The MoFo Top 100 Sci-Fi Films: Countdown

WALL•E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)
Imdb

Date Watched: 11/1/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: gbgoodies's Nomination for the MoFo Animation Hall of Fame
Rewatch: Yes

I've seen this movie many, many times and - while it's not quite my favorite Pixar film - it is a shining example of the of the quality that the studio made their name on. It is an absolute joy to watch - with gorgeous colors, wonderful humor, an imaginative story, a beautiful romance, and endearing characters.

Despite being a robot that was designed simply to compact and move garbage - and one of the least sophisticated machines in the film - Wall•e demonstrates the most emotional range and the most human-like traits of any character in the film, actual humans included. In many ways, he's like a toddler - full of innocence, curiosity, and just a touch of mischief. He's a collector of trinkets and trash - of anything that interests him, but at the film's start we find that his only companion is a cockroach. (BTW, who knew an animated roach could be so damn cute?)

All that changes when an Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator probe arrives on Earth with a classified directive. Wall•e is smitten and these early scenes between Wall•e and Eve - with his clumsy attempts to win the affections of the fierce and beautiful newcomer - are incredibly sweet.

And while there are underlying themes about consumerism and humankind's abuse of the environment, the love between Wall•e and Eve is what carries the film. The scene where the pair dances in space is nothing short of magical and the later scenes where Eve discovers the depth of Wall•e's devotion to her and her realization of how much he means to her are absolutely heartwrenching.

But it's not all about love and tears. It's also about laughter - from sight gags like Wall•e's confusion over where to place a spork, to more physical comedy like his interactions with the Microbe Obliterator (Mo) - I find myself far more amused by this than by most live action comedies.



While it might not be a truly perfect film (though if there's a flaw, I'm blind to it), it is for me at least a perfect film watching experience, and this may well be the first HOF in which the number one movie on my ballot likely won't be my own nomination.

my predictions...
16. WALL.E*(2008)
18. Close Encounters of the Third Kind*(1977)

WALL·E (Andrew Stanton, 2008) -

Since there have been so many WALL·E reviews around the site, I'm not sure that there are reasons for me to recount the plot, so I'll be brief. I'm pretty sure that most people realize that it takes place in the year 2815 and begins on Earth where the only things which seem to be "alive" are a small robot who tries to clean up the trash and an especially-resilient cockroach-type creature. All the humans left the planet 700 years earlier on a huge spaceship which was designed by the mega corporation/world government called Buy and Large, with the intention of only being away for about five years. There were apparently millions of WALL·Es left behind, but now there seems to be one, and shortly after the film begins, he finds green plant life growing in the soil.



Soon a spaceship appears and leaves a probe behind to search for signs of life. This probe is called EVE, and it is like nothing WALL·E has ever seen before. In fact, although WALL·E (ostensibly playing a male) is frightened by EVE's seemingly violent nature and firepower, he finds himself attracted to her as a companion along the lines of the ones he sees in the film version of Hello, Dolly! which he watches repeatedly. Eventually, both machines find themselves on the huge spaceship where the descendents of the humans who left 700 years earlier live blissfully unaware of their history or potential. OK, that wasn't as brief as I intended.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It creates a barren, grimy Earth, a beautifully inviting Solar System and a unique vision of human life on a spaceship far in the future. It succeeds on all levels of storytelling for me. I especially loved the homages to 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Thomas Newman's magical musical score is one of the two best I've heard this year, along with Carter Burwell's terrific In Bruges score. I'm also happy about who they used as the voice of the ship's computer. I can believe that some people may find it to be a kiddie movie, but I think it's far too romantic and thought-provoking to relegate it to that realm. I also didn't find myself being swamped by the film's message of conservation vs. consumerism as many others have. I thought the film's overriding message was one of humanity, and if it takes some non-human "creatures" to help us rediscover our lost humanity, that's OK with me. I don't find WALL·E to be a political film along the lines of Persepolis; that's for sure.

The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986) -

"Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid." One of the greatest advertising tags to any movie proves to be truth in advertising in what I consider Cronenberg's best film by about a million miles. Somehow, the characters in this film, Seth (Jeff Goldblum) and Roni (Geena Davis), are so empathetic and wonderfully portrayed by the pair of actors that they turn the film into a pure tragedy, almost ranking with Brooksfilms' own The Elephant Man or The Hunchback of Notre Dame which this film occasionally resembles visually. Jeff Goldblum gives a performance worthy of an Oscar, let alone the nomination he was robbed of, and Geena Davis (who married him the next year) is equally spectacular in a film which delves into characters and reality in a way which this year's Watchmen was totally incapable of doing. Seth Brundle in The Fly has more humanity in his "fly hair" than all the Watchmen combined. Now, whether you want to argue that the Watchmen are fleshed out in the graphic novel or not, I'll stand by my statement because Brundle doesn't have a flippin' backstory to somehow try to convince you that he's worthy of your care and concern. However, he does have Goldblum's eyes, voice, wit and intelligence.

The Fly[/i] is a pure horror film. What it shows the audience is disgusting and pathetic, but it never begs for any forgiveness, and that's exactly why the characters earn it; they all behave as woefully human as people you and I know. Yes, even the character I consider the Bastard in the film, John Getz (Blood Simple) as Roni's scummy boss, seems to somehow redeem himself and turn into a form of human being at the end when he's the most-deformed. The Fly is a straight-out masterpiece to me. It's not only Cronenberg's most mature film, it's his funniest, most-romantic, most complete and fulfilled flick, no matter what you may think of the way it ends so quickly. In fact, the ending most reminds me of another fave film of mine from the '80s which many of our younger MoFos seem to misunderstand, An American Werewolf in London. The endings of both films are so quick only to emphasize the shocking tragedy involved while not wallowing in any sentimentality to make you think differently than the disturbing imagery to which you have just been witness.

No Starman?