Toy Story 3 – Review

Seeing Toy Story 3 was one of the most satisfying cinematic experiences I’ve had this year. This is a film of perfect length, filled with laughs, touching moments and one terrifying baby. This is a good film, a great film, a brilliant film. It is that simple.

Pixar can even make 3D work! The 3D worked as it should have done and simply enhanced the picture without being distracting.

I don’t really know what else to say besides the fact that the film is a real treat and that no, I did not cry. Not that it wasn’t touching. Something that really stuck out for me, possibly because Shrek posters are everywhere, is that Toy Story 3 did not rely on cheap pop-culture jokes for laughs and as such the trilogy will remain as much fun for years to come.

One thing that I’ve seen this year that is better than Toy Story 3 is the short film Night & Day that appeared just before the film. It the best Pixar short ever and is wonderfully inventive. Worth the price of a ticket alone.

Out Now – 30th July 2010

I’m afraid it’s one of those Fridays when I know none of the films and make a mess of Googling what they’re about. Enjoy!

Gainsbourg
A biopic of Serge Gainsbourg that looks rather good. A little bit sexy too if the picture above is anything to go by, it is French after all.

South of the Border
Oliver Stone has made a documentary in which he travels “across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media’s misperception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents.” Ooer.

Beautiful Kate (limited release)
An Australian drama about family secrets resurfacing when a writer returns to the family home to see his dying father. A bit grim.

Down Terrace (limited release)
A director of bad BBC Three comedy directs his first feature film, a comedy about criminals trying to uncover a police informant. If it’s good Ill eat my hat.*

Frontier Blues (limited release)
An Iranian film that doesn’t even have an entry on Wikipedia! Their Facebook claims the film is “the story of longing, waiting, remembering, desperate men and absent women.”

Separado! (limited release)
“The documentary centers on Gruff Rhys’s quest to meet up with his lost long Patagonian uncle, musician René Griffiths.” Apparently Gruff Rhys is a Super Furry Animal. I know so little about him, yet if I saw this film I’d know far too much. Alas.

*I reserve the right to wear a bread hat.

Splice – Review

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into Splice and was all the better for it. While the trailer presents a horror filled with jumps surrounding a freakish monster created in a lad, the film itself is much more than that. Though it does admittedly contain moments of what the trailer pretended the entire film was.

Splice it turns out is a funny and touching film exploring the morality of science, a couple’s relationship and their desire for a child. There were plenty of adorable moments as the audience practically cooed at the growing monstrosity learning to be as human as it could be.

Ultimately however things turned sour and the film suddenly became slightly offensive to the eyes as events unfolded that I had expected, and some that I wasn’t quite ready for. Splice is different from the norm, and was a good watch though not one I am likely to repeat.

Adrian Brody once again shows a fresh side to himself  and Sarah Polley somehow makes you side with the guys who are messing around splicing DNA. The real heart of the film however is ??Delphine Chanéac, who makes the animalistic Dren seem very human, at times adorable and then terrifying.

Definitely not one for the whole family, but something a little different.

In Which I Blow Your Mind, Inception Style

If you have seen Inception the clips I have embedded below are about to blow your mind as you discover just where that beautifully dramatic score came from. This is not to say Hans Zimmer skimped on his job of composing but that he did so with a beautiful little easter egg. The discovery was initially made in this video, but I had to check for myself.

Listen to the clips then click inside for a little bit of me stating the obvious and maybe throwing a spoiler about. if the clips aren’t working you might have to leave Google Reader and visit the actual site.

First of all the score to Inception.

Hans Zimmer

Now Non Je Ne Regrette Rien by Edith Piaf slowed down to 32%.

Edith Piaf

And the two together.

Zimmer Piaf Mix

Now how about Hans Zimmer sped up leading into Edith Piaf?

Zimmer to Piaf

Pretty awesome, huh?

Out Now – 28th July 2010

Ho hum. Nothing exciting happening today, just some childhood memories being ruined. Not my memories mind you, I’m far too young!

Karate Kid
Jackie Chan and Will Smith’s son, under the alias of Jaden Smith, remake this 80’s classic. Sure it will be well made, pretty to look at and a little nostalgic but ultimately it leaves you asking why it had to be made in the first place.

The A-Team
Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson and Sharlto Copley remake this 80’s classic. Sure it will be well made, pretty to look at and a little nostalgic but ultimately it leaves you asking why it had to be made in the first place.

I’m off to see Toy Story 3. I’d rather a sequel than a remake.

Gordon-Levitt and Portman in Hesher Clip

Want to see a clip from upcoming indie flick Hesher starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman, both sporting looks that should be unattractive but aren’t? Well check it out below.

At the moment Hesher doesn’t seem to have any kind of release details at all which is a real shame as any time two of my favourite actors headline a film together I oddly want to see it.

More A-Listers Join the Small Screen

As if Dustin Hoffman wasn’t enough, American TV is getting even more critically acclaimed acting folk to give up lots of movie-making time.

Laura Linney is taking on the lead role in The Big C on Showtime starting next month. She plays a wife and mother who finds out she has cancer and unravels in a funny way. It’s like Breaking Bad less crystal meth and sadness.

But that’s not all, The Big C also has Oliver Platt and Gabourey Sidibe amongst it’s cast and as of yesterday they got…. Liam Neeson!

American acotars are starting to see TV as some British actors do, just another medium but not necessarily a lesser one. Have a look at the trailer if you’ve got a few minutes, it doesn’t look terrible:

Ultimate TV Tie-In, Crystal Meth

With great TV comes great memorabilia; endless figurines, T-shirts and posters. Now Breaking Bad has topped them all with a distinctive line of blue methamphetamine sold in limited numbers only in Kansas City.

Not exactly an official product but more a crystal meth cooker giving a little nod to Breaking Bad. Unless they tried the alternate recipe we all learnt from the show and are now using it full time. Either way I’m really happy that Breaking Bad has got a dedicated audience, if a little unhappy that the dedication goes as far as selling harmful drugs.

Next up: Weeds branded cannabis and Hung inspired male prostitutes. Can’t wait.

Out Now – 23rd July 2010

It’s Friday and you know what Fridays mean… PRIZES! Well actually films are released on days like these but if you do want something for nothing you can still go claim your free paintball tickets from The Expendables. If you’d rather sit in the dark experiencing some kind of narrative than run around a forest this weekend, let’s see what’s coming out.

The Rebound
It’s a generic Romantic Comedy so you know my normal over the top sarcastic response. This one involves an older woman falling for a younger man. Hopefully Ms. Deschanel will watch and learn to not feel shame for out love.

Splice
Adrian Brody confuses everyone again and totally at some point has sex with a creature he and some woman make in a lab. Speaking of that woman, three times in the trailer they make it look like she might die, then immediately show her alive and well later on in the film. Who can I trick into seeing this with me?

Baarìa (limited release)
This is an “autobiographic epic of three generations in the Sicilian village where” writer/director Giuseppe Tornature grew up. I love the name Giuseppe.

City Island (limited release)
Hidden among the good foreign stuff is an American comedy starring Andy Garcia unravelling and such. While the clip shown on Top Gear looked rubbish this could actually be good as limited release comedies often are. This isn’t a solid rule though.

Ivul (limited release)
What’s that you say Lassie? “Part nightmare, part fantasy, Ivul tells the tale of Alex, who bizarrely moves out onto the roof of his house and refuses to come down after a false abuse accusation. From there, he watches the family he loves, but can’t live with, as it destroys itself from the inside out.” Thanks Lassie, that sounds pretty good.

Lassie may or may not be linked to IMDb.

Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour

I’m not really supposed to review comic books but I’ll be brief. It has taken me a whole extra day to get my hands on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s final tome in the Scott Pilgrim saga thanks to slow delivery by Amazon. This is amusing in a way in that all the events in Scott Pilgrim stem from one Amazon delivery girl being ultra-efficient.

The final book provides a satisfying close to Pilgrim’s journey with the usual mix of jokes, emotions, fighting and the fourth wall being repeatedly broken. Some things I had predicted came to pass and some things I was completely wrong about, to say any more would ruin a great story. The art is the best of all the volumes and contains more huge anime eyes than any other.

This book was a joy and the entire series is one I will happily revisit. I doubt I will ever relate to another comic hero as much as I can with Mr Pilgrim.

It was interesting reading the final showdown having now seen clips from the trailer for the film and some obvious differences became apparent. But the film will have it’s day, for now let’s bask in the epicness that is the Scott Pilgrim comics.