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 Cars 

What grade would you give this film?
A 51%  51%  [ 24 ]
B 32%  32%  [ 15 ]
C 9%  9%  [ 4 ]
D 2%  2%  [ 1 ]
F 2%  2%  [ 1 ]
I don't plan on seeing this film 4%  4%  [ 2 ]
Total votes : 47

 Cars 
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Extraordinary
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Almost forgot to mention:

Biggest laugh to me was when the crowd was gathered around Lightning who was up on stage, and from the back of the audience, someone yelled "Free Bird!" I cracked up laughing and none of the kids around could understand why, which made me laugh even more.

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Sun Jun 18, 2006 5:51 pm
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Sbil

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Groucho wrote:
Almost forgot to mention:

Biggest laugh to me was when the crowd was gathered around Lightning who was up on stage, and from the back of the audience, someone yelled "Free Bird!" I cracked up laughing and none of the kids around could understand why, which made me laugh even more.


Heh.

I still think that part where Lightning is talking to himself, and then the old woman car is all "People are gonna think you're crazy if you keep on talking to yourslf!" and he's all "What?" and she's just like "What?! I wasn't talking to you!" is the funniest part of the movie.


Sun Jun 18, 2006 5:54 pm
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And speaking of Miyazaki -- tonight we watched the DVD of "Howl's Moving Castle" that we got from Netflix. Wow! Great film! A+!!!!

Apples and oranges, admittedly, but I enjoyed Howl a lot more.

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Sun Jun 18, 2006 8:55 pm
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[align=center]CARS

"Holy Porsche..."


Image[/align]

Over the past twelve years the moviemaking team at Pixar has wowed us. Each movie they make is an innovation in itself, from the very beginning with Toy Story. What has separated Pixar from the rest of the CGI-animation field is their insistence on always telling a poignant, meaningful story. No matter how incredible the visuals are (and they are always great), the characters and the emotions they feel are the most important piece in a Pixar animation studio.

Pixar VP John Lasseter directs Cars, Pixar’s seventh film. Ever since he was a child spending time in his father’s auto shop, Lasseter has wanted to tell a story about his passion for cars. This may be his opus. Cars is a typical Pixar film, a heartfelt story wrapped in industry-expanding visuals.

The film opens up with the rev of engines and the roar of a crowd. Lightning McQueen, as voiced by Owen Wilson, is a rookie race car on the Piston Cup circuit, the most prestigious of all tournaments in a world inhabited by automobiles. This in itself may be the biggest gamble for the film; a premise involving no actual living creatures. Where there have been people, bugs, fish, or monsters in our closets, Pixar has always had a story featuring animated beings, whereas there are none in Cars. The characters are more than relatable however. McQueen is a selfish car who wants nothing more than to have his glory by being the first rookie in history to win the Piston Cup series and have a corporate sponsor.

On his way to California McQueen takes a series of wrong turns and ends up in a town that civilization has seemingly forsaken. The setting is Radiator Springs, a town that used to lie on Route 66, but has been all but abandoned since the creation of the interstate. There are few inhabitants now; the crusty old Hudson Hawk (Paul Newman) who runs the town, the lovable tow truck (Larry the Cable Guy), and the Porsche who fell in love with the town (Bonnie Hunt), among others. Life is simple in the town. There is little action, and even less cars traveling through. The scenery is gorgeous to look at, but inspires a constant feeling of lives forgotten: nearly every neon sign on every business shop has been permanently shut off, and ‘closed’ signs litter the windows.

The arrival of McQueen to Radiator Springs is in itself big news. He first appears to the town by tearing up the road, and then wants to leave in a hurry without even a good-bye. The townsfolk don’t know which is more surprising, a race car showing up on their door, or the car being as selfish as it is. “Don’t you know who I am? I’m Lightning McQueen! I’m the fastest race car on the Piston Cup Circuit!!!! You have to let me go!” McQueen is then forced to repair the road before leaving, quite against his will.

What is an ordinary and cliché story is then told. McQueen finds the true meaning of life, and develops friendships, something he has never had before. He even manages to catch the eye of the local girl. He learns of the pain that the town has experienced over the years, but also of the camaraderie that has formed between the townsfolk.

There is no denying that this is a very average story that has been done before. What separates Cars from other films is that the message is genuine, and that it has an opportunity to affect people, children and adults alike. The characters are all well-developed, and the voice acting is phenomenal. The film is also the most tongue-in-cheek of Pixar’s films, mixing in real world people into lifelike roles (Bob Costas is an announcer, Richard Petty is the wise old champion driver, and McQueen makes an appearance on the Jay Limo show).

As in all Pixar films, the animation is better than its predecessor’s. The attention to detail is so incredible and so keen that it often looks as if the cars are real (minus the talking). The animators have made each character their own person (their own car?) due to facial personality and how they look overall (the lovable hick is a rusty tow truck, the wise old man is a Hudson Hawk).

The depth and meaning in Cars is unquestionable, as unoriginal as it may be. The message is meaningful, the voice performances are terrific, the screenplay is both touching and hilarious, and the animation is superior to any other CGI film ever made. Pardon the pun, but Cars is a winning ride.

[align=center]A[/align]


Mon Jun 19, 2006 1:05 pm
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Jordan Mugen-Honda
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I absolutely loved this movie and I have no problem saying it's one of Pixar's best.
If your a racing fan this is a perfect movie all it's racing section's are spot on and the cameo's from Petty Andretti and Schumacher are a real treat. (being an F1 fan Schumi's bit was really nice)
The moralism may be a tad heavy handed at times but hell I didn't care and even though some bit's were well telegraphed beforehand you still loved them when they came, the bit where Doc and the rest show up to help Lightning had me almost punching the air in "Fuck Ya" joy.
The whole Luigi Ferrari loving angle was good fun and his little helper was really funny, the "pitstop" bit was priceless

All this and it manages to be brilliant while being based in NASCAR a racing series I have very little time for, now that's impressive.

The Best film of the year so far for me

A

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Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:39 pm
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A-/B+

Loved it, not a masterpiece or anything, but loved it all the same. Animation was gorgeousss, ranking among the best ever. Yes, the comedy wasn't huge as expected, but Mater still provided all the right lines at all the right moments. All the characters were pretty decent, actually.

Only a couple things I didn't like:
The first was that McQueen changed too quickly, within a day he completley changed his personality. Thought that could of been handled better. But then again you have a limited runtime, and it's not like they could have fitted that much more in.

Also, I don't like how in the end Radiator Springs turned into a fast-lane masses heavy place, for Lightning to train his cars, I felt it went against the morals presented earlier in the movie that pointed to that comfortable life being the best one of all. If McQueen just went there to live by himself and stayed, it would of worked better IMO.

Anyways, it certainly lived up to my expectation. Behind Nemo and the Toy Stories still, barely, but a solid 4th for Pixar isn't too bad at all.

Nemo - A
Toy Story 2 - A
Toy Story - A
Cars - A-/B+
Monster's Inc - B+/B
A Bug's Life - B+/B
The Incredibles - B

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Sat Jun 24, 2006 1:52 am
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And oh yeah, Sally = Libs. Pretty much my direct interpretation of what she is in real life.

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Sat Jun 24, 2006 2:00 am
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I saw the last 10min of the last showing of the day after FatF. Im gonna have to give it a C+, by Pixar standards it was a dissapointment and those 10min didnt give me a good idea of the movie, I feel kinda ripped off.

:unsure:

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Sat Jun 24, 2006 2:30 am
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Disappointing considering that it's Pixar, but not too surprised since the commercials made it look horrible anyway. I feel like giving it just a C is too generous given how much a chore it was to sit through, but it wasn't as awful as movies like Chicken Little and Robots so I wouldn't want to give equivalent grades. If they cut out 20-30 minutes, I could probably give it as high as a B range, though I'd still consider it to be Pixar's worst movie.


Sat Jun 24, 2006 5:35 am
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I loved the movie, It didnt have the feel of a children's movie (many kids we're getting restless near the end of the movie).

I like how they focused on route 66, and seeing what happened to the motherroad, a little more love/focus for route 66 can't hurt it.

Loved the story and the animation was top notch

A-

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Sun Jun 25, 2006 12:32 pm
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Extraordinary

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Loved it, especially the second half. On par with Monsters, Inc. behind Finding Nemo. A-.

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Sun Jun 25, 2006 1:25 pm
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Not Pixar's best film, but not their worst either. I enjoyed it. Stunning animation, great characters, but the running time is wayyyyyy too long, in my opinion.

B-


Sun Jun 25, 2006 9:15 pm
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Not the best Pixar movie but it was still damn good, Beautiful animation, the characters were great and cute story :happy: . I saw it dubbed and it was very well made, ive actually enjoyde way more the pixar movies in spanish. I now need to see it in English to see if it holds up.

B+


Sun Jul 02, 2006 9:58 pm
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It's the first Pixar film with a semi-wobbly narrative (tractor tipping is fun but not for 45 minutes), and it is a bit long, but it's otherwise cute, funny -- and here's the kicker: not annoying.

And the storyline isn't that bad; it's just not as lucid as, say, The Incredibles'. Great nonintrusive voice acting, though.

Liked it a lot. B+


Sun Jul 09, 2006 2:01 am
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I didn't go into Cars with high expectations after the lower than average (for pixar) reviews and word of mouth. But if this is the 'worst' pixar can do, i really don't have any problems! I don't think i have to say that the animation was stunning, its a requisite feature of all pixar films.

Unlike others i didn't have any problems with the slower pace, i think it fitted the story well. As with previous Pixar outings the underlying themes were great and it delivered its message well. There were still plenty of laughs, the highlight being the cow/tractor tipping scene which i found more hilarious than most, probably due to my 'country' upbringing more than anything else. The voice acting and comic timing was top notch, the characters had a nice chemistry on screen despite the obvious limitations of being Cars.

The only problem i had was i found the TV style commentary of the race at the beginning a little too 'americanized' and loud, which i don't think will sit all too well with british audiences. Other than that minor gripe i left the theatre thrilled and anticipating Ratatouille more than ever, a solid A.

Oh and the short 'One man Band' was, i believe, the best yet.

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Wed Jul 12, 2006 7:45 pm
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Pixar's worst movie, but still pretty good. Great visuals, a pleasant but for the most part predictable story, and nice vocal work, but for the first time I found myself getting a little bored in a Pixar film. My grade: B+.


Sun Nov 12, 2006 4:18 am
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I also think it's Pixar's worst film to date (which is impressive because I didn't like Monsters Inc. either), but the film has very little soul, it just kind of bounces around from scene to scene. Disappointed in the "supporting car cast" because they just seemed to be background, which is weird for the usually rich Pixar films.

I was groaning from the point of the film where Lightning throws off his pit crew, then winds up in a town perfectly suited for all of his needs.

Bonnie Hunt and Owen Wilson seem like bad choices for the primary character voice overs. Hunt suffers from being too condescending and motherly, Wilson's distinctive voice never merged with his persona, and I have problem believing any sincerities out of his mouth after the characters he's played.

Surprisingly, I only really liked Mater, and it surprised me that the producers didn't try to play up the parts where Lightning is mean to Mater, which could potentially have caused some more drama and... any emotion at all... but no.

I just expect more from Pixar, even from the cliche story lines. If they can't effectively sell me those, then all it is is a pretty picture.


Mon Nov 20, 2006 11:23 pm
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Extraordinary

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Bump... to compare the response to last year's Pixar film to Ratatouille.

The first thing I noticed was how short this thread is -- just three pages after a year, compared to the six pages of Ratatouille after less than two weeks!

Second, is the tone of disappointment that permeates many of the reviews for Cars, including mine. This time last year, I was quite depressed about the future of Pixar. So thank goodness for the about face in their direction with Ratatouille!!!


Wed Jul 11, 2007 5:32 am
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So underated. While it may be one of Pixar's "worst" films, it was still miles ahead of nearly all other animated films.

A-


Thu Jul 12, 2007 6:01 pm
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My least favorite Pixar film so far (haven't seen Ratatouille yet), along with Toy Story...but then again Toy Story probably overtakes it. A little too predictable and not enough funny. Its message is fine, but you can understand it by the first 15 minutes.
B+ or 8.5/10

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Fri Jul 13, 2007 5:53 am
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Easily Pixar's weakest effort, but also easily better than most recent CG titles.

B+

I like the film overall but it isn't something I want to watch over and over and over, unlike all the other Pixar movies.


Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:23 am
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Omni wrote:
My least favorite Pixar film so far (haven't seen Ratatouille yet), along with Toy Story...but then again Toy Story probably overtakes it. A little too predictable and not enough funny. Its message is fine, but you can understand it by the first 15 minutes.
B+ or 8.5/10
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Fri Jul 13, 2007 8:07 pm
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It is also my least favorite pixar movie. Currently I rank them.

1. Incredibles
2. Monsters Inc
3. Finding Nemo
4. Toy Story
5. A Bugs Life
6. Toy Story 2
7. Cars

Adding Ratatouille tomorrow. :happy:

Though, they are all *** and above.

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Fri Jul 13, 2007 8:59 pm
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A+

Pixar didn't dissapoint this time either. They still have a perfect score in my book.


Sat Jul 14, 2007 5:27 am
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ef star star kay
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Post Re: Cars
glad i haven't written anything about it

just re-watched this movie now

such an underrated film!

A-

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