Jon Negroni

Snarcasm: It’s Time For A New Pixar Theory, Sort Of

snarcasm pixar theory

Snark + Sarcasm = what you’re about to read. 

The Pixar Theory is old news, everyone. You know it. I know it. Lee Unkrich practically breathes it into the cease and desist letters he claims his lawyers send me. And then there’s Joshua Eyler, who graciously wants to speed the process of a new Pixar Theory along. So much to unpack here. Perhaps we should begin with a tweet?

My new post (with all due respect to @JonNegroni‘s original): “It’s Time for a New Pixar Theory”

First problem: I am due zero respect.

Go on…Snarcasm: It’s Time For A New Pixar Theory, Sort Of

Atomic Blonde, The Defenders, Ozark, and Detroit — Cinemaholics

atomic

We had a special guest join us this week to help review Atomic Blonde. You might remember Robert Yaniz Jr. from our Alien: Covenant episode a few months back, but he also hosts his own entertainment podcast, Crooked Table. Robert gave us an early spoiler-free review of The Defenders Season 1, as well, which premieres August 18th on Netflix.

Will Ashton was out this week on vacation, but Maveryke Hines and myself came back to cover Ozark, Detroit, To The Bone, and The Incredible Jessica James. We also introduced a new segment we’d love your feedback on: “Would you even watch this?” The rules are simple: one of us describes the trailer for an obscure movie as a pitch for the other person to go see it. Let’s see if we can do a better job hyping up audiences than the actual marketing for these movies (probably not).

Go on…Atomic Blonde, The Defenders, Ozark, and Detroit — Cinemaholics

How Would You Rank The Christopher Nolan Films?

nolan

This past week, there’s been the usual discussion between Nolan nerds over how his latest film, Dunkirk, fits in with the rest of his work. I normally stay out of these ranking conversations because my rule of thumb with Nolan is that his movies take time to process and analyze, for better or worse. Sometimes, his movies seem better on the second watch or months later. Sometimes, they’re worse. I doubt Dunkirk will be any different, either way.

Go on…How Would You Rank The Christopher Nolan Films?

Is Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ Really A Masterpiece? — Cinemaholics

dunkirk

Usually on Cinemaholics, we stick to covering one featured movie and leaving the rest for “mini reviews.” But for the second week in a row, the summer release schedule disagreed with us, so Will Ashton, Maveryke Hines, and I reviewed both Dunkirk and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets this week.

This was a more contentious episode than usual, with most of us differing quite a bit on both of these movies, particularly Valerian. If you’re at all interested in seeing either of these films, our conversation might prove useful.

Just two Mini Reviews this week: Aftermath (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Colossal (starring Anne Hathaway). The latter is a film I saw just this week as a blind buy on Will Ashton’s recommendation.

Go on…Is Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ Really A Masterpiece? — Cinemaholics

Does ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Live Up To The Hype? — Cinemaholics

The original Spider-Man and its sequel Spider-Man 2 essentially molded my taste in superhero movies. So it’s no surprise we spent a longer amount of time than usual dissecting Spider-Man: Homecoming, which has received high ratings from critics and audiences everywhere.

Special guest Mae Abdulbaki joined the discussion between me, Will Ashton, and Maveryke Hines this week. In addition to The Young Folks, Mae writes for Heroic Hollywood, where Will and I used to contribute (myself as DC Editor last year). It was a great to have her on for a reunion, especially when she gave us a brief mini review of The Big Sick. 

Speaking of which, we also talked about Castlevania, a new anime series produced by Netflix which is streaming now. And I finally got a chance to share my love of The Beguiled, a remake of the 1971 Clint Eastwood film starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Kirsten Dunst.

Go on…Does ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Live Up To The Hype? — Cinemaholics

2017 Movie Power Rankings

2017 Movie Rankings

It took a while, but I’m finally ready to unveil my movie power rankings for 2017, which will be updated as I continue to watch more films throughout the year. With this list, you can briefly glimpse my favorite movies of any given year and how they compare.

Below are my rankings so far, with some of them linked to either a written review or Cinemaholics podcast episode.

Go on…2017 Movie Power Rankings

‘Cars 3’ Review: A Surprisingly Good Sports Drama, But With Cars

Is Pixar’s Cars franchise worth another lap with Cars 3? 

One of the stark differences between the Cars movies and many of the other Pixar films is that there’s no explicit purpose for its own high concept…except to sell toys. There’s no real commentary on what it means to be a car or own one, and audiences are instead given a “human” comedy that replaces the characters with cartoon sketches simply for visual and experiential distinction.

Even Zootopia, a Disney film that appears to do the same with animals, allows its story to be controlled and guided by the real implications of a society governed by anthropomorphized animals in order to say something relevant about humans. Pixar’s magic has been to get away from that type of storytelling with films like Toy Story, which commit to the real differences between the plight of toys and the separate experience of being a human.

Go on…‘Cars 3’ Review: A Surprisingly Good Sports Drama, But With Cars