Toy Story 3

In my opinion, Toy Story 3 is the best Pixar film of recent years. Yes, even better than such critically-acclaimed movies as Wall E, Ratatouille, and Up. Here’s why. Toy Story 3, like Toy Stories 1 and 2, manages to appeal to both adults and children. I found this film to be just as exciting, just as moving, and just as laugh-out-loud funny as I did the other two films when I saw them for the first time as a child. Unlike other recent Pixar films, which seem to be catering exclusively to a younger audience, Toy Story 3 is a movie everyone can enjoy. Toy Story 3 accomplishes this in part by recapturing the wry humor that marked earlier Pixar films like the Incredibles, and, of course, Toy Stories 1 and 2, jokes that may go over children’s heads but will surely be appreciated by their parents. The story’s focus on growing up and the loss that entails may also strike a chord with older audiences—I know it did with me. Those who have not watched Toy Stories 1 and 2 may wind up a tad underwhelmed, since much of the emotional resonance in this movie relies on the audience’s emotional attachment to characters introduced in earlier installments, but as an adventure/prison escape movie there is still enough to recommend it even for newcomers to the series.

Toy Story 3 drags a bit towards the beginning, and becomes a little wearisome as the toys argue and bicker needlessly for many minutes about whether or not their owner, Andy, still cares for them. In one frustrating scene most of the toys, apparently filled with the desire to move the plot forward, ignore cowboy doll Woody when he explains that they ended up on the curb in a trash bag only by accident. They insist that Andy was planning to throw them away even though they have no evidence to suggest Woody is lying, and no reason to believe he would. This left me wishing I could reach through the screen and give all those toys a good shake.

Once the film hits its stride though, around the thirty minute mark, it never slows down, and keeps the thrills and laughs (and, for some viewers, stifled sobs) coming fast and hard. There is so much awesomeness in this film—including a clever homage to Cool Hand Luke, and a Spanish-speaking Buzz Lightyear—that it is nearly impossible not to be swept away by it. Definitely the best film of the summer, and one of the best films of the year, it deserves its spot as a Best Picture contender.

Inception

Looks like I won’t get to all the Oscar nominees before Sunday. What a shame. Next on the list is Christopher Nolan’s Inception, one of the most talked-about movies of the year.

Inception:

Let me say right off the bat that I liked Inception. I really appreciate it when filmmakers put effort into summer blockbusters. After all, movies like the Lord of the Rings and the Matrix proved that just because it’s an action movie, it doesn’t have to be mindless tripe. It’s plain that Christopher Nolan really cared about Inception, and the positive response, both critical and commercial, that this movie has received proves that audiences may actually want more in their action movies than explosions and a poorly-clad Megan Fox.

However, though I did like Inception, I have to say this movie had its flaws. Pretty big ones. I give credit to Christopher Nolan for coming up with one of the most inventive and innovative ideas for a movie in recent years, but at times his vision is perhaps too complex. The first fifty minutes of this movie are almost entirely exposition. The audience is told, in great, painful detail how the process of dream infiltration works, and though it sounds cool for the first ten minutes, you end up wishing this movie would show more and tell less. How about some action? Some character development? You’ll have to wait a long time—too long a time—for much of that. Most of the characters are flat and unmemorable, which is disappointing in a heist film with such a big ensemble cast.  I have to wonder why they even bothered getting people like Ellen Page for this movie. Anyone could have played the role of—whatever her character’s name was.

There are only two characters in the film with any depth to them. The first is Dominic Cobb, palyed by Leonardo di Caprio. Those who have seen Shutter Island might notice that DiCaprio is playing the exact same character as he was in that movie—a mysterious man haunted by the death of his wife who is losing his touch with reality. The second character is Robert Fischer, the heir to some sort of energy monopoly, played by Cillian Murphy It is Fischer’s head that Cobb and the others must break into. Admittedly, the drama surrounding these two characters is well thought out, well executed, and emotionally involving. But the film’s emotional moments sometimes get lost due to Nolan’s seeming preoccupation with concepts and ideas.

Still, Inception manages to overcome its slow start, and redeems itself with a riveting, imaginative, and absorbing second half, which is still at times confusing and riddled with a few plot holes. If they can dream up grenade launchers on the fly, why don’t they just dream up impenetrable bullet-proof armor? Because the action scenes wouldn’t be as exciting, that’s why. And exciting is what the last hour of Inception is. The movie finally turns into the awe-inspiring spectacle promised by the trailers. In my opinion, it just took too long a time to get there.

The King’s Speech

When compared with the Social Network, the King’s Speech is a more traditional film. However, it not just traditional—it is traditional done very well. The King’s Speech is in essence a biopic which focuses on the struggle of the protagonist, King George VI (portrayed here by Colin Firth) to overcome his speech impediment with the help of his speech therapist, played by Geoffrey Rush. The character of Lionel, the speech therapist, is reminiscent of other similar inspirational- teacher figures in movies like the Dead Poets’ Society and Freedom Writers.

Though traditional in style and substance, this film stands out due to the incredible performances of its lead actors. Both Rush and Firth are up for Oscar nods, along with Helena Bonham Carter, who played the king’s wife. Firth’s performance might have been a little over the top at times, but while watching him, one cannot help but feel the torment and anxiety his character is experiencing. Rush is great fun to watch in every scene he is in—his character seems to genuinely enjoy the work he does, and that enthusiasm is truly infectious. Animated and lively, he acts as the perfect counterpart to the shy and awkward King George. Also of note is Guy Pearce, who plays George’s brother. Though not featured as prominently in the film as the three leads, he does a good job at portraying a surprisingly well-developed and complex supporting character. I can’t say for sure how accurate or inaccurate this film is, historically speaking, since I know basically next to nothing about modern British history. I can’t judge this film as a historical piece. As a drama and a biopic, though, it does mostly everything right.  It has a rousing, inspiring, emotional climax, a sympathetic protagonist, and enough twists to keep everything fresh and interesting.

The (Anti)Social Network

Welcome to my blog! Here I’ll be reviewing movies. New movies and old movies. Movies I loved. Movies I hated. Movies that were just sort of OK. I’m rather new at blogging (by which I mean I’ve never done it before), so bear with me while I get things in order.

The OSCARS:

Since the Academy Awards season is right around the corner, I thought I’d kick off this blog with a look at this year’s nominees. In this multi-post, I will briefly review each of the Best Picture nominees (at least the ones I have seen).

It is worth noting that Time magazine has picked the King’s Speech to win Best Picture. On the other hand, Newsweek thinks the win will go to the Social Network, so we’ll just have to see…

Best Picture Nominees

Let me start by saying that, since the Academy increased the number of Best pictue nominees from 5 to ten, it has become increasingly difficult for amateur film critics such as myself (particularly if said critics live in small college towns with only one functioning movie theater) to make it to all the nominees before the awards season. Sadly, this year, I was unable to see Black Swan, Winter’s Bone, and the Fighter, all three of which sound not only like very good films, but films I would personally enioy a great deal, since my preference is for the dark and gritty. I did manage to see the other seven nominees, and can honestly say that this has been a very good year for cinema. All of these films are quite good, so picking one will be a real challenge.

The Social Network:

According to Newseek, David Flincher’s docu-drama about Mark Zuckerburg, the founder of Facebook, is the lead runner in this year’s Best Picture race, and it is easy to see why. I went to see this film mostly because I knew the director and one of the actresses would be involved in an adaptation of one of my favorite books, the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and found myself very much surprised by not just how good, but how fun this movie was. The thing that stood out to me above all else (and that is saying quite a bit) was the screenplay. The dialogue here is sharp and intelligent, serving both as a tool of exposition to move the plot forward and as an entertaining feature in its own right. The characters all sound like the highly intelligent, competent people they are (we never forget we are watching a movie about technological geniuses), but we are able to see their vulnerability and humanity as well as their great intellect. Perhaps the script’s style could be best described as a mixture of Pulp Fiction and Juno—there is a lot of dry wit, and though at times the characters sound a tad unbelievable, perhaps a little too quick with the comeback and too skilled at banter, it hardly matters since you are busy relishing every word that comes out of their mouths.

The dialogue is bolstered from strong performances by all the actors and actresses involved. Though Jesse Eisenberg, the actor that played Zuckerberg, is up for a best actor nod, I was perhaps even more impressed by the performances of Armie Hammer, simultaneously playing two twin brothers named Tyler and Cmeron Winklevoss suing Zuckerberg for idea theft, and Andrew Garfield, portraying Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.

The film manages to be simultaneously horrifying, heart-wrenching, and hilarious, due in large part to excellent writing and acting. It is a film of great depth and nuance, with all of the major players portrayed as simultaneously sympathetic and unsympathetic. Zuckerberg himself is as much villain as hero, but even as we watch him do truly reprehensible things to people (including his best friend, Eduardo) we at least understand his motivations and can perhaps sympathize with his goals. Though the film’s protagonist is ostensibly Zuckerberg, different viewers may find themselves rooting for different characters, and this is, again, a testament to the film’s complexity and realism. The film is rife with subplots, and pinpointing a climax or resolution amidst the jumbled storylines might be a difficult task. Yet in no way is its unconventional format a detriment to this insightful, engaging work.

Though based on true events, the movie is not entirely accurate—liberties have been taken with the character of Zuckerberg, for example. Though the movie shows Zuckerberg as a lonely young man longing for friendship, and, even more, romance, the real Zuckerberg has a longtime girlfriend named Priscilla Chan. Though in general I am a proponent of the ‘storytelling first’ school of filmmaking, and can fully understand screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s philosophy that accuracy must be sacrificed for the sake of storytelling, in a movie based on current events and dealing with real people, such creative license might be somewhat questionable. It’s not easy to walk away with a movie as emotionally charged as the Social Newtork without having your attitudes towards Zuckerberg, Facebook, and even Harvard affected, even if you remind yourself the Social Network is a work of fiction. But as a piece of filmmaking, there is little here for me to criticize. Social Network gets my vote for Best Picture.