Cars and Disney and 24

This seems to be a DVD weekend for me. Last night into the wee hours of this morning my girlfriend and I were watching the tube. First was Cars, the Disney animated movie, and then we watched the first 6 shows from Season One of 24. We plan on watching the next 6 today.

Am I the only person on Earth that didn't like Cars? It seems every reviewer was loving it--but I gave up on it after 20 minutes and then didn't return until just before the overly sentimental final race. To me, it just seemed like very standard Disney fare. Great for kids but without the emotional nuances of some of the other animated movies like Shrek, Monsters, Inc. or Toy Story. I don't understand why Cars was so well received. I love Shrek and Monsters and have watched both several times but I'm staying away from Cars. Just too predictable for me. Renee did give me some background into the "inside jokes" that involved NASCAR culture after the movie was over but since I've never had any interest in car racing, that didn't help any.

For the most part I like 24. The glossy production values are quite nice to look at and the acting is pretty good. Better yet is high quality writing which seems to have a minimum of loose ends. So far most "mistakes" that I've noticed are actually intentional lead-ins for later plot twists and double-crosses. Nice! I've not seen any of the later seasons of 24 so I really didn't know what to expect when we started watching these shows last night. The show 24 reminds me of most is the British tv series MI-5 (called Spooks over there) which is really a great series. Too bad A&E Network isn't showing them anymore but they are going to be doing marathon sessions on several seasons of 24 the first week of January.

Comments

Bobkat said…
You are not alone! I though Cars was awful and very one dimensional. as you say, great for kids but no real humour or other levels of experience and way too sentimental for me. I liked Monsters Inc and recently Madagascar too.

I also like 24 though I've only seen up to season 3. It is so nice to watch something that isn't predictable!
12:27 PM
David Edward said…
my my my, don't you know movie reviewers aren't people???
1:11 PM
Anonymous said…
I haven't seen "Cars," but my buddy probably did the sound editing on it. The company he works for does a lot of Pixar films... he's working on the new film right now (the name escapes me and he's not picking up, argh). Anyhoo, I'll go out on a limb here and guess that the sound editing was top-notch!

Happy New Year,

from Michele too!

Mike
1:55 PM
Anonymous said…
I haven't seen Cars yet, my younger kids school gave each of their grades a special treat day (seperately, 30 some odd 2nd & 4th graders in the same room is the stuff of my worst nightmares) & they got to go to school in Pajamas, bring pillows & snacks & watch Cars so I have escaped. They both liked it but they're pretty easy to please!
Thanks for the tip about A&E showing 24, I've heard good things but haven't had time to watch, I can set the DVR!
Happy New year.
Here from Micheles.
6:55 PM
Anonymous said…
I haven't watched "Cars" yet but Paul and I plan to. The kids in my after school program, especially a kindergarten RAVES about the movie. So I figure I'll give it a shot. I mean I like most Disney movies so why not give it a try?

I hope you have a very Happy New Year.
8:04 PM
Noi Rocker said…
Ok I have never heard of cars but for the record, I am a Prison break freak! Haha.

Anyway wishing you a happy new year and this year 2007 will definately be a greater year for you than 2006 ever was! Cheers!
8:41 PM
Anonymous said…
I'm SO with you on Cars. IMHO, they were just catering to NASCAR fanatics. I think there are so many better Disney movies.

I've never seen 24. Everyone says I'm really missing out.
10:20 PM
Anonymous said…
I finally rented Cars since everyone raved about it but I just couldn't get into it at all so it went back unwatched. I too loved the others but Cars just isn't for me.

Here's wishing you a very Happy New Year....may 2007 be wonderful for you!
10:48 PM
Michelle said…
I loved Cars, but i am a bigger fan of 24, not missed one show!
I bought the Spooks DVD's after watching all the episodes on the ABC here, just a brilliant series.
11:44 PM
srp said…
Didn't see Cars. Didn't watch 24. Must be a boring person. I am trying to figure out this high powered VHS/DVD recorder that my brother got for my folks. He wants football. I am trying to figure out how to record it on the hard drive and then copy to the DVD. I think I ruined the first one but the game appears to still be in memory. Too many options, too many buttons, too many ways to do it, confusing manual... need a PhD in electrical engineering... no, computer.... no, mechanical engineering... no, well, I don't know what you need the PhD in, you just need one! I never liked text books that referred you to other areas for more information on a given topic...I've always wanted it all in one place and simplified. Sigh... will try again tomorrow, actually later today.
2:17 AM
Carli N. Wendell said…
I didn't even bother seeing Cars. It looked like the same old formulaic dreck Disney's been putting out for a decade. . . and I used to be a huge Disney fan.
So I don't think you're the only one.

Here from Michele. Happy new year!
2:32 AM
Mike said…
I haven't seen cars. If you like 24 you might want to try the Alias series. It is about spys etc...

Michele sent me.
9:01 AM
Anonymous said…
I LOVED Monsters Inc - my favourite. Somehow, Disney has lost some of its earlier sparkle. Their cartoons just aren't the same any more. Didn't see Cars...just wasn't interested.

I love 24 but it's on so late here in Singapore. So I've missed a few episodes. Mike is right about Alias...great series that.
10:42 AM
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