Toy Story (1995)

Before A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Cars, Wall-E, and Up. The creative minds of Joe Ranft, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, and John Lasserter introduced us to a brand new world in that of CGI Animation called PIXAR. In partnership with Walt Disney Pictures, they released their first feature film called TOY STORY. Directed by PIXAR’s chief creator John Lasseter, the film follows a group of toys who come to life whenever their owner, a six year old boy name Andy (voiced by John Morris), is not present. Focusing on Andy’s favorite toy, a traditional pull-string talking cowboy named Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), is jealous and profoundly threatened when Andy gets a new toy for his birthday, a fancy space ranger action figure named Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen). While Andy and his family are moving to a new home, Both Woody and Buzz get lost by accident and wind up in the hands of a sadistic toy destroying teenager name Sid Phillips (voiced by Erik von Detten). Together, they must find a way to escape from Sid to get back to Andy before it’s too late. I went to see this movie with my family when I was seven years old and I really liked it. Over the years, it went from a movie that I liked to a movie I love. In addition to Hanks and Allen, The movie features a voice over cast of familiar faces in that of standup comedian Don Rickles as the moody Mr. Potato Head, John Ratzenberger (TV’s Cheers) as the wise cracking plastic piggy bank Hamm, Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride) as the large, green, anxiety suffering Tyrannosaurus toy Rex, R. Lee Emery (Full Metal Jacket) as the gung-ho Sergeant of Bucket O Soldiers, Annie Potts (Ghostbusters) as the sweet and lovable shepherdess figurine Little Bo Peep, Laurie Metcalf (TV’s Roseanne) as Andy’s Mom, Jeff Pidgeon as the voice of the three eyed alien squeeze toys from Pizza Planet, and Jim Varney (the Ernest P. Worrell movies) as the southern Dachshund with a metal slinky in the middle name Slinky Dog. The music of this film was made by singer-songwriter Randy Newman, who was suggested by Lasseter and it was Newman’s first movie as composer. The song “You Got a Friend in Me”, which is also the film’s signature song and one of my favorites, was written in one day. Released during the Thanksgiving season on November.22nd, 1995, Toy Story was shown in 2,281 theaters before later expanding to 2,574. It remained in theaters for 37 weeks and it grossed over $350,000,000 worldwide. TOY STORY is one of the greatest animated movies of all time and it’s a childhood classic for all ages to love, whether you’re a kid or an adult. And in the words of Buzz Lightyear: “TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!”

Toy Story 2 (1999)

After the highly populated success of the first Toy Story in 1995, Disney originally wanted PIXAR to release TOY STORY 2 direct-to-video, but the executives of Disney were so impressed with the film’s imagery, they decided to covert it as a theatrical film release after all. Picking right up after they left off, the next chapter follows Woody (Tom Hanks) being ‘toy napped’ by an overweight, very impatient, and greedy Toy collector named Al McWhiggin (voiced by Wayne Knight), who’s also the chicken suited mascot and owner of Al’s Toybarn. Al takes the pull-string talking cowboy to his apartment where he discovers he’s a valuable collectable from a famous 1950’s children television show called “Woody’s Roundup” and meets three other toys from the franchise: Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl (voiced by Joan Cusack), his trusted horse companion Bullseye, and the Prospector Stinky Pete (voiced by Kelsey Grammar). It’s up to Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and his friends Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Rex (Wallace Shawn), and Slinky Dog (Jim Varney, in one of his final films) to stop Al from sending Woody and the rest of his Woody’s Roundup memorabilia from going to a toy museum in Tokyo, Japan before it’s too late. For this film, We are also introduced to some other new toy characters like Mr. Potato Head’s wife and counterpart Mrs. Potato Head (voiced by Estelle Harris), Wheezy the squeeze toy penguin with a red bow tie (voiced by PIXAR’s legendary animator Joe Ranft), the smooth-talking Barbie doll (voiced by Jodi Benson), and Buzz’s evil archenemy Emperor Zurg (voiced by Finding Nemo director Andrew Stanton). I never saw this in the theater when it came out on November.24th, 1999. But I finally did when it came out on video when I was twelve and like the first one, I really enjoyed it. When the film was released, it eventually made $245,852,179 domestically and $239,163,000 overseas for a total worldwide gross of $485,015,179, becoming the third highest grossing film of 1999, and far surpassing the original. TOY STORY 2 is one of the greatest animated movies of all time and as I said in the first Toy Story review, it’s a childhood classic for all ages to love, whether you’re a kid or an adult. You’ll go to Infinity and Beyond with this one!

Toy Story 3 (2010)

I was seven years old when I saw Toy Story (1995) and twelve years old when I saw Toy Story 2 (1999). 10 years later and at age 21, I went to see the long awaited TOY STORY 3, and like the first two, I LOVED IT! In this chapter, Andy (voiced by John Morris) is 17 years old, heading off to college and has outgrown his favorite toys: Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and the rest of the gang: Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles and Estelle Harris), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Slinky Dog (Blake Clark), the three eyed Pizza Planet aliens (Jeff Pidgeon), and Barbie (Jodi Benson). Worried about their uncertain future, the toys are accidently donated to a daycare center called Sunnyside. Upon their arrival, they receive a warm welcome, led by a pink, strawberry-scented teddy bear name Lotso the Lots-O’-Huggin Bear (voiced by Ned Beatty), and began to think their troubles are over when they are initially overjoyed to be played once again. Sadly, it gets worse when they get put into a classroom that’s surrounded by younger children and are innocently abused and tortured. After making a big mistake and finding out that Andy is looking for them, the toys plan a daring escape from the daycare center and try to get back home before Andy departs for college. It was kind of weird watching this movie because the way it was made was a lot different than what the first 2 films were, but I didn’t care and I really loved it. I also loved how this film featured references from the first two. It was wonderful seeing our favorite toys again and being introduced to new toys like Buttercup the Unicorn (voiced by Jeff Garlin), Stretch the purple rubber Octopus (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg), Dolly the soft dress-up ragdoll (voiced by Bonnie Hunt), Trixie the blue Triceratops (voiced by Kristen Schaal), and the smooth talking Ken doll (voiced by Michael Keaton). But my favorite new toy will have to be the English, lederhosen-wearing stuffed hedgehog Mr. Pricklepants, who thinks he’s a thespian and was voiced by former James Bond actor Timothy Dalton (The Living Daylights, License to Kill). When this movie was getting made, I was curious about who was gonna take over the voice of Slinky Dog. Blake Clark, who we all see him in movies with Adam Sandler and were great friends with the original voice actor Jim Varney (1949-2000), did an amazing job as southern Dachshund with a metal slinky in the middle. No matter how old you are, You’ll go to Infinity and Beyond with TOY STORY 3 as Lee Unkrich, who helped make TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2, make it become one of the greatest animated movies I’ve ever seen and it’s one of the best movies of 2010 I’ve ever seen.

Stand By Me (1986)

Released in 1986, two years before I was born, and I first saw it age thirteen when it was broadcast on the AMC television network. Set in the summer of 1959, STAND BY ME tells the story of four pre-teenage boys from Castle Rock, Oregon: the quiet and bookish Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), the tough but stereotyped Chris Chambers (River Phoenix), the eccentric and physically deformed Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman), and the timid and overweight Vern Tessio (Jerry O’ Connell) who go on a journey to find the body of a kid their age who had gone missing and presumed dead. This was the first movie I saw the late great River Phoenix (My Own Private Idaho, Running on Empty), who became one of my favorite actors and I thought he was terrific as Chris. I’m surprised that this movie is based on a novella called “The Body” that fame Horror novelist Stephen King wrote and actor/director Rob Reiner (When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men) was the man who directed this incredible movie. All the younger actors: Wheaton, Feldman, and O ‘Connell along with a teenage Kiefer Sutherland and John Cusack, were all terrific in their performances. I also liked Richard Dreyfuss’ performance as The Narrator and The Writer of this film. I loved the classic 50’s music that Reiner used for this movie, such as “Lollipop” by The Chordettes, “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis, “Yakety Yak” by The Coasters, and of course, Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me”. Both Wheaton and Phoenix appeared in the 1986 music video of the re-released song. Filled with Drama, Comedy, and adventure, STAND BY ME is one of the best movies of both the 80’s and all time. It is also both a definite must see and add to your movie collection.

Falling Down (1993)

The freeways are jammed, Terror stalks our cities; At Stores and Restaurants, the customer is seldom right. The pressures of big-city life can anger anyone. But in Director Joel Schumacher’s 1993 crime thriller FALLING DOWN, One Man is more than angry, he’s out to get even. Academy Award winner Michael Douglas (Wall Street) plays William Foster aka D-FENS, an unemployed, defense worker who is frustrated of what's going on around him in 1993 Los Angeles; such as gang members, unhelpful shopkeepers, and everyday life; begins to psychotically and violently lash out to everyone around him while a soon to be retired L.A.P.D. Sgt. Martin Prendergast (Robert Duvall), who faces his own frustrations, pursues Foster throughout the city. When I first saw this movie, I only saw bits and pieces of it. The 1st scene I saw was the Whammyburger sequence and I didn't like that. I was shocked to find out that Schumacher, who directed Batman Forever and The Client, was the man who directed this intense and entertaining movie that took six days to film and it was during the time of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. This movie featured an interesting cast of actors, such as Barbara Hershey (Beaches) as D-FENS ex-wife Beth, Rachel Ticotin (Total Recall) as Prendergast’s partner Det. Sandra Torres, Tuesday Weld (The Cincinnati Kid) as Prendergast’s neurotic wife Amanda, Raymond J. Barry (Cool Runnings) as L.A.P.D. Captain Yardley, and Frederic Forrest (Apocalypse Now) as the homophobic Neo-Nazi , Army Surplus store owner Nick. FALLING DOWN is something I would recommend for everyone to see and as what was said at the end of the film's theatrical trailer: "A Tale of Urban Reality".

Little Giants (1994)

This movie has been a childhood favorite of mine since I was six years old. Directed by Duwayne Dunham (Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey), LITTLE GIANTS is about a football playing tomboy name Becky "The Icebox" O'Shea (Shawna Waldron) who, along with her misfit bunch of friends, gets picked off the local pee-wee football team that's coached by her famous ex-pro football star Uncle Kevin O' Shea (Ed O' Neill). Becky's father Danny O' Shea (Rick Moranis) who is Kevin's younger brother and has lived in his shadow since they were kids, puts together his own team with Becky, her friends, and also other rejected kids to play against his brother's team in a playoff game that will represent their hometown of Urbania, Ohio. While watching this movie growing up, I had no idea that it's two lead stars were Wayne Szalinski from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Al Bundy from the classic TV sitcom Married with Children. This film featured a lot of familiar faces from Devon Sawa (Final Destination, Wild America), Brian Haley (Baby's Day Out), Mary Ellen Trainor (the Lethal Weapon trilogy, The Goonies), Mark Holton (Pee-Wee's Big Adventure), Harry Shearer (TV’s The Simpsons, This is Spinal Tap), Sam Horrigan (TV’s Grace Under Fire), and Alexa Vega (the Spy Kids movies). Lots of funny sequences like Kevin trying to 'tackle' his wife, Timmy (Christopher Walberg) getting 'Tackled' by Spike (Sam Horrigan), and one of the kids dressed up like the Michelin Tire guy. If you liked The Mighty Ducks and The Sandlot, then you'll love this 90’s family classic. A must see for all ages!

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

Based on the bestselling novel by John Godey and the original 1974 film by Joseph Sargent, THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 is about four heavily armed men, led by a mysterious and violent mastermind name Ryder (John Travolta), who take control of a New York City Subway 6 train and demand for $10,000,000 in one hour and turning an ordinary day’s work for MTA dispatcher name Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) into a face off against the criminal mastermind behind it all. The film also stars John Turturro (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) as N.Y.P.D. ESU Lt. Vincent Camonetti, Luis Guzman (Boogie Nights) as ex-con Subway driver Phil Ramos, Michael Rispoli (Death to Smoochy) as Garber’s boss John Johnson, Aunjanue Ellis (Ray) as Garber’s wife Therese, Gbenga Akinnagbe (TV’s The Wire) as hostage and former Airborne member Wallace, Brian Haley (Baby’s Day Out) as MTA Police Captain Hill, John Benjamin Hickey (Flags of Our Fathers) as Deputy Mayor LaSalle, and James Gandolfini (TV’s The Sopranos) as The Mayor of New York City. I did see the original with Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw and thought it was great. But Tony Scott, my favorite director of such hits: TOP GUN, TRUE ROMANCE, and MAN ON FIRE, directed a dynamic version of THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3. Brian Helgeland, the Academy Award winning screenplay writer for L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, loved the original and wrote the film remake’s screenplay. I thought Denzel Washington's performance as Garber was good but John Travolta's performance as Ryder was fantastic. My father loved the original and I told him about the remake before he passed away, I know he would've loved it as I did.