Rango (Gore Verbinski, 2011)

[Watashi]

-48ujEK4mwY

I haven't heard really anything about this movie, but visually, the trailer looks amazing. Nice to see Depp back into voice acting.

[KK2.0]

Was about to post the same thing, looks refreshing for an animated feature made in Hollywood.

[Henry Gale]

Apparently it was animated entirely by ILM, making it their first feature-length work, I believe. Looks very cool, especially with some of the darker saloon shots in the montage near to the end.

Also interesting to see yet another big, established director switch over to animation.

[[ETM]]

Verbinski?

[KK2.0]

Apparently it was animated entirely by ILM, making it their first feature-length work, I believe.

although it sounds like a natural step for them, i thought most of their animated jobs were made by freelancers, perhaps they set up a new division for this project? i haven't heard anything about that.

[Morris Schæffer]

Where's the excitement? First reviews are very, very positive!

[megladon8]

Yeah, I'm interested in this.

It looks like it was a lot of fun for the actors, too.

I often find that behind-the-scenes fun and enthusiasm transfers to the screen very potently.

[Watashi]

I've read that this is not a kid's film at all. It's really really dark.

A lot of people are comparing it to Fantastic Mr. Fox.

[Winston*]

The visuals in this movie look really good.

[Sven]

A lot of people are comparing it to Fantastic Mr. Fox.

... which wasn't all that dark.

[Sycophant]

I seem to remember there being eye-roll-worthy sex humor in the TV spots. Is that how it's for adults?

I'm skeptical that it's "really dark," since "really dark" in kids' entertainment these days seems to have a minimum floor of a single reference to death.

[Winston*]

I'm skeptical that it's "really dark," since "really dark" in kids' entertainment these days seems to have a minimum floor of a single reference to death.

Coraline was pretty dark.

[megladon8]

I seem to remember there being eye-roll-worthy sex humor in the TV spots. Is that how it's for adults?

I'm skeptical that it's "really dark," since "really dark" in kids' entertainment these days seems to have a minimum floor of a single reference to death.


There was eye-roll-worthy sex humor in the TV spots for Toy Story 3, too.

Wouldn't write it off just yet.

[Watashi]

There was eye-roll-worthy sex humor in the TV spots for Toy Story 3, too.

Wouldn't write it off just yet.
I wouldn't champion that fact around these parts, Meg.

You do know what message board this is?

[megladon8]

I wouldn't champion that fact around these parts, Meg.

You do know what message board this is?


Uh...am I missing something here?

[Sycophant]

I didn't really like Toy Story 3 and it wasn't funny really at all.

[megladon8]

I don't get what I was "championing"...

[Raiders]

I wouldn't champion that fact around these parts, Meg.

You do know what message board this is?

:rolleyes:


TOY STORY 3 (http://match-cut.org/showthread.php?p=270391#post27 0391) - 39 out of 41
yay - eternity, watashi, Sxottlan, barty, number8, theplashybubbler, rowland, NickGlass, soitgoes, sycophant, Stanley, weepingguitar, Raiders, Ivan Drago, Boner M, rightforthemoment, Lazlo, Fezzik Grouchy, Bosco B Thug, Ezee E, Henry Gale, Pop Trash, EyewsWideOpen, dmk, Morris Schaeffer, dukefrukem, derek, Chac Mool, lovejuice, balmakboor, Continentalop, transmogrifier, origami_mustache, kurosawa fan, Adam, kopello, Winston, Lucky
nay - brightside, spinal

[Sycophant]

I've been thinking about changing that to a mild nay, but it's so on the cusp, it doesn't matter. Raiders's point stands.

[DavidSeven]

I never logged my vote for Toy Story 3. I'm definitely on the cusp. A 'nay' if I had to choose.

[Watashi]

The nayers are more vocal with their naying.

[Russ]

The nayers are more vocal with their naying.
Just like the Republicans!


/leaving

[Irish]

I remember when this thread was about Rango. Good times.

And Toy Story 3 was an awful movie. Winning best anything .. sheesh. What a joke.

[Russ]

I remember when this thread was about Rango. Good times.
To take the thread further off-topic, how was your winter hibernation?

[Irish]

To take the thread further off-topic, how was your winter hibernation?
:lol: It was good. I didn't watch any movies.

[[ETM]]

I remember when this thread was about Rango. Good times.

What'd you expect? Even the thread title is still wrong.

[Sycophant]

Chances the real origins of this project were based on a drawlified, incorrect pronunciation of Ringu?

[Morris Schæffer]

The only possible cause for concern for me will be that this movie will suffer from talking-animal syndrome. All very cute, all very hectic, all vying for attention, lots of it very infantile. Kinda like Kung Fu Panda which I didn't like.

[D_Davis]

Chances the real origins of this project were based on a drawlified, incorrect pronunciation of Ringu?

I thought it was a play on Django.

[MadMan]

I'm now wondering if Irish is really an alias ;)

And Rango looks like a fun animated movie. I laughed at the trailer. That's a good sign.

[EyesWideOpen]

I was blown away by this. I can't remember a better animated film in recent memory. This is absolutely an animated film for grownups that kids can also enjoy unlike the other way around like Pixar films.

"Is this heaven?"

"If this was heaven we'd all be eating Pop-Tarts with Kim Novak."

[Mara]

Just read a review that put this on my radar. Sounds charming.

[Sxottlan]

This was good. Some nice surreal moments. Verbinski seems to love his grotesque characters. Naturally he teamed up with "Crash" McCreery again.

And a funny Hunter Thompson joke.

[D_Davis]

Some nice surreal moments. Verbinski seems to love his grotesque characters.

He's like Tim Burton without the Hot Topic.

[Wryan]

As far as character animation and detail goes, this had some of the best I've seen in recent years. Very out there at times. I'm quite sure it lost my audience a little, at least for anyone who thought it was going to be a laugh riot/typical fare, easily digestible. I can't believe Olyphant pulled off what he did; pretty impressive. Nice Lee Van Cleef-styled "villain" (complete with tiny mustache). It's really unusual at times. Not entirely for kids, but they'll probably like it.

I mean Rango punches a school marm in the face at one point. It was awesome.

[lovejuice]

I'm sliiiiiiiiiiightly disappointed. It's a hit-n-miss, but even if it's a failure -- which I don't think it is -- it's still commendable. There is a thematic connection to Verbinski's previous work; most noticeably the Pirate and the Weatherman. Verbinski is an auteur of some sort. Too bad, he still hasn't yet realized his aesthetics to perfection.

[Raiders]

Uh, wow. This is a remarkably quirky and unique film. I really didn't think it would be this off-kilter. I got the sense all the families left scratching their head a little. It is also really cinematic. Verbinski is nothing if not a competent craftsman (even the bloated and obnoxious Pirate films had a lot of sprightly and nimble visuals) and both the framing, lighting and camera movement is wonderful for an animated film (much like WALL-E, I may find myself voting for this for cinematography in the year-end awards) and there are numerous montages that are breathtakingly well put together. I think the film's most notable aspect is also possibly its weakest though; it nicely parallels Rango (not his real name) to the "spirits" of the old west--here embodied by Clint Eastwood circa The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and voiced to perfection by Timothy Olyphant--creating a kindred spirit in this confused, machismo-lacking, modern hero. Unfortunately, the film also overplays this hand a bit, especially in not once, not twice but about four or five times recreating Morricone's classic scores and comes to define itself almost exclusively through its association with the ghosts of westerns past. But, nonetheless it is nice to see the film expand those classics to today. The finale was a little disappointingly overdone (after all this, a classic showdown would have been more satisfying) and there are times the film just kind of lulls around (the search for the water jug, though it ended with an electrifying chase, just kind of dragged), but this is surely among the most unique and surprising films I have seen. I challenge Verbinski to keep this up.

[Winston*]

I really enjoyed this. Fantastic character design. Has anyone here with kids seen it though? I'd be curious what they'd make of it.

[Spinal]

I really enjoyed this. Fantastic character design. Has anyone here with kids seen it though? I'd be curious what they'd make of it.

Seeing it Friday with the family.

[Fezzik]

Saw this tonight. I echo a lot of what has already been said: off-kilter, gorgeous, great 'camera' work, great voice work.

And seriously, one of the funniest films I've seen in a while.

"That was not altogether unpleasant." :D

Very impressed.

[Sven]

Watch this with a nephew, 3, a niece, 5, and another nephew, 7. They all liked it, thought it was too scary, and moved on pretty quickly.

[Watashi]

Watch this with a nephew, 3, a niece, 5, and another nephew, 7. They all liked it, thought it was too scary, and moved on pretty quickly.
Come on. What did you think?

[Kiusagi]

I really enjoyed this. Fantastic character design. Has anyone here with kids seen it though? I'd be curious what they'd make of it.

My co-worker saw it with his wife and two kids. The kids both fell asleep.

[Sven]

What did you think?

What do YOU think I thought of it?

[Raiders]

What do YOU think I thought of it?

I think you had the same reaction I did.

[Watashi]

What do YOU think I thought of it?
I have no idea. You can be all over the place sometimes.

You don't just post that you saw a film and give no hints on what you thought about it.

[Sven]

I think you had the same reaction I did.

Very close. I thought it was better than you did. I don't think it was as reliant on its Western referents (though they are a-plenty), spinning a perfectly crafty and truly post-modern lesson in fiction from the oft-abused skein of pop culture yarn. The initial crash following Rango's initial sketching of a square on his glass(/projector screen) was spectacular. The whole thing was spectacular. It's a triumph for Verbinski, whose live action films haven't even come close. Well, Mouse Hunt maybe.

[Spinal]

Totally fantastic. Wonderfully peculiar and often uproariously funny. Hits a couple of dead spots, but when it's on, it's top-notch. My son liked it a lot too.

[eternity]

How the hell is there anyone under the age of 12 who understand a WORD of that movie?

I mean, my god, I'm still wondering how the hell any of this was allowed to happen.

This means I really liked it, by the way.

[Sven]

How the hell is there anyone under the age of 12 who understand a WORD of that movie?

I imagine it's easier for an 8 year old to understand Rango than it is for me to understand your use of the word "understand" in the present tense.

[Sven]

My point being that kids are smart. Let's stop demeaning them.

[Spinal]

Have you seen some of the shows kids are watching these days? Flapjack, Chowder, Adventure Time, Regular Show? It's pretty weird stuff. A lot of grade schoolers are actually prepped for this kind of surrealism.

[Watashi]

Have you seen some of the shows kids are watching these days? Flapjack, Chowder, Adventure Time, Regular Show? It's pretty weird stuff. A lot of grade schoolers are actually prepped for this kind of surrealism.
Yeah, it's mostly the parents that are worried and think it's strange and weird.

The kids eat it up.

[eternity]

My point being that kids are smart. Let's stop demeaning them.
I thought they brilliantly poked fun at the fact that Rango sometimes sounded like he was reading a doctoral dissertation.

"Blah blah blah whatever Rango said."
"What did he say?"
"Follow that."

[Ezee E]

There's talking lizards. Doesn't even matter what they are saying, kids will still watch.

[Derek]

My point being that kids are smart. Let's stop demeaning them.


There's talking lizards. Doesn't even matter what they are saying, kids will still watch.

:lol:

[Boner M]

Kid at my screening laughed at the Kim Novak reference. I was like 'shut the fuck up, you don't know what you're laughing at, you stupid fucking poseur'.

[Wryan]

Kid at my screening laughed at the Kim Novak reference. I was like 'shut the fuck up, you don't know what you're laughing at, you stupid fucking poseur'.

I bet it was the pop tarts. Cause I mean eating pop tarts is often every child's dream of heaven just as a baseline.

[Boner M]

I bet it was the pop tarts. Cause I mean eating pop tarts is often every child's dream of heaven just as a baseline.
I live in Australia. You have to go to downtown and present required documentation to get Pop Tarts. In summary, kid's still a poseur.

[Watashi]

Kid at my screening laughed at the Kim Novak reference. I was like 'shut the fuck up, you don't know what you're laughing at, you stupid fucking poseur'.
Maybe the kid was just a big Vertigo fan.

[Ezee E]

Kid probably had Inception as his #1.

[Raiders]

Rango: Yay

Points for mocking Clint Eastwood.

I wouldn't call that "mocking."

[NickGlass]

I wouldn't call that "mocking."

From someone who isn't his biggest fan, it could certainly be interpreted that way.

[Watashi]

From someone who isn't his biggest fan, it could certainly be interpreted that way.
Considering the entire film was a tribute to the Spaghetti Western era, the film embraces his character as some type of mythic savior who know... helps Rango save the town.

How is that mocking?

[NickGlass]

Considering the entire film was a tribute to the Spaghetti Western era, the film embraces his character as some type of mythic savior who know... helps Rango save the town.

How is that mocking?

Well, he was depicted as being a kooky geriatric, riding around on a golf cart and wielding a personal metal detector (mining for golden awards--hehe). They paid respect to the genre he was part of, but also visually poked fun at his current career making sterile Oscar bait, too.

[Raiders]

Well, he was depicted as being a kooky geriatric, riding around on a golf cart and wielding a personal metal detector (mining for golden awards--hehe). They paid respect to the genre he was part of, but also visually poked fun at his current career making sterile Oscar bait, too.

He stated he was looking for "fish hooks." I guess considering he has some Oscars with him you could argue over a parallel between those two things. I agree with your above statements, just not the tone. I don't think the character was "sterile" in any way; I think more likely the film actually used the Oscars as a sign of past glory, or "cinematic wisedom" (since the film is all about cinema past): Eastwood did win his first two Oscars for Unforgiven, after all.

[Ivan Drago]

Have you seen some of the shows kids are watching these days? Flapjack, Chowder, Adventure Time, Regular Show? It's pretty weird stuff. A lot of grade schoolers are actually prepped for this kind of surrealism.

I swear to God, Don Hertzfeldt has to have a hand in Regular Show. Each character looks like something he would draw.

And this movie was awesome.

[Dukefrukem]

I loved the Clint Eastwood and Fear and Loathing references

This movie surprised me completely

[Henry Gale]

It's weird, I wasn't digging this movie at all for the first 45 minutes to an hour, but then somewhere during the sequence where they make camp at night into the water jug chase I was suddenly started to love it and never really stopped. I feel like the more it started to embrace its weird side along the way, the more everything came together in terms of propelling the action towards something much more exciting (rather than how it just seemed to drop in a handful of surreal moments early on without having given too much of its normal side to contrast it).

The animation and design are obviously gorgeous, almost to the point where I felt like my mind couldn't register it as animation like it normally would, and the cast really do bring a lot of great stock personalities of the genre to characters that pull you in because they act just like people from those other movies would, just in the bodies of the oddly grouped animals they are. I had no idea I was hearing actors like Bill Nighy, Alfred Molina, Ray Winstone, Harry Dean Stanton and Stephen Root until the credits rolled, and I definitely think the performances are even better for that.

I definitely plan to rewatch the movie now that I know how much I appreciate it overall, but I gotta say, not many movies suddenly turn around for me like this one did. It's definitely its own thing, especially when it comes to big budget American animation, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's not universal enough at its core to recommend to anyone, despite how (awesomely) absurd it is about telling its story.

***1/2

[Robby P]

Yes, this was quite good. Formulaic and predictable, perhaps, but still very entertaining.

[Spinal]

Formulaic and predictable

Errrrrr .... what? :confused:

[Sven]

Errrrrr .... what? :confused:

I guess you can tell that Rango will end up saving the day. But beyond that, I share your confusion.

[Robby P]

Errrrrr .... what? :confused:

You didn't think the movie telegraphed its plot points fairly obviously? Or that the basic arc was pretty standard fare? The movie has a lot going for it but story originality does not seem to be among its stronger attributes.

[Sven]

You didn't think the movie telegraphed its plot points fairly obviously? Or that the basic arc was pretty standard fare? The movie has a lot going for it but story originality does not seem to be among its stronger attributes.

It's not what it's about. It's how it's about it. And I can't say I saw much of Rango's technique coming. Story originality is a specious rubric by which to gauge quality anyway. All stories have been done.

[Ezee E]

Got this in today. Looking forward to watching it.

[EyesWideOpen]

Got this in today. Looking forward to watching it.

I just rewatched it tonight. Still one of the best films I've seen this year.

[Yxklyx]

Got this in today. Looking forward to watching it.

Got this in today too.

[Ezee E]

LOVED this. I remember talking about the surreal Dumbo scene a while back and how no animated films have attempted something post-2000.

This movie does, and it works. It's surreal, but never forced. There's scenes in this movie that are far more visually interesting then anything else the year has put out. The chase scenes, car crash, showdowns, Clint's inspirational scene...

Just awesome.

[Qrazy]

It's not what it's about. It's how it's about it. And I can't say I saw much of Rango's technique coming. Story originality is a specious rubric by which to gauge quality anyway. All stories have been done.

I don't think that's really true.

Anyway I think Robby is just saying the film's basic plot is a remake of Chinatown.

Which didn't really bother me personally but I think it's a perfectly reasonable criticism.

[Spinal]

I would still disagree. It's about as sensible as critiquing a pop song for following a verse-chorus-verse structure. The film offers so much in the way of offbeat humor, unusual characters, stylish animation and quirky philosophising that pointing out the fact that it is held together by a basic character arc is really a bizarre approach in my estimation.

[Ezee E]

I would still disagree. It's about as sensible as critiquing a pop song for following a verse-chorus-verse structure. The film offers so much in the way of offbeat humor, unusual characters, stylish animation and quirky philosophising that pointing out the fact that it is held together by a basic character arc is really a bizarre approach in my estimation.

The fact that it can remain pretty basic with all that is kind of a feat actually.

[Qrazy]

I would still disagree. It's about as sensible as critiquing a pop song for following a verse-chorus-verse structure. The film offers so much in the way of offbeat humor, unusual characters, stylish animation and quirky philosophising that pointing out the fact that it is held together by a basic character arc is really a bizarre approach in my estimation.

Yeah except the criticism is not that it's held together by a basic character arc but that the plot has basically been lifted from Chinatown.

So really it would be more like critiquing a pop song for having the same hook as another song. And maybe both songs are good, personally I like Rango just fine, but I don't think it's an unreasonable criticism.

[Ezee E]

A G-rated Chinatown....

[Spinal]

Yeah except the criticism is not that it's held together by a basic character arc but that the plot has basically been lifted from Chinatown.

So really it would be more like critiquing a pop song for having the same hook as another song. And maybe both songs are good, personally I like Rango just fine, but I don't think it's an unreasonable criticism.

Robby never said anything about Chinatown, so that's not what I was responding to. Rango is not really a whole lot like Chinatown. Even if it was like Chinatown, the film is obviously drawing from past filmic tradition, particularly Leone, in order to create the fabric of its universe, so, I mean, again, who cares? I still find this criticism bizarre and off-base.

[Spinal]

A G-rated Chinatown....

I really don't get the comparison. But then again, I don't like Chinatown.

[Watashi]

I really don't get the comparison. But then again, I don't like Chinatown.
You should probably watch Chinatown again.

Rango is exactly like Chinatown.

Just with a lizard.

[Spinal]

You should probably watch Chinatown again.

Don't wanna.

[Watashi]

Don't wanna.
Remember that time I said you were better than Raiders?

I lied.

[Spinal]

Remember that time I said you were better than Raiders?

I lied.

It was a specious claim to begin with.

[Qrazy]

Robby never said anything about Chinatown, so that's not what I was responding to. Rango is not really a whole lot like Chinatown. Even if it was like Chinatown, the film is obviously drawing from past filmic tradition, particularly Leone, in order to create the fabric of its universe, so, I mean, again, who cares? I still find this criticism bizarre and off-base.

All ur base are belong to me.

[Spinal]

All ur base are belong to me.

Fair enough.

[Derek]

Rango is exactly like Chinatown.

I totally missed the incest part.

[Qrazy]

I totally missed the incest part.

They played that part differently. In relation to sexual disgust instead of familial incest they went with inter-species mating. An iguana and a chameleon? Fucked up.

[transmogrifier]

The biggest problem with the film is the slavish devotion to a deeply formulaic basic plot devoid of surprise. But the animation and some of the set pieces rescue it.

[Henry Gale]

I really liked this before, but my second viewing did wonders to my appreciation of it. Even just those first 10-15 minutes, which somehow blew past me on my initial watch without thinking much of them, added so much to my reading of it. But really, the whole thing just clicks for me now in ways it didn't before. There's so much going on here on so many levels, and the beauty of it is that it can probably be enjoyed if you even choose to just look at it on the level of an animated western, without bothering to factor in all of the other self-aware, hero's journey meta-commentary that's infused in it. It's a movie about the love of movies, and the desire to be a part of something bigger and better than everyday life, even if a sudden adventure that's served up is beyond one's capabilities, if not their imagination.

I hope if they do a sequel, they call back to the early scene where Rango tries to get a feel for what the audience wants his adventure to be, eventually settling on the Western genre, and that the next movie goes in one of those other, completely different sort of directions.

It's now easily one of my favourite movies of the year. The extended ending is also pretty good too.

[Irish]

Kinda agree with Robby P. This movie has good comedy and great visuals but the story is a pretty dull, by the numbers affair.

The references were fun. Fear and Loathing was inspired. Noah Cross as a turtle was amusing in the first hour and tiring in the second. Clint driving a golf cart was overplaying it a bit.

Never really bought into Johnny Depp's work. He never seemed to inhabit the character, and I couldn't get past his voice to see Rango on his own merits.

Part of that is the movie's lack of focus, trying to be part Don Juan inspired peyote fever dream, part bootstrapping American self invention. I never bought into Rango's arc going from furious Don Knotsian comic idiocy to fully formed Western Hero who saves the town and gets the girl.

[Irish]

Oh, and thinking that Chinatown is about water is sorta like thinking Citizen Kane is about a sled.

[Ezee E]

I don't get it. How is Clint Eastwood on a golfcart overplaying it when you even said it's trying to be a peyote inspired fever dream? You're pushing for faults it seems.

[Qrazy]

Oh, and thinking that Chinatown is about water is sorta like thinking Citizen Kane is about a sled.

Nah, it's nothing like that.

The basic plot of Chinatown (incest/love interest storyline aside) is about the search/realization that water is being rerouted to a new location for the purposes of power and creating a new city. Rango is about the same thing and makes it's inspiration fairly apparent, even borrowing exact scenes (the water run off). Are all great movies about something more than their basic plot? Of course. Chinatown is a multi-layered work. Has the basic plot of Chinatown been lifted for Rango? Yes, yes it has.

So thinking that Chinatown focuses on greed and the manipulation of a finite resource to accumulate power is sorta like thinking Citizen Kane is about a newspaper tycoon who gets everything but still feels like he has nothing.

[Irish]

I don't get it. How is Clint Eastwood on a golfcart overplaying it when you even said it's trying to be a peyote inspired fever dream? You're pushing for faults it seems.

I admit my expectations were pretty high going in.

I thought Clint was pushing it because it takes a simple metaphor named at the start of the film and makes it real. And this is after a half dozen other references. It doesn't work because the expansive spirituality of Carlos Castenada is completely at odds with the nihilism of Leone.

It's also the wrong persona. Rango has more in common with John Ford than he does Sergio Leone, but then I think they chose Clint because he's more recognizable and popular with modern audiences. It doesn't matter that it doesn't make any sense in the context of some of the things the movie is trying to say.

[Ezee E]

I loved the scene, and John Wayne is still as iconic as Clint Eastwood to me. But the whole Fistful of Dollars references makes Eastwood acceptable.

Olyphant is also spoton as Eastwood.

[Irish]

Nah, it's nothing like that.

The basic plot of Chinatown...

Okay.

You're making a stark, literal association which I don't think is terribly solid. In a movie packed with multiple references, they took water in the desert and put Noah Cross's hat on a turtle. It's obvious and it was meant to be obvious, but thinking it's any more than a reference is a stretch.

I'm assuming you were joking about the interspecies mating as a correlation to incest stuff a few posts back. At least, I hope you were.

[Qrazy]

Okay.

You're making a stark, literal association which I don't think is terribly solid. In a movie packed with multiple references, they took water in the desert and put Noah Cross's hat on a turtle. It's obvious and it was meant to be obvious, but thinking it's any more than a reference is a stretch.

Nah, the narrative similarity is pretty obvious to anyone paying attention. Rango is no more making just a reference to Chinatown than Kill Bill is making just a reference to Lady Snowblood or Reservoir Dogs is making just a reference to City on Fire. There's a difference between recreating the basic narrative structure of a film and just referencing it.


I'm assuming you were joking about the interspecies mating as a correlation to incest stuff a few posts back. At least, I hope you were.

Obviously I was joking.

[Irish]

Nah, the narrative similarity is pretty obvious to anyone paying attention. Rango is no more making just a reference to Chinatown than Kill Bill is making just a reference to Lady Snowblood or Reservoir Dogs is making just a reference to City on Fire. There's a difference between recreating the basic narrative structure of a film and just referencing

Shit, attention isn't required because of the hat on the turtle. This is getting pretty far afield from my original point -- which was about Chinatown not being about its plot -- but your association only works if you discard the other 90% or so of Chinatown's content, including most of the characters, almost all of the themes, and the subplots. What else does Rango have in common with Chinatown? Not enough to make it more than a series of passing references.

Using QT as an example is a bit troublesome, especially in the case of Kill Bill. He borrows heavily without extending any of the core ideas (in contrast to something like Resevoir Dogs). So you end up with a series of shallow references hung around a pretty basic revenge plot.

I'd talk more about this but I'm typing on an iPad and really just waiting for the part where we start swearing and insulting one another. ;-)

[Bosco B Thug]

Not enthused by this. Kung Fu Panda 2 has much more of everything, including focus and gravitas. And Isla Fischer gives an annoying weak voice performance. Maybe it was just me on that last point.

[Qrazy]

Not enthused by this. Kung Fu Panda 2 has much more of everything, including focus and gravitas. And Isla Fischer gives an annoying weak voice performance. Maybe it was just me on that last point.

Kung Fu Panda 2 felt like a major step down from the first to me.

[Dukefrukem]

Kung Fu Panda 2 felt like a major step down from the first to me.

It felt the same to me as well. Not to mention the conflicting moral/theme of the movie.

[Qrazy]

It felt the same to me as well. Not to mention the conflicting moral/theme of the movie.

The climax especially was a huge letdown. Yuh is no Osborne.

[Bosco B Thug]

Kung Fu Panda 2 felt like a major step down from the first to me. I like KFP 2 way better than KFP 1, but yeah I'm in the minority.

[Henry Gale]

I'm kind of split on which Kung Fu Panda I think is better. I like them both a lot, but the first seems stronger narratively by keeping the forward momentum of every scene and action sequence related directly to the central, relatively simple Hero's Journey story (reworked almost like a comedic, family-friendly version of a good superhero origin story), but the second is a more detailed, varied improvement in the visual department, better at fleshing out its characters and building an emotional punch that allows its third act to be extremely effective.

And Rango, as I've probably said a bunch of times by now, is one of those strange experiences where upon seeing it once I would've only given it a mild recommendation, but seeing it a second time completely shifted my feelings towards it for the better. I pushed it to the top of my Top 10 at the halfway point of the year and it still hung in there by the end. It's just such a surreal, hilarious little movie. It's what more "kid's movies" should strive to be like these days.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I LOVED this. The animation was some of the most incredible I've seen. I'm a sucker for westerns, and the way this toyed with convention was fantastic. Loved the references. Capturing the desert and its, grotesque, ominous, desolate qualities was done perfectly. It was odd, funny, and even heartfelt at times. Seriously among the best animated films I've seen. Can't praise it enough.

[bac0n]

This was on heavy rotation at the house about two months ago, due to its being on Netflix instant, and I must say, this is one of those rare gems that when the girls turn it on in the morning, Mommy and Daddy will actually be interested in watching it, even if it had been on the day before, the day before, the day before.

I love the affection the film shows for westerns, some of the gags are hysterical, and Rango had a pretty extreme character arc, yet remained likeable throughout the film.

And I will totally share Ezee E's sentiment that Olyphant's voicing of Blondie was uncanny. I seriously thought it was Eastwood until I saw his name in the credits after the third viewing or so.

[Kurosawa Fan]

And I will totally share Ezee E's sentiment that Olyphant's voicing of Blondie was uncanny. I seriously thought it was Eastwood until I saw his name in the credits after the third viewing or so.

Holy shit. I had no idea. That's pretty amazing.

[EyesWideOpen]

Yeah I saw it in theaters and 100% just thought that was Eastwood until the credits rolled and I was blown away.