Cars 2

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Post by Dusterian » June 22nd, 2011, 10:24 am

No, I meant why are critics praising what Cars is now, when Pixar was still seen as infallible back when the first Cars came out, but critics critiized it then anyway.

And Ben...you say "move on" a lot...and not just to me...I don't want to be rude at all but it makes me feel uncomfortable...it feels controlling. I think you should only say that when people are in serious dilemmas like they're fighting.
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Post by Ben » June 22nd, 2011, 4:14 pm

It's not just me (Rand's been doing a bit of that lately too), but okay, point taken. Now let's move on...

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Post by estefan » June 22nd, 2011, 4:58 pm

I guess we can throw the "critics are biased towards Pixar" card out of the window. For the first time in history, one of their features is at a Rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And I don't see it getting up to fresh at this point.

I honestly never thought this day would open, but I guess it looks their streak is done. I think their Oscar chances are shot, too, because I don't see Cars 2 getting nominated this year.

I will still see it this Friday, though, so as to form my own opinion. But, needless to say, the reaction is extremely, extremely below what would one would expect for the lamp.

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Post by Dusterian » June 22nd, 2011, 7:04 pm

...


"Ding-Dong..."
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Post by Dacey » June 22nd, 2011, 10:52 pm

Is the witch dead?
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift--that is why it's called the present."

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Post by GeorgeC » June 23rd, 2011, 12:25 am

The film will probably do okay but let's be honest...

... Cars was NEVER Pixar's strongest story-based film and I say that as someone who admits he likes Larry the Cable Guy! (Not that I watch him in anything but comedy specials... His movies stink!)

Cars is the thinnest-plotted Pixar feature but that didn't stop it from being a hit. There's a certain amount of built-in audience love with Pixar (for the time being -- they'll eventually have their huge bomb like every other studio has) and you can't deny that the fact the film is about anthromorphic vehicles appeals to a broad audience in the US.

Hello? NASCAR, anyone? By far the biggest sporting event in the US? And even if you DON'T care for NASCAR, the country's population is full of auto-loving fiends. Most of us LOVE moving machines of one kind or another and this film is NOTHING but anthromorphic vehicles!

I'm of a mind that it really doesn't matter much what Rotten Tomatoes says about films. I think word-of-mouth from other moviegoers and friends is still a much bigger influence on people than what a bunch of "professional" critics think. ( <=== Saying the "p" word in conjunction with "critics" makes me want to vomit, honestly.... Not a huge fan of most of those guys... Recent events involving one tweeting critic reinforce my old thoughts about that dirtbag.)

The freshmeter might be an interesting graphic to look at but ultimately it's whether there really are interesting characters and situations behind sparkly, shiny trailers that drives people to theaters. Especially in a bad economy!

Still not convinced it's worth the extra $3-$5 for 3D, though.

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Re: Re:

Post by EricJ » June 23rd, 2011, 12:44 am

Ben wrote:Dusty...I'm pleased we have reached this benchmark in your life. Let's move on now, shall we...? ;).
Dusterian wrote:And Ben...you say "move on" a lot...and not just to me...I don't want to be rude at all but it makes me feel uncomfortable...it feels controlling. I think you should only say that when people are in serious dilemmas like they're fighting.
Ben wrote:It's not just me (Rand's been doing a bit of that lately too), but okay, point taken. Now let's mo--
--Ah-ah! Twelve-step! :x
EricJ wrote:(Still, I can just see the wishful media dogpiling when it doesn't get pushed for a Picture Oscar this year: "The Curse of Cars", 'The String is Over?", etc....It's an urban-myth wish that's got Teflon. :roll: )
estefan wrote:I honestly never thought this day would open, but I guess it looks their streak is done. I think their Oscar chances are shot, too, because I don't see Cars 2 getting nominated this year.
(Wow, and it hasn't even opened for another day or two...Can I call 'em or what? :P )

Personally, I liked Nemo even less than Cars1, and I'll say what I said then--Pixar's "worst" movie is still better than some other studios will ever make. They just set their own bar too high, and let all the snipey folks do the wishing. (Every time we cry "Pixar is dead!", Dreamworks comes along, makes another Will Ferrell or Ben Stiller comedy, and shows us what a truly "dead" CGI movie looks like. Think they actually do a public service that way.)
It looks worth a rent, although I'll concede that spy comedies have some pretty low-valued currency.

Frankly, Pixar would have to go all the way into Hideously Wrong territory and make Mars Needs Moms to have their death-sentence officially declared, and Lasseter just instinctively does not know how to do a Wrong story...Mediocre, perhaps, on their worst day (mostly from being too close to the material, or thinking that JarJar-Mater is a lot more popular than he really is), but mediocre doesn't kill careers. No matter what the crowd cheering the tumbrel cart hopes for.

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Post by Bill1978 » June 23rd, 2011, 7:59 am

Once again, I'll preface my statement by saying Cars is my least favourite of the Pixar movies.

Nothing I have seen so far with Cars 2 has me excited at all. In fact, everything I have seen re-affirms my opinion that Cars is Pixar's Dreamworks movie. The way the original Cars used songs reminded me of Dreamworks and the time they spend in the racing world reminds me of Dreamworks obsession with silly sight gags and hip references. The trailers for Cars 2 looks like a Dreamworks movie - dazzle them with bright lights, and lame [insert animated character] related spoofs to distract from a flim's skeletal script.

I am hoping that when I watch the movie my opinion changes but I don't think so (please let me be wrong). It seems this movie focuses too much on what I disliked and regularly don't pay full attention to when watching the original Cars. The race world and the need to car-ify everything.

The original Cars aired last weekend on TV. My housemate sat down to watch it with her son. It really reminded me that the part of the movie I love is the moment that Lightning gets to Radiator Springs. The movie comes alive then and then dies when he leaves. I fear that the sequel will lack anything that will resemble that storyline.

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Post by Ben » June 23rd, 2011, 9:28 am

I'm personally surprised that the critics haven't been friendlier to Cars 2 because of the Pixar love. I thought they'd get a slim pass on goodwill and a "hey, everyone's got to have some fun" kind of take.

But on the other hand, I think it's cool that the critic are being honest and NOT going that route. Just shows that Pixar's past films have been worthy of those good notices because they really are good movies.

I still reckon Cars 2 - in 3D or not - is going to do big business, which will take the critical sting off Pixar's dented fender. "While not a critical hit, Cars 2 went on to make $4b worldwide..." kind of thing. With the entertainment level set high on this one, I think it's going to open very strongly even if the word of mouth drops it in week two or three.

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Post by Ben » June 23rd, 2011, 6:56 pm

News just in: the first four minutes (AKA "Circle Of Life") of The Lion King's 3D conversion will be playing with Cars 2 in theaters. Not sure what that means for the Toy Story short, but I expect we'll get both.

Interesting that they should go this route, but I guess people are intrigued to see how the "rounded 3D" of this and Beauty And The Beast actually looks.

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Re:

Post by estefan » June 23rd, 2011, 8:17 pm

From what I've read, the 3D prints will include the Lion King opening, the Brave teaser and the Toy Story short. I expect the 2D prints will eliminate the Lion King opening and maybe put the Muppets trailer in its place.

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Re:

Post by Dusterian » June 23rd, 2011, 11:33 pm

Dusterian wrote:"Ding-Dong..."
Dacey wrote:Is the witch dead?
Well, I hope their streak and "perfect image" is!

And then hopefully the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will finally see along with the rest of the mainstreamers finally seeing. Heck, along with everyone finally seeing.
Ben wrote:Just shows that Pixar's past films have been worthy of those good notices because they really are good movies.
Well, I would say for the most part, yes, but not completely.
Last edited by Dusterian on June 24th, 2011, 11:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Cars 2

Post by Dacey » June 24th, 2011, 1:13 am

Personally, I'd take most--if not all--of those negative reviews with a grain of salt.

Quite frankly, this feels like people satisfying the need to see Pixar "fail," for critics to give themselves a pat on the back for not loving the latest movie from the Lamp House. I'd buy it if maybe one or two them were negative, but the fact that some critics are going as far as to give this movie one star speaks volumes, especially since the positive reviews seem to be more rational with their opinions.

Not every Pixar movie needs to be seen as a masterpiece. If "Cars 2" is nothing more than fun summer entertainment, then I'm perfectly content with that. I know this may sound crazy to some...but it just sounds impossible to me to imagine Pixar releasing a "bad" movie, even one as obviously commercial as this one is.
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Re: Cars 2

Post by EricJ » June 24th, 2011, 6:25 am

Dacey wrote:Quite frankly, this feels like people satisfying the need to see Pixar "fail,"
And just as frankly, where does the need come from?

Over on the Animation Guild board, it was a bit of a laughingstock, since it was coming every post from disgruntled animators who thought Lasseter worked them too hard, and wished Iger would kick him out so they could work for somebody "nicer" like Katzenberg...And of course, somewhere Jim Hill is still waiting to avenge the $7.4 BILLION! (as he would neurotically remind us of the number three or four times per article, usually with the capitals).
But that's them--Why do we have audiences and critics wishing that yay, Pixar finally had a flop just like every other studio? They're human, they're capable of failed goals; we live in a safer world where mediocrity is still inevitable in human endeavors, and we're still more superior than our pop-culture!

It can't JUST be "Who do they think they are?" or "Waiting for the law of averages to drop the other shoe"--Or even stubbornness about "B-but, we said it happened with Incredibles and Cars 1, why didn't they lay down and die like we SAID they would??"
There's something genuinely psychological going on, and it doesn't just have to do with the movies.

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Post by estefan » June 24th, 2011, 4:59 pm

I just got back from seeing Cars 2 and you know what? I liked it. It's my least favourite Pixar film, but only because there isn't quite the emotion and character development we usually expect from them and the message is pretty much hammered in. But I thought the secret agent storyline was well-done, the racing sequences were exciting, I liked the Mater character, I laughed a good number of times and at no point was I bored with it. The universe still doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but that was a problem I had with the first Cars as well.

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