Originally posted by seanflynn: The last film I saw at a theatre (other than industry screenings) was Letters from Iwo Jima, opening day in LA, so that (apart from Dark Knight online) was the last time I saw a trailer.
Dang! That's crazy. But hey, if u get to see the majority of the films you wanna see at industry screenings for free then go head with yo bad self! I know I'm jealous.
For Your Grammy Consideration: Kanye West for "Heartless" and 808's & Heartbreak Adele for "Hometown Glory" Taylor Swift for "You Belong With Me" & Fearless Maxwell for "Pretty Wings" & BLACKsummer'snight Kings of Leon for "Use Somebody" The Cast of GLEE for "Don't Stop Believin' " Mariah Carey for "Obsessed"
I am cautiously optimistic. Wall-E looked great, and for me was a complete and utter failure. Ratatouille looked "meh" from the previews, and is one of the best films of the decade.
This one looks good, so from recent Pixar experience, that makes me nervous.
Originally posted by MysteriousRent: I am cautiously optimistic. Wall-E looked great, and for me was a complete and utter failure. Ratatouille looked "meh" from the previews, and is one of the best films of the decade.
ITA with all of this. Wall-E looked amazing, but I thought it was just OK. Ratatouille looked averaged, and I think it's Pixar's best effort to date.
Posts: 3790 | Location: Earth | Registered: April 11, 2005
Disney/Pixar's upcoming computer-animated film Up has received a PG rating from the MPAA for "some peril and action." The rating is now being featured on the movie's official website. This is only Pixar's second feature to receive a PG rating, after 2004's The Incredibles; all the others have been rated G. Up will be released in theaters on May 29.
Originally posted by MysteriousRent: I am cautiously optimistic. Wall-E looked great, and for me was a complete and utter failure. Ratatouille looked "meh" from the previews, and is one of the best films of the decade.
ITA with all of this. Wall-E looked amazing, but I thought it was just OK. Ratatouille looked averaged, and I think it's Pixar's best effort to date.
Umm, Ratatouille looked SPECTACULAR! But, as we all know, you prefer that Dreamworks SCHTICK...
Hey, I will agree that the trailers for Ratatouille didn't look great. Of course, as I have already said in this thread, I think nearly all of Pixar's trailers look bad.
(Animated) A Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures release of a Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios production. Produced by Jonas Rivera. Executive producers, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton. Directed by Pete Docter. Co-director, Bob Peterson. Screenplay, Peterson, Docter; story, Docter, Peterson, Tom McCarthy.
Voices: Carl Fredericksen - Ed Asner Charles Muntz - Christopher Plummer Russell - Jordan Nagai Dug - Bob Peterson Beta - Delroy Lindo Gamma - Jerome Ranft Alpha - Bob Peterson Construction Foreman Tom - John Ratzenberger
By TODD MCCARTHYDepending on what you think of "Cars," Pixar makes it either 9½ out of 10 or 10 for 10 with "Up," a captivating odd-couple adventure that becomes funnier and more exciting as it flies along. Tale of an unlikely journey to uncharted geographic and emotional territory by an old codger and a young explorer could easily have been cloying, but instead proves disarming in its deep reserves of narrative imagination and surprise, as well as its poignant thematic balance of dreams deferred and dreams fulfilled. Lack of overtly fantastical elements might endow "Up" with a somewhat lower initial must-see factor than some summer releases. But like all of Pixar's features, this one will enjoy a rewardingly long ride in all venues and formats. Pete Docter's picture has the privilege of being the first animated film to open the Cannes Film Festival, on May 13. The two leading men are 78 and 8 years old, and the age range of those who will appreciate the picture is even a bit wider than that. Like previous classic films about escape from the mundane, from "The Wizard of Oz" to "Wall-E" and many in between, "Up" is universal in its appeal. At the same time, it may be the most subtle Pixar production to date in its use of color schemes, shapes, proportions, scale, contrast and balance, factors highlighted by the application of 3-D, which will be available at many initial engagements.
The ghost of Chaplin hovered over "Wall-E," and although "Up" is a more talkative film, it also delves back into earlier eras for inspiration. The first thing on view is a mock '30s-style black-and-white Movietone newsreel documenting the exploits of maverick explorer Charles Muntz, who heads back to South America to redeem himself after a giant bird skeleton he presents in the U.S. is denounced as a fraud.
Not long after comes an exquisite interlude that, in less than five minutes, encapsulates the life-long love affair between Carl Fredericksen and his wife Ellie in a manner worthy of even the most poetic of silent-film directors. The two were brought together by their mutual enthusiasm for Muntz, and it remained Ellie's lifelong dream to emulate the adventurer and travel to Paradise Falls in South America.
But life has other plans, and Ellie must settle for a happy life with balloon-seller Carl (voiced by Ed Asner). When she dies, she leaves behind a scrapbook as well as a very grumpy widower, who retreats into self-enforced exile. With heavy-rimmed black glasses, thick white hair and eyebrows, bulbous nose, square jaw and a scrunched body that looks like it's been through a compactor, old Carl resembles a cross between Spencer Tracy and Walter Matthau at the ends of their careers. He wants no company, content to live out his days in the house he shared with Ellie, which becomes surrounded by giant construction projects.
Finally faced with eviction, Carl concocts a plan. In a surprising and brilliantly visual sequence, thousands of colored balloons hatch from behind the house, prying it from its foundation and carrying it skyward; Carl intends to fly it to South America, fulfilling Ellie's dream.
However, he's got an unplanned passenger in the form of Russell (Jordan Nagai), a roly-poly, eager-beaver Junior Wilderness Explorer who's previously tried to enlist the old goat's help to win him a badge. The trip goes uneventfully — no time wasted on navigational challenges — the better to quickly achieve the destination. The arrival is stunningly portrayed, with thick fog clearing to reveal bizarre rock formations atop a mesa adjacent to the falls (designs were inspired by Angel Falls, the world's highest, and the actual tepui mountains around the juncture of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana — the location of Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World"). Carl and Russell quickly come upon the very sort of rare bird Muntz went back to find decades before, a brilliantly plumed, gawky 13-footer they name Kevin.
Kevin's antics throughout are so humorous and beautifully animated they would be at home in a "Looney Tunes" highlights reel, as would a breed of attack dogs commanded by Muntz himself (Christopher Plummer), who sends the canines in search of the elusive bird.
At just 89 minutes, "Up" is unusually short for a Pixar film, and the action climax comes on rapidly. One setpiece features the two old-timers, Carl and the swashbuckling Muntz, going mano a mano aboard the latter's spectacular, zeppelin-like flying ship, and numerous vertigo-producing shots show characters clinging for dear life.
Although the cliffhanger effects are augmented by 3-D projection, never do Docter ("Monsters, Inc.") and co-director Bob Peterson shove anything in the viewer's face just because of its 3-D potential. In fact, the film's overall loveliness presents a conceivable argument in favor of seeing it in 2-D: Even with the strongest possible projector bulbs, the 3-D glasses reduce the image's brightness by 20%. At the very least, the incentive for seeing "Up" in 3-D would seem less powerful than it is for other films.
Despite the sheer volume of incident and action required of any film that includes young kids as a major portion of its target audience, "Up" is an exceptionally refined picture; unlike so many animated films, it's not all about sensory bombardment and volume. As Pixar's process is increasingly analyzed, the more one appreciates the care that goes into the writing. The underlying carpentry here is so strong, it seems it would be hard to go too far wrong in the execution.
Unsurprisingly, no one puts a foot wrong here. Vocal performances, most importantly from Asner, Plummer and nonpro Nagai, exude a warm enthusiasm, and tech specifications could not be better. Michael Giacchino's full-bodied, traditional score is superlative, developing beautiful themes as it sweeps the action along on emotional waves.
Camera (Technicolor and Deluxe prints, 3-D), Patrick Lin; lighting, Jean-Claude Kalache; editor, Kevin Nolting; music, Michael Giacchino; production designer, Ricky Nierva; story supervisor, Ronnie Del Carmen; supervising technical director, Steve May; supervising animator, Scott Clark; sound designer (Dolby Digital/SDDS/DTS), Tom Myers; supervising sound editors, Michael Silvers, Myers; re-recording mixers, Michael Semanick, Myers; associate producer, Denise Ream; casting, Kevin Reher, Natalie Lyon. Reviewed at Disney Studios, Burbank, May 6, 2009. (In Cannes Film Festival — opener.) MPAA Rating: PG. Running time: 89 MIN.
I am debating whether to see it in 3D or not. The effects may look cool in 3D. However, as this Variety piece points out, the brightness would be diminished. I am leaning towards seeing it in 2D.
Originally posted by LadyHathor25: I am debating whether to see it in 3D or not. The effects may look cool in 3D. However, as this Variety piece points out, the brightness would be diminished. I am leaning towards seeing it in 2D.
I always have that same issue with 3-D. As it disrupts the color schemes I am not crazy about it.
Posts: 27161 | Location: Phoenix, AZ | Registered: February 02, 2003
The reviews from Cannes sound good. This screened at Cannes in 3D, right? Even for the press? I am wondering if it has screened anywhere in 2D. Because of Pixar's traditional great use of color, I am somewhat hesitant to see it in 3D. But, I wonder how big an impact the 3D effects are? I'd love to hear from someone who has seen it both ways.
Wow, I almost can't believe that an animated film is opening Cannes. What a change this must have been from last year's "Blindness"!
Blindness joined a long, long list of films versions I disliked of books I liked. I can see why the organizers at Cannes would want a happy, funny film after that.
G'Day, and I think at this stage we have a huge frountrunner for film that will gerate the most puns in reviews and news items this year
"more exciting as it flies along", "such a joyously buoyant lift", "high-flying adventure", "Oscar hopes looking up". And that's just from the few exerpts I've already read (Variety, HR, Tom O'Neil's blog post).
I think with this film's subject and the momentum Pixar has been gaining in recent years means this may have a decent shot at a Best Picture noination. Regardless of people's thoughts on this, one thing for sure is that it is the only film we can say with any certainty will have great reviews and great box office by year's end.
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Congratulations West Wing, Emmys most honored drama. 27 Emmys including 4 best drama series "What's Next?"
Posts: 2455 | Location: Sydney, Australia | Registered: September 07, 2005
Oh definitely, the puns are coming on strong in these reviews.
I think if WALL-E couldn't get a Best Picture nmoination in last year's fairly weak field, that there is no way Up can. I mean, WALL-E was one of the best reviewed films of the year, made a gazillion top 10 lists, was a huge box office success and it didn't get nominated.
Even if this all replicates for Up, I can't see it happening. What, AMPAS members are going to suddenly throw Pixar a bone after this long? I'll believe it when I see it.
Yeah, unless Pixar creates some sort of masterpiece that simply can't be ignored, they'll never get a best picture nomination. They'll have to settle for animated feature.
Posts: 3790 | Location: Earth | Registered: April 11, 2005
