Oscar Countdown, Day 3: Toy Story 3

Counting down the hours until Hollywood's most golden of awards galas? So are we! Semi-obsessively. Join us at noon for the next ten too-long days as we mentally prep our Oscar pool ballots and give each of this year's Best Picture nominees a once over and half.

Photo: allmoviephoto.com

TOY STORY 3

THE RUNDOWN: It's time for Andy to grow up and move onto college in this Toy Story threequel. As he packs up, he's forced to decide what to do with his beloved Buzz, Woody and the crew: bring them with him, stash them in the attic or donate them to Sunnyside Daycare. Only Woody makes the cut, going with Andy to college, while the rest of the gang is packed up for storage. Except his mom mistakes them for trash. But the clever toys escape and unintentionally make it into the donation box headed to the daycare, where they face grimy little palms, teething gums and a dictatorship.

WHY IT'S GOLDEN: This may be the only movie of this year's Best Picture nominees made for audiences aged 3-103, but don't think that makes it any less legitimate. In fact, that's precisely why it deserves such a coveted spot. Like it's predecessors, which also aimed right for the hearts and the funny bones of the 8-year-olds within all of us, Toy Story 3 is pretty much perfect in every way. It's sweet but not saccharine, funny but not frivolous, and SO sad (the hand-holding scene!) but somehow, not sappy. It took them a decade and a half to make this and it shows. Every aspect—the writing, the animation, the voice acting—deserves a score of infinity... and beyond! (Sorry, had to!) - Emily

WHY IT'S NOT: While the film may be fresh on many other aspects, there are far too many predictable, rehashed moments, ie. the unrelenting, mighty villain who is inescapable without a sneaky plan, the whole sole hero-saves-the-day theme, and even the much-talked-about heartbreaking climax. Of course though, it's primarily a children's film and as such, must follow an old redundant formula, or otherwise potentially risk losing it's target audience. Unfortunately, that leaves the rest of us with all-too-easy to guess storyline. - Michelle

THE FINAL VERDICT: Although the Academy obviously loves their Disney-Pixar movies (Up got a nod last year), they have never officially dubbed an animated flick Best Pic. They might see a lifelong friend—and Best Animated Feature winner—in Woody, Buzz and the rest of Andy's top toys, but sadly, probably not a front-runner for the big night's biggest prize.

Check out Emily's original review here! And join us tomorrow as we take on The Kids are All Right!

Emily's Top 10 of '10: Part 2

5. 127 Hours

I saw Danny Boyle's latest heart-yanking film on an especially special evening at TIFF, attended by both it's star (James Franco) and it's inspiration (adventure enthusiast and Between a Rock and Hard Place author, Aron Ralston). After the screening the mega-moving one-man-show, in which Franco (as Ralston) amputates his own arm after having spent an excruciating 127 hours with it lodged under a rogue boulder, Ralston (and his hook hand) came on stage all bright and teary-eyed. He was just so grateful to see his true triumph of the human spirit come alive on screen for the world, and most importantly, his family to see. As he told the still-recovering audience (the fainting rumours are true!), he was blown away by Boyle and Franco's hyperactive and hallucinogenic treatment of his story, as it managed remain loyal to his reality even when delving into fits of hysterical fantasy. I couldn't have said it better myself.

4. Blue Valentine

This dark, depressing love story is not for the faint and or fantastical of heart. This film, which was nearly unfairly slapped with a NC-17 rating (America's version of R), is rough, raw and ridiculously real, to the point that sometimes, you feel as though you're Rear Windowing in on your loud, obviously unhappy neighbours. Blue Valentine takes us on a tour through the shards of a never-really-true romance, which starts as an unhappy accident and ends in unsolvable screaming match. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling pour their hearts and bodies (the duo totally transform in the later sections) into playing the couple in question (Cindy and Dean), giving us what may be the most genuine representation of modern love - and loss - I've ever seen.

3. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

I still can't believe this movie wasn't a huge hit. It's 100 times better than Tron, Iron Man 2 and every other big budget action flick that came out this year. It's not a remake (although it is based on a series of graphic novels). It's not a mindless star vehicle (although Mikey Cera does get some sweet mega-closeups!). It's a true original - with some perfectly timed homages (Mortal Kombat! Seinfeld!) thrown in. Featuring a kick ass (not to be confused with Kick-Ass, which didn't quite live up to its name) plot - Toronto-based hipster 20-something has to defeat his new girl's seven evil exes - awesomely awkward dialogue, video game visuals and an insanely addictive soundtrack, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World has future unironic indie kid favourite written all over it. And it knows it.

2. Toy Story 3

This June, Woody, Buzz and the toy friends we've grown to love for over a decade rode back into Tinseltown for one last cinematic play date. And I don't know about you, but I'm searching for tissues. While the first two films in the animated series were undoubtedly superb, this installment was even better as it took us through most devastating moment of any toy's life: being put away in storage by their once-dedicated owner (in this case, Andy).  For my generation, who grew with the courageous cowboy and the sometimes-Spanish space cadet and kind of consider them our own, the bittersweet story hit so close to home it still hurts. 

1. The Social Network

A deliciously zeitgeist-y story, based on the controversial back story behind the most addictive website, ever? A wicked smart cast fronted by the next generation of hot nerds, Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield - and former Model Behaviour star and triple threat, Justin Timberlake? A talky, intelligent, Gilmore Girls speed script by West Wing scribe, Aaron Sorkin? What's not to 'like'? If this doesn't win Best Picture, I'm going to de-friend the Academy for at least a week.

ALSO AWESOME: The Other Guys, The King's Speech, Black Swan, Inception, Tangled, Shutter Island, Youth in Revolt 

*All photos from allmoviephoto.com

Emily's Top 5 of Summer '10

When you think summer, you probably think sun, sand, shorts and Sandy and Danny doing falsetto in the quad (well, maybe not the last one). When I think summer, I think great movies. When it's too hot to even think about being outside (or even when it's not), there's nothing better than grabbing a ice-cold Coke, a few like-minded friends and a light cardi (A necessity nowadays thanks to Cineplex's ridic AC settings) and plopping down for a two-hour cinematic vacay. And this past summer has given us some instant classics, at least on a totally guilt-free This-is-So-Freakin'-Entertaining level.

5) Piranha 3D 

Yes, yes. It's ridiculous. But in the most perfect way possible. I don't know about you, but I think every summer needs movies like this. We usually have to sit through movies that are unintentionally campy and emotionless during the hot-ass holiday season, but it's rare to find one that is overtly conscious of the fabulous frivolity. Or that features a feral fish eating and regurgitating a runaway peen.  Piranha 3D may not be Oscar-worthy, but it was the most fun I've had at the movies all summer. And I'm not the only one who thinks so - it's got a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes! Here's hoping Machete amps up the excitement for the terribly awesome trend and makes Hollywood realize that crass acts aren't so bad after all. In fact, they're delicious.

Photo: Worstpreviews.com 

4) The Other Guys

A few months back, I was sure I was going to guffaw my way through Summer 10'.  There seemed to be some really cool, indie comedies coming out (Cyrus, The Kids Are All Right) and well, that new Adam Sandler flick (I don't even dare speak it's name now). Unfortunately, none of those seemingly-destined-for-major-post-popcorn-quotage fllicks really managed to tickle my funny bone. So when The Other Guys came out, I assumed the worst, anticipating the awful aftertaste of recycled comedic cheese. I was SO wrong. Dirk Diggler + Ron Burgundy = the funniest movie of the summer, hell, maybe even the year.

Photo: Allmoviephoto.com

3) Inception 

Although I usually bow down to low-brow flicks during beach season, I also make a point to find at least one thought-provoking drama. Usually that requires several trips to a seriously-out-of-the-way rep cinema and a majorly open mind. But this year, I just had to drive to the closest Cineplex.  Two years after giving us the brilliant Batman sequel, The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan brought us the perfect summer thinker's movie - Inception.  With it's wickedly in-depth script, way-too-real special effects and award-bait cast (Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Caine, Marion Coittilard, Ellen Page), Inception blew every pretentious art house movie out of the water, making me, and billions of others, question their sense of blockbusters, gravity and personal reality. I mean, am I really writing this right now? Or am I knee-deep in subconscious sabotage? LEO!?

Photo: Allmoviephoto.com

2) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World 

Inception may have changed the way I think about reality, but Scott Pilgrim vs. the World did something even cooler - it changed the way I see movies. I may never be able to enjoy a movie again without overhead onomatopoeias explaining every karate chop, head bang and phone call. Or a pee bar regulating the main character's bathroom break. Or 3D hearts flowing out from under a stolen kiss. Or a famous laugh track randomly interrupting a seemingly unfunny conversation.There are just so many things about Scott Pilgrim we've never seen on-screen before, which is way too uncommon these days. The ads claim it's an "epic of epic epicness" and I couldn't agree more. Make you see it before it becomes too cult cool for you.

Photo: Allmoviephoto.com

1) Toy Story 3

A perfect ending to a perfect series. Two words: Spanish Buzz.

Michelle's Top 5 of Summer '10

For me, this summer was all about trippy films, be it 3D, mind games or lab experiments gone wrong in every way. Most times it was about being charmed by a beautiful idea, but sometimes it just felt good to be a little girl again. It was like a unconventional summer stay-cation, visiting times and concepts and oddities. Don't forget to pack your thinker!

5) Toy Story 3

Definitely one of the most anticipated films of the summer, led-up to with Toy Story and its sequel and brought back to theatres in 3D. The first two successful films weren't originally done in 3D and it seemed kind of risky to put the third out in 3D given all the major 3D failures lately. It's just that much sweeter when a film rocks it against doubts. But this film couldn't have done it for me without Barbie (Jodi Benson) and Ken (Michael Keaton), cracking jokes about Ken's all too obvious unmanliness and his destined love with Barbie.

Photo: allmoviephoto.com

4) Despicable Me

Steve Carell and Jason Segel is more than enough to sell a film but when it comes to kids films, we expect something corny, especially when it's about a two supposed evil masterminds and three chipmunk-cheeked little girls selling cookies. Doesn't leave much room for jokes for the parents but for those of us who are still secretly a five-year-old version of ourselves, this film was just right. I mean, come on, silly faces and sounds are still funny.

Photo: allmoviephoto.com

3) Mr. Nobody

This film was all about possibilities. What could have been? What was? They're both meshed in this film. It's an idea so limitless-ly fulfilling that it's depressing, if that even makes sense. Not that it's easy to understand much of the film itself. It's a futuristic utopian/dystopian film set to make us appreciate the way we live our lives right now, but also reminding us of the choices we've had in our own lives. In other words, it's a film for those who hobby thinking.

Photo: teaser-trailer.com

2) Splice

This film's beauty was in its unpredictability. Like Mr. Nobody, the film played with a utopian/dystopian idea: What if we could create animal-human hybrids? The results were repulsive, sweet, terrifying and sexy. This idea was intertwined with the story of a young couple going through their young couple woes but totally shaken up by this new being in their lives. In simplest terms, this film is very, very weird and discomforting. But some of us love that kind of thing.

Photo: allmoviephoto.com

1) Inception

How awesome is it when your most anticipated film of the summer actually meets your expectations? Come on. Who doesn't want to a see a film set in imaginations of stunningly unfamiliar worlds where the earth can fold over above or people can die but don't really die or where you can pry through others' thoughts? Just wow. Beautiful idea, great execution and a cast that fits almost seamlessly together. What more could you ask for? And not that I'm an Ellen Page fan but I like to root for my Canadians and this film seemed like a step, albeit a baby step, away from her usual troubled teenager role and into the clever college student role. Who knows, maybe next we'll see her a struggling young adult.

Photo: allmoviephoto.com

Toy Story 3

Photo: Disney/Pixar

(The toys are back in town.)

Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger. Directed by Lee Unkrich. 103 minutes. G

It's been 15 years since we first met Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and the other playful play things from Andy's toy box, but the motley crew seem as fresh-out-of-the-box as ever.

Toy Story 3 picks up quite a few years after the first sequel. Andy's (John Morris) toys have lost a few members: Wheezy, Etch and tear, Bo Peep. But they're still going strong. Sort of. The gang are for prepping for a big move - to Andy's attic. You see, their loyal owner is headed to college and his mom insists that he ditch his former playtime pals, or hand them over to the local daycare. Andy's not so sure, so he puts the group, with the exception of his (and my) clear fave, Woody, in a trash bag. His intention is to put them up in storage for safe-keeping and future reminiscing. But he gets distracted and his mom mistakes them for garbage. Thinking on his marker-encrusted feet, Woody shimmies down the drain pipe to save his other best buds. But they are already working on an escape plan. They've decided to go a place where they think toys always get played with: Sunnyside Daycare.

When they step out of their cardboard box and into the foam, number-covered floor of Sunnyside, Buzz, Jessie (Joan Cusack), Bullseye, Rex (the always overdone Wallace Shawn), Hamm (Pixar fave John Ratzenberger), the Potato fam (Don Rickles and Estelle Harris) and Slinky think they've got it made. The new toys, led by a shady strawberry-scented huggable bear, Lotso (Ned Beatty), and his creepy baby friend, seem friendly enough. They smile a lot and invite them to hang out in the fancy "Caterpillar Room." Little do they know, Lotso is a dictator and half, who strings innocent imagination instruments so he can get his plush toy power trip fix.

The story can be a bit over-the-top, and even scary for the little ones at times (that baby is actually terrifying). In fact, it will probably anger some young, daycare-lovin' rents. But, at its mainly optimistic heart, Toy Story 3 is just like Andy's superbly loyal sheriff: funny, endlessly creative and undeniably heart-warming.

The script, written by Little Miss Sunshine scribe, Michael Arndt, is as witty as ever, bringing simple sight gags (Mr. Potato Head trades his spud shell for a tortilla and a cucumber) for the wee ones, and veiled innuendos for the big kids (Barbie to Ken: "Nice as-cot.") Arndt also does a great job calling back to the previous movies. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say this: once in awe of the claw, always in awe of the claw.

Although the basic structure is there, there's also a few minor changes this time around. Unlike its strictly one-dimensional predecessors, this sequel is available in 3-D and 3-D IMAX. While the extended visuals are fun, they're kind of unnecessary. 3-D has become code for, "Our story sucks, so spent our budget on effects," these days. And that couldn't be further from the truth in this case.

There are also quite a few new faces - Barbie (Jodi Benson), Ken (a delightfully disco dinner jacket lovin' Michael Keaton), a theatrical plastic porcupine named Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton), a stuffed unisex unicorn named Buttercup (Jeff Garlin) - and even a few renewed ones (Blake Clarke does an eerie job taking over Slinky-Dog for Ernest, I mean, Jim Varney, who passed a year after TS2 hit theatres) to fall in love with. While they are all awesome, the best new toy has to be Spanish Buzz. Prepare to die, laughing.

Although there is plenty to giggle about in TS3, there is also plenty to get misty-eyed about. The last 20 minutes or so are like fresh onions for the cinematic crybaby crowd. Scratch that. They're tear gas for anyone who grew up with, or sat with their kids as they grew up with, Woody and Buzz. We may not have marked our names on the cowboy and his space pal's fake feet (although, I did try to put a Sharpie to my Woody's bootie once), but they're permanently etch-a-sketched into our hearts. So when they're sad, or in danger, we feel the heat too. Big time.

Toy Story 3's finale is hopefully open-ended, leaving room for a possible fourth installment. If it's anything like this one, I'm in. This is one series worth following, to infinity and beyond. A