Toy Story 2 Review

Synopsis
While Andy (John Morris (voice)) is away at Cowboy Camp, his mom (Laurie Metcalf (voice)) has a yard sale. While rescuing a toy from being sold, Woody (Tom Hanks (voice)) gets stolen by Al (Wayne Knight (voice)), a toy collector and owner of Al’s Toy Barn. In Al’s apartment, Woody discovers he is a rare toy and part of The Round-Up Gang, along with Jessie (Joan Cusack), Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer), and Bullseye. Meanwhile, Buzz (Tim Allen (voice)) and the rest of Andy’s toys go on a rescue mission to retrieve Woody before Andy returns home.

Review
I make no point in hiding that Toy Story is one of my all-time favorite films and was instrumental in shaping my childhood. It tells a great story, the characters are relatable, and the computer animation was groundbreaking. It’s almost impossible to think that a sequel could hit just as many emotional strings. But by George, John Lasseter and his crew at Pixar managed to do just that, creating a Toy Story sequel that is almost almost (almost) as good as its predecessor.

In 1999, Pixar was still growing, still proving themselves as fantastic, emotional storytellers. They came out strong with Toy Story in 1995then kept the momentum going in 1998 with their sophomore film, the good not great A Bug’s Life. When it came to their third outing, they returned to the characters that got them started. What I think really makes this work, like any good sequel really, is that it doesn’t retread the previous movie. Instead, it builds on it, telling a unique story that honors the first and expands the world it inhabits. We get to meet Al and explore Al’s Toy Barn, previously only seen in the Buzz Lightyear commercial. More toys are seen, like Barbie, Zerg, and the rest of the Round-Up Gang. But most importantly, it teaches a new message.

Toy Story was about friendship, getting past your differences, and understanding one another to become closer. Toy Story 2‘s message is about accepting that things change, or eventually will change, and you have to accept that and make the most out the time you have. This cleverly expands on the concept of the first movie and will be expanded even further in Toy Story 3. Not only is it a sequel in name and chronology, it is a sequel in story. Pixar you clever bastards.

Another film series I have mentioned over and over that has had a big impact on me was the original Star Wars trilogy. There are a ton of Star War references in this film. I recognized a few when I was younger but there are more than I realized after watching it more recently. That’s so cool! Mixing two of my favorite things it the best.

Another thing about the story I got a kick out of was meeting another Buzz Lightyear. This time, Buzz got to experience what the rest of Andy’s toys went through when joined the group in the previous film. I love seeing the changing of roles and Buzz needing to deal with himself.

The Toy Story films could almost be considered ensemble films. Kid don’t have only one or two toys. No, they have many. For as many characters there are that are returning, Jessie and Pete, the two biggest (speaking) new characters, get plenty of development. Jessie is my favorite of the two. She has so much spunk and energy it’s hard not to smile along with her. But underneath all that playfulness, she has a rich past that is slowly and effectively unfolds as the film moves along. Until only recently, I didn’t realize Kelsey Grammer voiced Stinky Pete. Is voice work is tremendous! I want to see him as animated villain again.

It’s hard to imagine a sequel to one of the most beloved and emotional animated films living up to its predecessor, but Toy Story 2 comes awfully close. This is a sequel that does everything right: A fun, new story that honors what has been told before while expanding on it, a great message that young and older audiences can relate to, and outstanding new additions to the cast that are well fleshed out. In terms of sequels, you can’t do much better than Toy Story 2.

Rating
4.5/5

Also read my reviews for Toy Story and Toy Story 3.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
John Lasseter – Director / Original Story
Ash Brannon – Co-Director / Original Story
Lee Unkrich – Co-Director
Pete Doctor – Original Story
Andrew Stanton – Original Story / Screenplay
Rita Hsiao – Screenplay
Doug Chamberlin – Screenplay
Chris Webb – Screenplay
Randy Newman – Composer

Tom Hanks – Woody (voice)
Tim Allen – Buzz Lightyear (voice)
Joan Cusack – Jessie (voice)
Kelsey Grammer – Stinky Pete (voice)
Don Rickles – Mr. Potato Head
Jim Varney – Slinky Dog (voice)
Wallace Shawn – Rex (voice)
John Ratzenberger – Hamm (voice)
Annie Potts – Bo Peep (voice)
Wayne Knight – Al (voice)
John Morris – Andy (voice)
Laurie Metcalf – Andy’s Mom (voice)
Estelle Harris – Mrs. Potato Head
R. Lee Ermey – Army Sarge (voice)
Jodi Benson – Tour Guide Barbie / Barbie on Backpack (voice)
Jonathon Harris – Geri the Cleaner
Joe Ranft – Weezy (voice)
Andrew Stanton – Evil Emperor Zerg (voice)
Jeff Pidgeon – Green Aliens (voice)

Transformers: Age of Extinction Review

Synopsis
After the devastation of Chicago several years ago, Transformers are being hunted and have gone into hiding. Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) stumbles upon the dormant Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), causing Cade, Optimus, Cade’s daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz), and Tessa’s boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) meet up with the remaining Autobots and go on the run from the CIA.

Review
I went into Transformers: Age of Extinction with what I wouldn’t call high hopes but some hope. It had a new cast and a fresh start. Unfortunately, it also had too long of a run time and no apparent sense of direction. Not only that, but the Dinobots, a large part of the marketing for the movie, only appeared at the tail end. I’m not going to be one of those fans that go on an angry rant, but I will say that it could have, and should have, been much better.

One of the positives about Transformers: Age of Extinction is that is does have some pretty funny lines and moments. Most of these are supplied by either TJ Miller or Stanley Tucci. Tucci is easily one of the best things about this film. His role is different than his other films like Easy A or The Hunger Games. It goes to show how versatile he can be. At times the humor felt a little forced, but overall it was pretty good.

Having Frank Welker voice Galvatron, the reincarnated Megatron, was a great nod towards fans, just like Peter Cullen supplying his voice for Optimus Prime. Cullen and Welker were the voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron/Galvatron respectively in the original 1980s The Transformers cartoon. Welker did a few voices in Dark of the Moon but I was happy to see him return to one of his original roles from the cartoon. Hugo Weaving was perfect for Megatron in the first three movies, but Welker needed to come in eventually and this was the perfect time to do it.

I was blown away by the special effects and computer generated images (CGI) of Transformers, and Age of Extinction takes that up a notch. All the character designs and models looked spectacular. Despite the chaotic nature of the fight sequences, it was much easier to follow than the first film. The final fight scene was especially impressive. My friend described it as much more fluid than before; It actually felt like a real fight rather than “Power Ranger Megazords fighting each other” (I think those were his words). I would have to say that is a pretty good analogy and I am inclined to agree with him.

Once the action really picked up, about 30-45 minutes into the movie, it literally never stopped. I don’t think there was more than a ten minute span where something wasn’t blowing up. Had this come out when I was younger, this would have been my favorite of the series for that reason alone. Action in action movies is great (it’s pretty much implied), but when that takes away from the characters, it becomes a little too much, especially when there is over two and a half hours of it.

Because of the huge focus on action and explosions, there was virtually no characterization. Any time it seemed like there was going to be some character development, like when Cade (Mark Wahlberg) and Optimus start discussing parenting, it cuts away and the action revs  back up. We learn about the human characters a little (a lot about how Cade was going to protect his daughter), but hardly anything about the Transformers themselves. Since the only returning Autobots were Optimus and Bumblebee, I would have liked to learn about the new robots. I know it wasn’t a matter of time, because with 165 minutes, it could have happened.

For a movie whose advertising strongly showed the Dinobots, they hardly had any screen time. They only appeared for the final 20-ish minutes of the action (maybe more, I started to lose track of time) and acted more like a deus ex machina than anything else. And I was expecting a more epic showdown between Optimus and Grimlock, which was very anticlimactic. I would have almost preferred that their presence in the film was not teased at all and instead have it be a surprise when they showed up on screen. My attitude would have been more “Whaa? Dinobots? Awesome!” rather than “Where are the Dinobots? That’s it?” Big difference.

Transformers: Age of Extinction suffers from too-man-villains syndrome. There is the main human villain, his head henchman, another human villain who is kind of but isn’t really a bad guy, the Transformers’ villain Lockdown, and Galvatron. The main focus was on Lockdown and Attinger (Kelsey Grammer), but unfortunately that meant Glavatron was pushed to the side and was hardly present. Attinger felt like your stereotypical comic villain, bordering on the corny side. I will say this though: Lockdown is a badass. He was a great adversary for the Autobots and different from the Decepticons from the previous films. As for Galvatron, I do like how they brought him into the series, it was the best way to introduce him without Unicron (a world-devouring being who transformed Megatron into Galvatron in the 1986 film The Transformers: The Movie).

I don’t know why, but I was expecting so much more from Transformers: Age of Extinction. The Dinobots, a huge part of the trailers and marketing in general, hardly have a presence in the film. Too many bad guys caused several villains to get only a few minutes of screen time. The human villain Harold Attinger, played by Kelsey Grammer, was pretty flat, but Lockdown, the big Transformers villain, was a badass. With a run time almost that of The Godfather, and non-stop action from the beginning, it was overwhelming. And even with that much time, there was virtually no character development. I understand the something like Transformers is supposed to be corny, but Transformers: Age of Extinction saw the line, flew over it and never looked back.

Rating
2/5

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Michael Bay – Director
Ehren Kruger – Writer
Steve Jablonsky – Composer

Mark Wahlberg – Cade Yeager
Nicola Peltz – Tessa Yeager
Jack Reynor – Shane Dyson
Stanley Tucci – Joshua Joyce
Kelsey Grammer – Harold Attinger
Titus Welliver – James Savoy
Sophia Myles – Darcy Tirrel
Bingbing Li – Su Yueming
TJ Miller – Lucas Flannery
James Bachman – Gill Wembley
Peter Cullen – Optimus Prime (voice)
John Goodman – Hound (voice)
Ken Watanabe – Drift (voice)
John DiMaggio – Crosshairs (voice)
Mark Ryan – Lockdown (voice)
Frank Welker – Galvatron (voice)
Reno Wilson – Brains (voice)

Grammer is Officially Expendable

It has been floating around that Kelsey Grammer was in talks to join the already large cast of The Expendables 3.  Recently, Yahoo movies has confirmed that audiences will get to see Grammer in the upcoming installment of the action franchise.

He will play Bonaparete, a retired mercenary recruited by the Expendables.  Originally Nicolas Cage was up for the role, but for whatever reason, that didn’t pan out.  Grammer is an interesting casting choice because he hasn’t had many action roles (I can’t think of any besides X3: The Last Stand).  But I think he will play the part well.  He has many years of experience from sitcoms that will offer much comedic relief.

The Expendables 3 is set for release on August 15, 2014 with Patrick Hughes in the director’s chair. Grammer will join Expendables veterans Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, and Jet Li, as well as fellow newcomers Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas, Milla Jovovich, and Wesley Snipes.

Transformers 4 title and poster revealed

The next Transformers movie will be titled Transformers: Age of Extinction.  The title reveal also comes with the release of the first official poster (courtesy of Yahoo! Movies):

The Dinobots have been confirmed, though not through an official press release, to make an appearance in the film.  Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told Tformers.com, “I can not disclose the specifics, but you can be sure that the arrival of the Dinobots will give the audience a lot to be excited about.”  Not much else is known about the plot of the movie.

In the Generation I Transformers cartoon, the Dinobots consisted of Grimlock (Tyrannosaurus Rex), Sludge (Brontosaurus), Slag (Triceratops), Snarl (Stegosaurus), and Swoop (Pterodactyl).

Dinobots Roar by *KevingRaganit

The Dinobots are a great addition to Transformers 4.  They were some of the best characters from the origianl 1980s cartoon and is a logical next step for the franchise.  Revenge of the Fallen saw the constructicons and their combining into Devistator, as well as Optimus Prime using parts from another Autobot.  And in Dark of the Moon we got a glimpse into the more Cybertronian looking characters.  Now we get a wider variety of characters besides vehicles.

I’m looking forward to this movie.  A lot.  I really enjoyed the other movies (yes, even Revenge of the Fallen despite its shortcomings).  But with a fresh cast and no overarching story to abide to, Transformers: Age of Extinction should be a great addition to the franchise, and will hopefully kick off another set of films.

Transformers: Age of Extinction stars Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Sophia Myles, and TJ Miller.  Michael Bay returns to directing duties.  The film is slated for a June 27, 2014 release.