timepiececlock: (How Many Stars - Young Spock/Uhura)
timepiececlock ([personal profile] timepiececlock) wrote2009-06-05 02:02 pm

Movie: "Up" from Pixar - 'Give me peace of mind to trust, and don't forget the rest of us.'

If you move past the fact that the only female character with speaking lines disappears 15 minutes into a 97 minute movie (and that includes the short that opened it) and that it creates a world entirely devoid of women or girls except as backdrops or objects of loss (not even the frelling dogs)--and I'm sure we'll all move past that because it's a familiar hurdle with Pixar--then I can report that this is a beautiful, moving film.

It's a little darker than WALL-E, and a little sadder. I cried at two separate points; not a lot, but my eyes were significantly wet and I had to wipe them. It's still an uplifting film, still full of wonder and adventure and grace, but there's no denying that the emotion of loss permeates this story.

There's something reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki's work when you watch it: gorgeous vistas, brilliant colors, and sky. So much sky! Balloons, dirigibles, airplanes! And old person and a young person on an adventure together, experiencing the wonder of flight. It's not quite as funny or cute as WALL-E, but I'm not sure it's supposed to be.

There's no doubt that the Pixar studio has some of the finest writers and storytellers in the film industry today. Now they only need to live up to that potential, and open their magical world to the rest of us. It looks, as always, like a beautiful place to play.


WARNING: COMMENTS NOW CONTAIN MOVIE SPOILERS!

[identity profile] gojira007.livejournal.com 2009-06-06 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
In the event that last sentence might be misunderstood, I mean that I wish PIXAR did indeed pay better attention to giving its movies a feminine perspective/cast members.
ext_10182: Anzo-Berrega Desert (Default)

[identity profile] rashaka.livejournal.com 2009-06-06 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you, and I got what you were saying there. =) I hope you enjoy it when you see it--the two movies are different, and I understand if someone likes one more than the other. I find it quickest to compare the current movie to the last movie, when I'm writing reviews, even if they're essentially apples and oranges.

[identity profile] gojira007.livejournal.com 2009-06-06 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
I have no doubt I'll like it; I've yet to see a Movie from Pixar I DON'T like. ^_^