Short Review: If you ignore the lack of humor, originality or actual content, you will probably enjoy this, at least for a while.



This is content-free movie making. There is nothing at the heart of this essentially unnecessary sequel to Toy Story. It is a series of perils and little else. Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jesse along with their cadre of other old toys have been discarded for years as their owner Andy has grown up. Andy is now moving out to college and his toys have been donated to a daycare center.


The daycare center is run by a cruel teddy bear named Lotso. Lotso condemns the new arrivals to live in the toddler's room where the children play too rough and torment their toys. Woody who gets separated from the others comes to the rescue of his friends. This leads to him sneaking around, chase sequences and other visually grabbing moments. What is missing is a point. There is plenty that happens throughout the movie but very little that has any real value other than just sitting there and taking it in.

Yes, I understand I'm talking about a movie with talking toys.

Even kids movies have a point and can be told with proper, solid stories. The original Toy Story had some depth, not much, but enough. Woody faced being replaced, forgotten in his own time. The juxtaposition between the old-fashioned (Woody) and the new and improved (Buzz Lightyear) was a strong place from which to write. There were issues regarding one's purpose, friendship and judging others.


In this outing, there are fleeting moments where content could have been inserted but those moments remained empty. Instead we are given toys that shout about their desire not to be thrown out. The loud protests cover the fact that there is nothing really going on in the characters.

I can recommend this film, but not strongly. It is enjoyable, the characters are still likable and the filmmakers have some inventiveness. My recommendation in place, I will say that you shouldn't expect to be blown away. This is not a great movie. It's barely a good one. It is lukewarm, but in a summer of dead cold productions - lukewarm is pretty good.


Worldview:

Given that these are talking toys, the theological musings are kept to a minimum. Woody does commit himself to his duty to Andy. He knows his purpose in life and sticks to the plan, even when everything looks hopeless. He is right to do so.

There are a couple of interesting moments beyond Woody's denial of his self-interest. The display of Ken, I found to be interesting. Ken, Barbie's accessory, is shown to be a sissy-boy who likes clothes, fancy things and ascots. He is not a man's man. This fact is routinely exploited for laughs. In our politically correct society, this mockery is not common, and in my book - very welcome. They actually make an appropriate cross-dressing joke (that sounds worse than it is). This is a good thing. Anything that reinforces the fact of gender roles in our debased society is a good thing.


The other item I noted is the overall anti-authoritarian slant of the storyline. The daycare is lorded over by Lotso, a thuggish teddy bear. The toys fight to escape his clutches. The toys loathe being controlled and long to live free to be themselves, to fulfill their passion to be useful (i.e. be played with). This is a nice message supporting the idea that we have a point in life beyond being tools for the State. We have a purpose and are happiest when we spend our existence exploring that reason for being.

One final note in this section, the Lotso character plays differently today than he would have just three years ago. After the Bush-era, it is odd to have an authoritarian figure on screen without some clunky reference to Bush/Cheny. I found myself waiting for that political boot to drop - it never did. My flinching, waiting to be hit with an agenda, reminded me of how ingrained the politics of filmmakers have gotten into their works. Maybe since a liberal is in office, perhaps we can finally relax and enjoy entertainers getting back to entertaining, at least until election season kicks in again.

Cautions:

This is Pixar so there is no critical cautions for parents. I will say that there are a few moments of deep peril that may be a bit much for the younger and/or more sensitive kids. There is also a scary monkey - he freaked out my six-year-old.




Related Reviews:
Pixar movies
Cars (2006)
The Incredibles (2004)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Christianity Today
The Film Reel


Click here to buy your copy of
You Are What You See and learn
to change the world from your couch

Labels: animated, film, Joan Cusack, Michael Keaton, movie review, Ned Beatty, Pixar, Tim Allen, Tom Hanks

Click here to buy your copy of
You Are What You See and learn
to change the world from your couch

Labels: animated, film, Michael Keaton, movie trailer, Tim Allen, Tom Hanks

Screenwriters: Judd Pillot and John Peaslee
Director: Tim Allen
Actors: Sigourney Weaver (Avatar), JK Simmons (Extract), Ray Liotta (Smokin' Aces), Tim Allen (Redbelt), Jeanne Tripplehorn (Waterworld), Julie Bowen (Joe Somebody) and Kelsey Grammer (An American Carol)

Labels: film, Jeanne Tripplehorn, JK Simmons, Julie Bowen, Kelsey Grammar, movie trailer, ray liotta, Sigourney Weaver, Tim Allen

Because there's so many unanswered questions from the first two.




Screenwriter: Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine)
Director: Lee Unkrich (Finding Nemo)
Actors: Tom Hanks (The Da Vinci Code), Tim Allen (Redbelt), Michael Keaton (White Noise), Don Rickles (Dirty Work) and John Ratzenberger (Cars)

Labels: animated, Don Rickles, film, John Ratzenberger, Michael Keaton, movie trailer, Pixar, Tim Allen, Tom Hanks

My long-suffering wife had it right when she tagged all David Mamet as being “guy stuff”. Women can certainly enjoy David Mamet’s writing but his plays and scripts have a definite masculine core to them. His men are purely American, aggressive and smart but foiled by powers seemingly beyond their control. Their frustrations erupt in snaps of invective-laced dialog and unstable logic.

Mamet’s films have been a gallery of uneven results. On one hand, he’s produced the enjoyable, comfortable Things Change, complex and ultimately wandering films like House of Games and Homicide while also making incoherent messes like Spartan and Heist. It seems as though half the time his productions get out of his hands. This outing is probably his best directorial work on film.

Chiwetel Ejiofor (American Gangster) gives a notable performance as Mike Terry, a committed mixed-martial arts instructor who is forced to battle his ideals when financial ruin pushes him towards selling himself out to prize fighting. Ejiofor is very impressive in this role. Not only is the role obviously very physical, he sells the idea that he’s a top competitor quite easily, but he is also asked to present a man who is very controlled yet approachable. Terry is a good man who seems liberated by the inner control he finds in jujitsu. His small school is a labor of love not profit. When things turn sour for him and the pressures build, Terry’s ideals are challenged. Ejiofor masterfully presents this internal conflict with a leveled performance. Chiwetel Ejiofor isn’t well known, but his face may be familiar to the twelve people who made it through Children of Men. This performance is an absolute career maker. Every once in a while an actor who’s been languishing in supporting roles will get an opportunity, either with a rich support role (Vincent D'Onofrio as Private Pile in Full Metal Jacket) or a more prominent role in a smaller film such as this. When they get that good role, they knock it out of the park and the audience is left sitting thinking “where did this guy come from?” The problem here? No one is going to see this performance because this film has been overlooked.

This is a guy movie with brains. Despite it being penned by one of the great living American writers and befitting his impressive resume, this is a movie that can be enjoyed by most guys. Terry’s struggle to keep his dignity and this livelihood is something most people should be able to identify with. The fact that he gets to do so by beating the tar out of other men is just icing on the dramatic cake. Mamet writes some fantastic scenes and drafts some interesting characters, as one would expect; thankfully he also doesn’t skimp on the fighting.

This is a film that is worth searching out. It is a shame it was in and out of release so quickly because more people should have had the chance to see it. Put this in your Netflix queue or remember it the next time what you want is out down at Blockbuster.


Related Reviews:
Another David Mamet movie
Spartan (2004)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Critical Culture
Combustible Celluloid

Labels: Alice Braga, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Mamet, Emily Mortimer, film, movie review, Tim Allen

Screenwriters: David Mamet (Spartan)
Director: David Mamet (Wag the Dog)
Actor: Chiwetel Ejioforer (American Gangster), Alice Braga (I am Legend), Tim Allen (Galaxy Quest), and David Paymer (Mr. Saturday Night)

Labels: Alice Braga, Chiwetel Ejioforer, Davd Mamet, David Paymer, movie trailer, Tim Allen