Toy Story 3 Review

This summer has been movie hell. One abominable film after another- Marmaduke, Jonah Hex, Killers- all these movies are contributing to the continuing dumbing process of the American public. I predicted in my June summer movie preview post that Pixar would make a movie this summer that would be a ray of hope. I was wrong. It was a full on supernova!

Toy Story 3 is simply one of the finest films I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. When I went into the movie, I knew it was going to be good- I have never seen a Pixar film that I hated, or even disliked. Pixar is a studio that stresses painstaking quality, excellent writing, and lovable, relatable characters. I knew I was going to get this with Toy Story 3- I had grown up watching the movies hundreds of times as a kid, and I could quote many, many lines from the first film. "YOU ARE A TOY! YOU AREN'T THE REAL BUZZ LIGHTYEAR! YOU'RE-YOUR'E AN ACTION FIGURE! YOU ARE A CHILD'S PLAY THING!" "You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity!" I even could sing all the Randy Newman songs: "Oh no, it can't be true- I could fly if I wanted to. Like a bird in the sky, I believe I can fly!!!!" I remember watching in anxious delight as a child at the awesome chase scene at the end of the film where the toys had to get back in the moving truck- and I still hold to this day that sequence is one of the finest in all of filmdom. 

I went to see Toy Story 2 as a slightly older kid- I believe I was 11 or 12 when it came out- and I loved it just as much. Who can forget the awesome Buzz vs. Zurk fight sequence in the elevator? Or when the film attempts to outdo the original by having a chase-recovery scene with an airplane? Or the introduction of Mrs. Potato head? Wayne Knight as "Al" of "Al's Toy Barn"? Man, WHAT A GOOD MOVIE!

So, with me having watched both films at one time or another over the past 15 years and continuing to love them, I knew I was going to love Toy Story 3. I knew I was possibly in for a fun, light-hearted adventure full of amazing CGI and "Golly-bob-howdys" from the Slinky dog character. I did get these elements, but I also got a lot of dark, adult themes.

The premise of Toy Story 3 is that the toy's owner, Andy, is moving away to college. Over the years, Andy has grown older, and as it happens with children who grow older, he doesn't really play with his toys anymore.

      

Wow, look at how grown up he is! Anyway, Andy's mom comes in and says she is gonna throw out all the toys if Andy doesn't pack them up or donate them. I don't want to spoil the movie, but through a series of wacky mishaps the toys end up at a day care center. That's when things start getting dark. I will not ruin the rest of the movie for you, but I will discuss some of the themes in the film that stood out to me, and insert some examples when necessary.

The film deals with themes of growing up, abandonment, loss, death, and the attachment we as humans get for  inanimate objects from our childhood. At one point in the film, *SPOILER* Andy decides that he wants to keep his toys, even though he doesn't play with them anymore. To him, they represent his childhood- a golden, idealized age of existence for us all where the fun never ends and there are no responsibilities. I myself could really relate to this scene- Even though I don't play with my old toys anymore, I've kept them all. There has been time after time where my Mom has brought my brother and I up to my room and said "Alright, let's go through these toys and decide which ones we're giving to the thrift store" And time after time, nothing gets donated to the thrift store. My brother and I associate those toys with the endless imaginative fun we had with them as children. *END SPOILER*

The film could even be said to have themes of questioning one's faith. *SPOILER* Throughout the film, the toys are constantly questioning if their "Owner" loves them anymore. They question the point of their existence- Are they just pieces of plastic, or do they serve a greater purpose? At one point in the film, the villain, Lot-So-Huggin Bear, states "YOU ARE TRASH!" and a little bit later, as he is about to effectively "end" a toy's life, he states "WHERE IS YOUR KID NOW?!" Symbolism, much? While it is most likely that I am reading too much into these scenes in the movie, the themes are still very adult and could raise some interesting discussions between friends, family and children that see the movie.*END SPOILER*

I have read somewhere that some people even consider the movie an extended metaphor for the afterlife- *SPOILER* The room where the toys are tortured and beaten by the toddlers is a kind of purgatory- The Lotso-Bear character even states that every toy must go through the room in order to get to another room with the older children where the toys are played with nicely. The garbage incinerator that the toys descend towards at the end of the film is an obvious metaphor for hell. Now you may think I am going too far- "IT'S TOY STORY, IT'S NOT DANTE'S INFERNO!"-and maybe I am. But again, it's just something interesting to think about.

Aside from all the dark themes, there were plenty of great moments: *SPOILER* The return of the aliens and "The claaaaaaw". The truly EPIC imagination sequence at the beginning of the movie. Mr. Potato Head as a tortilla. The Totoro (a character from a Hayao Miyazaki anime film) cameo. Spanish-speaking Buzz Lightyear. The hideous old baby toy character, complete with half opened eye. Randy Newman music. The stylistic Lotso Bear flashback scene. I could go on! *END SPOILER*

I have always loved children's movies that have dark themes. Among some of my favorite movies growing up were The Brave Little Toaster, Aladdin, Babe, The Lion King, and Pinnochio. All of these movies have very dark moments- Toaster is dark throughout and has the same themes of affection for inanimate objects that Toy Story 3 has. Alladin has the whole Jafar turning into a giant, demonic snake thing. Babe has the killing of Babe's mother at the beginning of the film. The Lion King has the death of Mufasa. Pinnochio has the whole nightmare section on "Pleasure Island" (I read the actual book the film was based on as a kid, and it was even more terrifying). I read somewhere that children have two big emotions- happiness and fear- and that is why good children's movie have these themes. 

Go see Toy Story 3. If you don't like this movie, I can say in all confidence that you are a soulless wraith and have the movie taste of a sea slug. Except for that sea slug that showed me Eraserhead. He had good movie taste.

She & Him at Millenium Park

Since I live in the fine city of Chicago, I am privy to the bounty of things to do here. Yesterday, Millenium Park offered a free concert by the band She & Him. I have listened to She & Him before, but I couldn't really get into their first album, Volume One. I found it slow and boring- I like Zooey Deschanel's voice, but there were some songs that just kept going, and going, and going, and going until I wanted to fall asleep. It had some songs that I really liked, like I Was Made For You, but other than that I found it quite unremarkable. I really enjoy their new album, Volume Two. She & Him add more indie-pop, upbeat sounds to this album that will be stuck in your head for days, and this is most evidenced in the song In the Sun. But I didn't write this blog to review She & Him albums, I wrote it to show you the awesome pictures and video I got!

Full House!

The band from a distance (Who the heck is the guy with the dorky grin in the center?)

This train of hipsters and I managed to push and dance our way to the very front of the stage.

Were getting closer....

Holy crap she can play piano!

By this point I had managed to muscle my way to the very front of the stage...

The best shot I managed to get...every indie guy's dream!

Here's the video I got!

All in all, it was a great night!

Summer Movie Preview: June

It seems June is already upon us, and with that comes more awful movies. Last night, I was dragged to see Splice with a few friends. When I watched the previews for Splice, I thought "That is precisely the kind of movie I would never want to see". But I saw it? How? I will never know. Suffice to say, it has one of the weirdest scenes I have ever seen in a movie. And it involves Adrian Brody and carnal activity, so you might need a doggy bag while watching it. That's all I'm saying, ON TO THE MOVIES!


Marmaduke

This movie existing is proof that there is an evil, nefarious being known as Satan who is plotting our demise. You thought that he would do it through war, or plague, or widespread debauchery, but in secret he is plotting it through Marmaduke. How many poorly animated CGI dogs must studios perpetrate upon the American public? When I saw the trailer for Beverly Hills Chihuahua a couple of years ago, I thought it was the equivalent of movie anthrax, but Marmaduke skips the whole slowly dying of a virus part and opts for scorched earth tactics. HA HA FARTING ANIMALS! PEEING ANIMALS! ANIMALS ON SURFBOARDS AND HUMAN TRANSPORTATION! Get it? It's funny because animals do gross bodily functions at inappropriate times! It's also funny because dogs don't get on surfboards, and the absurdity is AWESOME! Also, I am mandating that Owen Wilson should only be in Wes Anderson movies. When I watch him in non-Wes Anderson movies, he becomes the cinematic equivalent of an Afghan blanket on a 90 degree night. That is, HE IS COMPLETELY UNBEARABLE. Enough.

The A-Team

I know what you're thinking. "Heh-heh. I'm seeing this movie no question. It's based on the EFFING A-TEAM. That show was awesome, c'mon, it had MR. T in it! And Murdoch!" SHUTUP. I never found The A-Team entertaining in the least. In fact, I have never found any hour-long action show from the 70's entertaining. There seems to be some unspoken rule amongst people that The A-Team is one of those shows that EVERYONE likes because of its kitsch value. Everyone knows the show sucks, but they like it anyway and find it cool. I watched an episode of The A-Team once, and thought "Hey, I could have cut the lawn. Or cleaned the shower. Or eaten leftover Hamburger Helper from last week, because all of these things are more interesting than this show" Now you're gonna say "PIXELATEDCYNIC, YOU'RE A DOUCHEBAG! I USED TO WATCH THAT SHOW WITH MY UNCLE!" To which I say, your Uncle is a lazy man that should have brought you to get ice cream. Wow, I am rambling. As for the actual movie, I will PASS PASS PASS on it. Which brings me to another rant. Why is Liam Neeson settling for sub-par action movies these days? He used to be a respectable actor being in movies like Schindler's List and Les Miserables. Now he's in Taken (which was ok, but not Liam Neeson Material), Clash of the Titans, and The A-Team. It makes me sad when I see once-great actors settle for this stuff. Also, this movie stars the guy I found to be an absolute A-HOLE in The Hangover. You know, the guy that was always telling people to calm down because he's been in wacky situations before so he knows what to do? You know, the guy who you wanted to hit the whole movie? DONE.

Get Him to the Greek

I love Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Superbad, Knocked Up, Pineapple Express and basically anything that Judd Apatow has produced. Suffice to say then I will enjoy this movie. The combination of Jonah Hill and Russel Brand spells comic gold to me. Now someone PLEASE TELL ME WHY I PASSED ON THIS MOVIE LAST NIGHT TO SEE "SPLICE"? 

The Karate Kid

NO. 

Jonah Hex

I like Westerns. I like supernatural fiction. I like graphic novels. Jonah Hex, in its original form, is a combination of all of these. I am really on the fence about this movie. It has a really interesting plot and main character, but I have become the battered wife who has had enough to comic-based movies lately. That is, I have had enough long, miserable nights at the movie theater with the likes of Xmen Origins: Wolverine, The Fantastic Four, Spiderman 2, 3, and Iron Man. Comic-book movies are where I am most cynical. I hate 98% of them. Because of this, I am not getting my hopes up for this movie at all.

Grown Ups

If you see this movie, you are a fool. I can just imagine what the studio execs said when they pitched this idea. "HEY GUYS. CHRIS ROCK, ADAM SANDLER, DAVID SPADE, KEVIN JAMES, AND ROB SCHNEIDER ARE FUNNY (sic). IF WE COMBINE THEM ALL IN A WACKY MOVIE ABOUT HOW ADULTHOOD SUCKS, PEOPLE WILL LOVE IT! WHO'S WITH ME?"

I've had it! Why do studios continue to mix comics who all have different styles of humor? Chris Rock's style of humor is in no way like Adam Sandler's. Kevin James style of humor is based around him looking beaten and worn down when people make fun of his weight (read: he's not funny). David Spade's style of humor involves him being snarky and annoying. Rob Schneider is a genetic experiment gone wrong that should never have seen the light of day. And yet you all are going to see this movie, and it will make a ton of money. WHY?!

Toy Story 3

Pixar movies are the heroes that save the day during the summer. Here's the scenario: You're on a battlefield, and all of your fellow soldiers have been killed off or injured. Your surrounded by The Prince of Persia, Marmaduke, Shrek 4, Splice, Grown Ups, and The A-Team, all pointing rifles at you. Suddenly, Toy Story 3 bursts upon the scene and takes them all out, ninja style, with nothing other than it's fists. You've suffered through a lot this summer, but the Pixar movie redeemed it all. That is how Toy Story 3 will be. Anyone that does not like the Toy Story movies is probably either the Devil or a lifeform from another planet where happiness is not an emotion. I cannot wait to see this movie.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I can't take this anymore! Leave your dumb comments telling me how much my opinion sucks below. 

I am seeing this movie

The film in question here is Scott Pilgrim vs. The World:



Michael Cera? Jason Schwartzmann? Anna Kendrick? Kieran Culkin? SOLD. These three people are individuals I wouldn't mind hanging out with in real life, and that's saying something. Also, the film is based on a critically acclaimed graphic novel series that I have yet to read. If you watched the trailer above, you'll understand the plot- a stylized, manga/anime and video game influenced take on romance. This is right up my alley. It looks like I have my work cut out for me, as I must now read all 6 graphic novels. I can't wait, and expect a review of the graphic novels if I track them down. Also, my June summer preview should be here within the next couple of posts. Look forward to more cynicism.