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Pixar has been accused by various people of having killed off Hollywood’s (and by extention the audience’s) interest in 2D animation. A ridiculous accusation of course, but when John Lasseter took over running all of Disney Animation in 2006, he heard that talk, and decided to prove it wrong anyway. He immediately put into production a new 2D theatrical feature, the kind of classic, old school, animated musical that Disney used to be best known for.

That’s out today as The Princess and the Frog, and Will and I checked it out today. It’s very deliberately old fashioned, from its setting to its style and classic 2D animation style, but it really is very good. With an outstanding New Orleans influenced jazz score by Randy Newman, including plenty of musical-style songs, the movie is steeped in African American and Creole culture, again, something not often seen.

Though unfamiliar with most of them, the voice cast is excellent, with plenty of great singers among them. When I get the access I’ll check more into them — they do some great songs.

Excellent animation in the classic Disney style — this couldn’t be any further from the Pixar style if it tried — but it’s up there with the Pixar quality. Almost too old school in some ways, but it is definitely worthy in its own right anyway. For some reason Disney stopped doing this sort of movie in any quality way nearly 15 years ago, so naturally it took John Lasseter to bring it back. Four stars.

I had a cheap movie voucher that ran out at the end of the weekend, so decided to check this out with Will, who had expressed some interest. But I wasn’t so sure… it looked fun, but I wasn’t sure about it.

And while it wasn’t Pixar, it was pretty entertaining, really cute, with a great message at its centre. It ended up being a true “nerd movie”, as two awkward nerdy types with their own obsessions end up falling for each other while some decidedly odd things happen.

This was another 3D movie, but we opted against seeing it in 3D — don’t think Will would have gone for that. There’s some great voice actors including Bill Hader, the adorable Anna Faris (as adorable in this as Reece Witherspoon in Monsters v Aliens), Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell, James Caan and Mr T. The visuals are entertainingly crazy and the story is a cute little adventure about following your own obsessions and achieving what you want in life… even if it’s creating a machine that makes it rain food from the sky!

Both Flint Lockwood the scientist and Sam Sparks the weather girl are self admitted nerds, and the movie celebrates that, something not always seen. Science wins over idiots, nerds win over mobs, and there’s even a little environmental message in there. Fun stuff. Three and a half stars.

Got some freebies from work to see previews of the re-released Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D, so naturally I had to take Will We both know the two movies inside out, but he’s never seen either on the big screen, and I last saw Toy Story at the movies nearly 15 years ago, so we were going in for something new.

And it was 3D… which would be something new. It seems like all the animation being released these days is available in 3D, but we don’t usually go for it (either cause of cost or interest). Which was probably right again, since Will really hasn’t been into the 3D thing, and he wasn’t really into the 3D today. Even though the glasses are a whole new thing: clear, easy to wear, Will really didn’t like it, but he doesn’t keep anything on his face really!

But I thought it was pretty cool. It’s unobtrusive, fitting well into the story, and giving the scenes real depth and variety. It’s especially interesting to see how the 3D was added to an already existing movie.

Memorable characters, memorable music, groundbreaking animation, just the all round package. The 3D was an appealing touch, and it makes seeing a movie you already know so well a new experience in itself. And both movies together — even better! Definitely one not to be missed. Four and a half stars.

A special night tonight… it’s Sallie’s birthday and we arranged things so the kids could be looked after for a few hours. For the first time in months we have an evening to ourselves. Couldn’t exactly be too extravagent, so we went up to the Westpoint entertainment level for dinner and a movie.

We had some seriously appealing sushi from the “Sushi Train” place, picking up a whole variety of dishes, while Sallie played the “is it fish?” game. It was easier than most places and we had a great meal for a good price. It’s funny how little plates can fill you up very quickly…

Naturally, I even snapped a pic of my favourite sushi roll… not even sure what was in it… think it was fish, and it had a really nice sauce and some kind of caviar thing… nice…

We went to see Couples Retreat, the latest Vince Vaughan movie, which I’m happy to say was definitely one of his better ones… it’s an entertaining, extremely well cast fun little movie… that the two of us fell perfectly into the demographics for.

I admit it, Couples Retreat is a movie specifically made for early to mid 30s couples with young children and it worked great on us. Take four couples in various situations, put them together in a pretty place they really didn’t want to be, then watch them work through their marriages with great amusement. Add some hot ladies, a gratuitous Guitar Hero duel, and some very funnny supporting actors, and you have some good fun and a movie worth getting out to… especially if you’re that perfectly aimed demographic that doesn’t get out much

Great cast… Vince Vaughn can be good when he tries, and especially when he’s with John Favreau, who is great too. Jason Bateman is getting lots of good roles now… but it’s the ladies that rule for me

Malin Ackerman is gorgeous, and shows some great comic timing in a role very different from her recent turn in Watchman. Kristin Davis was by far my favourite Sex and the City star and even before that, and she’s fun in this. Of course, my true favourite is Kristin “Veronica Mars” Bell, who stands out in this as a somewhat troubled younger wife who isn’t sure her marriage will last not having kids.

So, it’s definitely a good bit of fun, and best enjoyed with your nearest loved one. Three and a half stars.

Another league season is done, and Wests Tigers not only didn’t win, but they didn’t even make the finals… again. At least there’s always 2005 for me, which is more than I can say for Parramatta fans…

So the Melbourne Storm win the comp again, and while I’m tempted to make jokes about how many people in Victoria will actually notice this, they are an impressive team, one that would do well anywhere. They’re really the height of a modern professional sports franchise, and they’d be just as good if they were say, a second Brisbane team or something like that. So congratulations to them.

And despite some misgivings, I really did want Parramatta to win in the grand final. I’m not a Parra fan, but a lot of friends and neighbours are, and I live in the right neighbourhood, so that would have been good to see. But it was not to be, which I kind of suspected would happen. Melbourne were just too good, with too much experience and too much power. Parramatta made a good run of it, and there were even some moments in the 2nd half where it looked like they could have pulled it off, but every time that happened the Storm would pull away again.

Kudos to Billy Slater as the Churchill Medal winner, as well as Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis and all the rest for their performance. Many of them will be in the Australian team, with good reason. Congratulations to my bizarro namesake Steve Turner as well, who didn’t score in the game, but played well all the same. He’s off to Canterbury next year to replace Hazen El Mazri, so I suppose he will continue doing well. And maybe now with Melbourne Storm and Steve Turner in this post, I will start getting Google hits from league fans who think he’s got a blog now

So where to for 2010 andd the NRL? I imagine there will be less controversy next year… I doubt enough players can be that stupid again, and while I expect Greg Inglis will either be found not guilty or have charges dropped, I think there’s a serious chance Brett Stewart will do jail time for his charges. I expect we’ll see Jarryd Hayne and Billy Slater headline the ad campaign heading into the next season, and at this stage at leasat, I doubt they’ll be in any strife… (let’s not speak too soon though!)

And what about Wests Tigers? Well, after a slow start this year, they actually ended up being pretty good. Still missed the eight, by the smallest of margins (they were just a point behind Parramatta in ninth), but they really seemed to get a combination going with Marshall and Moltzen in the halves. Would be fun to see Lote Tiquiri at fullback but that’s still unlikely I guess, but let’s get Tuiaki healthy again on the wing. Robbie Farah is an able leader of the team, the forwards are getting better, and they should be a real top eight contender if they can actually maintain the line-up, avoid major injuries and get some early form (instead of leaving everything to a late season run, again).

So that’s the typical sports fan for you — the eternal optimist. Hope springs eternal that my team will make the finals next year… I mean they have to again eventually, right? And after watching this year, I’m still thankful that they played an equally inexperienced team in 2005 (North Queensland), and that Melbourne took another year to find form.

That’s it, bring on the 2010 season!

Took in Michael Mann’s latest movie tonight… Public Enemies, or as I’ve thought of it for ages, “Heat in the 1930s”. And while I can’t really say it’s as good as Mann’s 1995 epic, Public Enemies is still pretty decent in its own right, with some excellent performances, some great production design, and some Heat-worthy epic action set pieces.

Public Enemies is a retelling of the Depression era crime spree of John Dillinger and various other cohorts and partners in crime at the time, including Baby Face Nelson and others. It was a vivid and nasty time, where the poverty of most led to the lionisation of many of these criminals, and the media was obsessed with them. At least that was familiar…

Johnny Depp is tough but aloof as the lead, Marion Cotillard is appealing (and not at all French) as love interest Billie Frechette, and Christian Bale is his now classic tough, resolute and single minded law enforcer, this time and early FBI agent. Highlight smaller roles include Aussie David Wenham as one of Dillinger’s gang, Stephen Lang as one of the FBI’s early badass enforcers, and Billy Crudup as the young but always odd, J Edgar Hoover (in a rare depiction of Hoover as a younger man).

Mann’s always had a knack for action scenes, and Public Enemies is no exception. There’s several big bank robberies, a great night siege and shootout, and the finale where… well, it’s not like anyone doesn’t know Dillinger’s fate, especially when he steps out of the Biograph Theatre…

I read quite a few cinema pros who whinged about Mann’s use of digital video in the production, and how it somehow limited the look of the film, but I don’t know, it didn’t worry me at all really. Not something for the average cinema goer to really see. So no real issues there.

Public Enemies is a decent film — a good historical thriller and action movie. Not as brilliant as Heat, but what is? Three and a half stars.

Pixar are magicians. That’s all I can say. Their latest effort, Up, is a wonderfully made, simple but deep fantasy adventure, that gives adults and kids equal amounts of enjoyment. It’s not a matter of it being a movie of “general” appeal, Up is truly for all ages, with multiple levels of enjoyment to be had depending on your age.

It’s a deceptively simple story really: a widower named Carl decides to take one last trip inspired by his and his wife’s dreams of adventure. A 10-year-old Wilderness Scout tags along by accident, and they have a whole lot of adventures. But there’s so much more to it than that.

First things first: The balloon house is just amazing. Really, it’s something that is actually inherently unbelievable, but it draws you in immediately. You believe that Carl can get the balloons required to lift his little house away, because there’s no reason not to believe. It’s a magnificent visual image, and a visual metaphor for lifting up out of the ordinary world into adventure.

Emotionally, the first 10 minutes are really tough, as we see Carl as a child meet his future love, and then their whole life together is compacted into the movie’s opening. It’s beautiful, but sad as well, as we see the triumphs and tragedies of their life together — sad especially since we know where things are going. And when we see Carl alone and his wife gone, it’s probably the most emotional moment Pixar has ever put on film.

But then the fun begins. Carl’s a grump (though not nearly as much as the promos would have you believe), but Russell the Wilderness Scout is an eager little adventurer, a perfect counterpoint to Carl, and an insightful character in his own right (when he talks about memories of time with his now absent father, that’s as emotional as Carl’s life story). It reaches the audience at every level, with a sympathetic old character and a sympathetic young one — most movies can’t even get one side right and Pixar gets both right.

The adventure hits many high points, with a compact but very visual story, and a lot of excellent moments for the adult and child audience. The “squirrel!” gag is a good one, and there’s at least one big Star Wars gag. The dogs are an odd set of characters, but it’s a good way to give the bad guy a set of henchmen without actually including any people! The way the dogs talk is particularly amusing.

From the kids point of view: Unsurprisingly, Will loved it. He’s the world’s biggest Pixar fan, so I don’t think they could have done anything he would dislike, but I couldn’t fault it either for his enjoyment. You can’t go wrong taking your kids to this movie, and you’ll find enough to enjoy yourself.

So almost immediately after Up, we’re ready for the next Pixar adventure. It might be Toy Story 3, but I strongly imagine we’ll be up for the Toy Story 1 and 2 re-releases before that. And Will and I have already decided that his younger brother Alex will see Toy Story 3 with us (Alex has not been to the movies yet), so this yearly family pilgrimage is about to get bigger.

At least until Pixar starts bringing out two movies a year, of course…

So close and yet so far…

NSW should have had no chance really, and for some of the game it appeared they didn’t… but they came back, kept it close, but still went down 28-18.

Highlights and lowlights were everywhere… NSW dominated the first 10 minutes, leading up to the disallowed try to Jarrad Hayne that they’ll be talkinig about for days. It really should have been a try… how on earth do you watch that replay 20 times and then say no try? What the hell is Benefit of the Doubt for? You can’t say that was no try for sure… it was so ridiculously close I don’t see how the decision could have been anything other than with the attacking team. They should have asked themselves, “would the defense feel hard done by?” and I think the answer is no. Too many of these rulings seem based on obscure definitions from the rule book, and not about “what is best for the fans?”

The next 10 minutes after that were a disaster… with the advantage completely blown, Queensland ran riot and scored three quick tries, which made the game look like it was going to be a disaster. It was looking like a 50-2 whitewash for a while there…

Finally, some sanity prevailed. NSW improved their defense, they got one (slightly lucky, admittedly) try where Hayne definitely knocked the ball back even if it rolled forward afterward. 18-6 at halftime was fair, and surprising honestly, considering how things looked earlier.

So, salvageable for NSW, right? Then the 2nd half opened with an immediate Queensland try, so the half looked like it would be a disaster again. 24-6 and all that. But then things changed again, NSW were on the up, their defense was good and their attack was making enormous yardage. Every set went 70 metres nearly, and they constantly hammered the line. Two great tries off kicks and good ball play, especially the second one where Robbie Farah kicked, regathered then sent Hayne over. Really classy stuff, and for a while it looked like NSW could even pull it off. But alas…

It was not to be. Queensland’s defense held firm, their insane magnitude of experience over NSW held strong, and they even bagged a quick late try to seal things 28-18. About the difference between the two teams really, though I would have liked 24-18 better. Despite NSW’s rookie team, there wasn’t that much between the sides in the end.

Player-wise, NSW’s best would have been Luke O’Donnell, Robbie Farah and Jarrad Hayne. Was very glad to see Farah do so well on debut, this is one Wests player who should have years of Origin in him… even as a future captain I would say. Queensland had the usual top class performers, with Thurston and Inglis the best.

That Greg Inglis… I still don’t understand why he even plays for Queensland… this guy grew up and started playing in NSW (Bowraville), further south than some of our players… yet by some obscure ruling based on a Melbourne Storm feeder team he played for in suburban Brisbane, he’s allowed to play for Queensland. Very weird, and a ruling NSW is clearly going to hate for years to come. I’ve still never seen a good enough explanation as to why this was allowed to happen.

So in the end, NSW weren’t exactly unlucky to lose, but they really showed some class for the future. They were massively outmatched in most positions, but really held strong in the end and only went down narrowly. Hopefully they can use this to win in Sydney for game two, and then game three in Queensland — which will be a mammoth task — well, who knows? This is a strong team for the future, though I’m worried they still might lose this series, even if it’s close and valiant.

Final word: Queensland are all class, we know that, but NSW made a good showing, and it bodes well for the team’s future.

Well, only in a small way, but it’s nice to be wanted

My Yo Gabba Gabba review, on the State Sports Centre website… they contacted me and asked to reprint it, so they obviously figured I liked their venue:

http://www.sports-centre.com.au/sop/centre/137/Tell_Us

I’ve noticed a new trend in TV shows recently… one completely ignored in Australia of course… and not an entirely new idea, but a trend nonetheless.

The skilled bystander: Someone who is skilled and talented in a certain area, that can through design or happenstance be transferred into crime solving. So teaming them with a crime solving professional, usually a cop or FBI agent, will create a new crime solving story.

Examples:

Bones, with the forensic anthropologist and the FBI agent.

Numbers, with the mathematician and the fed

Lie to Me: The lie expert and the feds/cops

Castle: The mystery author and the cop

The Mentalist: Magic/con/illusion expert assists cops in solving crime

It’s all about the hook really, and all these shows veer into high concept land… ie: what fancy new way can we think of to create new crime solving stories? They’re all so desperate to not look the same as the last show, they’re kind of crazy about finding new ways to hook into the crime-solving paradigm. It’s all about being the same but different: crime shows will never run out of ideas, but if you can get yourself a new niche, a new take on the genre, you’ll distinguish yourself from the competition.

A shout out here to Life, one of my favourite shows in the last couple of years, and sadly one no longer in production, having just been cancelled after two seasons. The whole zen master thing didn’t exactly fit the skilled bystander paradigm, but the “cop wrongly imprisoned and now very wealthy” thing did, in a way. Still, I like it, with Damian Lewis’ Charlie Crews a fascinating and quirky main character, a regular cop but not quite. And Sarah Shahi’s troubled but tough Dani Reese, the classic cops daughter turned cop herself a great character too… not to mention being eternally gorgeous and worth watching all day Will be missed, and I hope to see both of them in new projects soon.

I’m racking my brain to think of anything in Australia that’s been made anywhere near this story theory… nothing really comes to mind. Local screens are full of cop dramas as well, but they seem to go out of their way to be as conventional as possible. It’s like we’re just discovering the “gritty” genre now that US TV got into with NYPD Blue 15 years ago… it’s not that they’re bad shows (quite like Rush and City Homicide really), but they’re not cutting edge or glaringly new either. Like I always say, at least local shows are being made that are worth watching at all… which is sometimes surprising to be honest…

For anyone out there in reader land, I’d love to hear more suggestions of “skilled bystander” shows, new or old…