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Originally posted by Bond1965:
I prefer this cover:
http://soundtracklist2.webng.com/alternate/wall-e.jpg

James

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Originally posted by nuts_score:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:</font><HR size=1>Originally posted by Bond1965:
[b]I prefer this cover:
http://soundtracklist2.webng.com/alternate/wall-e.jpg

James<HR size=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

That artwork is beautiful (Luis Rojas, right?) but I don't mind the current one. It's different without being a bad choice.[/B]

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Edit: Maybe Short Circuit movie, singular. I dunno... it shows you how much I know about it.

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Originally posted by NeoVoyager:
Maybe Short Circuit movie, singular. I dunno... it shows you how much I know about it.

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Originally posted by Jeron:

There were two films, Neo. And yeah, Peter -- it does definitely keep me thinkin' about Number 5, but that's not a bad thing. There was always something endearing and heart-wrenching about Number 5, and I think Wall-E is riding off the same principle. This time though, I think we'll end up with a film that fairs much better as it ages.

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While last weekend's new films drew some of the most scathing reviews of the year, next weekend's WALL-E, from Disney/Pixar, is likely to draw some of the most enthusiastic, if early reviews are any indication. Indeed, New York magazine asks in its current issue, "Is it possible that Wall-E's over-the-top advance reviews are correct, and this truly is a masterpiece?" Robert Wilonsky in New York's Village Voice comes close to saying as much, calling the movie "a film that's both breathtakingly majestic and heartbreakingly intimate," and concluding his review by remarking, "You'll adore it because of a cuddly, lonely little robot who breaks your beeping heart." And Harry Knowles of the AintItCool.com website praised the film as "one of the absolute best hard science fiction films made in my adult life."

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I was only noting a resemblance of appearance. As we'll see, the two are billions of light years apart when it comes to similarities in character.

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Originally posted by Jeron:
quote: While last weekend's new films drew some of the most scathing reviews of the year, next weekend's WALL-E, from Disney/Pixar, is likely to draw some of the most enthusiastic, if early reviews are any indication. Indeed, New York magazine asks in its current issue, "Is it possible that Wall-E's over-the-top advance reviews are correct, and this truly is a masterpiece?" Robert Wilonsky in New York's Village Voice comes close to saying as much, calling the movie "a film that's both breathtakingly majestic and heartbreakingly intimate," and concluding his review by remarking, "You'll adore it because of a cuddly, lonely little robot who breaks your beeping heart." And Harry Knowles of the AintItCool.com website praised the film as "one of the absolute best hard science fiction films made in my adult life."

Absolutely. Can. Not. Wait.

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I've been excited since I saw some early production art a few years back.

Director Andrew Stanton is one of the best in the business. "Nemo" is by far my favorite Pixar film, and the fact he's doing this one just excited me more.

I wish I could elaborate more, but I have limited time. So my short review would read:

For me, Wall-E is the new Toy Story, it's the new 2001, it's the new Dr. Strangelove, it's the new Playtime (a marvelous masterpiece from Jaques Tati), it's a new (poignant) Woody Allen film, and it's also the return of Charlie Chaplin films. The film's pro-human message is inspiring. For me, Wall-E will have a long life.

And shame shame on those who aren't finding the heart in this score. I've seen the film twice and have been listening to the score since Tuesday. The heart is there, and it has to be heard.

"Presto" (the short before the film) is also the best short that Pixar has done to this point. It's a wonderful Buster Keaton-like piece and a nice "silent" companion to Wall-E.

I enjoyed this movie, especially the earth visuals, but is isn't
my favorite Pixar movie. I thought Finding Nemo and a few
others were better. Wall-E is very endearing during the
first hour. It had me hooked. However, I felt the second
half on the space ship dragged on too long and didn't
really engage my interest.

Now I need to go track down my dead parents and
scream at them for giving birth to a daughter with
no heart because............

And Presto was fantastic. One of Pixars best.

--Brian

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Originally posted by joan hue:
I know, NS, that you have a BIG heart. (Me too.)

I really liked that cold, alienated sound that Newman did when he scored American Beauty, but it seems like (at least for me) that his music never warmed back up, and he uses that style too often. For me, his music seems to miss the emotional center of certain movies, and I thought he missed that center of warmth in Wall-E. (He did nail it in Little Women.) Just my humble opinion.

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Originally posted by Jeron:
Absolutely the best Pixar movie. Evar. I enjoyed Ratatouille, but didn't fall in love with it like some people. Cars was okay, too. But this is what I've been waiting for. It succeeds in all of its simplicity, and dir. Andrew Stanton proves once again how great and sensitive of a filmmaker he really is. This one has a heart like no other.

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Originally posted by Al:
I thought it was a masterpiece within the first thirty minutes, and by the credits, I felt I'd seen a great American classic. After waiting a day to give it some thought, I am leaning toward the latter.

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Absolutely. And to go with Andrew's sentiments, Newman's score is growing on me more and more each day. Having seen the film certainly gave me all the context I needed in order to enjoy the score completely. The presentation seems to all be in film order, which I think actually works well for this album. I, too, have sought out the Hello, Dolly soundtrack; I'm excited to hear the songs in their full, unedited form. I was surprised that the Streisand film stars a much, much younger Michael Crawford (Webber's London-casted Phantom of the Opera), whose voice is featured in both the songs used in WALL-E.

However, while the "message" is interesting, I feel this film suffers from previous efforts in that every other character in the movie beyond the two protagonists are very poorly fleshed out (no pun intended.) The other robots are gimmicks, the antogonists are mere mechanisms, and the Captain character was forgettable.

All in all:

1) Excellent message
2) Wall-e and EVE are a classic combination of characters
3) Solid story
4) Good length
5) All non Wall-e & EVE characters are weak (particularly relative to previous Pixar films)
6) Music was...OK. Some nice parts, but honestly, forgettable. I would need to listen to it again...closely.
7) I know it was a stylistic choice, but I did not like the film grain effect.
8) Oh and Ben Burtt...great job!

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Originally posted by Quill:
Ratatouille still stands as my favorite Pixar film.

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Originally posted by Jeron:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=1 face=arial>quote:</font><HR size=1>Originally posted by Quill:
[b]Ratatouille still stands as my favorite Pixar film.<HR size=1></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's my least favorite... =/[/B]

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While I wouldn't say it's my least favorite, it's far from my favorite.

1. Wall E (this was also the movie I was most excited to see)

2. Finding Nemo (I went into this not expecting much for some reason and LOVED it)

3. Toy Story/Toy Story 2 (I think the sequel is every bit as enjoyable as the first film which is rare)

4. A Bug's Life (Just a fun story with great characters)

5. Ratatouille (I like to cook...)

And here's where pacing issues come in...

6. The Incredibles (fun but seemed to long in my book)

7. Monsters, Inc (same as The Incredibles)

8. Cars (a few to many fittingly cheesy moments)

Oddly enough (maybe not that odd) my favorite 2 Pixar films also have my favorite 2 scores from Pixar films.

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Originally posted by Al:
The human characters are thin, yes. But they're secondary characters, dominoes that Wall-E puts into action. I wouldn't want too much attention taken away from Wall-E and Eve, anyway, but I see what you mean. It doesn't help that the humans are CGI, because they immediately become caricatures and not much more. But really it's this story about this robot who is the only left who appreciates what it is to be human, who then goes on to wake up the rest of the human race, and it pulls it off in a simple way and with a short running time. Because of the running time, the Axiom portion of the movie is so story-heavy that it makes the movie seem lopsided, but I'd rather the story be condensed like this than overlong - that's just my personal preference with movies in general though. I skipped about thirty minutes of "Rat" to get to the finale. I found it to be a fine movie, and I loved the celebration of creativity, but it was just too long for me.

[Message edited by Al on 07-02-2008]

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