boo boo

***

One of the best non Pixar CGI films hands down, it's refreshing to see a CGI film not made by Pixar that is NOT about talking animals of any kind. Yes the film is guilty of the same flaws that most non Pixar CGI films have, a few lame pop culture references, a few instances of potty humor and some other things that keep the movie from reaching it's full potential for Pixar's level of greatness.

But I like this movie because it really is the best looking CGI film not made by Pixar that I have seen as of now, the film is set in a city made by and for robots and devoid of any organic lifeforms, it has a very 1950s Art Deco inspired look to it and featues a lot of very imaginative Rube Goldberg inspired contraptions and set pieces, each character has a unique look to them and just the way they animate is interesting, the color and detail is a step above every other non Pixar CGI film I've seen.

I really like how they managed to simulate the look and texture of metal. Technically nothing outside of Pixar has impressed me like this movie has. It's also fun just to try and make out what kind of household appliances the robots seem to be made out of, like a lot of the best animation, you're gonna notice something new every time you see it.

The film has a rather interesting political theme to it, I've seen films like Over the Hedge that are meant to be satires of American consumerism even though they are obviously part of that system themselves, Robots takes a more interesting and clever approach, the bad guy (voiced by Greg Kinear) is a corporate bigwig who has taken over the company responsible for mantaining the big robot city, he wants to discontinue the production of spare parts so he can force the robots to buy expensive upgrades, what a douche (he may or may not be based on Steve Jobs). The protagonist (voiced by Ewan McGregor) is but a humble dishwashers son with big dreams, who after learning about this guy's evil plans tries to stop him with the help of his friends as well as the company's original founder (played by Mel Brooks, yes that Mel Brooks) so there's a weird "good, reasonable capitalism vs evil, greedy capitalism" theme here. Weither you agree with that outlook or not, the movie deserves points for not depicting capitalism in such a black and white manner as other kids films do.

Some might even find this to be some kind of symbolic message about Hollywood, how it's ok to recycle old ideas instead of trying to make something completely new out of scratch. I'm sure a lot of people here don't agree with that, but I'm all for traditionalism and recycling the old to create something new, that's a big part of the theme of this movie.

Stuff like this will fly over the heads of kids but this is such a busy movie that they won't mind, adults will be entertained by the more subtle things this film has to offer. Overall a lot more substance, care and effort went into this than the usual CGI kids film out of the Hollywood assembly line (sorry, had to throw one lame pun in there). The voice acting is top tier for the most part, though Robin Williams isn't as funny here as he was in Aladdin, he still has some great bits.

By no means perfect, but I like it.



***

Man, remember when Alex Proyas made good movies? I do. How anyone goes from this and Dark City to Knowing I'll never know.

Anyway, there's not much to say other than that this movie kicks ass, Brandon Lee is very fun in the lead, the bad guy is really interesting and it has a very fascinating look to it throughout, not to mention Ernie Hudson, you can never go wrong there. It could have benefited from the character's relationships being fleshed out a little more, but it actually does manage to be pretty touching, it does have a dab of that Poe style gothic romanticism.

It's still a comic book movie at it's core, some might hold it against the film for taking itself seriously, but so do a lot of comics with the dark and gritty style that obviously inspired this film, everything is obviously exagerated for style, but that's what I expect, and it's what I want. I like movies that seem to take place in a different world from my own, and this is one of those films. This is a very special kind of escapism that a lot of dark comic books have, the kinda world you obvioulsly wouldn't want to live in, but it sure is fun to visit.

Whatever you do, stay the hell away from the sequels.

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Guybrush

Hah! The Crow. I remember how awesome that movie was back in the 90s when it was fresh. It's influence on goth culture was tremendous .. And then watching it now, it has some obvious flaws such as being over the top emo-cheesy, but yeah - still a classic.

Whatever happened to the guy who plays the chief baddie? He played in some big films in the 90s like this one, 1492, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, yet I don't think I've seen him in anything from this decade.

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Thirst-

After seeing "old boy" i knew this **** was gonna be crazy, but it still managed to surprise. In one sense, it seems like the most realistic interpretation of a vampire, and then in the other it's simply bat-**** insane.
It was cool though. I'm actually enjoying this vampire phenomenon a lot.

Scissorman

Unfortunately

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Bulldog

I feel like I should've hated this, but it was actually quite decent as far as modern rom coms go. A bit corny here and there, but otherwise pretty good light entertainment.

sidewinder

I thought that was pretty damn funny.

Coincidentally, last night I watched Pineapple Express, which was pretty funny too, though not great. Great action for a comedy, definitely entertaining.

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FETCHER.

Haha I thought this was hilarious, it was quite a while ago that I seen it, but I remember a few really funny scenes.

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adidasss

Twas good, but not something I'd watch again. I guess I have to accept the fact that Haneke's austere style doesn't really suit my sensibilities.

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debaserr

so so.

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sidewinder

Your image isn't showing, but the file name reveals 12 Monkeys, which I like quite a bit.

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I'd love to see your signature/links too, but the huge and obnoxious ones have caused me to block all signatures.