REVIEW 17: CARS 2 (3D)

Release date in India:	June 24, 2011
Director:	John Lasseter, Brad Lewis (co-director)
Cast:	Larry The Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, John Turturro

The question all fans of Cars are asking is this: is Cars 2 as good as Part 1? And then there’s the other question everyone asks these days: does the 3D make a difference?

Let me be open about my feelings for Cars: from the moment I began that emotional ride with Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) back in 2006, I’ve been in love. So bear with me if I answer your question with a “no”.

No, Cars 2 is not as good as Cars. But yes, it’s still a good film. Whaddyaknow, the switch to 3D actually enhances the experience. And the makers have clearly worked hard to incorporate elements in the story that would benefit from the addition of a third dimension.

For those who didn’t watch the first film, there’s just one bit of information you need before you enter the theatre: this is a film about cars that are not merely cars but anthropomorphised automobiles. So we’re back in the small town of Radiator Springs, where Tow Mater the rickety rusted tow truck (voiced by Larry The Cable Guy), is waiting for the return of his friend Lightning McQueen, the champion racing car. McQueen asks Mater along on his next race which is being organised by the manufacturer of an alternative, eco-friendly fuel. We already know from the film’s high-adrenaline opening sequence that this one will be different from Cars. As things start going wrong on the race track, Mater gets unwittingly drawn into a web of international espionage, and the action shifts from those competing cars to the behind-the-scenes intrigue.

The biggest difference between Cars 1 & 2 is that the sequel moves away from sleepy Radiator Springs and zips around the world, from Japan to Italy to the UK. The other change is that the focal point of this story is not Lightning McQueen but Tow Mater, which is both a good thing and a bad thing.

Mater is the kind of bumbling, well-meaning chap who the world laughs at because they don’t see his heart of gold. McQueen does, which gives the film an opportunity to serve us some lessons in friendship, loyalty and accepting people as they are. But the selling points of Cars 2 are its neat action sequences, high-speed chases and shootouts, the fantastic visual effects (the ocean and Europe are particularly wow!), the amazing detailing in the depiction of these geographical locations (you won’t believe how authentic the Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral and London’s other architectural wonders look) and its lovely sense of humour.  

But all these elements are also the reason why I say that though Cars 2 is a good film, it doesn’t match up to Cars. It’s the emotional quotient that made the first film what it was. Five minutes into the story, I had forgotten that I was watching automobiles and not real human beings on screen. It had its share of races too, but Cars also made me cry and sigh, laugh and smile; it made me long for McQueen to hook up with beautiful Sally. I could feel what he was feeling, I could see her through his eyes, and I could see him through the eyes of the bitter, elderly Doc Hudson. Cars was a very human story. Cars 2 is more like a James Bond film in 3D animation. Among other things, I just don’t see why the writers couldn’t come up with a story which gave as much importance to the wonderful Mr McQueen as it does to Mater. It makes no sense to relegate the charismatic hero of Part 1 to a supporting character whose voice we barely get to hear in Part 2. And surely the lovely Sally deserves more than the few seconds of screen time given to her! With Sally hardly there, and the only ‘woman’ worth mentioning being the British secret agent Holly Shiftwell (voiced impeccably by Emily Mortimer), Cars 2 becomes a mostly-male enterprise.

What that means is that it’s lots of fun, but unlike Cars, it’s not on my personal list of all-time favourite Hollywood animation films. Well, that’s all right, I guess. Because despite everything I’ve just grumbled about, Cars 2 is still a highly enjoyable ride. Larry the Cable Guy (the stage name of the American actor Daniel Lawrence Whitney) is hilarious as Mater. But with Owen Wilson’s Lightning hardly on the scene, my picks of the voice cast are Mortimer and Michael Caine who lends remarkable dignity to Shiftwell’s colleague Finn McMissile.

Do watch out for the Pope and the Queen of England in Cars 2. And if you don’t fall off your chair laughing when Prince William makes an appearance, then I’ll skip an episode of my favourite TV serial for you. What on earth do I mean by this last paragraph, did you ask?! Well, watch the film and you’ll know.

Rating (out of five): ***1/2

Release date in the US:	June 24, 2011
MPAA Rating (US):	G (General)
CBFC Rating (India):	U without cuts
Running time in the US:	113 minutes
Running time in India:	113 minutes (109 minutes of Cars 2 + a 4 minute Toy Story short film titled Hawaiian Vacation that will be seen only with Cars 2. It plays right before this film, so make sure you are in your seat right on time.)
Language:	English

Photograph courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cars_2

REVIEW 9: RIO (3D)

Release date in India:	April 8, 2011
Director:	Carlos Saldanha
Cast:	Voiced by Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Will.I.Am, Jamie Foxx

Rio is one of those good-but-not-great movies that we need to happen to us ever so often, to help us appreciate the great ones. It’s an entertaining-while-you-watch-it-yet-not-so-memorable 3D animation flick about the adventures of Tyler Blu, a rare blue macaw who was abducted as a child from the wild, then rescued by a girl called Linda. Fast forward to the present. Both characters are now adults: she’s a bespectacled book-shop owner in Minnesota, he’s a bird who has never taken flight. They’re best friends of course. That is one of the reasons why Linda resists strongly when an ornithologist arrives at her doorstep to persuade her to bring Blu to Rio where he can mate with the only other surviving blue macaw in the world, Jewel, and prevent the extinction of their species.

Most of the action takes place in Rio di Janeiro, home city of director Carlos Saldanha who was the co-director of the first Ice Age film and director of its two sequels. Rio gives him an opportunity to affectionately capture the look, feel and colour of Brazil. And he does it well, laying out for us a canvas filled with bright, eye-catching splashes of paint, and making even the poor quarters with their narrow alleyways & tin roofs look pretty.

In fact, everything about Rio is pretty. Very pretty. From the sequences of energetic avian dancing, to the bursts of colour around every corner, from Blu and Jewel’s inevitable romance to their madcap trio of city-bred feathered friends. But pretty is not the same as beautiful, and the film as a whole never quite goes the distance from being enjoyable to being remarkably impactful. The problem is that there’s nothing terribly unique about the treatment, and the plot is … well … predictable: you know right from the start that more bird poachers will show up to throw hurdles in the path of true love, a true love that’s bound to happen between Blu and Jewel, and between Linda and the ornithologist. Besides, the themes of preservation of the species, the call of the wild, being who we are meant to be and going back to where we belong have been explored repeatedly in Hollywood animation features, often in far more imaginative ways.

The characters in Rio are voiced by some major – and talented – stars. Jesse Eisenberg’s vibrant Blu is a nice contrast to his deliberately dull Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. Anne Hathaway as Jewel is suitably spirited and dynamic. Their buddies Pedro, Nico and Rafael (Black-Eyed Peas’ Will.I.Am, Jamie Foxx and George Lopez) are a lively bunch who contribute to some of this film’s funniest moments. And my pick of the lot is Jemaine Clement as Nigel the evil cockatoo who works for men who prey on birds. But none of these stars – or the characters they voice – is as heart-stoppingly huggable as that crazy warthog from The Lion King or Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) from Cars who was so damned brilliant that I forgot he was an automobile, and not a man, just minutes into the film.

The songs in Rio range from bland to pleasant. Though Will.I.Am and Jamie Foxx pitch in with their singing voices, and a couple of the numbers were hummable, I can’t name one that has stayed with me. What did stay with me though was the rivetting choreography that was elevated many storeys by Saldanha’s joyously bright palette. Rio is a pleasant enough experience. But it’s not had a lasting impact on me. I guess what I’m saying is that it was good while it lasted, for me and Rio. But our affair ended pretty soon after I left that movie hall.

Rating (out of five): ***

Release date in the US:	April 15, 2011
MPAA Rating (US):	G (For general audiences. This rating was granted after a re-screening. The initial rating given to the film was PG, which means parental guidance is advised)
CBFC Rating (India):	U without cuts
Running time in the US:	96 minutes
Running time in India:	96 minutes
Language:	English

Photograph courtesy: http://www.facebook.com/riothemovie

REVIEW 2: HALL PASS

Release date in India: March 4, 2011

Director: Peter and Bobby Farrelly

Cast: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate

This one’s not so much a review as a reviewlet. Because honestly, Hall Pass doesn’t merit thought or analysis! The film revolves around Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis as middle-aged married men who get a “hall pass” from their wives. That’s a week off from marriage to do whatever they want minus any consequences – fool around, sleep around, whatever!

It’s the sort of harmless story that lends itself to some good laughs. And things were moving along smoothly enough until the directors decided to give in to their baser instincts and ruin a potentially unmemorable-yet-entertaining film. Ah well, why was I expecting anything else from the Farrelly brothers? 

The film’s appealing lead cast really owe themselves better than this level of crap … oops, did I just use that word on my blog?! But seriously, Wilson especially has such a likeable personality that it’s hard to despise him even in the middle of this faeces-and-fart fest.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not too snooty to enjoy an occasional mindless, even cheap comedy. But I draw the line at watching an obese man shit on a golf course, then cover up his excrement with sand and run across the fairway while his shorts are still not over his expansive bum. And I certainly draw the line at a sexily dressed woman who spews diarrhoea on to a bathroom wall. If you can manage to wipe that crap (oops I did it again!) out of your mind’s eye, then you may find Hall Pass an amusing film.

Rating (out of five): **

Photograph courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_Pass_(film)