Editorials

Are the ‘Inside Out’ Parents Shameful Stereotypes?

After I watched the first trailer for Inside Out yesterday, I noticed a pretty alarming trend in the trailer’s discussion. People are complaining that the characters (Riley’s family) are gender stereotypes and one-dimensional caricatures.

Some are even claiming the movie is sexist…against both genders.

Specifically, people are whining about how the mother is a typical “sitcom” mom who is in touch with her emotions, while the dad is distracted by sports and is inattentive.

Fair enough, let’s talk about this. First, we should watch the trailer again to review (and because it’s awesome):

Is this a typical “sitcom” family?

Well, yeah. That’s the entire point.

This isn’t even all that different from the dinner scene in The Incredibles. You know, the scene where Bob could barely pay attention, while Helen was trying to sort out the problems Dash was having at school?

But this time around, we’re actually in their heads. So it’s a problem now. You see how that’s just a bit unfair?

If we judged The Incredibles the same way from just that one scene, we’d have to say that Bob and Helen Parr are just stereotypical characters, even though that’s completely not the case if you actually watch the whole movie.

The same goes with Inside Out.

Guys, it’s a trailer. We’re supposed to be able to relate to each of the characters, and the reality is that in real life, parents tend to be like this. Deviating from this narrative formula is what dramas do, not comedies.

If the dad was the one being all touchy feely in this scene, you know what would happen? You wouldn’t believe it. There’d be no immersion. Sorry, but guys tend to be oblivious and in their own little world after a long day.

“Well Pixar is lazy for relying on these stereotypes,” you may argue.

But you have to start somewhere.

Pixar isn’t “lazy” for writing these characters in this way. They’re smart. If you start with a character who is already an enigma, who is supposed to be the film’s center, then there’s no possible way for that character to grow. With Riley and her parents, we’re seeing them in the early stages of the film’s narrative, and it’s nonsense to criticize Pixar for not doing something you’re not even sure they’ve done yet.

So the real question isn’t “Are they stereotypes?” The question should be, “Are they interesting?” And after watching that trailer, I believe that’s a solid yes.

What do you think?

“Inside Out” opens in theaters June 19, 2015.

Marvel Couldn’t Convince Sony To Give Them Spider-Man

spider-man marvel sony

Alisha Grauso | Moviepilot:

As the Wall Street Journal reports, an email as recent as October 30th from Sony Pictures president Doug Belgrad to Sony motion pictures president Amy Pascal revealed that the two studios were in talks to work out a deal where Marvel would oversee and produce a new (and hopefully better) trilogy of Spider-Man films that would still allow Sony to retain creative control, along with the marketing and distribution for the trilogy. 

Pretty fair deal and one that Sony should take, if you ask me. 

But it was another email from Pascal that got my Spidey senses tingling, as it was revealed that Marvel absolutely wanted to include Spider-Man in  Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

But before you get excited and start planning the “WELCOME HOME, SPIDEY” party, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include the fact that according to sources connected with the situation, unfortunately the talks have broken down between the studios. At the moment, Sony is planning on going it alone with Spider-Man, with an ominous-sounding “Spidey summit” planned for January.

I almost feel bad for Sony at this point. This whole mess makes them look even worse in the eyes of Spider-Man fans who desperately want him in the MCU. In a way, this hack seems strategic. 

You Can’t Pirate Anything Off Of ‘The Pirate Bay’ Anymore

pirate bay

Chris Morran | The Consumerist:

The Pirate Bay, perhaps the most popular — certainly the best known — destination for anyone looking to score pirated movies, music, books, games, and other digital content, was taken offline earlier today after a raid by police in Stockholm.

TorrentFreak reports that the site, which connects users for peer-to-peer file sharing via BitTorrent, went offline earlier today without notice. Shortly after came news that authorities in the Bay’s home country of Sweden had seized servers and computers from an unspecified location.’

This is a big win for artists. Especially filmmakers.

Dory’s Origins Revealed In New Story Details for ‘Finding Dory’ and ‘Inside Out’

finding dory story

In the last few days, Pixar has come out with a wealth of new details surrounding two of its most-anticipated films: Finding Dory and Inside Out. I’ve compiled some of the new things we’ve learned below!

Finding Dory: Turns out Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) was born and raised at the Marine Biology Institute of California. She was released into the ocean at a young age, and this Finding Nemo sequel will be about the forgetful fish trying to reunite with her long-lost parents,

Go on…Dory’s Origins Revealed In New Story Details for ‘Finding Dory’ and ‘Inside Out’

Review: ‘Wild’ is Reese Witherspoon’s Best Movie In Years

Based on a true story, Wild features Witherspoon like you’ve never seen her (especially if you’ve seen Election recently). She’s broken, vulnerable, and utterly real.

It’s not enough that the story is good — Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed, a divorced heroin junkie who attempts to hike the treacherous Pacific Crest Trail (over 1000 miles total) to heal herself emotionally and physically. The story is also brilliantly told.

We watch her journey in the “present” filtered with constant flashbacks that range everywhere from her childhood to how quickly her life fell apart as an adult. This is a great example of how to use the benefits of a “mosaic” style of filmmaking while also keeping a level of coherence.

It’s easy to follow along, but more importantly, it’s effortless to care about Cheryl Strayed. And that’s where Witherspoon shines: maintaining the line between realism and likability.

Every step of her journey feels like one the audience is taking. Every blister, cut, scrape, and sigh of desperation is felt, in no small part thanks to a dedicated script written by Nick Hornby, coupled with Witherspoon’s commitment to her own trauma.

One scene in particular places Cheryl in her room before she’s taken a single step. Her struggle to even get her oversized gear on her back is just one indication that the running time of Wild won’t be easy for anyone involved with this film, mainly Cheryl herself.

It’s still a self-help story that leaves much of the grittier aspects of Cheryl’s transformation to the imagination (this is a Hornby script, after all). And there are just a few too many flashbacks that over-explain Cheryl’s backstory to a degree, especially when some of the final scenes could have received a little more love without stuffing the script.

Cheryl Strayed’s story of redemption is certainly a mark above other nature-centric journeys, including the more popular (and unremarkable) offerings that include Eat, Pray, Love and Into the Wild, which are also based on books.

The soundtrack is also an uplifting accessory to Cheryl’s long trek through the wilderness, combining a sense of freedom that comes with putting everything you have into a singular goal, as well as the dread that comes from that same action. “The Air That I Breathe” captures this tone in surprising ways for a throwback.

Though we never see firsthand why and how Cheryl chose this adventure has the core of her redemption, the script wisely lets us focus more on who Cheryl is at this point, setting up a journey that is as affecting as it is dreary.

Grade: B+ 

Why is the New James Bond Movie Called ‘Spectre?’

spectre james bond

Ross Miller | The Verge:

This morning, director Sam Mendes announced the official name for the 24th Bond film (Spectre), the official Bond car (Aston Martin DB10), and key cast members. Five newcomers (Andrew Scott, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Dave Bautista, and Monica Bellucci) will be joining the group established in 2012’s Skyfall: Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, and of course Daniel Craig himself as James Bond. 

Spectre begins filming tomorrow and is set for release November 6th, 2015.

I’m Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite James Bond movie in Hollywood (sorry, I had to do that).

In order, that’s Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and…Spectre. Anyone else feel like the title is lacking something?

Though to be fair, this movie won’t be lacking talent. Along with the stellar cast listed above, Spectre is thankfully gifted with the same writing and cinematography team as Skyfall.

As for the title, a rumored plot synopsis is that “Spectre” is the name of a new crime organization that Bond has to take down. So I guess we shouldn’t expect it to be tied to a third act revelation the same way Skyfall was. And that’s probably a good thing.