releasing this week: Toy Story 3

Finally, at long last and over a month after it’s US release, Toy Story 3 has made it to these fair Irish shores. I have to see this movie.

There are also a few other films coming out this week including a medium sized romantic comedy, a Sicilian comedy drama, a film about bees and a sci-fi horror. Guess which one of those I’m most likely to see.

Firstly though, the big one. Toy Story 3.

I really love the Toy Story films… oddly it’s taken till now for me to realise that I don’t have a list of my favourite films on this site*. Well… I’ll have to get around to doing that later but if it was here you’d know that both the Toy Story films are on it. I’ve seen a lot of movies in my time but the Toy Story films get 2 berths in the top 10.

So… when I first heard they were making a Toy Story 3 I was, naturally, extremely worried. I didn’t understand why they were doing it. Actually I still don’t know why they did it, Pixar is a hugely successful and much lauded film company, they have no need to try and cash in on former glory. In a way that was mildly comforting though… maybe they were only doing it because they had a good idea… maybe? Could it be?

Fast forward a few years or so I guess, I’m not sure when I first heard, and it appears that I had nothing to worry about. Reports from everyone I know are glowing. It has a score of 92/100 on Metacritic. IMDb users have seen fit to catapult it into their top 10 with a score of 9.0/10. 99% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes can’t be wrong, can they?

Naturally, this worries me. Anyone who reads this blog will know that if there’s one thing I try to avoid its high expectations. I really don’t like being disappointed, it makes me sad and more practically, it makes it difficult for me to justify the money I spend on going to the cinema. Usually I’m very successful at keeping my expectations low… you’ve seen my reviews, I’ll find something to like about most films. This time though I can’t help it. I really love the Toy Story films…

…I don’t know what I’m going to make of Toy Story 3 but I know that if I don’t like it, it’s gonna hurt.

Other films releasing this week…

Colony – In that first paragraph I was implying that the sci-fi horror was the other film I would see from this week. That’s mainly because I’ve already seen this one.

I’ve been going on about this on twitter a bit and I also highlighted it when I talked about the programme for JDIFF 2010. This is a film about bees and beekeepers. Specifically about how they seem to be dying out. If you’ve never heard of Colony Collapse Disorder then go see this movie.

If you have heard of CCD then well… truth be told it’s not the best documentary I’ve seen on the subject. It’s still a very good documentary. It just that it goes more for the human element, whereas I’ve heard of CCD and I’m already worried about the bees so I’m more interested in the science.That’s just me though and I can’t deny that them beekeepers are an interesting bunch! Go on everyone, give it a look. You might just learn something.

This is on for a limited week long run in the IFI and this Friday night’s 18:10 screening will have a Q+A with the co-director Ross McDonnell and Trevor Sargent TD. I don’t know if it will be releasing in cinemas around the country after that so best to catch it in the IFI while you can.

Splice – This one looks pretty interesting. Nothing new, crazy scientists create a new species and guess what… it’s dangerous(!), but I like the look of the poster and it has that dude I like from Stargate: Atlantis in it. He always seemed like a funny guy. Also it’s directed by the guy who made Cube and Cypher, Vincenzo Natali. What a great name.

I liked Cube, and Cypher was pretty entertaining too, but fact is, I’m always up for the ol’ sci-fi horror. The first trailer didn’t look great but the second one seemed ok so that’s enough for me

Oh, it’s a pretty limited release though… so if you want to see it be prepared to have to seek it out and don’t be surprised if it’s gone in the next week or two. At the moment it’s scheduled to be in Dundrum, Swords, Cineworld and Vue in Liffey Valley in Dublin. I’m not sure if it’s showing outside of Dublin at all.

The Rebound – You shouldn’t have too much of a problem finding a cinema showing this one. Romantic comedy about a cougar. Starring, ironically enough, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Justin Bartha. To be fair I don’t think Zeta-Jones’s character is particularly setting out to be a cougar… I probably won’t see it but I’ve heard it’s surprisingly decent so possibly worth a look if you’re in that kind of mood.

Baaria – Scilian drama (I gather there’s a comedy element too) by Giuseppe Tornatore. It follows the story of three generations of a Scilian family and their relationship with their small town, and the people in it, in the years around WWII. To be honest, I’m very unfamilar with European cinema (aside from UK films) and all I know about this director is that he did Cinema Paradiso. Haven’t seen it but I hear it’s a classic. So, again, I’m very unlikely to see this but it was nominated for a Golden Globe so it could be pretty decent.

Toy Story 3 has been on previews since Monday so you can go see it now. Colony, Splice, The Rebound and Baaria are all in cinemas from this Friday 23rd June 2010.

* = It is on my IMDb profile page though… you can see it here.