WallE Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Steve Carr To Direct 'Short Circuit' Remake
Filed under: Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Scripts », Family Films », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels »
When I first began writing at Cinematical, I was certain I would remember every single news story that I had written, and would be able to call up every single project at a moment's notice. I think that ability lasted six months. So when there's news about the Short Circuit remake, I have to shake my brain a bit to remember that it's actually a real thing. If I feel that way, you probably do too, and will feel a similar jolt when you hear that Short Circuit: The Remake* has a director. Yes, it's being remade, and they consider Wall*E to be its promotional reel. Now Variety reports that it can boast Steve Carr as its director.Carr is perhaps best known for bringing the world Paul Blart: Mall Cop, a film that shook the winter cinema for weeks and weeks on end. Now he'll be directing the "subversive" Short Circuit that was penned by Dan Milano. At last, Variety tells just what Dimension Films considers to be a radical script: "Built by the military to be a highly sophisticated weapon, Johnny 5 develops a conscience and personality after being hit by lightning. He befriends a lonely boy and his fractured family."
So, in other words, it's the plot of just about every lost puppy / cat / alien movie ever made between 1980 and today. Even worse, it sounds suspiciously like it borrowed all its shocking new element (a lonely boy) from The Iron Giant or even T2: Judgement Day. Perhaps every film that came before this remake was its promotional reel. It's all been leading up to this one, folks.
*Not its official title by any means. It's my own.
Watch Out, Filmmakers! The End of the World is Scary!
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Newsstand », Fan Rant »
Hey, have you ever thought why movies destroy Planet Earth so often? Lisa Kennedy of The Denver Post did, and not only could she not understand why, but she concluded that doing so was very unethical because it's scary. If you can't help but relish or understand the War Against the Machines, she begs you to at least think of the children: "Even films pitched to the kids aren't safe. A lavish action sequence in the enjoyable 3-D spectacle Monsters vs. Aliens gleefully wrecks the Golden Gate Bridge. As beloved as it is by critics, the opening scenes in WALL-E of an uninhabitable metropolis suggest filmmakers don't think hard enough about the impact visions of apocalyptic or post-cataclysmic landscapes might have on developing imaginations. Too often, they're feeding the pleasures of their own inner kid or teen."
You know, call me crazy but I think Andrew Stanton actually really thought about that opening sequence. I believe he may have had a specific meaning in mind, something along the lines of "if you keep throwing away stuff, you'll eventually run out of room." I even think he handled it relatively gently by introducing a dancing robot. No? He was all about flaunting his CGI skills? My bad. Sorry kids, here's a new toy to numb your emotional trauma. Throw it away when you're bored. No, trash doesn't pile up -- it turns into rainbows!
I'll freely admit that disaster movies can make annihilation pretty damn insipid, but complaining that Watchmen or WALL-E is irresponsible for showing devastation not only misses the point, but suggests someone is determined to live in a fluffy delusion where landfills don't even exist (let alone fill up!) and nuclear weapons shower us with lollipops instead of radiation poisoning.
You know, call me crazy but I think Andrew Stanton actually really thought about that opening sequence. I believe he may have had a specific meaning in mind, something along the lines of "if you keep throwing away stuff, you'll eventually run out of room." I even think he handled it relatively gently by introducing a dancing robot. No? He was all about flaunting his CGI skills? My bad. Sorry kids, here's a new toy to numb your emotional trauma. Throw it away when you're bored. No, trash doesn't pile up -- it turns into rainbows!
I'll freely admit that disaster movies can make annihilation pretty damn insipid, but complaining that Watchmen or WALL-E is irresponsible for showing devastation not only misses the point, but suggests someone is determined to live in a fluffy delusion where landfills don't even exist (let alone fill up!) and nuclear weapons shower us with lollipops instead of radiation poisoning.
Surprise! The People Chose 'The Dark Knight'
Filed under: Awards »
It's not really a surprise, but our beloved The Dark Knight has grabbed the top honor at the 35th People's Choice Awards. If there was any award the film was sure to get, that's the one I'd pick. Aside from Favorite Movie, the film also scored a win in the Favorite Action Movie category, and an acting nod for Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. That's right -- one prize, Favorite On-Screen Match-Up. (Chemistry, baby!) Plus, a win for Favorite Cast and one more for Bale as Favorite Superhero -- sorry Tony Stark.With all the love and press, however, the Dark Knight wasn't able to sweep the ground out from under Will Smith, who picked up both Favorite Male movie Star and Favorite Male Action Star. And outside the realm of irresistible geek fare, Wall-E nabbed Favorite Family Movie, The Secret Life of Bees scored Favorite Movie Drama and Independent Movie (over Zachary? I think not.), and, egads, 27 Dresses won the prize for Favorite Movie Comedy. Really, people? Over Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and the other great comedies last year? Geez.
Wrapping up the Favorite wins: Favorite Leading Man went to Brad Pitt, Funny Male Star went to Adam Sandler (did we go back to the '90s?), Female Movie Star went to Reese Witherspoon, Leading Lady went to Kate Hudson (again, what year are we in?), Female Action Star went to Angelina Jolie, Funny Female Star went to Tina Fey, and Favorite Song -- Meryl Streep and "Mamma Mia."
Cinematical readers, you're "People," so I ask: Are these your choices?
Discuss: Which DVDs Are On Your Christmas List?
Filed under: Fandom », Home Entertainment »
Movie fanatics are a tough bunch to shop for because we own everything. The moment it goes on sale, it's in our hot little hands, leaving our families and friends high and dry when it comes to DVDs and box sets. How many people will try to buy you The Dark Knight this Christmas? (Thank goodness for store credit and gift receipts.)Still, with budgets being tightened all across the country, there's probably a lot of you that have put The Dark Knight on your Christmas list to be purchased by those generous people in your circle. Or maybe there's some movies such as Tropic Thunder or Wall-E that you caught as a rental, and are now desperate to own.
Of course, we aren't all about the new and shiny here. With the format war being decided in favor of Blu-ray, older movies are being reissued every day. Plus, there are always box sets and anthologies making us drool -- the Ultimate Collector's Casablanca or that ridiculously huge Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition. (It seems the height of arrogance that I Am Legend has a similar release this year, doesn't it?)
So, why not share the DVD you hope to find under your tree this Christmas? While you're at it, why not tell us which DVD releases you think were the best of the year? The Tropic Thunder DVD was a universal favorite here at Cinematical, but The Dark Knight's bare bones release left us disappointed. Enough responses, and we'll put together a poll to decide the question once and for all.
Pixar Honors the Girl Who Cried at the 'WALL-E' Teaser
Filed under: Animation », New Releases », Disney », Fandom »
This one's a little heartwarming, folks, especially if you're predisposed (as I am) to admiring pretty much everything about the Pixar company. Last fall, a young woman named Courtney saw the WALL-E teaser -- the one where Andrew Stanton talks about the meeting in 1994 where the story was first conceived -- and was reduced to a puddle of tears by its adorableness. Seems she has a soft spot for robots, and in particular for lonely, child-like, wide-eyed robots. So she videoed herself watching the trailer on her computer, knowing it would have the same effect on her again, and then she posted the video on her blog and on YouTube. (We've got it here after the jump.)
The video made its way around the Internets, as these things do, and Courtney began to get e-mails from people within the Pixar family who had seen it and appreciated her enthusiasm. Then one of the film's producers sent her a Pixar jacket as a Christmas gift, along with a note thanking her for the video.
And then they invited her to the film's wrap party in San Francisco.
Discuss: Do Politics Belong in Kids Movies?
Filed under: Animation », New Releases », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy », Scripts », Newsstand », Politics »
A couple of people have been griping about Wall-E director Andrew Stanton's refusal to admit that his cute little movie about a robot in love actually contains some pretty upfront green politics, but there's a far more polarizing reference in the film than its harmless pro-environment agenda. It's no major plot spoiler to reveal that, about an hour or so into the story, Fred Willard appears in a recorded message as the mysterious president of Earth's corporate government and orders the ship's captain (Jeff Garlin) to "stay the course." Wait, we've heard this one before: It was the go-to statement used by the Bush administration for about three years or so when describing its modus operandi in Iraq (the term was abandoned when staying the course started to sound like a bad idea). In Wall-E, the context is quite different -- it's an order to not do something, rather than take action -- but hard to ignore nonetheless.
Certain critics with (surprise!) conservative slants have taken issue with this. At Dirty Harry's Place, John Nolte expresses his disappointment in the first paragraph of his review: "Have we lost the wonderful studio who brought us The Incredibles and Ratatouille to Bush Derangement Syndrome?" he asks. New York Post critic Kyle Smith picked up the rant and decided to write his own, even though he hadn't seen the film yet: "This kind of crack, lame as it is, also breaks the spell of the movie by hurling you out of the theater and back into reality."
Review: WALL·E
Filed under: Animation », New Releases », Disney », Theatrical Reviews », New in Theaters », Family Films »
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It's hundreds of years from now, practically no life (save for a cockroach) remains on the giant garbage dump that's become Earth, and, funnily enough, the only remaining sign of humanity can be found inside the planet's last functional robot: a trash collector (and compactor) named WALL·E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class). It's been roughly 700 years since humans last populated Earth, and in that time WALL·E has wasted away doing what he was originally programmed for: collect, compact and pile trash so that it's out of the way.
However, over the years WALL·E has managed to develop a bit of OCD, collecting certain items and methodically storing them in the large metal container he calls home. One day, while out searching for more trash (and knickknacks), a spaceship arrives to drop off another robot -- one whose mission it is to scour the area and search for life. And it's a girl ... named EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator).
Thus begins what is perhaps Pixar's most romantic film yet -- a beautiful sci-fi tale complete with all the feel-good vibes and fantastic, cutting-edge visuals we've come to expect from a film wearing the Pixar name. Despite a few small bumps in the galaxy, WALL·E can easily claim a spot up top on a list featuring the best films of the year so far, and it will surely go down as one of Pixar's most memorable -- because it's also one of their most personal.
'Wall*E' Goes Hardcore in Final Trailer
Filed under: Animation », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Disney », Family Films », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
Wall·E clips have been hitting the Internet about every two seconds in the past two weeks. I haven't watched a single one of them, because I don't want to see a second more of this movie until the lights go down in the theatre. But I couldn't resist watching, and posting, this new trailer from IGN. If you do not want to see even five seconds of new footage, avoid it, but it doesn't feel too spoiler-ish of a trailer. Instead, it is a wicked spoof of every post-apocalyptic trailer made in the last ten years, but it casts our cute robots as action heroes. Or at least Eve is -- that is one tough girl! There is a bit of "Princess Leia on the Death Star" about her.
I'm not sure if this movie is actually as explosion packed as the trailer implies, or if it is just edited really well. Clearly, someone at Pixar is having way too much fun.
Wall*E opens June 27th.
I'm not sure if this movie is actually as explosion packed as the trailer implies, or if it is just edited really well. Clearly, someone at Pixar is having way too much fun.
Wall*E opens June 27th.
My Dreams Have Been Realized -- A Real Wall-E!
Filed under: Animation », Disney », Fandom », Family Films », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
This is just too cool not to share with you all, and I hope you pardon my indulgence. I know I should look at this cynically as yet another piece of ridiculous movie marketing, but I don't want to. My grasp on reality is officially slipping (or I've regressed into a five-year-old), because my cynicism has melted, and I am now convinced Wall-E exists. There is video proof. He is real.
My life will be forever incomplete because I want one for my very own. I want him to wheel around my house and chirp at me. Thanks, Disney/Pixar -- I will never be happy again. (It does make you wonder what happens to things like this. Seriously, Disney, if you need a home for one, call me. I will treasure him forever.)
Wall·E opens June 27th.
Wall·E opens June 27th.
[via Slashfilm]
Wall E Meets a Hula Hoop
Filed under: Animation », Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Disney », Family Films », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
by DrMalo
Maybe you're completely sick of all things Wall·E, but I'm not. He's like candy, only without the bad side effects. Every video clip that comes across the Internet, I watch it. And post it. I like that they are just bits of character work and giving nothing away.
I think this one is better than the magnet one posted last week, if only for the blissful shot of Wall·E wheeling away in the hula hoop, whistling like Artoo the whole time.
[via Empire]
I think this one is better than the magnet one posted last week, if only for the blissful shot of Wall·E wheeling away in the hula hoop, whistling like Artoo the whole time.
[via Empire]
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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