Talking about "Best Picture" hype ... WALL-E
Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:03 pm
I could not believe that folks are talking about the very last kids movie has having enough mass appeal to be considered for an Oscar nod for of all things, BEST PICTURE. I realize I am not your typical movie fan, but BEST PICTURE for WALL-E?
WALL-E is cute and a solid kids flick, don't get me wrong ... but even the best kids flick I've ever seen, does not deserve to be a BEST PICTURE. So where are critics and citizens alike, getting this odd notion that this particular Pixar & Disney collaboration is deserving of such an honor?
My wife and 5.5 year old went last Monday expecting it to be very easy to walk in 10 minutes before the film. On a MONDAY night, we were forced to sit in the 3rd row and I must say, I was absolutely taken aback and amazed to see that. The theater is a half hour or more outside of Seattle, no less.
Anyway, I liked Kung Fu Panda better, my daughter liked WALL-E better and my wife still raves of Ratatouille. That said, I can't for the life of me picture this up there as a BEST Of choice. Then again, as much as I enjoyed Juno last year, I did not understand that as a Big 5, either (and it was my favorite of all selected in the category).
Sad to see some of the crap coming out of Hollywood these days. Without knowing anything about it, my wife rented I AM LEGEND and we watched it earlier this week. Jeez, was that weak and she said it received great ratings! Who are these people?
Back to WALL-E though. The adults were out-laughing their kids the other night, although there was plenty of noise out of the little ones too. I enjoyed the social commentary and the messages were sound, but certainly not new (give me Soylent Green). I understand some of the complexity to this and felt that more than an homage to many other films, it was an intentional rip off, but maybe I'm jaded. WALL-E is light hearted good fun and more impressive on a visual level then on a visceral one. Lots of faux pas in this for those unable to forgive carelessness in creation or suspend their belief systems for the duration.
I found the humor, message(s) and overall appeal more compelling in Kung Fu Panda which had me laughing out loud, which I rarely do at a kids movie.
B+ and enjoyable, popcorn a must.
WALL-E is cute and a solid kids flick, don't get me wrong ... but even the best kids flick I've ever seen, does not deserve to be a BEST PICTURE. So where are critics and citizens alike, getting this odd notion that this particular Pixar & Disney collaboration is deserving of such an honor?
My wife and 5.5 year old went last Monday expecting it to be very easy to walk in 10 minutes before the film. On a MONDAY night, we were forced to sit in the 3rd row and I must say, I was absolutely taken aback and amazed to see that. The theater is a half hour or more outside of Seattle, no less.
Anyway, I liked Kung Fu Panda better, my daughter liked WALL-E better and my wife still raves of Ratatouille. That said, I can't for the life of me picture this up there as a BEST Of choice. Then again, as much as I enjoyed Juno last year, I did not understand that as a Big 5, either (and it was my favorite of all selected in the category).
Sad to see some of the crap coming out of Hollywood these days. Without knowing anything about it, my wife rented I AM LEGEND and we watched it earlier this week. Jeez, was that weak and she said it received great ratings! Who are these people?
Back to WALL-E though. The adults were out-laughing their kids the other night, although there was plenty of noise out of the little ones too. I enjoyed the social commentary and the messages were sound, but certainly not new (give me Soylent Green). I understand some of the complexity to this and felt that more than an homage to many other films, it was an intentional rip off, but maybe I'm jaded. WALL-E is light hearted good fun and more impressive on a visual level then on a visceral one. Lots of faux pas in this for those unable to forgive carelessness in creation or suspend their belief systems for the duration.
I found the humor, message(s) and overall appeal more compelling in Kung Fu Panda which had me laughing out loud, which I rarely do at a kids movie.
B+ and enjoyable, popcorn a must.