From an Oval to a Ring...

Well, CARS lived up to its Pixar reputation on second showing. I was surprised to realise that, unlike most other Pixar films, I had only seen this once previously, and that was at the cinema. Since we do not own a copy of this movie, cue  late, mad scramble to find DVD copy, during which quest we discovered that our local Blockbuster store has shut down, and confirmed that Public Library copies of DVDs are notoriously unreliable. Note to self - try thinking ahead and using Netflix next time.

Anyway, wonderful scenic artwork, and another great story - though, to be honest, this one did push the line between heartwarming feeling and mawkish sentimentality harder than any other Pixar film. And great vocal performances - Owen Wilson's childishly arrogant Lightning McQueen convincingly turned a new leaf, and a modest turn from OSCAR-WINNING ACTOR Paul Newman (there - that's one for you, now can you name the other six ??). It must be great fun working for Pixar, where you can liberally sprinkle in-jokes from your other movies around like pixie dust (Lightyear Tires, anyone ?)

So, onto Saturday 10th and Ali, starring Will Smith. I've seen this once before, and realised that I knew more about the Ali back story than I thought. It's a comprehensive and thorough biopic, and the one thing I do remember is Will Smith's convincing physical transformation into the great athlete. Not quite Robert De Niro's accumulation of pounds for Raging Bull, but not far off, and up there alongside Jim Carrey in Man on the Moon (Andy Kaufman) and Jamie Foxx in Ray (Ray Charles).

Word of warning - this movie is rated R, and according to the IMDB review this is largely due to the use of the F-word 5 times. I've included that link below. Also, it's also very long (a tad over 2 and a half hours).

IMDB Parental guide

ChristianAnswers.net Review

CommonSenseMedia.Org Review