Tony Shaloub – Cut To The Chase

Directed By: John Lasseter and Joe Ranft

Original Story By: John Lasseter, Joe Ranft and Jorgen Klubien

Written By: John Lasseter, Joe Ranft, Jorgen Klubien, Dan Fogelman, Kiel Murray and Phil Lorin

Cinematography: Jean-Claude Kalache

Editor: Ken Schretzmann

Cast: (Voices) Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry The Cable Guy, Tony Shaloub, John Ratzenberger, Cheech Marin, Jenifer Lewis, George Carlin, Michael Keaton, Paul Dooley, Katherine Helmond, Edie McClurg, Bob Costas, Jeremy Piven

While traveling to California for the dispute of the final race of the Piston Cup against The King and Chick Hicks, the famous Lightning McQueen accidentally damages the road of the small town Radiator Springs and is sentenced to repair it. Lightning McQueen has to work hard and finds friendship and love in the simple locals, changing its values during his stay in the small town and becoming a true winner.

I can understand the appeal of this Pixar animated film. At its core, it’s pure Americana: a glossy, well-meaning fable about loyalty, humility, and using your fame and talent for something larger than yourself. Those are solid morals, clearly communicated, and for its intended audience they land without much friction.

That said, the film feels like a throwback, almost as if it were designed in the mold of a 1980s family movie. It’s the kind of project that might have felt more innovative if it had arrived during Pixar’s early years. By the time it actually came out, however, it already felt a bit behind the curve. While undeniably a huge hit, its priorities seem tilted more toward younger kids and families, and unsurprisingly for Disney toward merchandising and franchise potential rather than pushing storytelling or filmmaking forward.

There’s nothing here you haven’t seen before. The story is traditional to a fault, the themes are familiar, and the animation, while sleek and polished, feels more simplified and childlike than truly impressive. It lacks the sense of boundary-pushing that once defined Pixar as essential, must-see cinema. Watching it now, it’s still entertaining, but it also feels basic, pleasant in the moment and oddly disposable afterward, even considering it spawned multiple sequels.

I’ll admit I’m not the biggest animation fan, but this film does reinforce an important idea: any story can be told in countless ways, and it doesn’t always need human characters to resonate. Still, this particular execution feels engineered to appeal across as many audience quadrants as possible, which makes its success and its expansion into sequels, spin-offs, and entire sub-franchises feel inevitable. This was clearly the start of a cash cow, one that meant a great deal to many viewers.

For me, though, it ultimately plays like standard blockbuster entertainment: competently made, intermittently heartfelt, and easy to watch, but also hard to fully trust. It delivers warmth and familiarity, yet offers little that lingers once the credits roll.

One just expects more especially for a film that had six screenwriters.

Grade: B-

Directed by: Walter Hill. Written by: Walter Hill & Dennis Hamill Cinematography: James Liston. Editor: Phil Norden

Cast: Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shaloub, Anthony LaPaglia, Ken Kirzinger, Caitlin Gerard, Zak Santiago, Anthony Griffith

After waking up and discovering that he has undergone gender reassignment surgery, an assassin seeks to find the doctor responsible.

In the past this films plot might have been considered high concept, but now while a kind of interesting idea. It ends up becoming more of a who cares situation. That other then it’s

Story the rest feels heavily cliched and hard hitting just to go through the motions. Where after awhile you don’t care about anything happening.

it’s a shame Michelle Rodriguez finally Seems to have found the right role. Even with a well known action director Walter Hill. As she seems to be more interested in action roles in her career and ends up usually being a supporting player. Here she has the lead role.

Though it offers her nothing new or that strong as far as material or quality.

As for the sex change her character goes through. Even before she looked like she was in. Make drag and had a supposed chiseled chest and body hair. Once she has the sex change in the movie it just looks like she shaved and grew a chest. Which makes the scene when she meets up with an old conquest who barely recognizes her all the more u intentionally funny.

It seems interesting in these films the worse punishments the main characters go through is to be forced to love life as a female. The film tries to present that as only cruel considering the character but the movie seems to have that attitude.

The film plays somber and never seems to have enough energy to keep the audience interested. As it tries to have a jazzy mood but comes off as more a typical straight to streaming thriller.

The progressions which are animated to make us beleive they are in bigger major Cities and locations seems inspired by the dvd cut of his move THE WARRIORS. Which have animated inserts during scenes.

The film Seems to want to be a frantic character price with a thriller impact but feels tone deaf. That tries to be different and wants to say something but feels so misguided

Michelle Rodriguez speaks liek she is InnA 1940’s gangster film which only shows that the film is aspiring for many things and is making no sense and not in a bar shit crazy way but in an embarrassingly bad way.

Sigourney Weaver seems to be a one not villain whose beliefs and actions seems there only because there has to be a reason for all of this and writing it off as an experiment seems so trivial.

Largely, the film s boring as when there are action sequences they go by so quick and without any excitement. Even towards the end, With such an esteemed cast one would expect better.

Grade: F

Tag: Tony Shaloub

CARS (2006)

THE ASSIGNMENT (2016)