The Year's Best Car-Toon?

What has four wheels, a bright yellow lightning bolt, and the voice of Owen Wilson?

Lightning McQueen! He's the racecar with an attitude who leads a whole new cast of car-toon characters in Pixar's latest crowd-pleaser.

Pixar's going to need a bigger parking lot, as Cars has earned itself a place next to such famous show-mobiles as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. Cars finished first at the box office last week, raking in more than $60 million, and pleasing fans and critics alike.

It opens with a bang. McQueen puts the pedal to the metal, on his way to a big race, and crashes off the road into the town of Radiator Springs. And it's not just any crash—he damages a bunch of stuff belonging to the inhabitants of that small town. So, McQueen is sentenced to community service, with a bunch of lessons to learn before his return to the racetrack.

While Cars also features the voices of Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, Michael Keaton, and Tony Shaloub, it's easy to see that the real stars are the Pixar animators and storytellers.

So, how does it size up to other Pixar flicks?

"Cars could well be Pixar's least satisfying project to date," says Russ Breimeier (Christianity Today Movies). But he adds, "Not that all audiences will be disappointed. Families with young boys enchanted by cars will find a lot to love in this animated world completely populated with automobiles instead of humans."

Breimeier goes on to praise the film's animation as a new peak for Pixar. But the story? "If [the story] sounds familiar, it's fortunate for director John Lasseter and his fellow screenwriters that no kids in the audience will recognize this as a retread of Doc Hollywood." He notes that the film delivers "some terrific lessons," but those lessons "don't necessarily add up to a terrific story. … [I]t's a bit hokey, and not nearly as imaginative as Pixar's previous triumphs."

Pixar fan Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films) is much more enthusiastic. "Cars is Pixar's most improbable success to date, a film that could easily have misfired, but somehow does not. … Offbeat and counter-intuitive, Cars finds a quirky creative groove and an emotional center that eluded the earlier Lasseter effort."

How significant is this? Greydanus says, "Cars doesn't exceed expectations, but it continues the winningest streak in Hollywood history with a film that any other creative team in Hollywood would kill to have be the weakest of their last five films."

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) is also pleased. "Pixar continues to raise the bar with Cars, a delightful, family-friendly film with a full tank of humor and emotion that is likely to leave its summer competition in the dust. … [G]iven our hectic world of fast food, express lanes and high-speed Internet access, the film's gentle message charmingly reminds us that on the highway of life it is important to slow down and appreciate the scenery."

Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) says it's "a terrific story. It's a blast to watch … and it's loaded with positive messages about selflessness, slowing down, enjoying life and learning how to be a good friend. In a world where image-conscious superstar athletes often hog the spotlight, Cars reminds us why being a team player is ultimately more satisfying—and significant—than being the center of attention."

"Cars has all the elements of an Oscar-winning movie," raves Lisa Rice (Crosswalk). "[A] perfect script with humor and heart, an all-star cast, an adorable love story, state-of-the-art special effects and a gripping score by a number of talented musicians. … The cars seem like people with whom you fall in love, and the love story is better than anything that's on the silver screen this summer."

Mainstream critics are hoping the film wins Motor Trend's Movie of the Year award.

Big Screen Radio: A Prairie Home Companion

I wonder if anyone will consider Garrison Keillor for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar next year. With his charm, humor, and heart, he somehow manages to steal A Prairie Home Companion from his entire cast of superstars.

And thank goodness he does. No movie star should take any credit away from Keillor for the outstanding work he has done over the years, cultivating his radio show into a national treasure. A Prairie Home Companion has been a dependably entertaining, heartwarming, and amusing radio show since … well, it feels like it's been around since Benjamin Franklin. It's hard to believe nobody managed to bring it to the big screen before, but we can be thankful that the sometimes-masterful Robert Altman (Gosford Park, The Player) and his assistant—Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia)—have brought such spontaneity and grace to the project, translating Keillor's wit and whimsy to the screen almost intact.

I say "almost" because it's rather disorienting to see so many big Hollywood stars in the show. Oh, don't get me wrong, Altman has gathered a cast of spectacular talents—Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, Woody Harrelson, Lily Tomlin, and Tommy Lee Jones are all in the cast. And an up-and-comer you may have heard about … Lindsay Lohan. They're all entertaining and some, especially Streep, contribute truly memorable moments.

But seeing so many familiar big-screen faces in the film takes something away from the home-cooked quality of Keillor's brand of Americana. I found myself wishing the big names were special musical guests like Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, or Alison Krauss, who bring down the house when they visit the radio show and who deserve a big screen appearance.

Still, if you're weary of adrenalin-rush cinema and want to sit back enjoy something light, melancholy, and unpredictable—something that feels like it was made by human beings instead of a committee—this may be your best bet all summer long.

Carolyn Arends (Christianity Today Movies) notes that "Keillor holds his own with the film's stellar cast, and has an oddly magnetic presence, the stodgy eye of a show business hurricane."

Moviegoers looking for an exciting plot, take note—Companion has different priorities. Arends says the film is "less about plot and more about moments, about songs, conversations, glances, and the irritations and affections that animate people and cause them to be repelled by, and attracted to, one another. … The movie's soul is in the music, and there's lots of it."

Does the film's inclusion of gospel music reflect the lives of its characters? Arends observes "a curious schism in this film between all the great gospel lyrics sung and the lives of the characters who sing them." But she adds that, overall, "Fans of Altman's naturalistic style and admirers of Keillor's wit will find plenty to love in A Prairie Home Companion."

"The warmth of the radio broadcast translates to the new film version of A Prairie Home Companion," says Christian Hamaker (Crosswalk). "The storyline is loose, the acting often improvised and the soundtrack cacophonous only when it features the trademark overlapping dialogue of its director, Robert Altman. The film is not a breakthrough for Altman, but—like its radio counterpart—what A Prairie Home Companion lacks in innovation it makes up for in execution."

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) writes, "Fans of Keillor and those of Altman will appreciate the film most. The former will enjoy their weekend favorite on the big screen, and the latter will applaud veteran director Altman's return to form, as he uses his unique storytelling to mourn the passing of a gentler age." He agrees that "the country-styled tunes, some gospel-flavored, are a highlight, and the soundtrack CD will, no doubt, make good listening."

Bob Hoose (Plugged In) says it's "too bad their film's rambling vignettes climax with Lefty and Dusty's tribute to bad jokes. … A Prairie Home Companion, the movie, certainly isn't going to wreck A Prairie Home Companion, the radio show, no matter how it ends. I just wish Keillor and Co. had stuck to the show's clever commercials, Gospel greats and innocuous tales of Lake Wobegone, and left the rest backstage."

Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin (Cinema in Focus) write, "The genius of director Robert Altman's style is his ability to weave the lives of multiple people in a way that lets you experience them in both their moments of emotional struggle as well as their mundane queries about their daily lives. … Keillor's stories about life in the Midwest are Americana at its finest. These are not people who are role models for saving the world, but they have a homespun reality to them that draws you in and leaves you wishing that life were this charming."

Keillor has charmed mainstream critics as well.

More reviews of recent releases

The Omen: Bob Smithouser (Plugged In) writes, "Here and there, The Omen version 6-6-06 improves on the atmosphere of the original. European locales. Creepy art decoration. Ominous ties to current events. But beyond that, this almost literal retelling of David Seltzer's story (with much of the dialogue recycled verbatim) will join Gus Van Sant's Psycho on the ash heap of pointless horror remakes."

The Break-Up: Josh Hurst (Reveal) defends the film against its critics. "Ignore the trailers. Adjust your expectations. Put the gossip rags away. And, if a parade of Saturday Night Live-style gags or a not-so-subtle slap in the face to Brangelina is what you're after, just stay home. This isn't that kind of movie. This is something we see precious few of these days—a sour, darkly funny sex comedy that's just as painful as it is hilarious. It's lighter than Woody Allen's Match Point, but not by a lot. It's black, black comedy that tackles its subject matter with brutal seriousness."

And Andrew Coffin (World) is also pleasantly surprised. "There's a refreshing honesty to both the concept and the execution of this anti-romantic comedy. Most romantic comedies end with an emotionally satisfying but empty and ambiguous fulfillment of romantic longing. Rarely does the audience actually get to see what the happy couple will face when they live together or make some sort of long-term commitment to the relationship. … The Break-Up stands out because Gary and Brooke aren't kept apart by the whimsical hands of movieland fate, but by their own pride, selfishness, and often willful miscommunication. And they pay the consequences for their actions."

X-Men: The Last Stand: In this third episode, writes Andrew Coffin (World), "the series sinks into overblown, special-effects-laden silliness. This X-Men … also boosts the sexual content and bad language, making the film less appropriate for the teenage boys to whom it primarily caters."

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