08-09-03 Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

Seen: Sept. 3rd, 2008
Format: Theater
Rating: 4

I wasn't quite sure what to make of this film. I figured the best thing to do was go check it out.

I'd waited long enough and went in the middle of a weekday, so I had the theater all to myself. Usually this is a very good thing, as I can watch the film in peace instead of dealing with talking, cell phones and the snorting and grunting of the masses as the gorge themselves on 'corn.

This time, I could have used some mild irritants to help keep me awake.

Nodding off in a film is never a good sign.

It's mostly my fault though. I was tired from a long morning. I had not paid enough attention and then reviewed all that had happened in the Episodes II and III. There's a lot of convoluted machinations that lead to the schism we now recognize as the core of a long saga.

This film requires that background. You're required to be a fan, to understand the intrigue and guile that's swirling around this part of the story. This film is a small chapter in the middle somewhere. It's a footnote to flesh out both the saga itself and the evolution of Anakin Skywalker.

From a pure story perspective, it does the job. But as a film, it leaves much to be desired.

It's a strange conglomerate of Saturday Morning Cartoon Show and Melodrama. There are copious action sequences interspersed with banal, expository dialogue. One follows the other in sequence until the inevitable conclusion.

To be fair, this is the Star Wars formula, and has worked wonders in the past. But here is seems contrived. The film seems firmly directed at the younger folks who have developed a passion for the saga. Characterizations are broad and simple. Dialogue is forced, predictable and often trite. The drivers and allegories are blunt and unsophisticated.

Again, this is the Star Wars formula. I guess it bothers me more here because it's animated. The whole thing seems a bit more juvenile when it's a cartoon. Like Flash Gordon, it seems easier to believe the fantastical when there are real people acting it out. We believe them more than we do a mobile artist's rendering. There are animated films with great impact, but they are generally more driven by artistic styling or subject matter.

Suffice to say that this one didn't impress. It fell flat for me, who stood in huge lines back in '77. Unless you're sure it's your cup of tea, you'll probably want to wait for the rental.

But I'm sure the video game will be awesome.

The Good: More Star Wars
The Bad: More convoluted and banal
The Ugly: Hutts, again

08-09-02 Wall-E (2008)

Seen: September 2nd, 2008
Format: Theater
Rating: 7

I'm a Pixar fan. Who isn't? I've gladly paid to see each of their films in release, some multiple times.

But this is one that I vacillated over. Not because of the subject matter; to be frank I wasn't very informed as far as plot went. I hesitated simply because I found Ratatouille such a grave disappointment.

While I'm not here to review that film, let's just say that for me it fell far short of the mark which Pixar has consistently set for itself.

Wall-E is a return to form, of sorts.

The themes are fairly simple and straightforward. We are again chided for our shortcomings as a culture. We are again shown our folly by the simple and directed actions of our anthropomorphized stand-ins. We've had toys, insects and cars previously. This time around it's robots. The characters are interesting and fairly original, but not so striking as to become the icons we have from the past.

There are the obligatory references to classic films of the past; all of them reasonably subtle and well done. There is slapstick. There is love and wonder. There are lessons both simple and complex, abject and heroic. Their learning is not without pain, but there's little here that should cause your toddler any deep distress.

In short, it's fairly classic Pixar. And that's the problem.

I wonder whether Pixar hasn't been allowed to grow up a bit due to its contract w/ and eventual ownership by Disney. Wall-E is good, but still really the same beautiful, glossy pap that we've been fed several times before. The whole shtick is losing it's originality. Both Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. were fresh and original. The Incredibles cashed in on the comics craze, but was action-packed and frenzied enough that I can give it a pass. Since then, we've been in a slide.

And I can't help but wonder if it will be the norm for a Disney owned Pixar

The Good: Pixar edges closer to its roots
The Bad: Not as deep as might be expected
The Ugly: Dystopian future in family Fare