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Launching 07/09/08

In today's Hollywood mega-productions, it's hard to find a movie which runs the viewer through all kinds of emotions, and then leaves them with a tremendous sense of joy in their hearts and their souls. I saw such a movie last night, and since then, a smile creeps up on my face each time I think of it.

Wall-E, the latest offering from the brilliant minds at Pixar, is the reason why. Written & directed by Andrew Stanton, who also gave us Finding Nemo, Toy Story & Toy Story 2, comes this story about Wall-E, a waste gathering robot and last remaining inhabitant of Earth When human civilization fled towards the stars as things got out of control with pollution, leaving Mother Earth in complete shambles, the Wall-E robots were sent down to clean up the mess. Sadly, civilization forgot about their original home and the Wall-E robots, who eventually broke down and stopped functioning, save for our hero, of course.

What's so special about Wall-E, and apparently what has saved him from suffering the same fate as his counterparts, is his unique personality. In the first 15-20 minutes of the movie, you see him go about his business, finding all sorts of unique junk as he cleans up the clutter. He'll befriend a cockroach and treat it as a pet, repair himself, and take shelter inside his "home" when a storm arrives. At night, he watches Hello Dolly and dreams that, maybe one day, he won't be alone anymore. Shortly thereafter, he makes the acquaintance of Eve, a sleek-looking, plant-collecting robot sent by humans to verify if Earth has become habitable once again. Wall-E immediately falls in love with the female robot, who he'll try to charm in his own unique way. His undying devotion to Eve will lead him to the far reaches of space, where he'll encounter other misfit robots and the long-lost human civilization.

From the opening scene to the final one, Wall-E is a tremendously well executed movie. The emotional depth displayed by both Wall-E and Eve is stunning and filled with life. When Wall-E looks up at the stars, you can see and, most of all, feel the sorrow and loneliness within him. When he looks at Eve's robotic hand and then clamps his own robotic hands together, longing to hold her, you feel it. This movie has been compared to the work of Charlie Chaplin, and I can see why. Both robots rarely utter a word, aside from their own names, but the expressions they convey is stronger than any dialogue could ever be. I went from laughing out loud to being teary-eyed in this movie, and that my friends hasn't happened to me in a very long time.

Another thing that blew me away are the visuals. This is, by far, the best looking animated movie I have ever seen. From a desolate, lifeless Earth to the colorful far reaches of space, these incredible visuals tell a story of their own. Definitely Pixar's finest work yet. As for sound, the legendary Ben Burtt, from Star Wars fame, was chosen to deliver the voice effects of the robotic characters. He does an excellent job with Wall-E's voice especially. Aside from Burtt, Elissa Knight voices Eve and Jeff Garlin voices the human captain of the Axiom, a ship that is the home away from home for human civilization. Pixar also combined live actors with animated ones for the first time in this movie, as Fred Willard plays the BnL CEO, the mega-corporation seen throughout the movie. This works pretty well, although it does feel weird the first time you see Willard's face appear.

There are many moral messages throughout the movie and, while they are not forced down your throat, they do come through loud and clear. Honestly though, Wall-E isn't about preaching to us about our actions, it's about the wonder of life and how far we would go, and what we would do, for the ones we love. The main characters' undeniable charm and tremendous personality, along with a stunning and well-presented execution, are enough to make this one of my favorite movies of all time. Just typing this review, reminiscing about the movie and it's characters, made me smile and warmed my heart. If you've ever been lonely, looking up at the stars, longing for that special someone to come along and change your life, or if you do have that someone and would do anything for them, no matter what the cost, I strongly suggest you check this movie out. I truly believe it'll warm your heart and soul, as it did mine.

Rating: 10/10

Another mixed-up blog from your mixed-up friend Denis. Gonna talk about all kinds of stuff in this one, and I even have a video or two for you to gaze upon. Let's get poppin'.

It seems like my hockey team, the Montreal Canadiens, are making a push for the Stanley Cup next season. That shouldn't come as a surprise to any Montrealer since it'll be the 100th anniversary of the franchise. After acquiring Alex Tanguay from the Calgary Flames 3 weeks ago, the Habs struck again this week by acquiring Georges Laraque from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The rugged attacker was a free agent when he signed with the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge. They also got their hands on Marc Denis, another free agent, who will second Carey Price in goal this year. Things are looking good indeed, and if the Habs can get their hands on an experienced defenseman, we should be strong contenders for the Cup.

Hancock was released Wednesday to a very lukewarm reception, to say the least. This new super-hero movie starring the remarkable Will Smith received mediocre reviews, as the general consensus is that it falls flat with a "flimsy narrative and poor execution", as described by RottenTomatoes.com. Being the huge Will Smith fan that I am, I was quite disappointed when I read some of the reviews on the site. His most recent work, which includes The Pursuit of Happyness, for which he was nominated for an Oscar, and I Am Legend, were both a testament to this man's amazing acting skills. Naturally, I have yet to see Hancock, so I cannot judge the movie accurately, but it is still somewhat disheartening when you see the reviews of this "summer blockbuster".

Speaking of summer blockbusters, I am off to see Wall-E tonight with a friend. I was supposed to go see it with my nephew, but things just didn't work out the way we wanted them to. He is gone to Quebec City this weekend with the rest of the family, so I won't see him until tomorrow or Monday, at the latest. I will still bring him to see the movie when he is good and ready. I've heard nothing but good things about Wall-E, and I am extremely excited about this movie, something that doesn't happen to often in my case. Some compare it to the works of Chaplin, meaning that the main character, Wall-E, is mute almost throughout the picture and uses the power of expression to make his feelings known. As some of you might know, I studied cinema in college and saw most of Chaplin's work, of which I am a big fan, and to compare an animated character to him must mean that there's something special to behold here.

Promised you a video, so here it is. As I was browsing through YouTube earlier this morning, I came across this piece of brilliance. If you haven't seen Clerks 2, I strongly urge you to do so. The video contains some coarse language, so be advised. And yes, there is only one Return, and it is of the Jedi.

On a final note, something big is coming soon. I am still planning and ironing out the details, but be prepared for something totally new and very interesting, if I do say so myself.

Have a pleasant Saturday and thank you for reading.

Misleading title. No fireworks, but plenty of games, mixed with a little bit of humor.

Have a great weekend and an awesome 4th of July!

As I was compiling my list of top 10 favorite XBox 360 games, whose video will not see the light of day simply because I cannot make up my mind, I gazed in wild wonder at some games and thought "Why in the hell did I buy that?!" Hence, since I'm rapidly running out of space to store my games and that I'll never, ever touch those games again, I've decided to either trade them in or sell them online.

This way of thinking is new for me, since I have never traded in or sold any of my games before. For the longest time, I was formerly against it, thinking that, no matter how crappy a game was, it still deserved it's spot in my collection. Money was never an object either when it came to gaming, since I've always had money to pay for my "addiction". This isn't me bragging here, it's just a simple fact. However, after sitting back and looking at my collection, I've come to the conclusion that, even if a pile of garbage is on display in a museum, it's still a pile of garbage. Why should I hold onto games that I'll never play again anyway? They'll just collect dust and use space that other, better games could use.

Here is a shortlist of games I will either be selling or trading in. All of them are XBox 360 titles, but I may do the same for my XBox & PlayStation 2 games.

GRID: No matter how much I play this game, I just cannot get into it. Forza 2 was a much better game. Should get a good price for this one.

King Kong: This game wasn't half bad, but there's no real incentive to play it again. I got the whole 1000 points for it too.

Lost Planet: 3 words: Too Much Snow! Could never get into this game even after trying it twice.

Fantastic Four Rise Of The Silver Surfer: Awful, awful game. Good thing I got it for free.

The Outfit: Not a bad game, but not a good game either.

Amped 3: Thought I'd like this snowboard game. I was wrong.

So, there you go. Five games, off the top of my head, that I want to get rid of. There might be others tucked in my collection somewhere. I'll have to do a clean sweep and figure out which ones need to be dropped. If you guys have any suggestions for me, drop them in the comment section.

Thanks for reading.