Super Bowl XLV Trailers

Seems like the last time I did this was back in 2009, but who can blame me? It's not like there were that many great films last summer... Regardless, I watch the big game for the commercials, more specifically, the trailers:














There's a few missing, like Fast Five, Battle: Los Angeles, Limitless, and Rio... but they weren't very exciting trailers. But that Super 8 trailer... that's the most awesome thing I've seen in a long time. Can't wait!

Tron: Legacy Review

With one Jeff Bridges starring movie getting reviewed today I couldn't just skip over the one the he stars in twice... and admittedly the movie I've waited all about 3 years to actually see. But the question is, was it worth it? After countless times of rewatching the original 1982 Tron, constantly watching the trailers, trying to find any preview of the soundtrack that I could, participating in almost every viral marketing event, going to Tron Night, and skipping over a free screening last Monday so I could see a free screening of True Grit that happened to be at the same time AND across the street. Was it worth it?!

No. Not completely at least. Tron: Legacy is the feature length debut of Joseph Kosinski, who previous had only directed some special effects-heavy commercials. I think that's a big part of the blame for Tron: Legacy's end result. The other blame is hype and over-marketing. But I'll get into these later.

Tron: Legacy is the long in the making (though probably not the intended result) sequel to 1982's Tron, a film directed by Steven Lisberger, and famous for being the first film to use CGI to create a completely artificial world, and really the rest is history. So nearly 30 years later, what innovation does Tron: Legacy bring? The only thing I can think of would be 3D that's used to tell a story and costumes that can actually light up...

Story-wise, it isn't required that you need to see the original, as film takes place 25 years later, and much of what has changed is either explained via bedtime stories, news broadcasts and flashbacks; all of which seemed like really poor way to tel story in a theatrical film. Flashbacks are cool in Lost, but they just feel out of place here, and the news broadcasts were shown in a ghostly room full of phantom televisions... also weird. And then theirs the cliche story about how the digital world is building an army that wants to break free of their realm and take other the Earth. Yup...

Acting-wise... Garrett Hedlund knows how to do two things: smile, and stand. And that's really all I can say about his character of Sam Flynn. Olivia Wilde doesn't know whether she's playing a badass warrior, small minded child, or mannequin. And Jeff Bridges... while enjoyable, and I get that he's been in this world for over 20 years and things change, but he didn't feel like the same character that I saw in the original film, and that was kind of upsetting. However, his character of Clu felt completely different than "The Dude" and most of the time I thought it was a different actor, so, well done sir.

But, this is nothing new. If you've actually watched the original Tron, and not just assumed you've seen it thanks to pop-culture, you'd know that the film was never any sort of cinematic masterpiece, everyone just remembers it because it was the first film to use CGI and it looked cool for the time. Even to this day, Tron probably still has the most unique visual style of any film ever. Thirty years later however, things basically haven't changed. Tron: Legacy has two things going for it, an awesome visual style and art direction, and a killer score that's unlike anything before it. But, it's still not that great at telling a story, and guess we can call it the Tron Tradition... or Trondition if you will. I can hate on the acting and the story all I want for either film, but in the end I still love both because of the way they look and sound, and you can't say that about a lot of films.

Overall, I'd say this, I was certainly disappointed with the film because I got sucked into the hype. When a movie appears at Comic-Con three years in a row, and all you can do is read about how people loved what they saw, you can only assume good things. Getting wrapped up in the viral marketing aids to that as well, but I don't regret getting all the free swag that I did. But while I really loved the way this film looked and sounded (a separate review for the score will be up eventually), there are definitely a lot of things to question about some of the film making choices, and I think Disney really should have considered a director with more experience at telling stories than just making things look cool, especially when they want to make a franchise out of it.

Overall Sore: 8.2/10

To justify that score, I'll say this. I enjoyed it more than Avatar, which I gave an 8/10 last year. While I praised that film for the way it looked and story that just 'worked' I wasn't crazy about it. Tron: Legacy's story may not have 'worked' by most standards, but because of the visuals and soundtrack and familiarity of some of the characters (a.k.a. fanboying) I have to give it a bit of an edge. So that's how I justify that score despite a lot of negativity. Plus I intended to see Tron: Legacy numerous times in theaters, I can't bring myself to watch Avatar again.

Flickr Update: Tron Night

Just a few photos to supplement my Tron Night After Thoughts. There wasn't too much in terms of swag at the event, but I guess thats what happens when you blow your budget on renting out IMAX theaters across the world and offer a 23 minute free 3D sneak preview of your biggest film of the year. So what'd we get? At least at the theater I went to:

Nothing overly exciting; the first is a poster, the awesome one that I posted about last week, though it's slightly smaller than a standard movie poster, and has a few lines saying that it was printed exclusively for Tron Night (I managed to snag 3 of these, gave one to a friend). Next is my wristband that granted me entry, not really swag, but it's something. And the last two things were just little cardboard ads basically, but I took like five of each (they're something that could easily be signed and framed at a later date).

They also gave out a few swag bags for trivia winners, but there was no way I was gonna raise my hand and somehow get picked in a packed IMAX theater, so I can't tell you what was in those, but I think they had t-shirts. Oh well...

After Thoughts: Tron Night

Tonight (really last night now that it's passed midnight) was Tron Night, a world-wide event where Disney was screening 23 minutes of mostly unseen Tron: Legacy footage, for free, in IMAX 3D theaters. I managed to register for tickets on October 12th (one ticket for myself and a guest) at the AMC on Broadway and W68th, in case you were wondering.

Before I get to talking about the footage though, I'm just curious if others at other theaters had the same issue that I did. It seemed like no one at the theater I went to knew what was going on regarding Tron Night, and I had to change the line I was in about four times. So I hope Disney or whoever was supposed to set this thing up did a better job where you were. Now for the part you came for, the footage!

Tron: Legacy is the first 3D film I've seen that really seems to use 3D for a purpose, which may bother some people, I'll explain. What we were shown were five (I think?) scenes, from different moments of the film's first half (or so we were told), and not all of them take place in the TRON world itself, obviously.

The first scene brings us to Sam Flynn's pad, a garage really, where he live's with his French Bulldog, and it's revealed that Alan Bradley has been Sam's surrogate father since Flynn's disappearance, and that the company (Encom presumably) would rather have Sam out of the picture. But Alan gives Sam word that he received a page the previous night (yes, PAGERS), and gives Sam the key to Flynn's Arcade, which has been seemingly shut down since the 80s. Sam enters, sets up the Tron arcade cabinet, and notices weird grooves on the floor, and somehow figures to move the cabinet, reveal a door, and then go down what seemed like endless flights of stares to find his father's secret workplace. Also, 80s pop music all around, it was pretty awesome.

Next we see Sam, in "The Grid," it seems like he's just entered the world, but the scene number was about 5 scene after, so, who knows. He's picked up by a Recognizer, and you see THIS IS 3D. Which is what I meant by Tron: Legacy uses 3D with a purpose, all the real world stuff is 2D, but when you get to the game world it's in spectacular 3D. It's here that we see other programs trapped on the grid, some more willing to fight than others, some with pixelated chunks taken out of their face. The next scene has Sam receiving his Tron-suit (is there an official name for the outfits? I don't remember...) and Data Disc from four emotionless women, and is then brought into the Game Grid, where he must face off in his first match of Disc Wars, which has changed a bit since his father played it in 1982.

The final, and longest scene we got to see was Sam and who is soon reveal to be Quorra, riding in a light-car being chased by 2 light-cycles, and they soon escape and go off-road through digital-blue mountains to a small place in the distance. It's here that we see Kevin Flynn, a much older Kevin Flynn who seems to be doing some sort of meditation and is nothing like the youthful Flynn we saw back in the old TRON, and I hope there's some explanation for that. Sam soon finally gets to speak with his father, and while their expressions and music were telling me the scene was sad, it was hard to get emotional when it was out of context. Finally, after all that, we were treated to a clip reel of both new and old clips and it was awesome.

Overall, I'm happy with what I saw. However, I don't know if I'm convinced on seeing the film in IMAX, because it might be too big, especially for a film like this where I really want to look at every little thing on screen. Also, and I'll blame this on my eyes, but some of the scenes looked out of focus, and when I saw the trailers in 3D at other non-IMAX theaters I didn't seem to have that issue. Some people in the crowd seemed upset when a disclaimer came up on screen before the footage saying the opening scenes would be 2D, but it makes a lot of sense in my mind, that's the effect that makes the game world seem so special and different. If the original Tron made using computer graphics to tell a story an accepted practice, then hopefully Tron: Legacy teaches people that 3D can work too when it's given a purpose. Of course, not everyone will be happy about paying the 3D premium for a film that only uses it 3/4 of the time, but I'd rather see a 3D film that uses it well 3/4 of the time than a film that uses really crappy 3D for all of the film.

Tron: Legacy releases in 3D, IMAX 3D, and 2D on December 17th.

New TRON: Legacy poster is ... RAD

There's a new TRON: Legacy poster out, and it's glorious! And not just glorious, bad it pays homage to the original film poster.

Also, next week on the 28th is TRON Night. I managed to get me a ticket to the 20+ minute 3D IMAX sneak preview here in New York City, and will try to post an After Thoughts that night. Stay tuned!

... and hopefully I can either get a high-res version of this poster, or a physical copy at some point; I already have the first, "light cycles in perspective," poster.

Toy Story 3 Review

Disney and Pixar bring Toy Story back for one last horrah, and this time they've put it in the hands of first time solo director, Lee Unkrich, who previously co-directed on Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo; so he's not completely new, but still, it's nice to see what can be done at Pixar when the usual suspects: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, and Brad Bird aren't at the helm, as good as their work may be. Is Toy Story 3 one of the rare threequels that actually works? Or should this one have been left in the toy bin?

First things first, it's been 15 years since the original Toy Story released, which I actually saw in theaters, and 10 years since Toy Story 2 released... which was still the only Pixar film I hadn't seen until this past fall. That's a much larger gap than say... the Shrek sequels or any other sequels from DreamWorks, not that I'm gonna start any fights here, but I'm just saying.

So, what's the story here? Like many of the people that saw Toy Story as children 15 years ago, Andy himself has aged and is now going off to college, and he must decide what to do with his old toys that he's since lost interest in: donate them, dump them, or just leave them in the attic. Unfortunately, after a series of unfortunate events, the decision is out of his hands and our friendly toys get dropped off at a near-by day-care center, and things seem brighter than ever. Which generations of children coming and going through the center, the toys no longer have to worry about becoming abandoned... but it can't be all sunshine and rainbows... otherwise what kind of film would this be? One you have to see for yourself, because I'm not going to write the whole thing for you.

I don't mean to be rude, but really, I was surprised at how quickly this film went by despite being almost two hours long. There didn't seem to be any build up from one event to the next, everything just happened, and despite how much they tried to add consequence, I was never convinced that the consequence was really there. It's is rated G after all, they weren't just gonna kill them right there, surely. But, I don't think that's the fault of the directors or writers, that's just the thing that happens with sequels, because you know, if they've already made 2 films with the characters, surely they won't just kill them off now, not in a kid's film at least.

Aside from the fast-paced story, there are A LOT of new characters this time around. There's Lotso Huggin Bear and his crew at Sunnyside, with the voice talents of Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Kind and others, though aside from Beatty and Keaton, the rest of them are bit parts. But there's also another set of new characters that are in a little girl's home, these characters include the voices of Kristen Schaal, Bonnie Hunt, Timothy Dalton, and Jeff Garlin, and a silent-cameo from Hayao Miyazaki's Totoro; however, these too are basically bit parts and I would have loved to see more of these characters as they were much more interesting and appealing than those at Sunnyside.

As for the characters we already know and love, everyone's pretty much the same. Woody's heroic, Buzz is a cocky jerk but a bit more lovable this time since you don't have to hear Tim Allen's voice for much of the film, Don Rickles kills as Mr. Potato-Head, and John Ratzenberger's Hamm is just as good. But what this film also points out, is that Toy Story 2 was a big waste, because all it did was introduce Jessie and Bullseye, who don't really do anything significant this time around... so, yeah, great job with that one Pixar.

Overall, Toy Story 3 was still a good film, and definitely a fitting end (is this it?) to the story of these characters, especially if you're one of the people that grew up with these characters just like Andy himself did. And beyond that, it really is the only decent "third film" I can think of at the moment, so that's an achievement in itself. However, personally, I never got too enthusiastic about the Toy Story characters, and wasn't moved like many other people have been by this film. Sure, I got a bit watery in the eyes near the end, but in the ended, I definitely liked WALL-E and UP more, and got more emotionally invested in their stand-alone films than I have in all three Toy Story films combined.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Side note: this was the first Pixar film I've seen in 3D, if I was paying for this, I could have done without the 3D effects and price, but I didn't... because I work at a movie theater. However, the TRON Legacy trailer in 3D was worth the extra $3.50 charge.. if I payed. Just saying, TRON Legacy is definitely the only film with the Disney named attached to it that I'm dying to see this year. However, the short before the film, Day & Night, worked really well in 3D as the film's 2D animated characters became actual windows into 3D worlds, so, I say see it in 3D just for those two things; cause I'd say Day & Night (and the TRON trailer) were almost more interesting than Toy Story 3.

Also, Cars 2 is the next film from Pixar, and after already getting this sequel, I'm not hopeful for another... hopefully I can get proved wrong.

UP Blu-ray/DVD review

There's no denying it, I really enjoyed Disney/Pixar's latest film, UP, surprisingly more so than WALL-E (but only slightly), heck, I even gave it a VFH Seal of Approval. So of course, like WALL-E, I had to get it on Blu-ray to appreciate the film in glorious HD from the comfort of my own home.

Now, since the WALL-E Blu-ray release, Disney has taken a different approach to Blu-ray releases. Instead of the standard 2-Disc set, you have four... but there's a catch. There are two Blu-ray discs, the movie and the extras, then you have a DVD version of the film, and another disc that's used to install the Digital Copy. So really, it's two discs of real content, and 2 more of the same content. But I'll get to that later...

Blu-ray Disc 1
As assumed the main feature of this disc is obviously the actual film, UP, which in my opinion is certainly one of the best films of this past year, animated or otherwise, and by far Pixar's most mature film to date. In fact, I still can't watch the opening moments of the film (or much of the rest) without getting teared up a bit. But I won't repeat myself, if you want to read the rest of my thoughts of the film, read the original review. Most notable about the film though, is that unlike the theatrical release, this Blu-ray version is not in 3D, which doesn't really bother me since I saw it in 2D to begin with. In fact, even in the special features and commentary, the aspect of 3D isn't even brought up, showing just unnecessary the feature was for the film. But it is something to take not of for those looking to see this film in 3D again, or for the first time, because you can't.

But there's more to the disc. My personal favorite is Cine-Explore, which is a commentary track with Pete Docter and Bob Peterson that also features pop-up images as you watch the film; it's really interesting commentary and the images just enhance that experience. You also have Partly Cloudy, the short that played before UP in theaters, and a video-release exclusive short, Dug's Special Mission. Sadly, unlike WALL-E, there's no picture-in-picture storyboard feature for these shorts, and you only have the one Cine-Explore commentary, instead of two commentaries like WALL-E had.

But what this does include is a really interesting 22-minute featurette of how the creative team actually went to South America and how they based the environments of the film on this trip, and there's another interesting video of the development of the film's villain Charles Muntz. Lastly are the BD-Live features, but once again, unlike WALL-E, the BD-Live features aren't really robust, instead acting like an information channel for Disney's other releases instead of a dedicated online hub for the film. I can't say I used the feature on WALL-E very much, but the lack of proper inclusion is strange.

Blu-ray Disc 2
The second disc of this Blu-ray set is somewhat of a mixed bag. The main aspect is this series of seven short documentaries which focus on the films assorted characters and locations, about 5-9 minutes each. These range from character inspirations, character designs, the way they move, the way they act, the way they sound, and more, it's all here, and it's all really interesting and insightful, especially if you're into that aspect of film and animation, like I am.

Also on the disc is a short documentary/storyboard of an alternate take on the film's opening segment. Which I'm glad was changed to what it is in the film because this alternate take doesn't have the same emotional impact. There's also a six-minute montage of the characters floating around, two trailers for the film, and an interactive game that has you naming states and countries, with a BD-Live leaderboard. The game is OK... if you're teaching your kids geography, but most people probably won't touch it. While the documentaries are insightful, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with the rest of this disc, as it's just not as jam-packed like the last Pixar release, WALL-E.

DVD
I'll say this, UP is the first film I've ever owned on two formats, because it just never made sense to me. So the fact that Disney includes a DVD with this Blu-ray set (as well as all their other recent releases) just doesn't make much sense to me. This disc features everything that's on the first disc, except Cine-Explore, instead it's just audio commentary, and overall it's just not as nice looking. Even the menus are down-scaled for the medium, using cartoon cutouts of the house and balloons, instead of the expected 3D models. I can't really hold it against this set, because really, the inclusion of this disc is completely unnecessary, but the DVD quality is just ugly in comparison to the beautiful Blu-ray quality.

Digital Copy
The last disc of this set is the Digital Copy, which thankfully unlike the Warner Bros DVDs I've been getting recently, actually works on both PCs and Macs, giving you the option to download the movie via iTunes or Windows Media Player. However, I chose not to install the disc, since, much like the DVD in this set, I just don't need it, despite being included in the standard Blu-ray pricing. When WALL-E released last year, there was a version with a Digital Copy, and one without. I chose the one without it for a reason, and I just wish such an option was available this time around.

Overall
As a film, UP is fantastic; and now that it's available to buy, there's no reason you shouldn't have this in your film collection (unless you hate puppies). If you have the means to watch Blu-rays on an HDTV, then hands-down, this is the way to go. However, those that can only get the DVD version, I'm sorry, the film in itself is still spectacular, but the DVD quality just doesn't do UP and its luscious color and detail any justice. And while the inclusion of a DVD and Digital Copy version of the film is nice (considering it's at no extra cost), it also just feels like a waste of space, since the 'Four Disc Set' being advertised is really only two, being repeated. I could continue to be negative by saying this set may not be as feature-full as WALL-E, but it certainly still has enough interesting features to keep lovers of UP, Pixar, and film/animation very happy, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Overall Score: 9/10

Disney buys Marvel for $4 Billion

Call this the most surprising thing I've heard in a long time, but as of this morning, Disney is the works of buying out Marvel Entertainment. Under the deal, it would mean that Disney owns full rights to over 5,000 Marvel properties.

What does this mean? To be honest, I'm not sure yet. There's a lot of things that make sense, such Disney already owning the broadcast and distribution rights to Marvel cartoons of the '90s such as Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and more, all of which currently air on Disney XD; not to mention that they also air re-runs of the latest Spider-Man cartoon, The Spectacular Spider-Man.

But then there's the stuff that brings confusion. Like, what will happen to shows like Wolverine and the X-Men and Iron Man: Armored Adventures, both of which air on Nicktoons Network; and then there's The Black Panther on BET and Marvel Super Hero Squad on Cartoon Network set to air later this year. Also, there's already pre-existing deals for upcoming Marvel films and games such as Iron Man 2, Thor, and more, which are being produced with studios such as Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, amongst others.

The one aspect that really has me curious is Universal Studios in Orlando, FL. Not that I had any intention of going there any time soon, but if recall correctly, about 50% of that theme park is dedicated to Marvel and its characters. So does all of that just get chopped off Universal Studios and sent to Disney World? If so, that's got to be really painful for Universal's tourist attraction rate. If any more news comes from this deal, I'll be sure to inform you.

via AP (Yahoo!)

SDCC 09: TRON: Legacy

Some news from this year's San Diego Comic-Con, not that any of us are there, but none less I got some press stuff from Walt Disney Pictures tonight, and two pictures sparked some interest so I thought I'd share.

TRON: Legacy promotional image


Disney 3D panel with TRON: Legacy footage behind them.

Okay, so it's just two things, and they're both TRON related... But I'm eagerly excited to see some real footage of this project soon. Not to mention, I'm happier they went with a name like TRON: Legacy instead of TR2N or TRON 2.0 (which was already used on video games). It's only a matter of time before the Comic-Con footage comes online, and I just hope I get some HD files instead of relying on people's blurry camera videos.

TRON: Legacy is set for a 2010 release, in digital 3D, with a soundtrack scored by Daft Punk. So yes, this a serious project for Disney, despite the goofy "legacy" the original 1982 film has left on the pop-culture world. Needless to say, I'm excited!

UP review

After seeing WALL-E last year in the theater (and then again on Blu-ray), I thought Pixar's work, and computer animation in general, couldn't get any better than that. Today, Pixar proved me very wrong with their latest film, UP, directed by Pete Docter, who previously directed Pixar's Monsters, Inc.

Now while the film is advertised as 3D, the glasses type not the rendered type (which it is, but you get my point), I saw the film in it's flat, glasses-less version. And quite frankly, after watching the film, I don't think it needed the extra effect... But more on that later.

UP centers around Carl Fredricksen, who we see as a child when the film opens. Young Carl is a huge fan of adventurer, Charles Muntz, who explored South America in search of an elusive bird. One day Carl stumbles upon a beat up home, only to find a girl there, Ellie, who is also a fan of Muntz and has a heart for adventure. Soon after is a really touching sequence of Carl and Ellie, with no spoken words, showing the two growing up, getting married, buying the house they met in and growing old together. The sequence also brings about Ellie's death, and for what is label as a "kid's movie", it's all incredibly sad and had I not been in the theater with someone I probably would've cried (no really, I was holding back... don't give me that look!).

After the sad sequence, the film shows Carl in what one would assume is present day. He lives alone, still in the home that he and Ellie bought, even while the world around him has become a development and he is constantly pressured to leave his home. Around this time we meet Russell, a Wilderness Explorer (aka Boy Scout) who is looking to finally earn his "Assisting the Elderly" badge, but Carl has no interest in participating. After an unfortunate event, Carl is forced to leave his home, but not before he lets loose a ton of balloons and lifts his home off the ground... but he's not alone.

The rest of the film centers around Carl and Russel's adventure in South America, and their encounters with "Kevin", the elusive bird sought after by Charles Muntz, and Dug, one of Muntz's highly trained dogs. This is where the film gets really special, because there's a really great chemistry between all of these characters, and there's a definite sense of character development throughout the film.

What was really interesting though was how many "adult" themes there were for what's considered a "kid's" movie. Not to give much away, but there's the overbearing aspect of Carl being unable to bear with his wife's death, and it's brought up that Russel has some abandonment issues, and there's even a scene with blood. But I don't want to give you the wrong idea, this film certainly has its fun, kid friendly parts for most of the film; but I wasn't expecting the film to be as mature and sad as it was at parts.

Visually, the film shows off Pixar's technical prowess once again, surpassing even WALL-E. Not to be a jab at that film though, as stylistically, WALL-E and UP are two different worlds. However, with a film centered around humans, there's a sense of texture and design that you didn't really see with WALL-E's blobby humans. And while the previous film experimented with the use of live-action and some 2D animation, UP sticks strictly to computer animation, and I don't think it should have be any different. What you get is a beautifully rendered, and lusciously colored film unlike anything else, and it further pushes computer animation as an art form rather than just being the "it thing" in animation. As for the 3D release, I was more than pleased without extra glasses, but I can certainly see where it would be used when watching it flat, but as I said, it doesn't need it for that to matter.

Overall, I'm really surprised with how much I liked UP. I went in seeing this, feeling as if nothing Pixar makes could ever be better than WALL-E, and I was proven very wrong. UP continues on what WALL-E did, by bringing more adult themes into what people consider a medium for children, and I really have the commend them for that. To say least, I'm a bit discouraged that their next two films are Toy Story 3 and Cars 2, but if UP is anything to go by, I have the utmost confidence that Pixar and Disney will continue to make spectacular work.

Overall Score: 9.8/10

Yes, this makes Pixar the first folks to get two VFH Seals of Approval (the first being the WALL-E Blu-ray). Now, you can argue that we're Pixar fanboys around these parts, but the fact of the matter is, DreamWorks Animation does not push computer animation as art form, instead relying on toilet humor, well-known voice actors, and 3D gimmicks. UP on the other hand pushes computer animation further into the adult category, just as WALL-E before it, and I feel if Pixar stays on this track they will soon rival Oscar winning films; but every step counts, and UP is that extra step. Call it what you will, but if animation doesn't evolve as an art form, we will be watching Monsters vs. Aliens 5 in 2012, and who wants to do that?

Toy Story 3 teaser trailer

With Disney/Pixar's Up releasing in theaters today, it now means we can already look forward to the studio's next film, Toy Story 3, the sequel to Toy Story 2 and Toy Story (go figure).



As usual for Pixar teasers, the trailer doesn't actually feature any footage from the film, but it still let's you see the old characters back in action. I'm curious as to how this will fair, as it's Pixar second sequel (after Toy Story 2), and then their next project after this is Cars 2 (set for early 2011). Which means there won't be anything "new", in terms of characters and/or franchises, out of the studio until late 2011 when The Bear and the Bow releases; excluding their short films of course.

I was a big fan of WALL-E, and I'm looking forward to seeing Up, but I'm not sure how I feel about another Toy Story (or another Cars at that). There's just something very ... "DreamWorksy" about relying on old franchises, and I'll be honest, that's not a good thing in my opinion, not at all. But maybe it's too early to judge now, we'll see come 2010 I guess.

WALL-E + Watchmen = AWESOME

Thanks to GeekTyrant, I found one of the more ... well-produced(?) trailer mash-ups I've seen in some time. It's footage of Disney and Pixar's film, WALL-E, with the soundtrack of the first Watchmen trailer, with some original graphics added in as well. Take a look:



This isn't the first Pixar/DC mash-up we've posted, actually. A few months ago I posted a quite humorous mash-up of Toy Story and The Dark Knight. Nice to see these things go hand in hand.

Super Bowl trailers

With the game over, I guess that makes it a safe time to post the only thing worthwhile about it, the commercials. More specifically, the movie trailers (since the actual commercials were awful). Thanks to Hulu, you can find most of the commercials there. However, because of our contact with Paramount, the Star Trek spot is available at VFHvideo. So, let's take a look at the movie trailers that got us interested:

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (available in HD)

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (our first video in HD)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Disney / Pixar's Up

Year One
What do you think? Do you agree with our picks? If you want to see more videos from Super Bowl XLIII's commercial breaks, be sure to check out Hulu.com

WALL-E Blu-ray review

He's back! And in gorgeous high definition too! Since I've already reviewed the film, which you can find here, this review will focus mainly on the special features, as well as the quality.

There are a lot of features to this set, and by set I mean two discs. Two Blu-ray discs, at about 25 GB a piece, that's a lot of space to fill. So to help, I've written about each disc separately.
Disc 1
The main attraction here is obviously the film. And while, as you can read in my original review that WALL-E is fabulous in its own right, the high-definition picture made available by the Blu-ray technology is phenomenal. I honestly can't say I've seen anything more beautiful come from my TV screen. And it doesn't stop there; also the movie can be viewed in two other ways, 'Cine-Explore' which plays the movie with commentary by director Andrew Stanton while displaying artwork and drafts of the film via picture-in-picture display. The next mode is 'Geek Talk: Trash Talk & Trivia', this mode has Stanton, as well as three other Pixar elites giving a more fun, less insightful commentary. Not that it's bad, its actually pretty nice, think of it as casual commentary, where as 'Cine-Explore' is more suited towards people in the production field. Both of these commentaries of exclusive to the Blu-ray set.

But that's not all, also on the disc is Presto, the Pixar short that played before WALL-E in theaters, and BURN-E, a new short starring a minor bot in WALL-E. What was cool about BURN-E, at least for me as an animator, is that there's a Blu-ray exclusive picture-in-picture version that allows you to watch the short while the storyboard plays in the corner. There's also an interesting easter-egg of the films nerd humor and it's nerd staff, it was actually pretty insightful. All of this in glorious high-definition. But that's not all, there's also BD Live features! All you need is an internet connection, an easy to create Disney BD Live Network account, and maybe some friends to do the same. With the BD Live features you can have video/text chat with friends as the watch the film, send friends video mail, and play a trivia game with friends or random strangers. It won't knock your socks off, but it's not something a DVD will let you do. And lastly, there are a bunch a trailers to watch ... and this is just the first disc!

Disc 2
This disc is set up in two categories Robots and Humans, so I'll separate it for you here as well. Robots, as you would expect, focus on the robots of the film. Here you'll find a video reel of WALL-E and the other bots playing around with different objects and will probably give you a laugh here or there. There's also a "Lots of Bots" interactive storybook, which is pretty hit or miss in my mind, but is probably great for the kids. Another Blu-ray exclusive, four mini-games, all based on titles like Astroids, Burger Time, and Lunar Lander, featuring the bots in an 8-bit style. They're pretty fun, but nothing to go out your way an play for. There's also a robot gallery of everything you'll find on the Axiom, complete with a profile and 3D model.

Then there's humans, this is the meet of this disc. First off are four deleted scenes, complete with commentary by with Andrew Stanton before and after each one. Next are seven mini behind the scenes videos, each discussing a different aspect of the production process. There's also five BnL shorts, designed as video guides from the conglomerate themselves. Not done yet, there's Blu-ray exclusive 3D fly-throughs of all the sets in the movie; they really immerse you in this world of the movie, and you can really appreciate the hard work that goes into making it so intricate. You though that was it? Oh no, there's an hour and a half long, and very informative documentary, The Pixar Story, which is directed by Leslie Iwerks. And finally, there are a bunch of trailers, from all around the world.

Final Thoughts
Quick note, this review is of the 2-Disc Standard Edition Blu-ray. The three disc set includes a Digital Copy (which is the third disc), so all of the features are the same; it also comes in a cardboard case, and not the standard blue keep-case. As my first Blu-ray purchase, and first time buying a film I saw in theaters (I have issues, ask me about it another time), I have to say I am really pleased. Not only did I love the film when it was in theaters, but now I can love it even more because of the beauty of high-definition; not to mention two discs chock full of features!

Overall Score - 10/10

As if this review weren't long enough, I have to mention that this is the first title to be awarded the VFH Seal of Approval! Why does it get such an award? To sum up the review, this set brings more to this wonderful film than any standard DVD ever could. The high-definition picture and sound, not to mention all of the storage to house a plethora of features, only made possible with Blu-ray technology, makes this a must have addition for anyone's movie collection.

Dark Knight Story

Edit: Had to un-embed the video, it had ad-links to sites VFH would rather non associate with.

Toy Story - The Dark Knight trailer
I know it's late in it's life at this point, but there's always something to love about The Dark Knight. In this case, we're featuring another trailer remake, though this time it's edited with clips from Disney/Pixar's Toy Story and Toy Story 2. I have to say, the syncing is spot on.

Walt Disney Animation Studios

You wouldn't think it would take this long for Disney to create a website dedicated to their animation studios, but it did. They've launched DisneyAnimation.com , which showcases the studios' rich history including pages for each of their films, shorts, as well as future projects.

The site also features the first footage of Disney's return to 2D theatrical animation, The Princess and the Frog, a film set in 1940's New Orleans.

Disney - Pixar's Up

Usually Disney and Pixar have the teaser trailer for their next project prior to the showing of their latest film. That wasnt the case this time, as they decided to wait for San Diego Comic-Con to reveal the teaser for their next project UP, starring Ed Asner, which is set for May 29, 2009.You can check out the teaser and registere for updates here:

UP: The Official Website

Sure, it may not be the same ideals and style as what WALL-E was, but I'm sure Pixar knows what they're up to ... ugh, why do I set myself up for these puns...

TR2N announced

Good news from Comic-Con for all you fans of amazingly lame, yet stupendously awesome, Disney sci-fi films about video games! They announced a sequel to TRON! The new film, known as TR2N will again star Jeff Bridges, and will co-star ... Jeff Bridges. The catch is there's the good, young Jeff Bridges as Tron, and there's an older, bearded Jeff Bridges ... as some other dude. Point is, if this is true to the original, i'm giddy right now. There apperently was a trailer shown, if I can find it, I will post it.

I might actually have to go and play the TRON level of Kingdom Hearts II, just to fuel the excitement!

via io9

WALL-E review

Yes, I know this is a month late, but you voted on more Movie, Animation, and Sci-Fi content; and I finally got the chance to see the movie today. Being a Traditional Animation major (that's 2D animation for those not aware) I'm always curious about whats going on the animation industry, Eastern or Western, 2D or 3D; I just like to know what's going on. And there's no ignoring the leader in the 3D industry, Pixar, now a subsidiary of Walt Disney Pictures.

Their latest released project, WALL-E, follows a trash compacting robot who has been left on an abandoned Earth for over 700 years. Personally, this was the first Pixar film I've been excited for since Toy Story came out when I was younger. There was just something about this film that made it appeal to an older audience, maybe it was the science fiction, or its post apocalyptic setting, and a feeling of isolation. Either way, everything I hoped this movie would be was delivered.

As stated before, the film follows the day in the life of a trash compacting robot, built by the Walmart-esque, cooperate giant, Buy N Large (BnL); he is the last of his kind. For a bulk of the opening the film is virtually silent dialog, thanks to the lack of voice characters of all robot characters. And that's how it should be; the lack of dialog creates a great feeling of isolation, and allows you to really focus on the character. And without voice actors, no one is going to see this based on its cast, which is great to see, because now the picture can be appreciated for its story, characters, and technology, all without a big name actor's name posted on everything. But no worries for you fans of talk-heavy media, when humans are seen later in the film, the dialog becomes quite fitting, and changes the pace properly.

The real focus of the film is the near nonexistent love story between the titular character, WALL-E, and the sleek patrol bot, EVE. I say nonexistent because the feelings the characters have aren't always mutual. But it does make for an interesting story because both characters are so different. WALL-E is a trash eating, rusty 700 year old robot with a curious mind, and EVE is a sleek, ultra hi-tech patrol bot; both are actually created by BnL, but I don't think inbreeding is a topic for discussion. The contrasting personalities, and the fact that they do have emotions, is something not normally seen in robots, and it makes the movie much more interesting.

But let's really dissect this film for what it is. After watching this I'm pretty surprised it got a G rating. Sure, there's no real violence, and obviously no foul language, but the messages and the topics just don't see very fitting for a movie technically targeted at children. For starters, the movie really focuses on how people become wasteful, lazy, and dependent on large corporations; in this case, Buy N Large, is the owner of everything: transportation, banks, you name it, they're practically the government. In fact, it's because of them that the Earth is covered in trash and why the humans had to leave on their spacecrafts. Throughout the film there are allusions to improper evolution due to laziness: missing bones, large fat bodies, and inability to think for themselves. It's not something directly said, but the older audience is sure to pick up things like this. It really gives the movie a purpose, but whether people get the message or not depends on how much they care. From my observations, parents saw the film as dumb because of the lack of dialog and whatnot, and leaving their trash on the ground. But in reality, they're the same people the film tries to portray, which makes it so much more relavent.

What I really liked about the film is that it was a change of pace for Pixar, and felt very experimental, in a good way. For one, this is Pixar's first attempt at science fiction and the first to not feature voice actors. Both are welcome additions, I've already stated my feelings on voice actors above, so I'd really like to talk about the sci-fi aspect of the film. It's really the best thing I've seen Pixar do with it's stunning rendering technology. Adding the sci-fi element allowed them to really experiment in the portrayal of space and all different types of robotic forms, something never really seen in a Pixar film before. In a way, WALL-E does for space what Finding Nemo did for the ocean, creating a fantastic recreation of something real that we can only imagine how it looks up close. But also on the topic of rendering, this is the finest 3D technology I have ever seen on film. The textures are so detailed, and the lighting is just amazing, especially the textures of Earth, it's as if they film a real apocalypse. Which brings me to the next topic, this is the first Pixar film to utilize live action, breath for a moment; yes there are live action segments to the film, but they re actually quite fitting. There are two uses for it, the old musicals that WALL-E watches in his containment unit, and advertisements from BnL. Both are never displayed clearly, as they're all under a TV screen like filter, but they do a great job of portraying how different the past is to the film current state (the future). Other forms of animation, like traditional 2D, stop motion, and digital 2D are used as well, but these are only seen in the credits.

All in all, I was excited for WALL-E before it came out, and I was quite pleased after seeing it. Sure, the WALL-E / EVE love story is really what makes this fitting of the Disney name, but the topics of a post apocalyptic world really make this stand out in both the Disney and Pixar catalogs. Mix that in with Pixar's top of the line technology, and a little live action tossed in and the result is something the children will enjoy watching, and a film that adults with a brain will appreciate. I'll be honest in saying that I didn't have too much respect for the 3D animation industry until seeing this film. I really just saw it as a way for studios to make easy cash, which it's still percieved as, just look at the lack of 2D films released in recent years. But after seeing WALL-E, I can see there is a chance that the medium can be a true art form, and I just hope more studios can take note of that.

Overall Score: 9.6/10