Toy Story 3

Having been a huge fan of the previous two installments, I had the bar set extremely high for "Toy Story 3".  So you can imagine my utter surprise when not only did this movie meet my already super-high expectations, but also surpassed them.  It's been 11 years since the first sequel in the series debuted, and roughly the same amount of time has passed in the story; Andy - owner of cowboy sherriff Woody, intergalactic space ranger Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of the loveable toy gang - is all grown-up and heading off to college.  Woody and the other toys are all nervous about their impending fate now that their owner is leaving them behind... will they be mercifully placed in the attic in the hopes that they will be played with again someday in the future, or (gulp) be kicked to the curb and end up at the local dump, unwanted and unloved?  Through a series of accidents and misunderstandings, Andy's toys get donated to Sunnyside daycare center where they meet a lots o'huggin' bear named Lotso who runs the joint.  Lotso welcomes the new tenants with a southern drawl and gentlemanly hospitality so Andy's toys think they have hit the jackpot, but all is not as it seems.  Meanwhile, Woody is torn between his loyalty to Andy (he is the lone dissenting voice who thinks the toys should return home to Andy instead of selfishly staying at the daycare center just so they can be played with again) and his own desire to be loved by a child again.  There are some deep emotional issues going on here: loneliness, abandonment, loyalty, and despair.  The story works because we are deeply invested in these characters.  They may be made of plastic and cloth, but they made me feel and care for them just as much, if not more, than most flesh and blood characters.  It's that mixture and balance of comedic elements and stunning visuals for the kid set, and complex feelings and conflicts that adults can appreciate, that make these movies so accessible and endearing.  I attribute it to the magic of Pixar; they're always able to make both the kid and grown-up in me giddy with pleasure and delight.


5 out of 5 stars

She's Out of My League

Jay Baruchel stars in this Apatow-esque comedy about a nebbishly average guy named Kirk who manages to win the affections of the supremely hot Molly (played by Alice Eve).  Kirk works security at the airport where Molly loses her iPhone and ends up snagging a date with her after he chivalrously returns it to her.  The big question that keeps coming up during the movie from both Kirk's and Molly's friends and family is: How did an average-looking, unambitious guy like Kirk get a beautiful, successful girl like Molly?  Kirk's friends (who are all hilarious by the way, and provide the majority of the film's big laughs) are constantly filling his head with doubts as to whether he even deserves to date Molly and how there is no chance in hell it will ever last.  We learn that Molly recently had her heart broken and has dated a string of bad guys and decided to go out with Kirk because she considered him "safe" and unlikely to hurt her.  We see her slowly falling for Kirk because according to her she can just be herself around him and doesn't have to pretend to be someone she's not.  The thing is, Molly does seem way too good for Kirk.  We are meant to believe that Kirk, despite his many shortcomings, wins Molly over with his sweet, unassuming personality - and don't get me wrong, Kirk is a REALLY nice guy.  But Molly herself is very winsome and modest - not to mention thoughtful and highly-educated - on top of being drop-dead gorgeous, and gives the impression of not even realizing what a catch she really is... which I guess gives her the opportunity to fall in love with someone like Kirk.  I just couldn't quite buy them being together, though I really wanted to.  Overall, the movie succeeds in conveying the message that meaningful relationships are based on more than just superficial qualities and if you are open-minded about love, it can be found just about anywhere.


3 out of 5 stars

Remember Me

This romantic drama stars heartthrob Robert Pattinson (of shrieking teenybopper "Twilight" fame) as a young rebellious college kid who meets and subesequently falls for a pretty young student, played by Emilie de Ravin (from TV's "Lost").  Both stars give pleasantly surprising nuanced performances, giving depth to these two characters who manage to fall in love despite (or maybe because of) the emotional baggage from each of their personal tragedies.  The film does a great job of showcasing deep-rooted feelings of grief and loss and tackling complicated family relationships (an angry son and his distant father, or a repressed daughter and her overprotective father never come off as trite).  Overall, the story - though a little on the histrionic side but not heavy-handed - feels sincere.  That is, until the last 10 mintutes of the film which are so manipulative that you feel cheated of the first 100 minutes you already watched.  Without giving too much away, the ending is just so unecessarily over-the-top when the same effect could have been easily achieved if executed on a much smaller scale.  This would have been a 4-star movie in my book, but I docked it a star for the contrived finale.


3 out of 5 stars

When in Rome

This is farce of the lowest quality I have ever seen.  It is an insult to place this movie in the romantic comedy genre as there is nothing either romantic or comedic about it.  Kristen Bell plays a cynical young urbanite named Beth whose life revolves around her job (so much so that her previous longtime boyfriend broke up with her because she was too committed to her work).  On a trip to Rome to attend her younger sister's wedding, sparks fly between Beth and the best man, Nick (played by Josh Duhamel).  She then sees Nick kissing another woman at the wedding and proceeds to get really pissed.  During her drunken romp she bitterly starts picking coins out of the fountain of love... and thus the preposterous antics ensue.  According to the local legend, anyone who steals coins from the fountain is cursed to have the owners of said coins fall in love with them.  Dax Shepard, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, and Danny DeVito play the witless wonders, all while Beth continues falling for Nick, who is also under her spell.  Does he really love Beth or is it just the magic of the coins?  Who cares?!  Honestly, the material is so weak and tries so hard to be funny that I felt like I was watching a bad Looney Toons rip-off.  Everyone just seemed like absurdly over-the-top cartoon characters with less depth than the Road Runner.  Bell does her best with the role, but an army of hot-air balloons couldn't elevate this movie to anything half-way decent.  Stay away at all costs.


1 out of 5 stars

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

I won't be posting a full review for this one since I could not even finish watching it.  I got about an hour in before I decided to yank it.  The visuals were amazing, but the story was just a little too out there even for me.  I know it's Terry Gilliam's trademark to have these big quirky fantasies with scattered narratives that feel like they are being told by someone with ADD so I should not be surprised, but I was more curious to see this as it was Heath Ledger's final movie.  R.I.P. Heath, I will miss you, but I really wish you had left us with a better final movie as part of your legacy.


2 out of 5 stars*

*Editor's Note: This movie is rated based on roughly the first hour of viewing but was not watched in its entirety.

Peacock

Here is a psychological thriller that gets you pumped up early on and then quickly goes nowhere.  It starts off interesting enough.  We are introduced to a pretty woman walking around her dark home with curtains drawn, cautiously peeking out the window at her neighbors.  We begin to wonder if maybe this woman is some type of shut-in or agoraphobe.  Soon we discover that this is not actually a woman we are watching, but a man in disguise.  Cillian Murphy plays this character with a dual personality disorder.  He is really fantastic in the way he switches from the painfully awkward and at times apoplectic John Skillpa, to the delicate, sweet, and good-hearted Emma, his alter ego.  As the story unfolds we start to find out secrets about John's past and perhaps why he is the way he is.  However, it all leads to an unsatisfying ending where it is unclear how John's conflict is resolved (if at all) and I was left wondering if perhaps the production ran out of money towards the end of filming and had to have a rather abrupt ending to compensate.  I thought the story of this fascinating character deserved a better explanation and not just a big question mark at the end.


2 out of 5 stars

Amelia

Hilary Swank plays the titular heroine, Amelia Earhart, in this biopic directed by Mira Nair ("The Namesake").  You would think a movie about one of the most exciting and progressive women in American history would be interesting, right?  You would be wrong.  The film follows the famed aviator from her early days of flying when she is eventually approached by future husband George Putnam (played by a flabby Richard Gere) to make her first transatlantic flight.  We see Amelia become world-renown as she continues succeeding in flight after flight, despite her aversion to her new celebrity status.  However, the way Swank plays the character, she just falls completely flat.  Here is a woman who should be filled with passion and vim, yet the character comes off as completely lifeless and dull, as does most of the movie.  We are told that Amelia flies simply for the love of flying, but we never really feel it.   Her marriage to Putnam is just as apathetic; the way it is depicted makes it seem like more of a marriage of convenience than anything else, but we are meant to believe that she stays with him out of love.  Meanwhile, she falls in love with another man, Gene Vidal (played by the always charming and delightful Ewan McGregor) but the storyline is so glossed over that it's not entirely clear what was behind their relationship at all.  In the end, you are left having watched a 2-hour long movie that hasn't really told you anything about Amelia or why she left such an indelible mark on the world.  I guess if you really want to know more than just superficial details about this enthralling pioneer, you're better off checking out the biography section of your local library.


2 out of 5 stars

Shutter Island

This psychological thriller (the 4th film collaboration between Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese) is the chilling tale of U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels who is sent to a mental hospital for the criminally insane to investigate the disappearance of one if its patients.  You quickly discover, though, that Daniels has his own demons as he slowly starts to unravel during the course of his investigation.  DiCaprio does an amazing job of conveying the personal hell his character is in, with every tortured cringe and grimace.  And Scorsese, who at this point is such a master of storytelling that he makes it look effortless, imbues such a creepy vibe to the whole movie that you are constantly filled with dread and squirming in your seat.  "Shutter Island" was filmed entirely in Massachusetts, and all the locations - from the ominous WWII fortress that houses the most dangerous patients to the eerie lighthouse - are shot in such a way that just looking at them produces goosebumps.  Mark Ruffalo and Ben Kingsley costar as Daniels' partner and the head psychiatrist at the hospital, respectively.  Amazingly terrifying and gut-wrenching.


5 out of 5 stars

Party Down: Season 1

Man, this is probably the raunchiest show I have ever seen.  Talk about your dick jokes and hilariously stupid characters.  This half-hour comedy centers around a group of disillusioned caterers who are all aspiring to do something else with their lives.  Ken Marino (an alumnus of MTV's "The State") plays the clueless team leader Ron who has "big" dreams of opening up his own fast-food franchise.  Ron decides to help out an old friend, Henry (played by the excellently sullen Adam Scott) by giving him a job since he can't find work as an actor anymore now that his 15 minutes of fame are up.  The supporting players include the always side-splitting Jane Lynch who plays a past-her-prime actress, Martin Starr who plays a pissed-off screenwriter, Ryan Hansen who plays a vain airhead with dreams of becoming a star, and Lizzy Caplan who plays a cute yet surly comedian.  From Rob Thomas, the creator of one of my favorite shows "Veronica Mars", comes one of the most wickedly funny shows on television.  Sign me up for Season 2.


4 out of 5 stars

Modern Family: Season 1

What a great season for this freshman show.  The stories, the acting, the heartfelt and hilarious moments all prove that the sitcom is not a dead format if it's done right.  With characters that make you instantly feel at home and situations that are refreshingly sincere, this show is easily one of the best and funniest half-hours of television.


5 out of 5 stars

Parenthood: Season 1

What a superb first season.  From the very first episode, you feel like you're watching real characters who could easily be acting out scenes from your own life.  The actors all have a wonderful chemistry that makes them seem like a real family.  This show is what "Brothers & Sisters" strives (and fails) to be: A lovable, heartfelt, and witty family drama.


5 out of 5 stars

Cougar Town: Season 1

It's hard to believe that Courteney Cox could be even funnier on a show than she was on "Friends", but she manages to do it here.  This show, along with "Modern Family", are both amazing comedies that are also sweet and poignant.  And Bobby may very well be the funniest character on TV ever ("Ha ha, I love drinking!").  Can't wait for Season 2!


5 out of 5 stars