Wanted Wall-E

Wow,

So, I guess I'm off to a pretty slow start. Let's check on the progress:

- Create a blog in October, check.

- Spend 3 months planning on writing blogs, but not doing it, check.

- Then spend 6 more months completely ignoring any intent whatsoever to write, check.

Okay, well now that the schedule has been completed let's get blogging.

The Summer Movie season is in full swing - and has been for some time. We've seen the releases of many highly anticipated films, some awful (You Don't Mess with the Zohan, The Happening, The Love Guru), some awesome (Iron Man, Get Smart, The Incredible Hulk), and some that were "awww too bad" (Indy4, Prince Caspian, Kung Fu Panda). This week's offering to the film gods, however, belongs in the "I want to see it again" category.

Wall-E is the story of a small robot programmed to clean up the Earth after humanity has left it behind filled with trash. Unfortunately, he is also the last gleaming bit of life on the planet. One day he chances to meet EVE who has been sent to look for signs of sustainable life on Earth and Wall-E is whisked away into a grand outer-space adventure.

This is Pixar's 9th feature film. In it, they continue to show that they are innovative artists, creative story-tellers, and above all else - risk-takers. The plot isn't necessarily new, but the story is fun, light-hearted, and enchanting. Despite Wall-E's lack of skin and bones, his humanity is entirely relatable. The animation is, as usual, crisp and engaging. Also, the animators take a great risk in bringing together live-action and CG animation, and they pull it off in a wonderful way. I can't tell you how much I loved the soundtrack. And the message being presented comes across clear, but it does not feel as though the writer's are shoving it down your throat.

With a single grind of his gears, Wall-E will make you laugh, cry, and fall in love. I highly recommend this movie to everyone.

The other wide release this week was "Wanted." This action-thriller stars Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, and James McAvoy as highly-trained assassins who are trying to save the world one bad-guy at a time. This extremely predicable, not-so-high-energy movie misses the mark by a wide margin. The performances were flawed and uninteresting. The writing was flat and the direction left a lot to be desired. I wouldn't recommend the movie to most. Even if you want mind-less violence, there are better places to get it.

Until next time!