... FOR "UNFAIR EXPECTATIONS AND THE CRITICS' CONSENSUS ON 'CARS 2' (COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING)"

Holy crap – have you seen the aggregate rating for Pixar's Cars 2 on Rotten Tomatoes? As of this writing, it's currently holding at 33%! That means, out of all the critics who've seen the movie, only 1/3 actually liked the movie enough to recommend it. For a Pixar movie, that's unheard of – unprecedented even. Especially when you look at their Rotten track record: Toy Story (100%), A Bug's Life (91%), Toy Story 2 (100%), Monsters Inc. (95%), Finding Nemo (98%), The Incredibles (97%), Cars (74%), Ratatouille (96%), WALL-E (96%), Up (98%), and Toy Story 3 (99%).

Look at that list again. Did you notice anything else peculiar about it? That's right: Out of all the Pixar films to grace our theater screens, Cars and Cars 2 rank the lowest. Frankly, this is baffling to me. What's everyone's problem with Cars? If you read any of those reviews, the general consensus seems to be that no one buys that particular world. I get that. A world populated by talking anthropomorphic vehicles? Sports cars, passenger cars, trucks, helicopters, airplanes, bugs? Are you serious? Sure, I can buy walking, talking toys and insects and fish and monsters in my closet, but vehicles with mouths and eyes and hopes and dreams? That's a little too much to grasp, thank you very much. Who "manufactures" these cars anyway? Where are all the people? Who built the highways? Who carved all those structures in the mountains? Help, my brain is melting!

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 11 - 'THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad (1949)

The Plot: Two animated segments combined into one feature-length film, narrated (respectively) by Basil Rathbone and Bing Crosby. In the first, a  fun-loving, adventure-seeking toad gets into trouble when he tries to get his hands on a motor car. In the second, a lanky, prim-and-proper schoolteacher finds himself at the mercy of the Headless Horseman.

The Segments: "The Wind In The Willows" (based on the book by Kenneth Grahame), "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" (based on the short story by Washington Irving)

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 10 - 'MELODY TIME' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: Melody Time (1948)

The Plot: An anthology of animated shorts, set to popular 40's music.

The Segments: "Once Upon A Wintertime," "Bumble Boogie," "The Legend Of Johnny Appleseed," "Little Toot," "Trees," "Blame It On The Samba," "Pecos Bill"

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 9 - 'FUN AND FANCY FREE' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: Fun And Fancy Free (1947)

The Plot: Two animated short subjects, combined into one feature-length film. In "Bongo," a circus bear cub learns about life and love in the wild. In "Mickey And The Beanstalk," Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck venture inside a giant’s castle to reclaim their magical harp.

The Songs: "Fun And Fancy Free," "I'm A Happy-Go-Lucky Fellow," "My Favorite Dream," "Too Good To Be True," "Say It With A Slap," "Lazy Countryside," "My, What A Happy Day," "Fee Fi Fo Fum"

... FOR "FRANCHISE CONTINUITY AND 'X-MEN: FIRST CLASS'"

A few notes on X-Men: First Class, now barely two weeks old in theaters. The short review (to be expounded upon in a future Franchise Face-Off): I liked it. The story flows better than it has in the last couple of X movies, it's more character-based than special effects-based, and the performances (particularly from headliners James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender) are respectful to past entries yet add their own wrinkles to the fray. Thinking back on it, though, the idea behind this fifth X-Men adventure confuses me: Is it a prequel? A reboot? Maybe a little of both? The characters are the same (albeit in younger, sprightlier form), the struggles are the same, and yet... the pieces don't match up with the other movies.

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 8 - 'MAKE MINE MUSIC' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: Make Mine Music (1946)

The Plot: A collection of animated musical segments, with songs performed by The Andrews Sisters, Nelson Eddy, Benny Goodman and His Band, and others.

The Segments: "The Martins And The Coys," "Blue Bayou," "All The Cats Join In," "Without You," "Casey At The Bat," "Two Silhouettes," "Peter And The Wolf," "After You've Gone," "Johnny Fedora And Alice Blue Bonnet," "The Whale Who Wanted To Sing At The Met"

... FOR "HOLLYWOOD DÉJÀ VU"

I'd like to give a shout-out to Netflix, as well as the shattered remnants of my fragile brain, for their ongoing efforts to inspire me with ideas for the blog. There are few creative impulses as satisfying as sitting on the couch with my family, watching a movie, when suddenly that little light bulb goes off in my head, and I find myself inspired to thrill you, oh faithful reader, with my latest bit of useless trivia. (The best way to describe this feeling is like watching a fireworks display – it means, Yay! I've got something new to write about!)

To wit: Last week, Netfilx sent us 1995's Rob Roy from our DVD queue, a movie I'd been meaning (and neglecting) to show the wife for a good long while now. (Why Rob Roy? Well, you can never go wrong with an authentically romantic movie, as far as she's concerned. In this one, Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange have a palpable romantic chemistry that's always impressed me. Plus, there's swordfighting. So, you know – best of both worlds.) I told her the movie was a lot like Braveheart, just to put things in perspective – Scottish accents, grand gestures of love and honor, kilts, all that – and off into the player it went. Long story short, she liked the movie (though, admittedly, not as much as Braveheart). Her only question was, "How tall is Liam Neeson, anyway?" since the guy seemed to be towering over his co- stars (which, after some checking, I found out he's roughly 9'7" tall.)

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 7 - 'THE THREE CABALLEROS' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. Again, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: The Three Caballeros (1944)

The Plot: Donald Duck receives a trio of gifts on his birthday, which lead to adventures through Latin America.

The Songs: "The Three Caballeros (Ay, Jalisco, No Te Rajes!)," "Baía," "Os Quindins de Yayá," "You Belong To My Heart," "Mexico," "Have You Ever Been To Baía?," "Pregoes Carioca," "Lilongo," "Pandeiro & Flute," "La Sandunga," "Jesusita En Chihuahua"