Inception is the best movie so far this year.  While that may not be a very high hurdle to jump, it is as good as some of the top movies of last year (Inglourious Basterds) and the year before (Slumdog Millionaire).   It is pretty close to a perfect movie, although not quite the perfect action movie (Die Hard)…oh well.  It may not be this good in repeat viewings, but I cannot imagine a movie better suited for repeat viewings than Inception.  No doubt in my mind, I will be there to watch it on an IMAX screen.

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For whatever reason this summer there are only two movies due out that really have me excited: Christopher Nolan’s Inception and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. With Edgar (Shaun of the Dead) Wright’s film version of Scott Pilgrim just a little over a month away from hitting theaters, it occurred to me that many of the regular visitors of this site may not be particularly familiar with the character. I worry that people will think it is just another Michael Cera playing Michael Cera movie. To prepare you for the film and really just as an excuse to post the awesome trailer below, I’ve put together this little primer on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s deliriously fun series.

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Boooo! We totally beat England 1-1. Wait... What?

So most of us at MLD spent this past weekend at the former Wizard World East/Philly… which was renamed this year “the Philadelphia Comic Con.” This was an interesting move on Wizard’s part considering that there was virtually no presence at the event from the comic book establishment. Yes, there were comic book vendors and an artists alley, but completely missing from the festivities were representatives from DC and Marvel comics (as well as Dark Horse, IDW, Boom, or any other semi-major publisher). In fact, the only publishers I did notice at the event were Zenescope Entertainment, who publish a comic based on the defunct WB television show Charmed, and Avatar Press, who publish independent books from guys like Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, and Garth Ennis – none of whom were at the show. The lack of comic book companies showing up also meant there were none of the typical comic book panels highlighting what’s coming in the next year or announcements of any kind.

It has been a few years since I attended this show and so much has changed during that period.
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Since the previous MLD post reviewing An Education was based on clips and trailers, I decided to write up something after having actually watched it.  Since I am the “token girl” here though, my attitude towards the film might not represent the entire group’s.  But then, what on this site does?

I’m still watching it, so I’ll take you through bit by bit for what stuck out to me.  I wasn’t really into the idea of this movie at first.  I typically don’t like period pieces.  But the more current the period, the easier to deal with.  I’m not even sure why this came in our Netflix.  Supposedly neither of us put it in the queue, nonetheless it’s here and it is playing.

From the start, I liked it. It presents the glamour of Sixties London exactly how I want it to be.  Carey Mulligan amazes me.  After seeing the adorable girl with the blonde pixie cut on Jimmy Fallon and Conan when this movie was being promoted, seeing her as a mousey school girl was odd.  Helen’s (Rosamund Pike) makeover of Jenny from plain jane to Audrey Hepburn look alike was a bit cliche, but as they carry it through the movie, it is less bothersome.  I also liked the appearance of Olivia Williams (Adelle from Dollhouse) as the teacher.

Next thing that came up for me while watching this was needing to understand the difference between supper and dinner.  Once I explored it a bit more, apparently I needed to know the difference between tea, supper, and dinner.  I liked that I learned a bit of something for the day and after reading up on the topic, I want to start eating supper more often.  It’s at the right time of day, and I want to be classy 😉

I don’t like including spoilers in what I write up, so I don’t want to go into too much detail.  There were things that confused me about the progression of the relationship.  Going away for the weekend and sharing a bed before a first kiss.  Odd.  Scheduling the date you would lose your virginity.  Super Odd.  Parents encouraging you to get married and forgo Oxford University.  Really?!  There is one more thing that I found super weird, but it would include a bit of a spoiler, so I can’t.

Other than those few things that stuck out to me, I really liked it.  I finally understood the title in the last 10 minutes of the movie.  There were no bad performances in the movie, and I love British accents, so that didn’t hurt anything.  It is definitely a chick-flick.  But it is an entirely different type of chick-flick.  It is not Clueless.  But the fashion and soundtrack don’t hurt it in any way whatsoever.  Just like Clueless  🙂  Oh!  And I learned that they said “snap” then the same way we say it now.  Which was fun!

A new correspondent, Shawn, submitted the following exclusive:

I’ll start by saying I haven’t watched Toy Story 2 recently enough to do the Pixar rankings everyone likes to do. In Toy Story (1995), we met Woody, Buzz and the gang, and Toy Story 2 (1999) was a rescue Woody/Buzz Lightyear’s father story. They are all stories of friendship, loyalty and one’s place in a world of humans who don’t always maintain these traits. True to form, Toy Story 3 is a continuation of these themes. The movie is essentially answering the question of how different types of toys deal with their prime directive of be-played-with-and-make-their-owner-happy as times and people change.

So anyway, since the last movie ended Woody, Buzz and Co. have been concocting schemes to get now college-aged Andy to play with them. For example, they steal Andy’s phone and put it in their toy box so that when he calls it, they’re right there. While cleaning and storing for college, Andy’s mom accidentally puts the toys on the curb for trash collection. They eventually end up in a box bound for daycare, believing Andy abandoned them even though he actually intended to put them in the attic for safe keeping.

At this point, the plot is set in motion as their eventual conflict with Lot-so-Huggin’ bear is set up. Lot-so is the don of Sunnyside, a repository for older, once loved toys. At Sunnyside, toys fulfill their earthly wish for playtime. The rub is, Lot-so runs the place and puts newcomers with the 3 year olds in the Caterpillar Room. The Caterpillar Room is the AAA affiliate of Lot-so’s room of older, gentler children. When you first arrive, you’re put it in there and you can basically expect to get beaten up everyday. Whoever plays the game and survives Caterpillar gets called up. Once in the other room, one can expect to live out a sweet life with the elite. When the not so savory parts of Lot-so’s operation come to light, the gang needs to act.

In my opinion, the movie is another success for Pixar. It has the heart, but isn’t the least bit heavy handed sentimental, which it easily could’ve been. The introduction from the director before the movie talks about he made this movie with individuals my age in mind. I was 6 when this movie came out and it was one of, if not the first, movies I saw in theatres. His thesis was that Andy and the college students in the audience had almost parallel trajectories. Marketing gimmick? Maybe. I don’t much care because it is effective in enhancing how I frame the movie. It continues the Pixar tradition of making kid’s movies that don’t feel like kid’s movies.

The best part about the movie is that it assumes its audience has a connection to these characters and the universe they live in, thereby needing no introductory fluff. Standouts moments from the story include the opening train heist scene between Woody and Potato-head, the Sunnyside henchmen and factory reset Buzz.

Truly, the only gripe I had was a small one with the introduction of Ken, of Barbie fame. By any normal standard he’s a funny minor character and he works in the context of the movie, but I couldn’t help thinking that he was a bit Dreamworksian. I could see Ken in Shrek. If that’s my only problem with the movie I’m guessing I’ll call it a win. Randy Newman music is obviously present but only in “Friend In Me” form.

I guess it goes without saying that the animation in TS3 is fantastic and I can only imagine how much better the eventual 3D release will be. I didn’t notice any moments in the movie that were built for a pop-out 3D moment so I can assume that it will be well integrated into the movie.

But wait, Shawn, doesn’t any self-respecting reviewer always criticize endings? Well, the cut of the movie I saw was called the Cliffhanger Edition because they apparently weren’t done mixing the movie. I saw 70 of a possible 85 some minutes. Therefore, the movie cut to black right before the grand mission was about to jump off so I really can’t say whether they succeed in emancipating themselves from Sunnyside. I can, however, with my history of cinematic analysis, project the most likely ending.

Lot-so sees the writing on the wall and assembles all of his cronies to stop the exodus. Upon seeing Woody leading the charge, he pulls out his sword. Woody enters a Mecha and catches the sword just as it swings toward his head. Lot-so isn’t sure what to do, so he shoots his grapple and we’re led to believe he’s gone. Of course you were led to believe that, but the problem is that he jumps back into frame and is Robo-cop. Woody, knowing he needs to finish Robo-Lotso off before the place explodes, runs toward the top deck of the ship. He climbs the mast and drops a moon-rock on Lot-so. There’s lots of smashed toy blood. The end.

Thanks Shawn!