In 1995 my first wife (Tiny’s Mom) and I went to see a revolutionary animated film featuring the antics of toys who came to life when people weren’t watching.  Directed by John Lassetter and starring the voices of Tom hanks, Tim Allen, and yes one of my favorite funnymen Don Rickles, Toy Story was a huge success.  Toy Story was also revolutionary as it helped launch a multitude of computer animated films to follow.  While many companies have tried to duplicate the Magic that is PIXAR, few have come close.  Their movies always capture a sense of wonder and awe and they focus on things that we as moviegoers NEED in our theater experience; story and character development. 

This weekend PIXAR released its third installment in the Toy Story saga grossing over 109 million dollars in box office revenue.  This makes Toy Story 3 the 11^th hit that PIXAR has released and the second largest grossing animated film opening behind Shrek the Third.  The story is simple and full of familiar characters in familiar sitruations, and yet as John Tweeted Saturday “PIXAR” can do no wrong.  I believe John is right and let’s discuss why. 

The story of Toy Story 3 opens with Woody and the gang remembering the good old days when they used to play with Andy.  These days have long since gone and our toy friends spend a life locked inside a wooden toy chest, hoping that someday they will get played with again.  You see, Andy has grown up and getting ready to go off to college.  His Mom encourages him to either donate, store, or throw away his old toys.  Reluctantly Andy packs up the gang (minus Woody) and begins to haul them off to attic.  A case of mistake identity occurs and the toys find themselves on the sidewalk, soon to be fodder for the garbage truck.  After breaking free of the bag the toys revolt and sneak into a donation box headed for a day care center. 

Once the toys arrive at the center, they are greeted by a lovable pink teddy bear named Lotso-Hugs-A-lot (voiced beautifully by Ned Beatty).  He and his partner Ken (Micheal Keaton) run the toy operation at the day care center and they are excited to see a new batch of toys arrive for the kids to play with.  The toys themselves are happy to get played with as well, that is until they are whisked into the toddler room where they are abused by bratty kids who have no respect for the toys whatsoever.  Buzz complains, only to find out that the whole operation is a racket and he and the rest of the toys must find a way to escape the day care center or face a life of cruel playtime. 

There is a ton of things to love about this film.  First it follows the PIXAR formula of successful movie making; a simple story that includes moments of character development.  We watch as the characters we know and love continue to grow and explore important themes such as loyaty and friendship.  We learn what it REALLY means to be a toy and in doing so we are reminded of our youth and how precious our own toys were to us. 

I couldn’t help but smile while watching this film, my friends from PIXAR are getting even better at this than they were in 1995.  Don’t get me wrong, PIXAR films have always been fun and enjoyable for people of all ages, and the scenes with Ken in this film made me nearly wet myself.  But now they tend to be rather touching as well.  I think it stared back with Wall-E, as I felt so close to the tiny garbage collecting robot and his friend Eva.  Then in UP I found myself weeping like a baby in the first five minutes of the film.  Now in Toy Story 3, I couldn’t help but get choked up once again.  The last 10 minutes of the film were so heartwarming as Andy and his toy friends have one final moment together.  It’s a passing of the torch so to speak leaving things open for Woody and his friends to continue their adventures together. 

I didn’t spend the extra money to see this film in 3D, but Tiggermango tells me it was well worth the price.  Like all PIXAR movies there is a short 5 minute film preceding the feature.  This one is particularly touching and in 3D it adds a special touch.  Regardless of whether you choose to shell out the extra cash for the 3D experience, Toy Story 3 is well worth your time.  Whether you have kids or not you owe it yourself to go and see this film.  The animation is phenomenal and the story is superb, and if you’re a sap like me, you might even walk away feeling like a kid again.

I think I overheard Metroid Other M is coming August and Golden Sun is in November. 3DS? No idea. Everything else; that all next year so no need to go on all about that. You fun folks did. Let’s listen in to all the happy things you said. See Hilden? Positivity! Elders will smile upon the game community you’ve cultivated!

Naw man, seriously I think nobody knocked this conference. Good news. Oh and thanks for saying what you’re talking about. Because I’m still fumbling in the dark over here. Fumbling.

11:26 mormonrage: DK is a done deal. What would be rad is if they had Steve Wiebe introduce it
11:26 TeamFremont: If Wiebe is here, press conference of show.
11:26 antonhritz: DGR will go bananas…
11:27 mormonrage: hell yeah. Then Billy Mitchell crashes the stage and it gets all lucha libre
11:27 antonhritz: and by that i mean they will buy banana flavored tabacco for the huka

12:03 TeamFremont: philosophy ass kicking in 3 2 1
12:03 philhaymes-1: nice!
12:03 philhaymes-1: nintendo already won
12:04 rockhstrongo: you can feel the nerdgasms

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As many of you know, I am a parent.  And as a parent, one of my favorite things to do is take my son to the movies.  I for one, love going out to see a show; it’s a communal experience for me.  The smell of the popcorn, the energy of the audience, everything about the experience is something I deeply enjoy.  Taking Tiny to see shows like The Iron Giant, Cars, and Shrek was especially enjoyable because those movies reminded me that it was ok to be a kid again, and that story telling in the modern age can be better than what I grew up with.  (Not always, but it can be).

The cool and yet sad thing about having kids is they grow up.  Tiny is fourteen now and far more interested in seeing adult shows with his Dad as they make him feel more like a grown up.  So when I asked him if he wanted to see How to Train Your Dragon, I found a gentle reluctance as if to say seeing animated movies wasn’t cool anymore.  When faced with the prospect of seeing this movie or Date Night, I made the executive decision and dragged his teenage butt to the theater for perhaps the last animated movie we might see for awhile.  Little did I know that our journey to the theater would be a lesson for him, and a reminder for me, that it’s ok for adults to see animated movies.  And that some of them can kick a whole lot of ass too.         

The story takes place in the mythical Viking village of Berk.  This island village has a huge pest problem…dragons.  These pesky flying varmints would often attack at night, causing mayhem and stealing livestock.  Led by the heroic Viking chieftain Stoic (Gerald Butler from Gamer) the villagers would do battle with these beasts with a sense of monstrous glee.  It was a rite of passage to kill a dragon and become a true Viking warrior.  Stoic has one problem however, his son Hiccup (Jay Baruchel from She’s Out of My League) is not skilled in the ways of dragon slaying and is somewhat of an embarrassment to him in the village. 

One night during a particularity nasty raid, Hiccup manages to shoot down one of the most elusive of all dragons, the Night Fury.  After failing to convince anyone in the village that he has accomplished this feat, Hiccup searches for his spoils deep in the forest.  There he finds a wounded dragon and instead of killing it, he nurses it back to health and even learns to fly the beast he now calls Toothless.  While learning about his new friend, his father enrolls him in dragon combat training while he and the rest of the warriors search for the elusive dragon nest.  Here hiccup puts what he has learned about dragons to the test, and impressing the girl of his dreams, a warrior named Astrid (America Ferra aka Ugly Betty)  Things go great for Hiccup, but all the while he lives in fear that he may one day have to slay one of the creatures has grown to admire. 

Dreamworks has been hit or miss lately in their films.  Films like Kung Fu Panda and Monsters vs. Aliens were both clever and touching.  While countless sequels and unimaginative titles such as Madagascar can still make the studio money without good story or memorable characters.  How to Train Your Dragon is happily one of the former, a wonderfully told story that is a joy to watch for both adults and kids alike. 
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I think all of us can point to cinematic moments that will stay with us forever.  From Luke’s triumphant run on the Death Star to Superman and Lois Lane’s romantic flight over Metropolis, these moments use the latest in technology to help us believe in the fantastic.  Today, Director James Cameron uses the latest in digital technology to bring the fantasy world of Avatar to life.  The end result is perhaps one of the visually stunning things I have ever experienced on screen. 

James Cameron is no stranger to cutting edge visual effects.  In the 90s he used computer graphics to bring the menacing T1000 to life. The results were so amazing that everybody was asking, “how did he do that?”  And nearly every science fiction movie afterward has incorporated CGI to some varying degree (some more effectively than others).  Today, Cameron’s latest film is a triumph of 3D viewing and stereoscopic filmmaking with cameras that were specially designed for the film.  By now we’ve all seen the new 3D movies.  Usually they are relegated to animated films that can easily disguise any limitation that the production may have. They provide depth and the occasional sight gag, but that’s about it.  The difference in Avatar is the 3D is so good, so engrossing, that you actually feel like you are part of the action.  It’s so good in fact that about an hour into the film you actually forget you’re watching a 3D movie; you’re too involved in what’s going on. 

The story comes from a 114 page manuscript that Cameron wrote back in 1994.  Cameron admits he was inspired by every science fiction book he read as a kid and so many themes feel very familiar to us.  The year 2154, and the RDA corporation is mining Pandora, a lush, Earth-like moon for a rare mineral known as Unobtanium.  The local inhabitants called the Na’vi oppose the mining and destruction of their forest home.  To help ensure the mining continues, Parker Selfridge, (Giovanni Ribisi) employs former marines as mercenaries to provide security for the operation. 

Enter Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic marine who is seeking a second chance in the Avatar program.  You see, humans cannot breathe Pandora’s atmosphere, and in an attempt to educate the natives and win their favor, scientists have genetically engineered human/Na’vi hybrid bodies called Avatars, which are controlled by genetically matched human operators. Jake’s twin brother was supposed to pilot the Avatar but was murdered.  And since Jake shared the same genetic code, he is the perfect replacement.   Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), head of the Avatar Program, considers Jake an inadequate replacement for his brother, relegating him to a bodyguard role.

While Jake is escorting Augustine and biologist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) in their Avatar forms, the group is attacked by a large predator, and Jake becomes separated and lost. Attempting to survive the night in Pandora’s dangerous jungles, he is rescued by Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), a female Na’vi. Neytiri brings Jake back to Hometree, which is inhabited by Neytiri’s clan, the Omaticaya. Mo’at, (C. C. H. Pounder), the Na’vi shaman and Neytiri’s mother have a vision about Jake and she instructs her to teach him their ways.  What follows is a futuristic version of Dances with Wolves as Jake becomes attached the people he has sworn to relocate. 
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Cheese.

You think about that word for a minute. I’m gonna mix me up a drink here.

Ok I’m back.

The resurfacing of the 3D element is a curious attraction. Not since Muppet Vision 3D or that Spiderman Universal Studios thing have I had anything to do with the non-blue-’n-red 3D glasses. They were fun. I could use another round of the glasses. Then around the time that Sharkboy Lavagirl thing and the Journey to the Center of the Earth came around, the hate circuit in the brain noticed a trend: 3D must be family friendly. And what does family friendly mean? Zero attention to plot, story, effort; throw all the budget at gimmicks. So I heard, that’s what happened. I read some reviews, learned to avoid all the HD 3D goodness, and that was the end of it.

An R-Rated 3D movie you say? It’s not friggin’ Creature From the Black Lagoon or some shit? “Hmmm, automatic niche rating means the possibility of effort in the film,” said me brainwaves. But look at the trailer. O Hai it’s the same 90′s cookie cutter slasher film that shits out every 8 months and every 2 weeks at a local Blockbuster. I weighed my options, I chose to roll the dice…

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So, while I absolutely HATE the fact that the 2 is now firmly and officially embedded where the O should rightfully be in the title of my most anticipated movie of 2010, they made me forget all about it today with this news.

Ain’t It Cool News, proprietors of all things awesome in regard to movies I care about, dropped the news today that the Tron sequel will be shot in 3D. Now, most of these recent 3D movies I could care less about. But this one? I’m all about it. Rumor has it that we’ll possibly be seeing some first person light cycle action in 3D and that alone makes me giggle with glee.

With Jeff Bridges returning as Flynn, Lisberger as a consultant, hot actress Olivia Wilde recently signed on and the costume designer from the Watchmen on board, it’s been an avalanche of awesome news on this film. Looks like one of my favorite sci-fi worlds will get the full on treatment the year and I’m a super happy Sci-Fi nerd this Christmas!

Tyler Durden 84 sends us some reviews of comics sitting on your local shelf right now! Enjoy!

Author:Tyler Durden 84

Amazing Spider-man #568-569
Written by: Dan Slott
Art By: John Romita Jr

Continuing the arc titled “New Ways To Die”, Amazing Spider-man #569 gives us the next issue that tells about Spider-man dealing with a political candidate who may have some secrets that he would rather not become public. In the previous issue, Spider-man finds a sweatshop that is later linked to a politician. Parker gets heat from the new boss at the Daily Bugle and decides to fight back by giving Ben Urich’s paper, Front Line, his newest pictures, proof of candidate Crowne’s sweatshop.

Meanwhile, at the DB, Betty Brant is tasked with finding dirt on the other mayoral candidate, Martin Li. Li runs the F.E.A.S.T. centers. F.E.A.S.T. or Food, Emergency Aid, Shelter and Training, are designed to help the downtrodden get back on their feet. Pete’s very own Aunt May often helps out there, too. A surprising guest to the FEAST center is former Mr. Venom himself, Eddie Brock, only now a cancer patient due to the symbiote leaving his body and attaching itself to the former Scorpion and new Thunderbolt member, Mac Gargan. Eddie, in the last issue, was “healed”, unknowingly, by Martin Li, curing Eddie’s cancer and ridding his mind’s obsession over Venom. He returns to the FEAST center to tell everyone the good news. Becoming yet another “miracle person” that had once frequented mayoral hopeful Li’s FEAST centers.
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