The arrival of first Toy Story in 1995 heralded not only a new age of CGI based animated movies, but the arrival of the powerhouse that is Pixar Studios. From that first effort, the studio has gone from strength to strength, putting out numerous well written animated movies with only a few minor missteps (Cars is probably their weakest effort, but it still more interesting than almost everything that Dreamworks has put out to date). Their 1999 film, Toy Story 2 is in a exclusive club of sequels that are better and more well realised than movie that precedes it. The sequel built on the universe established in the first movie and added a fantastic amount of texture and complexity to the characters. The announcement that they were going to put out a third installment in the series was always going to be a bit of a risk, and unfortunately the final product does not live up to the quality of Pixar’s previous efforts . (more…)

Based off a popular graphic novel, Kick-Ass sets out to be a very different type of superhero movie. The idea that a regular kid could decide one day to become a superhero is an interesting one and something unique in the world of comic book movies. He has no special powers, no discernible skills or special merit that differentiates him from any other teenager save for a desire to be a comic book hero. Mixed into this interesting world is the real superheros of Hit Girl and Big Daddy and a genuinely evil main villain.
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