Henry Poole is Here

August 22nd, 2008

Rated PG for thematic elements and some language

Mark Pellington (dir.)

Luke Wilson as Henry Poole

Radha Mitchell as Dawn

Adriana Barraza as Esperanza

George Lopez as Father Salazars

Cheryl Hines as Meg

Richard Benjamin as Dr. Fancher

Morgan Lily as Millie Stupek

Rachel Seiferth as Patience

Beth Grant as Josie

Our reviews below:

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Henry Poole is Here Review By John C.

**** (out of 4)

I could start off by saying how good the acting is, or that the writing is great and the direction is perfect, but I could also just simply say that I truly loved this movie. It starts off with lonely and depressed Henry Poole being shown around his new house by a real estate agent, who says that she can sell him the house, but before he moves in they’re just going to re-stucco the outside wall. He says “No, don’t bother, I’m not going to be staying very long”, but she doesn’t listen and gets it done anyway. And if she had listened to him, the face of Jesus would probably have never appeared on the side of his house. It is the kind of movie where everything happens for a reason, even when his kitchen sink backs up.

The face is first seen by his next-door neighbour Esperanza Martinez (Adriana Barraza), who’s boyfriend used to live in that very house. She declares it a miracle, and even brings in Father Salazar (George Lopez) to check it out. He says that a face is very clear, but they cannot necessarily assume that it is the face of Christ. But, when miracles start happening to those around him, Henry is still in doubt, and maybe he is the one in most need of a miracle. If none of this sounds that interesting to you, than this movie is probably not for you. I have read reviews from people who did not like it, and I can see why, but back on topic, I absolutely loved this movie.

One of the best things about it is the soundtrack, every song fits its scene perfectly (Thanks in part to director Mark Pellington, who has directed music videos for different bands, including U2) and not one song is out of place. There are two scenes part way through and one scene at the end that are absolutely beautifully done, and I had tears in my eyes. I could not help being moved by it. Like Northfork, Millions, Stranger Than Fiction, and August Rush, this is one of those special movies that only come once in a while, and sadly are not for everyone. One of the best movies of the year.

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Henry Poole is Here Review By Erin V.

**** (out of 4)

Henry Poole is Here opens with the title character, (Luke Wilson), buying a house in an older neighborhood. When he moves in, his new next door neighbor, Esperanza, (Adriana Barraza), comes to his door to welcome him to the area. Henry Poole just wants to be left alone. Later on, he sees Esperanza in his yard looking at the side of the house. He asks her what she was doing there. She shows him that she sees the image of Christ’s face on the side of his house. All he sees is a bad stucco job. She wants him to believe. He doesn't want to be disturbed from staying at home, depressed and drinking. There is a little girl, Millie, (Morgan Lily), who lives next door on the other side of Henry’s house. She doesn't speak, but carries a tape recorder around with her. In this small suburban community everyone knows everyone else, and Henry just can’t be left alone. Be it Millie’s mother Dawn, (Radha Mitchell), or Patience, (Rachel Seiferth), the cashier at the local supermarket, they won’t go away. No matter how much he fights everyone and their beliefs around him.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The use of music in the film was especially interesting. I suppose that we can expect this from the director Mark Pellington. There are a few scenes that were done in a music video type style, which added to the unique feel of this film. Some people might find it moves at a bit of a slow pace at times, although I found it to be a nice change from the mainstream. And that is what this film is not - mainstream. It is more special then that. This is an art film, a festival film, and a truly moving story of a man who just needs to let go and believe.

Henry Poole is Here opens in Canada this week.

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Henry Poole is Here Review By Nicole

**** (out of 4)

It is a rare treat to see such a lovely movie about faith, such as Henry Poole is Here. Henry Poole is a lonely, depressed man who moves into a new California home, preferring to be left alone. This all changes when his nosy next door neighbour, Esperanza, knocks on his door and excitedly tells him that the image of Jesus has appeared on his stucco outside. Henry Poole scoffs at her and asks her to leave. However, miracles start to happen, and despite Poole’s refusal to believe, his own life starts to improve, along with the lives of a single mother, and her electively mute daughter. Little by little, the image of Jesus brings the whole community to Poole when he refuses to reach out to them. This is a wonderful Christian movie, with no sex or violence, and only minimal swearing in context of the movie. While too slow moving for kids under 10, this is still a good movie to bring the family to. You will laugh at times, and cry at others. Henry Poole is Here is one movie you do not want to miss.

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Henry Poole is Here Review By Maureen

*** (out of 4)

‘Henry poole is Here’ is worth seeing. I was skeptical at first, expecting that a movie about the face of Jesus appearing on a stucco wall would be either preachy, overly sentimental or anti-religious. Instead I got a warm, often funny, touching movie about faith, hope, and the human spirit.

The people in the movie are completely believable. Luke Wilson’s Henry Poole is appropriately miserable yet likable. Henry’s neighbor Esperanza, and Patience, the cashier at the local store, are both charming and funny and worth the price of admission. I smiled and laughed and rooted for these characters throughout the entire movie. It was my caring for these characters that kept me watching during the often slow pace of the film. Overall, I enjoyed the dialogue and the music, but would have preferred fewer tight close-ups of the actor’s faces. I definitely could have done without the close-ups of Henry Poole’s blood tests during his flashback hospital scene. I wasn’t the only one audibly cringing and looking away during those scenes.

The real beauty of this film was to watch how the faith and hope of each individual strengthened the other over time, and how their connections to one another proved to be the real miracle. For anyone who believes in the miracle of love and caring this is a must see movie. I’m a believer.

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Henry Poole is Here Review By Tony

*** (out of 4)

Henry Poole’s attempt to be left alone in his new home, to lie around subsisting on a diet of pizza and donuts washed down by various wines and spirits, is constantly interrupted by neighbours. A selectively mute little girl with a tape recorder lives with her single mother on one side, and the pushy but disarmingly pious Esperanza on the other. After Esperanza perceives a likeness of the Lord on Henry’s stucco wall, the inevitable crowds of pilgrims and apparent healings fail to convince Henry of any possibility of a miracle, even though, as is gradually revealed, he may need one most of all. The conclusion is just ambiguous enough for believers to feel affirmed and skeptics not to feel ripped off by fantasy. Good acting all around sustains Mark Pellington’s extreme closeups and brooding pace, which may be too art house slow for some.

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Consensus: An answer to prayers for those who have been hoping for a movie that’s not afraid to have faith and God as a central theme. A wonderful indie gem. ***1/2 (out of 4)

Until Next Week...

A History of “At the Movies”

Written by John C.

Before Siskel and Ebert, television didn’t have a movie review show. All of that changed in September 1975. Once a month on Opening soon at a theater near you, created by Thea Flaum to air locally on PBS affiliate station WTTW in Chicago, Illinois, Gene Siskel from the Chicago Tribune and Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times would get together and discuss new and soon to be released movies. It became very popular not only for their honest opinions, but also because people could relate to them. The concept was simple, just two guys sitting in a balcony discussing movies, and they would rate them by a simple and universal thumbs-up or thumbs-down. It featured a segment titled Spot the wonder dog which was cued by a bark, and they would pick the worst movie or the “dog” of the Week. It ran for two seasons before being renamed sneak previews in 1977 when it became a biweekly show airing nationally on PBS. Later each episode would end with the tagline 'until next week, save us the aisle seats'.

By 1979 it was a weekly series on over 180 stations, and was the highest rated weekly entertainment show in the history of public broadcasting. The show was hugely popular, and they made the decision to syndicate it to commercial television, and in 1982 Siskel and Ebert were offered a new contract and told to take it, or leave it. They decided not to renew their contract with WTTW, stating that they did not like the direction PBS wanted to go. They were replaced by Neal Gabler and Jeffrey Lyons. Neal Gabler would leave in 1985, because of philosophical differences with the direction of the show. He was replaced by Michael Medved, who had already had cameo appearances on the show presenting the Golden Turkey Awards for the worst movies of the year. Sneak previews was unable to sustain it’s popularity without Siskel and Ebert, and was canceled by PBS in late 1995, just before the 1996 season.

Siskel and Ebert were soon signed by Tribune Entertainment, and became the hosts of At the Movies, in 1986 they left the show because of a dispute with Tribune entertainment. They were replaced by film critic Rex Reed and ET gossip correspondent Bill Harris. The show expanded to also have show business news as well as the regular movie reviews. Harris left in 1988, and was replaced by former ET host Dixie Whatley. It was canceled in 1990. Siskel and Ebert were signed on in 1986, by the Disney owned company Buena Vista, and the name was changed to Siskel & Ebert & the movies. It aired weekly on ABC. In 1989 the title would change again to simply Siskel & Ebert. They had special episodes called Take 2 where instead of reviewing new movies, they would discuss different topics such as Woman in Danger: slasher films of the 1970’s and early 80’s and even a show done in black and white to protest colourization. The show was extremely popular, because despite all the changes they still just seemed like two ordinary guys sitting in a balcony discussing movies, and they didn’t always agree. Some of the most remembered episodes are when they would argue with each other, over which one had a better opinion. They did not just fight on camera, they continued a friendship backstage. One minute they would be arguing and the next, sharing jokes and laughing with each other.

Through out the course of Siskel & Ebert, the show was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards, most recently in 1997 for outstanding information series.

In 1998, Gene Siskel underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. On February 3rd, 1999, he announced that he was taking a leave of absence, but that he should be back writing by the fall. He wrote “I’m in a hurry to get well because I don’t want Roger to get more screen time than I”. Sadly, Gene Siskel passed away on February 20th, 1999, due to complications from the surgery. The last few shows he co-hosted, he was heard via telephone from his hospital room. The last movie he reviewed was the romantic comedy Simply Irresistible. Roger Ebert continued the show with the title Roger Ebert & the Movies and rotating guest critics, including celebrities like Martin Scorsese and well known critics Joel Siegel from Good Morning America and The Washington Posts TV critic Tom Shales to name but only a few. But, the one that co-hosted the most was Richard Roeper, who was also from the Chicago Sun-Times. The show continued in this format through out the 1998-1999 season and even into 2000. Soon after, Roger Ebert announced that Richard Roeper was to be the new permanent co-host. On September 10th, 2000 the show’s name was changed to Ebert & Roeper & the Movies. A year later the name was shortened to just Ebert & Roeper.

In 2004, Roger Ebert was diagnosed with cancer of the salivary gland, and underwent radiation treatment for tumors on his thyroid and salivary gland. In 2006 the cancer came back, and he had to take a leave of absence. Shortly after, they released reviews that had been written or taped before his surgery. For the remainder of the 2006-2007 season the show continued with guest critics, including Jay Leno, Kevin Smith, A.O. Scott, Robert Wilonsky and Michael Phillips. In June 2007, the show’s name was officially changed to At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper. In August 2007 it was announced that Richard Roeper and any guest critics would not be allowed to use the thumbs-up or thumbs-down trademark which is owned by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel’s widow, and saying that Robert Wilonsky of the Dallas Observer and HDnet.com would be the permanent co-host until Roger Ebert could return. In October, Robert Wilonsky never returned to the show, and they went back to switching between A.O. Scott of The New York Times and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune. Roger Ebert would never return to the show, and Michael Phillips became the new host. Once again, a Chicago Sun-Times critic and a Chicago Tribune Critic would get together and discuss movies. This also came with the creation of a new segment titled, Three to See, where both critics would alternate between naming the best three movies in theaters right now. On May 24th, 2008 they started reviewing movies by saying See-it, Skip-it, or Rent-it.

On July 21st, 2008 Richard Roeper announced he was leaving the show, saying that he and Disney-ABC TV could not reach an agreement on a new contract. Roger Ebert also announced that he has cut all ties with the TV show. The last episode of At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper will air on August 17th, 2008. On September 6th, 2008 Richard Roeper and Michael Phillips will be replaced by Ben Lyons (son of well known film critic Jeffrey Lyons) a Hollywood reporter and film critic for E! news and Ben Mankiewicz whose grandfather Herman Mankiewicz won an Academy Award for the screenplay for Citizen Kane.

His great-uncle, writer-director Joseph Mankiewicz has won Oscars for All About Eve and A Love Letter to Three Wives, his cousin Tom Mankiewicz has written several of the James Bond movies including The Man with the Golden Gun and Diamonds are Forever, and his father Frank was the campaign director for the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern’s campaign and was Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s press secretary.

The new hosts will probably keep pretty much the same style that the show is in now, but changes to the music, set, and graphics are to be excepted. They will also introduce new segments, such as a critics roundup where they will be joined via satellite with reviewers from around the world.

The last episode of At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper will air on Sunday, August 17th, 2008 at 10:30 PM on CW 23 and at 1:05 AM on CTV. Please check local listings.

'Star Wars: Clone Wars' Series on CTV This Fall

CTV has acquired the rights to the "Clone Wars" series for the fall. It will air on both CTV and SPACE with air dates still to be announced.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080812/ENT_review_clone_wars_080812/20080812?hub=Entertainment

20th Century Fox Shooting Three Big-Budget Movies in Montréal This Year.

There are three big-budget movies being shot in Montréal this year. Each has a budget of at least $100 million. Read more from The Montréal Gazette at the link below.

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=5d8321ec-4d55-40bd-ae6c-742949303ea9

Superhero Movie - DVD Release

On DVD July 8th, 2008

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, comic violence, drug references and language.

Craig Mazin (dir.)

Drake Bell as Rick Riker/Dragonfly

Sara Paxton as Jill Johnson

Christopher McDonald as Lou Landers/Hourglass

Pamela Anderson as Invisible Girl

Tracy Morgan as Professor Xavier

Leslie Nielsen as Uncle Albert Adams

Our reviews below:

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Superhero! Movie Review By John C.

**1/2 (out of 4)

I went in expecting a unfunny, stupid, and offensive comedy, and it definitely was stupid and offensive, but definitely not unfunny. It is one of the funniest movies of the year. It is a shame that it was trashed by the critics that were allowed to see it and that people totally missed this (dare I say it?) hidden gem. Airplane! and The Naked Gun series are such classics, (it's not really in the same league, but you get the idea), so why not this? Is it because our society no longer wants a genre so popular at the time to be spoofed like this? Or maybe because in the past 28 years or so since Airplane! we have started to take offense to tasteless comedy? Or were people just insulted by the sight of a Dr. Stephen Hawking look alike, (Robert Joy), swearing and talking about sex and suicide and a complete bashing of Tom Cruise by excellent impersonator Miles Fisher? It spoofs almost every Marvel superhero that a movie has been made about, but mainly Spiderman (so it is definitely necessary to have seen the first and second Spiderman movies).

It begins with Rick Riker going on a class field trip (which leads to a very funny scene involving H2O9) and being bitten by a Dragonfly and turning into dragonfly guy. But his troubles don’t stop there, he has to defeat the evil Hourglass and become a true hero. All I can do is hope that it will find a second life on DVD.

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Superhero Movie Review By Erin V.

***1/2 (out of 4)

Superhero Movie surpassed my expectations tenfold. This is one of the most amazing, stupid movies that I have ever seen and I loved every second of it. If you liked the Airplane movies, and The Naked Gun, you will probably at least enjoy Superhero Movie. Call me crazy, but this movie is a hidden gem!

I don’t know how to describe the plot line of this movie, except that it is a ‘superhero movie’. Some random young guy gets bitten by a dragonfly and gains super powers. [Pretty neat huh?] He becomes Dragonfly Guy, and discovers that he can climb walls, [and break-dance on them], and do all sorts of other cool things. I don’t want to ruin the movie so I probably shouldn’t say much more, except that there is this evil guy called The Hourglass, and this girl that he likes. [It’s Dragonfly Guy who likes the girl, not The Hourglass.] This movie also has ‘cameos’ from tons of famous people and superheros that play into the plot very nicely.

I can’t wait to view this on DVD, since I only saw it in theatres. With the massive amount of jokes and sight gags, after only one viewing I’m sure I missed a few. This is definitely one of the most finely crafted pieces of cinematic comedy this year. You can’t argue with that.

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Consensus: A cinematic gem of comedy for all ages! [Except small children.] *** (out of 4)

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Superhero Movie is available with the following bonus features:

Feature commentary By Writer/Director Craig Mazin and Producers David Zucker and Robert K. Weiss

Alternate ending

Deleted scenes

Meet the Cast

The Art of Spoofing

Theatrical trailer

The Set to Screen Series: Be Part of a New Adventure in Filmaking.

From apple.com:

Great movies are full of adventure, and Australia, the next film from Oscar-nominated director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!, William Shakespeare’s Romeo+Juliet), is no exception. But making a movie is an even bigger adventure—an adventure in creativity—and with the Apple Set to Screen Series, you can be a part of it.

Every few weeks through October, a new podcast episode from Baz and his production team will introduce you to another aspect of moviemaking, starting with on-set still photography, then moving on to costume design, cinematography, scoring, and more. You’ll get insights from the artists at work on Australia, watch them in action, view footage the rest of the world hasn’t seen yet, and follow along as the movie comes together.

http://www.apple.com/education/settoscreen/

The official rules state that in order to be eligible you must be a student in the US attending an accredited high school, college or university and have access to a Macintosh computer. For full terms and conditions, follow the link below.

http://www.apple.com/education/settoscreen/tsandcs.html

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

[Due to the holiday, regular posts will not resume until tomorrow.]

WALL•E

June 27th, 2008

Rated G

Andrew Stanton (dir.)

Ben Burtt as WALL•E / M-O (voice)

Elissa Knight as Eve (voice)

Jeff Garlin as Captain (voice)

Fred Willard as Shelby Forthright, BnL CEO

MacInTalk as Auto (voice)

John Ratzenberger as John (voice)

Kathy Najimy as Mary (voice)

Sigourney Weaver as Ship's Computer (voice)

Our reviews below:

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WALL•E Review By John C.

**** (out of 4)

Beautiful. Mesmerizing. Thrilling. Exciting. Absolutely incredible. Wall•e is truly amazing. Having said all this I still have not even begun to describe this movie, because no matter what words you use you will still have to see it to believe it. If you have seen the trailers you still don’t know just how good it is. Go see it. Now. The movie starts on Earth in the year 2815 AD, with a single Waste Allocation Load-Lifter Earth class robot (WALL•E) still going through piles of trash that the humans left behind when they all left some 700 years ago to find a better life up in space. He is extremely lonely, his only friend is a cockroach and is home is an old truck filled with old knick-knacks that have intrigued him, including a Rubiks cube, an ipod, a spork, and a bunch of lighters. But his prized possession is a tape of Hello, Dolly! which he watches everyday and is enchanted by the sight of two people holding hands. Until one day a space ship lands and out comes EVE, a sleek, new probe-bot who’s directive is to find a sign of something, anything that would let the humans return to Earth. Wall•e falls in love with her, and no sooner then she arrived, she is whisked back into space. Wall•e follows her and sets into motion a sci-fi action- adventure that is also funny and touching, causing everyone to rethink their life and realize the point of actually living, not just existing. This should not only go for best animated feature come Oscar time, it should also go for best picture. It truly is that amazing.

Presto review by John C.

**** (out of 4)

A new Pixar feature means a new Pixar short. This time we get the hilarious Presto, about a magician (Presto) and his rabbit (Alec) who always seems to have a carrot just out of reach, which leads to really funny Looney Tunes style results.

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WALL•E Review By Erin V.

**** (out of 4)

Before the movie began there was a new PIXAR short film called ‘Presto’, about a magician and his rabbit. It is a very funny and entertaining short, with the humour being similar to a Bugs Bunny cartoon. This being said, like the movie, I give it four stars. Now on to the movie review.

WALL•E stands for Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth class, and he is the title character in PIXAR’s newest masterpiece. WALL•E begins with some of the most beautiful animated scenes that I have ever seen. They top most live action films in terms of cinematography. The camera work is absolutely amazing on this film, even though the camera used is actually a computer. The geniuses at PIXAR keep pushing what CGI can do, and we are the ones rewarded.

The movie opens brilliantly with ‘Put On Your Sunday Clothes’, from Hello Dolly, WALL•E’s favorite, and probably only movie. WALL•E, as his name suggests, is cleaning up the Earth after it has become covered in trash. He has been doing this for over 700 years, while humanity stays in a giant spaceship called the AXIOM. While WALL•E is doing what he always does, something changes. The AXIOM sends down a smaller ship with a probe droid called EVE, whose name is also an acronym. Like WALL•E’s name, her’s describes her, [classified], directive.

Eventually her space ship sends her back to the AXIOM as she has completed her task. WALL•E, can’t bear to see her leave, as he has fallen in love, so he hitches a ride on her spaceship and ends up on the AXIOM himself. There he sees what humanity has become - dependent only on technology. He meets other robots, and the story picks up speed. Very much a contrast from the gentle opening, which was one of my favorite parts of the movie.

I won’t say much more, as I don’t want to spoil the movie. What I will say though, is that, compared to the opening which has very earthy undertones, the scenes on the AXIOM are really artificially coloured. It appears that the filmmakers really want you to see how fake the world that humanity is living in, really is. It shows that for the most part, the most human characters on the ship are the robots.

The beginning is powerful, the middle is eye-opening, and the ending is amazingly emotional. The music is amazing and moves the story along really well, especially at the beginning and end.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I found it to be a beautiful love story, [who thought that robots could portray love so well?]. This is definitely one of the best films I have seen this year. Even the credits are artistically amazing. [Be sure to stay until the film company logos have flashed on the screen, and the screen goes black]. I look forward to seeing more from PIXAR - the company of which I have enjoyed every one of their films.

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WALL•E Review By Nicole

**** (out of 4)

Before WALL•E they played a short film called Presto. Presto is a hilarious short film about an adorable little bunny, named Alec who is trying to get a carrot from a magician. In true Loony Toons fashion, Alec tries numerous times to try to get the carrot. Make sure you don’t miss it! But now about WALL•E.

WALL•E is a powerful, yet touching tale of a robot, who is the sole mobile thing left on the planet, [except for his pet cockroach]. He roves around the parched, uninhabited and smoggy planet Earth, cleaning up the trash left by us.

When he meets EVE, a sleek female robot, he is in love and follows her back into space. He then encounters the Axiom, filled with humans, who are now huge ungainly creatures who hover on chairs and ignore one another, instead being more interested in consumerism. Through a series of adventures, WALL•E and EVE teach humanity that with simple love and caring as opposed to lazy self-centeredness, that humanity can save the Earth.

The score and plot line are amazing and very emotional, as are the visuals, [right down to the end credits]. The most realistic parts of the movie are the scenes with only the robots, and the scenes with the people of the near future [who are actually live actors on a screen]. Contrast this with the people on the Axiom, who are brainwashed cartoon people in a brightly coloured, ‘Buy ‘n’ Large’ world of advertisement and over consumerism. This is a powerful technique, which moves the viewer from a sense of reality, to a sense of something artificial. [Which raises the question, “Is this what we want to become?”]

This movie is a love story, a social comment piece, and a parable all rolled into one. Some of my favorite parts were the romance between WALL•E and EVE. Their love was so real, that I even cried at times. This movie is terrifying, yet exhilarating, funny and innocent, sad at times, yet heart warming, this movie will not leave you unchanged. ___________________________________________________

WALL•E Review By Maureen

**** (out of 4)

What a treat getting to see WALL•E opening weekend. I’d been looking forward to seeing this movie for weeks and I was not disappointed. This had to have been one of the most charming and heartwarming movies I’ve ever seen. The gentle growing bond between WALL•E and EVE brought tears to my eyes near the end. The overall message that having a hand to hold changes everything was touching.

This was not by any means a sappy, sentimental movie. The scenes of a devastated earth were dark and probably scary for little ones. Yet they were offset by WALL•E’s wonderful quirkiness and charm. WALL•E is a delight to watch in every scene. I especially appreciated the music and lack of dialogue at the beginning of the movie.

The pre-Axiom part of the movie which focuses on WALL•E and EVE was the best part of the movie for me. I enjoyed the mix of visuals and music. It was a very different experience from other animated films. It drew me into the story and kept me there through the whole thing.

I found the contrasting scenes on board the Axiom with the humans a bit of a let down for me. But the exciting action towards the end with WALL•E and EVE had me rooting for the pair and the entire human race. This movie, right down to the artistic end credits is wonderful. Go see this movie and if you can, hold someone’s hand.

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WALL•E Review By Tony

**** (out of 4)

Once again the folks at Pixar have come up with a completely original premise. On a world evacuated for seven centuries, Wall-e is the last cleanup robot left, faithfully compacting and stacking waste into skyscrapers by day and resting at night in a trailer with his pet cockroach and Hello Dolly videotape. Wall-e’s behaviour is very human, though his movements are actually feasible with current robot technology, unlike the windshield eyes and grill lips in Cars. The planet is visited by a scout robot whose name Eve, like Wall-e’s, is an acronym. She is white and egg-shaped, with internal blue lights for eyes and appendages that appear & disappear as needed, so, unlike Wall-e, she could only exist today in the virtual realm. Wall-e stows away on the craft that returns her to the mother ship, where successive generations of human survivors have replaced bone mass with fat in lives led in constant repose on moving cots provided with all the food and personalized entertainment they want. I won’t spoil the plot by giving away any more.

Each Pixar film takes several years to produce, with obsessive attention to detail, so that, as for all good films, successive viewings always reveal something new and delightful. Wall-e maintains this tradition brilliantly, being accessible to all ages with as many layers of interpretation as they can handle, and delivering its messages with a light touch rather than a heavy hand. My only cavil is that it moved a bit too quickly in spots for me to keep up, but I look forward all the more to seeing it again.

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Consensus: A must see Summer movie for anyone. Definitely Oscar worthy in multiple categories. **** (out of 4)

Get Smart Straight to DVD Spinoff

There will be a Get Smart spinoff coming this Wednesday, July 2nd, titled Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control. It will follow the adventures of the two tech guys as they try to get back their invisibility cloak before it falls into the hands of KAOS. It will sell in stores for about $19.99

WALL•E Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

WALL•E currently stands at 97%, with 64 fresh and 2 rotten. It will be interesting to keep checking up on it tonight and tomorrow. I hope that it will get up to 99% so that it can be the best reviewed PIXAR flick, just behind both of the Toy Story movies.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wall_e/

UPDATE; June 27th: WALL•E has reached 98% on RT. Now with 84 fresh and 2 rotten.

UPDATE #2; June 28th: WALL•E has dropped to 96% on RT, with 134 reviews counted; 129 fresh and 5 rotten. The average rating for WALL•E is currently at 8.6/10.

[Our reviews of WALL•E will be coming this following week.]