Cars

[Drunk Monk]

...because on DVD, I almost pulled a Benzilla and turned it off. Sure, the new effects were cool. The neon reflections on the cars when Radiator Springs was relit was spectacular. The scenic drive was amazingly real. But it was painfully predictable. I called every single turn this film took before it happened, to the point of absurdity. Every single turn. And I wasn't even trying. Quite the opposite, I was just trying to relax and enjoy it. I really wanted to enjoy it. I've been eagerly waiting for it to appear on the rental shelf since it got released. I kept hoping it would go someplace original. And it was way too long - so much could have been edited out. It felt like Pixar phoned this one in. I've enjoyed all the other Pixar films, but Cars was a huge disappointment. The quick Pixar style was wity as always - loved the governator hummer, the Emeryville reference, the VW bugs, and that sort of thing - that style is imitated in kid flicks everywhere now, but seldom duplicated - but the car characters were caracature to almost to a discriminatory level. It was the worst Pixar film so far. T said she liked it, but wasn't enthusiastic, probably because her daddy kept spoiling the next scene with his comments. The best stuff was the credits - 1. because it was classic Pixar self-parody and 2. because it was over.