Toy Story 3

I was eight years old when Toy Story was first released and I remember distinctly the connection I felt to my own toys that was so beautifully and innocently recreated in that film. In this final instalment Andy, the child whose toys the films are about, is finally leaving home for college and the inevitable progression from childhood to adulthood has begun and so he must decide what he will do with his toys. As before the film follows the exploits of Woody and Buzz (Tom Hanks and Tim Allen respectively). Both Hanks and Allen lend their voices with the comedic touch and sentimentality that is so familiar and so very welcome. Neither Hanks or Allen have their talents particularly tested but with such well established roles it isn’t necessary, their established story means that any events in the film tug at the heartstrings and tug they do. As always it is Buzz’s role to temper Woody’s idealistic tendencies with Buzz more willing to accept change whereas Woody shows a steadfast loyalty to his owner. One of the greatest elements of this film is how it deals with change with the toy world acting as a microcosm of our own.

As well as Woody and Buzz there are the usual fellow toys (Mr and Mrs Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Hamm and Rex) providing plenty of laughs including a particularly brilliant scene in which Mr Potato Head briefly becomes Mr Tortilla Head. Just like all Pixar films it is often the case that the best jokes come from incidental and minor characters, the green soldiers stating they’re “first in the trash” come clean-out time reminds us all of those lesser toys we just throw in the bottom of the box after having played with them once.

Like all sequels there must be an array of new characters, this film is no different, with the risk being that they are hollow or two-dimensional but just like all other Pixar films they are incredibly well thought out with the new ‘enemy’, for lack of a better word, Lotso (played marvellously by Ned Beaty) possessing a great back story. As the purveyor of the toys new found home, Lotso controls their destinies determining them fodder for the younger children of the nursery whilst the older toys remain with the slightly older children who treat them, and playtime, with a somewhat more relaxed attitude.

In addition to Lotso we are also given the timeless romance of Ken and Barbie as well as a troupe of toys who perform a large amount of ‘improv’ (a better description of a child’s imagination I’m yet to hear). With wonderful cameos from Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Conchords) and Jeff Garlin (Wall-E, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development) the new additions are just as loveable and entertaining as the characters we all know so well.

The story moves along at a heady pace leaving little time for thought or distraction and moves swiftly between scenes and characters whilst also balancing those poignant moments with slick satirical and slapstick comedy. It is exactly what you have come to expect from a Pixar film and though perhaps not the best film of the trilogy it is a fitting end to what has been a landmark series of films. Each one has accurately portrayed a stage of childhood and this film is no different. What is perhaps most impressive is that in spite of being a collection of children’s films this one has been able to show the inherent darker side to loss and change without flinching from what is an important moment in everyone’s life. I was surprised as well to find myself more emotionally connected to Andy than I had in the previous two films even though he has no more screen time than he has before his presence was touching and added greatly to the overall tone of the film.

As a trilogy the story resonates with every living generation, we can each recall the progression from imagination to reality that we all must experience. The fact that these films allow us to relive the freedom that playing with toys allows is quite a wondrous achievement. My only hope is that with the increasing availability to children of technologies such as mobile phones and computer games they have not lost the ability to produce their own worlds and stories, a stage which as an adult it is impossible to regain.

Hot Tub Time Machine

As with the rest of western culture the cinema has become awash with the eighties, not only is there the horrific looking remake of The Karate Kid but MTV has also picked up a television remake of Teen Wolf. Though Hot Tub Time Machine isn’t a remake the majority of the film is set in 80′s ski resort and is loaded with all the stereotypes that this will evoke; aggressive yet pathetic ‘jock’ and cute indie girl (Lizzy Caplan of Cloverfield and True Blood) to name but two.

The film begins with us discovering that Adam (John Cusack) has recently been dumped by his long-term girlfriend and so he and his friends attempt to reignite the excitement of their youth by returning to the ski resort they frequented as teenagers. Upon arrival they see the place has turned to ruin and so they brace themselves for what is looking to be a rather depressing weekend of reminiscence only to find that, through some very flimsy science, the hot tub has become a time machine and they have been transported back to 1986, a significant winter for each character. The only exception is Jacob (played brilliantly by Clark Duke – Kick-Ass), Adam’s nephew, who is yet to be born.

The jokes in this film are about what you would expect, a frat-boy comedy with a few gross-out moments and many laboured jokes about sex (Jacob gets to watch his moment of conception). Each character attempts to change their fortunes by altering their past to the benefit of their future selves. The problem with this being that they are attempting to pay homage to Back To The Future, a film which does a far better job and is able to create far greater comedy from well-rounded characters as opposed to clichés. The film even goes so far as to have Jacob fade in and out throughout as he worries that he may not be born should they alter the past too drastically. Perhaps to truly wear their influences on their sleeve they cast Crispin Glover who, though only a side-character, ends up being the only one able to really bring any laughs (there is a difference between him in 1986 and 2010 and each time you see him you are waiting for the fateful event that will change him forever).

Though an enjoyable film with enough light laughs to keep you entertained it suffers because of it’s attempts to acknowledge too many films without ever striking out as an original idea in it’s own right. John Cusack provides a middle-of-the-road performance without straying into either brilliance or banality, as can be said for the majority of the cast (Craig Robinson is once more reduced to playing the character he has played in nearly every film he’s been in). The only worthwhile moments come from either Crispin Glover or Clark Duke with each playing their parts effortlessly in roles they can quite easily command.

Date Night

Normally when I approach a new film, especially one I’m paying to see, I will go off writing or directing credits but on this film I made the foolish decision to see it because of the two lead actors. Having recently discovered 30 Rock I have become enamoured with Tina Fey and on the assurances of a friend I had been told that Steve Carell’s turn in The Office had earned him the right to be respected. However, it transpired that I was wrong to trust such judgements and the subsequent hour and thirty minutes was the price I paid.

The premise for the film is simple enough; a married couple tired with their day-to-day lives attempt to inject excitement by changing venue for their weekly date night to a high-end New York restaurant. They are turned away on the door because they were foolish enough to assume they would get a table without a reservation but when there is a no-show they lay claim to the absent couple’s table by pretending to be the missing couple. What follows is a horrendously flimsy plot with no real comic originality or any weighty material for the more than capable lead actors to work with.

The film is loaded with clichés and hackneyed characters that add nothing to an already lacklustre plot. Basic plot devices such as untrustworthy police and gun-toting gangsters lead to some boring and unoriginal actions sequences with no sense of suspense or excitement. The two core elements of the film, thriller and comedy, are lost amidst attempts to produce both and at no point does the film really settle into either genre.

There is only one moment in the film where I felt that Tina Fey and Steve Carell were given the freedom to demonstrate their abilities as comedic actors. In a rather sweet scene where we are introduced to the standard fair of their weekly date night the characters mock their fellow patrons by improvising conversations taking place between other couples. A moment of gentle humour and intimacy that promises more than the rest of the film is able to deliver.

Time for a new blog post!

Yes it has been an incredibly long time since my last blog post but I intend to rectify that (not including this one as this is merely a filler). Hopefully over the next week I will put up three new posts, one for each film I have seen at the cinema in the last couple of months. Apologies again for the delay!

Is Avatar worth the hype?

Last week I was afforded the opportunity to see Avatar not only in 3D but also in IMAX format. I would first like to say that it is a truly astounding feat made with some quite spectacular technology but has this come at the cost of narrative and characterisation?

On the surface we are provided with a perfect example of the classical hollywood narrative in which we are given a protagonist with a principle aim which is later abandonned through emotional conflict so that he can fulfil what is revealed to be his true destiny. This is neither original nor particularly exciting, it certainly entertains on the most basic of levels but it at no point attempts to engage with any deeper meaning. I am certain some would argue that the film serves to highlight the plight of nature and the necessity of co-existing with our surroundings but this isn’t a new concept and we aren’t offered anything original in Avatar that advances this overly used plot device.

Throughout this film a prevailing thought I had was of its similarities to the film Fern Gully in which we find a human who has been brought to the forrest with the intention of cutting it down only to find himself shrunk down and living with fairies who have struck up a balance with the forrest. He then spends the film learning the ways of the fairies and eventually coming to appreciate the importance of preserving nature.

Though Fern Gully is a film intended for children, and Avatar is aimed for teenagers and older, this gives Fern Gully the license to be simplistic but in doing so provides a heartfelt and sincere portrayal of ecological balance. As Avatar has set its sights on an older audience it finds itself forced to present a more overly complicated and ‘deeper’ story but fails because of this. You are given far too many characters and in spite of the runtime (two hours and forty minutes) you only every come to understand the two main characters, even though they don’t feel truly fleshed out, with everyone else presented as nothing more than two-dimensional filler. The worst of these being the leader of the marines who barks out clichés throughout and even though we find him chomping on a cigar he never quite compares to Sgt. Apone from Aliens and doesn’t produce lines as quotable as “Alright, sweethearts, you heard the man and you know the drill! Assholes and elbows!”. The dialogue is often unexciting and trite, at one point Jake Sully actually shouts “For your children and for your children’s children…” and though inspiring in other films feels like dust in your ears in this instance.

Perhaps one of the most infuriating elements of the film is how Cameron seems to have dragged every minority he can find and cast them all as the Pandorans. Their main influence is obviously that of Native American but there are glimpses of various cultures with their being no hint of any original rituals created from their rather magnificent homeworld. The most intriguing element of their culture comes from their ability to connect to fellow animals by using feelers located in a tail that extends from their heads and attachs to similar apendages on other animals. This enables them to become telpathically linked to the animal they are riding. This is easily the most beautiful element of their culture and yet it feels glossed over and unexplored.

The story isn’t so awful that film is rendered unwatchable it is simply a shame that having been presented with the opportunity to produce a marvellous spectacle Cameron has opted to rehash better films such as Fern Gully and Princess Mononoke, to name two examples.

However, the major appeal of this film is not its story but the new technology that has been implemented to render a visual feast and all in glorious 3D. When you consider the film in this sense it is an achievement; the feel for depth you are given in this film is stunning and this adds, literally, a whole new dimension of appreciation to the mise-en-scene. Even in the most simplest of moments, take for example when Jake is recording a video diary, the fact that the date for the log entry appears to be floating in the bottom left of the screen is surprisingly beautiful to look at. You are constantly given the sense that you are not looking at a screen but through a window. There appears to be no true boundary between yourself and what you are seeing. On sweeping shots of the forrest and terrifying moments where the camera peers over the the edge of a cliff you are given a thrill beyond words. Even after having seen Coraline in 3D and believed that to be amazing I was completely absorbed by the luscious greenery and the symphony of neon lights displayed in the forest during the bewitching night scenes.

There is one major drawback to the use of 3D though; as a piece of technology it still has a long way to come before it can compare to the crisp definitions of standard 2D. During fast-paced sequences I often found the picture would become blurred resulting in my eyes being unable to focus. When the camera was stationary or slow-moving it looked magnificent but during the final battle it was nearly impossible to understand what was happening at times as half of the screen was blurred.

Though a huge step forward in cinematic technology it still needs to be refined before it becomes a truly viable means of filmmaking. As for Avatar, as much as the film may be an achievement in terms of visuals it still lacks an engrossing or exciting narrative and although I would recommend the experience of seeing it in 3D and on the big screen I would recommend it for no other reasons.

The toil of Royal Mail

Having discovered the joys of one-click purchases using the Amazon application for my iPhone I am now suffering the eventual downside; waiting to sign for the package. In a desperate attempt to avoid the innevitable early start I asked my mum if she would be free today to which she informed me she would except between 9am and 11am. As this is really the only time I was actually interested in being covered her initial response of ‘yes’ was particularly disheartening. And so after what was an ill advised, but excellent, late night of skype chat with a friend I found myself getting in bed at 6am only to be up again at 9am and now feeling utterly bewildered towards my surroundings and generally confused by the most basic of activities.

I began this post this morning at 11am and now, at 2pm, I have discovered that my parcel has not only failed to be delivered but also hasn’t even made it to Manchester. In spite of a promise of next day delivery they can’t even get it to the city I live in. I think my frustration would be lessened if their website at least informed me of this but the best it could offer was “your item is progressing through our system”, perhaps the most inept tracking system I have encountered. I experienced a similar problem about a week ago when I ordered series two of Look Around You, again from Amazon and using the next-day delivery service. I was, however, willing to accept the late delivery last time as their had been horrendous snow and I figured it was perfectly reasonable that they may struggle to get deliveries out.

The only reason I am even using this service is because Amazon offered a free trial of their ‘Prime’ service which gives free next day delivery for the length of the trial (one month). Although I do love the idea of receiving my orders especially quickly the hassle of having to ensure that someone is in the house so as to sign for it perhaps does not outweigh waiting an extra few days to have it simply posted through my door.

However, as I have now been gifted with a day of no activity or waiting around I shall take the opportunity to finish reading Generation Kill by Evan Wright. An excellent book that is an account of the experiences of the journalist Evan Wright as he spends two months with American Recon Marines at the start of the invasion into Iraq. A horrifying account that shows the shocking ineptitude of those in charge and the astounding resilience of the Marines below them. Not only this but you then have the outstanding Television adaptation of this by the genius David Simon (famed for the breathtaking program The Wire). For those of you who are yet to experience either of these I strongly urge you to go out and purchase both the book and DVD of Generation Kill and the DVDs of The Wire.

Bye for now, Stu.

P.S. In case you were wondering I have ordered the first season of Dollhouse and as a slightly obsessive Joss Whedon fan to be denied it is extremely depressing, especially off two hours sleep.

All work and snow-play makes Stu a fun boy.

I have had this blog for just over two weeks and I have already broken the promise I made to myself when I started, that I would post on here at least twice if not three times a week. However, I have always taken a while to settle into any sort of routine so I will simply see this as a teething period!

In the time since my last post I have seen the world transformed in to a marshmallow landscape strewn with sprawling bodies as they scramble on the ice to retain their dignity. On many occassions that has been me as I found myself clinging to the nearest solid object that won’t bend or crack under my own weight. On one specific occassion this extended beyond the pavement as I slipped on the laminate floor in my friends house; my confidence in my stability was shaken as I forgot to take in to consideration that the soles of my boots still had snow on them.

Another set back of the snow is that I have spent the last three weeks trying to find the perfect album to accompany the beautified landscape so it feels as though I am in a highly polished american film. Up to now the best I have found are the albums ‘The Empyrean’ and ‘Curtains’ by John Frusciante but I am certain I can improve on this and as I may only have a week or so left to experiment I am working extra hard. As a little side note, I am currently obsessed with John Frusciante so this may filter into my posts for a while, especially as the prospect for a new album builds considering he recently announced his long due departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

As I posted last time I have begun my search for volunteer work, so far I haven’t found an actual position but I have found a couple of potential places in Manchester. I am yet to hear back from them, I think this namely due to the snow but if I don’t hear back this week I will probably begin a constant barrage of phone calls as they appear to be the only two volunteering projects that I might actually love taking part in. This is namely because they involve working with people who are creatively inclined and I feel it is about time I begin getting to know those talented souls who live in Manchester. I have recently struck up a potentially fruitful writing relationship with a friend of mine so maybe this is the beginings of me becoming proactive, it has been an extremely long time coming but I suppose you have to start at some point.

I’m afraid that I will have to leave it there, it’s nearly 3am and I would like to watch one more episode of Gilmore Girls before I get to bed, I need the come down after a rather intense episode of The Wire. Which reminds me, I am hoping to write a breakdown of TV programs, films and music that I adore and insist you all immerse yourselves in soon so you have that exciting prospect to keep you going.

Bye for now, Stu.