Sorry for taking a couple days off from catching up on reviews. I had started Winter's Bone a couple of days ago and had to take a break from movies to finish a paper. With that paper out of the way and the next one not due until Wednesday, I'm going to try and knock off 2 months worth of reviews over the next two days.
I was thinking today as I watched the finish of Winter's Bone, my letter categories are flawed. I'm not about to change them, but some movies I wouldn't watch again, and I may or may not recommend them because some people just might not enjoy them. That doesn't mean that they don't deserve to be in the top category. My examples of this line of thinking come from last year's movie crop; The Road and A Serious Man were both movies that fit this mold. While neither were swimming in money from the box office, they both beautifully told a story through the art of film. Both films did this exceptionally, yet I probably wouldn't have recommended them to most people. I have since gone back and changed them in my records from B movies to A movies. All this to say, use the categories as a guideline. Read my review and I will usually make mention of the types of people I think should see these movies.
Toy Story 3 - Emphatic A
I was 11 when the first installment of the series came out. Though I may have been a little older than the intended demographic, the movie captivated me then, and it still does to this day. It changed moviemaking for the better. When Toy Story 2 came out, I was still moved because of my connection to the characters, but it took numerous viewings before the story grew on me. As I sit here to write this review, I have watched each of the movies somewhere close to 20-30 times, and over time, the second one may have surpassed the first one in my heart. Enter Toy Story 3, I have now watched it twice over the last 6-ish months. Between the first and my most recent viewing, it's captivated my heart just as if I was 11 again. The first time I watched it I wouldn't have said anything like this, but after watching it again I realized the epic scope it tries to explore, and the incredible success it attains. It's safe to say that this installment will soon become my favorite of the three.
Role call: Woody, Buzz, Jesse, Bullseye, Slink, Rex, Ham (Evil Dr. Porkchop), Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Ken and Barbie are all back. When faced with the reality of Andy going off to college, the toys start to entertain ideas of what life might be like without Andy. When Andy chooses Woody as his only college-bound toy, the other toys mistakenly get thrown to the curb. After narrowly escaping the garbage truck, they decide their best course of action is to jump in a box destined for Sunnyside Daycare. They arrive with hope and excitement only to find out the daycare is run by an abandoned, bitter old stuffed bear named Lotso. The rest of the movie follows the band of toys as they try to escape the prison known as Sunnyside and return to Andy to live the rest of their days in the attic.
The toughest thing with sequels, and especially one with this magnitude, is meeting the standards set by previous installments. Introducing new characters is always tricky and must be done with care and understanding. Toy Story 3 does this with precision, creating a myriad of toys that any of us can relate to. The storyline is clever, creative and tugs at our heart strings with every twist and turn. There's almost an unfair advantage because of our deep emotional connection with each of the characters; any feeling we might have in any other movie is magnified because simply, we love each of them as if they were our own toy. Look at me, I'm gushing... Like any good animated movie nowadays, there's enough humor for children in it to last a lifetime but just enough adult oriented jokes for parents to enjoy the movie just as well. Though there isn't a whole lot of improvement on the techniques from the first two movies (there may be, but I'm not technically inclined enough to notice), the precision by which they execute is amazing. There's very few movies that will strike me like this one did... and thus deserves any credit it gets.
Story - 9
Comedy/Tragedy - 8.5
Characters - 5
Believability - 5
Filmmaking - 9
Enjoyment - 9
Toy Story 3 = 4.55 out of 5 yukes
Winter's Bone - A
That was a long review, I'll try and keep this one nice and short. This is the type of movie I'm referring to in my rant above. This movie is good, the story is good, the feel is good. Why? Because it's real. This is the type of movie that doesn't get any mainstream recognition, yet OSCAR loves it. I am telling you right now, you may think it's boring, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't watch it.
On the surface, this movie is about 17-year old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) and the search for her father to ensure the survival of her and her two younger siblings. Her father, a noted meth cooker, missed a court date and is being searched for by both the bail bondsmen and the law. The unfortunate thing is that he put up the family house for his bail and, as he has skipped town, Ree must find him or risk losing everything. On a deeper level this movie speaks to the importance of perseverance, hope and selflessness. There's not a lot of bells and whistles here, yet it resonated so deeply with me. Lawrence's performance is one that grows throughout the whole movie. She continues to get better as the movie progresses, and as her character becomes more and more aware to the battles she must face to survive. Her finest scene finds her on a canoe in what I believe was a lake, I won't say anymore, but when it happens... just watch and enjoy. Truthfully, as I started out, I found myself uninterested in the movie. However, as the story unfolds you can't help but find yourself walking along the journey with Ree. Every step she takes, you take. Every setback she suffers, you suffer. Every times she defies someone, you stand behind her. This is a movie worth watching. So watch it.
I would also like to know what you think specifically about this movie. Please, if you read this review and go out and watch the film, comment on this blog and give me your opinions. I want to know whether a movie like this resonates with others as it has with me.
Story - 7.5
Comedy/Tragedy - 8.5
Characters - 4.5
Believability - 4.5
Filmmaking - 8
Enjoyment - 7
Winter's Bone - 4 out of 5 yukes
... yuke and ooh wit! (a little mad gab for you)
CU
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