Toy Story 3 (2010)

 TOY STORY 3 (2010).
Directed by Lee Unkrich. Written by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich and Michael Arndt. Voiced by Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Michael Keaton, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, John Ratzengerger, Laurie Metcalf, Timothy Dalton, Bonnie Hunt, Whoopi Goldberg, R. Lee Ermey and Jeff Garlin.

Plot: Most of Andy's toys are back as Andy himself, now 17, prepares to leave for college, while they are mistakenly taken to a day-care center rather than his attic.

What do you call the sequel of a sequel, an animated feature for kids that doesn't pander to parents with double-entendre jokes or easy toilet humour, voiced by actors who haven't been given a challenging role in over a decade, that inspired a whole slew of theme park rides and is 11 years removed from the last installment of its series? Easy: one of the year's five best - and most touching - films, and the best Toy Story yet.

The animation itself is top-notch again, the characters are given so much life and are voiced so superbly that you get more attached to them than you would your standard live-action Hollywood underplayed and under-developped character. New characters are also introduced, and each of them is singular, has a personality of its own and is different from any character in the film series so far.

I don't want to give away too much of the storyline, but seriously, I didn't believe they would be able to come close to the other movies, let alone top them - and they did so by a clear margin. And it's not like the first two movies weren't stellar in their own way, either. This one is just far deeper and more captivating emotionally.

Perhaps the best Disney-related film of all time? Could very well be...

4.5/5

Iron Man 2 (2010)

IRON MAN 2 (2010).
Directed by Jon Favreau. Written by Justin Theroux. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, Jon Favreau, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, Paul Bettany, and Garry Shandling.

Plot: Billionnaire Tony Stark, who outed himself as superhero Iron Man at the end of the first movie, has to fight off new enemies, his own government and test his friends' patience in this sequel that serves more as a bridge to the upcoming Avengers movie than its own vehicle.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, by any means, it's just that once the film is over and done with, you leave with the impression of having watched a Friends reunion show more than an action movie, firstly because there is little action to speak of, but mostly because everybody just seems genuinely happy to be working together again - and the one-liners come out at a frantic pace, most of them predictable but still heartwarming.

What saves it from sitcom territory is the quality of the acting though: Robert Downey Jr was made for this role (more so even than Chaplin), Gwyneth Paltrow was born to play an assistant, Mickey Rourke seems at his place playing a lovable villain, Sam Rockwell and Garry Shandling are perfect as self-serving assholes, and Don Cheadle is also perfectly cast as a replacement for fellow Oscar nominee Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes. Oh, and Scarlett Johansson looks great in a cat suit, but we'll get a better opinion of that in her spin-off, for Black Widow. And Jon Favreau and Samuel L. Jackson are their usual amazing selves in small (almost cameo) roles.

And that's probably because the film was made by actors. Favreau directed, sure, but the film was also written by Justin Theroux, whom you may remember as the non-lesbian character from David Lynch's terrific 2001 picture Mulholland Dr. It seems Theroux wrote the ultimate actor's screenplay, one where every actor looks good and says cool lines, but misses in the one area where a writer would be needed - plot and story.

It's not as entertaining as the first one, but it's still worth seeing on ''half-price Tuesdays'' if those exist in your area - or rent it.

3/5