Trader47
07-08-2006, 02:04 AM
In spite of my general love of animated films, I've had kind of a hard time getting myself in a mood to see this one. I could tell from the trailers that it would probably look great, but somehow the idea of animated talking cars didn't have a lot of appeal, and as more time passed without me getting in gear and seeing it, I kind of forgot about it and had pretty much consigned it to the dvd or cable zone for me. But last night we started talking about the huge Pirates opening, and since there were a couple of great looking (and much smaller) films slated to open too, decided that tonight would be a great night to see one of them...especially since that whenever there's a movie FRENZY like was sure to be created by Pirates, we don't like to feel left out and see nothing at all, even though I normally avoid Fri. and Sat. night movies like a plague, LOL.
But when I opened the paper to find out exactly where the movies we'd discussed seeing were going to be playing, I saw instead that our Century chain, in it's ultimate wisdom, had decided that 33 screens was not enough to hold Pirates...it needed 35, and so didn't open anything else new...and our Regal chain apparently decided to follow suit, figuring that it needed to offer showings on at least 15 screens for the conveniance of everyone who didn't want to see the film in more comfortable seats and THX sound.
In fact, as it turned out, except for Pirates, only one other new film opened anywhere in town this week, and that was a movie called Wah-Wah...I haven't heard anything at all about that, and couldn't even find anything written about it, so it struck me then like a bolt of lightning...Cars is still around, might as well get in gear and finally go see it.
So, off to Century 24 to see Cars...but as I was walking around the theater lobby, noticing all the couples with infants, toddlers, twelve year olds running amok, and grandparents who looked ready to snore at the drop of a light, I couldn't help but reflect how fortunate I felt for not giving into a suggestion I received that we just brave the Pirates frenzy and try to see it tonight. And then, I started thinking about that movie Wah-Wah....maybe it's a documentary about the sound that hapless moviegoers would hear while trying to listen to the soundtrack of Pirates on opening weekend. :eek:
I was so lost in this train of thought as we walked into the theater that it actually took me a couple of minutes to notice that the theater we'd walked into was pretty packed with toddling types, too...all of whom immediately started to wail and scream inconsolably as soon as they got a glimpse of yours truly, the way such creatures always will when faced with the sight of undesirable characters heading in their general direction. Fortunately, the lights soon went down, and to my everlasting surprise, there was not a single Wah Wah to be heard for the rest of the evening, proving that some groups of toddlers are actually either more considerate than your average adult or teenager, or else at least have longer attention spans. :rolleyes:
But anyway, about the time all my ruminations were winding down, the movie started and proceeded to prove to me that things (even majorly aggravating things like uncooperative theater chains) sometimes actually DO work out for the best. The story involves a self-impressed hotshot rookie race car on his way to becoming the next big thing, who finds himself lost on old Route 66 and becomes reluctantly involved with an off kilter group of vehicles occupying an off the map small town that has been passed over by the growth of the interstate and all but forgotten by the outside world. It's not hard to guess that he'll end up gaining some wisdom and compassion from the experience, and ultimately provide some heroics of his own. It IS a simple tale, and maybe not quite as involving or interesting as the cream of the Disney/Pixar crop....but it really doesn't need to be anything more than it is. The story gets more engaging as it moves along, and the film is chock full of the sly, clever humor that I'm sure any of us who've enjoyed these films over the last few years have come to expect from them. For me, George Carlin as an old VW bus (bet you might be able to guess his mentality, LOL) and Cheech Marin as a low rider who changes his paint job everyday, are priceless...as is a hilarious sequence involving tractor tipping...and then there's Paul Newman as an old Hudson, and these cool little bugs...I won't say anything more about them, LOL. And last but certainly not least, the animation and overall look of this film is really incredible...it easily stands with the best work Pixar has done, maybe even surpasses it.
So I guess it goes without saying that I ended up being real glad that I caught this in a theater. In my opinion, it's the best animated film to be released by anyone since The Incredibles, and while I'm sure the story and type of humor it contains won't be to every taste, for anyone interested in animation generally, I'd strongly recommend catching it in one while you have the chance...the look of the film alone will most likely be enough to keep you from thinking you wasted your time and money.
And before I finally stop, a quick mention that there's one of those cool Pixar shorts shown before the main attraction...it's called One Man Band, and imo is the best looking and overall best of these shorts that they've done...just a little extra bang for the bucks. :D
But when I opened the paper to find out exactly where the movies we'd discussed seeing were going to be playing, I saw instead that our Century chain, in it's ultimate wisdom, had decided that 33 screens was not enough to hold Pirates...it needed 35, and so didn't open anything else new...and our Regal chain apparently decided to follow suit, figuring that it needed to offer showings on at least 15 screens for the conveniance of everyone who didn't want to see the film in more comfortable seats and THX sound.
In fact, as it turned out, except for Pirates, only one other new film opened anywhere in town this week, and that was a movie called Wah-Wah...I haven't heard anything at all about that, and couldn't even find anything written about it, so it struck me then like a bolt of lightning...Cars is still around, might as well get in gear and finally go see it.
So, off to Century 24 to see Cars...but as I was walking around the theater lobby, noticing all the couples with infants, toddlers, twelve year olds running amok, and grandparents who looked ready to snore at the drop of a light, I couldn't help but reflect how fortunate I felt for not giving into a suggestion I received that we just brave the Pirates frenzy and try to see it tonight. And then, I started thinking about that movie Wah-Wah....maybe it's a documentary about the sound that hapless moviegoers would hear while trying to listen to the soundtrack of Pirates on opening weekend. :eek:
I was so lost in this train of thought as we walked into the theater that it actually took me a couple of minutes to notice that the theater we'd walked into was pretty packed with toddling types, too...all of whom immediately started to wail and scream inconsolably as soon as they got a glimpse of yours truly, the way such creatures always will when faced with the sight of undesirable characters heading in their general direction. Fortunately, the lights soon went down, and to my everlasting surprise, there was not a single Wah Wah to be heard for the rest of the evening, proving that some groups of toddlers are actually either more considerate than your average adult or teenager, or else at least have longer attention spans. :rolleyes:
But anyway, about the time all my ruminations were winding down, the movie started and proceeded to prove to me that things (even majorly aggravating things like uncooperative theater chains) sometimes actually DO work out for the best. The story involves a self-impressed hotshot rookie race car on his way to becoming the next big thing, who finds himself lost on old Route 66 and becomes reluctantly involved with an off kilter group of vehicles occupying an off the map small town that has been passed over by the growth of the interstate and all but forgotten by the outside world. It's not hard to guess that he'll end up gaining some wisdom and compassion from the experience, and ultimately provide some heroics of his own. It IS a simple tale, and maybe not quite as involving or interesting as the cream of the Disney/Pixar crop....but it really doesn't need to be anything more than it is. The story gets more engaging as it moves along, and the film is chock full of the sly, clever humor that I'm sure any of us who've enjoyed these films over the last few years have come to expect from them. For me, George Carlin as an old VW bus (bet you might be able to guess his mentality, LOL) and Cheech Marin as a low rider who changes his paint job everyday, are priceless...as is a hilarious sequence involving tractor tipping...and then there's Paul Newman as an old Hudson, and these cool little bugs...I won't say anything more about them, LOL. And last but certainly not least, the animation and overall look of this film is really incredible...it easily stands with the best work Pixar has done, maybe even surpasses it.
So I guess it goes without saying that I ended up being real glad that I caught this in a theater. In my opinion, it's the best animated film to be released by anyone since The Incredibles, and while I'm sure the story and type of humor it contains won't be to every taste, for anyone interested in animation generally, I'd strongly recommend catching it in one while you have the chance...the look of the film alone will most likely be enough to keep you from thinking you wasted your time and money.
And before I finally stop, a quick mention that there's one of those cool Pixar shorts shown before the main attraction...it's called One Man Band, and imo is the best looking and overall best of these shorts that they've done...just a little extra bang for the bucks. :D