Sartre, I do hope you find more in it next time round, but if you don’t that’s OK, too. Not every film speaks to every person. That’s one reason there are so many (also that aforementioned creative spirit may play a part).

Sam, lol, I don’t know that I have any publishing rights to bestow, but you’re of course welcome to use it. : )

As far as Pixar films go, I have enjoyed them all, though I never saw Monsters, Inc. Finding Nemo is fantastic. Haven’t seen the Toy Stories or A Bug’s Life since they were in the theater, but I have fond memories of being wowed by them. Cars is probably my least favorite, though even it was more engaging than I had expected (I put off seeing it for a long time, convinced I’d be bored stiff). I rate WALL-E as the “best” film they’ve done and The Incredibles as their most entertaining (also the first film I saw with my husband). Because I am also a hobbyist cook with an unrequited love for Paris, Ratatouille ranks right behind WALL-E and is still my sentimental favorite.

You have entered the gates of heaven with that!

Go WALL-E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This alone could be the LIC reader submission for Wall-E.

WALL-E is at its heart a celebration of humanity’s ingenuity, creativity, and capacity to overcome even our worst selfish, slothful impulses and grow into something better, for the sake of something bigger than our own bloated selves. It’s about the power of one, the power of two, the power of many. WALL-E himself is as much a human invention as the mess he was created to clean up; his character traits (resourcefulness, curiosity, loneliness, dilligence, loyalty, friendship, love, rashness, courage, the ability to learn) are a direct reflection of our own. Eve, too, is a product of us, directly or indirectly. It’s a story, not new, but told in new ways, that reminds us through hyperbole and metaphor of how much we, today, now, need to remember to cherish life in all its forms and have the courage to trust and reclaim our own creative spirit.

WALL-E tells this story in a dazzlingly beautiful technical feat of animation that on a somewhat meta level itself makes the same thematic case: Look what beauty we can create, how warm and imaginative this technology can be, bringing us closer together and to our best selves. We mortals cannot be underestimated, and neither can the possibilities of animation. The art direction, animated cinematography, editing, sound, all the technicals are top shelf.

And as a bonus for film critics, WALL-E simultaneously draws from eight decades of cinematic history–most notably, from the dawn of cinema–to quietly honor film’s most powerful and poignant role in our lives, that of sustaining us in the dark times and reminding us, through whatever improbable means (Hello, Dolly, of all films, is the one highlighted), of what’s really important. It’s a film rich in symbolism and layers of meaning that is steeped in film history and makes a strong argument for film’s future.

The screenplay gives equal weight to humanity’s dual talents for destruction and construction, using the current gathering environmental crisis as a trope that grounds the otherwise sci-fi fantasy in relevance to our immediate future. The real villains in the picture aren’t mutinous AI, but the demons within ourselves that compel us to consume more and more and faster and easier and forget what it is that makes us human, that creative spark and need to forge a path ever forward.

Meanwhile, it has a timeless love story between a bumbling but charming and well-intentioned Chaplin-esque male and a fierce and feminist female who connects to her softer core self, each of whom changes and grows better for knowing the other during the course of the film. That’s what real romance does, makes us better people individually and as a couple for discovering that soul-sustaining partnership. It is a love that was never programmed to be, and yet, must be.

It’s a film that like the best of sci-fi asks, “What if?” and then takes us on a bleak path that does not have to be. It’s a film that channels the deep undercurrent of hope, even amidst the darkest of crises–the death of our planet and the devolution of our species–and has a resounding echo of the rallying cry of a very frightening 2008: “Yes we can!”

To top it off, and almost as asides to its other many treasures, WALL-E also contains significant amounts of humor that don’t rely on fart jokes and pop culture allusions, a misshapen band of merry Island-of-Lost-Toys-esque robots who discover they still have value, a prolonged and joyfully magical cinematic sequence of robots in love spiraling through space, and an endearing cockroach who just won’t die.

It’s one heck of a great film, in my opinion.

That’s…….effing hilarious, lmao.

Otherwise, Incredibles would be at the top of my list, Bugs Life at the bottom but they all score very well for me so it’s almost no contest really. One day I might put Finding Nemo in second place, another it might be Ratatouille, another it might be Toy Story 2, and so on.

In other words, I really kinda heart them all, which is truly surprising for my typical experience with a string of movies like that. I don’t even respond that consistently to the collected works of Studio Ghibli and I used to consider them to be the pinnacle of modern animated features.

As for AoI and After Hours, I’d say give them another look. I agree both keep the viewer at arm’s length emotionally, but they are very well made movies with excellent performances in each. Scorsese has always said he did After Hours as a technical exercise to deal with depression, but I really enjoy its zany, manic energy.

After that are Finding Nemo, followed by Wall-E. I prefer FN’s more streamlined, organically developed narrative and character arcs (also, like I said before, I tend to dislike romances).

After that are the rest, Monsters Inc, Cars, and A Bug’s Life. I might have a better opinion of Monsters if I hadn’t seen it at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood, which was an annoying, overpriced experience.

But even the weakest of these is still a thumbs-up movie for me.

Michael, I came late to Monsters Inc and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it if it’s overlooked as you say, I don’t know why. It was very charming and “cute” without being cloying.

I agree that AoI is a difficult film, but there’s something I love about it. I like how Scorsese is pushing his own boundaries while still managing to be uniquely Scorsese. It’s emotionally distant, true, but it suits the era and the subject.

You’re on your own with After Hours. I just dig that movie.

Alexander, I didn’t like Finding Nemo the first time I saw it. The Father/Son thing didn’t do much for me, but it’s improved for me in subsequent viewings. It’s probably the most openly emotional and that’s a good thing.

I love Ratatouille, probably their most adult film. I should’ve inluded that one with my other two picks.

(I KEEEEEEED)

Seriously, I’m not a WALL-E Nazi.

I don’t disagree it was less surprising, but sometimes that’s comforting and sometimes comforting is a good thing.

That’s pushing it. A lot.”

Yes, that is a little crazy. I do see all of your points about Wall-E, Craig. I essentially agree that he is a collection of human traits, characteristics and behaviors, despite his being robotic. I can certainly see how the film can be be taken as wonderfully moving by many. It never quite made it there for me, though, for the reasons Sartre discussed here.

Switching gears a little to Pixar in general, I’m a fan of Finding Nemo–which is probably their most underrated–The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Finding Nemo is perhaps their most emotionally vulnerable film, with all of the properties coalescing remarkably well. I agree with your comments about The Incredibles: “It was the perfect marriage of story, technique and themes for me and it hit all the right notes.” And Ratatouille is a picture I thoroughly respect, both as something of a true art film disguised as an animated family movie, and a palpably moving film. So those are my favorites from Pixar, I suppose.

Michael W., I must disagree with you about Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence. It’s not what many immediately associate as ‘quintessential’ in Scorsese’s canon, but I love it as one of his most ambitious, and successful films. And it’s very true to his thematic interests despite the superficially dissimilar trappings from most of his work. And while I think Daniel Day-Lewis is just fine in In the Name of the Father, I find him even better in the same year’s The Age of Innocence, though it’s a subtler, chillier performance.

Ace in the Hole, and the aforementioned Double Indemnity (great Wilder double bill there), are grand.

I’ll discuss what I’ve seen up until today.

Thursday evening, we actually caught something at the cinemas, as Doubt finally opened here. I loved it, thought it was one of the year’s best, and, futile as it may be, am really pulling for PSH come Oscar-time(assuming Michael Shannon doesn’t get a surprise nomination for RR).

Friday, I watched In the Name of the Father, which I really liked as well. Lewis, in general, and I know this can’t be said enough, is just incredible to watch on the screen. I also rewatched Black Snake Moan with the Mrs., as she’d never seen it before, and it didn’t age as well as I liked, but I still feel it’s SLJ’s best performance.

Saturday, it was SherryBaby, which I didn’t like at all, The Beach, which I’m still kind of sorting out how I feel, and The Age of Innocence, which was gorgeously filmed but I never felt emotionally attached to the film, and come to think about it, outside of After Hours, it might be the worst Scorsese I’ve ever seen.

Sunday I watched the original Italian Job, which was fun enough but also extraordinarily forgettable.

Monday, I watched Houdini, which was entertaining, but I had some major issues with it. Why, when you have someone as interesting as Harry Houdini to make a film about, is 90% of the film fiction? You might as well have changed the name while you’re at it. I also saw What Just Happened? which is how I felt when the 90 minutes were up. I guess, given the recent quality output of both Barry Levinson and Robert DeNiro, I shouldn’t have been shocked, but the premise sounded like something I could get into, and the entire movie, with such a great cast (although I’ll be happy if I never see Kristen Stewart in another film again) just felt so flat.

Today’s been a good one so far, with Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole. I loved Kirk Douglas’ performance in this, and, even with the shift in media, it feels like a movie that would be just as important today as it was when it was made.

I’ve heard a number of complaints about him as a character. One reviewer even went so far as to call the scene where he tries to hold EVE’s hand date rape.

That’s pushing it. A lot.

I agree that he’s a little odd, but consider that he’s essentially been alone for something like 700 years.

I think of him as having not originally been programmed with feelings or a personality, but it’s something that developed over time. He’s not a complex character, like all of them, he’s drawn (literally) in bold strokes and that’s part of the appeal. This isn’t a Cassavetes film.

I think in some ways, he represents some basic human feelings rather than being a finely honed character. He embodies loneliness and a basic desire to be loved. He’s also industrious and shows a charming aesthetic sense and a joy in simple things. He’s a garbage collector but he has a bit of poetry in his soul. I found him very appealing.

Narratively and thematically, it’s not ground breaking. Technically it is, but the story and characters have been around forever. But I like that. I like the elegant simplicity of it. At times there is almost too much story (the 2nd half threatens to get bogged down with this), but the core story and emotions always shine through, despite the hubbub and the technical razzle dazzle.

I think Sartre has been mainly unmoved by Pixar’s work in general, but I’d like to hear from some of the rest of you if there’s a Pixar film you liked better. As I’ve said before, The Incredibles is my fave. It was the perfect marriage of story, technique and themes for me and it hit all the right notes. I also have a big soft spot for Monsters Inc.

What about the rest of you?

I’m not sure what it was either, but it never came to life for me and I’ve even been known to watch NASCAR of a Sunday afternoon. I know I’m not supposed to admit that in LA, but there it is.

(MAJOR SPOILERS)

And JEEZ did that turn out to be depressing. As the film went along, I found myself more and more firmly in the ‘not guilty’ camp – the filmmaking is biased, but there seem to be plenty of reasonable doubts – and when that verdict came about – and when an internet search revealed that the guy’s still in prison, and has more-or-less exhausted his appeals – it could only feel profoundly sad and disheartening.

Next, The Wrestler, which I feel is a very well written and sensitively directed drama. It wasn’t just about Rourke for me. I was drawn by the portrayals of his relationships, notably the daughter and the stripper. You don’t often see relationships like this, and the issues involved, being portrayed very often onscreen, and that’s a shame. The film is instructive; a happy ending would’ve ruined it.

On WALL-E all I can add is that parts of it were brilliant and I regarded it as constructed to appeal to different demographics — an effect that might be the imperfect grafting Jeff refers to.

Finally, Double Indemnity. Ahhhhh. Quite a few years ago the San Francisco Int’l Film Festival gave Fred MacMurray a lifetime achievement award, prompting snickers by some. Films like this — and a lot of others with this charismatic actor — support my contention that Fred is a lot to write home about.

Jennybee, I need you to see Rev Road now because I’m suddenly dying to know what you think. As you know i’m in the middle of the er….road…and your perspective is interesting to me.

ergg…I had more, but then work got in the way. I’ll try to finish my htoughts on the awesomeness that is WALL-E when I get home.