In Retrospect: Inside Out

Alright, I'm back. Let's start this shit up.

Okay I am gonna try really hard not to be a jaded old bastard, but maaaan I haven't been to so many dark places in such a short amount of time. It's crazy to think it took almost 10 years for a sequel to Inside Out, however at the same time it makes a bit of sense cause look at it from the perspective of the kids who were anywhere between the ages of 5 to 10 who saw it the first time, they're in that hardcore teenage range or young adult age who can look back and chuckle at it all. Obviously I'm a bit beyond the time gap and indeed Inside Out made some existential and emotional crises pop up while watching but it's still enjoyable, it's beautifully animated, and it is funny at times but obviously people love this movie more on just the idea. How does your mind work? And how the film goes about explaining topics like how core memories are formed to how feelings on past events can change over time to even stupid little earworms popping up randomly is potrayed not only intelligently but charmingly. I mean I still have some serious shit to throw at Joy mainly just her bashing poor Sadness almost non-stop but it's a character arc, she betters before end credits but jeez. I mean I get it, I truly do. Oh how it is to be young and naive and not knowing how the world works! I still say the funniest part for me anyway is the red alert girl approaching joke, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at that. Plus you know I'm older now, still just as jaded and broken as always, yet time is if nothing but a great pool of reflection and I'm not quite the same as I was when first writing that review back in 2016, so rewatching it I actually got more out of it I think. It's emotional, I think it almost follows that Soul standpoint where it's more made for older grown up folk than kids which certainly is no bad thing. So I can easily urge people even if you haven't seen this movie in awhile to give it another go. 3 stars from me, 8/10! I have no real clue where the story goes from here so I'm fairly pumped to finally see part two of this story. I don't think they'll go very far with the ahem, hey hey aspects of teendom but to see how they characterize a much more tumultous period of everybody's lives will be fascinating and no doubt entertaining to watch. Which surprise! That review will be coming out later today, true double feature style! See you soon!

Monsters Inc.

A movie like this really makes me appreciate the art of 3D animated films.




Again, for a movie that's over 20 years old it hasn't aged a day. Taking a very neat and original idea of monsters working in a factory setting to supply power through screams, Monsters Inc. is definitely one of the high notes of Pixar in my opinion. John Goodman and Billy Crystal play working partners/roomates Sully and Mike who as their day to day work life proceeds gets vastly interrupted by the appearance of a young girl in the monster world leading them to try to get her home safe. Something I realized is Pixar has this style to their movies where regardless of the world you are introduced to and regardless of plot within that world, you roll with it completely. You really do not need great detail because the picture they paint works and is easily understandable. A monster filled city, screams supply power, they believe children are akin to walking nuclear fallout, they even throw out a tidbit of there being a power supply crisis, but again you don't need reasoning as to why it is the way it is. And the story moves at a great pace for a 90 minute film, with no scene seeming like filler or something that shouldn't be in the final cut. The monster designs are very creative, colorful, and memorable with simple personalities and good performances. I don't need to tell you John Goodman is really good in this movie, he just works so effortlessly and he has that charm about him in every role, and what a remarkable computer engine they had to animate Sully convincingly cause hair is friggin' impossible to animate correctly. Billy Crystal is a good comic foil to John's straight man persona, with fast line reads, jokes thrown in along the way, and yeah you can argue he's a bit of a dick to want to dump this kid anywhere but he's never unlikable or too much to impede your enjoyment. It's great to see Steve Buscemi and John together again in a picture, and what a perfect voice for this slinking evil monster Randall, and again unbelievable praise to the animators for getting a character who can camouflage look flawless. Mary Gibbs as little Boo, God help me this girl is like a terminal overdose of pwecious cuteness, now that being said I would massacre trillions for her and I dare even say it is impossible to not like this character. Plus the fact the filmmakers had to just follow her around with recording equipment to get her unintelligible speech in the movie just cracks me up. Also shoutout to Jennifer Tilly, marvellous as always to see her and a wonderful character design akin to Clash Of The Titans. Talking of which, I'd be a fool not to bring up the restaurant Harryhausen, because I'm me and I'm a nerd for this kind of stuff, watch his special effect riddled movies for God's sake! But yeah, visually the movie is so colorful and inventive and it genuinely does look spot on even today. The comedy works but I also feel again it's not a major part of the movie, it occasionally made me laugh but the story and the characters are why this movie is still as loved today. I surprisingly was quoting a fair bit of it even though I haven't seen the movie in the better part of almost 20 years, so clearly it leaves an impact. I very much enjoyed this film and had a real good time revisiting it. All in all I give it 4 stars, 8/10, and we're jumping ahead to the not too distant past for one more Pixar picture tomorrow.

Soul

It's been a very very long time since a film has done this to me.

I can't hesitate in not only calling Soul the best Pixar film ever made, but the best Disney film ever made. In 1962 after viewing To Kill A Mockingbird Walt Disney said, "I wish I could make a picture like that." because by that point his company was built on a foundation of entertainment not entirely for children but certainly children centric. And I must admit I think this is the only Pixar film I have seen without really knowing what it was about, I never saw a trailer, I knew the briefest of basic plot synopsis, so I truly went into the film blind and upon hearing Soul was much more of a Pixar film aimed at adults my interest was peaked. He would be proud to have his name on this picture. Further proving why animation is a limitless, genre breaking, and outstanding medium for storytelling. Soul follows middle school music teacher Joe Gardner as he has the break of his life and is about to perform with a big star but his life is cruelly cut short and must traverse the worlds after death to return to his body. I have so much to say and yet am finding it hard to find the words. The animation is the best I have seen from this film studio, the lighting, color palette, and movement is beyond incredible and truly transcends animation at points and looks all too real. The story is thought provoking, funny, life affirming, and near the end an overwhelming emotional cascade. It takes a light and humorous view of some of life's biggest questions and defining moments. It brings to attention what makes life worth living and what drives an individual's passions, with surprising simplicity and heart. It is the only film in my memory to truly capture a moment of serenity of which I have experienced several times in my lifetime, and the appreciation it has for the beauty of life must not be taken lightly. When a film brings just a very brief but unrelentingly powerful visual of a person in their home, to the city they live in, to the world they inhabit, to the expanse of the universe, and brings uncontrollable amounts of tears down my face clearly it has done an incredible job immersing myself in this world, with such enjoyable characters, fascinating concepts, and fun environments. Inside Out was the rough sketch, Soul was the finished painting, and you can tell the writers and directors took notes on it to improve and innovate for this movie. My love and admiration for it will never end. 4 stars, 10/10.

Up

I said I wasn't going to cry. I lied.

Up is not only the best Pixar movie ever made, it is one of the greatest films ever made. It's almost perfect. When a movie is so good that people say that it could have ended almost 12 minutes in and they would still pay full price for a ticket and give endless praise towards it, something is obviously special. And I 150,000% agree with them. Up could have been a 12 minute short, and no one would have complained. The sequence is told almost entirely through visual storytelling, and brings even a bitter old man like me to absolute tears and heartbreak. Everybody loves Up. I challenge you to find one person on this good earth to state, "I did not like the movie Up.", it is impossible to hate. But why? What caused this film to win not Best Animated Feature but Best Picture, to be loved and cherished throughout the world, and to be one of the greatest movies ever made in this critic's eyes? Well the story is inspired and original, with the story of a boy who meets a girl and live their life together until his wife passes away leaving him a grumpy old man who is driven to make it to South America and live at Paradise Falls where his wife always wanted to go. He attaches thousands of balloons to his house and starts a grand adventure, while sweeping away a young boy who helps him along the way as they meet strange creatures and other things trying to reach Paradise Falls. That is a great story. But the acting is great with Ed Asner in easily his best performance, comedy that is genuinely hilarious, emotions that can send anyone into tears or big smiles on their face, excellent animation, heartfelt and wonderful music, memorable and great characters, and an important message to follow your dreams but to not let the past control your life. This review can never do justice for this movie. It simply has to be experienced. And any film that references not only Star Wars but also Steve from Blues Clues is clearly a masterpiece of cinema (I'm not lying about Steve, watch it again). But all jokes aside, if you said to me "Dude you can only watch one Pixar movie for the rest of your life, what is it?" my answer is going to be Up until the day I die. That should clue you in on how much I love this movie.

Another week done, and a pretty amazing one at that. Well you all know what comes out one week from now. So the choice of movies for next week is obvious. See you guys in space.