Podcast: Lightyear & Prey

Lightyear & Prey

Greetings, programs, and welcome to another episode of the Awesome Friday Podcast. This week we’re talking about two new Disney releases: First, the latest Pixar Studios animated feature, Lightyear, followed by Prey director Dan Trachtenberg’s prequel to to the 1980s action horror classic Predator.

There are streaming links powered by JustWatch a little further down this page, and the episode should be live wherever you listen to podcasts (including on this page) now.

Join us!

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Review: ‘Monsters at Work’ is exactly the continuation this franchise needs

Monsters at Work

Ok, this is where I make a confession: I’ve never really liked Monsters Inc. I get why the people who love it love it, but I never have. I never watched Monsters University because the world doesn’t hold a lot of interest for me.

When I heard about Monsters at Work I thought that television might actually be the perfect place for a franchise like this. A workplace comedy about monsters in the laugh factory is probably the best possible way to explore these characters and this world. It turns out that’s probably true, even if it’s not for me.

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Review: ‘Luca’ is all about the power of friendship

Luca

Disney and Pixar have a long track record of making movies about fish out of water characters. You know the story, a shy or sheltered child who longs to explore meets another child who is out in the world and shows them things they could never imagine until they have a falling out, only to reconcile and have a happy ending.

Luca, the latest film from Pixar, is very much a film that, in the broad strokes, you’ve seen before. In the details though, you are going to find that Pixar warmth, charm, and heart.

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Review: ‘Soul’ cements Pete Docter as one of our great storytellers

Soul

Pete Docter is one of the best directors of animated features working today. That might sound like hubris, but it isn’t. Each of his films is adorable, approachable, and visually stunning enough to warrant the praise, but each also has a core of love and acceptance that makes them universal. The marriage montage in Up! or the simple truth that sadness plays a key roll in our lives from Inside Out, Docter makes movies that tell truths.

Soul, his latest film, is no different.

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Disney delays ‘Black Widow’, ‘Death on the Nile’, ‘West Side Story’, ‘Eternals’, and a slew of others

Black Widow / Death on the Nile / West Side Story

Well, I guess we know the outcome of Disney’s “let’s release Mulan to Disney+ for a premium price” experiment now. The House of Mouse has shuffled nearly their entire release slate with most major tentpole films headed into 2021.

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‘Inside Out’ Trailer: Pixar Latest Is Highly Emotional

Inside Out

Most people have an opinion regarding Pixar these days and usually that opinion is either “still the best animation house” or “I wish they’d get back to original stories”. For those of you in that latter camp here’s some good news: Pixar’s latest film is an original story set inside the mind if a 11 year old girl. Let’s watch a trailer!

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Watch This: [the films of] Series by Kees van Dijkhuizen Jr

[the films of]

It’s come to my attention that many of you haven’t seen the [the films of] series of videos I mentioned yesterday when I posted about the _[Insight: Derek Cianfrance](https://awesomefriday.ca/2014/03/awesome-insight-derek-cianfrance-examines-the-directors-voice/?preview=true)_ video. This is something that needs to be corrected, so here is a playlist of the entire series.

Released over the course of 2011 each video profiles a different director and manages to distill that directors voice into something pretty special. The entire playlist is around 35 minutes long so set aside some time and watch the whole thing. It’s pretty amazing.

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Awesome: Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling

22 Rules

This is seriously awesome. Former Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats ([here’s her twitter])(https://twitter.com/lawnrocket)) tweeted 22 things she’d learned from her senior colleagues about how to tell good stories. It’s a pretty amazing list on it’s own, and now Imgur user DinoIgnacio has set them against still from Pixar movies. Hit the jump to see them and be inspired.

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