Cars 2 on DVD

Although I normally love Pixar movies, I was dragging my feet on seeing this one. Cars is so over-popularized with all its little toys and accessories. Kids absolutely love it, so I guess I got it into my head that Cars was more of a kids' show even though I saw the first one and enjoyed it myself. Plus, I'm not a big fan of sequels. Sometimes they can be great, but in general, they try to do what the first one did, which is old news. But it was Pixar, so I got the DVD on Netflix.

I have mixed feelings about Cars 2. Overall, I wasn't impressed. It's a decent movie for a sequel but not on the same level as most Pixar movies. As my husband says, it lacks emotional gravity. The storyline is different enough from the first Cars. Lightning McQueen and Mater have a misunderstanding in their friendship, and when Mater accidentally gets involved with a group of spies, the distance between them widens. Meanwhile, as Lightning McQueen gets ready to try to win the World Grand Prix with a new environmentally friendly fuel source, a group of angry old cars attempts to destroy him and force all cars back to the dark ages of oil. It's up to Mater and his new spy friends to save McQueen and defeat the old cars' evil plot.

For all that plot, the spark that fills movies like Up and Wall-E and even Toy Story and its sequels just isn't there. But there's more to my ambiguous feelings. This movie is one that a lot of young kids will want to see or, really, have already seen. And I don't think it's a kids' movie. It's like a kiddie version of an adult spy movie. It's kind of violent at times, which surprised me. As an adult movie, it would be fine. My husband thinks maybe it was made for the first generation of Cars watchers, and since those kids have grown up some, the new movie was made a bit more grown-up for them. But if that's what the movie makers did, they blatantly ignored the fact that a whole new generation is watching Cars because it's inundated the toy market. My nephew is five and was so excited to see the new movie, but there are parts that really aren't appropriate for that age. There's violence and murder. One car falls to its death in the ocean and is broken into tiny pieces. Another car is tortured to death, though the torture element is greatly underplayed. It just doesn't seem right for a kids' movie.

The entertainment value is there but does not outweigh the PG violence (though the movie is somehow rated G), the lack of depth, and the preachy oil message in my mind. But it's still better than most animation. The attention to detail is amazing. Japan feels just like Japan (according to Nick, who's been there), and I'm sure the other two countries represented are similar. This isn't a bad movie for interested adults. Just be careful about exposing sensitive children to it.

From My Own Pen: The Day After

Here's another self-published book I contributed to this year. It just became available to the public this month.

The Day After is a short story collection with a broad focus spanning several genres: spy comedy, science fiction, zombie horror, and gothic horror. Essentially, each story has something to do with "the day after." In this particular collection, two of the stories are fairly dark in theme, one is dark but told more comedically, and one is pure lighthearted fun. The latter is mine, a spy comedy that stretched my storytelling skills beyond my comfort zone in some ways but was totally me in other ways, and when I say "totally me," I mean that if you took out the spy and hotel job parts, you'd basically have my life.

This book is a promotional tool for me, my husband Nick, and our friends: Nathan Marchand and Keith Osmun. It's a sampler of our work, and it's meant to draw an audience to our various websites and projects. The print version is available for $6.99 at www.lulu.com, and the ebook is just $1.99 on www.smashwords.com.

And now, the back cover copy, to whet your appetite:

Natalya is an American mom and wife with a Russian name working as a spy for the Brazilian government in a Midwest American town. Balancing dual identities is dangerous–and sometimes comical–especially when her husband hasn’t a clue.

Morana is on a suicide mission to transmit a bestial virus to her enemies when she encounters a smalltown family with the potential to break through her boundaries of hatred. But in the end, will it make a difference, or is it too late for redemption?

Peter, a photojournalist, returns home late to meet his newborn son…but just in time to rescue his family from a national zombie infestation. As they travel toward safer ground, trying to maintain a modicum of normalcy, Peter has the urge to document the disaster, but at what price?

Jacob is trapped in an endless maze of a house that appears to have no exits to the outside world except for a noose in his bedroom. He meets a mysterious stranger in the darkness and discovers pieces of letters he doesn’t remember writing. Who knows how long he’s been there? The noose is tightening.

Four stories, four writers, four genres…one connecting thread. What happens when the main focus of your life is stripped away and all that’s left is the day after?