Inception

Inception, from the complex mind of Christopher Nolan, is an original story and the film that many seemed to be counting on to redeem a summer of (mostly) less than stellar movies.

Inception takes place in a world where entering someone else's dreams is a somewhat common occurrence, using technology developed by the military for training purposes.  Dom (Leonardo DiCaprio) is one of the best at what he does - entering dreams for the purpose of extracting sensitive information.  He, along with his team of Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) the researcher, Ariadne (Ellen Page) the dreamworld architect, Eames (Tom Hardy) the forger, Yusef (Dileep Rao) the chemist are about to embark on an even more difficult mission - that of inception, or the planting of an idea is someone's mind.  Dom is desperately trying to make it back home, but is unable to because of false criminal charges.  He hopes that his powerful new client Saito (Ken Watanabe) can deliver on his promise to make this obstacle disappear should Dom and his team complete the nearly impossible.  The target is Robert (Cillian Murphy), heir to his father's (Pete Postlethwaite) empire that Saito wants broken up.  Marion Cotillard also appears as Dom's deceased wife whose memory haunts haunts him, and Michael Caine makes an appearance as her father.

Confused yet?  You're not alone, though Nolan has a unique talent for creating complex, intricate, and confusing stories that can be understood in a straightforward manner as long as you pay attention, as he did in Memento and The Prestige.  Inception has the multi-level complexity of Primer, but with one important difference.  Normal people can understand it.  Inception hits that near perfect balance of acting, story telling, action, and visual candy.  Free to work in a Matrix-like dreamworld, Nolan shows considerable restraint, keeping things relatively realistic despite the fantastic nature of the story.  The action is tense and almost non-stop, whether it is physical fire fights, or mental anguish.  DiCaprio gives a strong performance as does Gordon-Levitt.  I can only hope we see him again soon as Nolan's Riddler.

It's hard to discuss more of why this movie works without giving away key elements, but trust me, it does.  In lesser hands, something like this could have caved in on itself, but Nolan and his cast deliver.  The ending is what most people will be talking about as Nolan has constructed this movie in such a way that there are many possible interpretations, including that the entire movie is actually a dream.  For those who have seen it, my opinion is that the ending is as straightforward as you hope and that the final wavering doubt at the end was planted there by Nolan as a nod to his own creation of inception, planting that seed of doubt in the viewer's mind until it grows, making you question what you thought you knew was real, even though it is.

See this movie.  Please.

***** (5/5 stars)

The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones is the Peter Jackson film adaptation of Alice Sebold's 2002 novel of the same name.  The book received much critical praise and quickly became a best seller and it seemed that handing it over to one of the more accomplished directors of recent time could only produce something good.

Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan who needs to shake the curse of poorly adapted novels) is a vibrant 14 year old girl who is just starting to come into herself when she is lured away by her neighbor Mr Harvey (an unusually hairy Stanley Tucci) and brutally murdered.  After coming to grips with the fact that she is dead, Susie watches from her Heaven-like place as her family deals with her death and searches for her murderer.  Her father (Mark Wahlberg who is looking more and more like Kevin Bacon) tirelessly searches for any lead to find his daughter's killer causing him to lose touch with her mother (Rachel Weisz) who leaves in search of some sort of peace.  Her alcoholic grandmother (Susan Sarandon) arrives to take care of her younger sister Lindsey (Rose McIver) and little brother Buckley (Christian Thomas Ashdale).

For all the faults this movie exhibits, the worst is time management.  This is - in true Jackson spirit - a longer than average film.  The problem this time is that perhaps half of that time could have been cut without leaving anything out.  It takes over half an hour for the main point of the story to even occur, that is, Susie's death.  It's another thirty minutes or so before anything really happens in regards to anyone tracking down Harvey or even beginning to suspect him.  From reading the description of novel, it seems like the material was there to be a good story, but it just wasn't used very well.  One would think that with his experience with The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson would know how to respect source material without making many changes, but this is not the case.

Besides the length, even more drawn out by uses of ethereal slow motion, the story just doesn't make a whole lot of sense at times, being meaning-laden images that probably make sense to those who made them.  Susie's afterlife world is like something out of Dr. Parnassus's Imaginarium, only more hokey and less inspiring.  Also, as she finds her Heaven populated with only Harvey's other victims, one wonders how lonely other heavens must be for non-serial killer victims.  Little is explained in way of how or why Susie was killed and we are left to infer that Harvey was a creep of some kind.  Duh. 

Without giving much away, the ending is one of the less satisfying I have ever seen, and strangest.  The only thing we're left with is some kind of sense that Susie is happier now that she's dead, which seems an odd message.  The Lovely Bones was apparently a very good book.  What we're given here is a movie that changes the pacing, leaves out events, and sucks time down a slow drain with needless scenes.  There are some grand ideas and visuals, but none connect.

** (2/5 stars)

Ghost Town

British comedian Ricky Gervais makes his feature film debut with this fantasy/romantic dramady.

Bertram Pincus (Gervais) is a real sour puss of a dentist who can't stand people, including fellow dentist Dr. Prashar (Aasif Mandvi), or much else for that matter.  During a routine medical procedure for which he requests general anesthesia something out of the ordinary happens.  According to the surgeon (the perpetually weird Kristen Wiig), he died - just a little bit.  After his brush with death, everything goes back to normal except for one thing.  He can see ghosts.

Being the only living person they can talk to, these ghosts (including Alan Ruck) who have not moved on, have a lot to ask of him.  In particular, Frank (Greg Kinnear), whose ironic death came at a very inconvenient time for him, wants Pincus' help in stopping his wife (Téa Leoni) from marrying another jerk (Billy Campbell).  With little choice in the matter, Pincus reluctantly obliges and in the process finds himself falling in love for the first time.

For a rather original plot, it feels like it's already been done.  The ghost aspect is somewhat pushed to the side in favor of the romantic interaction of the leads.  Even though Frank is around much of the movie, I kind of forget that he's a ghost.  He's just an annoying guy that only Pincus can see.  Gervais is a bit out of place here, being the only Brit in the New York setting.  It wouldn't be hard to imagine that his portrayed annoyance is actually annoyance and bewilderment of being transplanted out of the UK and into Hollywood.  His jokes and mannerisms are distinctly British and clash with the rest of the movie - which actually works much of the time, but not always.  The story itself is pretty standard fare once the fantastical elements are removed.

There are definitively some very funny parts, and a few touching scenes, but nothing to lift Ghost Town above average.

*** (3/5 stars)

Despicable Me

Despicable Me is a film that continues an encouraging trend - Studios other than Pixar creating computer animated movies actually worth watching.  Currently dominating the box office, a sequel is already being planned. The movie features the impressive lineup of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, and Miranda Cosgrove.

Despicable Me is about one of the world's super villains, Gru (Carell with an unusual accent) and his quest to become the greatest villain of all time to avoid fading into obscurity, to outdo young newcomer Vector (Segel), and make his mother (Andrews) proud.  The plan?  To steal the moon.  Why?  Because it's the biggest thing he can think of to steal, and he really likes the moon.  How?  With the help of his elderly friend Dr. Nefario (Brand) and hundreds of little yellow pill shaped Oompa Loompas Minions.  When the President of the Bank of Evil (Arnett) - who bares an amazing resemblance to Dilbert's pointy haired boss - refuses him a loan he gets creative. To make the plan work, he adopts a young trio of orphaned girls, Margo (Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Elsie Fisher the wide eyed girl from the Chevy Traverse commercial) from evil Miss Hattie's (Wiig) home for girls.  In the course of things, though, is it possible that the evil Gru will have his heart changed by these sweet children?  Of course.

Overall, it is a sweet and predictable children's movie with some great gags thrown in.  The characters are just so likable and creative, however, that it still succeeds on a level higher than a heartwarming electronic babysitter.  None of the actors are really doing their typical shtick, and it's likely that you won't even recognize them if you don't know who they are before hand.  The Minions are easily one of the highlights of the movie and it is easy to see how they could get their own spin off, as they apparently are.

Not my favorite movie, or even the best animated film of the year (I think Toy Story 3 takes that one), but not bad at all.

**** (4/5 stars)

Mary and Max

Mary and Max is a recent claymation endeavor hailing from the land down under.  I was intrigued by the first trailer I saw and knew that I would have to watch it when it came to DVD.  Currently it is available for instant streaming via Netflix so it was quite convenient to do so.  With an impressive 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has been well received by critics and has been the most successful all Aussie film in recent times.

We are first introduced to Mary Daisy Dinkle (Toni Collette) as an awkward eight year old living in a small Australian town with her consistently tipsy mother and father who spends most his time in the shed, stuffing road kill.  Curious to find out whether babies are found at the bottom of beer glasses in America, the same place they come from in Australia, she writes to the first American her finger lands on in the phone book.  A little while later, her letter reaches Max Jerry Horowitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an overweight, 44 year old atheistic Jewish man with Aspergers who lives in New York City.  And so an unusual friendship is born.

The story is told mostly through the two characters' letters and the narration of Barry Humphries.  Aesthetically and thematically I would make some comparisons to early Tim Burton as well as Roald Dahl.  Though featuring a young child and being an animated film, this is not for children.  There are a number of very dark themes explored, such as depression, suicide, alcoholism, mental breakdowns, and neglect.  There are also a number of distinctly adult situations.  Despite the dark content and color pallet, this is a disturbing but cute story.  Eric Bana also appears as Damien, Mary's eventual romantic interest.

This movie doesn't have a distinct plot, but is instead a touching tale of two people struggling through life and learning from each other.  In the same way that The Miracle Maker succeeded, it is easy to forget that you are watching lumps of clay, as the stop motion figures become more human than most human actors.  There is a comedic overtone throughout the movie, though it is usually of the darker variety.  For example, a running theme is how Max's many fish meet their unfortunate demise, one after another.

In many ways, Mary and Max is depressing and does not have a traditional happy ending, but it is too good to pass up.

***** (5/5 stars)

Extraordinary Measures

Extraordinary Measures is based on the true story of John and Aileen Crowley (Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell) who have two children dying of the rare genetic disorder Pompe's disease.  It was adapted from the obscenely long titled book The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million--and Bucked the Medical Establishment--in a Quest to Save His Children " by Geeta Anand.

The Crowley's are facing the inevitable as their children Megan (Meredith Droeger) and Patrick (Diego Velazquez) approach the end of their ropes.  At eight and six, they were already much older than most with Pompe, though apparently their ages were exaggerated in the movie.  Desperate for a miracle, John reaches out to Dr. Stonehill (Harrison Ford), a university researcher whose theories seem to hold the most promise for saving the lives of his children.  Dr. Stonehill, however, is a cantankerous old SOB who likes to do things his own way and doesn't play with others.  I don't think I've seen Harrison Ford yell so much in one movie before.

The drama plays out, intertwining family, medical, and business drama into a dramatic series of events as they form a new company, make deals with big research labs, race against the clock, and teach an old dog new tricks - dramatically.

Despite being based on real life events, this movie plays out - for the most part - in a rather predictable manner, feeling a bit scripted.  Maybe that is Brendan Fraser's fault.  No matter what I see him in, I think ape man and can't take him seriously.  Though he was good in Scrubs.  Harrison Ford is perfect as a grumpy old man, probably because he's starting to turn into one in real life.  The movie also gives us a look at the unfeeling politics behind big medical corporations by using phrases like "acceptable death rate."

Overall this is an OK, middle of the road, feel good drama with some preachiness on what is really important.  And Harrison Ford turns out to have a heart after all.

*** (3/5 stars)

The Day the Earth Stood Still

I've still never seen the 1951 classic, but did finally get around to watching the more recent remake starring Keanu Reeves.

Klaatu (Reeves) is an alien sent to Earth, along with a deadly robot called G.O.R.T, to gather the verdict on whether or not the planet should be rescued from the human population and to exact judgment based on that verdict.  Instead of making contact with the humans who might actually discuss this situation, he is nearly killed by the military and taken into custody by a rather idiotic and pompous secretary of defense (Kathy Bates).  Luckily Dr. Benson (Jennifer Connelly) is there to defy her superiors because - well, I don't think a real reason was ever given, something about being compassionate and believing the alien from outer space when he said he needed to talk to someone who would listen.

Dr. Benson and her son (Jaden Smith) soon become fugitives as they drive Klaatu around through the woods, stopping randomly to get some sort of advice from some sort of mathematician or scientist played by John Cleese just because.


The original movie resonated with the audience with it's themes of peace and the improvement and hope of humanity.  This update shoehorns those sentiments into today's issues, throwing in a reference to Iraq for good measure.  Reeves nails the part of an emotionless alien to no big surprise.  None of the other actors were particularly memorable, though Smith shows that he has more than just his father's name.  Unfortunately his character is written in completely unbelievable way jumping back and forth from one emotion to another and generally not acting like a real person.

The special effects are, for the most part, eye candy, but the rest of the film is like a plain cracker - nothing to really sink your teeth into.  It doesn't really feel like much effort was put into making this movie.  Remakes can be good, but not this time.

** (2/5 stars)

Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki's Delivery Service is the fourth film by the Japanese master of animation, Hayao Miyazaki.  This is the coming of age tale of a 13 year old witch, Kiki (Kirsten Dunst in the more recent Disney dub) as she leaves home for a year of training with no one but her cat Jiji (Phil Hartman, who was murdered by his wife shortly after) to keep her company.

Training apparently means going off to find a place for yourself in the world, not studying with a master, Yoda style.  After some travel by broom and train, Kiki finds herself in a pleasant - if a bit confusing - seaside town.  No one seems incredibly surprised by the sight of a young girl flying on a broom, though most are duly impressed.  In exchange for helping out in her bakery, Kiki is given a place to stay by Mrs. Osono (Tress MacNeille).  She experiences some trials and tribulations as she is (somewhat romantically) pursued by young aviation enthusiast, Tombo (Matthew Lawrence), starts a delivery by broomstick service to make a living, and symbolically faces a temporary loss of her abilities a la Peter Parker.  She also meets a couple of eccentric old women (Debbie Reynolds and Edie McClurg) who seem to have some connection to witches that is never explained, and wise hippy girl (Janeane Garofalo).

I am usually a big fan of Miyazaki, but this movie has proven the exception.  There is not that much that actually happens, there is very little conflict, and little plot.  The characters are simply not strong enough, in my opinion, to carry the film by themselves.  I think the film may have more impact in Japanese culture as it explores the conflict of independence and reliance of others facing young Japanese women.  I suppose to truly judge it I should watch the original Japanese version, though from what I've read, even the subtitles are not completely accurate and I don't speak Japanese.  Even so, there were very few changes made, mostly to make it sit better on the American pallet.

I do get the film - Kiki is trying to find who she is and gain confidence in that person as well as decide what is important to her as she grows up and matures.  I get it, I just didn't like it all that much.  I can strongly recommend any other Miyazaki film, but this one falls a bit short for me.

*** (3/5 stars)

The Princess and the Frog

Incredibly hyped as Disney's return to hand drawn animation as well as the introduction of the first black Disney princess, The Princess and the Frog is a jazz infused New Orleans retelling of the classic fairy tale.

Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) is a 19 year old girl in 1920's New Orleans.  Trying to to fulfill her late father's (Terrence Howard) dream of opening a restaurant with her mother (Oprah Winfrey), she spends most of her time working and saving.  As thing look like they are finally falling into place, smooth talking prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) shows up in hopes of marrying into money - Tiana's rich friend Lottie La Bouff (Jennifer Cody) - after his parents cut him off.  He's accompanied by his bitter servant Lawrence (Peter Bartlett).  Voodoo baddie The Shadow Man (Keith David) sees opportunity and tuns Naveen into a frog for his own evil plans.  Naveen convinces Tiana to give him a kiss, but the expected result is not to be found.  Instead, there are now two frogs off on a madcap adventure where they meet a hillbilly firefly (Jim Cummings), a jazz loving gator (Michael-Leon Wooley), and a blind voodoo priestess (Jenifer Lewis) who has a pet snake who looks like every other Disney snake.  John Goodman and Randy Newman also have cameo parts as Lottie's Big Daddy and cousin Randy the firefly.

Despite all the hype and the attempt at making this a unique and  fresh approach to a classic fairy tale (which it was to some degree), this film comes off feeling a bit stale.  The songs lack a bit of energy and feel somewhat familiar but not in a good way.  The big villain number near the beginning of the movie is oddly reminiscent of Aladdin's "Friend Like Me" and is nowhere as powerful as The Lion King's "Be Prepared," or as frightening as The Little Mermaid's "Poor Unfortunate Souls."  Speaking of frightening - sometimes this film seems to have an identity crisis, forgetting that it is G rated.  The Shadow King is visually disturbing - though fascinatingly so - and one of the characters dies a violent, sudden death for no apparent reason.

The characters, while in a different setting than any other Disney film, feel and look all too familiar and are filled with a constant energy that is a little annoying.  The plot is also predictable and I never felt much attachment to any of the characters.

When it comes down too it, Disney is trying too hard to be both fresh and original while going back to the roots of what made people love Disney in the first place.  A valiant goal, but the result is that it doesn't quite make it on either front.

Verdict:  A solid film that any child should enjoy as long as they are not easily frightened, but not the revolution promised.

*** (3/5 stars)

The Truman Show

An old favorite of mine, this movie is a bit odd, just how I like them.  Following such modern slapstick comedies as Liar Liar, The Mask, and the Ace Ventura movies, The Truman Show, from '94, is the first foray into something a bit more serious for Jim Carrey - something that he has continued with in later movies such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  Like Eternal Sunshine, though this is something of a serious movie, it seriously straddles the bizarre fence.

Truman (Carrey) is more or less your average guy, or so he thinks.  He lives in a small seaside town with his wife Hannah (Laura Linney), next to some friendly neighbors.  Every day he goes to work at the epitome of stereotypical average professions - selling insurance.  Whenever he's having a tough day his best friend Louis (Noah Emmerich) shows up on cue with a couple brewskies.  What he doesn't know is that his entire life is the masterpiece of director Christof (Ed Harris), broadcast live, 24 hours a day, since the moment he was born.  Everyone around him is either an actor or works on the massive set that is his life - The Truman show, perhaps the most watched television show in history.  Paul Giammati also appears as a control room director and  Harry Shearer cameos as a news anchor.  With a conspiracy of this magnitude, it is only a matter of time before Truman realizes that something is not quite Kosher.

When this movie was released, it was surely taken as extremely speculative fiction.  A voyeuristic television show into the privacy of one man's deceptive reality, financed by hilariously blatant product placements doesn't really sound that far fetched today.  While we have never had something quite so over the top and that crossed so many moral and ethical boundaries, I dare say that there have been some that have come pretty darn close.  Big Brother and Denpa Shonen come to mind.  There is certainly a bit of irony in the fact that we are watching, entertained, by this movie about exploiting a man, while rooting for him to "win" against those who are exploiting him.  The movie itself is genius on many levels and can be viewed as commentary on society, entertainment, and religion.  Christof has been paralleled with both God and Satan, and the ethical questions this movie raises are impossible to miss.

Despite the strangeness of it all, this is a movie I feel I can recommend to just about anyone.  If you have not seen it yet, you probably should.

***** (5/5 stars)

Atlantis - The Lost Empire

I was one of the few who actually watched this one when it came out in theatres.  Atlantis has long been an interest of mine, so I couldn't pass it up, even if it turned out to be bad.  Thankfully, it did not, becoming - I think - one of Disney's more original stories, even if it is one of their least remembered. 

Michael J. Fox is Milo Thatch, a young linguist who is very enthusiastic about discovering the secret of the lost city of Atlantis, fulfilling his grandfather's legacy.  Too bad for him, those around him are significantly less enthusiastic.  It seems he's out of luck until he is contacted by a mysterious millionaire who knew his grandfather - Preston B. Whitmore (John Mahoney).  In possession of the final key to the puzzle, Mr. Whitmore is interested in Milo assisting a special team in their mission to track down the lost island of Atlantis.  Yes, Mr. WidWhitmore is interested in tracking down a "lost" island in order to unlock it's secrets.

Milo joins an eclectic team of adventurers led by rough and tough Commander Rourke (James Garner) and his seductive second in command, Helga Sinclair (Claudia Christian).  Other members include Cookie the Cook (Jim Varney in his final role - the film was released after his death in 2000), Dr. Sweet (Phil Morris who's bulky animated alter ego is a bit more easy going than the fast talking lawyer on Seinfeld), Mole the geologist (Corey Burton), Vinny the demolitions expert (Don Novello), and Audrey the teenage mechanic extraordinaire (Jacqueline Obradors).  Things get complicated when they discover Atlantis, only to find it being ruled by King Spock Kashekim (Leonard Nimoy) and his daughter Princess Kida (Cree Summer) with the entire Atlantian civilization still living, though no longer thriving, beneath the ocean.

The plot is fairly standard Disney fair in some regards, but it's execution feels a bit more original.  The animation, as well, is just plain nice to look at with a vibrant art style that more closely mirrors anime than Disney. It didn't achieve instant cultural status as a Disney masterpiece, and due to the poor box office, Disney probably has it locked away in the vault that movies don't come out of every ten years or so.  Even so, it felt like it had a lot more thought behind it than many and the cast of characters is just a lot of fun to watch.  It would have been nice if it was a little longer to really develop some characters and give them a few more adventures before the satisfying ending, but it is what it is.

**** (4/5 stars)

The Shawshank Redemption

Put this one on the list of movies that I knew were good but that I had never gotten around to seeing, despite the fact that everyone else and their mother saw it years ago.  Hailing from way back in '94, this movie is based on a story by Stephen King - a fact that may seem confusing as there are no supernatural or horror elements to be found.

Tim Robbins is Andy, a banker sentenced to life in Shawshank Prison for killing his wife and her lover, despite his insistence that he is innocent.  Once inside, he finds friendship with the con-man on campus, Red (Morgan Freeman).  And so begins a very long story about the life inside a 1950's prison.

Did I mention that this is a long story?  The narrative stretches about twenty years from start to finish and Frank Darabont is in no hurry to rush through his directorial debut.  It's not the longest film I've seen, but at 2:22, it's certainly not short.  This is not, however, a negative.  The story's passage of time becomes much more real with the added length and there is enough happening that it doesn't drag.  The underlying theme throughout seems to be that of freedom - both literally and metaphorically, as Andy does everything he can to remain free, despite his imprisonment.

Despite Andy being the main character, the story is almost about Morgan Freeman's character of Red who is recounting life in prison since the time he met him.  Many of the characters introduces are rather one dimensional, but in this case I think that works.  Being in prison seems to have reduced most of the inmates to less than three dimensional beings and it is the few that the story focuses on are those who are more determined to be more than a man in prison.  Bob Gunton also stars as a suitably hateable Warden.

I thought the whole movie was quite well done.  Believable performances, fantastic pacing, an interesting plot, and an ending that avoids cheese and disappointment.  Robbins pulls off the character of a man who cannot always be perfectly predictable well, and Freeman is, as always, inspiring.

The Shawshank Redemption is easily a modern classic.  If you are like me and just haven't gotten around to seeing it yet, I would recommend you remedy this situation.

***** (5/5 stars)

Toy Story 3

Fifteen years ago, Toy Story hit the big screen.  I remember it was one of the few movies my family actually went to see in theatres.  With that film, a new era of computer animation began and Pixar introduced itself as the new studio that would quickly become a legacy with an impressive 100% track record.  A few years later, Pixar brought back the beloved toys with the first Pixar sequel.  While I don't remember Toy Story 2 as well as the first, it performed even better in the box office.  Eleven long years after that, Toy Story 3 has finally arrived - with Toy Story still being the only Pixar franchise to get a sequel (though others are in the works).

Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, John Ratzenberger (who has incidentally appeared in every one of Pixar's movies), Wallace Shawn, Jeff Pidgeon, Jodi Benson, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, and Laurie Metcalf all return to voice their characters from the previous two films.  The part of Slinky Dog is taken over by Blake Clark, friend of the late Jim Varney who originally played the part.

New additions to the already massively stellar cast include Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal, Whoopi Goldberg, Erik von Detten, and Richard Kind, among others.

Toy Story 3 acknowledges the time that has passed, with the toys' owner, Andy (Morris) now grown up and getting ready to leave for college - something that many of the original audience of Toy Story are doing or have done not too long ago.  The toys, after many years of faithful playtime, are now relegated to a perpetually closed toy box, desperate for some time with Andy before he leaves forever.  At the same time they are pondering their fate which could include years of storage in the attic, eBay, or even the trash.  The underlying theme of wanting to belong has not changed much in fifteen years, but really, what else do you think would be a pressing issue to toys?

Through a series of unfortunate events, the gang finds themselves facing a fourth option - being donated to a day care.  Though in what place a day care as elaborate as Sunnyside exists, I'm not sure.  The new place brings the introduction of a plethora of new toys including Michael Keaton as a fabulous Ken who, surprise surprise, feels automatically drawn to Barbie (Benson).  The cheerful facade, however, is deceptive  The movie which began as a drama of loss, uncertainty, and wanting to belong - with Jessie (Cusack) reliving the horrible events of her previous ownership all over again - becomes a prison escape film with hilarious as well as deadly consequences.

Pixar and the original audience has matured since '95 and this movie reflects it - in fact, at the showing I saw, probably 75% of the attendees were over 18.  It is still a children's movie, but exemplifies Pixar's ability to create adult oriented content in a way that is still enjoyable by children and can in fact be enjoyed on different levels by different people at the same time.  There is real peril show here and real emotion.  Pixar is probably the only film studio to successfully evoke tears from adults over animated toys.  Try as I might, I can't come up with a single negative thing about this movie.  I'm sure if I watched it again, scene by scene, I could come up with a few bad things to say about it, but only because nothing can ever be perfect.

The big question that everyone asks is where in the trilogy this movie ranks.  I can say easily - and I think that most will agree with me - that it is much better than the second.  The first one holds such nostalgic value that it's hard to judge it fairly, but Toy Story 3 may just manage to surpass it's grandfather, if only slightly.

Hands down this is a fantastic movie that anyone in their right mind can enjoy.  Pixar has yet to disappoint and I hope this trend continues for many more years.

***** (5/5 stars)

Shutter Island

Shutter island, directed by Martin Scorsese and based on Dennis Lehane's novel of the same name, stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a Federal Marshal, Teddy Daniels.

Teddy, along with his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo), are just arriving on Shutter Island to investigate a disappearing person from Ashecliff Hospital - a place for the criminally insane, run by Dr. Cawley (Sir Ben Kingsley) along with Leland Stottlemeyer the Warden (Ted Levine) who, clean shaven, reminds me of Robert De Niro.  From the beginning, Teddy suspects that not all is as it seems, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the patient's disappearance only strengthen his suspicions.

From the get go, Shutter Island's atmosphere is dark and it only gets darker as the story progresses.  At every turn, Teddy makes a discovery that is one more piece to the larger picture of a conspiracy.  It even seems that the conspiracy may have to do with Teddy himself.  The stakes are continually raised as Teddy finds himself on the run, trying to uncover the truth, unsure if he can even trust his partner.  The only thing that lowers the intensity a notch or two, making it more watchable, is the running time.  The movie is stretched out a little longer than many films.  Instead of the wham, bam, twist, the end, like many thrillers, this one takes the time to really play out, giving subtle hints at the end that probably are more noticeable the second time through, a la The Sixth Sense - No, Teddy is not dead.

Up until the end (and possibly even after) the viewer is tasked with sorting out the truth, just like Teddy.  Having taken too long to see this movie, by the time I did, the ending had been partially given away to me so I can not really voice an opinion on how obvious it was.  Even if it does seem obvious, however, I think there is plenty of material here to make you second guess what you think is obvious, which is a good thing, obviously.  This is not quite masterpiece quality, but it's very well done, and a good movie to boot.

**** (4/5 stars)