So for my birthday, I got... basically everything on my Amazon wishlist. 
Because, let's face it, who has any idea what else to get me? (I sure 
don't... Not stuff that anybody can afford, anyway.)

I remember being astonished when I heard that Ice Age 2 existed. When 
they made number 3, I thought they had to be kidding. But each film 
seems to be better than the last. So, naturally, when I discovered that 
#4 exists now, I added it to my wishlist.

As it turns out, the film is... disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it's 
not *awful* or anything. It's just not especially entertaining. I'm 
still unclear on what the main villain was actually trying to achieve, 
or why he got so angry. The intro was quite weak. And while the existing 
characters are as lovable as ever, none of the new ones engage me 
particularly. I'll probably never watch it again.

So next we have Monsters University. This is either a worthy successor 
to the brilliant Monsters Inc, or an ill-advised money-grab attempt. 
Thus I was a little bit hesitant to put it on my list. Having watched 
it... well, it's certainly no obligatory rushed-out sequel, so that's 
good. It does have some heart to it, and it's interesting to see the 
characters you know in completely different roles. But overall... it's 
just not especially entertaining to watch. I keep expecting stuff to 
start *happening*, and it never really does.

And that leaves us with Wreck-It Ralph. Again, from the premise you can 
immediately see that this is either going to be entertainment gold, or a 
cynical attempt to milk money out of the popularity of retro-gaming. 
Again, I hesitated a little in listing it. However, having watched it 
three times in as many days, I think I can safely classify this one as a 
winner.

Partly it's because Vanellope von Schweetz is just adorable to listen to 
and to watch. Partly it's because King Candy is hilarious. Mostly it's 
because it's interesting and action-packed and entertaining. I love the 
soundtrack; they didn't try to make it all bleepy and "oh look it sounds 
retro!", they simply added just the right amount of synth to make it 
sound cool. And I still chuckle every time I see the guards outside the 
castle changing "oreo".

There aren't too many films where I sit there and *watch* the credits 
just because I like the soundtrack that much. I'm probably going to have 
Sugar Rush stuck in my head for some time now. The visuals are pretty 
impressive too. Again, they didn't do that whole "let's make it all look 
blocky and pixelated" thing, they made it look cool. I love the idea of 
an entire world made of candy... I almost wish this was an actual game 
that you could actually play.

...almost. It is a *racing* game, after all.

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On Sun, 30 Mar 2014 19:29:05 +0100, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:

> So for my birthday

Happy birthday!

Of the films you listed, I've only seen Monsters University - and I quite 
agree - the rendering was amazing, but the story was somewhat lacking.  I 
enjoyed watching it, but there were also inconsistencies with MI that 
were hard to ignore - like when did Mike and Sully meet?  In MI, I seem 
to recall they said when they were kids; in MU, it was there at MU....

Jim

-- 
"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and 
besides, the pig likes it." - George Bernard Shaw

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> There aren't too many films where I sit there and *watch* the credits
> just because I like the soundtrack that much.

The *other* entertaining thing, of course, is the length of the list of 
copyright notes that they legally have to include. Do *you* know who 
legally owns the name PAC-MAN? Or Zangief? Or Q*Bert? [Actually, I've 
never even *heard* of that one, but anyway...]

You might *think* that by now, nobody cares about the rights to such 
ancient games. And you would be wrong, it seems...

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On 30/03/2014 09:03 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
> Happy birthday!

Thanks. It seems we have a lot of them in March...

> Of the films you listed, I've only seen Monsters University - and I quite
> agree - the rendering was amazing, but the story was somewhat lacking.  I
> enjoyed watching it, but there were also inconsistencies with MI that
> were hard to ignore - like when did Mike and Sully meet?  In MI, I seem
> to recall they said when they were kids; in MU, it was there at MU....

I also got Fantasia - but I already know how that one ends. ;-)

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On 30/03/2014 07:29 PM, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
> There aren't too many films where I sit there and *watch* the credits
> just because I like the soundtrack that much. I'm probably going to have
> Sugar Rush stuck in my head for some time now.

donna michi datte
massugu janai darou
sou magari kunette
dekoboko shiteru hazu sa

tsurai koto toki ni wa aru yo ne
bokutachi wa soredemo hashiru yo
amai mono demo ikaga

S-U-G-A-R
Jump into your racing car
Say SUGAR RUSH! SUGAR RUSH!

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The dried frog pills aren't working, then?

On 31/03/2014 7:21 PM, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
> On 30/03/2014 07:29 PM, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
>> There aren't too many films where I sit there and *watch* the credits
>> just because I like the soundtrack that much. I'm probably going to have
>> Sugar Rush stuck in my head for some time now.
>
> donna michi datte
> massugu janai darou
> sou magari kunette
> dekoboko shiteru hazu sa
>
> tsurai koto toki ni wa aru yo ne
> bokutachi wa soredemo hashiru yo
> amai mono demo ikaga
>
> S-U-G-A-R
> Jump into your racing car
> Say SUGAR RUSH! SUGAR RUSH!



-- 
Regards
     Stephen

I solemnly promise to kick the next angle, I see.

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On 31/03/2014 07:41 PM, Stephen wrote:
> The dried frog pills aren't working, then?

What can I say? The Japanese are... a bit odd.

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