Review of Toy Story 3

Written in the style of Sky Movies Online.

Director: Lee Unkrich
Stars: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton
Year: 2010 Running
Time: 102 mins
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
CERT: U

It’s been 10 years since Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jesse (Joan Cusack) and the others were last played with but with Andy soon to leave for college the fate of his toys hangs in the air.

This is the third offering from the Toy Story franchise but a cash cow it is not. Unlike some Hollywood blockbusters that seek to milk off their previous success, this is the next logical step in the story. But more than that, it has a heart to it and will take audiences on a trip down memory lane.

After being described as “junk” and accidentally thrown out with the trash Andy’s dejected toys resign themselves to the box destined for day care, while Woody will be taken to college.

Upon arrival at Sunnyside day care nursery the toys are promised a life of playtime by Lots O’ Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty), a pink, strawberry-scented teddy.

However, the toys soon realise that the strawberries don’t smell as sweet as they first thought. Lotso has tricked them into the toddlers’ room where they literally end up in pieces and it is up to Woody to save them.

Pixar has outdone itself again as it hits all the right emotional buttons in its exploration of growing up, remaining accessible to adults and children alike.

Despite being the pioneer of CGI feature films Toy Story scripts have always been sharp without a sole reliance on graphics and this is movie is no exception.

Saying this, with the advent of high definition and 3D it is an aesthetic masterpiece and shows the developments in technology since the first film.

Toy Story 3 is a wonderful blend of comedy, drama and action that revisits a million golden childhoods, making this threequel the perfect finale to the series.

Review of Dom Joly's 'The Dark Tourist'

I will be finishing off my reviews for series 4 of 'The I.T. Crowd' once I have handed in my dissertation however, in the mean time I have written a review for 'The Dark Tourist' by Dom Joly. Here it is for your reading pleasure...

Whilst most travel writers would baulk at the thought of holidaying in the ‘Killing Fields’ of Cambodia or the exclusion zone around Chernobyl, comedian Dom Joly readily takes up the mantle of the morbidly fascinated in ‘The Dark Tourist’.

Better known for his antics on ‘Trigger Happy TV’ dressed as a giant squirrel or shouting into a giant mobile phone, Joly’s adventures are a clever mixture of macabre history and witty observations that weave in his own experiences of growing up in war-torn Lebanon.

The title refers to ‘dark tourism’ which involves travelling to destinations associated with death or suffering, and there is no shortage of assassinations and torture here. Each trip offers an insightful snapshot of places which are only glimpsed in news reports. During his visits to the ‘Axis of evil’ that are Iran and North Korea, Joly discovers how people live under these oppressed regimes and whether his preconceptions hold true.

At points his accounts prove to be surprisingly moving, particularly during one surreal episode where he is offered Pol Pot’s shoes for a half million dollars only to realise that the vendor is a war criminal.

There are of course the cultural gaffes when Joly decides to play the bumbling outsider who evades the local authorities, so as to lighten the mood, but really he is questioning his own desire to venture into these places of pain and misery.

Compared to the abundance of light travel literature littering the shelves of bookshops ‘The Dark Tourist’ is a refreshing antidote that delves into the complexities of the human psyche and explores our own heart of darkness.