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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Cars 3 (2017) in Movies
Jul 11, 2019
The new Disney / Pixar movie, Cars 3 is rated G. Cars 3 is directed by Brian Fee and brings back the familiar characters of Lightening McQueen (Owen Wilson), Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), Sally (Bonnie Hunt), and introduces some new characters: Jackson Storm (Arnie Hammer), and Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo).
McQueen is back, and at the top of his game…. Until he isn’t. Thrown off his winning streak by newcomer Jackson Storm, McQueen struggles with the realization that he may not have what it takes to win consistently anymore.
Hoping to train his way back to the top before the big racing season starts in Florida, McQueen heads to the brand-new Rust-Eze Racing training center built by his sponsors Dusty and Rusty. There, Lightening meets with the new owner of the Rust-Eze brand, big-wig business man Sterling (Nathan Fillion) and meets his new trainer, Cruz.
Cruz encourages McQueen to limber up and take it easy… go slow because he’s “old”. Lightening feels like Cruz is stifling him and slowing him down. Lightening feels he needs to “get his tires dirty” and go back to training the “old fashioned way”, so he heads out on the road, planning to train on the way to the big race in Florida.
As he treks across country with Cruz, he learns that there was more to his old mentor Doc Hudson than he realized, and that everyone has dreams, and that if you can help someone reach their dreams, sometimes it makes your own dreams attainable too.
The scenery / backgrounds were extremely lifelike in the 3-D version that we saw, and the movie had enough action to keep my 9 year old entranced the whole way through, even though the movie clocks a run-time of an hour and 45 minutes.
This third installment of the Cars series was SO MUCH better than the 2nd movie, and I would almost dare to say better than the first!
It has lessons of humility, acceptance, friendship, respect, hard work, all mixed together with loving what you do and mentoring others that love the same things you do; helping them overcome their fears and become stronger and more confident in themselves.
My 9-year-old son says it was a great movie, and he loved it so much that he wants to see it again “right now”. His favorite part was the Demolition Derby. He also says that Cars 3 is so good that he hopes that they make another sequel, starring the new characters, and following McQueen as he gets older.
McQueen is back, and at the top of his game…. Until he isn’t. Thrown off his winning streak by newcomer Jackson Storm, McQueen struggles with the realization that he may not have what it takes to win consistently anymore.
Hoping to train his way back to the top before the big racing season starts in Florida, McQueen heads to the brand-new Rust-Eze Racing training center built by his sponsors Dusty and Rusty. There, Lightening meets with the new owner of the Rust-Eze brand, big-wig business man Sterling (Nathan Fillion) and meets his new trainer, Cruz.
Cruz encourages McQueen to limber up and take it easy… go slow because he’s “old”. Lightening feels like Cruz is stifling him and slowing him down. Lightening feels he needs to “get his tires dirty” and go back to training the “old fashioned way”, so he heads out on the road, planning to train on the way to the big race in Florida.
As he treks across country with Cruz, he learns that there was more to his old mentor Doc Hudson than he realized, and that everyone has dreams, and that if you can help someone reach their dreams, sometimes it makes your own dreams attainable too.
The scenery / backgrounds were extremely lifelike in the 3-D version that we saw, and the movie had enough action to keep my 9 year old entranced the whole way through, even though the movie clocks a run-time of an hour and 45 minutes.
This third installment of the Cars series was SO MUCH better than the 2nd movie, and I would almost dare to say better than the first!
It has lessons of humility, acceptance, friendship, respect, hard work, all mixed together with loving what you do and mentoring others that love the same things you do; helping them overcome their fears and become stronger and more confident in themselves.
My 9-year-old son says it was a great movie, and he loved it so much that he wants to see it again “right now”. His favorite part was the Demolition Derby. He also says that Cars 3 is so good that he hopes that they make another sequel, starring the new characters, and following McQueen as he gets older.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Battle of the Sexes (2016) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
Tennis and sex, but without the grunting.
Here’s a good test of someone’s age…. ask the question “Billie-Jean?”. Millennials will probably come back with “Huh?”; those in their 30’s or 40’s might come back with “Michael Jackson!”; those older than that will probably reply “King!”.
“Battle of the Sexes” (which I just managed to catch before it left cinemas) tells the true-life story of US tennis star Billie-Jean King (Emma Stone, “La La Land“). The year is 1973 and Billie-Jean is riding high as the Number 1 female tennis player. She is a feminist; she is married (to hunk Larry – no not that one – King played by Austin Stowell (“Whiplash“, “Bridge of Spies“)); …. and she is also attracted to women, not something she has yet acted on. That all changes when her path crosses with LA-hairdresser Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough, “Birdman“, “Oblivion”).
But this is a side story: the main event is a bet made by aging ex-star Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher“); that – even at his age – as a man he could beat the leading female tennis player of the day.
The film is gloriously retro, starting with the old-school 20th Century Fox production logo. And it contains breathtakingly sexist dialogue by writer Simon Beaufoy (“Everest“, “The Full Monty”). Surely men couldn’t have been so crass and outrageous in the 70’s? Sorry ladies, but the answer is yes, and the film is testament to how far women’s rights have come in 50 years.
This is a tour de force in acting from both Emma Stone and Steve Carell, particularly the latter: a scene where Carell tries to re-engage with his estranged wife (Elisabeth Shue, “Leaving Las Vegas”) is both nuanced and heart-breaking. Stone’s performance is also praiseworthy, although it feels slightly less so as it is an impersonation of a (relatively) well-known figure: this is extremely well-studied though, right down to her strutting walk around the court which I had both forgotten and was immediately again reminded of.
One of my favourite movie awards are the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) “cast” awards that celebrate ensemble performances, and here is a film that should have been nominated (it unfortunately wasn’t). Andrea Riseborough; Natalie Morales (as fellow tennis player Rosie Casals); comedian Sarah Silverman (“A Million Ways to Die in the West“), almost unrecognisable as the brash publicist Gladys Heldman; Bill Pullman as LTA head Jack Kramer; the great Alan Cumming (“The Good Wife”) as the team’s flamboyant, gay, costume designer; Lewis Pullman as Riggs’s son Larry; Jessica McNamee (magnetic eyes!) as King’s Australian tennis nemesis Margaret Court. All bounce off the leads, and each other, just beautifully.
Cinematography by Linus Sandgren (“La La Land“) and editing by Pamela Martin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) unite to deliver one of the most sexually charged haircuts you are ever likely to see on the screen. For those put off by this aspect of the storyline, the “girl-on-girl action” is pretty tastefully done and not overly graphic: it’s mostly “first-base” stuff rather than “third-base”!
“What a waste of a lovely night”. Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough) and Billie-Jean (Emma Stone) get serious.
Directed with panache by the co-directors of the 2006 smash “Little Miss Sunshine” – Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris – all in all it’s a delight, especially for older audiences who will get a blast of nostalgia from days when sports were still played at a slightly more leisurely pace… and definitely without the grunting.
“Battle of the Sexes” (which I just managed to catch before it left cinemas) tells the true-life story of US tennis star Billie-Jean King (Emma Stone, “La La Land“). The year is 1973 and Billie-Jean is riding high as the Number 1 female tennis player. She is a feminist; she is married (to hunk Larry – no not that one – King played by Austin Stowell (“Whiplash“, “Bridge of Spies“)); …. and she is also attracted to women, not something she has yet acted on. That all changes when her path crosses with LA-hairdresser Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough, “Birdman“, “Oblivion”).
But this is a side story: the main event is a bet made by aging ex-star Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher“); that – even at his age – as a man he could beat the leading female tennis player of the day.
The film is gloriously retro, starting with the old-school 20th Century Fox production logo. And it contains breathtakingly sexist dialogue by writer Simon Beaufoy (“Everest“, “The Full Monty”). Surely men couldn’t have been so crass and outrageous in the 70’s? Sorry ladies, but the answer is yes, and the film is testament to how far women’s rights have come in 50 years.
This is a tour de force in acting from both Emma Stone and Steve Carell, particularly the latter: a scene where Carell tries to re-engage with his estranged wife (Elisabeth Shue, “Leaving Las Vegas”) is both nuanced and heart-breaking. Stone’s performance is also praiseworthy, although it feels slightly less so as it is an impersonation of a (relatively) well-known figure: this is extremely well-studied though, right down to her strutting walk around the court which I had both forgotten and was immediately again reminded of.
One of my favourite movie awards are the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) “cast” awards that celebrate ensemble performances, and here is a film that should have been nominated (it unfortunately wasn’t). Andrea Riseborough; Natalie Morales (as fellow tennis player Rosie Casals); comedian Sarah Silverman (“A Million Ways to Die in the West“), almost unrecognisable as the brash publicist Gladys Heldman; Bill Pullman as LTA head Jack Kramer; the great Alan Cumming (“The Good Wife”) as the team’s flamboyant, gay, costume designer; Lewis Pullman as Riggs’s son Larry; Jessica McNamee (magnetic eyes!) as King’s Australian tennis nemesis Margaret Court. All bounce off the leads, and each other, just beautifully.
Cinematography by Linus Sandgren (“La La Land“) and editing by Pamela Martin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) unite to deliver one of the most sexually charged haircuts you are ever likely to see on the screen. For those put off by this aspect of the storyline, the “girl-on-girl action” is pretty tastefully done and not overly graphic: it’s mostly “first-base” stuff rather than “third-base”!
“What a waste of a lovely night”. Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough) and Billie-Jean (Emma Stone) get serious.
Directed with panache by the co-directors of the 2006 smash “Little Miss Sunshine” – Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris – all in all it’s a delight, especially for older audiences who will get a blast of nostalgia from days when sports were still played at a slightly more leisurely pace… and definitely without the grunting.