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Film, Movie Reviews

Movie review: Funny, emotional ‘Toy Story 4’ brilliant end to ‘Toy Story’ film series

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“Toy Story 4” (G)

Nearly 24 years after the original film revolutionized the movie industry, the wow factor is as big as ever for the “Toy Story” franchise with “Toy Story 4,” a funny, emotional and visually stunning family film that is every bit as great as each one of its predecessors.

Even though it’s been nine years since the release of the tear-jerker “Toy Story 3,” the fourth installment in the Disney-Pixar franchise is set directly after the events of the last film, where Andy gifted his beloved toys Woody the Cowboy (voice of Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie the Cowgirl (Joan Cusack) and a host of others to a young girl named Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw), who loves her new play pals every bit as much as Andy did. However, she’s not allowed to bring any toys to her kindergarten orientation, so during playtime she creates a new toy out of a plastic fork and calls it Forky (Tony Hale) and forms an instant bond with the odd-looking utensil-turned-toy.


AUDIO: Tim reviews “Toy Story 4” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. Segment brought to you by Mike Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

But when her family takes one last trip before school starts and Forky flies out of an open window in their RV, Woody springs into action to save Forky, knowing how much it will devastate Bonnie if she loses her new best friend. The quest leads Woody to an antique shop, where he finds the porcelain statute Bo Peep (Annie Potts), from whom he was separated from years before (the character only appeared in “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2”).

Getting Bo Peep and Forky out of the shop isn’t so easy for Woody, though, as the antique doll Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) and multiple versions of the ventriloquist dummy Benson (Steve Purcell) try to thwart their big plans.

Like the “Toy Story” films before it, “Toy Story 4” is bolstered by an original story that manages to capture the imaginations of kids of all ages, whether through relatable situations for everyone involved and the adult nostalgia that resurfaces as the film visits toys from yesteryear. Naturally, the action in toy story in completely engaging and situations and dialogue is laugh-out loud funny, but amping up the comedy is the sly employment of Gabby Gabby and the ventriloquist dummies as the film’s villains, who have a natural creepy quality about them. It’s not the sort of creepiness that won’t scare little kids, however, as the characters’ presence is really there to evoke memories and nervous laughter from its adult audience members who once owed (and were petrified) by the vintage playthings.

Also providing for huge laughs is the introduction of new characters, including the stuffed animal duo of Ducky (Keegan-Michael Key) and Bunny (Jordan Peele), and the Duke McBoom (Keanu Reeves), the Canadian version of action figure and motorcycle rider Evel Knievel. The characters perfectly fit in with the menagerie of toys the “Toy Story” films have introduced to us over the years, including Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Dolly (Bonnie Hunt), Trixie (Kristen Schaal), Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton), Slinky Dog (Blake Clark) and Buttercup (Jeff Garlin) – who all appear once again in this fourth chapter.

Disney-Pixar

For as many feel great vibes that “Toy Story 4” gives, the film is rounded out by its emotion, so get ready to shed the same amount of tears in the film’s third act as you did at the conclusion of “Toy Story 3” when Andy bid farewell to his longtime toy pals. Like “Toy Story 3,” there’s a feeling of finality with “Toy Story 4,” as the film is indeed – at least for now – the last film in the “Toy Story” film series. Easily one of the best films (if not the best) this year so far, there’s no doubt that this final adventure will not only be admired for years, but for generations to come.

Lammometer: 10 (out of 10)

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.


AUDIO: Tim reviews  “Toy Story 4” and “Dumbo” (new on video) with Henry Lake on “The Paul and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM. Segment brought to you by Mike Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.

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Film, Movie Reviews

Review: ‘Parabellum’ is bloody fantastic ‘John Wick’ chapter

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“John Wick 3: Parabellum” (R)

Keanu Reeves’ killer franchise has been reignited again – with a blow torch – with “John Wick – Chapter 3: Parabellum,” the third and definitely not last chapter in the ultraviolent tale about a former hitman at odds with the criminal underworld that shaped him. And while the hotly-anticipated follow-up to the 2017 hit comes in a bit long at 2-plus hours, the film like its predecessors is ghoulishly entertaining with all of Reeves’ kill shots and brutal hand-to-hand combat skills and will surely earn enough at the box office to justify a fourth chapter.


AUDIO: Click above to hear Tim’s review of “John Wick 3: Parabellum” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ 92 Morning Show” on KQRS-FM.

Picking up virtually where “John Wick: Chapter 2” left off, “Parabellum” finds Wick roaming the streets of New York with less than a half-hour to go before he’s declared excommunicado. In the dark criminal underworld, that means Wick’s lost all his protection from the covert international assassin’s guild who placed a $14 million bounty on his head for executing a high-ranking member of the High Table on the grounds of The Continental hotel, which is a safe haven for criminals.

“Parabellum,” a Latin word which translated to English means “Prepare for war,” wastes no time in giving fans of the franchise what they want, with hyperkinetic action scenes loaded with inventive hand-to-hand combat, lots of gunplay and truckloads of dead bodies. Not surprisingly, the killing (how this film averted an NC-17 rating is a wonder), will induce endless cringes and bouts of nervous laughter as Wick indiscriminately wipes out every bad guy in his way, and director Chad Stahelski does his best to make sure each death is more gruesomely creative than the last.

Reeves, like before, is charismatic as the stoic assassin still hurting from the loss of his girlfriend to cancer and the puppy she gave him (yep, dogs still play a prominent role in the film series), but as important as he is to the film, he’s not required to do all the heavy-lifting.

Halle Berry is wonderful addition as a badass assassin from Wick’s past, as is Angelica Huston as a crime boss, and Asia Kate Dillion (“Billions”) dominates the screen as the Adjudicator for the High Table, whose job is to lay waste to all people complicit in Wick’s actions. Back for another go-round is the always great Ian McShane as Winston, who owns and operates The Continental, and Laurence Fishburne, who stole the show in “John Wick 2” as the underground criminal leader The Bowery King.

Perhaps the biggest difference between “Parabellum” and the previous “John Wick” chapters is that this new tale seems to take more time to breathe between the mayhem to give us a look into Wick’s past to help shape the story. Easily the film’s biggest downfall is its excessive scenes of violence – not in terms of content: bloody brutality is what “John Wick” is all about – but just in the sheer numbers of times we have to see it. With a 2-hour, 10-minute runtime, “Parabellum” is long in the tooth, and the clipping of some unnecessarily long fight and execution scenes that have little bearing on the plot would have gone a long way.

Lammometer: 8 (out of 10)


AUDIO: Click to hear Tim review “John Wick 3” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on “Paul & Jordana” on WCCO-AM.

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.

Copyright 2019 DirectConversations.com

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Film, Movie Reviews

Reviews: ‘John Wick 2′ twice as great; ’50 Shades Darker’ dumb sequel

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“John Wick: Chapter 2” (R)

After the blistering success of the first film in 2014, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is back with a vengeance in “John Wick: Chapter 2,” a sequel far superior than the already entertaining original.

The plot is simple: Wick is trying to return to retirement with his new dog when a powerful mobster from his past insists he honors a marker — a blood oath to repay a debt — and wants him to carry out a hit. As Wick quickly discovers, though, no hit is ever clean. Before he knows is, Wick is the target, and that’s when the killing machine inside of him kicks into high gear.

The action is frenetic and completely engrossing as Wick takes out the bad guys one by one, whether be with the use of guns, hand-to-hand combat or even a pencil. The 52-year-old Reeves is spectacular form and incredible shape as Wick, and easily carries the movie on his own as the body count piles up in the hundreds.

There is one disappointing aspect to “John Wick: Chapter 2,” as those expecting the big “Matrix” reunion between Reeves and Laurence Fishburne is short-lived. Studio marketers are definitely guilty of a bait-and-switch movie here, since Fishburne – while brilliant – is only in the movie for about  5 minutes.

Hopefully he will be a big part of “John Wick Chapter 3” because a another sequel is inevitable — and unlike most sequels, is completely welcome.

Lammometer: 9 out of 10.

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“50 Shades Darker” (R)

It should be called “50 Shades Dumber.” Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan are back in this brutally boring sequel to “50 Shades of Grey,” a dull and predictable “romance” movie about the further sexcapades of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey.

The movie is like a bad, kinky soap opera, as Christian stalks, er, tries to win Anastasia back after she left him at the hapless conclusion of the first movie.

Any attempts at finding any chemistry between Johnson and Dornan remain futile is “50 Shades Darker,” and the acting is as flat as it was in the first film. Dornan is completely out of his depth, and Johnson, who was actually pretty good in the first film, is terrible here. The only spark in the film is Kim Basinger, who goes the subtle route to play a psychotic older woman who damaged Grey in a previous master-submissive relationship.

Lammometer: 3 out of 10

Film, Movie Reviews

Movie reviews: ‘Keanu,’ ‘Green Room’

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Warner Bros.

By Tim Lammers

“Keanu” (R) 1 star (out of four)

Former Comedy Central sketch comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele (who were unfortunately tasked with following the brilliant Dave Chappelle) make a weak transition to the big screen with “Keanu,” a painfully unfunny buddy comedy about a pair of suburban nerds who pose as fearsome drug dealers in order to get Peele’s stolen kitten back from a street gang.

The kitten – named Keanu – is no doubt cute, but the rest of the film is a flagrant barrage of F-bombs and N-words wrapped up in a juvenile premise that’s somehow supposed to be a parody of actor Keanu Reeves’ hit revenge thriller “John Wick.” Reeves, naturally, makes a cameo as the voice of the kitten when one of the characters slips into a drug-induced haze. Apart from an inspired cameo from actress Anna Faris (playing herself), “Keanu” is a total dud.


Reviews on KQRS-FM, beginning 12 minutes in.

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“Green Room” (R) 3 stars (out of four)

“Star Trek” and “X-Men” star Patrick Stewart takes a brilliant career detour to the dark side in “Green Room,” a brutal crime thriller about a down-and-out punk rock band whose members are forced to fend for their lives after they stumble onto a murder scene in the green room at a backwoods Oregon club.

Stewart plays Darcy, the club owner and neo-Nazi leader who orders the hit on the musicians, while Anton Yelchin stars as band’s leader who tries to devise an escape plan. “Green Room” isn’t perfect – the violence is too excessive and there are some silly bits of ill-timed comic relief – but overall, it’s a solid nail-biter.