"Three Stooges," Is Anyone Still Interested?

It had the perfect directors for the job: the Farrelly Brothers. The perfect Moe: Benicio Del Toro. The perfect Larry: Sean Penn. The perfect Curly: Jim Carrey. Now? Well, the Farrelly Brothers are still attached; hell they wrote the movie, they should be directing it.

First was Sean Penn dropping out to 'focus on his family'; that went well, he and his wife still got divorced. Then they recast him for Paul Giamatti, great! Then Jim Carrey dropped out because he didn't feel he could do the character justice with a fat suit; admirable. Then Giamatti and Del Toro were both gone due to all the postponements. So... does anyone still care?

I'd like to answer 'yes'. But, I'm going to be fickle and disloyal to the Farrelly Brothers. It's one of those situations where it's like, "if it happens, great. If it doesn't, I'll live". I would like to see a modern day trio of stooges, but it doesn't seem like this movie was meant to be.

Although this week, it has been revitalized. With MGM cleaning up its debt situation, the movie may go to Fox. It's full speed ahead, it starts filming in March. So, with THAT in mind, who plays the parts? Ok, here goes, off the top of my head, no real thought, just spit balling:

Moe: Tom Hanks. Hear me out! The guy is funny, period. He is funny. And remember where the man got his start: "Bosom Buddies". That was somewhat physical comedy, he could do it, I'm telling you.

Larry: Woody Harrelson. The man is versatile and can be really really funny, check out Zombieland. He has that long skinny face that looks like Larry and they could work the hair however they see fit. Woody is Larry.

Curly: Kevin James. In one of the most obvious casting moves there is, he's on a short list of big guys who can do physical comedy. He has a knack for it and could pull it off.

And my wildcard: Andy Samberg for a younger version of Larry. It must be the hair. Ok, that's enough. This was all for fun, we'll see what actually ends up happening as the brothers are saying they'll cast unknowns if they have to. Do you still want to see a Stooges film?

"Toy Story 3" Review

If you're a Toy Story fan at all, if you're a MOVIE fan at all, skip this review and go see Toy Story 3 immediately. Yes, it's good, it's really really good. I have a lot of "likes" on this one, so I want to get started already.

What I liked about the movie:
Story
Here's a little known fact about Toy Story 3, the story took 2 and a half years to perfect. And perfect is the correct word to use. I never talk plot in my reviews, I'm not going to start now. But I will say the trailer gives you a general idea as to what happens to the toys. But overall, the story is terrific. There is a solid beginning, middle and end. The end of this movie is very fitting to arguably one of the best trilogies in history, animated or not. I Tweeted after I left the theater, that the world would be a better place if Pixar wrote every movie in Hollywood. Online petition anyone?



The Characters

We all know them, we all love them, and they're all back. Woody, Buzz, Jesse, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Rex, and more, are all in top form in this one. The voice acting is superb, as it has been throughout the trilogy. All the big names are back, i.e. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack. New comer Michael Keaton is awesome as the annoying, yet hilarious, Ken. Ned Betty plays one of the new major characters, Lotso the bear, also perfectly cast. Not everyone gets their fair share of screen time, but I felt that I got enough of all the major characters after an 11 year break from the previous Toy Story film. Great Job in this department.

The Animation
The animation just keeps getting better and better from Pixar. In our second installment of "You know what's a good movie?" we showcased the first Toy Story. And in that article I talked about how Pixar's techniques have improved with every movie they've released. TS3 is no exception. There are so many details that it's impossible to appreciate them all with just one viewing. I can't wait to see the movie again just to catch more that I may have missed the first time.

The Action
The action in TS3 is phenomenal. There are new things we've never seen in the previous 2 films. There's a planned escape scene that has so much to it, only Pixar could have kept track and executed it as well as they did. No spoiler here, but the last half hour of the movie involves a lot of action that was awesome. Again, it's only because the animators have gotten so good at what they do, that the action is this good.

The Themes

There haven't been too many movies that will tug at your emotional strings like this one will. In fact, I'll say this is the best movie of the year so far. There are several themes expressed throughout the movie. A child's coming of age. There is a fantastic scene in the movie where Andy is saying bye to his old room before he heads off to college. It's just Andy comforting his mom before he leaves, but it stays true to anyone who has experienced that situation. The emotion projected through the characters is nothing short of amazing.


MINOR SPOILER ALERT, not really giving anything away though:
Friendship is the other theme. Woody and Buzz' friendship. The friendship between Andy and Woody. The most talked about/ most Tweeted about/ most written about scene, will definitely have you in tears. I'm a man close to 30 years old. I haven't cried since the day of my wedding more than two years ago, and was crying like a high school girl on the night of a breakup. I can't express this enough, it comes down to Pixar's mastering of the art form. Without their amazing animators, none of the emotion would have came out of that particular scene where there is literally no dialogue, just emotion channeled through the characters.
END SPOILER ALERT.

The Ending
Some trilogies leave you disappointed, and this movie did not do that. Everything is wrapped up very nicely. Every problem resolved and we, as the audience leave the theater very satisfied with the toy's fates. There is a great scene with Andy and Woody that will stay with me for a long time. Amazing.


What I didn't like about the movie:
Rehash
I bet when you started reading this review, you didn't expect any negative feedback did you? Well 2 things, same category of negative. The first, too many plot points were similar in one way or another to Toy Story 2. I was reading this online before the movie came out and just sort of ignored it. But it's very obvious. By no means did it take away from experience though. In fact, I think they improved on all the material I felt they rehashed. Second was the latin Buzz, shown in multiple versions of the trailer. It worked, trust me, it's funny. But again, rehash. I can't really explain in detail about the Buzz scene without giving something away, so let me know what you think after you see the movie.

In conclusion, the movie is spectacular. I can't really do the movie justice with my review. The movie is so good on so many levels, to write about it in a blog format is not fair. Pixar is the best in the world at what they do, period. They knew to deliver this caliber a movie, it was going to take a long time. Like I said earlier, over 2 years writing and story boarding the movie. And it paid off. Unlike the rubbish that DreamWorks is banging out with their Shrek sequels, TS3 progressed the story and the characters.

One thing is for sure, I am going to miss these little computer generated toys a lot more than I thought I would before seeing the movie. To Disney, Pixar, the cast and crew... thank you for one of the BEST trilogies in movie history.

You know what's a good movie? (Part 2)

Just to review, FattMatt and I decided to try a six degrees of seperation on ya'll. We'll start with one movie, find a common actor, director, etc., and then move on to the next film.

So, in the first installment of "You know what's a good movie?" we covered Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks. The next installment also stars Tom Hanks, but in a different kind of way... computer animation. Toy Story.

It was 1995 and things were about to change in Hollywood. We were introduced to Pixar, and in a BIG way. That unknown company would help pave the way for computer animation in a way no one could ever have expected. It's 2010 today, and Pixar has released 10 films, ALL home runs.

Growing up, I loved action figures, I mean I was obsessed. My brother Shmoo and I collected EVERYTHING. And being the imaginative little boys we were, we would act out our own action scenes. We make noises for guns, sound effects for explosions, you name it, we did it. We felt the toys coming to life. And THAT is what Pixar achieved, they made the toys feel real.


Tom Hanks was the voice of Woody, an older toy and leader of the bunch. Tim Allen voiced Buzz, a new age, hi-tech toy who has become a favorite to the toys' owner, Andy. There are a lot of our childhood favorites in the film as well: Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Etch A Sketch, and many more.

With lots of dazzling color and a cast of talented voices, the movie was a huge success. Looking back at the film, Pixar has improved everything they do. Their animation techniques are better, the worlds and scenery are bigger and better, and it all started from Toy Story.

As I mentioned earlier, the movie would change Hollywood forever. After the movie was released, a ton of computer animated films hit the theaters. Some good, some awful, all because of Pixar. A Toy Story sequel was made, and still remains the only Pixar sequel to date. Last year, Toy Story 1 and 2 were released in 3D for a limited time.

Look out this summer, Toy Story 3 is coming. And now, Andy's going off to college, what's going to happen to all the toys? We'll have to wait and see.

Check out the Toy Story 3 Trailer below and look for our next installment of You know what's a good movie?:

You know what's a good movie?

Hello devout readers! FattMatt and I decided to try something new today, play a game of sorts. It's called, "You know what's a good movie?". For the next few days, we're going to talk about movies that are connected in some way. Maybe they share a director, maybe they share a starring actor or actress, or maybe there is a common plot? We're going to start with a very obvious movie, because we honestly don't know what movie we're going to discuss tomorrow, until tomorrow.

So.... You know what's a good movie? Forrest Gump. The movie that won every Oscar there is to win was an amazing piece of film history. Tom Hanks plays Forrest Gump; a man who lives an incredible life filled with some of this country's greatest moments in history. It co-stars Robin Wright Penn and is directed by Robert Zemeckis.

FattMatt and I have discussed over and over. We've tried explaining this to people numerous times; the movie is based on the notion of coincidence or chance. Yes, indeed, the character of Forrest is lovable and charming. The special effects that placed Tom Hanks in the pages of history were breath taking. The love story sub-plot was reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers that could not be. But the fundamental idea of the film is that anyone, from anywhere can do great things. In Forrest Gump's case, it was all by chance.


By chance he was a college football star. By chance he was a ping pong champion, a Vietnam War hero, a shrimp boat Captain phenom because a hurricane took out every other boat in the area. This made for an amazing adventure through the life of someone who was so pure, so innocent, he couldn't hurt a fly.

Tom Hanks played it perfectly, one of those performances we rarely get to see. Where an actor BECOMES the character, not simply plays the part. Few actors have ever accomplished this. Off the top of my head, the only other two that come to mind... Denzel Washington in Training Day and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.

Robin Wright Penn played the troubled love of Forrest Gump, Jenny. And Penn delivered! She expressed pain, confusion and hurt that so few actresses could ever pull off. Jenny was abused as a child and that lead to many, many wrong decisions. The one constant in her life was Forrest. Her and Forrest, again, by chance, stay in each other's lives. Penn was terrific.

Robert Zemeckis won the Oscar for Best Director and deserved it. The movie was well ahead of its times as far as visual story telling and special effects. Forrest Gump had an amazing soundtrack that played to the times in the film. Looking back, there are movies today that still can't convince you of Zemeckis did years ago. That Tom Hanks shook hands with the presidents of past? Amazing. Keeping the theme throughout the film convincing must have been a difficult task.

Forrest Gump will forever be talked about. It's one of those "movies for the ages". It's one of the few that I can think of from the 1990's that has stayed with the times. Truly an amazing film.

Check back tomorrow for the next installment of "You know what's a good movie?".

Quckie: Da Vinci Code sequel released today

Hey everyone, remember that small, independent film called The Da Vinci Code? Well that movie made a boat load of money and so did it's sequel Angels and Demons. Today Random, a publishing company, released the third book in the series from Dan Brown today, called "The Lost Symbol". All three books feature the symbolist Robert Langdon, played by Tom Hanks in the first two films. This novel takes place in the U.S. and Columbia pictures has already secured the rights to the film version of the book. That will probably start filming next year. No word yet if Tom Hanks will return or if Ron Howard will direct. I'm betting they will, these have become very successful movies and they'll want to stay on success train. Anyone care?