(film review) - Toy Story 4

The Toy Story movies can legit go on forever!  I mean when you think about it, there is always a new toy being made and there is always a story to be told.  We won't be able to have Buzz and Woody forever, but it would be interesting to see how far they could take it without losing what makes Toy Story great.  I mean, I near cried in the last one as they were successfully pulling on my heart strings and for the most part, we didn't need any more at all.  So, when I heard about them doing a fourth one, I thought "this is how you milk a franchise!".  Not to say that any franchise that is beyond 3 films is milking it, but there comes a point where you wonder if they can continue holding the bar THAT HIGH and keep it there without wobbling/folding.

If you are up-to-date with the Toy Story, story, Andy is all grown up and he is off to college during Toy Story 3 and his former toys now reside with their new owner Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw), who in this film is starting her first day in Kindergarten.  On her first day, Bonnie creates a toy named Forky (Tony Hale) but with forky, not knowing what he is, Woody decides to take forky under his wing and teach him the ropes of being the new favourite toy.  However, on a road trip forky goes missing and Woody goes after him meeting up with Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and a couple other toys, like Ducky (Keegan-Michael Key) and Bunny (Jordan Peele).  But when forky goes off with another toy, Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) and her ventriloquist dummies, Woody devises a plan to make sure Bonnie and Forky are back together, that no toy is left behind and to do this they enlist the help of Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves).

Just when you think it's all in the bag, the people behind Toy Story have done it again.  Fun, funny, flavorful and heartfelt.  I'm not sure if I would rank this as THE best Toy Story they have done, but it IS waaaay up there.  It's like, there isn't a bad sequel in the franchise.  All the voice acting is superb but the imagery is phenomenal.  the attention to detail is literally beyond amazing.  The world is soo well realised and from when you could see scuff, scratches, dirt, hair strands and such in such detail, let alone actually seeing them, you can tell a lot of heart, time and effort has been put into this franchise.  It would be interesting to see how far they might take it and we will see the loss of particular favourites but as long as they keep the child and adult humour as well as the lessons being taught, I can see this franchise going on for a few years.
A few standouts are definitely Keanu Reeves.  I mean who knew he would be soo good in voice acting? Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele are very hilarious together as well, but one of the characters that stole the show for me was Giggle McDimples (Ally Maki).  For the short time she was on screen, I just loved it.  But these guys have not lost a beat in Story telling at all and I hope to see at LEAST two more.  It can be done.  Even though a Trilogy is an odd number to end on to complete story arcs etc, let's just have two more so we can have two trilogies ending on an even number, then maybe they can leave it for 30-40 years and bring the franchise back, maybe.

A great watch, Enjoy!

(film review) - John Wick 3 - Parabellum

Chapter 3. Where this, now trilogy, should close the story of John Wick and his quest for vengeance leaving him to live a life as a retired hitman in the tranquillity he sees fit.  It’s like, after every movie, you reminisce back to how we got here.  How did it all start? His dog was murdered, he avenged it.  His car was stolen, he retrieved it.  The only thing John has a problem getting back, is his retirement, as finding his was back into the underworld of, well…let’s call it, The Hitman Society has proved to cause more harm than good.  Well, more dead bodies by The Babayagga, but we won’t get into that just yet.

In case I haven’t explained why I love these movies properly, I’ll break it down. John Wick is just like an 80’s or 90’s film where, titular hero, John Rambo? John McClane? John Matrix, even? Take on hordes of enemies who are trying to kill him and he survives.  It’s about suspending disbelief where some elements of the movie may seem unrealistic, but you enjoy the ride anyway.  The story might not be Oscar worthy, but you enjoy the ride anyway.  In most recent years, there hasn’t been much movies, if any that recapture the glory decades of such films.  Some over the top violence, one liners and such, other than the ones that are trying too hard.  Some may argue that the Fast and Furious franchise is among them, but that’s family *he says in his best Vin Diesel voice* and his name isn’t John, it’ Dominic.

The John Wick franchise is the 80’s and 90’s action movies, compressed into an up-to-date, stylish romp with lots of imagination trying to be as realistic as possible.  If you can watch a superhero movie which is largely based off of the comics, bar a handful, then you can watch Mr. Wick escape certain death, repeatedly.  I mean, John McClane wouldn’t Die Hard…well, until they ruined the last one in 2012.  Let’s see what the latest instalment will do, if they ever get to it…I hope not, with that Year One premise.

Anyway, back to the movie…

John Wick is now excommunicado losing all access and privileges of the Hitman Society with a huge 14 million bounty on his head after the events of the last movie.  He is literally a dead man walking.  The continental is off limits as well as any friends or allies he once worked with as they are all included in the worldwide broadcast and may want to collect the reward themselves.  John must stay on the run, avoiding death, literally at every corner to seek a meeting with The Elder, the person at the head of the High Table to negotiate some sort of deal.

This movie does not disappoint from the previous movies and if you have made it this far watching the previous two, you are already enjoying the ride.  I feel as though the movies just get better and better as they give you nothing but fight scene after fight scene after fight scene after brutal kills after fight scene after more brutal kills after even more brutal kills, book fight, horse fight, bike fight and if not, ALL kills ending with a headshot or two at the continental, of all places!  The action.  The Visuals.  The comedy.  There are places to nit-pick, if you must, but it doesn’t take away from the film as a whole, because the film’s pacing does not slow down.  Well, apart from the desert scene, but other than that, nearly every scene is soo masterfully done, you may want to frame certain shots.  I didn’t even mention the dog fight, di I?

if you were a fan of the previous movies, I don’t see you coming away from this movie with negative thoughts as they simply expand on what came before and take it that much more further.  The director Chad Stahelski, has only made 3 movies and the previous two were John Wick movies, so he is definitely on a roll.  I’d say that, due to the movie being a ‘Chapter 3’, is an absolute MUST that you see the first two previous movies as they continue from one another and you might just be confused otherwise, because the film expects you to have experienced the previous movies and not even try to hold your hand with any narrative or exposition at all!

Go watch it if you are a John Wick fan! If not, watch it after you see the first 2 at least.

(film review) - Avengers: Endgame

I'm alive.  It's 2019 and I am alive to see the day when I can watch a Marvel Superhero movie that has 28+ characters (or so) fighting a great evil in a compelling storyline which has taken 11 years to do.  Now I don't mean, it took them 11 years to write the story, maybe 11 months, but the plan was to get to THIS POINT.  The 22nd Movie and the sequel to Avengers: Infinity War to finally complete the Infinity Saga which started with Ironman back in 2008.  Amazing.  I mean this is an amazing feat that nearly every movie studio and their grandparent with their pet has been trying to do as stated in my Infinity War Review.

Universal tried it with their 'Dark Universe', which was meant to be a combination of Monster Movies within the same universe.  Wannabe franchises are announcing first films and also mentioning sequels before they have even wrapped shooting of their first movie, like Power Rangers, because they want to be like the Fast and Furious franchise that has now spun off a Spin-Off with two of their most popular stars...and the trailer looks good! And then you get gems like John Wick.  A man who just goes around killing a bunch of people who were responsible for killing his dog...a present from his terminoloy ill wife.  Not a lot to that story or plot for that matter, but it doesn't try to be anything else.  Touching, I guess but not ground breaking... but they now have dates for a 4th Chapter!!!  Why, because John Wick is great!  I say that, to say this...People, the public, will invest their time and hard earned monies into good stories that has lore and connectivity within the world that they are built in and Endgame has done that over 11 years.  But is it any good you ask? Did The Russo brothers stick the landing and tie a nice tidy bow around the Infinity Saga!?  Considering the last movie, Infinity War was sooo jam-packed with information, some may even say dense; and with how it ended... the answer, is YES! YES! YES!

The film picks up moments after the immediate ending of Infinity War then time jumps to 5 years later when the world almost looks post-apocalyptic.  The world is trying to move on but our main heroes, they cannot.  So, with the surprise arrival of Ant-Man, our failed heroes collectively devise a plan and build up enough courage to band together and do 'Whatever It Takes' (like it says in the trailer), in order to fight for a better tomorrow...even if that means taking the fight back to Thanos no matter the cost.

If I say anything more than what I have just said, would spoil the movie entirely, but what I will say is, the accomplishment of successfully linking ALL 21 movies that came before it and possibly acknowledging all the heroes that came before, is most definitely Knighthood Territory.  Even the trailers didn't give you anything regarding plot.  How do you give service to possibly 28 characters in a 3hr movie, (yes 3 hours, pee before you go in and drink nothing all day) and have a film feel like it gave every single character reasonable time to shine or better yet, acknowledgement, yet not have the film feel like it is dragging to get to the end?  How do you successfully complete major and minor story-arcs for major and minor characters?  How do you keep viewers engaged?  How do you have every bit of dialogue or scene not feel like it is completely unnecessary?  Well, the Russo Brothers have done that and I can assure you, when the movie finishes (Unless you have small bladder issues), you will want more, especially if you are a fan!  It is a slow build up to an AMAZING end.  It is funny in the right places.  Sad in places.  But I kid you not! The EXCITEMENT and PURE SPECTICAL in particular scenes will have you cheering if you have been watching these movies from 2008 as there is a lot of connectivity.  My cinema lit up!  At this point, there is no point mentioning the acting...we are 11 years deep and where every film in their little pockets of trilogies and soon to be trilogies and/or stories, have been getting better over the years...bar Ironman 3 (as I didn't really like that one), it goes without saying that practically every character brought their A-Game.

Have a watch as this is the end of a story-arc that has been meticulously thought out and planned with a few hiccups in places over the years, but managed to stick the landing, probably the best way something like this could ever can.  This film is not exempt from being nit-picked to death, if that is your thing, but as a whole, this movie was very well done and those things you may want to nitpick in the grand scheme of things is likely, fan wishes - fanboy.  Come At Me Bro!  So, well done Russo's, well done.