~ > ‘Cars’ movie review Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor ‘Cars’ gets pulled over kek YY In this column I review movies that are hugely popular in the Western world— ones which I haven't seen before. This is a fresh and unbiased take on those classic films, without the rose-coloured glasses of childhood nostalgia influencing my perspective. Ihe movie begins with Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) brooding over his lack of breakfast—which I'd suppose would just be oil? I don’t see McQueen eating a bowl of cereal before a race, but maybe he does. World building is areal spectacle sometimes. The beginning is made like a Hallmark movie plot. Spoiled rich kid (car) from the big city is placed in a small town to learn the true meaning of Christmas, or in this case, the importance of friends and family. The “Life is a Highway” track is an immediate hit. Like most kids, this song is iconic and reminiscent of my childhood— but unlike most kids, I know it from the Beanie Babies virtual world, which I’m not completely convinced was real... it could have just been a figment of my imagination. Disney+ offers a surround-sound experience, so watching Cars with all the panning feels much more immersive. It’s sadly no good for anyone watching off of your screenshare, though. Not saying that happened! The art style is pretty, yet incredibly creepy. The shine on some of the higher end cars is gorgeous and realistic, as are the dust clouds when they drive on dirt roads. Yet, the tongues! Why do cars have tongues and teeth!? It’s weird, it’s creepy, and I hate it. As the film goes on, it feels more and more like a nightmare. From huge car crash in the first race scene, to Frank, a giant, angry, combine harvester chasing you in menacing light, the movie can be terrifying. Fun fact, McQueen actually has a nightmare about Frank in the movie, and this was soon after I'd already concluded that Frank was nightmare fuel. There’s a weird nostalgia scene where it shows the town of Radiator Springs in its glory days. Sad music plays over a montage and it’s completely unnecessary. Kids haven't experienced the feeling of nostalgia enough to make sense of the scene. I don’t really know who my favourite character is. Despite good character arcs and well thought out personality characteristics, I don’t find any character particularly likeable. Chick Hicks, the real asshole of the movie, entertained me the most. However, he sucks, and there’s no rational reason to like him the most— | like him mostly because of my disposition Have an idea for a story? M arts@theotherpress.ca CC e Surviving modern social issues ¢ ‘Bonding’ review e ‘Cars’ gets pulled over ..and more Still from 'Cars' Mater has good quips because he’s so dumb —and that stupidity is basically raw wit. towards awfully arrogant and cocky people. I’m not into a car, though, so please don't force me onto My Strange Addiction. Mater has good quips because he’s so dumb—and that stupidity is basically raw wit. “He won three piston cups!” “He did what in his cup?” Classic. However, there are jokes in the film that didn’t age well at all. There are some that are plain sexist and racist, such as McQueen's treating of every “female” car like an object, including Sally Carrera, who he ends up with. Many cars have unrealistic accents and stereotypes, all which appear to be added only for comedic effect. Throughout the movie, there are adult jokes thrown around that no child would have understood. One is near the beginning of the film when McQueen just Mastering the perfect lap > ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Review Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist keen D uring the era of the space race, another epic race was happening—the car race. All the major companies were trying to build the fastest race car of all time. Having that title and reputation would mean that their consumer cars would also be seen as the most rapid and capable vehicles around, which is a very desirable fame to have. In the early years of the car race, Italian car maker Ferrari was in the lead, winning many major races that the rest of the automobile companies could not Promotional image for ‘Ford v Ferrari‘ keep up with. So, Ford Motor Company challenged themselves to build a car faster than Ferrari's cars. The idea they came up with was the Ford GT40—its development and the competition between the two companies are highlighted in Ford v Ferrari. The movie is another surprise hit of this year. It was shown in the both Toronto International Film Festival and even the Vancouver International Film Festival. It was the number one film in its opening weekend, beating the new Charlie’s Angels film. Ford asks former race car driver and car dealer, Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), to design the car that will beat Ferrari and make history. Shelby suggests putting a British driver and mechanic that he met (and helped) at a race—named Ken Miles (Christian Bale)—on the team. With Miles’ expertise of car mechanics, and Shelby’s marketing skills, they have a good shot at developing the Ford GT 4o. Despite their disagreements, they need to defeat the forces against them in time for the biggest car race: the 24-hours of Le Mans. There were a few scenes in the film, especially during the opening, where it cuts from shot to shot in a few seconds. It is interesting that car races in the 1960s were very long—even so long as an entire day. The Daytona 500 was also a very long wins a race. Two—seemingly teen—female fans drive up to him, squealing and flashing their headlights at him (implying another type of flashing), to which McQueen replies, “Oh, I love being me.” Another is when McQueen drives off a cliff right into some cacti, and the hippie car, Fillmore, says, “Bad trip, man.” Overall, the movie is weird. Considering I was entertained throughout it though, I figured I'd give it a high rating—but honestly a three out of five feels like it’s pushing it, now that I look back on all its flaws. Well, for a movie from 2006, it’s not bad. Thirteen years later though, it doesn’t hold up. The movie is iffy, aside from the part where Owen Wilson says “Wow!”—because that'll never get old. race (taking at slowest around four hours in 1960) which happened during that era. Maybe this is because the cars in the 1960s were not as fast as cars of today’s standards. Christian Bale’s portrayal of Ken Miles is great. He was so good at playing a classy English bloke that he might as well be playing himself. The scenes where Miles explains car technology are very precise, accurate, and show that he knows what he is doing. Bale could get Best Actor in the Academy Awards next year, but he is going to have to compete with Tom Hanks for his portrayal of Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood. There is also a great performance from Jon Bernthal—from The Walking Dead and The Punisher (2017)—who plays Lee Iacocca, the vice president of Ford. The scene that spotlights his skill is in the beginning of the film. Iacocca goes to Ferrari’s headquarters to try to buy the company from CEO Enzo Ferrari. The car sounds during the racing scenes are very realistic and sound as if you were there. The surround sound effects flow very well when the cars move across the screen. Ford v Ferrari is one of those films that shows with a lot of hard work, the best may be trumped., the best may be trumped.