“WALL-E”

Wall-E in Disney's presentation of Pixar's Wall-E - 2008

I passed on seeing “Tropic Thunder” (I had a sneak preview pass) last night and decided instead to review “Wall-E” which I saw a month ago in Dallas for obvious reasons based on what I saw in the trailer alone. I mean, after sitting through (wasting my time) the latest Mummy movie last week, seeing the “Tropic Thunder” trailers, and peeling through the packet of press information the studio sent me on the film (disaster) I decided I might as well write a review for something I enjoyed at the local cinema rather than have yet another disappointing experience.

So here it is… WALL-E is not just a film for kids: This epic CGI movie spoke to me cerebrally in many different ways, from the way we as humans are treating our planet, to the way I personally allow technology to take over many aspects of my own life. Anyone who has seen the film knows that the human race is slowly headed toward something not too different from what is depicted in the movie.

WALL-E is a small waste collecting robot; actually, the last waste collecting robot left on what was once Earth. The “evil empire” known in the film as “Buy n Large” (aka Wal-Mart) has literally taken over the planet as its soul source for everything, and thusly has ruined humankind, leaving the planet desolate and deserted. While saying very little, WALL-E manages to communicate with the audience quite well, from his Macintosh sound effects, to his odd computer chatter, this is the “Johnny Five” (Short Circuit) for a new generation… Only Cuter!

When WALL-E meets “Eve” a probe sent from the Axiom (a spaceship used to evacuate all of Earths inhabitants) in order to find plant life, the adventure truly begins…

Everything in this movie just works, from stunning visuals, to simple characters with a very serious agenda. Sure the kids will love it, but adults will identify with the urgency to make changes and eventually save the planet for future generations. If you love Pixar films this is the first to feature non-CGI footage from movies like “Hello Dolly” as well as others into the otherwise purely animated world.

Composer Thomas Newman’s score enhances the story by keeping it in motion, and stays out of the way until truly needed. A fantastic balance of sight and sound this film is a winner!

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Brendan Fraser in Universal Pictures' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - 2008

As a fan of the first and second “Mummy” movies I had pretty decent expectations for this one. So after the high I received from the Batman sequel,  I bought my ticket on Fandango nearly a week ago for the midnight release of the film and was even joined by a colleague and his wife for the occasion.

Upon arriving at the theater to pick up my ticket, I first realized something might be up when I asked the gentleman if there would be a line forming for the film and he replied with a smirk “I don’t think but six people even bought tickets for the showing”.

It all made sense after about 10 minutes into the movie which contains more bad one-liners than an evening with Joan and Melissa Rivers.  Now, let me say this… I’ve never seen Brendan Fraser (Rick O’Connell) as a particularly good actor, but couple that with a poor script and bad direction, and you’re in for something I was literally embarrassed to be sitting and watching.

As a critic I always try to balance the bad with the good, but in this case I’d have to rank this movie up there with “Glitter”.  About 20 minutes into the film an amazing amount of action occurs throwing the viewer for at least 4 minutes into something that resembles one of the previous Mummy movies.

Overall – This was a bad attempt at making an Indiana Jones-type film, (complete with Lucas-like wipes) containing horribly Hollywood cliches, and battling Jet Li and an even worse attempt at a plot that we’ve seen time and time again.

The score… (what I could hear of it) was cookie cutter at best, but the Jet Li character’s motif was Brassy and Bombastic almost parodying the way the film was marketed!

I took the walk of shame on this one with my friends… Don’t waste your time!