Miscellaneous Movie Musings

[innerSpaceman]

I loved it just as much last night as I ever did. I have a thing for perfectly constructed films. I guess that seems easier with a by-the-numbers buddy pic ... but if it was, more films would be perfectly constructed -- and most films ARE NOT.

I don't think there's a boring instant in Toy Story. If you are bored because you've seen something before (perfectly natural), I daresay someone would be just as bored watching Speed for the 4th time as Toy Story.

[Alex]

Perhaps, but there are plenty of films that I do not find boring simply for having seen them before (I've seen Toy Story 2 more often and don't find it boring).

So obviously, whatever element provides a movie with that boost is -- for me -- missing from Toy Story. I still wouldn't go so far as putting Toy Story in the same bucket as Speed but if you want to I won't leap in front of you to prevent it.

[innerSpaceman]

I was just trying to think of something with constant action, that was generally well-received. Most of the action films that came to mind were rightly crucified critically and word-of-mouthful.

I wasn't putting Toy Story in the same bucket at all. Quite the opposite. In fact, I'd put Toy Story 2 in that bucket. Action-based. Sloppy construction ... well, not really, more like zero need for any construction.


There's nothing wrong with liking that kind of thing. But the only vivid segment of Toy Story 2, imo, was Jesse's disappointment over Woody's decision not to go to Japan, her fear of being storaged forever, and her heartbreak over being an abandoned toy. That segment had heart and soul.


I find heart and soul all over the first Toy Story. Plus, witty dialogue (Heheh, I'd forgotten Josh Whedon helped pen the script) and, as I've said before, solid story construction with built-in conflict among the main characters that is resolved to great effect.


To each his own. I'm just trying to offer why Toy Story is much more my cup of tea than the sequel. Lots of good jokes in the sequel, btw. But I happen to also find the original twice as funny.

[Alex]

And I should be clear that complaining about Toy Story is a relative thing. It is a fine movie. By no means am I saying it is a dog. It's just that over time it slides down the Pixar totem poll.

[Moonliner]

And the 3D aspect? Did it make any real difference for you?

So far I've been underwhelmed by the technology. Bolt in 3D was a fun movie but I really don't think the 3D was anything more than a distraction.

[Gemini Cricket]

I must admit that I don't own the two Toy Story movies on DVD because I don't think they're all that repeatable. I liked TS2 more than TS mostly because of the nostalgia of Woody's TV show and I really liked the Jessie character. I'll be checking out the third movie just to see the animation more than anything else.

But sometimes I do wonder if people say they like certain sequels better than the first film because the reviews and the promotions for the movie say so. I kinda felt that way when reviews kept saying that Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was better than Lord of the Rings: Fellowship. I love Fellowship ten times more than the other two.

[innerSpaceman]

So did I. But it's not because the 2nd and 3rd acts were sequels - at least not in the traditional sense. All 3 films were lensed at the same time. The last two films sucked, however, like sequels often do. They were edited after the first film was released, and I happen to think a re-editing more along the lines of Tolkien's original structure would be much better. So perhaps they were sequels in all respects that matter for suckitude insofar as any story constructions decisions were made.


I have no real knowledge, but I rather think the story construction was decided far in advance. Sometimes sequelitis is just in the cards, whether subsequent movies are true sequels or not.



As for the 3-D in Toy Stories ... meh. It was neither a detraction nor an amazement. Like with UP, it worked really well in a couple of sequences, and was worthless in most others. It's a gimmick I don't really like. (Though I remember being pleased with Nightmare Before Christmas's 3-D treatment a few years back).


According to mousepod, John Lasseter announced at D23 that TS 3-D was a gimmick to give kids a chance to see Toy Stories in theaters, now that the home theater phenomenon has obliterated Disney's old-school 7-year re-release pattern which allowed each new generation of children to experience the films in theaters as was intended by the filmmakers.

To the extent the gimmick worked to get some kids in the seats for the 2-week run of Toy Stories, I give kudos for that. (Though there were some notorious kids decidedly NOT in their seats during last night's screenings. mousepod chastized the parentsfor letting their kids run all over the theater, and so the family left the auditorium mid-TS2, heheh.)

[€uroMeinke]

Tour Guide Barbie - that's why TS2 rocks

[Gemini Cricket]

I saw Barbarian Princess tonight at the Hawai'i Theatre presented by the Hawaii Film Festival. It tells the story of Princess Kai'ulani who is played by Q'orianka Kilcher. It's not a perfect film but I liked it. It's slow in places but it was nice to see a period piece about America's colonization of Hawai'i. You could pretty much tell right off that it wasn't made by American filmmakers, the U.S. is not portrayed in a very positive light. The cinematography is stellar in places. I'm not sure that it will get a very wide release from here. But if you get a chance to see it, rent it, it's worth a gander. The director (Marc Forby) and Kilcher were there at the screening with the local actors who played roles in the film. The Q&A session afterward was interesting. Most discussed was the title (which I wasn't fond of at first but after seeing the film, I get it) and the controversy it's been causing here in the islands.

[bewitched]

Has anyone seen Where the Wild Things Are? It got really good reviews but now I've been reading that a lot of people seem disappointed in it (story:cnn). I understand that Spike Jonze intended it (w/Sendak's approval) to be more of a story about being a kid than a story for kids-- I wonder if people not knowing/understanding this is a reason for their dissatisfaction (expectations not meeting up with reality).

Of course there were also people interviewed like the guy who was upset because his 20 month old lost interest and his 4 year old got distracted and didn't get it. DUH, dude. A 20 month old and a 4 year old are not likely to sit still for the entirety of any movie.

If you saw it,what did you think? Is it good or do these people have a point?