Toy Story 3
Blu-ray/DVD Combo | DVD
Directed by Lee Unkrich
Starring Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Michael Keaton, Ned Beatty
Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 2, 2010

I’m a Pixar fanatic through and through and yet I’m not in love with the Toy Story franchise. My mind often wonders how that is possible. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly appreciate the series and the first movie, in particular, for its historical significance. I also feel the current crop of 3D animated films owe their existence to Woody, Buzz, Slinky Dog, and the rest, but I’ve always found the first two entries in the series to be of a different time in Pixar’s life. I find myself much more engaged by more recent outings like Wall-E and Up than I do from older films like A Bug’s Life and Toy Story.

That being said, I think Toy Story 3 just might be my favorite film in the franchise. I don’t know if it’s just because it’s the most recent and it’s fresh in my mind, but I had a lot of fun with this third part of the trilogy. The film benefits greatly from computer technology that is a decade ahead of the previous Toy Story films and looks amazing (especially on Blu-ray). This can be found in the level of sophistication in not only the toys and humans, but in the backgrounds and environments as well. The opening dream sequence really shows off what I feel like the filmmakers have been trying to show us since the first movie but were limited by the technology of the day.

Tonight was Preview Night at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, and yes, the Geeks of Doom crew was there in full-force.

Below are a bunch of photos we took from the convention floor.

Of note was the Marvel booth, a massive area for sure, half taken up by a recreation of Odin’s Throne in Asgard from their upcoming film Thor (see the Thor movie still of Odin’s Throne HERE).

There’s also a few shots of the Legendary Pictures booth, which showed off some costumes and props from The Dark Knight and Inception, as well as The Hangover (the pic from the latter film is truly a must-see).

A show-stopper at the Con was definitely the areas set up for The Walking Dead TV show, coming soon to AMC, which had a house filled with bloodied corpses in it. Pretty cool.

Toy Story 3 – ***1/2
Directed by Lee Unkrich
Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty
Release date: June 18, 2010

It is wonderful to capture memories. We all do it one way or another. Video recorders are typically used for it, be it either for capturing celebrations, parties, talent shows, sporting events, or even sorrowful ones that cause us to be emotionally saddened. Years go by when we return to them again finding bliss and a moment out of time that is impossible to explain; an unfathomable remembrance of things past.

Toy Story 3 begins magnificently with old videos of Andy playing with his toys — a time when he kept reality at bay and possessed nothing but joy, caring very little from what was transpiring outside of his fantasy world abundantly full of train robberies and spacemen saving the day from evil. We all have to move on, and Toy Story 3 finds grievance in this stark realization and employs it throughout the movie within characters like Andy who is now going away to college, his mother struggling to deal with that, and his entire chest of toys who are facing being either shipped to the attic, donated to Sunnyside daycare, or thrown in the trash because Andy has grown up.

Summer you say? Already? We thought it was like February still…no?

Yes indeed, that joyous time of year when movie fans can put their brains away to hibernate for a few months (for the most part), and bask in the glory that is the summer movie season. It’s time to re-open the cinematic buffet and, as always, this year will deliver all of the bangs and booms, the violence and sex, and the shocks and laughs that you the moviegoers crave when the sun is at its hottest.

This year is a little different than we’ve been used to — almost like a year off in terms of true spectacle. There’s more than your fair share of big names and sequels being released, but unlike last year and even next year, the summer won’t be dominated by them. Instead, there’s plenty of remakes, adaptations, and a mixture of all genres from the traditional action-packed firework festivals and comedies to less-traditional fare such as historical epics, science fiction horrors, cult classics-in-the-making, and psychological mind-benders.

Allow me not to waste anymore of your time. Grab the biggest, buttery bucket of popcorn and as many liter-o-colas as you can carry, then leap on over to the other side for your biggest and best guide to upcoming movies in our very own Summer Movie Mayhem 2010!

Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Entertainment have released the second official trailer for next Summer’s highly-anticipated Toy Story 3.

The trailer is definitely a different direction from the first trailer that we saw released. In that one, it was mainly about Andy going off to college and the toys being dumped off in a day care facility. This time around, you’re returned to the day care, but you get to meet some of the new toys that we’ve heard about but not seen, like the Ken doll voiced by Michael Keaton, the mysterious toy that appeared in Pixar’s last film, Up, and Timothy Dalton‘s Mr. Pricklepants.

Continue on down to the bottom to read a synopsis and watch this brand new Toy Story 3 trailer for yourself. And do not forget, the movie will be released in only 4 short months on June 18, 2010.