Movie Review: Toy Story 5

Despite a plot that feels a bit stretched out, the latest from the “Toy Story” franchise ultimately delivers through both new characters and old. The story seems relativity straight-toward at first as we see Bonnie’s toys trying to take a stand against technology. While a topical subject, it actually ends up taking somewhat of a backseat to Jessie’s character arc. This is really her movie, with Buzz and Woody appearing major supporting characters. (In fact, most of the classic characters from past movies are lucky to get more than a few lines of dialog.) As far as the new toys, Lilly gets less of a spotlight than you would expect and has a slightly rushed plotline. A few more new toys introduced midway through the film initially seem forgettable, but in the end they’re solid additions to the series. There’s also a sub-plot involving a small army of new Buzz Lightyear toys, that while having some fun moments, it feels unnecessary to the story…till it isn’t. As expected, all the big character arc come together in the final act and are able to pull on the heartstrings while paying off this film’s threads and a few from previous chapters.

*** out of *****

Movie Review: Resident Evil (2026)

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Despite leaning quite a bit into dark comedy, the latest “Resident Evil” still offers up its share of creepy moments. Overall, it’s little like “The Thing” with a splash of “Shaun of the Dead.” The film’s plot is shockingly straight-forward and is essentially a man trying to make it from point A to point B while encountering horrific obstacles. Things escalate fairly quickly once we get the first zombie, in both the tension and with the type of threats encountered by the lead character of Brian. Acting-wise, Austin Abrams does a solid job in this role, especially considering we only briefly see any other characters in the film. The film does a great job of creating tension by limiting what the characters and the audience can see by use of lights and shadow. There’s no telling what’s behind the corner until he gets there, usually with only a cellphone light to pierce through the darkness. However, this all starts to get a little repetitive approach the third act as becomes too formulaic, and you realize the lead character has to have enough plot-armor to make it to the climax. There is a surprising amount of humor in the movie. Much of it is tied to the fact that Brian is always in over his head and he knows it. (Also, a few of the supporting characters that pop-up are usually used in comedic film roles, so that pushes things to feel almost a little too silly at times.) There are some pretty bold choices for the third act, and it felt like it caused the finale to end with a bit of a head-scratching moment. Overall, the film looks great, with moody environment enhanced by ominous lighting. The creature effects are solid and while there appears to be a fair amount of CG used, it’s not distracting.

*** out of *****

Movie Review: Coyote vs. Acme

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A live action/animation hybrid that will be compared to “Who Framed Rodger Rabbit,” and although it doesn’t reach the lofty heights of that classic film, it is still a fun and occasionally heartwarming movie in its own right. Overall, the film does a solid job of combining the slapstick comedy of Looney Tunes and the live-action courtroom setting. The plot is seemingly basic, but it has enough twists to propel the narrative forward, while also finding plenty of moments for cartoon hijinks that don’t feel out of place. Will Forte and Lana Condor do a good job in their performances and are able to pull off the over-the-top nature of the premise and also the grounded moments. John Cena also works well in the villain role, even though he’s ultimately not given a lot to do. The film’s weakest link it Wile E. himself. As a character that doesn’t speak and has always been purely defined by his never-ending quest to catch the Roadrunner, it’s tough for him to rise above that gimmick or to truly create any chemistry with the human characters. However, by the end they are able to just about hit the mark where he forms an emotional connection with the audience. As for the film’s humor, for the most part the jokes land. It’s the same type of stuff we’ve seen with these characters for decades, but they still make a lot of it feel fresh.

*** out of *****

Movie Review: The End of Oak Street

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A fairly entertaining film that is essentially “Jurassic Park” in the suburbs in the 80’s, but with a sci-fi twist. Everything from the score to the suburban setting to some of the directing choices is very much in line with Spielberg films from the 1980’s like “E.T.” However, this film has some unique directing choices by writer/director David Robert Mitchell, with his favorite technique having an extreme closeup of a character in the foreground while keeping the background character in focus as well. While this works most of the time, other times it just feels like a gimmick. The pacing is solid for the most part, but going into the final act it stumbles a bit. The story itself initially feels original, but later portions struggle to avoid feeling like another “Jurassic” film. The film also pushes the PG-13 boundary as far as it can, which helps sell the danger of streets filled with hungry dinosaurs. Surprisingly, the movie takes a bit of a dark twist in the third act that shifts the tone and makes things feel more unpredictable. (This point in the film helps add some depth to some of the characters that felt somewhat one-dimensional up to this point.) While the effects look solid, it’s clear that all the dinosaurs are CG. And even though CG dinosaur scales were pretty much mastered back in the 90’s, the more accurate feathered dinosaurs featured here still need some extra work to look more realistic.

**1/2 out of *****