Reviews

I didn't do my research. Had I come to IMDb before seeing Wall-E, I would have known that we would be seeing Presto. It's a great Looney Tunes style short that pits a rabbit against his magician, all for a carrot. It actually had me laughing. Not just chuckling, but laughing and since you can't see the original Looney Tunes I used to love, it was a refreshing change to have a short cartoon do that for me. I'd almost forgotten what it was like. The animation is much better than the old favourites, but not quite as detailed as something like Shrek or even Wall-E itself. They keep it simple and light on its feet. Works perfectly in my opinion. I would gladly sit through Presto again if I went to see Wall-E a second time.

This movie could have been better. Cast is great, and that is usually a bit of a warning for me. Anything with a cast this deep, might be trying to compensate for something. After all, not every movie can be The Departed, right? That said, the story in this is interesting. Presidential assassination viewed from 8 very different "vantage points". Get it? Really cool idea that gets a little tiring after you watch the same sequence of events half a dozen times. Once or twice, maybe even three times would have been acceptable, but after so many rewinds, you start to wonder if the movie is really going anywhere. Granted, you do get another little tidbit of the story with each "rewind", but it's like a bully dangling your lunch money just out of your reach and only dropping nickel every so often. Not sure what they could have done differently. I know they were probably trying to do something new and fresh to separate it from the rest of the kill-the-president action-suspense dramas out there. Perhaps doing a couple of rewinds, and then a split screen or something. Could have been a 7 in my book, but I actually turned to my husband and asked, "how many times do we have to watch the same thing?" That loses a point, and makes it a 6. Glad I rented it, wouldn't have been happy if I paid to see it in a theater though. Good story, neat idea, they just took it a little too far.

Like you didn't know WALL-E was going to be adorable. Pixar has taken a simple idea and built on it. As one crew member put it, "what would happen if everyone left Earth and forgot to turn off the last robot?" It's cute, it's fun. It also has some messages to it that you start to realize as it goes on. Consumption, lack of interaction, the importance of social bonding and interaction, environmental issues, etc. If you want to, you can read so much more into this movie. If you don't want to, you can sit back and enjoy a nice little family film. The animation is great. The team at Pixar has done a great job with the nuances of Wall-E's character. For those of you that know your personality quizzes, he's probably a Beaver. Hard-working, curious, organized, cautious. I was torn between a 7 and an 8 on this one. Why would I bust it down to a 7? Because it works off the same old story of lonely guy meeting hot chick and trying to win her love. Combine that with a rehash of love-the-robot Short Circuit-style and it could have been a mediocre to really bad movie. But Wall-E sells it. He raises the bar to an 8. You root for him. They've made him very likable and I'm gullible, so it works on me. The simple comic relief inside this cautionary tale keeps you chuckling at the very least. In fact, he's the only likable character in the movie. The reason I can't give it higher than an 8 is that they seem to have sunk all their energy into creating Wall-E. They didn't do anything to further develop supporting characters. There are other robots and people, but they don't cut it. If a robot can have depth, Wall-E has it. The rest are just cardboard cutouts.

Don't get me wrong, I love the action sequences in this movie. It's not realistic, but let's face it, it's Mission: Impossible. The story is a little weak, but just enough is there to keep it flowing. The only thing I wasn't keen on was looking at Tom Cruise for that long, but only because the media is just so saturated with him right now. He doesn't do a bad job, but he doesn't stretch himself either. Regardless of that, he's got GREAT hair in this movie. Ving Rhames is some decent comic relief, but they could have easily kicked his role up a notch and kept it light and fun. For me, it was kind of predictable. They tried to throw in a twist, but if you know M:I, you'll see it coming about one third to half way through the film. Again, even the twist is typical. If you're looking for a good big screen distraction with high budget action sequences, it's worth the look. If you're looking for an intelligent, "make you think" thriller/action...this might not be it for you.

Goblet of Fire is of course, well done and beautifully shot. Not having read any of the Potter series, I wasn't disappointed in the movie at all. From what I have heard, many underlying plots and characters may have been skipped to streamline the movie and keep its focus, so the readers might be disappointed, I don't know. "Fire" is darker than the rest of the movies. Seemed to lack some of the humor that gave the previous films some levity. Great storyline, fabulous effects. LONG though. It's about 2.5 hours long, so make time for it. It's worth it to watch and goes quickly. Throughly enjoyed it, but not my favorite of the bunch so far.

Although it is now fairly dated, The Changeling is a one of the long lost ghost stories. It's special and endearing quality to those that love true horror stories is the lack of blood, nudity and with a few exceptions, profanity. If you are looking for a scary movie and not a gory or disgusting movie, The Changeling is it. From the first night in a new house, starting a new life after troubling accident, a composer finds that not all is right with the house he sleeps in. Rented through the historical society, he soon finds that there are secrets in the house and someone or something is trying to tell him a story. Whether your kids are having a slumber party or you're just in the mood for a fright, The Changeling will give you a jump or two. When it's done with that, you have a mystery to solve. It's not an easy title to find, but if you do, grab it. You won't be sorry.