(Well, I killed the thread with my last two capsule reviews, let's go for three!)

Saw Cars tonight, and as with previous Pixar outings, the trailers do NOT do this film justice. It's not my favorite, but I almost loved it. "Almost" because, while it's a really fantastic movie, I didn't quite connect with it the way I did Toy Story or Finding Nemo. Between the carverse premise and the small-towns-are-better nostalgia theme, it just wasn't a movie made for me. (I did discover, however, that the Toy Story/Finding Nemo/Incredibles crypoints have now extended not only throughout their own films, but into ALL OTHER PIXAR MOVIES. There was a moment near the beginning of the movie when nothing even remotely sentimental was happening, but something extremely Pixarish happened -- nothing more than a familiar camera move -- and I felt myself getting choked up. Damn you, Lasseter!)

Anyway.

The characters, as usual, are amazingly well drawn and acted. They are three-dimensional characters in every sense of the word, and you instantly feel for them, and feel their world.

The worldbuilding is as good as it can be given that the main characters are cars, and that this is still a family film (even though the characters are all adults, and act like it). E and I spent the entire subway ride home, and then all of dinner, and then the walk home from dinner, trying to answer questions like "But where do baby cars come from? Who built the [insert object requiring opposable thumbs here]? Why do some vehicles have consciousness and others not?" This continued until he asked me who (in the carverse) invented the wheel, and then my head exploded.

It's also hysterically funny. (I don't think I'll be able to look at a VW Bug for weeks now without giggling.) Watch the backgrounds and STAY THROUGH THE CREDITS.

Oh, yay. mr. flea and Casper have been looking forward to Cars since the trailers first came out. (We have a thing for Pixar; Casper says, "Show the one about the racecars!" when we watch shorts and trailers.) I was a little meh on Incredibles, myself, but it's still better than most movies made IMO.

And, now, I'm imagining humping cars, and pregnant cars, and why, Jessica, why?

I'm imagining humping cars, and pregnant cars

I recommend another viewing of the "Stupid Girls" video. You'll still imagine humping cars, but at least in a socially satirical context.

Banlieu 13

Is that DISTRICT B13 (I think)? I've been hearing good things about it (and that, as Jess indicated, it moves like a bat out of hell).

Is that DISTRICT B13 (I think)?

Yep, that's the English title. (Which I'm pretty sure means it translates as District District 13, but oh well.) It's pretty damn awesome.

Yep, that's the English title. (Which I'm pretty sure means it translates as District District 13, but oh well.) It's pretty damn awesome.

Very psyched for this. But will it come to Annapolis? Sometimes I really miss NY.

BTW, banlieue literally means suburb but in the French context (outside of train stations and commuting discussions) usually refers to what we would call the "inner city".

So I guess its District Suburb 13 which still makes little sense.

BTW, banlieue literally means suburb but in the French context (outside of train stations and commuting discussions) usually refers to what we would call the "inner city".

So in the context of the film, we've got District Ghetto 13. Heh.

How wide a release did Ong Bak get? I'd expect this to be similar.

In class I try to avoid the word ghetto, but yeah.

I think the reason they are keeping the B in the title is that in France that's how the movie was marketed B13: Banlieue 13 .

As for release, hard to tell. Luc Besson produced Ong Bak too, but also The Transporter so I guess it depends which strings he decides to pull.

It's opening in Boston, but not anywhere in Maine, tomorrow. Just checking times and places - which probably doesn't tell you anything about Annapolis.

In class I try to avoid the word ghetto, but yeah.

Since the premise of the movie is that the French government has built a WALL around the neighborhood to keep the criminals in...