Baron Dave Romm
Toy Story 3
By Baron Dave Romm
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Toy Story 3: The quick review
If you liked the first two, you will like Toy Story 3, probably a lot.
Toy Story 3: A somewhat longer commentary
Hoorah for Pixar and Dreamworks. Like Shrek 4, Toy Story 3 is a well crafted sequel. Not too long ago, later films in a series diminished. Now, they're corporately produced by people who love films. And money.
I saw TS3 in 3D but not iMax. I would have had to pay a premium for the larger screen, and didn't miss it. The theater isn't a real iMax, just a big screen... the size that used to be standard before they all got cut up into plexes. Humph. As it was, I paid extra for the 3D. Consequence: No commercials or previews. The curtains were closed until the cartoon came on. Day and Night is a great Pixar cartoon. Best seen in 3D, though worth it in 2D (I imagine). Then the movie. Is that our choice now: Capitalism Gone Wild or Pay for Peace? Somehow, doesn't seem right.
But I digress.
Toy Story 3 assumes you've seen the first two movies, or are at least familiar with them. You have to have already bought into the premise that toys are sentient and animated when humans aren't looking. They don't explain Barbie and Ken, why Woody is the leader, who Jessie is, that Don Rickles plays Mr. Potato Head, or do any of the character establishment that takes up a fair amount of time in a movie. Freed from these constraints, TS3 just starts and zooms along. Like Shrek 4, it's playing to the short-attention span crowd. No Mystery Science Theater for this movie: Tom and Crow couldn't get in a word edgewise.
The new characters, both human and toy, are deftly developed. The situations are similar enough to the previous movies to be utterly familiar yet different enough to keep you gasping. Even the adults.
A few months ago (well, less than a year), Disney re-released TS1 and TS2 in 3D, on a double bill. A great marketing ploy; they can squeeze more money out of the older movies for the price of a conversion, and they can make sure people remember everything so that TS3 doesn't need exposition. I'm still fond of the first one for setting the premise and the tone. Still, there's no question TS3 is the slickest of the three Toy Story movies, and the best produced.
Recommended, especially if you liked the other two, and especially if your kids liked the other two. I'll recommend the 3D too, though that icing on the cake not a requirement; the DVD will work, and will probably have Day and Night.
"Table 12: A Play At A Wedding" rehearsal
The Minnesota Fringe Festival is gearing up for 2010. I have a bunch of photos on Facebook. Plus, I visited a rehearsal for a performance. Snippets of the play are intertwined with interviews. I think it gives a good flavor of the show, better than the one minute video on their Fringe listing: Table 12: A Play at a Wedding.
Dunno if I can get more video, but I'll probably have more pictures. In the meantime:
YouTube is screwing around again and claims you can't watch in HD with this smaller option. If it's not widescreen, go to the site directly: "Table 12: A Play At A Wedding" rehearsal
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog maintains a Facebook Page, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. A nascent collection of videos are on Baron Dave's YouTube channel. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Terry Savage: There Is No 'Free' Lemonade (creators.com)
We follow the same rules in our family, and one of them is: Always stop to buy lemonade from kids who are entrepreneurial enough to open up a little business.
Jim Hightower: AVERTING AMERICA'S "LONG DEPRESSION" (jimhightower.com)
The most moronic oxymoron I've ever heard is the one being cheerfully bandied about by economists as they tell us that the Great Recession of 2008-2009 is over, exulting that we're presently experiencing a "jobless recovery." I don't see how their minds can put those two words together without having their heads explode!
Michele Gorman: "Experience: I'm proud my mother left me" (guardian.co.uk)
'It was her family's reaction that left the deepest scars. Mothers do not leave their children, they told her with their silence.'
This column will change your life: What I wish I'd known (guardian.co.uk)
Advice based on hindsight is false wisdom, says Oliver Burkeman.
ANN M. MORRISON: Aging Gracefully, the French Way (nytimes.com)
I OFTEN see an elderly woman in my Paris neighborhood waltzing down the street to her own imagined music, flashing a slightly demented smile at everyone she passes. Anywhere else, I would cross the street to avoid her.
Charlyn Fargo: Staying Heart Healthy (creators.com)
The American Heart Association has a new statement about how to stay heart healthy. The group reviewed 74 previously published studies and developed specific strategies to help people stay heart healthy - publishing them in the July issue of Circulation. The bottom line? Write down how much you exercise and what you eat.
Vanessa Thorpe: Charlotte Gainsbourg and Vanessa Paradis revive French chanson (guardian.co.uk)
From Charlotte Gainsbourg to Vanessa Paradis, the Gallic tradition of combining acting and music is thriving this summer.
Stuart O'Connor: "Kano: 'I'm definitely not a nerd'" (guardian.co.uk)
British rapper Kano thinks that we all rely on technology too much
Chris Riemenschneide: "Weezer: Ol' man Rivers just keeps rolling along" (Star Tribune)
The past year in Weezerdom has been absolutely bipolar.
One last thing... Professor Green (guardian.co.uk)
He looks like Michael Cera, sounds like a Cluedo character, and sings with Lily Allen. Rich Pelley wises up to Professor Green.
Penn and Teller interview (telegraph.co.uk)
Illusionists Penn and Teller barely communicate outside work - but after 35 years together they still create the most beautiful shows on earth. Ahead of their first British performances for 16 years, Benjamin Secher went to Las Vegas to ask them how they do it .
John Horn: Noomi Rapace's grip on a gripping role (latimes.com)
The Swedish actress returns as Lisbeth Salander in 'The Girl Who Played With Fire' adapted from one of Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy tales.
David Bruce: Lloyd Alexander's "The Black Cauldron": A Discussion Guide (lulu.com)
Free download at http://stores.lulu.com/bruceb.
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime' Edition
ST. PETERSBURG - Three homeless men bearing cardboard signs near Interstate 275 were not pleased when they read the newspaper Friday morning. That's how they learned the City Council, with the mayor's support, unanimously voted to ban street solicitation on St. Petersburg's busiest streets...
Panhandlers say St. Petersburg street solicitation ban will make things worse - St. Petersburg Times
Do you give money to panhandlers?
a.) Yes, always, there but for fate go I...
b.) No, never, they're just lazy bums and it only goes to their substance abuse...
c.) Sometimes, depends on the circumstances...
Send your response to
wrote:
replied:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Links from RJ
Two-Fer
Hi there
Two possible links for you today... thanks for taking a look!
BadtotheboneBob
Lilith Fair
Lilith revival brings a sense of community for Sarah McLachlan
For Sarah McLachlan, stepping back into the world of Lilith came with a swirl of motivations and emotions. Nostalgia. Celebration. Healing. Comfort. At 42, the newly separated mother of two found herself seeking female bonding, and the next thought was practically instinctive: She would reprise Lilith, the all-women tour that dominated headlines and box-office sales during its three-year run in the late '90s.
Lilith revival brings a sense of community for Sarah McLachlan | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
~ BadtotheboneBob
Thanks, B2tbBob!
Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
Reader Suggestion
Another Perspective
Since you're posting articles about how hot it is, here's one that relates, "maybe not."
DanD
Er - thanks, Dan!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and seasonal.
World Pays Tribute
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela turned 92 on Sunday as US President Barack Obama and other world leaders hailed the anti-apartheid icon's contribution to global politics and the fight for human rights.
The occasion marked the first annual Nelson Mandela International Day. Ordinary people in South Africa and abroad have committed to devoting 67 minutes of their time to community service, to mark the number of years Mandela spent in politics, an initiative backed by global figures like former US president Jimmy Carter and Martti Ahtisaari of Finland.
A group of 30 bikers including Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman have taken a road-trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town, engaging in community service along the way, to mark the birthday.
The group built a security fence at a centre for people living with AIDS in the impoverished Khayelitsha township, outside Cape Town.
Nelson Mandela
Erupts Online
I Write Like
For anyone who has ever thought Charles Dickens was lurking inside his or her prose, a new website claims it can find your inner author.
The recently launched I Write Like has one simple gimmick: You paste a few paragraphs that exemplify your writing, then click "analyze" and - poof! - you get a badge telling you that you write like Stephen King or Ernest Hemingway or Chuck Palahniuk.
The site's traffic has soared in recent days and its arrival has lit up the blogosphere. Gawker tried a transcript from one of the leaked Mel Gibson phone calls. The suggested author: Margaret Atwood.
The New York Times tried putting in actual novels, such as "Moby-Dick." Herman Melville, it turns out, writes less like himself than King, according to I Write Like.
I Write Like
Visit Canada
Cheech & Chong
Cheech and Chong have got some pretty blunt advice for Prime Minister Stephen Harper when it comes to Canada's marijuana's laws.
"Wise up, you douchebag," Cheech Marin says with some glee when asked what he'd tell the prime minister.
Chong, who hails from Edmonton, nods in agreement.
The team of tokers is miffed that Canadian authorities, after nearly decriminalizing pot a few years ago, have made a 180-degree policy shift which culminated in a rash of recent marijuana arrests.
"I would tell Stephen Harper to let go of George Bush's butt," Chong chimes in. "Your head's too far up there. Get your head out of his butt. He's gone. George is gone. He's history, Stephen.
Cheech & Chong
Man With An Opinion
Andy Kindler
As one of the judges on NBC's "Last Comic Standing," comic Andy Kindler tempered his annual State of the Industry address at the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal. For about a minute.
"Now that I'm on an NBC show, I don't appreciate that kind of thing," Kindler said Friday, a day after fellow comic Lewis Black a day earlier savaged network TV executives during his Just For Laughs keynote address.
Kindler defended the industry for working hard. "They're good people. It's not our job to make fun of people that are low-balling me on my contract."
With that off his chest, Kindler promptly slammed NBC's "Parks and Recreation." "Can we all admit that 'Parks and Recreation' is horrible? Is this something we would all know, but don't say? Maybe everything should not be improv'd," he told a packed conference room at the Hyatt Regency hotel, headquarters for the Montreal comedy festival.
Andy Kindler
Yale Experts Discover Painting
Diego Velazquez
Yale art experts say they've discovered that a painting in their collection is a work by renowned Spanish baroque artist Diego Velazquez.
The Yale University Art Gallery recently researched its full inventory in preparation for its expansion and renovation and found the painting.
The artwork, "The Education of the Virgin," previously was attributed to an unknown 17th-century Spanish painter.
Two brothers from New Haven, Connecticut, donated it to Yale in 1925, when the painting was already more than 300 years old and in poor condition.
Diego Velazquez
Hospial News
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor will have surgery to replace the hip she broke when she fell out of bed in her Bel Air home, her publicist said Sunday.
John Blanchette said the 93-year-old actress will undergo the procedure Monday.
Gabor remained in a Los Angeles hospital Sunday with her husband, Prince Frederic von Anhalt, and other family members by her side.
"She was watching her favorite show, 'Jeopardy,' when the phone rang," he said. "She reached over to pick it up and fell."
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Movie Deal
Aaron Sorkin
An insider's account of John Edwards' affair and the lengths he went to hide his mistress will be developed into a movie, a former aide to the two-time presidential candidate said Thursday.
Andrew Young said that he has reached a deal with writer and producer Aaron Sorkin. He declined to discuss the terms of the agreement, but Sorkin confirmed he had acquired the rights to Young's book, "The Politician."
"This is a first-hand account of an extraordinary story filled with motivations, decisions and consequences that would have lit Shakespeare up," Sorkin said in a statement. "There's much more to Andrew's book than what has been reported and I'm grateful that he's trusting me with it."
The book detailed how he helped hide Edwards' mistress during the candidate's second campaign for the White House. Sorkin was the writer of the play "A Few Good Men" and the television series "The West Wing."
Aaron Sorkin
Storm Cuts Short Start
Austrian Life Ball
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and others ran for cover as the opening of a flashy Austrian AIDS gala was cut short by a fierce thunderstorm.
Appearances by Clinton, burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese and Patti LaBelle had to be skipped after authorities issued a weather warning and ordered the packed square in front of Vienna's city hall to be cleared Saturday night.
The 18th annual party - a fundraiser for people with HIV and AIDS - each year attracts thousands of revelers in quirky costumes who dance until dawn in the vast neo-gothic building - often wearing nothing more than the bare minimum.
Saturday night's show also should have included an address by actress Whoopi Goldberg and a video message from Sharon Stone, as well as a fashion show with designs by Kenneth Cole, Calvin Klein and Diane von Furstenberg.
Austrian Life Ball
50 Years Ago
Niagara Falls
Fifty years ago, Roger Woodward earned bragging rights as one of the few people to survive a plunge over Niagara Falls.
For sure, the 7-year-old miracle boy who tumbled over the brink after a boating accident is part of the colorful folklore of the Falls. His story is told in the same breath as the fame and fortune-seeking adventurers led by schoolteacher Annie Taylor's 1901 barrel ride with her cat.
But if one thing is clear in the last 50 years, it's that Woodward is nothing like Taylor or the Karel Souceks, Steve Trotters and John Mundays who've followed, fashioning contraptions from pickle barrels and inner tubes to earn daredevil stripes.
On the 50th anniversary of his 162-foot drop, Woodward still wants no part of that club.
Niagara Falls
Lawyer Finds New Career
Cupcakes For Men
There is a Rum and Coke, B-52, Sidecar and Driller. No, they are not cocktails, but cupcakes -- for men.
When former Wall Street lawyer David Arrick lost his job during the U.S. recession, he decided to change careers and capitalise on the popularity of cupcakes in New York City.
So Arrick put a masculine twist on the cupcake and started Butch Bakery.
He came up with 12 flavours like Sidecar, a brandy-soaked lemon cake with an orange and white chocolate ganache filling, Driller, a maple cake topped with crumbled bacon and filled with milk-chocolate ganache, and Rum and Coke, a rum-soaked Madagascar vanilla cake with cola Bavarian cream.
Cupcakes For Men
Weekend Box Office
'Inception'
Leonardo DiCaprio and Christopher Nolan's "Inception" is anything but a sleeper as the thriller opened big with $60.4 million and a No. 1 finish at the weekend box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Slipping to second place with $32.7 million was the previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Steve Carell's animated hit "Despicable Me." The Universal release raised its 10-day total to $118.4 million.
Disney's family adventure "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" was a dud, opening at No. 3 with $17.4 million, lifting its total to $24.5 million since premiering Wednesday.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Inception," $60.4 million.
2. "Despicable Me," $32.7 million.
3. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," $17.4 million.
4. "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," $13.5 million.
5. "Toy Story 3," $11.7 million.
6. "Grown Ups," $10 million.
7. "The Last Airbender," $7.5 million.
8. "Predators," $6.8 million.
9. "Knight and Day," $3.7 million.
10. "The Karate Kid," $2.2 million.
'Inception'
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