UP--Thumbs Down

היום שבעה וארבעים יומים שהם ששה שבועות וחמשה יומים לעמר
Today is the forty-seventh day of the omer - six weeks and five days
הוד שבמלכת
A day of humility in a week of majesty




I just saw the new Disney/Pixar movie, UP. I wouldn't call it a bad movie but, taking the high quality of the animation out of the equation, I thought it was very mediocre.

The plot was pretty standard--an adventure/dream fulfilling/friendship story--yes, I shed some tears, but then again, I'm easily manipulated in that way :) In fact, it seemed that the story was driven by the need to make the cool action sequences, going from one to the other with weak links. The writing wasn't very good; many of the lines predictable. And when it was done, I was left with nothing that stayed with me. It's a movie that is ultimately forgettable.

Yes, the animation is great, with vibrant colors and detail that makes the images pop off the screen. But I need more for a movie to reach me, and this one definitely did not. But a quick look at the early reviews put me in the minority, if this and this and this is any indication.

But I'd rather watch The Incredibles, Ratatouille, or even Cars than UP. And as far as I'm concerned, Wall-E is in a higher class all by itself. You can read my thoughts about that movie here, and here, and here. I doubt you'll be hearing any more from me about UP.

Harvey Milk - Reel vs Real

Last night Ken and I went to see the movie Milk. The reviews have been extremely good and I was expecting to have a good movie experience, with the bonus of seeing alot of San Francisco in the 1970s. Instead, I was hugely disappointed on both counts.

I will say that Sean Penn was fantastic in his role as Harvey Milk. He is not just playing Milk, he becomes Milk. He deserves to be considered for the Best Actor Academy Award. But as far as writing and directing goes, it's a total thumbs down from me.

The writing seemed so, I don't know, obvious, for lack of a better term. The story moves along, but there's no passion, no soul. The direction was claustrophobic. I didn't get a good sense of time and place in the visuals. The shots were either very close or very wide--neither giving me a feel for San Francisco in the 70s. Again, a lack of passion and soul. I was not moved emotionally.

And this is a story and a time and a place that does move me. If you really want to feel the power of Harvey Milk and the activism that defined San Francisco in the 70s, see The Times of Harvey Milk, the Academy Award winning documentary directed by Rob Epstein. I've seen it numerous and it never fails to bring me to tears.

For me, the telling of the real story from those who lived it brings it closer to my heart than watching the Hollywood reel version.

Noah's Robot

A week has gone by and I'm still thinking about WALL-E. I don't know why this movie has made such an impact on me. If anyone else has been so effected, please let me know.

In my post of last week "Touching Life" I shared a WALL-E/Torah connection the came to me when I was writing that entry. Today I remembered another one that popped into my head while I was watching the movie.

Eve, the robot Wall-E fall in love with, appears on Earth as a probe sent by a scout ship from the floating world of the humans in outer space. She is a white oval gracefully zooming through the air. Her mission to find life on earth is fulfilled when she finds a living plant.

When I saw that I thought of the dove released from Noah's Ark:

"He waited another seven days, and again sent out the dove from the ark. The dove came back to him toward evening, and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the waters had decreased on the earth."

---- Gen 8:10,11

I'm not sure this is that profound, but I thought I'd share it anyway. I welcome any comments or other interpretations.

Touching Life

The reviews of WALL-E are out and most critics have written favorably about the movie, some echoing the views I expressed in my last post, mentioning the unevenness of the production but also feeling the power of it's message. Before I let you all come to your own conclusions, there is one more comment I'd like to make about the movie.

In my post, I mention that I was touched on many levels and that the movie stayed with me, but I don't go into any specifics. I think one of the reasons it stayed with me is because it shows the power of touch--a power that has it's own many levels.

WALL-E, the robot, sees humans holding hands as he watches Hello, Dolly over and over again. He longs for that connection with others, holding his own "hands" as a way to comfort himself in his loneliness. When he meets Eve, he reaches out to her, and their relationship at the end is sealed with a grasp.

The humans in the story have lost the power of touch--with the world and with each other. With all their needs and wants taken care of, they have become fat blobs flying around on lounge chairs communicating through the screens in front of them. Not only do they not touch each other, their feet never touch the ground as generations spend their lives floating in space. As the story progresses, they literally need to hold on to each other to save themselves and eventually do land back on earth.

WALL-E reminds us that we can't just isolate ourselves from others and from our surroundings. We need keep in contact, both physically and through our actions, to keep our communities and our planet alive. We need to keep in touch with one another, expressing support and love. As much as we may want to fly away, we must remember the importance of ground beneath us.

As I write this, I am reminded of Jacob's dream in the Torah (Gen 28:10 - 15). He sees a ladder set on the ground with it's top reaching to the sky. The melachim, the angels, are going up and down the ladder. We are like both the ladder and the angels. We need to feel grounded on the earth even as our minds reach up to the skies. We can climb up to fulfill our dreams but need to come down to share our dreams with others.

In Jacob's dream, God tells him that his descendants will spread to all corners of the earth. In WALL-E, the people come back to live on Earth once again. We who inhabit this world today need to remember the power of direct, loving touch and connections--towards each other, towards our universe. For that a key to life.

A fable for our time

Last night I saw WALL-E, the new Pixar film that opens this coming Friday. Pixar has pre-release screenings for the vendors that support them, and we get to go as Pixar is one of Ken's clients.

I will be interested to see the reviews of this movie. It was typical of Pixar's high quality animation work, although some sections were better than others. I also have some pacing issues, feeling the redundancy of many of the action sequences. But the writers and the director took chances with this movie that I admire--most notably by constructing the film with very little actual dialogue. I was touched on many levels, and the movie has stayed with me today.

The story--a futuristic fable showing the consequences of the mistreatment of our planet--rang disturbingly true, especially as I opened my SF Chronicle this morning to the front page story "Grim Look at State's Plant Life" with it's subtitle, "At it's current pace, warming could take huge toll on California's greenery in 100 years, study finds." In WALL-E, one small plant is discovered after hundreds of years of total devastation of the earth.

We can discuss the artistic merits of the movie, but we need to be sure to heed its message