Well, here we go again—another successful morning for American skiing.
So, our three skiers—Janica, Nika, and Ana—all managed to make it through to the second run of the slalom, but unfortunately, Matea Ferk didn't make the cut. I guess that’s just how the luck of the draw goes sometimes.
Janica is sitting in 3rd place right now, trailing behind Marlies Schield and the leader, Tanja Poutianen. I guess she’s about 0.75 seconds back from the top spot. 😲
It’s a massive deficit, and honestly, I don't think it's something that can be made up at this point.
Nika pulled off an impressive 11th place finish, and I guess Ana wasn't too far behind, taking 10th right after her at 21st.
If the second run goes according to plan, we might actually walk away with points from all three skiers. I guess I’m being optimistic here, but hey, why not? 😁She managed to break into the top 15, I guess.
And that’s exactly why you bolted from the Forum, Richard Hernandez13... just to sit there and lurk while you read everything I write.😳 😁
Richard Hernandez13> I guess it would be only fair to mention that Brad Bird isn't actually a Pixar guy.
Fair enough. 👍
I haven't really done much digging into him... I just know he had some connection to the Simpsons, or something like that. If that's actually true, you can probably spot it in The Incredibles.
Richard Hernandez13> I guess The Incredibles really should have been made using traditional animation methods.
Honestly, I just can't wrap my head around that right now. 😵 The movie looks amazing exactly the way it is. I can't help but wonder, though—how much longer would the production have actually taken if they had gone with traditional animation instead?🤔
Besides that, who would even bother doing it? I mean, Disney basically shut down the entire department that handled classic animation, and then you've got Pixar and DreamWorks, which strictly stick to CGI now.
Maybe it would just be WB or 20th Century Studios left standing... perhaps... *leers to the left*
Richard Hernandez13> I honestly, that translation is spot on—it’s about time someone realized you're supposed to translate the actual vibe and meaning, not just a literal word-for-word dump of the content. They even managed to sneak in that little joke about the '0.0 BAC.'
Well, now I actually have to sit down and watch this with the American DUB.
I remember when Fish Police used to air on NBC—though I’d actually seen it on Cartoon Network first. The translation they used was just painful; it was literal, word-for-word nonsense.👎 Of course it wasn't funny...
I have to admit, sometimes our translators go way overboard when they try to "localize" things. Take *Animal Farm*, for example—they really overdid it there. 🙄
Richard Hernandez13> It was announced just a few days ago that they pushed it back to 2006.
Oohhhhh. 😢
Richard Hernandez13> I don't know, it doesn't look particularly promising to me.
I don't know, it seems alright to me... like some lighthearted entertainment. I actually dig the character designs, and honestly, some of the scenes remind me of that old Lego animation. 🙏
The animation looks great, though I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how all of this actually turns out in the end.
I’m not exactly expecting anything spectacular here, nor am I anticipating something on the level of The Incredibles, but I guess it’ll be a decent enough movie to catch at the local cinema just for some fun.
Richard Hernandez13> I guess maybe Pixar is having an identity crisis? There were definitely some signs of that in Nemo.
Who knows... *shrugs*
But it doesn't necessarily mean that... maybe they'll just pick up a solid script or something similar in the meantime and churn out another hit. Because honestly, the way things look right now, Pixar is pretty much the only studio worth watching—everything else seems to have gone straight to Honduras. 😂
Maybe it’s a little weird to start describing a movie from the end rather than the beginning, but the reason is the one thought that’s been looping in my head since the credits rolled: "I can't believe Disney produced a movie that isn't actually for kids." And seriously, setting aside the fact that it's an animation, setting aside the whole "superhero" thing, and setting aside how the entire production seems perfectly aligned with those heavy-handed censors we have in the US, this just isn't a kid's movie. It’s too smart, too clever, and too much of a...je ne sais quoi for anything else, much like Tim Burton’s “Pre-Christmas Nightmare.”
Now, someone is inevitably going to ask: "How so? Haven't there been animated movies aimed at older audiences before, even if they were technically made for the youngest viewers?"
Sure, they might be aimed that way, but this time the situation is flipped. Unlike Aladdin, The Lion King, Nemo, and the rest of the gang—which are fundamentally for kids but peppered with enough jokes and scenes to keep the older crowd or parents from falling asleep, or just "leaming" (yes... I just made that word up)—this is a movie where parents should probably be the ones dragging the kids to the theater, not the other way around.
What’s really happening here? It’s a very old trick that the entire animation industry has been using for decades, yet Americans just can't seem to wrap their heads around it: presenting serious themes and real-life struggles in a metaphorical way without hitting you over the head with the message like some idiot in a quarry.
So, what do we have? We have a movie about superheroes that isn't really about superheroes, because after about 15 minutes, it becomes clear to everyone that this is more of a human drama than mindless fun with wacky caped crusaders. Don't get me wrong, it's not *that* heavy-handed, because visually it still looks like X-Men meets Spy Kids with the occasional detour into a James Bond flick, but tucked inside that visual style are thousands of tiny details, references, situations, and problems we deal with every single day. I’d go so far as to say the film is more of an allegory for the life of an average (American, if that makes it easier) family than anything else.
And that’s what sets this apart from the mountain of clones we’ve been fed over the last few years—movies that care more about looking shiny and wowing the audience, but when you scratch the surface, you find nothing but emptiness... or worse. 🙂
– on the characters –
There was mention of the characters being two-dimensional... well, duh. Saying Disney has two-dimensional characters is like saying Dali painted weird pictures, or that the sky is blue... it's stating the obvious. *shrugs*
True, the depth of the characters leaves something to be desired, but that’s pretty standard for most animated films coming out of the major studios and, IMNSHO, it's totally expected, so I can't say it ruined the movie for me.
Granted, there are plenty of areas for improvement, but as old Americans would say, "if it ain't broken, don't fix it," and that applies to the characters too. For what they're intended, they look great, both in design and personality... but we'll get to the animation later.
I also want to mention the voice acting which, personally, is always a highlight of any Disney production. Craig T. Nelson was a stellar choice for Mr. Incredible, especially since every time he spoke, I kept seeing his character from that series The District, which I was obsessively watching until recently, and it fits perfectly... honestly.
The rest of the cast is great too; the only thing is that the main villain could have been a tiny bit more 😁, even though Jason Lee is a legend. And I'm bummed that Samuel L. Jackson didn't get a bit more text... I love listening to him, and one of my favorite scenes is the one with the glass of water...🙏Oh, I almost forgot about that awesome John Ratzenberger voice cameo at the end of the film as THE UNDERMINER!!!!111one 😂
As for the rest of the cast, Elastigirl is charming, the kids are cute, Mirage is hot, and Edna is in a league of her own... honestly, she’s easily the best character in the whole movie, and if there were more of her, it probably wouldn't even work. 😉 She dominates every scene like some kind of diva, and she manages to pull a smile out of me every single time. The voice acting is also spot on and fits the character perfectly. Major props to Brad Bird... he wrote it, directed it, and did the voices too.
Regarding the American DUB, I haven't heard it myself, even though everyone seems to be raving about it... but I have to admit, now that I've seen the film, it's hard for me to imagine our local actors voicing these characters.
– regarding the plot and humor –
It’s just simple, tight, and never feels forced at any point. Brad Bird proved once again that he's an excellent screenwriter and a skilled enough director that the movie doesn't feel like it's "dancing" between different age groups. The plot is consistent and the humor is well-tailored to the target audience, yet it doesn't leave those looking for a bit more substance or different tastes feeling left out.
There's slapstick, satirical bits, movie references, jokes poking fun at other superheroes and their stereotypes... you name it, it's there. But at every moment, that humor serves the main idea of the film, and it never feels like it's trying too hard to please absolutely everyone.
Personally, one of my favorite scenes or gags was when Bob, totally cramped up in that cubicle where he works, helps that old lady get her insurance claim sorted, and when he finally pulls it off after all that struggle, you hear: ''Your lunchbreak is over....''.
A quick little detour from the movie....
I have to say, the atmosphere in the theater was great... you could tell the crowd was actually having a blast and enjoying the movie because there wasn't any whispering, chatting, or people getting up constantly. And everyone laughed at pretty much the right times, which tells me the film really hit the mark with the audience.
'Back to the movie'...
– regarding the animation –
When it comes to animation, Pixar makes great movies, and we all know that. So, I won't go on a huge philosophical rant about it. Everything is done in full CGI and looks beautiful yet functional; we don't get that feeling that the animation team was just doing something just so they could say ''See what we can do'' only for people to look at them and ask, ''So what does it actually do?''—just being aimless. (Shrek 2 anybody???)
I especially love the character design because it leans into a more caricatured style (like big heads and thin bodies), which is different from what we usually see from Pixar or even Disney. (Though sometimes Disney's style is basically caricature itself... but let's move on...)
– how does it compare to...? –
I can't write this review without comparing it a bit to the other animated hits from the last year or so.
''Finding Nemo'' – that's like comparing Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter.... OK, maybe not quite that massive a gap, but you get what I mean. This is a film that targets a slightly more mature audience while still carrying a message for the little ones, whereas Nemo was definitely made for kids but remained fun for adults... sort of a reverse situation, I guess.
''Shrek 2'' – one is pretentious garbage made by people who think they know how to make a good animated film 🙄, and the other is 'actually' a good animated film... you guys can guess which is which. 😉
Hmm... yeah, if both films are nominated for an Oscar and Shrek 2 beats The Incredibles, I am officially done watching any new American animated films ever again.
''Animal Farm'' – 🙂 😂OK... I honestly can't even begin to compare the two.
– final thoughts –
It feels like the weaker the link between Pixar and Disney becomes, and the more freedom they get to just do their own thing, the better Pixar's movies actually turn out... I’m honestly terrified to think what might happen if they ever become a fully independent studio with their own distribution, instead of having to rely on thieves like Disney every single time. 😲
And that's that.... now I can finally go watch Tokyo Godfathers, which has been sitting on my shelf for months and I only just realized I actually owned it..... maybe I'll do a review of that too... though probably much, much shorter. :-D
P.S.
Maybe I just upgraded myself from a mere Fanboy to a Profundus Maximus... but whatever.
It’s honestly incredible how much motivation you get to write movie reviews right after failing an economics exam... but anyway, let's put my academic struggles aside for a second...
I was hearing nothing but hype for The Incredibles a full month before they even hit theaters. That usually turns out to be a bad sign for me, because it tends to jack up my expectations way too high, and then I just end up disappointed. However, there was one small consolation: it was a Pixar film (not to mention they're still stuck in that restrictive contract with Disney 🙂) and the people praising it were folks who don't typically go crazy for American animated movies.
Anyways, during the absolute chaos of finals week at college, I barely managed to scrape together a decent time slot to catch The Incredibles, and then... what happens? I end up breaking every single rule I have for watching something I actually care about. I didn't go solo; I went with a friend. I didn't hit an early matinee; I went to the 10 PM showing. And to top it all off, I went to Sinister Cinema... unbelievable. Still, one good thing about Sinister is that they have a massive parking lot and they validate your ticket so you don't have to pay for parking, which was a lifesaver since it started pouring rain that Sunday 🙄 so we had to drive.
We got to the concession stand around 9:30, and I pull a receipt from Walmart out of my pocket where I'd scribbled down our reservation number. *My friend gives me this look.* Great... Theater 9... now where on earth is that? 🤔
After wandering around for a bit and doing a whole lot of walking, we finally hit the stairs to the right floor and grabbed some popcorn. 👍 Oh, right—another plus point: the popcorn is actually enough to last through those $6.75... though, honestly, it's cheaper to buy snacks somewhere else... but whatever.
Before heading into the theater, I spent some time chatting with my friend and discreetly eyeing one of the employees at Sinister. She kind of reminds me of Neva Campbell, just a bit thinner, but sweeter and all 🙂 and 😍.... man, I wish I was in the theater with her, I thought. At this point, I was already spinning these fantasies about swapping places with my friend so I could go into the movie with the cute employee while my friend stayed behind to scan tickets... the only problem was the popcorn my friend was holding... 'wouldn't be fair to her either'.
My daydreaming was cut short by the theater doors swinging open and the signal to head in.
I picked out some prime seats right at the transition point of the auditorium, so I could stretch my legs as much as I wanted without kicking the people in front of me... my friend sat three rows back...😂.....(just kidding, Anthony, just kidding)
The lights dim, and the projection starts.
SHORT FILMS:
Instead of the usual trailers I'm used to seeing before a movie, I was pleasantly surprised by two short Pixar shorts.
The first was a trailer for their upcoming film, "Cars," coming out in 2005. Definitely adding that to my watchlist. I mean, two cars sitting in a drive-in theater watching a movie about car racing... priceless. 😂
After that, there was some film about a lamb and a rabbit, or something, I can't remember the name. Basically, the movie looked like it had wandered away from the Human Rights Film Festival and accidentally ended up at Sinister. It was a sweet story with a good moral and lovely animation.
And that wrapped up the segment that served as a perfect intro to The Incredibles... or maybe it wouldn't have been if it hadn't happened...
ICEPICK'S AD BREAKDOWN:
Irony is a nasty thing, don't you think? I was scrolling through that thread on the Movie Forum the other morning—you know, the one asking "Why do we even have to sit through commercials at the theater?"—and I honestly found myself wondering what people were actually complaining about. It’s not like the ads are *that* unbearable. I mean, what’s the big deal if you have to sit through a few commercials before the movie starts? I guess some people just love to complain for the sake of it.
That was just my take based on my recent trips to the movie theater. Honestly, if there are even five minutes of commercials before the film starts, I already feel like it's way too much.
The vibe at Sinister Cinema is a completely different story... 15... but I'm talking about 15 damn minutes of nonstop commercials. I was already starting to tap my foot, drumming my fingers on the armrest, and glancing at my watch like crazy.
TRAILERS:
I’ve been bombarded by so many damn commercials that I honestly can’t even remember which trailers they actually showed, or if there were any at all. I mean, yeah, they were there, but I seriously have zero recollection of them. Once the ads finally wrapped up, I thought, "Okay, great, now I can actually sit back and enjoy the movie," but then... nope. Just more commercials. Seriously, pass the popcorn, because this is ridiculous! 😠
At that exact moment, I decided to make a run for more popcorn. It looked like there were at least ten minutes of commercials left, and our stash was running dangerously low. When I hit the concession stand, I was met with quite the sight: about six or seven cute girls jumping around and doing everything under the sun *except* actually serving the popcorn. Usually, that wouldn't bother me, but this time I was genuinely worried I’d miss the start of the movie. Still, based on how long the last commercial block lasted, looking at all the sponsors for Sinister, I figured there was almost no way it would take that long... boy, was I wrong.
By the time I finally reached the theater entrance, the doors were already shut, which pretty much meant I’d missed the start. I scrambled inside as fast as I could—trying to be all stealthy like something out of a Roberto Benigni movie—and hurried to my seat. I think I ended up missing maybe 30 seconds of the film, at most.
Since I only have one smiley left that I can actually use in this post, I'm using this one. Because it pretty much sums up exactly how I was feeling at that moment.
The snow circus is back in Europe, specifically hitting Austria, where the women are gearing up for the Super G to kick things off this weekend.
Janica is starting 21st today. If you want to see how the rest of the field looks, you can check out the full start list here: Start list
Good luck Janica. 👍
PBS will be broadcasting the action starting at 11:55.
And if you’re looking for something to watch before the Super G starts, you can catch the men's downhill over at Val d'Isère. That should be airing on Canada 2.
Donna Nelson23 said:It’s already tomorrow if you haven't noticed. 😠 😁
It’s basically the day after tomorrow at this rate... and I actually have my midterm results coming in today, so I've been hitting the books pretty hard lately...
I’m also struggling a bit to figure out what to write about this movie because it really hit me hard. I don't want my thoughts to just end up being those shallow comments like, "That was awesome... man, you should've seen that... Shrek doesn't even come close to this." 😁
I just walked through my front door after hitting the theater, and honestly, I can’t stop grinning after watching The Incredibles. 👍
I don't think there are even enough words in the English language to describe how good this movie was... actually, maybe there are, I just haven't learned them yet. 😁 (™ Monkey Island 😉 ).
Anyway, I'm going to go sit down and reflect 😂 on the film for a bit and try to stretch out my legs since those seats at Sinister Cinema absolutely killed me... tomorrow morning, I'll probably write up a quick essay on why this is easily the best thing I've seen all year, and also why I absolutely hate Sinister.
Richard Howard2 said:Look, my point is that a movie doesn't need to be some heavy drama—it's not like Indiana Jones was trying to be deep or anything. But there's this thing called consistency. The Incredibles actually manages to stick to its vibe, whereas I feel like Sky Captain just completely loses its way halfway through the second act.
You have to remember that The Incredibles is an animated flick, while GNISS isn't... there's a massive difference in both format and concept.
Besides, the whole point of these two movies is totally different. I guess you could compare GNISS to pretty much any other movie out there for all the good it does. 🙄
I was out running errands in town so I couldn't get on the forum, but... 10th place . 🙏 🙏 🙏
WAY TO GO, JANE!!!
I am barely—and I mean BARELY—holding it together waiting for tomorrow's Super G. I've got a feeling she could easily land in the top 5 without any issues.
The winner of the downhill is none other than Lindsey Vonn, followed by Carola Montillet in second, and Hilde Gerg taking third.
Lindsey Vonn is sitting at 13th for now, and I guess there’s a slim chance someone might jump ahead of her once all 35 skiers have finished their runs...👍 Mikaela Shiffrin also had her run and is currently holding onto 15th place.
Lindsey Vonn is aiming for 4th place, trailing Haltmayr by 0.55. . . . . . Wait, correction... Lindsey Vonn is actually in 5th now because Obermoser just finished in 3rd.