Toy Story 4

I guess there’s a reason why they usually stop movie series at three entries. It becomes impossible to not experience, when watching a fourth installment of a franchise, a sense that you’ve seen all this stuff before—that you are looking at a paper or a picture that has been copied a few times too many, or copied from a copy of a copy. That’s the sense I got watching this film. The familiar characters are there, a somewhat familiar storyline is there—this series has done both new character introductions and finding a long-lost friend in prior sequels—but at this point they just don’t have the same impact as they originally did. Not surprising, really; it requires a ton of fresh creative input to keep old characters and scenarios feeling even relatively fresh, and there just isn’t a lot of vibe that the studio was up to that challenge here. Thus, it was not a surprise that my attention started to wander long before this flick reached its climax, let alone the potentially series-altering denouement. I know they’re planning yet another sequel for this series—perhaps without Hanks, though that issue probably wouldn’t be insurmountable—but I suspect the only thing that will come of the attempt will be further proof of Disney’s current creative bankruptcy. Oh, I suppose I should note that the uncritical among us—like children, the target audience here—will absorb this outing with the same level of pleasure the first three provided. But for the rest of us, I think we should expect a bit more for our time and attention. It just might be time to put away these childish things.

Fist Fight

How weird that somebody actually thought this was a good idea. Hell, maybe it would have been with a different cast of comedians--people who bring some of the funny with them wherever they go. Only Tracy Morgan qualifies as that here, and even his contribution is somewhat hampered and muted. The biggest problem seems to be lead Charlie Day, who just doesn't have the funny chops to serve as the Everyman who is imposed upon and make it work--all of this is just wearying. Plus, the overarching idea--that American high schools are out-of-control jungles where anything can happen, including insanity and violence--just isn't funny in and of itself. Either satirize--which requires some subtlety--or make it slapstick--which requires something violent, but paradoxically gentle and innocent. None of that lives here. The few laughs mostly show up towards the end; otherwise, watching this one is a chore. Everybody gets detention.

Drive

Undoubtedly, this movie was shot totally in digital format; that's too bad, since if it were film I could say that Style practically drips from every frame. This movie owns its look in a big way; there hasn't been a flick that so clearly defines its own form in a very long time. But this is not a complete triumph of style over substance; the audience gets a rich tableaux of character, story, and emotional depth to complement all that flashy, self-conscious mise-en-scene. Drive has been a polarizing work for many people, but you can count me among the impressed. This one is a powerful, absorbing, entertaining piece of work, and well worth your time.