Its 2009 and I am gonna try to write more entertainment this year; gonna try to diversify a bit. Anyway this is the time of year when movies are slurped or scrutinized because its award season. The brunt of this years slurpage is Disney and Pixar's Wall-E, which is odd because it got a mixed bag of reviews depending on who you talked to. This made it a perfect first Netflix rental of the year and a chance to throw my weight around in the war on Wall-E. 
Little things like the catharsis drawn from Wall-E's eyes and the Captains thirst for more definitions (Jeff Garlin nails this role, even down to the manboobs) to the Eva's domination of bubble-wrap and Wall-E dancing with the trash can. Big things too. Like the Wall-E and Eva space reunion and its chain of events following and the condescending "Stay the Course" line. It was the underlying messages meshed in with cutesy Pixar pieces. It makes you laugh, smile, and ask the important questions like "If I were an iPod, how hot would Eva be to me?"... or something maybe a bit more important regarding the future of our planet.
If you've heard anything about the film, you know that it starts with about 30 minutes without dialogue. This is clearly the first thing you notice about Wall-E and its a weird feeling to watch sensation to watch a movie in this day and age without the director telling you what is happening right off the bat. Anyway, this beginning dialogue drought gives you the sense that you are either watching some pretentiously grandiose bullshit sermon, OR that you are watching something much bigger than yourself, something that may be extraordinary. I think this is where the schism of opinions begin because I think if you are in the first camp, it is easy to quit on the film. However if you're in the second camp, or can talk your way into the second camp, Wall-E can have a lasting impact on you.
I quickly identified myself in the latter group and loved Wall-E in all its preachy grace. I enjoyed the romance, I devoured the messages against gluttony and dependence, and I giggled at everything from Wall-E's trinkets to the little cleaner-up robot's persistence. I wont be spoiler-ee so dont be afraid to keep reading. Its the big things and the little ones that separate Wall-E from its predecessors and peers.
Little things like the catharsis drawn from Wall-E's eyes and the Captains thirst for more definitions (Jeff Garlin nails this role, even down to the manboobs) to the Eva's domination of bubble-wrap and Wall-E dancing with the trash can. Big things too. Like the Wall-E and Eva space reunion and its chain of events following and the condescending "Stay the Course" line. It was the underlying messages meshed in with cutesy Pixar pieces. It makes you laugh, smile, and ask the important questions like "If I were an iPod, how hot would Eva be to me?"... or something maybe a bit more important regarding the future of our planet. Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Shrek, and other Pixar gems have delivered the cute factor along with the storybook moral ending, but only Wall-E contemporizes its message and morals for a current day audience. This is definitely not a kids movie, in fact I probably wouldn't even show it to them; its a love story and a heady, enlightening societal warning as well. As a 24-year old, I'm not sure if I even grasp its entire magnitude in one viewing.
3 comments:
"which is odd because it got a mixed bag of reviews depending on who you talked to"
Not really, it's the best-reviewed movie of the year, right next to The Wrestler, even surpassing the beloved but oh-so-overrated Dark Knight.
i dunno. i talked to a lot of people who went the other way on this one. they hated it. a lot of people have scoffed at all the top 10s of the year and the other accolades. clearly its received a lot of those recently though. i tried linking to both sides anyway.
To make your point in 'mixed bag', are pointing out the only one review negative review from a mass media. Every other major reviewer, including the toughest of them, have said it's a masterpiece. So I'm so with you Matt.
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