movie

[egypturnash]

Finding Nemo was good. Lots better than I expected it to be from the first previews; characterizations that seemed like cliches in the trailers were more nuanced than one line like "Grab shell, dude!' would indicate.

Interesting notes around it:

• In the annoying deejayed muzak before the lights dimmed and the previews started, one piece of treacle was not advertised as being on a major label, but as available on cdbaby.com. It was still predigested pap, but it was cool to hear something less inherently megacorp in that context.
  
• 'Brother Bear' looks painfully sentimental. Having a soundtrack by Phil Collins will not help. The soundtrack of that trailer has the exact same effect on me as the soundtrack for the 'Spirit' trailer did: any desire I may have had to see the film is now destroyed, because I am afraid of being subjected to more music like that.
  
• Now that I actually work in animation, I don't eagerly keep up with what's coming out soon. I can't stand to read 'Animation Magazine' because it's rehashed press releases and interviews with executives. So I was surprised at the content of the little teaser trailer for Pixar's next flick: after four movies about toys and monsters and fish, they're going to finally dare to try their hand at one starring humans. Highly stylized and cartoony models, with highly realistic rendering. The audience laughed at it; we shall see if they can actually pull it off for a whole movie. I've said for a long time that this is the direction 3D animation should be going, rather than mindless aping of reality; we'll see if Pixar can make the average American agree with me.
  
• I just realized that there were no commercials before the previews. Lights dimmed, there were coming attractions, then a short, then a movie.
  
• Before the feature, they ran 'Knick Knack', which was the follow-up to 'Tin Toy'. A text card before it said something about 'Ten years before Toy Story, Pixar did this.' A girl sitting behind me said "I was two then!"; I felt rather old. Despite its simplicity, the short is still entertaining. And I noticed that even back then, Steve Jobs was somehow involved; he's listed in the 'Thanks to' screen of the credits. I wonder if they'll ever dig so far back as to show 'Andre and Wally B', one of Lasseter's very first cartoony-CG films. I think that one was done before Pixar split off of ILM's CG department, though, so the negotiations could be murder.
  

Comments

[pobig.livejournal.com]

I just realized that there were no commercials before the previews.

Wow, I may willingly enter a first-run theatre again. Was this at some well-known chain?

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

It was at one of the two Maan's in the neighborhood (there's a 10-screen, and a 4-screen with stadium seating within two blocks of each other; why, I don't know). I think Maan's is a LA-only franchise; I never heard of it before I moved here, at least.

Normally they run commercials before the preview. This may have been due to some kind of payola fro Disney rather than new policy.

[zrath.livejournal.com]

"Andre and Wally-B"?!?!?!
Holy crap, I think I remember those guys!
I don't remember where I've seen them though...
Probably some sort of CG demo reel.
I can totally picture those two characters in my mind.

I try not to hit the big chain theaters anymore.
There's a large independent theater not too far from me that's become my favorite place to go see movies. It's The Bridge Cinema at the Howard Hughes Center (North of LAX a ways).
It's styled like a '60s jet-set airport and it's all stadium-sitting. Parking is a buck and unlimited. Matinee is before 6pm and $7.50 on weekdays.
Leather reclining seats, folding armrests, 2 IMAX screens, 2 Director's Hall screens (with even nicer seats and selectable seating).
They play the LA Times ad, then previews, then the movie. No crappy TV ads, no crappy "that was Florrwhacks singing 'Hold Me Baby', sure to be a top-seller on Blargh Records" type music.
It's the bee's knees!
I go nowhere else!

Zrath (Waiting for the "with outtakes" version of Finding Nemo to hit the screens)

[kamenkyote.livejournal.com]

Strange, we only got "Knick Knack," and I was surprised that it had been edited, though I guess it's just a matter of throwing the old disc into the Cray (or whatever) and adjusting pixels. Really, though, were the dames in that really too buxom for family viewing? It's not like there were nipples or anything.

I close my eyes during the commercials. Not gonna get my attention, them bastids...

-T'

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

It probably got re-rendered anyway to fit the resolution standards of modern digital projection units... I really can't remember the boob size of the girls from the first time I saw it, all those years ago. Pixar's site is no help; they just have an excerpt from it that only shows the snowman. (There is, however, a copy of the teaser for 'Incredibles' if you're curious.)

[laturner.livejournal.com]

I was wondering if it was my memory going, but I thought I remembered both the babes being "busty" babes previously. Hmm.

My favorite short of theirs is still "Luxo Jr." So cute.

We didn't get a preview of Pixar's next movie... what's it called?

[doodlesthegreat.livejournal.com]

-Mann's is a local chain with a long history. They're the company that own's the Chinese in Hollywood, so they have a cachet of Hollywood history. It'd be nice if there was a Mann around my area. But I'm also surprised that there were no ads. Mann probably just hasn't gotten around to it, as yet.

-I have yet to try The Bridge, but I suspect that if I see the Nemo again, I'll see it there.

-And the girls in Knick Knack were originally designed with helium hooters, but now they look slightly pedophiliac. Can't win for losing...

[ultraken.livejournal.com]

I saw Nemo at the AMC 7 in Santa Monica on a digital projector, and I kept noticing the shockingly clear image quality. It was truly amazing how sharp it was. Of course, I was also near the back of the theater...

[higginsdragon.livejournal.com]

Brother Bear also seemed slightly interesting to me until the Collins music started. I'm pretty sure I audiably groaned. It immediately dulls the movie to generic pop crap and makes the forumlaic flaws stand out that much more. Bleh.

As for The Incredibles, I'm looking forward to that movie. I knew about it beforehand because it's Brad Bird's next film, and he does nifty stuff.

Even though it was an old short Pixar played, I still appreciate Pixar even showing shorts before movies. They're fun. All movies should have stuff like that again. Much better than advertisements. Heck, I wouldn't mind if they did simple product placement if it was a good short.