When the Pixar brain trust (namely John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter) first began throwing around ideas for feature films, they came up with the bases for what would ultimately become “Toy Story,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “Finding Nemo.” The last idea from that first brainstorming session to hit theaters was “WALL·E,” which means if we were to look at Pixar’s output as if they were a band, everything up to “WALL·E” could be considered part of Pixar’s debut album. And no matter how you slice up those first nine films, that is one hell of a debut album. Continuing…
Author: David Medsker
The ending of “Irresistible” is a cinematic chef’s kiss — a move that bears resemblance to a somewhat recent Martin Scorsese movie, of all things (a comparison that will surely thrill writer/director Jon Stewart). It’s the kind of thing that only a political junkie like Stewart would put in a story. Unfortunately, getting there is a bit of a chore. The movie starts off strongly enough, but the middle part drags, seemingly forgetting that it’s a comedy. If “Irresistible” were as funny as it is clever, it would be an instant classic. Democratic campaign strategist Gary Zimmer (Steve Carell) sees…
You’ve already seen “The King of Staten Island.” Heck, this is the third time that director Judd Apatow has made this movie alone. Pete Davidson’s character Scott is a more emotionally troubled version of Seth Rogen’s Ben from “Knocked Up,” and both Scott and Ben share more than a few traits with Amy Schumer’s protagonist in “Trainwreck.” This resemblance to Apatow’s earlier work is what drew a hard pass from my wife when I asked if she wanted to watch it with me. “I’m tired of movies about a man-child,” she said. Smart woman. Davidson’s engaging and likable, and his…
In the 14 years between 1995’s “Toy Story” and 2009’s “Up,” exactly four men had sat in a Pixar director’s chair. Starting with 2010’s “Toy Story 3,” there was a concerted effort to spread the wealth, and founding fathers John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter, along with unofficial Pixar brother Brad Bird, only directed one film each over the next decade, while seven others helmed the rest. This is where a rather disturbing pattern emerges. Of those new directors, the only one to make films on par with Pixar’s best work was Lee Unkrich, who directed “Toy Story 3”…
That the makers of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” could find time in their schedules to write and shoot a sequel (with all eight of the principle characters) two years after the original is simply unthinkable in this day and age. It took Disney six years to follow up “Frozen,” and it took Sony a decade before “Zombieland: Double Tap” happened. They must have had a can’t-miss idea ready to throw at audiences, right? Yeah, sure, whatever. “Jumanji: The Next Level” is for all intents and purposes a carbon copy of its predecessor wrapped up in a new, and more…
Disney has a ridiculous amount of power at the moment. In addition to owning Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm, they also purchased Twentieth Century Fox’s film catalog, which terrified “Rocky Horror Picture Show” fans in particular, who were concerned that the Mouse House would no longer allow late-night screenings of the film. (So far, it appears that Disney will allow business as usual on that front, as they should.) They’re also pulling a lot of their content from streaming sources in order to consolidate their properties at Disney+. They’re basically one or two more moves away from becoming a Bond villain.…
There are few, if any, franchises that have ridden off into the sunset quite like the “Toy Story” films did. “Toy Story 3” has a pitch-perfect, if gut-wrenching, ending, and the characters were the frequent subject of Pixar’s short films, which seemed like an ideal postscript. Why would any studio risk sullying that? The cynical response is money (it’s always money), but it’s hard to dismiss Pixar founding father Andrew Stanton’s rationale: “Toy Story 3” was a perfect ending for the audience, but for the toys that Bonnie inherited from Andy, their story was starting all over again, and it…
“Men in Black: International” makes so much sense from a marketing standpoint that it’s tempting to dismiss the film as the cynical global box office cash grab that, let’s face it, it probably is. The previous three films took place almost exclusively in or immediately outside of New York City, and that ‘America first’ approach just doesn’t fly in an era where overseas box office is usually two-thirds to three-fourths of the overall box office. It makes perfect sense that there would be MIB field offices all over the world, and considering the fact that Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson’s…
When Disney announced that it would be releasing live-action remakes of three of the studio’s most loved animated films, all within the span of four months, that seemed, well, foolish. It’s one thing to release three films that take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in one year; there’s a thread tying those stories together. There is nothing tying “Dumbo,” “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” together. With the release of “Aladdin,” however, there is an argument to be made for releasing all three films so closely together. It should not be lost on anyone that “Dumbo” and “Aladdin” were released…
Tim Burton and Disney have done great things together. Well, perhaps ‘great’ isn’t the right word. Tim Burton and Disney have made boatloads of cash together. Indeed, this whole ‘live action revival’ trend likely never gets off the ground if Burton’s 2010 adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland” doesn’t make $1 billion worldwide. Sure, that movie was a hot mess, but $1 billion worldwide! And Johnny Depp at his commercial peak. Ahhhh, simpler times. It’s easy to see, then, why Burton was drawn to adapting “Dumbo” as well. It takes place in the circus, giving Burton carte blanche to cast the…