Year: 2019

Children don’t appreciate kids’ movies.

Good writing, top notch animation, quality vocal talent to bring characters to life, these things are unimportant to a child.

They just want to be entertained.

“Toy Story 4,” the latest feature from Disney-owned Pixar Studios, may not be the most entertaining movie.

It’s one heck of a piece of cinema though.

After Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the toys from Andy’s room finally settle in with new owner Bonnie, their new adventure sees the gang off to infinity and beyond on a RV trip with Bonnie and her hand-made toy, Forky.

Who voices characters plays a key role to the success of any animated film and the “Toy Story” franchise has been impeccable in this regard since the beginning.

However, with this fourth film, viewers finally get to understand why casting a generational talent and two-time Oscar winner like Tom Hanks as Woody the cowboy elevates an entire project to the next level.

Hanks has always been the best thing about “Toy Story” films and his vocal performance this go-round is breathtakingly masterful.

The screenplay leans heavily on Woody’s emotional changes and character development as an impetus to introduce a strange new toy to the world. Hanks brings instant credibility and earnestness to the role of caretaker and his vibrant inflections both animate the dialogue for children and inform older viewers about his changing emotional state.

For a franchise to be revisited so quickly after concluding a fitting end to a trilogy requires exceptional, undeniable reasoning.

“Toy Story 4” has to exist just to ensure Hanks’ excellence fulfilling Woody’s legacy sees the light of day.

Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear has to take a relative backseat to Hanks’ Woody as part of the narrative, but the film does offer Allen a significant secondary storyline about inner voice that resonates well for both Buzz and Woody.

With “Toy Story 4” focused on Woody, many of the other memorable returning characters take a back seat here, ceding room for new voice talent to deliver impactful performances without overwhelming the main journey.

Keanu Reeves is an absolute scene-stealer playing up to his surfer-bro stereotype with a hilarious turn as Canadian motorcycle daredevil toy Duke Caboom. Likewise, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele bring their improvisational comedy to life with some genuine laughs as a pair of plush animals stuck together by fabric.

The real winner among newcomers, however, is Tony Hale’s terrific work with a part that could have gone disastrously wrong: Forky, a handmade toy crafted by Bonnie from a spork.

Forky looks strange and out of place, made from thrown out parts with an existential crisis to return to the trash.

In the wrong hands, Forky could have been so grating that the entire film gets knocked off balance. But Hale gradually gives a warmth to Forky as he bonds with Hanks’ Woody that his strangeness becomes endearing to the audience.

“Toy Story” movies have felt on the cutting edge visually when they arrived in theaters and the newest iteration is intricately detailed, nearly lifelike.

The Pixar animators do such a fantastic job of bringing the world to life that audiences almost take what they’re seeing before them for granted as the exceptional becomes naturally ordinary in short order.

Each scene is intricately detailed and worthy of stopping frame by frame to examine the rich background Pixar animators create, especially in an antique store that features more Easter eggs than any viewer will be able to spot in a dozen viewings.

A shoo-in nomination for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, “Toy Story 4” might be the favorite when all is said and done after the third installment won the same award in 2011. The first two “Toy Story” films were made prior to the addition of a Best Animated Feature category in 2002 although the original was given a Special Achievement Academy Award in 1996.

Kids will watch “Toy Story 4” with wide eyes enjoying the whole ride and not fully understanding how good what they’re seeing actually is.

For adults with (or without) children, Pixar hits another home run with a film that’s worth seeing in theaters for the visual quality and Hanks’ performancealone.

Most moviegoers will see acting legend on the big screen this weekend as the head of an organization protecting Earth from aliens in the blockbuster sequel offshoot “Men In Black: International.”

Where they should be her, however, is the underappreciated gem “Late Night,” a dramedy that sees Thompson as a late-night talk show host about to get the boot from a new network CEO just as the show hires its only female writer among an all-male staff.

The two-time Academy Award winner gives her best performance in at least five years as bullheaded comedienne Katherine Newbury, a stalwart of late-night television whose comedy tastes don’t align with modern misogynistic humor prevalent on the circuit.

Penned by talented former television writer and “Late Night” co-star Mindy Kaling, the film blends sharp tongues and wide-eyed optimism for an exceptional dramedy with a fresh point of view.

As screenwriter, Kaling trusts her audience to be smartly engaged in the quick-witted material. “Late Night” overtly and subversively satires the boys’ club mentality of popular entertainment through the lens of a talk show writers’ room.

There’s a lot of sameness prevalent across studio comedies over the past several years and although “Late Night” follows a traditional rom-com plot structure with Molly and Katherine’s friendship substituting for the love angle, Kaling’s script and Nisha Ganatra’s direction give the film a fresh perspective lacking in bigger films like “Long Shot” and “The Upside.”

Thompson’s performance early in the film delivering biting remarks with vigor resonates well with the audience and evokes Katherine’s unseen earlier stand-up work. Her prickly demeanor has a strong foundation in Thompson’s construction of the character and Kaling’s expert writing of a role she designed for the Oscar winner.

As the film progresses, Thompson tweaks Katherine’s personality to reflect how her growing unease with work and the impact Kaling’s Molly have on her.

For her own merit, Kaling wholly inhabits a character she designed as an approximation of herself. Her Molly is a naïve, yet boundlessly optimistic risktaker who finds her voice early in the film and cannot help but speak brutal honesty in the kindest, most adorable ways possible.

On her own, the performance is nothing remarkable, but in tandem with Thompson’s masterful work as Katherine, the two develop a banter of hesitant respect that evolves into admiration or mild friendship depending on the perspective that’s genuinely exciting to watch.

Their bond is complemented by Thompson’s wonderful chemistry with veteran character actor John Lithgow, who constantly steals scenes as Katherine’s longtime partner Walter. While their verbal dynamic is impressive, the amount of drama Thompson and Lithgow are able to create together in limited screen time with the words Katherine and Walter do not say to each other is equally profound.

“Late Night” finds and maintains a proper balance between lighthearted comedy and intentional drama thanks to Kaling’s nuanced screenplay brought to life with care by Ganatra.

While “bright-eyed novice works for prickly older boss” may come across as invading “The Devil Wears Prada” territory at first glance, “Late Night” changes the dynamic by making Molly and Katherine’s relationship more territorial.

“Late Night” is an incredibly smart film, almost too smart at times for its own good. Katherine’s dry witticisms and high concept humor are excellent, thought-provoking commentary that often comes at too rapid of a pace for casual audiences to keep up with.

The film hardly masks its contempt for male dominated writers’ rooms, often for the sake of humor. A consequence of this decision is an assortment of thinly written characters Molly interacts with in the workplace who all feel like different shades of the same person and are occasionally redundant to the plot.

“Late Night” comes out far too early in the year for the winning dramedy to be a serious awards contender. Its best shot lies in the original screenplay category following in the footsteps of fellow Amazon Studios film and Oscar nominee “The Big Sick.”

Thompson should also be a consideration for her fantastic character work, although the lead actress category is usually filled with more showy, dramatic performances.

Whether it’s at the nearest theater on the big screen or at home months from now exclusively on Amazon Prime, “Late Night” is a must see Friday night date movie that will resonate with audiences long after the credits roll.

Director Dexter Fletcher’s new film is not a biopic of iconic musical genius Sir Elton John.

“Rocketman” captures all the fantasy and majesty of John’s enduring legacy in a unique and magical way, cranking up the tunes in a dream-hazed jukebox portrait that lives and breathes the man’s identity without worrying all too much about historical accuracy.

Theatricality and performance reign supreme in a film that unconventionally chronicles a shy artist’s ascent to mythical fame and fortune in spite of a relatively traditional rise-and-fall screenplay.

“Rocketman” stars Taron Egerton as an adult John reflecting on the decisions in his life that brought him to rehabilitation for every addiction under the sun from his beginnings as young child of divorce Reginald Dwight through cocaine and sex-fueled parties in his mansion to hitting rock bottom and a suicide attempt.

It’s clear throughout “Rocketman” that viewers are watching Egerton play a mythical approximation of John rather than the man himself. But by the 20-minute mark, Egerton’s dynamic performance overshadows this conceit and audiences forgive the historical inaccuracies and other liberties taken by the filmmakers to create a singular vision for John’s story.

This cinematic daydream of John is captivating regardless of the situation. “Rocketman” doesn’t shy away from the darker side of the mercurial singer’s active, rampant alcohol and drug use. The film is also particularly forthcoming on John’s sexuality and how remaining closeted publicly impacted and isolated him from the people around him.

What brings Egerton’s performance to the next level is a commitment to the young English actor singing all of John’s classic tunes himself rather than follow choreography and lip-sync to the original track.

This gives “Rocketman” a fresh, vibrant quality that can’t be faked as Fletcher reimagines songs in a new context that highlight and accentuate John’s emotional journey over the course of his career.

Though historically out of place, songs inform backstory in montage, complicate plot with nuance and enhance the mystique of John’s eccentricities.

There’s an interesting assortment of personalities constantly orbiting around John in the film with Jamie Bell perfectly balancing Egerton’s theatrics in a mellowed, yet soulful turn as John’s longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin. Bell and Egerton have terrific chemistry that powers their unconventional musical collaboration and provides the film’s most compelling character work.

Richard Madden is effective as John’s manager and lover John Reid, though his reliance on outright villainy can feel a tad mustache twirling at times.

The one casting misstep, however, is an awkwardly out of place Bryce Dallas Howard hiding behind a dark black wig and faltering British accent to play John’s mother Sheila. While not actively detrimental to the film, Howard’s stoic turn isn’t quite in sync with the actors around her and feels disjointed.

Fletcher, cinematographer George Richmond and costume designer Julian Day give “Rocketman” a daring, colorful and bold style that has viewers completely entranced by the spectacle.

It’s a film with texture and composition designed for iconic moments – barroom brawls, flamboyant concerts and drug-fueled dreams. Richmond and Fletcher paint musical sequences with an eye for visual storytelling that leave imagery seared in viewers’ minds long after leaving the theater.

Fletcher and company transform hits like “Crocodile Rock,” “Tiny Dancer” and the titular “Rocket Man” cinematically to the point that audiences begin hearing these songs in four dimensions. The highs of staging “Rocketman” the song at a pivotal point in the film are genuinely unique and intoxicating as viewers are whisked from moment to moment following John on a surreal, drug-infused ride.

There should be a place come awards season for “Rocketman,” though a backlash towards Oscar-winning Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” – a lesser film Fletcher helped clean up after director Bryan Singer was fired – may push this Elton John fantasy flick out of the running.

Egerton is clearly deserving of acclaim for his fantastical take on the singer, while the new song “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” John penned with Taupin for the film and sings as a duet with Egerton over the closing credits could easily be an Oscar contender to get the musical icon on stage for a performance.

The film’s reimagining of John’s iconic discography doesn’t lend itself to audience sing-alongs, though the intoxicating nature of hearing classics like “Your Song,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Bennie and the Jets” paired with masterful visuals make it eminently rewatchable and a must see on the big screen.

“Rocketman” is as much of a unicorn as the man it chronicles.