The summer movie season, up until now, has been a complete and utter disappointment. Movies that were supposed to bring in big bucks at the box office have failed to do so, and the reason isn't the economy, it's that Hollywood has put out a lot of garbage. However, every summer has at least one guaranteed bright spot in the latest offering from Pixar. In the past two years Pixar has released 2 movies that currently reside in my top 10 movies of all time (a list which is always subject to change.) Part of the reason that I love these two movies ("Up" and "Wall-E") was due to how fresh they felt. So, I was hesitant when I heard that Pixar was heading back to the well and making "Toy Story 3." Don't get me wrong, I love the first two movies, but they don't hold a candle to their most recent offerings.
For me, "Toy Story 3" is really two separate films. The first 80 minutes and then the last 10. The first part of "Toy Story 3" truly felt like we were returning to a world we were familiar with and even covered a similar journey to what we had in the second movie, but this time everyone was learning the lesson that Woody had already learned about being there for Andy. Since we're not learning anything knew there, we only have the journey to look at. Fortunately, they do a terrific job of this. The new additions of Big Baby, Ken and Lotso fit in well with our old favorites. The jokes are sharp, the action crisp and the joy plentiful. However, by the end, when the toys are getting back into the box for the attic, I was starting to feel empty. I went on a journey with these characters but I didn't go anywhere new. They would just be stored in the attic where Pixar can pull them out and dust them off when they wanted to get a large haul at the box office. Then the last 10 minutes happened and changed everything.
When I was younger I played with my toys, exactly like Andy played with his. I used my imagination and came up with long, complicated stories that played out from the sanctuary of my bedroom with my toys as the starring characters. So saying that I can sympathize with Andy when it comes to saying goodbye to those friends is an understatement. Add this feeling to the journey I had already taken with the Toy Story characters and the feeling displayed by the toys of just wanting to be played with having been established throughout the movie and the entire end sequence had me balling in my chair and on the way out of the theater.
This movie proved beyond a doubt that you can always count on Pixar to give you something magical at the theater. The movie gets 4 and 1/2 out of 5 stars.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
The Oscar Project Part VII - It Happened One Night
Released in 1934, "It Happened One Night" is the seventh winner of the Best Picture Oscar. It is also the first romantic comedy to win the coveted prize. It is most notable for being the first of only three films to win the big five awards. That means it won Best Writing, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Picture. The film starred Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, and directed by Frank Capra. So to say expectations were high would be an understatement.
The actual plot and script of the film just does not hold up to today's standards for a romantic comedy. There were moments that were great but a lot of the film felt as though it was just wandering aimlessly. The romantic comedies of today need more plot, more characters and more laughs. However, being one of the very first romantic comedies, it does a pretty good job of keeping an audience entertained.
Most romantic comedies live and die by the chemistry of the two leads, and this movie is no different. But due to the era when the film was made, the chemistry had to be seen but limited. Fortunately, the acting in this film was amazing. There is a reason why these two are considered legendary actors and this movie is a great example of everything that they are capable of.
The last piece I want to talk about is the directing. Upon first glance there doesn't seem to be much to it. There are no epic battle scenes or even great scenic shots. But, Capra was able to use his actors and use the script to show a chemistry that back then could not be shown the way it is shown now. Looking at it in this light, you can see how truly amazing the directing is.
While the movie does show its age, it was still a very good movie and gets 4 out of 5 stars.
The actual plot and script of the film just does not hold up to today's standards for a romantic comedy. There were moments that were great but a lot of the film felt as though it was just wandering aimlessly. The romantic comedies of today need more plot, more characters and more laughs. However, being one of the very first romantic comedies, it does a pretty good job of keeping an audience entertained.
Most romantic comedies live and die by the chemistry of the two leads, and this movie is no different. But due to the era when the film was made, the chemistry had to be seen but limited. Fortunately, the acting in this film was amazing. There is a reason why these two are considered legendary actors and this movie is a great example of everything that they are capable of.
The last piece I want to talk about is the directing. Upon first glance there doesn't seem to be much to it. There are no epic battle scenes or even great scenic shots. But, Capra was able to use his actors and use the script to show a chemistry that back then could not be shown the way it is shown now. Looking at it in this light, you can see how truly amazing the directing is.
While the movie does show its age, it was still a very good movie and gets 4 out of 5 stars.
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