Toy Story 3

The original Toy Story was a big part of my youth, and the sequel was thoroughly enjoyable, but I've long thought of them as slightly inferior to most of Pixar's work in the last decade, when they really figured out how to be all things to all people. I haven't actually seen the first two since that perceived step up in quality occurred, but I don't think I'm far off with those feelings. So when everyone gave the third film totally glowing reviews and talked up its emotional content, I was a bit surprised, but not disbelieving. I went into the film expecting something between a competent third chapter and the best movie of all time, and that's pretty much what I got.

Toy Story 3 is the perfect conclusion to the series, and possibly my favorite work to date by the studio. It was a stroke of genius to have Andy age along with the people who were children when the first two movies came out, and the story they chose to tell managed to stay true to the adventurous, humorous spirit they had before while still telling the most emotionally engaging and mature story of the three, without dipping into depressing or maudlin territory. I'll put it this way: Up made me a bit misty with a well constructed, beautifully tragic love story at the center of its old-guy-with-balloons movie, but I partly felt like they were trying to manipulate me into feeling sad when I just wanted to have a good time. Toy Story 3 delighted and thrilled me before making me cry with a perfect little scene that just seemed to capture all the emotions involved in growing up and life moving on without seeming to need to try to.

The core cast from the first two movies is back, whittled down to all the truly essential characters, and they really are a great bunch. Obviously Tom Hanks and Tim Allen take center stage as Woody and Buzz, but the whole group is just fun to throw together and do things with. There's also a veritable ton of new characters added, both the villainous overlords at the daycare center and the friendly bunch at another kid's house that Woody meets. Most don't quite have the time to develop full personalities like the old characters, but they're all interesting enough, with some great new voices by guys like Timothy Dalton and Michael Keaton, and Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear is probably the best real antagonist Pixar has had.

The movie also looks outstanding, not exactly because of the technical excellence of the computer effects (although that's definitely noticeable in places, like Lots-O's fur), but just because of the artistry and style of the animation. Woody's floppy run and all the little character touches look a lot more entertaining than I think the animators really knew how to do with computers only a few years ago. Moments like Mr. Potato Head with the tortilla are among what's simply the best stuff people have ever done with the medium in terms of creativity and movement that's amusing to look at. And of course Pixar maintains their ability to create action sequences that are more inventive and thrilling than what most violent blockbusters are able to pull off.

Finding Nemo

I feel like the first several Pixar movies were good but not quite exceptional like their more recent output, and Nemo sort of marks that transition to true brilliance. It's not a favorite, but it's really quite good, capturing the right combination of humor, excitement, and heart. I guess they really figured things out when they started making things sad. The movie doesn't linger on it, but the opening scene where Marlin loses his wife and most of his children is probably harder than anything else the studio had done to that point, and it works very well to inform the character for the rest of the film. Marlin searching all over the ocean for his son isn't a terribly different story from say, the toys trying to rescue Woody after he gets stolen, but the knowledge of that earlier tragedy gives everything a greater weight and urgency. You want him to find Nemo because you know it will destroy him if he doesn't. One of the best family relationships the company has done.

It doesn't take over the whole movie though, as there's plenty of opportunity for the expected clever action sequences and windfall of entertaining celebrity voices. Sequences like Dory reading the address by the light of an anglerfish and escaping from the seagulls in the beak of a pelican are a lot of fun, and while I think having famous people do voices because they're famous can be damaging in pointless, everyone here seems really well cast. Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres make a good leading pair, it's surprising hearing a very young Shane from Weeds as the titular character, Willem Dafoe is entertaining as the gruff leader of a group of aquarium fish including Brad Garrett and Allison Janney, and you'll probably hear a few more recognizable voices at some point. It's a nice looking film if not as eye-popping as what they've done in the last few years, and it tells its story and wraps it up at a very nice pace. Not my favorite animated movie, but a pretty good benchmark for what family films should aim for.

Best Movies of 2008

Some people also said this wasn't a great year of movies either, but when I compiled a list of what I saw it easily featured the most solid titles of any of the three times I've done this. I feel comfortable going all the way to ten this time. Not making the cut included such films as Cloverfield, which I thought succeeded at doing exactly what it wanted, Tropic Thunder, a fun collaboration by a bunch of funny guys, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, another likable film in the Apatow repertoire.

Best of 2008

10. Hellboy II: The Golden Army


More here for being so amazing visually than a great film. I can't quite tell whether del Toro is a great filmmaker or just has an uncanny knack for neat effects, although I can't say I'm not terrible excited about what he could do with The Hobbit.

9. Valkyrie

I guess in the end I did quite like it. Wonderfully filmed, takes the subject matter very seriously, and it's a sad story that people should know about. A good tribute to the men who tried to stop the world's greatest evil.

8. Pineapple Express

Rogen and Franco are great together in the perfect fusion of buddy stoner comedies with an action film, albeit a mostly grounded one. Although I kind of wish the whole thing lived up to the opening scene with Bill Hader and Dexter's dad a bit better.

7. Burn After Reading


Far from the best Coen film, but far from the worst too. Not quite what I hoped for but a nice entry in their kookier milieu. Am I even using that word right? I can't believe I used that word. What the hell.

6. The Wrestler


I haven't blogged about it yet, but I watched it yesterday so give me a break. Mickey Rourke's performance, which won a Golden Globe (haha) on Sunday, is the most notable aspect, but I thought it was a very good film in general.

5. Quantum of Solace


A lot of people complained about the editing in the action scenes, but they're all a bunch of dopes. There, I said it. I'd be fine with it if every violent film for the next ten years was styled exactly like this one.

4. Iron Man


The runner-up for best comic book-based super hero movie about a man with a heritage to live up to who fights crime by using his vast wealth to create a special suit instead of an extraordinary power of his own. I love Robert Downey Jr.

3. In Bruges


I was a bit surprised to see Colin Farrell won a Golden Globe for this, not because he wasn't good, but because it wasn't really a "Comedic" performance. Really good movie, funny but still with a strong emotional depth.

2. The Dark Knight

The best comic book-based super hero movie about a man with a heritage to live up to who fights crime by using his vast wealth to create a special suit instead of an extraordinary power of his own. All three films featuring a Golden Globe-winning male performance appear on this list. What does that tell you? Nothing, really.

1. Wall-E


And the best movie of the year's only dialogue from the two leads consists basically of "Wally!" and "Eva!" over and over again. It really did touch me though, with a strong message, gorgeous visuals, and heartfelt story. One of the best family films ever.

Wall-E

Usually it's easier to write when I have things to complain about, but there really wasn't much wrong with one of Pixar's best films yet. It's really astounding how much better they are at animated features than every other American studio. The first couple Shrek movies were passable, but everything else looks either uninspired or just plain awful, and I'm never interested enough to see if my first impressions (and most critics) were wrong. To be honest, I don't even keep up well enough with Pixar's work, with this and The Incredibles being the only movies I've seen that they've made since 2001. Although this did a good job of encouraging me to check the others out. Wall-E has everything that you could want in a family-friendly animated film. It's very clever, with plenty of jokes that people of any age could probably laugh at. It's filled with cute moments, to the point that I was actually slightly annoyed by th "aww"s coming from the other people in the audience. The story, despite very little dialogue, especially in the first act, has a good message without getting too preachy and rings very true emotionally. And although I'm saddened by how America has pretty much abandoned traditional cel animation, a process Pixar started with the success of Toy Story, it's hard to complain when their work looks so amazing. The combination of intricate details and enjoyable stylization is perfect.

What's impressive is how good of a main character Wall-E is despite his speaking being limited to crude pronounciations of names. After being alone on Earth with just a cockroach for companionship for who knows how long, he encounters a much-more advanced robot with nearly as strong vocal limitations, and despite Eve's proclivity for large explosions at first, they quickly become friends, before she has to return to the humans' colony ship for her mission and Wall-E tags along. I won't say any more about the plot, other than it's (insert grandiose complimentary adjective here) how well the central relationship works when all the two characters really say is each other's names most of the time. The whole thing is really beautiful, and it ties in nicely with the B-Plot about humanity and how their lazy consumerism has literally turned them into fat cartoon characters. The old videos before they had to leave for space feature a live-action Fred Willard trying to be optimistic about abandoning the home planet, and the juxtaposition between people then and in the present just using film techniques is very interesting. It's more interesting if you take it a step farther, with the robots being more realistically rendered than the people. There are some silly plot contrivances in the climax and resolution, but it all still finishes in a very satisfying and touching way. I really want to see The Dark Knight but this may end up as the best film of the summer.