Saturday, June 24, 2006

"CARS" is EXCELLENT!



"CARS" = EXCELLENCE!!! John Lasseter and the entire crew at PIXAR are collective GENIUSES!!!!!

These two main characters (Lightning and Sally) are fantastic, of course:



"CARS" by PIXAR Animation is nothing short of an artistic, humorous MASTERPIECE! I especially like THIS guy, Doc Hudson:


So far, I have only seen it thrice. I find it totally mesmerizing and the artistry and animation are truly breathtaking! I was so overwhelmed by some of the beautiful rendering that I missed a lot of little details the first time around. There was clearly a great deal of research and input from car people involved in the creation of this fantastic movie! It isn't JUST for a target 12-year-old-audience, by the way!

My all-time favorite Mopar Racing Legend is in it, too:

Just as likeable onscreen and animated as he is in real life, too!

Although I truly am endeared to all the characters in this...

I just have to say that GUIDO Rocks!!!!!!!

He only knows TWO WORDS in English: "PIT STOP"!!! (Well, THREE if you count: "Okay!") Yeah! Watch the little guy on Race Day! You'll enjoy it, I promise!!!

"Laugh-So-Hard-Ya-Shoot-Yer-Diet-Cola-Thru-Both-Nostrils-Moment" (there were so MANY!!!) was when THIS guy, MACK:

SNORES! It sounds just like a "Jake Brake"!!!
His late-night Interstate 40 scenes will remind you of SOME time in your long-distance-driving-sans-caffeiene motoring past! Although in MY case, no video exists, so ya can't prove a thing! So there!

New movies just do not generally attract my attention... unless they're... incredible. Last movie I went to was: "The Incredibles"! It was...

INCREDIBLE!


Movies? PEH! However, there ARE exceptions!
Being totally fed up with violence, brutality, heartbreak and the general angst and rottenness that bombards (not just me, but...) US all so often, THIS feature represents what I look for in a movie. I am so sick of grotesque and shocking gore (Al and otherwise) that permeates the general atmosphere in moviemaking. The latest glut of Vampire-Related/VideoGame-Movies (or feature-length-commercials, as I like to call them!) are ridiculous! Oh, and who else has had an overdose of Animé's oddball storylines? I mean, I can dig the better-quality animation, but WHAT kinda DOPE FIEND WRITES THIS STUFF, ANYWAY??!!?? AND... is it just ME??? Or is just about every movie and song out there lately A REMAKE??? The over-the-top-ultra-action-hero moviemaking that went hand-in-hand with the development of computer generated graphics quickly became formulaic and annoying.... and then there's Science Fiction.

Sci-Fi drives me crazy.

Or perhaps, BEAMS me crazy.

Every Sci-fi movie shown on the Sci-Fi channel seems to be written by the same guy. Disillusioned hero and / or heroine fights losing battle with big institution (big corrupt government agency, big clandestine hidden spook-like-CIA-type-"CENTRE", big industrial conglomerate replete with team of assassin-ninja-squadrons, big-oil/drug/earthling-slavetrading-cartel, or some big threatening organization - did I leave out the Mafia???), intergalactic threat appears, they get recruited for suicide mission, in the middle of the conflict, they are drawn together romantically, and at the height of consummating their lustful intentions (which are quite often built up fairly well), there is the stereotypical coitus interruptus by the alien predator or the building they're in being destroyed suddenly by the aforementioned intergalactic scallywag. Then the epic battle-royale, the bloody victory (barely) and the happily ever after ending that features, as standard equipment of course, the "...or is it???" cliffhanger ending where the viewer is shown something like a claw creeping out of the destruction, giving all the impression that there WILL be a sequel if the bean-counters have THEIR way with it!

Brother! The only Sci-Fi I think I can handle anymore usually has the silhouettes of either Joel or Mike and their two robot buddies at the bottom of the screen, and that is only if the Sci-Fi they're cracking on is sufficiently cheesey.

Cheesey goodness!

Which brings back the reason CARS is so appealing... LAUGHTER! The true medicine of this short human life! CARS even has several great storylines, mostly revolving around friendships, and in the character of Strip Weathers ("The King"), Family!

THIS IS A CRAP-FREE-MOVIE (well, okay, there ARE a couple of "pooty-tooty-sounds")!

NO cursing! No filthiness, except when Lightning gets a grille-full of mud & bugs! Got kids? Take 'em to see CARS! No kids??? Go see CARS! No eyesight? Buy the soundtrack!!!

This guy just about steals the show:

Especially with that backwards-drivin' and tractor-tippin'!

And Cheech Marin is perfect as Ramone:

Ramone owns the BodyArt Shop. Gives himself way cool new paint jobs and graphics almost daily when business is slow. Each one is totally cool! Know WHY??? Each main design theme for Ramone was drawn by: YEP! YOU guessed it! CHIP FOOSE!!! Now, how great is THAT???

There's even a sort of left-handed history lesson in here, too. Noted Route 66 historian Michael Wallis portays this guy:


There are so many car-related things in this movie it is INCREDIBLE! Which PIXAR always delivers anyway! Even the little crawling bugs and flying insects are little VW Beetles! Which also make the same noise that EMPI-modified Bugs and Dune Buggies used to make! Too cool!

This movie even starts off with a kick@$$ Sheryl Crow song set to a very well crafted racing sequence! I just can't say enough good about this movie! If you are even remotely a bit of a gear-head, you simply MUST see this movie... several times in big-screen-surround-sound-goodness! You WILL enjoy it! It IS worth more than the standard admission price in my book! And this from someone who RARELY goes to the movie theater!

HEY, when you go, here's a TIP:
STAY PAST THE END CREDITS!!! There's one last scene with Mini and Van! Priceless!

But BEFORE THAT, one of the BEST BIT-PARTS of the entire movie is when THIS GUY, Sarge:

-is drill-instructing the SUVs at the Off-Road-Training-Camp. PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE DIALOG BETWEEN SARGE AND THE JET BLACK, BLINGED-OUT-HUMMER (with the huge Spintecs)!!!! I fell outta my seat laughing so hard!!!!! You will, TOO!!!!

So, any ideas as to WHAT my main Christmas giftage will be this year????? As my dear ol' Dad used to say: "Three guesses and the first two don't count!!!" :)

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Tom & Ray On "CARS"


Tom & Ray as "Rusty & Dusty"
Tom & Ray Magliozzi have a few things to post about their roles in Pixar's "CARS". Good for a grin or two! Those guys!!!
NOTE: Since their interview page keeps changing, here is the entire text of it, instead of a broken link:
Fans of National Public Radio’s “Car Talk,” which stars Tom and Ray Magliozzi as Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers, can catch their voices on the big screen June 9 when Pixar’s latest animated movie, “Cars,” is released. Ray is the voice of Dusty Rust-eze (left) and Tom is the voice of Rusty. In this Q&A, the brothers answer questions about their roles in the film. Image © Disney Enterprises, Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios. All rights reserved.
How and why did you get involved in the "Cars" movie project? Are these the first movie roles for you?

Ray: John Lasseter, the director and brains behind “Cars” and “Toy Story,” is a fan of our show, I guess. He tried to get us to play gas station attendants in “Toy Story,” but we were too lazy back then. Plus, we figured, computer animation? Toys that come to life? Who's going to watch that?

Tom: Despite the fact that we told them to flake off on “Toy Story,” John called again and said he had great parts for us. And he'd written them with us in mind.

Ray: We found out later that he had actually written them for Carrot Top and Art Garfunkel, but they turned him down.

Tom: These are our first movie roles. I mean, have you seen our faces? We could only work in animation.
So who are Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze? What are their roles in the film?

Ray: They're brothers who sell bumper ointment…

Tom: Don't ask!

Ray: CAR bumper ointment. They're a couple of old cars who dispense wisdom to the hotshot rookie racecar, Lightning McQueen.

Tom: We told them we wanted roles that would really stretch us professionally, ya know. So they cast us as decent, smart guys. We needed a lot of coaching for that.
What's it like doing voice work for a movie? How is it different from — or similar to — doing your radio show?

Ray: Well, you only get to do one take on radio. In other words...

Tom: ...this was a lot more work! We must have done dozens of takes of some of those lines. And not one extra doughnut. Not ONE! Isn't there some kind of actors' union?
Are there any surprises from you two that moviegoers can expect to see?

Tom: We don't know. We haven't seen the movie yet. They kept inviting us to all these premieres and special screenings, but one week I had a hair appointment, and the other time my brother was at the Seat Cover Convention in Toledo.

Ray: So it's all a surprise, at least to us. But given what a great job Pixar has done on everything they've touched, I suspect it's going to be a very good movie — despite the fact that we're in it!