TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

Over three years ago, when this blog was my biggest commitment (college will knock a lot of things over in it's savage quest to consume your time) I talked about how this film had the possibility of being a disaster. My biggest fear was that they would Materize the sequel by putting in a sidekick as the main star of the film. Many folks thought the rusty redneck truck was irritating on the first go round, but Dory the blue tang absolutely stole the show amidst Australian sharks, Californian surfer turtles and a crazed dentist. So where does  Dory  land along side Pixar's other sequels? Well let's just say it's more  Toy Story 2  than  Cars 2 . With a less obvious title than it's predecessor,  Finding Dory  finds Dory finding herself, where she came from, how she was raised, and her search for her parents. I guess  Finding   Mr. and Mrs. Dory  doesn't have the same ring to it. Marlin and Nemo pop up of course, this time in supporting ro...

I hate to say it but the last time Pixar really delivered the magic to me as they usually do was half a decade ago! With two other friends, fresh out of middle school, I remember being relatively close to the front of the theater for Toy Story 3 . When you're a millennial growing up in daycares, you've knowingly or unknowingly watched the Toy Story franchise alone at least 15 times a year. Maybe I couldn't rattle off the script verbatim like some can, but if you sit me down and ask me to explain the entire plot of the original to you, I think I could. That's how deeply ingrained Pixar and its cavalcade of wonderful films is in my blood, and although their last offering, the prequel Monsters University was cute, it nowhere near held a candle to the charm of the original, and even though this will date me I saw it in theaters when I was five. We all know Cars 2 was clunky, and you either loved, hated or just weren't affected by Brave despite the typically lovely ani...

No offense, but if you went to "Finding Nemo 3D" you're a schmuck.  That's a terrible way to open a review, but let's be truthful here.  You only went to "Nemo" for two reasons: either to see your favorite ocean-dwelling friends Marlin and Dory navigate Marlin's lost son in the third dimensional, or to experience this epic adventure for the first time ever.  Either way you're going to get cheated. Just like "The Lion King" before it and the mixed success of "Beauty and the Beast," Disney's been trying to cram 3D re-releases down America's throats lately.  I have news for errr-body: YOU CAN BUY THESE MOVIES, YOU KNOW.  Practically every Mom with a kid born in the 90's (That's me!) owns a copy of those three movies. Son, I was RAISED on "The Lion King," and if I had had the opportunity to see it in 3D last year, something everybody did, I would've.  The justification of seeing these 90's jewel...

When it comes to Pixar, so many people are defensive about the studio geniuses.  My generation (born in the late 90's) was practically raised on Pixar, for many of us "Toy Story" was our first movie.  Then there's "A Bug's Life," "Monsters, Inc.," "The Incredibles" when we got older.  But that isn't the only reason why people will go to war over Pixar; it's because they treat us so good.  When you go into a Pixar film, you're treated to a great short film beforehand, the knowledge of knowing the movie ahead is going to be great from all the reviews you've read, and the silence of all the children because Pixar's stories are good enough where kids actually listen.  Well, the last thing listed isn't always  guaranteed , but you get where I'm going.  (Nearly) all the Pixar movies are instant classics, but I wouldn't go branding "Brave" that title just yet. Earlier this year in my early predicti...

In a span of 12 movies Pixar has made more memorable films than most studios that have been going 100 years have made.  It's easy to see the ingredients to a good Pixar movie: stunning animation, humor for all ages, and actually complex characters worth seeing into, rather than the one-dimensional dribble kids are fed nowadays.  With the exception of a rare lemon that occurred with last years "Cars 2," Pixar (almost) never gets it wrong.  I take a look back at the five most enjoyable characters from the past 17 years in preparation for the sure to be conversation-provoking Princess Merida in the new Pixar film "Brave." 5. SYNDROME While not instantly recognizable as other Pixar villains (Randall from "Monsters, Inc.", Stinky Pete from "Toy Story 2" for instance), Syndrome (voiced effortlessly by Jason Lee) is undoubtedly the  super-villain to end all animated super-villains, especially in Pixar's only superhero movie. What makes him ...

I have been so hyped about this movie through friends, TV, the enormous box-office numbers and of course the Internet that I was afraid I would walk in the movie and just positively hate it. Luckily , Pixar is too smart for that. Pixar has never once created a bad film (see my above blog post) but they have had a few not-as-good ones. Once you make a movie like "Toy Story" to start out with, it's hard to reach that bar. They've reached it and far above so many times now it's ridiculous. Now they're taking a break from originality (long overdue) and are churning out sequels (Cars 2 and Monster's Inc. 2 are due '11 and '12 respectively). "Up" was a beautiful blend of kiddie comedy and adult themes, and was one of my favorite films last year. It went on to win 2 Oscars and was up for the biggest of them all: Best Picture, which "Hurt Locker" took home as we all know. It was only the 2 nd time in history an animated movie'...