film review

Film Review: Toy Story 3

Posted on by Timothy Dempsey

Toy Story 3 is this summer’s offering from Disney-Pixar. The final installment that reunites us with Woody, Buzz, Jess, et al. had a recording-breaking opening weekend for Disney. I thought Hollywood stopped numbering sequels? Let’s get on with it:

What I Liked

Disclaimer: I’m a big Pixar fanboy, and while they have a nearly perfect track record (I wasn’t really a fan of Wall-E), I’ll try to remain objective. In 1986 I attended SIGGRAPH, and the Electronic Theater that year saw the debut of Luxo, Jr. – the lively father and son lamp animated short that inspired the Pixar logo. It’s not a stretch to declare that everyone in attendance witnessed the beginning of great CG animated entertainment.

  • The voice performances, the character design, the lighting, the textures, the special effects. It is very easy to forget that dozens of people make contributuions to the characters, and equally remarkable that these fictional characters and synthetic actors can plausibly seem like old friends.
  • Don Rickles. Because he’s a God to me, and is used only enough to not be overused.

What I Didn’t Like

  • The ending didn’t make me cry… nice try, gang.
    Seriously, if you are not moved at the closing scene then clearly you are a robot or a zombie.
  • The story seems to have been done before, toys escape/are lost/need to find their way home/Woody saves the day (with help). This is forgivable in this case, because Disney-Pixar took the time to produce a proper send-off.

Best LOL Jokes (Spoilers!)

Rather than spell them out this time, suffice it to say the ribbing of the Ken doll’s masculinity (of the Barbie™ toy empire) provides good fun throughout. The aging of all the human characters is handled seriously, yet the family dog’s appearance provides the film’s early laugh-out-loud moments at Buster’s expense.

Parental Watch-outs

This is Disney-Pixar, i.e squeaky clean.

Overall Grade: A+

It’s this summer’s must-see family film, particularly if you are a fan of the first two.

Film Review: Robin Hood

Posted on by Timothy Dempsey

Robin Hood stars Russell Crowe in a Ridley Scott film that tells the back-story of the fabled “do-gooder”, up to the very moment the “rob from the rich to give to the poor” business plan is born.

What I Liked

  • The opening visuals accompanying the credits
    Painterly strokes are rotoscoped over key scenes.
  • The visuals accompanying the closing credits (see above)
  • Epic shots of battle scenes are samples of sheer movie magic
  • William Hurt lends a certain amount of gravitas to the proceedings, even if he does often look confused at the proceedings

What I Didn’t Like

  • Almost everything, and full disclosure is necessary here. I have never cared for Russell Crowe, and this is one film that rests entirely on his performance. Since his break-out performance in “L.A. Confidential”, I found him difficult to believe as a tough guy. We know of his famous tantrum with a phone at a hotel that resulted in his arrest, and it’s a pity none of that passion made it into this film.
  • There is nothing “pretty” about this film (excluding the title sequences), and that includes the leading lady, in my opinion.
  • What age group is this film for? Inappropriate for very young viewers, there was some content that made me squirm with the three twelve year-olds I escorted. In fact, lots of things went over their heads. Which brings me to…

Best LOL Jokes (Spoilers!)

Humorless (and colorless save for the title sequences), the distinguished Max Von Sydow utters “I woke today with a tumescent glow! Imagine me – at eighty-four!”. Is this appropriate for twelve year-olds? Heck, I only recently learned of this figure of speech, and I’m relieved the boys didn’t ask.

Parental Watch-outs

See the LOL Spoiler above.

Overall Grade: C-

Everything worth seeing in this film can be experienced at the website robinhoodthemovie.com. Boys who are into RTS games (as my son and his friends are) loved it, but otherwise pass.

Film Review: How To Train Your Dragon 3D

Posted on by Timothy Dempsey

How To Train Your Dragon is the latest offering from the venerable Dreamworks Animation. DWA is second only to Disney Pixar (Pixar themselves second to none) in the CG animated feature film field. They have brought us great stories like Shrek and ANTZ.

What I Liked

Full disclosure: as a CG artist myself, I have dabbled in a lot of the tools and techniques used in these films. The noteworthy exception is that a feature film is staffed by the talents of dozens of the worlds best artists and technicians. I’m a fanboy of the craft, so take my “angle” for what it’s worth.

  • The visuals are stunning throughout. Textures, atmosphere, stylized – yet seemingly authentic Viking imagery – are simply breathtaking. The scale of pivotal scenes like the “boss battle” with the Queen Bee dragon and the swarming hordes of cartoon Vikings (all evidently unique – or at least not noticeably repeated instances as in video game crowds) is simply compelling.
  • Fur and hair are lushly rendered and sported by engagingly designed characters.

What I Didn’t Like

  • I can’t shake the feeling that this has all been done before – the misfit “fish out of water” slight Viking child named Hiccup who longs only for his father’s approval and subsequently saves the day. How many times must we pay to see the Hero’s Journey remade?
  • It was short on genuine laughs with only a couple of chuckles – mostly juvenile.

Best LOL Jokes (Spoilers!)

There were no big laughs, at least for the parents., sadly no bullet list this time around. Is it really that hard to write comedy in feature animated films? The Toy Story 3 preview preceding this film was funnier.

Parental Watch-outs

None to really be concerned about. “Hell” is used one more than one occasion if you are that concerned about language.

Overall Grade: B

Even though I had a good time seeing it, with a premium paid for the 3D experience – I would like to see something more original and enduring. Do to unfortunate timing with Avatar, the scenes of flying on a dragon would have seemed more unique, but only served to take me “out of” the film.