Double Review: Onward & The Way Back

Two paths to take. Which should you choose? To go Onward with Pixar or The Way Back with Ben Aflleck? One is a fantasy adventure of two brothers bonding together on a road trip and the other is sports drama about a man given a second chance in life. 

Toy Story 4: Superfluous but Surprising.

Forky and Woody

Toy Story is the one that started it all for Pixar. It gave the company its identity, and revolutionized animation as the first movie to fully utilize computer generated imagery. Toy Story 2, being Pixar's third movie and first sequel while still in its infancy, exceeded expectations as being better than the original. At the peak of its prime, Toy Story 3 proved yet again that Pixar could do this franchise no wrong as it gave the story a beautiful resolution. Since then, Woody and the gang have appeared in various shorts and TV specials with no plans of returning for another feature film....or so we thought.

Incredibles 2 is Incredible Enough

Brad Bird's super-powered family was another repertoire in Pixar's catalog in 2004. While superhero movies were common they weren't the blockbuster giants now seen today. That same year bestowed clunkers like The Punisher, Blade Trinity, and Catwoman. There was also Hellboy but was a mixed bag with viewers.  Next to The Incredibles, the only other superhero film that triumphed critically and financially that year was Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2. Being a nerdy bookworm in junior high I wondered when the next adventure of this incredible family would arrive. Fourteen years later, is Incredibles 2 worth the wait?

Better Late Than Never Vol. 1

Since October I've had the chance to see a lot films but have written on only three. (Sad, I know) I plan to write a full review for many of these but in the meantime (and with The Last Jedi upon us) these are my very brief thoughts on what has been playing the multiplex these past couple of months.

Cars 3: It' No Toy Story 3 but Still a Fun Ride

The Cars franchise may not be at the same of level of Pixar’s other work like Toy Story or Wall-E, but I think they are relatively alright, even the sequel to an extent. Yes, Cars 2 is the weakest Pixar movie and the issues that many have with it are on point: from the odd choice of shifting a race car movie into a spy-action caper, making the comic relief side character Mater the tow truck (Larry the Cable Guy) the main character, and some hammered in message that ends up being muddled in the mix. Despite that, I had a lot of fun with the movie even if deep down I wished it continued with being a racing movie. Thankfully, the people at Pixar realized this as we go back to its roots in the third installment, Cars 3.