wall-e

disney pixar is the probably in the top 5 best things to ever happen in the history of civilization. it all started with toy story (1995), then came toy story 2 (1999), monsters inc. (2001), finding nemo (2003), ratatouille (2007), a few others that are great but not on the same level, and now in 2008 they bring us Wall-E.

wall-e is essentially a story about a lonely robot who is one of many wall-e robots left on earth to clean up the mess humans have made of the world, this one particular robot is apparently the only one still functional and its much more than just a robot. the humans, during more than 700 years waiting and relaxing in space, have become fat boobs that no longer require the use of their own limbs to move around or do anything but eat, sleep, and talk on the videophone. ironically, humans have lost what makes them human and the robot wall-e is more human that anyone or anything because he yearns for more than complacency. wall-e is very much like will smith's i am legend character in that he has no real companions other than his pet (cockroach in this movie) and is the only person around to clean up the mess set forth by the movie. eventually, wall-e meets eve who is a super high-tech robot who has come from the human mothership to look for any signs of vegetation, so that the human race can return to an earth thats a little less messy.

the first 30 minutes of the movie actually dont involve any dialogue, its really cool that this direction was taken because it shows that conversations are very inconsequential to our understanding of what is going on and where the movie may be going. as usual, disney/pixar has created a movie where grownups and children can enjoy the same visual jokes but on different levels. most kids probably dont know what a rubik's cube is, or why an ipod in the movie is funny, but everyone definitely has a good laugh at the very well done utensil joke. the plot is good, its pretty simple sci-fi stuff and its well executed. wall-e is a great protagonist because he feels. he can be lonely, sad, happy, brave, timid... more than those in the movie, he is everything humans are and more, while only capable of beeping out three words.

the visuals and score for the movie are good for what it is. its not the best anyone has ever seen, mostly because so much of the movie is spent on a dust-storm covered earth and inside a neon infused spacecraft, both of which do not have the same visual appeal that nature itself has. the best visual portion of the movie is when wall-e and eve are moving around in space, but thats only a small percentage of the movie. additionally, its also not a leap above the animation in previous movies such as finding nemo or ratatouille. aurally, the music can be described as ... whimsical. its about a robot that acts human, its good, not breathtaking, but its expected.

overall, this is a movie that should be seen in theaters, its worth the 10bux to see it with other people on the big screen. its really great to experience scenes where everyone in the theater, children included, are laughing at the same joke. this movie doesnt quite crack my top3 or even top5 animated movies of all time, but its still really good.


good: nice plot, all the robots, fat babies
bad: not everyone would let themselves get so fat, forcing message on me to take care of the earth...

Sunshine (2007)

i got to watching Sunshine this past sunday after the bball game because i was pretty bored and too poor to go out and drink. ive had this on dvd since... february maybe, but i never have time to watch all the movies ive 'acquired', and have wanted to see.

(insert joke about staring directly into the sun)

the movie is sort of a drama/thriller in a sci-fi setting. sunshine is set about 50 years into the future and something has happened to the sun in our solar system and its quickly extinguishing. after a mysterious failed first mission, the plot centers around a mixed crew of scientists and astronauts who are tasked with bringing a second giant bomb, and last chance, through space and into the core of the sun so that they might re-ignite the dying star and save mankind from extinction. the premise of the plot is pretty cool, and the sun is dying, its just that it will probably take hundreds of thousands of years to get to that point instead of the fifty in the movie. the movie people take a little bit of liberty with their science facts...

the main protagonist is cillian murphy, most would know him as the scarecrow in the more recent christopher nolan's Batman Begins. or in that movie Red-Eye, i think. the dude has some seriously interesting eyes. he plays a physicist who knows the most about the bomb and how to use it if the computer system would ever malfunction...

the casting is pretty good. i liked all the asian cast members (unbiased?), which include Michelle Yeoh as a biologist, Hiroyuki Sanada as the ship captain, and Benedict Wong as the navigation type guy. the potential love interest for Murphy was pretty good as well. another well known actor, Chris Evans from fantastic four is also in this movie, but i thought his acting lacked any substance.

the movie is really a great look at human behavior and interaction facing not only a battle against extinction & self-preservation, but also the effects of being in an environment so different from what we may be used to on Earth, isolated with no communications with our loved ones. additionally, there's also a bit of philosophy in the movie, the ship in the movie is called the Icarus II, so its named for the son of Daedalus who crafted wings for himself and his son to esape imprisonment in Crete... Daedalus warned his son to not fly so close to the sun or else the wax would melt and he would die, but as we all know, Icarus did not heed that warning as he flew, joyfully in their escape, too close to the sun and soon fell into the sea, which is now called the Icarian Sea. the movie sort of follows this idea when the crew makes the decision to check out a distress signal, detouring the mission... the commentary also notes technology and man's misuse, intentional or otherwise, of it. overall, its about the value of human life as a whole and the individual sacrifices made to preserve it.

visually and aurally, this movie is stunning. if you can watch it on a big hd screen with 5.1 surround, do it. the images of the sun and planets is just so impressive that you actually feel like you are on the mission. the cg in this movie is even more impressive because it only cost about $40million to make, compared to other huge CG blockbusters which usually cost five times that amount.

the extras are... decent. there's director commentary, but the best part was a separate commentary by dr. brian cox, a real-life physicist who was also the science consultant on this film. his commentary about the science of space is informative and insanely interesting. there's also deleted scenes with director commentary as well

one gripe i really had about the movie was that the ending and plot twist were pretty bad... this movie is so very close to being the best sci-fi movie of this decade until certain elements were added to make it more exciting or whatever. nevertheless, overall its a movie worth watching.

boyle and gardner worked on 28 Days Later, so any fans of that movie should check this out. i recommend the movie to all, just dont expect it to be very action-y. its sort of like... I Am Legend... its about human behavior more than beating up mutants or killing aliens. this is perhaps one of the better sci-fi movies in a very long time (see George Lucas), and i recommend it for anyone that doesnt mind things progressing a bit slower in order to paint a better picture of the setting and premise of the movie.


good: story premise, overall acting, visuals, sci-fi
bad: climax/ending