Toy Story 3

Directed by: Lee Unkrich

Featuring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Michael Keaton, Don Rickles, Ned Beatty, Joan Cusak, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Timothy Dalton, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf, Jodie Benson

If you loved the previous installments of Toy Story and come into the theater with the pure enthusiasm of a fan, you will not be disappointed by this film. This is a respectable addition to the Toy Story franchise (and for once I do not use that term in a derogatory way), though it falls short of its predecessors. This film is quite a bit darker than the previous two, as our favorite characters come to grips first with abandonment and then with the prospect of their own end, which seems all the more tragic for our characters (after all, is there after life for toys?).

Unfortunately, however, it's hard to deny that this latest installment is a bit more vapid than the first two. There's less to think about and feel, and more roller coaster action scenes to be entertained by. At one point in the film I watched Woody fly wildly through the air on a kite caught in a roller-coaster gust of wind, and found myself wondering what the point of this scene was. I could provide no answer except: to entertain us with mindless action. Of course, Pixar operates on a completely different level than your average studio film, so this film is still smarter, wittier, more subtle, and genuine than most animated films, but I still found that it was missing the heart and the thoughtfulness of the first two.

The ending, however, won me over, as did the characters, who maintain the sardonic humor and (ironically) humanness of the previous films. Toy Story 3 is what you might expect the third installment of a good film to be. It could have reached higher and achieved more, but it still left me more or less satisfied and, I'll admit, bashfully wiping a few tears from my cheeks as the end credits rolled...

Winter's Bone

Directed by: Debra Granik

Featuring: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Kevin Breznahan, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, & Sheryl Lee

The buzz around this film has centered almost entirely on Jennifer Lawrence, who plays the lead character, and well it should. Her performance is real and grounded, with an intense focus reminiscent (and I am sure I am not the first to say this) of Jodie Foster. Films like these serve as encouraging reminders: There are still good films and good actors out there. I won't say much more about this film except this: Go see it. It is dark and not for the faint of heart, but anyone craving a good film with real characters will breath a sigh of relief as they are carried away into the depth and realism of this story.