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(A version of this article originally appeared on kernelnow.com / mynewslike.com) It’s been nine years since Woody, Buzz and friends were carried off into the sunset at the end of  Toy Story 3 , a film which offered a satisfying finale for characters that both audiences and owner Andy had already loved for two decades. So, with the release of this new  Toy Story 4 , the big question is –does Pixar do justice to its plastic (and ceramic, and plush..) heroes? In a word, yes. Despite what many have said as they branched out more into sequels and less into new stories, the Pixar magic never really went away – especially when it comes to the film series that made them an instant animation powerhouse. Make no mistake, though: this is Woody’s story. It makes a lot of sense to foreground the stuffed sheriff as the hero of this film, as just like in the original  Toy Story  this is very much Woody’s quest to find his new place in the world. But as the f...

 (A version of this review originally appeared on kernelnow.com / mynewslike.com) Like Jonah Hill ( mid90s ) and Bo Burnham ( Eighth Grade ) before her, Olivia Wilde is the latest in a growing line of actors to make their directorial debut in 2019 in the coming-of-age genre. The purest comedy of the three, Wilde’s  Booksmart  may also be the pick of the bunch. It questions the age-old adage of “All work and no play..” as Molly and Amy (Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever) seek to reverse their boring reputations on the last day of high school – particularly when they discover their party-hard peers have been accepted into big-league colleges just like them. If you think that sounds a bit like  Superbad , then as is well-publicised - you’re not alone.  Booksmart  has been plagued and/or boosted by that comparison since its preview showings, though if anything this is a re-imagining more than a reproduction of that someho...

 (A version of this article originally appeared on kernelnow.com / mynewslike.com) Guns blazin' (source: Lionsgate) HEAVY SPOILERS FOR ALL THREE JOHN WICK FILMS FOLLOW BELOW If you missed Part 1 then please check this out first ! On February 10, 2017, assassin supreme John Wick (Keanu Reeves) returned for John Wick: Chapter 2 , displaying the same creative, unstoppable efficiency that was his trademark. Moreover, the whole bloody affair was presented in the same measured and polished manner as the original 2014 hit. Acclaim for this consistent design lies with the film-makers and their continuous presence behind the lens. Early in the production of John Wick , Reeves contacted Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, stunt performers/choreographers with whom he had worked with at various points in The Matrix trilogy. His reason for bringing them in was to bring the balletic action sequences to life, although he later told The Hollywood Reporter he was “secretly hoping that they’...

 (A version of this article originally appeared on kernelnow.com / mynewslike.com) Stop, or my John will shoot (source: Lionsgate)   HEAVY SPOILERS FOR ALL THREE JOHN WICK FILMS FOLLOW BELOW In the blockbuster months of 2014, movie audiences everywhere were readying themselves for the likes of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Godzilla and The Expendables 3 . Little did many of them know that just on the horizon was an ice-cold, super-cool, 500 million-dollar hitman waiting to strike. John Wick was released in October 2014, surprising analysts by taking double its projected $7 million opening weekend box office. It didn’t take long for the movie to eclipse its $20 million budget – a sum that is, ludicrously, small change in the world of action blockbusters – and out of nowhere, a hit franchise was born. But how exactly did ‘The Baba Yaga’ get to a third film and such astronomical financial figures? The most obvious answer would be “Keanu Reeves”. The now-54 year-o...

 (A version of this article originally appeared on kernelnow.com / mynewslike.com) If you thought that the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 22 installments was something, check out this statistic: King of the Monsters is the 35th film to bear the Godzilla franchise name. It’s not even the first film to hold that sub-title, with the re-dubbed version of the original 1954 picture named as such for its Western release. This time around, it’s the sequel to 2014’s simply-named Godzilla – although, were it not for the presence of Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins and the eponymous “unit” himself, it’d be difficult to tell. Whether it was original director Gareth Edwards’s exit or not is unclear, but it cannot be denied that from the start this feels more like a soft reboot than a direct continuation of events.  Between a rock and a three-headed hard place (source: Warner Bros.) The intention of sequels is surely always to be bigger and better, and if nothing else Godzilla II: King of ...