In Contention

Tag: WALL-E

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Visual Effects — Volume One

    Tech Support at In ContentionWhile cinematographers and film music composers may sometimes find themselves featured in the media more than many of their crafts artist colleagues, the one “tech” discipline awarded by the Academy that often brings people into the movie theaters on its own is visual effects.

    The category is whittled down to three nominees after the year’s content is narrowed to a list of seven “bake-off” contenders. The bake-off finalists consistently give insight into the branch’s thinking even if missing a prediction after their announcement isn’t unheard of. The makeup branch has a similar system.

    An expensive art form, which often involves hundreds of crew members working behind the scenes, the visual effects arena seems to be finding new ways to “wow” audiences every year. The Academy’s branch has tended in recent years to reward computer-generated imagery (CGI) as opposed to classic practical effects actually captured on camera. This category is also usually the home of blockbusters and moneymakers. “The Golden Compass,” last year’s surprising winner, was a very rare nominee considering its disappointing box office. For it to win was even rarer.

    I suspect that Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man” is leading the way this year. Immensely critically respected and with fantastic box office to back it up, I’d be quite surprised and taken aback if it failed to get a nomination here. The creation of the title character alone put it in contention. This is not to mention Jeff Bridges’s transformation and the war zone explosions.

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  • THE LISTS: Top 10 movie-related costumes for 2008

    Paramount Pictures' CloverfieldIt’s that time of year.  Candy fills the aisles of grocery stores, retail outlets are reaching that awkward phase when Halloween decorations lie next to Christmas items (they unleash them earlier and earlier each year) and, if you’re lucky to be some place where they actually have seasons, leaves are decorating the ground.

    It’s also that time when Halloween stores move into every vacated department store on the block with their latest array of timely Oscar costumes based on your favorite movies from the last 10 months.  There are the holdovers from years past, of course.  Captain Jack Sparrow here, Superman there.  And let’s not forget the ever-popular rubber Presidential likenesses.  So what can we expect?

    There will be plenty of “Dark Knight”-themed wear, each item more embarrassingly realized than the next.  Iron Man will be popular with a lot of the tiny youngsters, as older kids might feel strange in a plastic faux-metallic robot get-up.  They’ll stick with Napoleon Dynamite or another year of Borat before they subject themselves to that.

    Whatever the costume, one thing is always pretty much guaranteed: the costumes are gonna suck.  These things are mass-produced and don’t fly off the conveyor belt fast enough.  Creativity is lacking, it’s all a painful mess.  The only answer is good ole’ fashioned ingenuity…and we’re here to help.

    Below you’ll find our list of the top 10 movie-related costumes of 2008, with an eye toward some brand of originality throughout (though the unavoidability of obvious picks creeps in here and there).  Herewith is our guide to a memorable Halloween season:

    Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler10. Randy “The Ram” Johnson
    For all the little tikes who worship (or worshiped) the ground Michael Hayes, Dallas Page, Shawn Michaels and the Ultimate Warrior walked on, don your best set of tights and break out the fake blood for a tour around the neighborhood as the lead character in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler.”  For added “umph,” bring along a female friend, scantily clad as stripper/love interest Cassidy, or get some other kids to go in with you as nemesis wrestlers.  Accessories that’ll sell it: metal chair for out-of-the-ring clobberin’, entrance music accompanying you from house to house (maybe bring a boombox for the occasion).

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  • 10/3 Oscarweb Round-up

    WALL-E• A clip from “Changeling.” [Oscar Watch]

    • And another. [The Envelope]

    • Or, if you prefer, the first five minutes of “Blindness.” [Yahoo! Movies]

    • David Poland breaks the news that “Che” will get its U.S. debut at AFI Fest here in Los Angeles — at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. [The Hot Blog]

    • Tom O’Neil makes it clear that “Elegy” screeners only went to the AMPAS acting branch. [Gold Derby]

    • Rounding up the 50 greatest animated films of all time.  Further into the tank for “WALL-E.” [Rotten Tomatoes]

    • Famous cameos.  I heart the first one on the list. [The Independent]

    • David Thompson chats it up with “Burn After Reading” star Tilda Swinton. [The Guardian]

    • Has Dirty Harry become anti-cop? [The Big Picture]

    • Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen continue to make the rounds on “Appaloosa.” [USA Today]

    • Emily Parker goes head-to-head with a thoughtful Fernando Meirelles. [Wall Street Journal]

    • Glenn Kenny doesn’t care about what you don’t care about. [Some Came Running]

    • The Big Apple’s finest thespians. [New York Magazine]

  • Best Original Screenplay: beyond the obvious

    Everyone has a favourite Oscar category, and Best Original Screenplay is mine. It’s partly because I’m a screenwriter myself, so I feel a little more invested in the outcome. My evaluation of the category often comes down to the question: “Which screenplay do I most wish I’d written first?”

    More importantly, however, it’s the category where the Academy takes its greatest artistic risks. With the Best Picture category generally weighted towards adaptations, they often use Best Original Screenplay as a way to acknowledge the edgier, more adventurous work that voters can see the greatness of, but don’t yet have the guts to honour with their biggest prize. Hell, once in a blue moon they even give it to (gasp) a foreign-language film.

    It’s this convenient ghettoising mentality that ensures the likes of “Citizen Kane,” “The Red Balloon,” “Chinatown,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Talk to Her” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” don’t go empty-handed. Sure, it sucks that they couldn’t win more. And, being the Academy, they make more than their share of screw-ups. (Let’s try and forget that, in 1960, “Pillow Talk” beat — wait for it — “Wild Strawberries,” “North by Northwest” and “The 400 Blows,” shall we?) But they occasionally hit on an otherwise-snubbed masterpiece, and for that we should be grateful.

    This year’s Best Picture slate appears to be heavy on prestige adaptations, allowing for a more idiosyncratic ragbag of contenders on the Original Screenplay front, mixing familiar Academy-anointed favourites with some exciting new voices.

    There is, of course, a chance this could be a year when the paths of the Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay races converge, principally in the shape of “Milk” scribe Dustin Lance Black. Already high hopes for “Milk” were amplified by an excellent trailer, and a number of Oscar clairvoyants are labelling it the front-runner in the top race. If this turns out to be the case, Black will likely benefit.

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  • Breakthrough for Hawkins and Franco

    As regular readers may know, I’ve been yammering on about a Best Actress nomination for “Happy-Go-Lucky”‘s delightful Sally Hawkins since I reviewed the film back in April. So I’m pleased to see that Hawkins will receive the Breakthrough Actress award at next month’s Hollywood Film Awards.

    As I said when they named their crafts honorees earlier this month, I’m a bit mystified by these awards, which appear to honour as-yet-unseen films rather frequently. Still, it’s difficult to argue with this selection: in a crowded field of Best Actress contenders, Hawkins is the freshest face out there. It’s a good omen for her Oscar chances — last year’s honoree was Ellen Page.

    “Happy-Go-Lucky” didn’t emerge from the festival circuit with quite the amount of heat I hoped it might, but Hawkins remains a solid contender for awards consideration. As we know now, the performance has a major Marmite factor — people either love or hate Hawkins’ character — but it’s sure to stick in people’s minds.

    Elsewhere, the Breakthrough Actor award went to James Franco — another obvious choice, and a move that gives credence to the Best Supporting Actor buzz for his performance in “Milk,” something Kris just discussed.

    “Milk” scored twice with the awards, with newbie (not that you’d know it from the marketing) scripter Dustin Lance Black named Breakthrough Screenwriter. Meanwhile, “Doubt” helmer John Patrick Shanley picked up Breakthrough Director. The latter strikes me as something of a safe choice in a year that has given us stellar debuts from such talents as Martin McDonagh and Philippe Claudel, but we only have the trailer to go on.

    Finally, pointing to two Oscar inevitabilities, the Animation award will go to Andrew Stanton for “WALL-E” (well, duh), while “Iron Man” will be recognised for its visual effects.

  • TECH SUPPORT: Pre-Fall Contenders

    Tech Support at In ContentionWhile this week is rightly being most noted by awards-watchers for the Toronto International Film Festival, I’m actually going to go a bit of a different route today. I will be sure to comment on the movers and shakers of TIFF next week as the dust begins to settle, however.

    In a couple of weeks, I’ll start exploring each of the technical categories, one at a time, examining the potential contenders.  But right now, I think it’s a good time to look back on the contenders we’ve already seen.

    Many of the highest profile films of the year could garner nominations in the major categories at the Oscars. Heath Ledger’s classic turn in “The Dark Knight” seems almost certain to score recognition. (In my opinion, the film has much more potential than just Ledger, though that will depend on the reception of films we’ve yet to see.)

    Penelope Cruz’s work  in “Vicky Christina Barcelona” is bound to come into play during the awards season, with writer Woody Allen not too far behind. Films like “Frozen River” and “The Visitor” could wind up in contention for the performances of Melissa Leo and Richard Jenkins.

    Not to mention Andrew Stanton’s beautiful “WALL-E,” which may have had its “summer favorite” buzz stolen by “The Dark Knight,” but that does not take away from the prestige the Pixar name brings. (Though the minimal dialogue may prove a problem in garnering a screenplay nomination.)

    But as I noted in a column here two years ago, the pre-Fall months can be a major source of nominations in the crafts categories.

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  • Step right up…Best Original Song is there for the taking

    Steve Coogan in Hamlet 2Generally around this time of year I start to compile a list of original songs for consideration in our charts…but I have to say, I’m having a hell of a time coming up with a respectable roll call.

    What have we got so far this year?  Peter Gabriel’s “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” seems to be the best shot at the moment.  That is, of course, unless the Academy isn’t keen on the closing credits usage (as mentioned here).

    The “Sex and the City” soundtrack has quite a few original numbers, right?  (I steered clear.)  I think the Jennifer Hudson track “All Dressed Up in Love” is the smart money.

    Focus Features is going to put some effort behind “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” from “Hamlet 2.”  It could make its way through a thin field or on the goodwill of being a laugh riot alone.

    What else?  “The Call” from “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian?”  Wasn’t there an original track from “My Blueberry Nights?”

    I know for a fact that Paramount Vantage won’t have anything to push for “Defiance” or “Revolutionary Road.”  It’s probably for the best since they were (unfairly) ignored for their efforts last year on behalf of Eddie Vedder.  I’m doing some more checking, but just based on what we’ve seen this year, is there ANYTHING worth considering?

    Studios take note: here’s your chance to dive into the fray in at least one category.  Talk about a wasteland…

    Any ideas?

  • Peter Gabriel’s road to Oscar

    Peter GabrielI just spent a pleasant four minutes watching Peter Gabriel’s ground-breaking “Sledgehammer” video from 1985, which Patrick Goldstein smartly linked to recently at The Big Picture.

    It’s one of those things…I haven’t watched “Sledgehammer” since the early 90s, when MTV still had a fingertip’s grasp on relevance.  Those weekend music video countdowns were the stuff of legend when I was a kid.  Two days counting down the top 100 videos of all time?  Forget about it, I parked it in front of the tube for the duration.

    “Take on Me,” “Thriller,” “Vogue,” “Losing my Religion,” “Need You Tonight,” “You Might Think,” “Money For Nothing” and perhaps the last truly great music video of an era that crashed and burned with Hype Williams and the like, “Virtual Insanity.”  “Sledgehammer” held court in the greatest of company, always in the top five or six.

    Goldstein is responding to a recent Fred Goodman story in the New York Times regarding Gabriel’s innovative thinking, not only in the creative sector, but in the business sector.  Consider Goodman’s lede:

    When Charles Grimsdale, a British investor, started the Internet music venture OD2 in 1999, he had a hard time persuading large record companies to license their music. But when he approached the rock musician Peter Gabriel about putting his music catalog online, he got a very different response: Mr. Gabriel was not only willing, he also wanted to take a stake in the company.

    And here’s Goldstein:

    At 58, Gabriel is a graybeard by pop music standards, but he’s been incredibly far-sighted in his ability to anticipate huge changes brought about by new technology. In 1999, when record companies were still trying to protect their lucrative CD business by preventing fans from downloading music on the Internet, a British investor couldn’t persuade any record labels to license their music catalogs to his new Internet venture, called OD2. When he contacted Gabriel, the artist not only offered up his catalog of songs but promptly invested in the company itself, which later sold for $40 million.

    Gabriel is at the forefront of Oscar talk this year for his work on Pixar’s “WALL-E.”  Specifically, his closing credits tune “Down to Earth” could be in the derby for Best Original Song.

    However, the Academy has shown a tendency of shying away from tracks relegated to a film’s credit roll, opting instead for songs that work organically with their respective films, paying close attention to how they are utilyzed, not simply the merit of the tunes themselves.

    Then again, an argument could be made that the closing credits sequence of “WALL-E” carries a narrative weight that is imperative to the story.  (You can give it a listen over the “WALL-E” trailer here.)

    In any case, I wonder if the industry goodwill reflected in Goldstein and Goodman’s pieces could go a long way for Gabriel during the season.  His is a vigorous creative spirit that deserves whatever accolades might be bestowed.

    Soon enough we’ll get the Best Original Song chart up and rolling.  Still waiting on contenders to show themselves.

  • Not to ruffle feathers or anything

    Pixar\'s WALL-EI really wanted to like “WALL-E.”  I wanted to think this was the next evolution of Pixar, a new depth, a much more meaningful level.  But to be quite honest, it felt like a big step back.

    I don’t want to get into review territory here because you’ve all been there and done that in the three weeks since “WALL-E” release in the states.  I’m only yesterday able to finally give it a look, and I don’t want to come across as willfully pissing in anyone’s cornflakes, but I did want to get my perspective out there.

    I’m obviously no hater.  I have expressed my appreciation for Andrew Stanton’s talent last week, as well as his work on “Finding Nemo,” my personal favorite of the studio’s output.  I didn’t have high expectations either, because I always had a feeling the love-fest was probably somewhat out of hand (much as it is for “The Dark Knight”).  But I didn’t expect such a surface-level experience.

    I do think there is something to the accusation that the film is offensive to the obese, if only because it takes such a facile approach to the themes humans in the film are supposed to embody.  The rather easy nature of the narrative seems to reflect the virtues of the early years of Pixar (during which the project saw its genesis) more than it does the Pixar of today, which has proven a penchant for layers and texture in both story and screenplay output.

    I fully appreciate what the film is attempting to be, and especially, what it wants to say to kids and adults alike.  That alone keeps it from the muck of typicality where animated feature films are concerned.  But you grow to expect more when you’re treated to the complexity of films like “Finding Nemo” and “Ratatouille,” as well as the creativity of “Toy Story” and “Monsters, Inc.”  “WALL-E” feels shallow in comparison.

    I also think the love story is borderline nonexistent and that the film plays up that “Eve-ah?” line far too often for the “Awww” emotional impact.  The choice to use real actors for the humans of the past doesn’t seem to reach the thematic comment I assume the filmmakers were hoping for, while the canvas of the film seems to be the least visually interesting of all the Pixar endeavors — despite the participation of Roger Deakins behind the scenes.

    The things I enjoyed are the little nuances that tend to highlight and emboss the power of a Pixar film, rather than serve as a crutch to keep the narrative feeling somewhat fresh.  The “woah, woah, woah” of the cleaning robot, the retirement of WALL-E to his abode at the end of a long day, the emotive power of his expressions, etc.  And to be honest, the fire extinguisher bit is probably one of my favorite sequences of the year.  But those touches are supposed to complement a package we are to assume would be solid in their stead.

    So again, I don’t want to seem like I’m blowing a whistle or being contrarian for its own sake.  Those who know me know I don’t seek out such instances.  But “WALL-E” missed almost every mark for me on the way to becoming a very unsatisfying experience.  “Cars” perhaps inches it out for Pixar’s least accomplished effort to date, and I’m pretty sad that’s how the cookie crumbled for me.

    One guy’s opinion…

  • Loving from a distance

    Well, “WALL-E” finally lands in the UK today, and this weekend I’ll be able to evaluate it for myself at last. (But hey, at least we got “Mamma Mia!” first. Score!)

    I am always a bit nervous about approaching something that’s been praised to the skies so far in advance of my own interpretation – but today’s very interesting Guardian review gave me some pause. I’d ignore it if it were by that wily contrarian Peter Bradshaw, but Xan Brooks is a genuinely thoughtful writer whose views I value more than most:

    What a rich, strange and intriguing picture this is; a wintry Cassandra in the guise of a pearl-bright summer blockbuster. There is something giddyingly impressive in the way in which its makers have cherry-picked a crop of antique ingredients and then forged them into something new. The plot is a meld of Silent Running, Metropolis and Robinson Crusoe. At times it is possible to catch the ghost of Charlie Chaplin behind Wall-E’s silent, stoic pursuit of his social better. At others the film’s central romance plays like the Genesis story with Woody Allen and Diane Keaton cast in the roles of Adam and Eve. That narrow neck and blinking binocular specs are a dead giveaway.

    For all that, faint doubts remain. Wall-E (the character) is eminently lovable, by far the film’s most human inhabitant. And yet Wall-E (the movie) actually has more in common with EVE. It is an exquisitely rendered piece of work; beautiful, flawless, serious in its intent and hermetically sealed. You can admire it to the skies and back. You can even learn to love it from a distance. But does Andrew Stanton’s film amount to much more than a brilliant aesthetic exercise? I’m not convinced it does.

    I understand that there are more than a few people who have been intensely moved by the film, and who would therefore not identify with this perspective at all. But in an environment where Metacritic scores are bandied about as if they’re some irrefutable artistic Solomon, it’s always healthy to read an alternative individual voice. I can’t wait to find my own on this film.

  • Revisiting ‘Nemo’

    Pixar\'s Finding NemoI still haven’t made it out to see “WALL-E” since returning to the States, but today I thought I’d pop “Finding Nemo” into the player and soak up some of that old Andrew Stanton goodness in the meantime.  And it really does stand-up as the most sensational entry in Pixar’s steadily increasing portfolio.

    Back in 2003 the film landed in my top three for the year, and I’ve only given it two or three looks since.  But every time I do, the reward is considerable.  This is a sincerely affecting study, one packed with vivid and dynamic characters, the most gorgeous animation of the genre and applicable, resilient themes that work on various levels.  It fires on all cylinders.

    Not to mention, the film contains the only vocal performance I’ve personally ever deemed worthy of major awards consideration.  “When I look at you I remember.  When I look at you I’m home.  I don’t want to lose that.  I don’t want to forget.”  Absolutely beautiful.

    It also looks damn spectacular on an HDTV.  I don’t have a Blu-ray copy of the flick, but on a simple upconvert the image is crystal clear, sparkling.  Especially with the new 120Hz technology (which is dodgy with live action films).

    So with that, I’ll probably stumble into the El Capitan over the weekend and finally take in Stanton’s latest.  His is a creative mind and I’m truly happy he’s out there generating content such as this.  Few compare.

  • Variety ponders the season at the mid-way point

    We’ve already been over what a thin year it’s been so far for Oscar candidates – or good films at all, for that matter. Now Variety has come to the same conclusion. In his mid-year awards-season study, Timothy M. Gray goes so far as to say that “the past six months have offered fewer potential contenders than any January-June period in memory,” and wonders if we’re seeing a return to the days when the Oscars were dominated by winter releases from the majors.

    Indeed, Gray only finds one title from the first-half of the year that he thinks has main category potential: Overture Films’ “The Visitor,” the prospects of which I discussed extensively yesterday. I’m not sure I’d boil down an entire half-year to a sole film (“In Bruges,” anyone?), but I agree that “The Visitor” has a real campaigning advantage:

    Keep an eye on Overture’s “The Visitor”: Lead actor Richard Jenkins has rightly earned awards buzz, but the film has many other virtues (Thomas McCarthy’s script and direction, the other performances, etc.). McCarthy, a talented actor in his own right, has crafted an actors’ movie — a character study with current-event concerns — that will play well on DVD, so late-year mailings could pay off.

    (Indeed, the more I think about the film’s position in the awards derby, the more it reminds me of a certain tiny spring release from last year: “Away From Her.”

    Looking forward into the rest of 2008, Gray ends up pondering most of the same questionmarks that we all are, including the following questions:

    Will the early buzz sustain for Disney-Pixar’s “Wall-E” and WB’s “The Dark Knight” and Heath Ledger?

    What effect will the Clint Eastwood double whammy — November’s “Changeling” and the December bow of Warner Bros.-Village Roadshow’s “Gran Torino,” in which he stars as well as directs — have on kudos? Similarly, Scott Rudin, who was in the winner’s circle with “No Country,” has two December openers — but will he have a third with “The Reader,” whose opening date is not yet set?

    Benicio Del Toro won Cannes’ actor award for Steven Soderbergh’s “Che,” but will it find a U.S. distrib this year and, if so, in what form will the two-part film be released?

    And then there are … other questions. In the last few years, the song category has been dominated by tunes that were production numbers (as opposed to those end-credit or background songs). So does this bode well for Disney’s “High School Musical 3” and Focus’ “Hamlet 2”? (If the song “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” can win, there may be hope for the latter pic’s “Rock Me Sexy Jesus.”)

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  • Getting out of hand?

    I know I haven’t seen the film yet, and I know it’s IMDb users we’re talking about, but do we really think that “WALL-E” ought to be considered one of the top six films of all time?

  • Half-way there: The best and worst of the year so far

    We’ve reached the mid-way point of 2008, a year that truly seems to be speeding along (or is it just me?).  That means it’s time to assess what’s come down the pike over the last six months as our contributors make their picks for the best and worst cinematic offerings of the year so far.

    If you want my thoughts on the Oscar potential of these and other releases from the first half of the year, check out this week’s Off the Carpet column.

    Note: With Gerard, Guy and me being in the UK at the moment, neither of us has had a chance to see “WALL-E” yet.  Press screenings won’t happen until later in the month and it finally opens out here on July 18.

    In Contention’s picks for the best and worst of the year after the jump!

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  • ‘WALL-E’ Best Pic talk

    This Nikki Finke item is three days old at this point, but I’m just stumbling upon it (I avoid her like the plague).  It brings up the ole’ “can an animated film get a Best Picture nomination” thing again.

    Here’s a bbit of insight about a potential campaign in the works:

    I’m told that Disney and Pixar are going to push hard for a Best Picture Oscar nomination for Wall-E on the basis of its anti-toon moody darkness and rave reviews by critics who matter. Certainly many toons have tried for that high honor over the years, and then settled for “just” a recently added Best Animated Feature nod. Only one animated movie has made it into the most competitive Academy Award category — Disney’s Beauty And The Beast in 1991 — but, alas, didn’t win.

    I don’t want to say “it won’t happen,” because I always have hope, but this is an interesting item considering the reality of the animation Best Pic possibilities embraced by some of the individuals in charge of marketing them.  That’s all I’m sayin’.

  • OFF THE CARPET: Stuck in the middle with…what?

    Since we’ve finally reached the midway point of 2008, it seemed as good a time as any to post the first “Off the Carpet” column since our year in advance take over four months ago.

    First and foremost, I’m in a unique situation this year.  Being in London since mid-May, I’ve found myself looking from the outside in on a lot of projects.  The UK generally has later release dates, meaning later press screenings.  And so, films like “WALL-E” and “The Dark Knight,” I won’t be commenting on them (and, therefore, won’t have an educated viewpoint on their Oscar prospects) until I’m back in the States in three weeks.

    In a lot of ways, it’s just like the old days (for those who remember the old, clunky Oscar Central stuff, or perhaps the sporadic columns at Oscarwatch (now Awards Daily).  I’m back in the position of fan first, commentator second in some areas, and it’s been a bit of a thrill, I have to say.  Especially in a year of Bat-hype nearly approaching the hysteria of the summer of 1989.

    But with that in mind, I also humbly recall that my Oscar-guessing mind was in a slightly better place back then, removed from the fray, having the true instincts of an observer on which to depend.  But all of that is beside the point.  The real question is, right now, half way through the year, which films have even laid a claim for film awards attention in the brutal season that will be here before we know it?

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  • Counting down the best of Pixar

    In honor of today’s release of Walt Disney/Pixar’s “WALL-E” (it seems we’re sticking with the hyphen), the gang at New York Magazine’s Vulture blog have offered up a countdown of the best films in Pixar’s consistently impressive portfolio.

    I have to say, I share their opinion that “The Incredibles” simply…isn’t all that.  I was on the bandwagon for “The Polar Express” back in 2004, but comparisons aside, the film never hooked me the way it did the rest of the film-going community.  And that says a lot, given my comic geek roots.  It’s a nice film, but a little flat.

    Their pick for the studio’s greatest work is a slightly unconventional choice: “Monsters, Inc.”  I confess I actually haven’t given it a second look since 2001 (what became the year of “Shrek”), but I’ve been meaning to pick up a copy for a number of years now.

    My choice is far and away “Finding Nemo,” the only animated film ever to land in my top five for a given year (#3 in 2003).  But I do love the “Toy Story” films.

    Here’s their list:

    1. “Monsters, Inc.”
    2. “Finding Nemo”
    3. “Toy Story 2”
    4. “Ratatouille”
    5. “Toy Story”
    6. “A Bug’s Life”
    7. “The Incredibles”
    8. “Cars”

    I obviously haven’t seen it yet, but it’s looking more and more like “WALL-E” will top everyone’s list in due time.

    Speaking of “WALL-E,” Sasha Stone at Awards Daily has put up her first State of the Race column this week, focusing on the film, its awards potential and the political message supposedly within.  Take a look:

    Wall-E begins its run at midnight.  Some peripheral chatter is focused on it being not kiddie fare or it being a target for conservatives for having a “message.”  If the message ends up being that we as a culture have a disease of consumerism and that it will end us in pathetic ruin, that is not a great leap in logic.  Look around.

    But if the conservatives do start whining about it that only means its Oscar chances shoot through the roof, as if they haven’t already.  We have here a “too big to ignore” film, a Schindler’s List of the animated feature category and if anything is to take it down it’s only going to be a shocker at the box office, an extremely unlikely scenario.

    Read the rest here.

  • ‘WALL-E’ or ‘WALL*E?’

    Just curious.  I’ve been going with the hyphen, and I’m certainly not going to cut and paste the dot every time.  Some outlets are going with the asterisk.

    What say you?  Ooh…new pointless poll perhaps?  Yeah, I think so.