50x3: Say Anything (J-2)

Well, I have been very bad in posting these reviews - again. I watched this quite awhile ago and am just now finally getting to it.

Anyway, Say Anything is a movie I had never seen before, but is also sort of a cheat because this movie is pretty much iconic - and even though I had never seen it I did know pretty much the entire plot.

Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) is an average student with an above-average crush. He has feelings for the valedictorian of his school, and even though he has never spoken to her, decides that he is going to ask her out.

Diane Court (Ione Skye) was selected for a fellowship to study in England. She is a very smart girl, but does not have the greatest experience in social environments. Lloyd gives her a call to attend a party for their graduation - and feeling she should experience it she accepts.

Diane actually really enjoys her time with Lloyd and they begin a relationship. Diane's father, Jim (John Mahoney), is a nursing home owner and is also very overprotective if his daughter.

When he finds out that Diane is dating Lloyd he disapproves because he is such an underachiever and that he may drag his daughter down.

Jim, though, has his own problems as he goes under investigation by the IRS for tax violations at his nursing home. Diane feels she should be with her father, and eventually breaks up with Lloyd - offering him a pen as a consolation present.

As I said, I knew the movie pretty much all the way through - but it was finally nice it.

It's funny that I thought Jeremy Piven's character would have been in the movie much more - his character was absolutely crazy and hilarious. John Cusack pretty much plays the same character in all of his movies - and his sister, Joan, always seems to be his conscience.

Overall, a decent film. Pretty dated, but still glad I watched it.

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HOT: Toy Story 3

It's very tough for an animated film to come along that can come close to my favorite one of all-time in Toy Story. But, I guess if one was going to get close enough it would be a film featuring those same lovable characters.

Toy Story 3 comes out a full 11 years following Toy Story 2. A lot has changed in those 11 years - as Andy (John Morris) has grown up since we last saw him, and it has been a long time since he has played with the toys we have all come to love.

Andy is just a few days away from heading off to college and his mother is on his case about clearing out his room before he leaves. So, he must decide the fate of his old, favorite toys - put them in the attack, donate them or toss them in the garbage.

As he grabs a garbage bag and tosses many of the familiar toys, Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles & Estelle Harri), Slinky Dog (Blake Clark), Rex (Wallace Shawn), and Bullseye and those three aliens - he comes across Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen).

He decides to toss Buzz into the garbage bag and Woody into his box for college. As he begins to bring the garbage into the attack for storage - his sister stumbles out of her room with an oversized box for donation, and he leaves the bag on the floor to help her.

Then the real adventure begins. Thinking the bag is for the garbage, Andy's mother takes it down to the curb for trash pickup. Woody, though, does his best to rescue them - but the toys make it out themselves and decide to send themselves to Sunnyside Day Care in the donation box.

Woody tries to get them to reconsider, and he himself gets stuck in the box for donation. Sunnyside, though, proves to be the perfect landing spot for the toys. They are welcomed with open arms by a strawberry-scented bear named Lotso (Ned Beatty) and a metrosexual tour guide Ken (Michael Keaton), who immediately makes a connection with Barbie (Jodi Benson).

After Woody escapes, only to be picked up by Bonnie and taken to her house, the other toys soon to realize that Lotso and Sunnyside isn't all that its cracked up to be.

At Bonnie's house Woody is told by her toys, Buttercup (Jeff Garlin), Dolly (Bonnie Hunt), Trixie (Kristen Schaal) and Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) inform him how horrible Sunnyside and Lotso are - so Woody heads back to try and break his friends out.

Toy Story 3 was, at the time, what we thought was the perfect sendoff for the toys that we have grown up loving. And, it was done to perfection.

It was funny, exciting, sometimes 'scary' and definitely pulled at your heartstrings in more ways than one. They had done the impossible - created a film as close to perfect as the original Toy Story film.

Now, with Toy Story 4 pretty much a guarantee - I hope they can catch lightning in a bottle for a third time. Although I enjoy Toy Story 2, it isn't up to the standards as the first and third. Hopefully the fourth can buck the trend.

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HOT: Toy Story 2

It's really tough to understand the full quality of this film without knowing how it actually came together. Luckily you can check that out in the documentary, A Pixar Story.

Toy Story 2 was rushed into production and then totally reshaped not long before it was set to be released. Thanks to John Lasseter the film came out much better than originally planned.

As the first film was focused more on Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), this one goes a little deeper into Woody's (Tom Hanks) background. As Andy (John Morris) gets ready for cowboy camp, Woody is excited that he gets to spend time alone with his best friend. But, right before he's about to leave Andy plays one last time and ends up tearing Woody's arm - and decides to leave him behind.

Woody sits on a shelf and finds Wheezy (Joe Ranft), who was put on the shelf when he lost his squeaker with hopes of getting one replaced. Andy's mother comes and picks through Andy's room for stuff to get rid of in a yard sale. As Wheezy is selected, Woody goes on a rescue mission to save him from the yard sale. While on the mission, he gets discovered by Al (Wayne Knight) who owns Al's Toy Barn - and eventually gets stolen by him.

Woody is taken to Al's apartment and learns that he was once a a children's television show with his own Roundup Gang - that featured Jessie (Joan Cusack), Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer) and his horse Bullseye.

Al has already agreed to ship the entire collection to a toy museum in Tokyo as soon as he finds the Woody doll to go with it.

Buzz, meanwhile, puts together his own rescue mission with Rex (Wallace Shawn), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney) and Hamm (John Ratzenberger) to get Woody back from Al and return him to Andy.

Toy Story 2 is another great film from Pixar, but it's probably the weakest of the Toy Story films - but it's still one hell of a flick.

The introduction of Jessie was great, and her backstory was heartbreaking. And the silent partner Bullseye was also a great addition. Stinky Pete turned out to be a pretty decent villain as well - sort of semi-partnered with Al.

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25 Days: It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas

I have officially finished my first semester back to school as of Friday, so the 25 Days of Christmas was turned back on as of this weekend.

I watched a handful of Christmas films this weekend, and I will do my best to spread those out.

On Saturday, it was a Muppet day.

The first film we watched, as selected by my son, was It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas. This is the newest one that is available on DVD (the newest one will be broadcast on NBC this Wednesday, however, if you are interested).

In my opinion, you really can't go wrong with a Muppet movie. They have a pretty exact science to them, and for the most part the films are pretty funny.

This particular movie is about the Muppets losing the Muppet Theater thanks to the evil Rachel Bitterman (Joan Cusack). Kermit begins to think that he has let everyone down and contemplates that everyone would have been better off if he had never been born.

A rookie 'acconountant' in heaven, Daniel (David Arquette), has been watching his case and brings it before God (Whoopi Goldberg) to send an agent down to Earth to help Kermit out.

Out of the Muppets' Christmas movies, I felt this one is pretty subpar, although I still rather enjoy it.

The Christmas theme, however, technically really doesn't need to be here. Like the He-Man review I did before, this could have been any other time of the year and it would have still worked fine - it was more of an extended Muppet Show, than a Christmas special.

Although, like all Muppet films, a lesson is learned, some fun is had and we all come away feeling pretty good.

Some bonus cameos in this film were: William H. Macey, Carson Daly, Kelly Ripa, Matthew Lillard, Joe Rogan, Molly Shannon, Trimph-the insult comic dog, and the cast of Scrubs (Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Neil Flynn, John C. McGinley, Judy Reyes & Bill Lawrence).

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