Pixar Knows How To Use Colors In Their Films

Have always felt Pixar has a unique style to their films, most recently watching their clever animated shorts (see: Disney+ New Pixar Popcorn Shorts Are What Quibi Should Have Done). After reading the following article, I nodded and had one of those “aha!” moments.

In a way, every filmmaker is really just playing with moving light and color on surfaces. That’s the whole ball game, a filmic given. But Pixar takes it further, or perhaps just does it more self-consciously and systematically. Its emotionally weighty, computer-generated animated films deploy precisely calibrated color and light to convey narrative and emotion—from the near-total absence of green in WALL-E (until postapocalyptic robots find the last plant on Earth) to the luminous orange marigolds that symbolize Miguel’s trip to the magical Land of the Dead in Coco through the contrast between the cool blue luminosity of the afterlife with the warm, snuggly sepia of New York City in last year’s Soul.

How Pixar Uses Hyper-Colors to Hack Your Brain

While the term “hack your brain” seems mildly offensive, I get it. Pixar is almost Steve Jobs-like obsesses with quality and style and it shows. You just know what to expect from seeing one of their films and it frequently is entertaining at least.

The recent Oscars paid Soul some love. Well deserved.

Gal Gadot Chops Off Fingertip, Husband Throws In Garbage Disposal, Drinking Ensues

Hospitals? Meh. Wonder Woman doesn’t go to the hospital, she just drinks. True story.

“The early days of pandemic when you start drinking mimosas or sangria or whatever at 11 a.m., so I did that, and then I decided I’m gonna make a cabbage salad because that’s what one whats to do, so I started to chop the thing, and I chopped the top of my finger,” Gadot recalled to Jimy Kimmel Live. “Yaron went to the chopping board and he held the finger and he got so disgusted that he threw it into the garbage disposal.”

Wonder Woman Star Gal Gadot Cut Tip of Her Finger Off and Her Husband Threw It in Garbage Disposal

Gal Gadot cracks me up with this story. So she just decides to make cabbage salad and chops off the end of her finger? Ouch. Her husband freaks out and throws it in the garbage disposal? Why? But then they just decide to drink?

This should be a mini-film. Really.

Obvious: Lowest Turnout Ever for Oscars 2021

The 2019 Oscars was much more exciting, it seems …

Didn’t mention Oscars 2021 here on Sunday. Didn’t watch it. Didn’t care. Apparently we weren’t the only ones, as it turned out the smallest viewership ever.

Only 9.85 million viewers tuned into Sunday’s ceremony where Searchlight’s “Nomadland” took the top prize and Netflix walked away with the most wins. That’s a nearly 59% drop from the 23.6 million viewers that turned on their TVs for the program last year, according early fast national numbers released by Nielsen.

Academy Awards ratings plummet to all-time low as viewership drops below 10 million

We suggested several times last year that they should just lump 2020 and 2021 into one large celebration and awards show. There just weren’t enough movie theater releases and all the major titles, with some exceptions were pushed off to 2021 and beyond. The Academy couldn’t see skipping an annual tradition and pushed on.

What the result was a playing field that favored lesser known, smaller budget films. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but Nomadland was the best movie in 2020, really? I don’t know. Anthony Hopkins acting in The Father was great, but was he the best actor of every movie in 2020? Maybe.

Bottom line: it’s done, over and now we can look at 2021. It’s already off to a stronger start than 2020. There should be more interest in the Oscars in 2022, maybe.

As Creepshow Season 2 Finishes Airing, Season 3 Is Under Production

We missed the good news about AMC’s Shudder renewal for Creepshow Season 3, which is currently under production and scheduled for release later in 2021. Perhaps, presumably, by Halloween 2021?

“During our Season 2 production, Shudder was so pleased with what they were seeing that they asked us to roll right into production on a brand-new third season that will feature some of our most ambitious stories yet,” said executive producer and showrunner Greg Nicotero. “I’m incredibly thankful to the team at Shudder for the opportunity to continue honoring the genre with more gleefully ghoulish tales over not one, but two new seasons of Creepshow this year.”

Shudder Renews Creepshow for Third Season, Orders Black Horror Anthology

As the article indicates above, clear back in February 2021, they also greenlit a new Black Horror Anthology. Am curiou show that will turn out. We wish there were more anthology TV series with multiple stories. They used to do this more frequently. Something like Fantasy Island the TV show being rebooted would be worthwhile considering. The movie wasn’t very good, but the TV show could come back. They just need to follow the Creepshow template from Shudder and have a passionate showrunner that will pay homage to the past and usher in new stories under the proven framework.

The final episode of Creepshow Season 2 will stream on Shudder April 29. We haven’t watched any of the episodes yet, but it’s high up on the watchlist.

MIT COVID-19 Study Concludes No Safer 6 feet than 60 feet Social Distancing

A new study under extensive peer review has determined that what we’ve been told about social distancing is inaccurate. Six feet is no safer than 60 feet, according to this study. It also concludes that more time spent inside a confined area is more hazardous, regardless of social distance.

This doesn’t sound good for time spent inside a movie theater, particularly if it’s for a long movie (ahem, Snyder cut).

“This emphasis on distancing has been really misplaced from the very beginning. The CDC or WHO have never really provided justification for it, they’ve just said this is what you must do and the only justification I’m aware of, is based on studies of coughs and sneezes, where they look at the largest particles that might sediment onto the floor and even then it’s very approximate, you can certainly have longer or shorter range, large droplets,” Bazant said.

“The distancing isn’t helping you that much and it’s also giving you a false sense of security because you’re as safe at 6 feet as you are at 60 feet if you’re indoors. Everyone in that space is at roughly the same risk, actually,” he noted.

MIT researchers say you’re no safer from Covid indoors at 6 feet or 60 feet in new study challenging social distancing policies

In our county in Washington State, we’re on the verge of a 4th COVID-19 spike. They just rolled us back to Phase 2 which reduces allowed occupancy indoors at movie theaters. According to the study above, this reduction is pointless for actually reducing the risk of infection.

Got to love science. All these smart minds and we’re just figuring this out now?

Lord of the Greens: Amazon’s $450 Million First Season of Lord of the Rings

In the midst of a pandemic, money tight for many people, but what does the neverending fountain of cash that is Amazon do? Spend hundreds of millions making a Lord of the Rings TV series.

The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Amazon will spend roughly NZ$650 million — $465 million in U.S. dollars — for just the first season of the show.

That’s far above previous reported estimates that pegged the fantasy drama as costing an already record-breaking $500 million for multiple seasons of the show.

Amazon’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ to Cost $465M for Just One Season

Amazon has previously stated the first season will be eight episodes. That puts an average cost of $60+ million per TV episode. For a streaming channel.

Disney is spending a lot on each episode of The Mandalorian too, so Amazon aren’t the only ones dipping into the cash register.

We’re talking about Amazon here. $465 million are loose change in the couch for them, but it sets a bar pretty high for streaming TV series. Sure, it’s a major IP and they’re probably thinking it needs to be another Game of Thrones, but … well, spend that tech money, I guess.

Are you looking forward to watching this new Lord of the Rings TV series on Amazon Prime? A release date has not been announced as of this posting.

As of June 15, 2021 Google Play Movies Becomes YouTube

Caught this news first in my email, courtesy of Google. They are ditching Google Play Movies & TV and putting your library of purchased movies & TV shows, if you have any, under your YouTube account. I just checked and our half dozen or so movies are there already.

Yes, don’t worry, you aren’t losing any of your existing movies & TV shows. This is purely a reorganizational move. It isn’t like what Walmart did with Vudu (see: Fandango Buys Vudu from Walmart – What Does This Mean For Both Services?). In reality when Walmart went after Amazon with their Walmart+ service, they should have kept Vudu and competed more directly against Prime Video as an added feature for members, but that is just our opinion (see: Walmart Plus launches September 15, maybe they should have kept Vudu)

Does this mean Google Play is going away completely or is it being kept only for apps and games? The word “play” doesn’t really invoke movie watching, it sounds much more interactive and fits games better. You can’t buy movies and TV shows on Steam, so maybe that is the direction Google Play is headed competitively.

Google is no stranger to moving and shutting down its services. Just do a simple Google search and you’ll see how many services they’ve shut down over the years (Wikipedia maintains a Discontinued Google Services page). Again, this isn’t a complete shutdown, just reorganization of content from one service to another and Google Play will remain, only not for movies & TV. YouTube is more logically suited, especially since they have the YouTube TV streaming live TV service they are selling. Our guess is what this is about, to keep these services together and to not require their customers to app skip to watch movie and TV shows in their libraries.

Still, when I think of YouTube, it is user-created video content, podcasts and the like, not Hollywood movies and TV shows. You? Maybe this is my own hangup. Keep in mind we have our own YouTube channel for Just Left Theateer Movie Reviews — so we obviously support YouTube. If you haven’t subscribed, please do. Every movie we see in theater we record a video as we leave the theater — or as shortly thereafter as we can.

Feel free to speculate or share what you know in the comments below.

That Time Amazon Admitted Its Drivers Sometimes Have To Pee In Bottles

What else is yellow and watery-oriented than the Yellow Submarine? Hmm …

The pandemic has raised all kinds of unusual changes to our lives, both business and personal. We’ve stated here several times before that we’ve felt tremendously blessed to be able to keep working this entire time, as both our jobs are deemed essential, but that hasn’t been the case for others and our hearts go out to them.

Amazon certainly has enjoyed even more business during the pandemic, leading to an increase in deliveries and need for their delivery drivers. However, a lot of public restrooms have closed leaving a very real problem for drivers who need to go the bathroom and have, well, not so many choices.

Amazon says that “a typical Amazon fulfillment center has dozens of restrooms, and employees are able to step away from their work station at any time.” However, the company acknowledged that this isn’t always true for its delivery drivers. “We know that drivers can and do have trouble finding restrooms because of traffic or sometimes rural routes, and this has been especially the case during Covid when many public restrooms have been closed,” Amazon wrote.

Amazon admits its drivers sometimes have to pee in bottles | Ars Technica

So, this post is a stretch as it relates to movies, but Amazon Prime Video is a streaming service and we often talk about movies that are too long and require bathroom breaks (see: Need A Bathroom Break During the Movie? Runpee to the rescue).

On a less tongue-firmly-in-cheek note, Amazon needs to come up with some sort of high tech bathroom service for drivers. Perhaps drones fly in a urinal to the delivery driver’s location? We’re in 2021 and sure, the pandemic is still on, but Amazon’s delivery drivers should have some sort of option beyond peeing in bottles.

Eddie Murphy interested in Coming To America 3

Coming 2 America ⭐️⭐️⭐️ took too many years to come to fruition, but Eddie Murphy is reportedly already interested in planning a third movie.

“Coming 2 America” the long-awaited sequel might have just been released, but star Eddie Murphy already wants a third film and he wants costume designer Ruth E. Carter to return. The two sat down for Variety’s “Dream Teams” sequel to discuss their latest collaboration, and Murphy is planning, but audiences don’t have to wait thirty years, “You have to do next time,” he tells Carter. “[Set] sixteen years from now.”

Eddie Murphy and Ruth E. Carter on “Coming 2 America” Collaboration – Variety

If they do a Coming To America 3, then it needs to focus more on Murphy’s character Akeem. Murphy should be the centerpiece of the comedy, not other, younger actors. Arsenio Hall and he are and should always be the central characters in this franchise. It’s a little like having an Indiana Jones with Indy not being the central character. That was my main beef with Coming 2 America, and hopefully we’ll get more Hall and Murphy if there is a third movie.

Do you want to see another Coming To America sequel or are you done with the franchise? While they’re at it, how about Trading Places sequel or (gasp) Another Another 48 Hours? Murphy is already working on more Axel Foley in another Beverly Hills Cop sequel.

William Shatner, Age 90, Says He “Never” Has Watched Star Trek The Original Series

Is this an April Fool’s joke on all of us a week early(?). While we’re posting this on April 1, it was a story that bubbled to the forefront a week earlier. It’s one of those raise your eyebrows really high stories.

After seeing The Father ⭐️½ recently, I’m wondering if maybe William Shatner should have starred in it instead of Anthony Hopkins. That’s not a slight against Captain Kirk, but when he claims at age 90 that he has “never” watched any of Star Trek The Original Series I’m extremely skeptical that he simply has forgotten.

“I have never watched Star Trek,” he said. “There are many episodes I don’t know, there are some movies I don’t know.” He added that he did watch one of the franchise’s many movies, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, but only because he directed it.

William Shatner Reveals He Has ‘Never Watched’ an Episode of Star Trek : ‘It’s All Painful’

I believe he hasn’t watched any episodes lately, after all TOS was made in the mid 60s. That’s almost 50 years ago. Shatner’s classic over-emphasis acting as Kirk had to be something he watched back then, especially when the series took off. He never wanted to see how the TV series was edited, especially when he directed Star Trek V? Yeah, the one Star Trek he admits watching?

Just doesn’t pass the smell test. I mean, think about all the Star Trek conventions, the fans, the lore, much of which Shatner has shunned, it seems, but I’m having a hard time believing this isn’t his age, some sort of senility in play, versus any sort of reality.

Shatner is legendary. He’s played Kirk, of course (Star Trek), TJ Hooker and Denny Crane (Boston Legal) just to name three iconic characters on three different TV series. He’s also getting up there in age. 90 is the new 80, so hopefully — if he’s able to — he’ll continue to star in other movies and TV shows.. Betty White has done it, so why not him?

Respectfully, I’m not buying that he “never” watched Star Trek. Do you?