Stacy's Blog Has Got It Going On

"Authority should derive from the consent of the governed, not from the threat of force!" -Barbie As Andy (John Morris) prepares to leave for college the toys prepare to be put in the attic for the long haul.  Unfortunately, they are accidentally sent to Sunnyside Daycare, which seems like a wonderful place for a toy, but is actually more like a prison run by Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear (Ned Beatty).  With only a few days before Andy leaves for college, Woody (Tom Hanks) and the gang has to find a way to escape Sunnyside before they wind up destroyed by rambunctious toddlers. What Works: If you had told me Toy Story 3 was going to be one of the best prison escape movies ever, I wouldn't have believed you, but here we are.  More than any other film in the series, this movie has a real sense of danger throughout and that gives the story high stakes.  The escape sequence is a lot of fun and the world of Sunnyside is utterly fascinating. Lotso is ha...

"This is for Tupac." -Chucky To help cheer up her son, Andy (Gabriel Bateman), after moving, Karen Barclay (Aubrey Plaza) gets her hands on a defective Buddi doll, which can not only act as a companion, but can control various electrical objects.  Andy and his doll, Chucky (Mark Hamill), become close, but soon Andy starts to suspect something is wrong with the doll who is protective of the boy to a murderous degree. What Works: Knowing the backstory of this movie, I really didn't want this to get made.  I think it's pretty disrespectful to original creator Don Mancini especially when the original series is still going on and is stronger than ever.  That said, I do respect the film for doing something different.  Chucky isn't a serial killer trapped in the body of a doll this time.  Instead, he is simply a defective A.I.  I think remakes should take the source material and do something different with it and that's definitely the case h...

"I am not a toy." -Forky As the toys settle into life with their new kid, Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw), Woody (Tom Hanks) is having difficulty adjusting to no longer being the favorite toy.  While on a road trip, Bonnie's favorite toy, Forky (Tony Hale), is left behind and Woody goes after him.  The two end up in the clutches of a gang of evil antique dolls and the only way out is with the help of a familiar face, Bo Peep (Annie Potts). What Works: I'll be the first to admit, I was beyond skeptical of Toy Story 4 .  The first three films form a near-perfect trilogy and I though the third film finished on such a high note that I didn't want Pixar to go anywhere near this franchise again.  I didn't think there was any way this film could reach the heights of the first three.  I was wrong.  The story is incredibly engaging and doesn't feel tacked on at all.  It makes perfect sense in a way.  We all know how emotional the incine...

"You have saved our lives!  We are eternally grateful!" -Aliens While trying to rescue a toy from a yard sale, Woody (Tom Hanks) is kidnapped by Al McWhiggin (Wayne Knight) to be sold to a museum.  While held captive, Woody learns more about his past and has to confront his future, while Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) launches a dangerous rescue mission. What Works: Toy Story 2 is similar to The Empire Strikes Back in many ways.  Sure, there are the obvious moments like all of the sound effects in the Buzz Lightyear video game and the plot twist surrounding Zurg (Andrew Stanton), but the story structure is similar.  This movie divides our characters into two groups.  I like that this movie does something different and doesn't make the same movie over again.  Plus it's really great to see a whole movie where Woody and Buzz are friends. Speaking of Woody and Buzz, Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are, once again, fantastic.  They were born ...

"This isn't flying, it's falling with style!" -Buzz Lightyear Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) is the favorite toy of a young boy, Andy (John Morris), and the leader of all of Andy's toys.  When Andy gets a new toy for his birthday, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) seems to replace Woody as the favorite.  The rivalry between them grows until they both inadvertently end up outside of Andy's house and in the next-door neighbor's, which is home to Sid (Erik von Detten), a boy who tortures and destroys toys for fun.  With only a couple days before Andy moves away, Woody and Buzz have to learn to work together to escape Sid's house of horrors. What Works: The real question is: what doesn't work with this movie?   Toy Story is in my Top 10 movies of all time and it's as close to perfect as a movie can get.  Nostalgia certainly plays a factor, but I can't honestly think of a single flaw.  The pacing is excellent and the story never gets t...

"This isn't going to end well." -Officer Ronnie Peterson Due to polar fracking, the rotation of the Earth is knocked out of whack and the dead start coming back to life.  The citizens of Centerville find themselves in an undead nightmare and have to fight to survive. What Works: Bill Murray and Adam Driver are the best parts if the film.  This film follows multiple groups of people, but when they are on screen the movie shines.  It feels like a buddy-cop zombie movie and it's straight-up hilarious.  They have excellent chemistry and I'd love to see them work together again. This movie feels like three different comedies jammed into one movie, so the tone is all over the place, but the best comedy moments are the really dry, dark jokes.  Most of them come from Murray and Driver, which isn't surprising.  Murray has such a "meh" attitude towards everything and Driver is remarkably calm in the horrifying situation.  They both ha...

"Language!" -Steve Rogers The Avengers reassemble to take out the last remnants of Hydra and discover some interesting tech in the process.  Frightened that these adventures will result in the death of every Avenger, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) manages to build an artificial intelligence, Ultron (James Spader), to help protect the human race.  Unfortunately Ultron comes to believe that humanity must be destroyed and creates a massive army of robots to do so.  The Avengers have to band together to destroy Ultron before he can destroy them. What Works: The core Avengers are all pretty great.  Tony Stark is perfect as always and we also get some really funny moments from Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth).  I also like the relationship that forms between Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).  It's sweet and unexpected and I wish we got more of that in the future MCU films. I also like...