't get the impersonal charge leveled against them. Yes, their movies come together with a crew of artists and technicians, as do all films, particularly animated ones. <br />And do you really think "Up" with its elderly protagonist would have been the product of a typical Hollywood story committee? <br /><br />Although I like the earlier Pixar films, I do believe the recent ones have distinguished each of the directors from one another much better. Speaking as someone who hasn't cared much for many other animated films (since they were often formulaic to me), Pixar actually makes animated films I can relate to on some level and often understand how to tell stories visually, which is so rare these days that it makes me appreciate them more. <br /><br />I guess we can say someone like Wes Anderson had a more stronger directorial hand in "Fox". I felt that movie was clever and humorous, but I didn't really care a great deal about what was going on and the film has already faded from my mind. I can't really say it's more personal than "Up". I think a lot of people mistook the hand-crafted visuals of "Fox" as believing the entire film was anything more than another Anderson trifle. <br /><br />A character trying to deal with the passing of time and the death of his wife I can take more to heart than a smug fox being, to be honest, a pain in the ass.<br /><br />I do agree with you on "A Christmas Tale". I saw both this and "Kings and Queen" for the first time late last year and added Desplechin to the list of directors making the kind of films Woody Allen doesn't have the ambition to make anymore. I loved the film's refusal to define the characters with pop psychology and to allow the family's various relationships to be messier at the film's conclusion.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05571206086671634525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-10420029749821121782009-12-20T13:11:52.147-05:002009-12-20T13:11:52.147-05:00By impersonal, I mean that nearly all of Pixar'...By impersonal, I mean that nearly all of Pixar's films feel like they're being made by committee. The trailers for their movies even emphasize this, promoting not only the movie but all the artists and technicians plugging away at their keyboards behind the scenes. (I can imagine this marketing ploy for live-action films: "Go see <i>Precious</i>...because everyone who made it <i>worked so hard!!!"</i>) I don't detect a guiding sensibility -- beyond making profits -- the way I did with Wes Anderson's <i>Fantastic Mr. Fox</i> or Brad Bird's <i>Ratatouille</i>, which I agree is probably the best of the bunch.<br /><br />And I agree that Bird's <i>The Incredibles</i> (with the possible exception of the insipid <i>Cars</i>) may be the worst. Visually I think it's a surprisingly ugly movie, and the thematic problems were already thoroughly conveyed in your and Ed's conversation. Why exactly is the son supposed to hold back in the 100-meter dash again? I don't get it either.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211112229982829419.post-72582263333171334662009-12-19T20:31:26.562-05:002009-12-19T20:31:26.562-05:00On Up ...
I'd agree with you that it's th...On <i>Up</i> ...<br /><br />I'd agree with you that it's thin. But I don't know that I'd say "impersonal," though maybe I miss your meaning.<br /><br />For my money, the best films in the Pixar series remain <i>Ratatouille</i> and <i>WALL-E</i> (the latter has some crashes, yes, but also some incredible high points). I still don't understand the love people have for <i>The Incredibles</i>. Just. Don't. Get. It.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.com