Robots in Love and Environmental Disaster in “Wall * E”

Published June 27th, 2008

It’s not just another robots-in-love story. “Wall * E” is an intelligent comedy about the environmental disaster that faces mankind if we don’t mend our ruinous ways.

Now a part of Disney, Pixar has a history of quality entertainment. It’s the studio that brought us “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Finding Nemo” and “Ratatouille.”

The planning for “Wall * E” dates back to 1994 with the simple idea of the last robot on Earth, dreamed up by director Andrew Stanton.
“Wall * E” (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) is that robot; a mobile trash-compacting unit. Trash is all that’s left on the wasteland once known as Earth. The human inhabitants have squandered all the resources and polluted the environment beyond repair.

In the year 2110, the surviving inhabitants fled Earth in a giant space ship called Axiom. Subsequent generations have become fatter and lazier. Now they are egg-shaped slugs, virtually immobile apart from their mobile carriers. All they do is eat, drink and consume.

Back on Earth Wall * E toils away, compacting endless mounds of trash. His only companion is a hardy cockroach.
Then one day a space ship lands and deposits a sleek new robot called EVE (Extra-Terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator). It’s robot love at first sight, but something is more important. Wall * E has discovered and saved a sprout. It’s the first sign of life in 700 years. It means that maybe humans can return to Earth.

You can’t have a movie without conflict, so it goes without saying not everyone is happy about the news. Hint: Remember HAL in “2001 A Space Odyssey?”

Yes, the robots are too cute and the logic preposterous. Still, “Wall * E” is a charming and worthwhile film with voices by Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger and Sigourney Weaver.

Three stars

Seann William Scott talks About “The Promotion”

“The Promotion” may or may not still be playing in area theaters. It’s one of those “small” films and has only one name star: John C. Reilly.
I’m rooting for the film for the sake of its co-star, Seann William Scott.

Scott has been stuck in typecasting Hell due to his “American Pie” character Stiffler. I think he deserves better.
For one thing, Scott is a heck of a nice guy. I know firsthand, because I met him in Miami Beach recently. Scott is cheerful, modest and generous with his time. He is also a realist.

“I won the lottery when I was cast in American Pie, but I have seen struggles,” he explains. “Working with John C. Reilly was a tremendous honor. I have known Steve (writer-director Steve Conrad) for three years. I think his `Weather Man’ is brilliant. We spent two years in preparation for `The Promotion.’ I know it means a lot to Steve, and for that reason I hope it does well for him.”

Scott plays a Chicago super market assistant manager who is forced to compete with a Canadian man who is being considered for the same post. The catch is that Reilly’s Canadian is a really nice man who is a recovering alcoholic and addict, prompting sympathy from others.
“People from the Midwest are really nice too,” Scott asserts. “I am from Minnesota. We are the Canada of the United States. That’s what makes the conflict so funny. We are two nice guys trying to do the right thing, but forced to fight.”

“Mongol” a Positive Portrayal of Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan: misunderstood genius and all-around good guy?
Russian writer-director Sergei Bodrov thinks so.

“Mongol” is an epic film that recounts the early life of Temudjin, the son of a Mongolian Khan (ruler) who grew up to fulfill his destiny of uniting and civilizing one of the most brutal and lawless civilizations on Earth.

Genghis Khan is particularly demonized in Russia because he conquered that country in 1206. This lengthy and ultra-bloody battle film is underneath a romance between Temudjin and Borte, the strong, resourceful woman he chose as a bride at age 9. It is a fascinating what-if and who-knew?