Tuesdays With Movies: 11/1/11

Cars 2: OK, I admit it, this film is probably near the bottom of Pixar's film list. I have only seen it once, but it is either this one or Ratatouille that is at the bottom. But, as I said, the bottom of the Pixar pile is still better then a lot of other films. I still enjoyed the film, though, and it was absolutely gorgeous to look at. My son has it coming in the mail as a birthday present - so I will probably watching it about 200 times in the next year, so I better get used to it.

Water for Elephants: I have no interest in this movie, but my wife has wanted to see it since she read the book. I have no idea why she wants to, though, because she always hates the movies of books she likes. Which is why I am of the motto: Why read? If it's any good, they'll make a movie out of it. So, I am never disappointed that a film is of lesser quality then the book it is based off of.

Crazy, Stupid, Love: What is not to like about this film? A great cast and it sure sounds like it was a great comedy. I have enjoyed Emma Stone's film, so I am pretty excited to finally watch this. Plus, it seems that Ryan Gosling is the new, next big thing - and that I will be watching him in about four or five films over the next few months.

Hot Coffee: This was a documentary that was played on HBO. It follows four different court cases, including the McDonald's case where a woman burnt her legs after dropping a cop of hot coffee on them. It looked pretty interesting at the time, and if it comes on streaming I may check it out in the future.

Theater Review: Cars 2

There are a ton of naysayers out there who say that the original Cars film is not worthy of the Pixar name. They say it is the worst of the Pixar films - which technically still isn't a bad thing.

I, on the other hand, have watched Cars about 20 times thanks to my 4-year old son. I have to admit, after the first viewing I was probably having the same thoughts as many of you, but on further views I have really learned to love Pixar's red-headed stepchild.

So, when Cars 2 was announced I was very eager to take my family to see the film. And, I wasn't disappointed.

The gang's all back, led by Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). The lone missing character is Doc Hudson, who appears to have landed in that junk yard in the sky - which is a nice ode to Paul Newman, who passed away between the movies. Fillmore, however, does return - with a new voice after the death of George Carlin.

Anyway, the plot goes a little something like this. Sir Miles Axelrod (Eddie Izzard) has created a new green fuel Allinol, and plans to show just how great it is with a three races - Japan, Italy and England. Joining the races is Italy's hot racecar, Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro), who manages to rope McQueen into joining the race.

McQueen brings along Mater, Fillmore, Sarge (Paul Dooley), Luigi (Tony Shalhoub) and Guido (Guido Quaroni) as his pit crew. Mater is a fish out of water - and embarrasses McQueen on a number of occasions - and accidentally gets mistaken for an American spy and joins Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer) as they attempt to find a criminal mastermind.

The film feels like two separate stories being told at the same time, Mater's spy game and McQueen's race. However, both come together in a good way.

I enjoyed the action sequences in the film and it was amazing to look at. The racing scenes were beautifully created - seeing the three different race courses in the different countries.

Although a little Mater goes a long way, I didn't get too Matered out, like I thought I would. This was mostly his story - McQueen's story was told in the first film. And, it was enjoyable.

Again, it will be attacked - I know it will be. No, it is not the best Pixar film - but I don't feel anything can touch Toy Story. But, it is not a road bump either - it has a great, touching story about the meaning of friendship. And, enough action to appease the spy junkies.

Attack it if you must - but my son and I will watch it another 30 times, and enjoy it more with each watch.

Grade: