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Posted
5 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

Godzilla, Kong Skull Island, Godzilla King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs Kong.

Yup. How unfortunate that the only film available on Netflix (here) is the one I've seen (the first US reboot Godzilla). Still, hope to catch this one in cinema.

Posted

Watched Onward at the weekend. I actually quite liked it. It was definitely better than Soul. My wife didn't feel the same - she was crying at the end and was generally just a bit miserable. 

I fully believe that the writers at Pixar gather together when discussing the next film, and work out who is going to die this time. They appear to have a one track mind now.

Up - "What if your wife died?"

Toy Story 3 - "What if your toys came to life, and then died?"

Onward - "What if your father died?"

The Good Dinosaur - "What if your parents died?"

Coco - "What if all your family died?"

Soul - "What if you died?"

 

Pixar used to make children's films that adults could enjoy; they now make adult films that children might(?) enjoy.

Posted
49 minutes ago, bob said:

I fully believe that the writers at Pixar gather together when discussing the next film, and work out who is going to die this time. They appear to have a one track mind now.

Up - "What if your wife died?"

Toy Story 3 - "What if your toys came to life, and then died?"

Onward - "What if your father died?"

The Good Dinosaur - "What if your parents died?"

Coco - "What if all your family died?"

Soul - "What if you died?"

Sure, if you want to conveniently skip half their output to make your point!

I loved Onward, but I don't really understand why a movie emotionally resonating with her is apparently a bad thing according to your wife...

Posted

I haven't seen some of these Pixars, so thanks @bob:rolleyes:

I wish we'd see more animation for adults though. Haven't kept up with what's coming from France (though I still need to see that animation about that hand), but I wish we'd also see something of Pixar quality coming from Hollywood.

Posted
30 minutes ago, Sméagol said:

I haven't seen some of these Pixars, so thanks @bob:rolleyes:

I wish we'd see more animation for adults though. Haven't kept up with what's coming from France (though I still need to see that animation about that hand), but I wish we'd also see something of Pixar quality coming from Hollywood.

Those are literally the premises (premise?) of the films! Apart from maybe Toy Story 3, but that one's 11 years old now, so it's not my fault if you haven't seen it.

 

I just miss the early days of Pixar, when they used to make great family films. Their latest output is clearly very good, I just think they changed their tone a while back and it isn't for me.

Posted
55 minutes ago, bob said:

Those are literally the premises (premise?) of the films! Apart from maybe Toy Story 3, but that one's 11 years old now, so it's not my fault if you haven't seen it.

 

I just miss the early days of Pixar, when they used to make great family films. Their latest output is clearly very good, I just think they changed their tone a while back and it isn't for me.

Honestly I didn't even know the premise of Onward and Coco, except that latter had a Día de muertos theme. Would have been cool to go into those films completely blind when I finally take the time / get the chance to see them. The trailer for Up also totally doesn't hint at the death of his wife being a big focus. Most likely it was a surprise as well when I saw that in the cinema. Forgot most about the good dinosaur, but the trailer I'm watching now also doesn't hint at such things..

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Posted
I'm mostly upset that Bob spoiled Toy Story 3. I mean, I've watched it already, but I had no idea that anyone died in it! Thanks, Bob!
My childhood died. That's who.
Posted
5 hours ago, bob said:

Pixar used to make children's films that adults could enjoy; they now make adult films that children might(?) enjoy.

I dunno. When I was a child, I was terrified of what happens in Syd's house in Toy Story. I don't think they've ever tried to go for that sort of dark, twisted imagery since (I suppose that brief scene in Monsters Inc. of someone suffocating on the scream machine comes close, but it's very brief)

Then again, I think death, loss, grief, etc. are perfectly adequate things to tackle in children's films, as long as it's done responsibly. Pixar has been doing it well for the most part (I think Soul is more appropriate for adults, but more because the script goes into strictly adult stuff more frequently and explicitly than their other films. The "death" part is handled well)

Posted (edited)

"adult" may not have been the right choice of words. "Serious" or "non family" perhaps..? I dunno.

I googled a list of "adult" animation, and it was depressing for the most part. Including things like Fritz the cat.

Some of the examples I was actually looking for included Anomalisa, which i didn't realy like, and Persepolis, which I did really like. I was also reminded of one film I have yet to see and actually still can because it's on Netflix, which is J'ai perdu mon corps.

Now for something else:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/cloverfield-sequel-in-the-works-with-batman-tv-spinoff-showrunner-exclusive

Edited by Sméagol
Posted

It's interesting catching up on the discussion about Pixar, especially having watched The Pixar Story on Disney+ last weekend. It's pretty old at this point (released in 2007), but really highlighted to me in a big way just how much Pixar has I think stumbled forwards in the years since. 

I think a big part of that was focusing on sequels like Finding Dory and Incredibles 2, because even though they were successful financially, I always got the feeling that that's what they were for: to make money. Both wane in quality for me when compared with their predecessors, and I think Pixar - for a little while there - had a bit of an identity crisis after Toy Story 3, at least from the outside looking in. It felt like they were flip flopping between two very different focuses: quality storytelling (which unfortunately I feel has become synonymous with being Oscar bait in many cases), and making money (the sequels; don't dare get me started on Toy Story 4...). 

For me, growing up, Pixar were untouchable. Toy Story was that film I clung to before I could even speak, taking it out of the VHS after it had finished rewinding, and popping it back in before I could even talk (and my younger brother had a similar experience with Cars, which released here the summer he was born). Sure, that streak couldn't last forever, but besides perhaps A Bug's Life, I can tell you when and where I was in my life when I experienced their first ten films or so for the first time, and they're very deeply threaded into the fabric of my childhood. They still mean a lot to me. 

I think they set the bar that ridiculously high that even though they still put out some great films, I do find that they just don't have that same magic for me as before. I don't know, maybe it's just me getting older and more cynical, but even with the ones I do enjoy of theirs these days (and I still have one or two I need to catch up on), it feels like retreading old ground a lot of the time to me. 

And again: don't get me started on Toy Story 4. 

@Jonnas, when Bob says...

On 26/01/2021 at 11:38 AM, bob said:

Pixar used to make children's films that adults could enjoy; they now make adult films that children might(?) enjoy.

...I think he's speaking more to their handling of adult/mature themes and comedy rather than anything ostensibly dark or twisted (though I would personally add Darla from Finding Nemo and the bin scene from You Story 2 to the list of early Pixar-inducing nightmare sequences).

It's a bit of a broad way to put it, but I can see where he's coming from, because Pixar have definitely got much more overt in their tackling of "adult" themes; I don't think you would have found an early Pixar making Soul, for instance. While children might enjoy it and take a lot away from it, for me it falls into that weird gap between being Oscar bait (for lack of a better term) and in terms of its core themes, is aimed more at a more mature audience (not going to say strictly adults or children, because I imagine there are plenty of children mature enough for a film like this, and plenty of adults who aren't). There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but it feels like a fair share of their post-Toy Story 3 offerings just don't offer the same depth as the films prior, and instead are very direct in telling you what it's tackling by comparison. 

I guess it's just down to personal preferences, but those first 10 or so for me offer so much more for both audiences than their contemporary counterparts, and early Pixar reminds me a lot of Ghibli in that way. 

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Posted
32 minutes ago, Julius said:

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 announced:

Recent rumours suggest Jason Momoa will be playing Knuckles. Which is... something. 

OMG I'm so pumped! I loved the first film so much. I guess this is how people felt when they lost their minds at the Metroid Prime 4 logo

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Posted
On 10/02/2021 at 3:39 PM, Josh64 said:

OMG I'm so pumped! I loved the first film so much. I guess this is how people felt when they lost their minds at the Metroid Prime 4 logo

I was always am still am a Nintendo fan. Never played the Sonic games but I found the film to be a fun filled hour and a half. They did end the film with a scene leading to a second so I thought it would come out. Can’t wait to see it. 

Posted
On 2/10/2021 at 3:39 PM, Josh64 said:

OMG I'm so pumped! I loved the first film so much. I guess this is how people felt when they lost their minds at the Metroid Prime 4 logo

Sonic 2 was my favourite game. I can't wait to see Tails and Knuckles! I can't! I loved the first one as well! I still need it on BLU-RAY, actually! 

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Posted (edited)
On 2/18/2021 at 4:14 PM, Happenstance said:

Looks good but it’s missing one of the greatest theme tunes even seen in cinema from the first movie.

 

Saw the trailer to it so many times! I am so, so excited for it!

---

I watched Wrong Turn (2021) last night and it was surprisingly very good. It was written by the same dude who wrote the 2003 one with the cannibals. I just thought it seemed a little cheap to use the name of a franchise to generate interest because honestly, this isn't really anything like the other Wrong Turns (except for the fact they just went to look at something different to what they planned to in the woods...is that even classed as a Wrong Turn? 😂). 

Anyway, film was really good but I think the original title, The Foundation, would've made a fuck-ton more sense.

Edited by Beast
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