That takes me back: Donkey Kong Country comes to Wii.

I don't generally buy video games these days. Sure, Red Dead Redemption might be wonderful, but I do not have the hours and hours of disposable time to invest in such a sprawling world. But this one looks like something the spouse can play right along with me, as we both got a big kick out of Super Mario Bros Wii. The original Donkey Kong Country was released in 1994, and it was the last great game on the good ol' Super Nintendo (it sold 8 million copies, which was more than any stand-alone title in Super Nintendo history). But I was less crazy about the 3D Nintendo 64 version that came out Christmas 1999. This looks like a step back in the right direction, although I have no idea what the series has been up to in the last eleven years, but it looks like I might actually have something for my wife to buy me this holiday season (oh, how she does complain that I'm hard to shop for...).

Scott Mendelson

Review: Toy Story 3: An IMAX 3D Experience (2010)

Toy Story 3: An IMAX 3D Experience
2010
105 minutes
rated G

by Scott Mendelson

Toy Story 3 is easily the best film of 2010. Toy Story 3 is possibly the finest 'part 3' ever made, give or take a The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King. It is thrilling, funny, and scary, alternating between bouts of inspiration and heartbreak. Whether it is or isn't the best Pixar picture yet is a moot point. It fits in their canon as another glorious mediation on their core themes (existing in safety vs. living with risk, letting go of that which is lost and cannot be recovered, the inevitability of time, the nature of 'home'). If the first two pictures took Woody and Buzz to 'infinity and beyond', this one takes them to hell and back. It absolutely must be seen in 3D if possible, if only because the glasses will be useful in hiding the stream of tears during the first and last reels.

Scott Mendelson talks the modern blockbuster age on CultureShock Radio

Another round on Irish talk radio. My longest and most successful chit-chat yet. I'm pretty quiet in the first half when the topic starts with the 1970s (Jaws, The Godfather), but once we get to 'AB' time ('After Batman'), I pretty much take over. The embed is being dumb, so just click on the picture for a link straight to the conversation. Enjoy.

Scott Mendelson

Conviction (Hillary Swank's newest Oscar-bait vehicle) gets a trailer.

Hillary Swank is a rare thing, a successful, critically-acclaimed actress who has made a full career primarily on lead roles and/or star vehicles in genre pictures and genuine dramas. To my recollection, ever since Boys Don't Cry in 1999, she's never had to play the unattractive best friend, she's never had to play the token girlfriend/love interest, and she's never had to play the whimpering hostage. The closest she's come to any of those was her work in Chris Nolan's Insomnia, which isn't exactly a bad career low. Sure, some of her films (The Reaping) weren't very good, but in an industry where even the most acclaimed and respected actresses are cast according to how well they pair up with the male lead (even in romantic comedies), Swank truly is a special anomaly. In a way, she's this generation's Jodie Foster.

Scott Mendelson

Review: Jonah Hex (2010)

Jonah Hex
2010
81 minutes
rated PG-13

by Scott Mendelson

I have no idea what occurred behind the scenes of Jonah Hex, beyond the broad strokes that have been reported. But I do know that the final product is barely a shell of a film, a barely functioning picture that makes it to feature length only through repeated scenes and random thematic detours. At just 73 minutes long without end credits, it is the shortest live-action film I have ever seen in a theater. Heck, many of Warner Bros' direct-to-DVD DC Comics animated features are longer. Like past films that were heavily-tinkered to no avail in post-production, there is just enough of a kernel of substance and thought to make one mourn the final cut. The failure of Jonah Hex is not a cause for gloating or mockery. It is a tragedy.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader gets a trailer.

Having not read any Narnia books past the first one, I have absolutely no idea what this third chapter is about. And frankly, having watched this trailer twice, I still have no idea what it's about. All we know is that the young heroes of the first two chapters return to Narnia for reasons unknown and end up on Prince Caspian's ship, with cameo appearances by the White Witch, Prince Caspian, and Aslan. Fair enough, and it is a little promising that this third picture may involve something different from the usual 'Narnia is being oppressed, lets raise an army and kill the other side' plot. It's a shame that director Andrew Adamson chose not to return. Prince Caspian was a notable improvement from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and it almost seemed like Adamson was knowingly fixing problems with the original film when constructing the sequel. Still, Michael Apted is a fine choice (I rather enjoyed The World is Not Enough), and the paycheck should cover the financing of 56 Up, which should be arriving in 2012. As always, we'll see...

Scott Mendelson

Rachel Maddow - What Obama should have said...

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This is obviously hardcore wish-fulfillment, but how sad is it that these perfectly reasonable responses are in the realm of near-fantasy. President Obama, this is more important than reelection. My primary-vote for Hillary Clinton is looking smarter and smarter every day. Come what may, Clinton wouldn't have cared about appearing bipartisan, she wouldn't have cared about being liked or respected by her political opponents. It must be said, this president lacks even the political courage of George W. Bush. However much we disagree with much of what he rammed through, he did get what he wanted when he wanted it, especially during his first term. Your opponents are going to savage you no matter what you do Mr. Obama, you might as well play to win. Barack Obama was never my favorite of the Democratic nominees, but I tried to remain optimistic that there perhaps was a progressive hidden inside the cautious pragmatist (especially after his spot-on speech in Philadelphia in Spring 2008). But, at this moment, at this point, I'd gladly have a primary challenger to vote for in the 2012 election, be it Dick Durbin or (one can dream) Russ Feingold.

Scott Mendelson

The Smurfs 3D gets a teaser. Looks smurfing awful.

Well, this looks like the hell-spawn of the Alvin and the Chipmunks series. Oddly enough, the human cast was interesting enough (Jayma Mays, Sofia Vergara, Neil Patrick Harris, Hank Azira) and the Smurf voices somewhat out-of-left-field (Paul Ruebens, Wolfgang Puck, Katy Perry, Jonathan Winters, etc) that I almost convinced myself that this might be more than a cash grab. And it very well might be, but this teaser doesn't help the situation. I'm amused by the official plot synopsis, which will be set in Smurf village only in the opening scenes, before magically sending our blue heroes to New York City for the remainder of the picture. Yes, because that went over so well for Masters of the Universe back in 1987. I imagine that He-Man's earthbound adventure was a budgetary choice back then (Gary Goddard's commentary track is a heart breaker, in terms of discussing what didn't happen due to money troubles), but I don't know what Sony's excuse is. Although, to be fair, Fox's Alvin and the Chipmunks movies are dirt-cheap outside of the CGI animals (Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel was actually positioned for Christmas 09 as a fail-safe in case Avatar flopped). Oh well, Good Journey, smurfs.

Scott Mendelson

Flashback - on the eve of Toy Story 3, a look back at classic part 3s in film history.

Since I had to miss the press screening of Toy Story 3 due to minor family illness (and my Jonah Hex review is under embargo until Friday), I thought I'd share this essay I wrote two years ago, written in the aftermath of The Dark Knight, dealing with whether or not Nolan and company could or should try to pull off a third Batman picture. Point being, despite conventional wisdom, and a recent string of bad luck in 2007 (Spider-Man 3, Shrek The Third, and Rush Hour 3), there is a small but potent legacy of third films that are actually quite good, in some cases even becoming the best of the series. A quick roundup of great part 3s. I can only assume that Toy Story 3 will join this list in a few days. Warning - thar be heavy spoilers below!

We are not in a slump, our best players are just still in the batting box. Explaining the slow start to summer 2010.

Listen people, we are not in a summer box office slump. No matter what The New York Times is trying to sell you, audiences have not deserted the multiplexes in favor of other entertainment options (yep, Brooks Barnes is at it again). Why has this summer been so middling thus far? Simple, with the exception of Iron Man 2 (which opened with $128 million and just crossed $300 million today or tomorrow), the really big guns haven't been released yet. Besides, as occasionally is the case, studios were spoiled by the mega-movies that did uncommonly well over the winter and Spring. Aside from Avatar, which made about $400 million of its $749 million over 2010, we had the $332 million-grossing Alice in Wonderland, as well as the solid smash hits in How to Train Your Dragon and Clash of the Titans. As far as the summer season goes, just like the summers of my youth (1988-1995), the real peak season starts in mid-June, or this Friday to be exact. In other words, come this Friday, to quote the last true mid-June giant, "Now... the real game begins now."