Brave

[fuzz092888]

I saw Brave last night (and by extension the Pixar short "La Luna").

I thought the story was simplistic and without many shocks, but then again it is a kids movie. There were, however, plenty of laughs. Maybe it's because I'm still more or less a little kid but I thought it had plenty of funny parts and it didn't disappoint on that end as another Pixar hit.

Forget about the story, though. The cinematic artistry is some of the best I have every seen. Pixar has really outdone themselves this time, every scene is total eye candy (if you have an appreciation for CGI that is). The flowing water, reflecting light, shadow effects, wind, everything just seemed so.....so.....natural. I think Brave has set a new standard for how CGI backgrounds should look.

Overall it was a very enjoyable movie that I plan on buying when it comes out.

As an aside, I thought La Luna was also excellent. Very clever and with just the right amounts of Pixar wit, humor, and ingenuity.

 

[markw]

We took our two grand-daughters (ages 10 & 6) to see it last week. I wasn't expecting much but actually enjoyed it. Yes, it is somewhat simplistic and has a definitely feminist slant to it (could young girls are the target market? Nah!) but, all in all, it was extremely well done.

I'm particularly impressed with the girl's hair. Totally amazing.

A visual feast and Pixar, as usual, has great taste in voice talent. Along with the plot, which is easy to follow (hey, it's a kids movie), Pixar, as usual, doesn't totally play to the kiddies. AS is their custom, they wisely add enough little tidbits to keep the adults in the crowd interested and amused.

About the only minor gripe I might have is that virtually all the males are played as insensitive, bumbling buffoons but, considering the target is young girls, this can be somewhat excused. somewhat...

A winner, but somehow I think I'll be seeing it many times in the next few years. Time will tell how well it ages.

Anyone who watches "Boardwalk Empire" might recognize Margaret Schroder's voice as that of the heroine. And, as usual, John Ratzenberger had a small role. Finding him in the melange is always a game I play with Pixar movies.

 

[j_garcia]

I watched it on BD last week as a rental and a rental it is IMO unfortunately. I agree with Fuzz's assessment, awesome visuals, a few hilarious moments and basically, a thin story. The story was actually interesting, but didn't flow and was a bit off the mark in my book. It went directly to "the easy way out", which seemed very out of character for Merida, who they just established as being a strong character. From that point on, the story is quite predictable. It was entertaining, but this is one I will be highly unlikely to add to my collection. Audio was excellent on this one.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Yeah, me too. I'm fascinated by animation technology so I watched it as my free Vudu sign-up selection. Pixar's work and artistry is awesome, but this is no Cars, story or music-wise. Some of the humor is pretty good, but adults will find little to like here. It was so dumb I couldn't finish it; I got about halfway through it, and I was bored after twenty minutes.

 

[j_garcia]

Hate to say it, but Cars was in the same boat as this one for me.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Hate to say it, but Cars was in the same boat as this one for me.

I understand, but in the case of Cars it was just you and three other people in the US that feel this way.

 

[j_garcia]

Ironically, Brave scored slightly higher (78%) on Rottentomatoes.com than Cars (74%)

 

[Grador]

I watched Brave a few nights ago, overall I would say I enjoyed it, but it is my least favorite pixar movie so far (I have seen neither cars films). The pacing was a little odd, and the very very Disney "uplifting" vocals in some of the songs rubbed me the wrong way. I was however very impressed with the visuals.

 

[j_garcia]

I watched Brave a few nights ago, overall I would say I enjoyed it, but it is my least favorite pixar movie so far (I have seen neither cars films). The pacing was a little odd, and the very very Disney "uplifting" vocals in some of the songs rubbed me the wrong way. I was however very impressed with the visuals.

My guess would be because it was a Disney film done by Pixar, not a Pixar creation.

 

[darien87]

I understand, but in the case of Cars it was just you and three other people in the US that feel this way.

Guess I must have been one of the other 3 then. I thought Cars was boring. I didn't find myself caring about Lightning at all. He was a douche.

 

[3db]

From a visual perpsective, this flick is a tour de force as I've never seen animation as upscale as this. This sets the new bar as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Irvrobinson]

From a visual perpsective, this flick is a tour de force as I've never seen animation as upscale as this. This sets the new bar as far as I'm concerned.

That was my impression. That might also explain why I was holding the script to such a high standard.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Guess I must have been one of the other 3 then. I thought Cars was boring. I didn't find myself caring about Lightning at all. He was a douche.

You've got to be kidding. The scene where Sally's tramp stamp is exposed is classic. I still remember bursting out laughing when Lightning asks Sally, "Corvette?" Those two scenes alone made it worth putting up with the silliness of the rest of the movie.

 

[j_garcia]

You've got to be kidding. The scene where Sally's tramp stamp is exposed is classic. I still remember bursting out laughing when Lightning asks Sally, "Corvette?" Those two scenes alone made it worth putting up with the silliness of the rest of the movie.

The only thing that made that one entertaining was Mater/Larry pretty much. I actually own Cars on BD. I still haven't opened it. I watched it as a rental and got the disc as part of a set. It was OK, but I just didn't feel it was up there with their best stuff, just like Brave.

The scene where one of the sons was making fun of the father's "bear speech" at the table was the funniest thing in Brave.

Anyway, next week NEMO comes out on BD...

 

[fuzz092888]

The only thing that made that one entertaining was Mater/Larry pretty much. I actually own Cars on BD. I still haven't opened it. I watched it as a rental and got the disc as part of a set. It was OK, but I just didn't feel it was up there with their best stuff, just like Brave.

The scene where one of the sons was making fun of the father's "bear speech" at the table was the funniest thing in Brave.

Anyway, next week NEMO comes out on BD...

Nemo and Dark Knight Rises

 

[jostenmeat]

After first viewing, Brave is the most disappointing Pixar title I've seen. I thought Cars is 10x better. However, I will give it at least another viewing before making final judgment. You see I was also disappointed with Cars after first viewing, but it needs to be said that it was immediately after Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, right before Ratatouille. Pretty tough spot in the lineup, probably the toughest. It was after repeat viewings that I really enjoyed the movie for what it's worth. Yes, Lightning was a douche, that was the intent, self absorbed cocky competitor that was completely selfish, but who learned some life lessons along the way, and even picked up a friend or two or more.

The animation of Brave might be technically spot on, but the subject matter for the animation wasn't so interesting for me. But in the end, what I really want to say is that I find it extremely hard to compare Pixar animation quality even subjectively until you watch them back to back, or at least within a couple or few days. It's like comparing a 10.0 with a 9.9 against a 9.8 in quality.

For instance, Monsters Inc has more interesting subject matter for the animation (furry monsters!) and yes it looks awesome, but if I put on UP immediately afterward, with less interesting stuff (to me), it's still apparent that the latter is on another level. I still think Ratatouille is in rarefied air, and the only other one for me that meets or possibly exceeds that level is Toy Story 3.

The only reason I'm keeping Brave for now is because I buy every Pixar 2D release, always preordered from the moment I know preorder is available. I have the entire collection, so I guess I'll keep it that way.

 

[j_garcia]

Agreed. Saying a Pixar movie "isn't as good as the rest" is like saying one supermodel is better looking than the rest. It is nit picking, because even the "bad" ones are still decent.

The teaser for Monster's University looked pretty good too.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Let's face it, we're not really the target audience. The target audience is kids, and some adult entertainment is thrown in so we won't mind taking the little ones to the theater, or sitting through it with them on the sofa. Kids stuff has improved a lot since my daughter was obsessed with The Little Mermaid.

 

[j_garcia]

Let's face it, we're not really the target audience. The target audience is kids, and some adult entertainment is thrown in so we won't mind taking the little ones to the theater, or sitting through it with them on the sofa. Kids stuff has improved a lot since my daughter was obsessed with The Little Mermaid.

My kids are out of the house and I still watch these So do my kids though, and sometimes we still watch them together. A good movie is a good movie.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

From a visual perpsective, this flick is a tour de france as I've never seen animation as upscale as this. This sets the new bar as far as I'm concerned.

You mean all jacked up on Test and EPO?

I haven't watched it yet but I will. Nothing has touched Ratatouille in my opinion.