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About Jon
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Let’s go to the movies! I love the movie experience, study what happens on the screen and am writing about it to help you with your movie going decisions. Hopefully something in the blogging of a film’s big elements – screenwriting, cinematography, directing, acting, visual effects, sound, and editing (and sometimes automobiles) – will help movie fans discern where their entertainment dollars should go. I’ve been blogging about movies on 99x.com since April 2008 and have been listening to 99x since moving to Atlanta in 1996. I’ve worked on the Olympics and short films that have appeared at Sundance and other film festivals in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. I have a Master’s degree in film from Florida State University and regard film school as one of the best experiences of my life.
I currently live in Atlanta with my wife and two labs; love baseball, music, family and friends, good food, and of course movies. Just to blog down thoughts from an eyewitness perspective I avoid reading other movie blogs or reviews on a new release until I’ve posted my own. All references to box office results or cast and crew are culled from boxofficeguru.com, boxofficemojo.com, or IMDB.com. Wikipedia is not used in the writing of this blog. Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/jonlamoreaux for additional movie updates.
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Jon's Movie Blog
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Jun
18
Written by:
Jon Lamoreaux
6/18/2010 7:15 PM
 Hard to believe it’s been fifteen years since Pixar first introduced us to Woody and Buzz and the rest of the living toys of the Toy Story world. Now they’re back in 3D in 2010 and this third time is most definitely a charm. It’s by far the best of the sequels combining the buckets of sweet, melancholy warmness of sentiment the Pixar folks rung out of Up with the oodles of adventurous predicaments the hidden plastic ecosystem of the many toy species generally find themselves in when children leave them behind every day. Or when they leave them behind for good. Toy Story 3 is similar to the atmospheres of other Pixar films Monsters, Inc. and The Incredibles, but better. So good in fact that I predict it wins Best Picture at next year’s Oscars, being the first animated film to ever do so. At the very least, it’s the best film of 2010 thus far.
The Story: The toys’ owner, Andy, is heading to college. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Rex, Hamm, Slinky, Woody and Buzz, and the others fear they’ll never see Andy again or get played with. The best they can hope for is to be together in the attic until they’re rediscovered again. Problem is, Andy’s mom mistakes them for trash. When they’re set out by the curb and escape that scenario they find themselves suddenly on their way to be donated to a children’s day-care center. Woody insists that they get back to Andy’s house, that they were mistaken as trash but the gang thinks differently, that that’s what Andy intended and that day-care would be a much better place for them to live out the rest of their days. Especially if they’re going to be appreciated by a new crop of kids.
The Goods: The problem with day-care though is that outside of the normal interaction with children, the toy underworld is controlled by a giant, strawberry scented “hugging” bear named Lots-O, as in Lots-O-Hugging. Only this bear doesn’t hug much. In fact, like the warden of a prison he keeps the new toys locked up until they conform to their incarcerated duties, which is to be played with by the youngest of the children, the more rambunctious, rough and tumble toddlers. And here is where the film goes into style overdrive. It grows dark, contrasty, moody, very film noir, and extraordinarily good as the escape theme builds and continues until our little friends find themselves in life threatening jams. I haven’t felt fear in a film like this since the first time I saw Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), which I think Toy Story owes a certain amount of debt to; but it’s also equal to the fear I felt the first time I saw The Exorcist (1973), or Halloween (1978). It’s that powerful. Simply because we’re made to care so much for these little beings.
The day-care in Toy Story 3 introduces a whole slew of new characters including Mattel’s Ken and Barbie, but more importantly it’s the fringe characters like Chuckles the frowning clown who recants a very film noir story of his friendship with Lots-O and how Lots-O changed from lovable bear to control freak toy boss. A minor character is Chatter Telephone, a phone toy that uses his phone to communicate. His voice is filtered as it comes through over the phone’s ear piece and as he tells Woody of Lots-O’s intentions it’s as if we’re getting one of those narrators from 1940 crime films, like Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity (1944), see, or Al Roberts in Detour (1945), even William Holden in Sunset Boulevard (1950).
The look of the film is genius with cinematography elements of hot moonlight streaking into the darkness of the daycare, and spots of light giving characters enough of a glow on their body that while those parts of them are brightly lit the other parts fade into darkness, especially Lots-O. It’s as if the late Conrad Hall whose last film was Road to Perdition (2002), among others like American Beauty (1999), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), and Cool Hand Luke (1967) shot this animated film.
I mention Cool Hand Luke, too, as it like The Great Escape (1963) and films like The Shawshank Redemption (1994), prison films from film history that have set that genre’s bar, seem to have influenced Toy Story 3 director Lars Unkrich (Finding Nemo (2003), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Toy Story 2 (1999)).
The Flaws: And like most of the Pixar films there are generally no flaws…other than the noir tone and prison ambiance in Toy Story 3 might be a tad bit too scary for some children. Unkrich and writers John Lassiter (Toy Story (1995), A Bug’s Life (1998)) and Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine (2006)) incorporate a few snappy, quick editing horror and suspense film tactics along with some near-gruesome deformity in a few toys that might have a few kids asking to sleep with the lights on. Nothing more severe than something out of The Wizard of Oz (1939), but still dark in nature.
The 3D: While no objects are flying out into the laps of the audience the extra dimension creates a stunning depth to the colorful, vibrant world of toys. There’s no better way to say it other than Toy Story 3 in 3D is simply atmospheric. It is closer in look to Monsters, Inc. than any of the other Pixar films and better 3D than Up.
The Call: So ultimately, here’s a rare opportunity to see a film that can hover with the likes of film greats such as Citizen Kane (1941), The Godfather (1972), and Casablanca (1942) and I say go see it now while it’s on the biggest screens available. Enjoy your childhood all over again. But be prepared for tears.
Rated G. Running time is 103 minutes. Featuring the voices of Don Rickles, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Michael Keaton, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Ned Beatty, and John Ratzenberger who as Hamm has a very Cliff from Cheers moment near the middle of the film.
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