WALL-E (voice of Ben Burtt), a lonely robot, has the sole purpose to collect waste on Earth ever since humans had left the planet 700 years ago. His only friend is a cockroach and he spends some of his time watching old movies, such as Hello Dolly!. When humans send EVE (Elissa Knight) to Earth to eliminate traces of human life, WALL-E falls in love with her at first sight and hitches a ride back onto the spaceship where human beings have been living for the last 700 years. Up until that point, there’s practically no dialogue except when WALL-E says his name to EVE and vice versa. Even though they don’t speak, their romantic chemistry feels palpable thanks to the amazing CGI animation that adds emotional movements in their body—-or machine—-language. The first part of Wall-E is filled with awe-inspiring, quietly beautiful moments that speak volumes in their utter simplicity. In the second half, when Wall-E reaches the spaceship to follow EVE, the film externalizes its pro-environment, pro-human and anti-corporate messages while still engaging your eyes and ears with plenty of amazingly haunting scenes. All of the humans happen to be overweight, lazy and easy to manipulate—-i.e. when an advertisement says that “the new red is blue”, their shirts immediately change to blue. The ship’s captain (voice of Jeff Garlin) has his own agenda to dispose of a plant that EVE found on Earth, but WALL-E desperately tries to stop him before the last remaining sign of life on Earth disappears. Writer/director Andrew Stanton, who also wrote and directed Finding Nemo, has once again created a truly extraordinary film filled with brilliant, colorful CGI effects and a terrific musical score which bring memories of E.T, Short Circuit and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Don’t walk into this film expecting to watch a hilarious comedy or a thrilling adventure; it's a poignant, romantic drama sprinkled with social satire. The magic of Wall-E lies in its many small details and dialogue-free moments, such as an unforgettable sequence when WALL-E dances with EVE in outer space while using a fire extinguisher. Ultimately, Wall-E deserves to be regarded as an animated classic with its gently moving and magical moments along with its important reminders to stop being vain and materialistic, to stay healthy, to protect the Earth’s environment and to think about and care about the most important topic of all: EVOLUTION. Watching this marvelous film will not only remind you that we’re truly in the new Golden Age of animation, but it will also make you proud of being and feeling human. Number of times I checked my watch: 0. Released by Walt Disney Pictures.
The Edge of Heaven- Directed by Fatih Akin.
In German and Turkish with subtitles. After Ali (Tuncel Kurtiz) accidentally kills a prostitute, Yeter (Nursel Kose), and gets thrown into jail, his son, Nejat (Baki Davrak) moves to Istanbul to find Yeter’s 27-year-old daughter, Ayten (Nurgul Yesilcay), a political activist, to pay for her education. Meanwhile, Ayten hides out in Germany to escape the Turkish police. She befriends and falls in love with Lotte (Patrycia Ziolkowska), who desperately tries to rescue her when she gets deported back to Turkey. Lotte’s mother eventually tries to help as well. Although the plot seems convoluted in hindsight, writer/director Fatih Akin does a superb job of building up suspense by the way he connects the characters and subplots unpredictably and with surprisingly tender moments. The shifts in point-of-view tend to be initially jolting because there’s no single protagonist to root for, but that’s what makes the story much more intriguing and refreshing to watch. If it were all told in a linear fashion with only one protagonist, it would’ve been dull and tedious. Terrific performances, especially by Nurgul Yesilcay and Patrycia Ziolkowska, along with strong dramatic tension help to keep you thoroughly engaged. The Edge of Heaven doesn’t overstay its welcome at a running time of 122 minutes and ultimately manages to be powerful, riveting and absorbing like after reading an intricately layered, sweeping novel. Number of times I checked my watch: 0. Released by Strand Releasing. Now playing at the Quad Cinema.
