Reviews

Toy Story 3 is quintessential Pixar and this sequel honors the series. Like most Pixar movies, Toy Story 3 has appeal to both kids and adults alike. Fans of the series will appreciate getting to see Andy grow up and head off to college, and with all the usual antics and joking young kids will still love it (though the action could be a little intense for some children).

You probably know what to expect with Toy Story 3 and you won't be disappointed.

Metropia is an animated movie made by digitally altering photographs and stitching them together in After Effects. It's set in a dystopian future where the metro systems of all of western Europe have been united. In many ways the story feels like A Scanner Darkly, but has less depth to it. The characters are a bit hard to get to know and the corporate overlords are simple and tired stereotypes.

Overall, the movie is unimpressive. The animation style is imaginative and the voice acting is good, but the story is boring and leaves a lot to be desired.

The Expendables was exactly what it sold itself to be. A very standard action movie with a number of cameos from the greatest action movie stars of all time. It was loud, over the top, and at times ridiculous - exactly as it should be. I liked this movie, but you'll only like it if you love movies lots of gunfire and explosions. So if you're an action movie fan and it comes around, you should make time for The Expendables.

Flipped is a teenage love story that follows two neighbors as they grow up. While I didn't have any specific complaints with the movie, it was just completely forgettable. I found none of the main characters that interesting, none of the back stories either interesting or developed, and a complete lack of anything to make the movie memorable.

I'd skip this one if I were you, since you'll forget the movie in a day or two anyway.

That Meridith liked this movie is a good indicator that hell has frozen over. She hates almost every movie she sees so the fact that she liked this one speaks volumes. She's not alone in her opinion of the movie either.

Dreamworks had seemed to have hit a bit of a dry spell since Shrek in which I just haven't been impressed. How to Train Your Dragon ended that spell for me. It was a wonderful and heartwarming story. The voice acting was very good and the animation, especially of the star dragon, was wonderful. I think they managed to do with Toothless what Pixar did with Wall-E's expressions.

This is obviously a great movie for kids, but almost any adult will enjoy it too. If you're looking for something light-hearted and fun, it's definitely worth checking out.

It's official, Gus Van Sant is one of my favorite directors.

(I lost the rest of this review in the import and don't remember enough about the movie now to fill it in. Apparently I liked it, but I'm sorry that I can't tell you more about why.)

Wall Street is a great look at the underworld of the big shots in the financial world. The acting is excellent. The characters are very real and believable. The story is great and it's masterfully directed. You definitely shouldn't miss this one.

Well this one seals it. I can't stand Steven Soderbergh. I keep giving him a chance, but he just really misses the point. Rule number one of making movies: Before you worry about making it artistic, focus first on telling a good story. Quite frankly, he sucks at telling stories. With the notable exception of Erin Brokovich, Soderbergh just doesn't get his point across without trying reallly hard to convince you that he's a visionary director. This movie is a dull story about a guy that doesn't capture your interest. Skip it. Skip any other Soderbergh movies you run across too, they'll just annoy you.

L'Auberge Espagnol is a great coming-of-age story about a French student who heads to Barcelona for a year of studying abroad. He winds up living in a cramped apartment with 6 other people from all over Europe. The movie is mostly shot in French and Spanish, but there's sidetracks in English, Catalan, and a few other languages in there just to keep it interesting. While the lead character isn't very likable, the story as a whole is. Superbly acted with interesting and artistic direction, this one is not to be missed.

This is a cute little romantic comedy that's got some pretty funny parts. There's not much to say about this genre of movie, so I won't say too much. I will say that you'll probably like the ending. It's, shall we say, refreshing.