Toy Story 5 (2026)

The reason this franchise hits so hard is because it's clearly made by people who love film and have a fond remembrance of childhood. Each one has been about embracing and leaving behind the past, and as we get older, so do our memories. The farther away we are from those experiences, the harder it hits.

This one tells the story of how electronic devices are leaving the traditional brick and mortar toys in the dust and forcing kids to grow up too quickly. It's easily the most depressing entry of the series and makes me feel older and more obsolete than ever because it hits on an inevitable truth. It seems like it's on the verge of having something significant to say, but then bails out at the last minute. It's a shame. Can't disparage our technological overlords, I guess...

2½ Lilypads out of 5

Toy Story 4 (2019)

Boy, 2019 feels like a long way behind. This film features the vocal talents of Don Rickles, Carl Reiner, Betty White, Estelle Harris and Carl Weathers, all of whom are no longer with us anymore. It also predates COVID, which feels like simpler times. Film truly is a time capsule. It's important to preserve the past.

Likewise, this franchise understands the value of legacy while continuing to take risks and reinvent itself, branching out in all new directions. This film is about those left behind who must move on from the past in order to find new purpose. It does it in traditional Pixar fashion and succeeds with flying colors.

This would have worked better as the last film in the series, but, you know...

3½ sporks out of 5

Vegas Vacation (1997)

A bit of the spark is gone in the fourth Griswold family adventure, but it's still a rowdy good time if you're into Chevy Chase at his manic best. Clark decides to take the family out on a classy trip to Las Vegas to renew his vows with Ellen, while Rusty tries underage gambling and Audrey becomes an exotic dancer. The film benefits from Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), returning from two of the previous films. Like the city of Vegas itself, it's a bit hacky, but has its charms.

3 dam tours out of 5

THE PRINCESS BRIDE [1987]

Rob Reiner delivers a heavily quotable comedic fantasy/romance with The Princess Bride, based upon William Goldman's novel of the same name.
Framed around the story of a grandfather reading his grandson the novel about a dashing mysterious farmhand who must rescue the love of his life from a dastardly smug king, while running into all sorts of interesting folks & creatures along the way.
Reiner & co. do a fantastic job of balancing sweetness, silliness and adventure without ever tipping to far into any tone to become a unbalanced parody of itself.  Blessed with a wicked yet silly sense of humor, a passionate love for fantasy material and a wonderful cast that is safe for all ages.

4½ rodents of unusual size out of 5

THE DOUBLE [2013]

I was in film-nerd hog heaven with Richard Ayoade's sophomore effort, The Double, a modernized adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's doppelgänger novella of the same name.
Engulfed in suffocating moody shadows and minimal color scheme, the film seems like it could very well be Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Eraserhead with it's wickedly dark oddball sense of humor and timing.  Jesse Eisenberg is superb as he bounces back between skittish and suave while maintaining a steady balance of menacing tragedy that the source material gives off.
It will remind many of the works of Welles, Gilliam, Lynch and more but it never comes off as a wannabe copy with it's imagination, wit and uniquely hilarious & disturbing aesthetic.

4 dead pigeons out of 5

TOY STORY 2 [1999]

Recapturing the spirit and the warmth of the first film, Toy Story 2 manages to keep up with the quality we've come to expect from Disney/Pixar collaborations. 

Even though it may not be the most overly complicated film, it still never talks down to it's audience no matter what age they are.  It's funny, creative and beautifully animated with well-rounded characters to boot.  

Timeless storytelling at some of it's best.

4 Geri's out of 5

TOY STORY [1995]

Disney & Pixar's first collaboration, Toy Story, is arguably their most cherished film & series to date.  

Reinventing the quality & style of animated films, the modern classic set up a new standard for family films that had been missing for years before it. Brilliantly shot from the toy's point of view, Toy Story is filled with energetic voice work, inventive action pieces and more than enough warmth to defrost the coldest of hearts.

It really doesn't get much better than this.

5 sad, strange little men out of 5 

Clueless (1995)

This is a movie that will always be elevated by my own nostalgia, but I still think it's pretty good for what it is.  Cher is too obviously ditzy and most of its cast is underdeveloped, but there's some genuinely great dialogue here, and it's one of the better modern adaptations of a classic I've seen.

It's not as smart as some of Amy Heckerling's other films, but it's not as dumb as its leading characters often are. The fictional slang is especially well crafted. If you can get past the annoying tendencies of the leads and the fact that the love interests are former step-siblings, it's a pretty fun movie. Paul Rudd will forever make me swoon.

3 virgins who can't drive out of 5.