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376. Wall-E – Ani-May 2024 (#59)

Posted on May 12, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Graham Day and Deirdre Molumby, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, Andrew Stanton’s Wall-E.

In the distant future, Earth has been abandoned. Towers of garbage loom over a toxic landscape consumed by dust storms. The planet is dead, except for Wall-E, a small service robot assigned the task of cleaning Earth in the hope that the planet might be ready to welcome a returning humanity. Alone and forgotten, Wall-E makes a life for itself among the ruins.

At time of recording, it was ranked 59th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: Andrew Stanton, animated, cinematography, criterion, disney, environmentalism, imdb, pixar, podcast, robots, Roger Deakins, science fiction, silent movie, sound, The 250, wall-e | Leave a comment »

375. Monsters, Inc. – Ani-May 2024 (#200)

Posted on May 4, 2024 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guest Graham Day, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, Pete Docter’s Monsters, Inc.

In the city of Monstropolis, monsters harvest children’s screams as an energy source. In the midst of an energy crisis, James P. Sullivan is the best scarer in the business. However, when an innocent child named Boo crosses over into this world of monsters, Sulley finds his entire life – and everything that he believed – turned upside down.

At time of recording, it was ranked 200th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: billy crystal, boo, graham day, Mike, monsters, monsters inc., Pete Docter, pixar, podcast, sulley, The 250 | Leave a comment »

313. Ratatouille – Bird Watching 2022 (#219)

Posted on November 19, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Deirdre Molumby and Graham Day, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, we’re continuing a season focusing on the work of one particular director: Brad Bird’s Ratatouille.

Remi is a French rat with a taste for the finer things, quite literally. Remi longs to be a chef. When circumstances bring the young rat to Paris, and into the kitchen of a legendary restaurant, Remi is given the chance of a lifetime to seize his dream. He just needs to grab it by the hair and pull hard.

At time of recording, it was ranked 219th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: Movies, The 250 | Tagged: animation, art, Bob Iger, Brad Bird, Brian Dennehy, chefs, creativity, disney, france, janeane garofalo, market, Michael Eisner, objectivism, paris, Patton Oswalt, pixar, proust, Ratatouille, rats, sexism, Steve Jobs, voltaire | Leave a comment »

312. The Incredibles – Bird Watching 2022 (#230)

Posted on November 12, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Deirdre Molumby and Graham Day, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, we’re continuing a season focusing on the work of one particular director: Brad Bird’s The Incredibles.

Bob Parr was living an exciting life as the superhero Mr. Incredible, until a change in public opinion forced him to hang up his tights for good. Settling down to start a family with Helen, Bob still yearns for the adventure and excitement of his youth. Out of nowhere, a mysterious woman appears with an offer that seems too good to be true, drawing Bob back into a life that he never fully abandoned.

At time of recording, it was ranked 230th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: animated, Brad Bird, cartoon, deirdre molumby, graham day, holly hunter, infidelity, pixar, podcast, superheroes, The 250, the incredibles | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! “Lightyear is a Solid Sub-Orbital Adventure”

Posted on June 14, 2022 by Darren

I’m thrilled to be launching movie reviews on The Escapist. Over the coming weeks and months, I will be joining a set of contributors in adding these reviews to the channel. For the moment, I’m honoured to contribute a three-minute film review of Lightyear, which is in theatres on Friday.

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: animated, buzz, buzz lightyear, escapist, lightyear, pixar, review, sox, the escapist, video | Leave a comment »

251. Up (#123)

Posted on September 11, 2021 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, this week with special guests Deirdre Molumby and Brian Lloyd, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every Saturday at 6pm GMT.

This time, marking the passing of Ed Asner, Pete Docter’s Up.

Carl Fredricksen is a widower who finds himself facing the end of a modest life in the small house that he once shared with the love of his life. When it looks like what little remains of that life migth be disturbed and destroyed, Carl decides to embark on the one last adventure that he never got to take with his beloved life: a trip to mysterious “Paradise Falls”, without leaving his home.

At time of recording, it was ranked 123rd on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: adventure, age, aging, animated, brian lloyd, christopher plummer, death, deirdre molumby, disney, Dog, dug, ed asner, maturity, Movie, Pete Docter, pixar, up | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Luca

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Darren

There’s an appealing low-stakes gentleness to Luca. In fact, Luca might be Pixar’s first hangout movie.

The film tells the story the eponymous sea monster. The young boy lives off the Italian Riviera, tending to the local fish and dreaming of the world above the surface. One day, following a chance encounter with a more adventurous boy named Alberto, Luca discovers that he can change form when dry. Outside the ocean, Luca and Alberto can pass as human children. Against his family’s better judgment and aware of what might happen if he is discovered, Luca decides to make the most of life above the waves.

“I wanna be where the people are…”

This description makes Luca sound like a retread of The Little Mermaid. That’s not an entirely unfair point of comparison. Both Luca and The Little Mermaid are stories about young characters who dare to dream of a life beyond the underwater world they know. However, Luca has a very distinct mood and ambiance. Luca is not really plot-driven. It lacks a central villain like Ursula or stakes as overt as the terms of Ursula’s spell. Instead, Luca is much more interested in the smaller details that mark a wonderful childhood summer.

Luca is undeniably minor Pixar, but that doesn’t mean it’s especially shallow.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: animation, film, hangout, Hayao Miyazaki, italy, luca, monsters, Movie, non-review review, pixar, review | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! “Luca – Review”

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Darren

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: 3mr, animation, disney, luca, pixar, the escapist | Leave a comment »

216. Soul – This Just In (#178)

Posted on January 9, 2021 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Deirdre Molumby and Graham Day, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

So this week, Pete Docter and Kemp Power’s Soul.

Music teacher Joe Gardner catches a once-in-a-lifetime break, the opportunity to play on stage with the legendary Dorothea Williams. Joe boasts that he could die a happy man, which makes it doubly ironic when a freak accident sends Joe hurdling into the Great Beyond. However, Joe is convinced that a little thing like death won’t keep him from living the best day of his life.

At time of recording, it was ranked 178th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: This Just In | Tagged: African American, black, death, deirdre molumby, graham day, jamie foxx, jazz, meaning of life, pixar, soul, the great beyond, tina fey | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! “Soul – Review in 3 Minutes”

Posted on December 26, 2020 by Darren

I’m thrilled to be launching 3-Minute Reviews on Escapist Movies. Over the coming weeks and months, I will be joining a set of contributors in adding these reviews to the channel. For the moment, I’m honoured to contribute a three-minute feature film review to the channel, discussing Soul, the Pixar film that is now streaming on Disney+.