My Review of Toy Story 2 (1999)

 

Written by Andrew Stanton And Rita Hsiao And Doug Chamberlin And Chris Webb And John Lasseter And Pete Docter And Ash Brannon

Directed by John Lasseter

Jessie (to Woody): "You never forget kids like Emily, or Andy, but they forget you."

My memory might be a lot more hazy because it's definitely been a long while since I've seen this movie. It practically felt like I was watching a new movie. 

Anyways, we've got Woody, Buzz and company having moved into a new home with their owner Andy, his mother, baby sister and dog, Buster. There's an infamous scene in this movie that's been meme'd to death that really packed a punch.

Yes, it's the scene where Woody's arm ripped and Andy suddenly didn't want to play with him anymore. This film was heavy in pointing out that children get older, lose interest in their toys and that even toys don't last forever. It's not subtle but it's definitely effective.

Woody's attempts to rescue a penguin toy named Wheezy (Joe Ranft) put him in the cross hairs of toy collector, Al McWhiggin (Wayne Knight). The presence of Al introduced characters such as Jessie the cowgirl doll (Joan Cusack), prospector doll Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer) and horse Bullseye. It turns out that Woody was rather famous and these new characters made up his Roundup gang.

In some ways, this movie had a reverse dynamic between Woody and Buzz. The latter mobilised everyone into trying to find Woody. There's a subplot involving another Buzz toy and the villain, Evil Emperor Zurg (Andrew Stanton) that's a little undercooked but amusing.

Getting back to Woody - I really loved his dynamic with Jessie, Stinky Pete and Bullseye. Jessie in particular was a fun foil for Woody and Stinky Pete turned out to be a better villain than Al if I'm being honest. Stinky Pete also got a rather fitting comeuppance while Jessie and Bullseye got a new home.

- Heimlich (Joe Ranft) and Flik (Dave Foley) from A Bug's Life both appeared during the credits.

- We met Mrs. Potato Head, some aliens and Tour Guide Barbie in this movie.

- Standout music: Sarah McLachlan's When She Loved Me.

- Chronology: A few months from the first movie, despite the four year release gaps between them.

Toy Story 2 turned out to be a very good sequel. I liked learning more about Woody's past and this was a great debut for Jessie as a character. Woody and Buzz's friendship was another strong point of the movie.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Toy Story (1995)

Written by Joss Whedon And Andrew Stanton And Joel Cohen And Alec Sokolow And John Lasseter And Pete Docter And Joe Ranft

Directed by John Lassiter

Buzz: "Excuse me, I think the word you're searching for is "Space Ranger"."

Woody: "The word I'm searching for - I can't say, because there's preschool toys present."

I have been meaning to review this particular movie series but first, a confession. I've only seen the first two movies and that was a long time. Not only do I need to refresh my memory on them but I've got three other film and a prequel movie to watch. What fun.

I do have good memories of seeing this one when I was younger. It's such a simple idea. There's a boy named Andy Davis (John Morris). He's just turned six and he's got a lot of toys. His favourite being a cowboy named Woody (Tom Hanks). This was something both Woody and the other toys were aware of.

The other toys being Bo Peep (Annie Potts), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney), piggy bank Hamm (John Ratzenberger), binoculars Lenny (Joe Ranft) and Rex (Wallace Shawn) to name a few. You can tell there's some slight resentment towards Woody being the favourite. Then there's Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen). His arrival changed everything.

The arrival of Buzz put Woody in second place as Andy suddenly had a new favourite toy. Woody couldn't get his head around the idea of being replaced and had Buzz thrown out the window. Woody would end up having the same done to him. That's where things got interesting.

Both Woody and Buzz clashed a lot in a bid to get back to Andy but for a good portion of the movie, both of them were at the mercy of the toy destroying Sid Phillips (Erik von Detten). I forgot how much of an evil terror Sid was as a character and there's something rather horrifying in seeing the creations he made out of his own toys. He did get a much deserved comeuppance though.

As for Woody and Buzz, both of them came to some big realisations and both knew they needed to work together in order to reunite with both Andy and their fellow toys. They very nearly didn't and when they did, it certainly felt earned.

- Buzz's implied "replacement" at the end of the film was of course a puppy.

- This movie had a hint of romance between Woody and Bo Peep but the arrival of a certain character from the next film onwards put a stop to that.

- Standout music: Randy Newman's You've Got A Friend In Me.

- Chronology: Set during Andy's sixth birthday, a family move (Laurie Metcalf voiced Andy's mother) and Christmas.

I really do love Toy Story. It's such a delight film with a simple story, an unlikely friendship and a genuinely heartfelt bunch of moments as well as a few slightly uncomfortable ones. To the sequels (and prequel) and beyond.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Lizzie Borden Took An Ax (2014)

 

Written by Stephen Kay

Directed by Nick Gomez

Lizzie: "My father has so many enemies. I think someone might try to hurt him."

A few weeks ago, I watched the Chloe Sevigny take on this infamous killer and going backwards, it was time to see Christina Ricci's take on Lizzie Borden. Well, her and Lifetime. The results were something else.

Eschewing the seriousness, queerness and even scares, this definitely felt like a camp amateur version of events. Lizzie's father, Andrew (Stephen McHattie) was disapproving of his daughter's unconventional attitude to life and her stepmother Abby (Sara Botsford) assumed the worst of her.

Lizzie seemed to have a better relationship with her sister, Emma (Clea DuVall) and a friendship of sorts with actress Nance O'Neil (Andria Wilson). Any hint of anything deeper between Lizzie and Nance wasn't present and the same between Lizzie and maid, Bridget Sullivan (Hannah Anderson). The latter being more of a disappointment here.

Anyways, Lizzie killed both Abby and Andrew while Bridget was scrubbing the windows and she was almost careful enough about the deed. Except for the bit of blood that got on her nice blue dress. That was enough for the Marshall Hilliard (Shawn Doyle) to have her tried for murder and for doubt to emerge in regards to Lizzie's innocence.

I know she did it and a large part of the community suspected she killed her parents too. Emma seemed to alternate between wanting to believe that Lizzie didn't kill their parents to having to face the horrible truth about her sister.

The whole affair lacked the weight it needed because Lifetime wanted to camp the shit out of this. More annoyingly, the use of music might be some of the most intrusive I've seen in a movie. It ruined a lot of the big moments if I'm being honest.

- This movie did well for Lifetime to commission a miniseries titled The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, which was released in 2015.

- There was no John Morse in this version and there was some hints of an incest undertones between Lizzie and Andrew.

- Standout music: The only bit that worked was the use of that nursery rhyme.

- Chronology: 1892, Fall River in Massachusetts.

I appreciate camp as much as the next person, but I definitely think that Lizzie Borden Took An Ax veered into it in a way that simply didn't work. Even Christina Ricci's natural charm couldn't save this one. It's a huge mess of a television film.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Lanterns: "Pilot"

 

Written by Chris Mundy And Damon Lindelof And Tom King

Directed by James Hawes

Hal: "There's only one question. Are you afraid?"

We've been on a journey to get a Green Lantern show and now that it's finally here, I still can't believe it's actually here. This was quite the opening episode.

It opened with a much younger John Stewart watching Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) on television where the latter talked about being a member of the Green Lantern Corps. Then there was that William Tell moment between John and his father (J. Alphonse Nicholson) and that was pretty messed up scene to watch.

Cut to twenty years later where a grown up John (Aaron Pierre) has actually joined the Corps and Hal's his mentor. Hal's methods are just as volatile and it's pretty clear that while Hal might like/respect John on some level, he's not totally keen on training up his successor either.

Anyways the main action of this episode had both Hal and John ending up in Nebraska where a murder had taken place. It was one with alien involvement and Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) wasn't totally happy with the Green Lanterns investigating on her turf.

In fact, both Hal and John kind of botched up her investigation into the unusual Waylon Sanders (Chris Coy). Hal's way of exposing Waylon as an alien was certainly reckless but it did manage to get results. It also didn't take long for both Hal and John to start getting involved in Kerry's family life.

I found it interesting Kerry's husband Billy Macon (Jason Ritter) and the latter's father, William (Garrett Dillahunt) immediately ingratiated themselves into Hal's orbit. William in particular was a bit of a fanatic, so there's definitely a future clash between him and Hal waiting in the wings.

Then there's John's involvement in the Macon family. He unwittingly slept with William's wife Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan) and William knew about it. Do William and Zoe have an open marriage or does William have a future revenge lined up for John? It was definitely one of the stranger moments from the pilot.

As for the central mystery - let's jump to a decade where a bearded John reunited with Kerry and it was revealed that Hal was dead and his ring was missing. Is Hal really dead? I'd say it's 50/50 at the moment. I'm not entirely convinced he is, at least not for now.

- Things we saw the ring being used for included bubble wrap, counterfeit money and a bottle opener. Hal got his ring from a dying Abin Sur.

- The title sequence was a pretty modest one. Nice but nothing to write home about.

- Kerry and Billy's son, Noah (Cary Christopher) also appeared briefly in the episode. John doesn't eat meat or drink.

- Does Hal really believe there's 22 Harry Potter movies? He must have been joking about that one.

- Standout music: KC And The Sunshine Band's Boogie Shoes.

- Chronology: Took in the years 1996, 2016 and 2026. Mostly in Rushville, Nebraska. Hal became a Green Lantern in 1986.

The Pilot opened the show on a good note. There's an instant and classic buddy cop chemistry between Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler. I can see why they were cast as their respective characters and the main mystery has promise.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman: "The Return"

 

Written by Karen Graci

Directed by Jen Bennett 

Lois: "Marry me, Clark Kent."

Clark: "Of course, Lois Lane."

Was this another finale or a series finale? Right now and like a few DC animated shows, this has yet to be renewed for a fourth season. I do hope it gets one. This season alone turned out to be so good.

Picking up from the last episode, we've got Jonathan, Lara and Kara doing their best to stop the Eradicator. Unfortunately the latter was able to multiply himself, which did make it a lot harder for the trio to keep him down.

On the other hand, there was also Clark still being powerless. His demonstration of compassion with Bizarro was enough to get the Head Steward to show Clark a solution. Yup, you've got living sun Rao and let's just say that Superman came back in glorious form.

The last few minutes against the Eradicator had a brilliant team up of Superman, his children, Supergirl and Bizarro all working together. Once again, Superman tried compassion but the Eradicator chose death over wanting to change for the better.

As for the last few minutes, I liked the family time Superman and Lois got with Jonathan and Lara before the latter two went back to their timeline. Then there was the proposal itself. It was a cute way to cap off the season.

- I liked that Lex/Jimmy had an understanding with each other and that Slade even let them work together. What did Lex see out in the stars?

- Kara agreed to be friends with Jimmy. We also got Krypto and Bizarro resumed his ice cream job.

- The white, blue and gold Kryptonian armour did look good on Superman but I hope it's not a permanent look for him.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

The Return was a good ending for this season of the show. It kind of works as a series finale but I think one last season would be a nice way to cap the series off altogether.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of The Last House (2026)

 

Written by Matthew Robinson

Directed by Louis Leterrier

Jason: "What if something out there is keeping us trapped?"

Last night, I caught up with something a bit more on the sci-fi side of things. I also chose one of Netflix's most recent of releases, focusing on a family that would be trapped in their home for most of the film.

The family in question were Jason (Wagner Moura) and Anne (Greta Lee) Delgado and their kids, Graham (Noah Alexander Sosnowski) and Ruth (Riley Chung). It was an ordinary day when the rain came down and no one could leave their homes.

I mean no one could get out of and back into their homes and even trying to break out was impossible. This meant that Jason, Ann, Graham and Ruth had to try and adjust to being trapped indoors with the only essentials they had to hand. Let's just say having two DVDs presented some limitations for entertainment.

As the movie would go on, Ruth was seeing patterns and mysterious creatures that no one in her family would listen to. There's also a sad subplot involving the death of the family dog (i really didn't like that scene) and the family having to eat Graham's fish, find ways to attract other animals through a convoluted trap and using the soil under the floorboards to grow vegetables.

These were innovative ways to survive under the strangest of circumstances and enough time passed for older versions of Graham (Gabriel Chung) and Ruth (Emma Ho) to be present. It was during this part where the monsters were becoming much harder to ignore and the chance to finally get out posed it's own challenges.

For the most part I liked the use of the creatures. Their origins were vague enough, they were used sparingly onscreen and managed to be menacing enough. While the Delgados did manage to get out of their house, I don't think the ending signified a win for them as such.

- Jason was an unemployed engineer who also loved fishing. Ann was the one who grew the vegetables in the house. Arden Cho narrated as an older Ruth.

- The original title for this film was 11817.

- Standout music: The Cure's Close To Me.

- Chronology: Set in a Seattle suburb. The Delgados were trapped in their house for five years.

The Last House (2026) did go on a little bit longer than needed but I thought it was a pretty solid film nonetheless. Nice performances from the leads, some solid tension and convincing looking creatures dod help with this one.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Big Baby (2025)

 

Written And Directed by Spider One

Kate: "It was Big Baby."

This was one of the most random of movies that I chose to watch this week. On paper, it read like a cheap knock off and on-screen, it wasn't much better.  Kind of.

The lead of the piece would be a horror screenwriter named Adam (Brandon Scott). The film started with him watching a horror podcast that was slating his latest film. Those guys, called Vampire Greg (Jordan Elsass) and Steve Strange (Radek Lord) really went to town on how much of a bad screenwriter they thought Adam was.

Adam took it personally and even confronted them publicly over their brutal review. His girlfriend Kate (Krsy Fox) tried to be supportive but it was almost lost on Adam as he tried to come up with a franchise idea, which he did.

This resulted in Big Baby (Adam Marcinowski), who honestly seemed like a thing veiled version of Jason Voorhees to me. Adam would dream about his creation, learn more about him while dealing with the real life violence of Big Baby. All of a sudden, a lot of people started to end up dead.

Adam's obsession with his own creation had him trying to finish the story as quickly as possible. Of course this led to a very violent showdown between him and Kate and only one of them could survive it. Adam's solution for ending his creation made enough sense.

- The movie ended with the horror podcasters reviewing the events of Big Baby.

- There's appearances from David Howard Thornton, Cameron Cowperthwaite and Chaz Bono to name a few.

- There was something of a backstory with one of Adam's friends that was a former writing partner of his that I wished had been explored a little deeper.

- Chronology: Present day America.

Big Baby made for a middling experience. It's got a good premise but it's a very undercooked film and the landing didn't really stick either.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of The Invite (2026)

 

Written by Will McCormack And Rashida Jones

Directed by Olivia Wilde

Piña (to Joe/Angela): "I think we only get a few chances at meaningful relationships, usually we move to different people, sometimes we can have a new relationship with the same people. But I think this relationship is over."

One of the few hits during the summer this year that didn't fall into either the horror of blockbuster category. If there were doubt about Olivia Wilde's directing prowess following her previous movie, this one proved that she's absolutely got it.

Focusing on two couples living in the same apartment building, the thing that would bring them together would be an awkward invite to a not so well planned dinner party. It also didn't help that one guest couldn't eat the majority of the food on offer.

The couple who decided to host this disastrous dinner were former musician Joe (Seth Rogan) and his wife Angela (Olivia Wilde). Actually it was Angela's idea to host this dinner and Joe hated every moment that came from it.

The couple they were hosting were sex therapist/divorcee Piña (Penelope Cruz) and her widower boyfriend Hawk (Edward Norton). Piña and Hawk both fascinated and rubbed the wrong way both Joe and Angela throughout the entire movie. In fact, Piña and Hawk's sex life was a source of contention for Joe. Let's just they're very loud and Joe might not be entirely unreasonable in finding that tiresome to listen to.

What happened throughout this disaster area of a dinner was a lovely deconstruction of two very different couple. Joe and Angela are an outwardly car crash to see unfold and it very much seemed like this movie was going to end with them seperating. Arguably, it probably should've but it didn't.

On the outside, both Piña and Hawk seemed like one of those annoyingly in sync with each other couples that are grating to watch. However, while they're more stable as a unit compared to Joe/Angela, there was still some cracks between them. Unlikely enough to split them up but enough to prove that no couple's perfect either.

There's a brilliant flow of tension, movement and dialogue from all four characters and the exposure of certain rituals made for an amusing examination into desirability for all of them. I actually couldn't get enough of watching all four characters. 

- Joe and Angela have a twelve year old daughter. That daughter's definitely aware of their fighting. Angela and Hawk bonded over rugs.

- Piña and Hawk admitted to having sex with other couples and initially wanted to with Joe and Angela before things got awkward.

- Based on Cesc Gay's book The People Upstairs.

- Hawk's real name was Howard and everyone went nuts for Piña's flan. It was the only thing everyone seemed to enjoy.

- Standout music: Sade's By Your Side.

- Chronology: Took place during the course of one evening and mostly in Joe and Angela's apartment in San Francisco.

One of the best movies this year. I really loved The Invite (2026). Fantastic performances from all four leads, razor sharp dialogue, beautiful deconstruction of two very different couples and excellent direction from Olivia Wilde. Highly recommend this one.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

MCU At D23 2026: X-Men Cast News And More

Last month, Marvel made something of a splash at SDCC and now it was time for them to do the same at D23. 

First of all, the biggest news of the night was revealing some of the cast for X-Men. Three were already revealed over the last fortnight but four other cast members were revealed last night at the event itself.

• Sadie Sink as Jean Grey 
• Kit Connor as Cyclops 
• Samara Weaving as Emma Frost
• Christopher Abbott as Professor X
• Adam Driver as Mister Sinister
• Inde Navarrette as Rogue
• Maya Boyd as Storm

Obviously there are more cast members that will be announced over the next weeks and months. The movie will hit theatres from May 5th 2028.

Also being promoted at D23 was of course the upcoming VisionQuest, starring Paul Bettany as Vision. This miniseries completes a trilogy that includes both WandaVision and Agatha All Along and will feature the debut of Ruaridh Mollica as Thomas Shepherd (aka Tommy Maximoff/Speed). The eight episode miniseries will also feature James Spader, James D'Arcy, T'Nia Miller, Emily Hampshire and Todd Stashwick to name a few. The miniseries will premiere on Disney+ from October 14th and was created by Terry Matalas.

Last but not least, there was another new trailer for Avengers: Doomsday (December 18th) but it didn't really reveal anything too groundbreaking from the last one we had. Obviously the focus was on Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom and various characters going up against him but that was about it. 

What was your favourite MCU related moment at D23?

My Review of Carrie (2013)

 

Written by Lawrence D. Cohen And Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Directed by Kimberly Peirce

Sue: "No! Carrie please don't hurt me."

Carrie: "Why not? I've been hurt my whole life."

Last week, I reviewed both The Rage: Carrie 2 and Carrie (2002) and neither of them held a candle to the original. Suffice to say, this one doesn't either. It's also no better or worse I guess. Just rather lacklustre by comparison.

On the plus side, you've got both Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore as Carrie and Margaret White respectively. Both are well cast and both do their best with the material that's on offer here. Neither are able to elevate it though.

Again, Carrie's a social outcast under the guardianship of her religious mother. She's a figure of ridicule and scorn by the needlessly mean spirited Chris Hargensen (Portia Doubleday) while finding an ally in Sue Snell (Gabrielle Wilde) and Miss Desjardin (Judy Greer). 

As this is the the third film version of this book, events played out as they were expected to play out. Carrie went to the prom with Sue's well meaning boyfriend, Tommy Ross (Ansel Elgort) and then Chris and Billy Nolan (Alex Russell) had to ruin her special night.

The prom scenes and it's aftermath are handled well enough. There's the usual comeuppance for Chris and Billy and a rather dramatic ending for Margaret. Then there's Sue being pregnant, which certainly complicated things between her and Carrie.

The Carrie and Sue plot was a nice twist for this version of the movie. As for Carrie, this one seemed to imply that while everyone else believed her dead, she was actually alive. I didn't mind that for the character.

- An alternative scene included Sue going into labour with Carrie's arm grabbing her. It turned out to be a nightmare.

- This is the only film to actually feature Sue being pregnant. Both 1976;and 2002 versions didn't.

- Standout music: Lord Huron's End Of The Earth.

- Chronology: Set in 2013, Maine.

Carrie (2013) isn't the worst modern day remake of a classic movie. It's on a par with the 2002 effort and both Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore do a solid job here.

Rating: 6 out of 10