Cars 2 Bad

The reviews have been pretty negative, and I find it very interesting that Pixar choose to make a sequel based on their least popular movie, albeit still wildly popular.  Pixar is my favorite studio in Hollywood, as I think they are currently the group making the most unique and interesting stories.  They also have a high standard of quality for what they release, especially if they are going to make a sequel.  Since the announcement of the fill I have been pondering why Cars?  Maybe it’s because it seems to be the most popular film for kids, it has the highest merchandising value, and I give in with the idea that a world of Cars is the most interesting one to play with, especially in a spy spoof.  Either way, we now have Cars 2, and while it may not have been the best choice, it certainly is not a horrible one.

One of the pivotal questions of creating an improv scene is, “if this, then what?”  This is the format used to heighten and continue playing with the fun thing in the scene.  With Cars, it is a lot of fun to think about what the rest of the world would look like if it were inhabited by Cars.  We get these great visuals of Japan, Italy, and England.  My favorite gags were seeing the Pope and the Queen in car form, seeing famous world icons turned into car landmarks, as the final scene happening in Big Bentley instead of Big Ben was a nice touch!  Some of my favorite moments of the original film were the car gags, especially the Volkswagen bugs, being actual small bugs.  While I did not catch as much minutia in the details during my first viewing, it was fun to watch them blow up the world of Cars to cover the whole world.

While doing the world press tour for the original Cars, John Lassiter was quoted in saying, “I kept looking out thinking, ‘What would Mater do in this situation, you know?’ I could imagine him driving around on the wrong side of the road in the UK, going around in big, giant traveling circles in Paris, on the autobahn in Germany, dealing with the motor scooters in Italy, trying to figure out road signs in Japan.”  While Mater is an interesting character, I am not sure if he is the person I would put the focal point of a movie around.  I especially would not put him in the middle of an international spy ring.  While these are all really interesting choices I do not think Pixar should have built a whole movie around this topic.  This also led the plot into a simple repetitive story for the first half of the film, which got boing for me, “simple plot, Mater gets into a funny situation, car chase through a new city.”

I really enjoyed the last half of the film.  This is where we were introduced to the actual villains of the film.  I think this was the most genius moment, the antagonists were “lemon” cars, the ones no one likes and always leaves behind, who were out to get their revenge.  Once that piece came into focus, and the story rushed to an exciting final conclusion, the last race and chase scene was awesome and exciting to watch.  I also was a big fan of the gushy self-esteem booster for the kids at the end.  Always a nice feel good way to wrap up the movie. While the end was awesome, this was sadly the first Pixar film where I found myself a little bored in the middle. 

Overall, I did not hate Cars 2, but let me be clear I did not love it.  I will definitely add it to my Pixar collection, and I really want to go back and rewatch it to catch all of the Easter eggs and small car details I missed.  While Pixar may have missed the mark, this certainly is not the end of an era, or the start of Pixar in making shoddy films.  As always the animation and action were really well done, and we were taken to new worlds and blown away by their scope and feel.  The story, for me, just did not live up to traditional Pixar standards. (3 out of 5 stars)

Super Great

Monster movie thrillers scare me, I am really jumpy and I don’t like when that happens.  Yet I am drawn to these types of movies, it’s the feeling of facing your fear.  I am a big fan of J.J. Abrams, and the second I saw the trailer for Super 8 I was excited and nervous all at the same time.  While Cloverfield was an ok movie in my opinion, I was worried about this one basically being the same type of deal, but in Ohio!  Thankfully this movie does not go down that path, and for me it delivered something much deeper.

Sometimes I get nostalgic for a simpler time.  Don’t get me wrong I love my iPhone, but I think there is a danger in being super connected all the time like we tend to be today.  That was the first thing that drew me in about this film.  While it was set a few years before I was born, this movie felt like the eighties to me, a time I don’t remember too much, but am drawn too.  One of the opening scenes shows the boys of the film jamming out to My Sharona, and I could feel myself being a part of that moment when I was a kid.  We do not really get as many recent period pieces in pop culture, and this one felt very natural, classic while modern at the same time.

One of the most fun things about this movie was how the kids stole the show.  Most of the actors in the film were unknowns, and it was really fun to see inexperienced actors react to things for the first time.  On screen, they were appearing in a supernatural other worldly experience, and I imagine shooting their first major feature film was quite the same experience.  I felt very little depth or connection to the characters in Cloverfield where the movie was mainly about a monster terrorizing New York City, I felt a really strong connection to all of the characters in this film.  Abrams did an excellent job capturing the innocence of youth, a real life love story, and the quips of young friends trying to shoot a short film together.  To me Super 8 is not about a monster, it’s about the relationships of these characters, which makes the film so much stronger.

This film was also very fun from the first to the last frame.  Whatever what happening I was laughing.  It felt like I was hanging around with good friends having a good time joking with each other.  The action also had a good ebb and flow to it.  Not too much action or too much story, just the right connection of both.  Improv scenes have the most success when you can ride the wave of emotional highs and lows, heighten, crest, then flow down so you can reheighten.  Super 8 had all the right flow in this category for me.  When it got to the end, I did not even realize so much time had passed, and I really wanted to know what came next for these characters.

Super 8 is one of my favorite movies thus far during summer 2011.  As I was sitting down to write this post and I was thinking about what to write, I just kept thinking, “I really liked that movie.”  Good job J.J. Abrams on a film well done.  Check out Super 8 this summer, you won’t be disappointed!  (4 out of 5 stars)

Green Lantern Burns Out

I walked into the Green Lantern with very little knowledge of the character and the annals of the story.  The small bits and pieces I knew were this guy has a ring which allows him to create anything he can imagine.  That is a pretty cool concept, and I was excited to see how this was going to work.  I got to see Green Lantern a little late, and had already heard some of the bad press on the film.  I went in excited, and hoping to prove that press wrong.

In my summer movie reviews one of my ultimate goals is to talk about the fun or unique things that I liked about the film.  Maybe make a connection to improv, and the world is a better place.  I keep trying to think about topics that I want to highlight or talk about, and I just cannot come up with any.  It’s not that the movie was terrible, and I want that time in my life back.  It’s just that it didn’t really blow me away or excite me; the movie just seemed to happen.

In my mind, this movie seems really similar to Thor, which I really enjoyed!  Maybe that is why this one does not stack up.  We go on an adventure to this exciting alien world, but I never feel like I really got to discover the characters there, or the cool things there which would not exist on Earth.  I also felt at some point there should have been an epic space battle, while we did get some lanterns fighting in space, I was left wanting more.  To me this was like a regular old improv scene with no tag outs or edits to truly explore the world and make it fun.

I did enjoy Ryan Reynolds, he definitely has the physique to play a super hero, and we definitely got to see more of his acting then when he played Deadpool in X-Men.  I enjoyed the soft voice he brought to the character; most super heroes have these rough or angry voices while Reynolds seemed to play it more chill, which seemed to really fit the character.  My main problem was the writing was not up to par, there were a few moments where I was laughing at the cheesiness of the lines being said.  It was like need a love scene, need a conflict with the female character, need an I am hero hear me roar speech, sprinkle that together and we will have movie magic, or not.  But the suit they created for him is pretty awesome, and the effects for the character were cool, which did save some of the cheesiness.

The best thing this movie did was let me wanting more.  The villain seemed to be a throw away character, as most of his story seemed to be a set up for a sequel.  I walked out of the theather thinking about what you could create with a lantern ring, and all of the different places and action it would be great to see Hal Jordan in.  We all know this whole thing is the ramp up to a Justice League movie, but I really want to see these characters exist in their own worlds before we see them collide.  This movie sets up perfectly for a sequel, and that is what I want.  This time let’s bring a little more depth to this awesome world!  (2 out of 5 stars)

TED: Joshua Walter: On being just crazy enough

Today’s talk really centers around the idea of medicating mental illness or stimulating mental “skillness.”  Joshua discusses what it is like to live with a mental illness, and the benefits of using it in a positive way.  He talks about finding and living on the creative or powerful edge of creation.  In improv we often try to push ourselves to that creative edge, on the stage, we are in a different reality and we can create whatever we want in that space.  All of the warm up games we play before shows are about retraining the brain to think in different patterns and to push ourselves to a new edge of fun.  We also do a lot of warm up activities to push adrenaline into our systems so we can perform on that edge.  Fascinating topic, with interesting real world applications!

Validation

To start off our quest to create a film in 48 hours this weekend, we started the party off by watching some other short films to evaluate their positive attributes.  We wanted to use the things they did right to make our film stronger!  Out of all the films we watched, this was my favorite.  It really speaks to positivity, smiling and the benefits it provides.  I also love the way the film looks, feels, and the techniques the film maker used to tell their story!

48 Hour Film

I am currently in the middle of filming a 48 Hour Film Project! This is when you get a few specific prompts, then write, film, and produce a movie in 48 hours!

If there was ever a way to stimulate creativity this is it! Quick deadlines and not enough time to really get everything accomplished. Seth Goodin talks about shipping when the item is ready not when it is perfect, and this is certainly an exercise in that!

I plan to take some time and fully reflect on our creative process this week, so look forward to that. Until then send us good luck vibes as we try to pull this thing off my 7 pm tomorrow!

Don’t Want 2 Cars

I absolutely love Pixar movies.  I think they are one of the few companies in Hollywood truly making #BoldChoices.  Their stories are so unique and interesting, and Pixar truly sticks to the value of only putting out high class, unique material.  I keep trying to get myself excited about Cars 2 which is coming out this weekend, but every time a see a television preview it just does not spark my excitement.

Pixar had a strong no sequel policy and only creating one if there is an amazing story to tell.  We saw that with Toy Story, Pixar was originally forced into producing another one by Disney.  If you know the back story, when the film was nearing in on release the producers did not feel like it was up to the Pixar and first Toy Story quality standard, so they took the film back to the drawing boards and basically redid it.  While I am not against sequels of Pixar movies, they have created amazing characters with great worlds in which they live, it makes sense to employ the improv tool of “if this then what” and really expound upon those worlds.

I am not sure if Cars would have been the movie I would have picked to rock out a sequel.  It is a great story, but I feel like the interesting gimmick is that this world is inhabited by cars.  While that is in fantastic crazy town concept which is so fun to play with, I am not sure how the story moves forward.  From my understanding, the story will take on a James Bond travel the world spy film, I don’t know how that falls into the original world.  While I agree Larry the Cable Guy is funny, and Mater is basically an extension of his stand in car form, I get the feeling the movie will center around his character.  I don’t know if I believe Mater being an international spy, and I am not sure if that is the story I want to hear.

Pixar has defied the odds in creating movies where robots don’t talk for the first 20 minutes, or a story about an old man and a young kid in a floating balloon house.  Who would have believed that those stories would be so vivid and captivate such large audiences?  Pixar made a name for themselves by producing these not so run of the mill ideas and making them huge successes.  To me, I just do not feel like Cars 2 follows in those footsteps, and that is what does not have me on the edge of my seat for this film.

I will definitely go to see this movie, as I am always blown away by Pixar.  The most exciting thing about this movie is I am going into the film with low expectations, which means it won’t take much to win me over.  I am excited to see what #BoldChoices Pixar will take to make this film exciting!  Pixar I put my trust in you, I hope this film blows my expectations out of the water!

My Childhood Brand

Over the past couple years I have really become interested in branding.  I think it’s fascinating how organizations create logos, catch phrases, and marketing schemes which immediately identify those things with a specific company.  Those brands become the fabric of our world; everyone remembers the catchy jingle from that goofy commercial from our childhood.   Let me take you on a journey to visit a 14 year old Justin, I know a scary place to go! 

Branding was always a part of my mindset, even in the things I did as a kid.  A shining example of this comes from a vacation my family took when I was younger.  We went to visit our cousins who lived in Arizona and traveled through, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and California.  When we got back to Phoenix, the kids were going to make a casino for the adults.  I distinctly remember that casino in my aunt’s living room because my 14 year old self demanded we had a logo that transcended everything.  The Bayside Casino featured a simple wave logo, that was on all of our signage, from the toy slot machine, to the poker table, and the crazy show we were going to put on.  It seems weird to me that all these years later I remember the direct name and logo for our game of pretend, but that is the power of a brand.

I was a very industrious child, and maybe missed my calling as a marketer or entrepreneur.  In my neighborhood we created a miniature golf course every summer, and the major themes were the same, logs became the boundaries, rocks were the path to the next hole, and all the signs and score cards were consistent.  I used to write a weekly newspaper for our neighborhood, “The Weekly Hillside.”  It had the same front page logo, and pieces, but every summer I made sure to change the font and spruce up the design highlighting the classic look.

Everything I did had a company name and a brand!  Each of those experiences are distinctly memorable, and would be instantly recognizable to my customer base, the neighbors, if I showed them those items today!  These brands were so successful because they were simple and consistent.  When you saw them you knew what it was about, and they had a utility to them that was fun!  They could be used in multiple ways and places and represent the same “company.”  I love to brand the programs and events I do now, but I need to remember those simple and fun designs, they were the strength of the brand!

TED: Janet Echelman: Taking Imagination Seriously

Today’s TED is a short, light, and airy one!  I really enjoyed this look at imagination, and finding new ways of creating sculpture out of simple fabrics and design, then working to create it on a grand, new scale!  This video really gives the impetus to let your imagination run free, and to study and try out the things that interest you!  Watch this video and figure out a way to share in the rediscovery of wonder!

Just Yes And!

Over the past couple weeks I have been delving into my improv rut, and looking at ways to climb out of that hole.  I have really been thinking about taking it down to the basics.  The longer I improv the more tools and techniques I have in my pocket.  It gets easy to stop thinking about the basic premise of what all improv is based on, and then for me at least, my improv devolves into crap!

In my last post about the rut, I talked about enrolling in improv 101, which strictly introduces the concepts of “yes and” and positivity.  It was so refreshing to be around people improving for the first time, with these basic tools.  All of the scenes were really fun, simple, and flowed well!  All they had to worry about was agreeing and adding, something I have been losing recently.

The longer I improvise, the more I figure out my go to characters or ideas.  This is not a bad thing as we all have our strengths and weaknesses, and the goal is to magnify what we are good at.  My problem is I get in my head thinking about the type of characters I use.  If I did that type of character or scenario at a rehearsal three weeks ago, I should probably not use it again.  That is why it was so refreshing to do scenes with the 101 class, this was the first time those characters came out to play there was no predilection about those characters.  I need to bring that freshness back into my scenes, simple characters and concepts work, use them!

Recently I was placed on a harold team, which is a long form version of improv where my team gets a suggestion and creates a complete improvised piece off of that concept.  Harold is fun because it creates a full piece and challenges the improviser to connect ideas and take their created concepts to the next level.  While performing, I am constantly thinking about what character should come next, where can it go, what situation do I need to introduce.  The problem is I seem to be waiting for the perfect idea, and there I am standing on the side not initiating anything.  Harold does not need me thinking, it needs me in there “yes anding” simple games and scenes, creating!

So the diagnosis is just “yes and!”  I am not doing it enough, and it’s the basis of it all!  Not that I don’t know how to, I just need to make it my natural tendency again.  Make the complex simple, stop trying to make overly intricate ideas, and create simple games and add to it!  When I do workshops on improv my last line is to challenge people to think about how many times they say no over the next week and to see what would happen if they say yes instead!  Sounds like I need my own advice!