Cars

2006. Directed by John Lasseter and Joe Ranft. Screenplay by Dan Fogelman (with lots of other contributions). Featuring the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub, George Carlin, John Ratzenberger, and Michael Keaton.

Brady (our three year old) and I went to see Cars today and I came home disappointed. It is not a bad movie, it is actually a good one, but this is the animation studio that has excelled in everything it has done. Bugs Life and Monsters Inc. were good, not great, and is probably about where Cars falls. But the other films Pixar has given us (Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Toy Story 2) would make my short list among the greatest animated films of all time. Cars is uneven (sometimes it is hilarious, sometimes it drags), fairly predictable and uninspired at times, and features an embarrassing job by George Carlin (and I consider him a stand up genius). The animation is terrific, parts of it are great, and all of it is good (except Carlin). I loved Larry the Cable Guy as 'Mater, he was the movie's highlight. I wanted so much more. So much of Toy Story or The Incredibles is so astounding and inspired and there is so little of that here. It seemed to me a much more by-the-book film. Perhaps part of the problem is how attached you can become to vehicles (and how much emotion they can show). Maybe I ask too much. Brady really liked parts of it, but became antsy and ready to go home in the middle, then fell asleep near the end.

My grade: B.

EW's 25 Most Controversial Movies

Entertainment Weekly, in the June 16 issue, named its choices for the 25 Most Controversial Movies of All Time. It was actually a pretty good list until I go to number 25 where they picked Aladdin - yeah, the animated film from 1992 with Robin Williams as the genie. When people think controversy, they think Aladdin. EW explains "The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee balked at a lyric describing the film's Arabian setting as a land 'where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face.' Result? The studio dubbed out the lyric for subsequent releases." Okay, fine, so there was some controversy there - fairly mild in my opinion, especially when you are talking the most controversial films ever. This, of course, provoked me to write in to EW. I'll include my letter to EW as well as the 25 they chose. I've got no problems with the rest, though choosing The Passion of the Christ for #1 is a little odd (Last Temptation at #1 would make a lot more sense to me).

EW's list of the 25 Most Controversial Movies of All Time
1. The Passion of the Christ
2. A Clockwork Orange
3. Fahrenheit 9/11
4. Deep Throat
5. JFK
6. The Last Temptation of Christ
7. The Birth of a Nation
8. Natural Born Killers
9. Last Tango in Paris
10. Baby Doll
11. The Message
12. The Deer Hunter
13. The Da Vinci Code
14. The Warriors
15. Triumph of the Will
16. United 93
17. Freaks
18. I am Curious (Yellow)
19. Basic Instinct
20. Cannibal Holocaust
21. Bonnie and Clyde
22. Do the Right Thing
23. Kids
24. Caligula
25. Aladdin

My letter to EW:
Your list of the 25 Most Controversial Movies of All Time was a terrific list, until I came to Aladdin at number 25. There may have been 25 more controversial films than Aladdin last year alone. How does this kid-friendly fare beat out the poo-eating escapades of a transvestite (Pink Flamingos), a film about interracial marriage from the sixties (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner), an X-rated Best Picture winner that follows a male prostitute (Midnight Cowboy), and a film that makes us a voyeur and gives us empathy for a serial killer who films his actions (Peeping Tom). Derek Hill of the London Tribune wrote, "The only really satisfactory way to dispose of 'Peeping Tom' would be to shovel it up and flush it swiftly down the nearest sewer. Even then, the stench would remain." Now, that's controversy.

Feel free to comment on your own thoughts of what they missed or send your thoughts to ew_letters@ew.com