Driven to the movies

[major_clanger]

After a somewhat tiresome day (and that's putting it mildly) I definitely felt like doing something to unload my mind last night. Getting drunk wasn't an option, as I'd had a typhoid booster stuck in my arm and been warned not to drink alcohol for 24 hours, so the prospect of a movie and some ice-cream looked appealing. I've always enjoyed Pixar's output, so Cars it was.

I wouldn't rate Cars as Pixar's best movie; for me, that is a tie between Monsters, Inc. and The Incredibles. But it is engaging, and even if the plot is not very original it unfolds well enough to keep your attention. The animation, as expected, is astonishing; during the race scenes in particular, I felt quite a strange dissonance at watching blatantly cartoon cars so seamlessly integrated into a dynamic 3-D environment of impressive verisimilitude.

As ever with Pixar, much of the pleasure is in the in-jokes and sight gags, although I suspect only a complete petrolhead would get anything like all of them. (And the traditional credit vignettes incorporate an especially good gag!) What the film does a beautiful job of capturing though is the feel of the American southwest; it is in large part an extended reflection on the mythos of Route 66, and includes a very honest depiction of the impact of the Interstates on small-town life. Not an absolute must-see, unless you are headed to Arizona soon (hint, hint, taffbug) but well worth a viewing.

Oh, and the Cambridge Cineworld get full marks for their very generous interpretation of a two-scoop ice-cream.

Comments

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

That's about as good as I expected :-)

Meanwhile - you're bashing for your birthday on a Sunday? We're all three inclined toward joining you, but presumably D & G would have to depart in opposite directions that evening, given work.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

The current plan is for lunch at a local restaurant, followed by drinks at one of our very good local pubs and afternoon tea back at our place. More details soon.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

There' a particular pleasure in going to a Pixar film: seeing the new textures they can animate they couldn't do before.

Monsters, Inc. was fur.
Finding Nemo was water.
Cars is chrome.

[(Anonymous)]

Just to clarify: you're going to LA, so you get a typhoid booster?
- Ben Jeapes

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

No; in late September I am going somewhere else, for which I need a typhoid booster.

Also a fetching blotchy yellow and brown outfit, and body armour.

[(Anonymous)]

I hear Tatooine is lovely this time of year.
- Ben