Step Up 3D

I've yet to be at all convinced by 3D. It seems to be there simply to make people 'ooh' and 'ahh' as things point at them, without enhancing a story or adding depth. Take Inception for instance. 3D would surely have actually detracted from the beautifully constructed visuals rather than improving them.

However, maybe with the release of the latest in the Step Up series, 3D has found its home. The dance sequences in this third installment were simply magnificent and the 3D effects - while still littered with gimmicks - really made you feel like you were right there on the stage with the cast. During these lengthy set pieces, it was perfectly okay to be wowed when it looked like someone was popping through the screen because it was taking nothing away from the story. It was a visual treat that understood the purpose and the limitations of 3D. Although, even in two dimensions, the dance routines would still have been fantastic.

As for the plot. Well, plot schmot. Essentially the exposition - clunky, cheesy and hackneyed as it was - merely served to join the dots between routines and featured some brilliantly hopeless dialogue. Characters would say something like: "The biggest decisions in life are never easy," before looking into the mid-distance with a thoughtful/troubled expression, like Plato in pumps. Another example came when, as the romantic leads were considering leaving New York, the girl with the abs said to the guy with the pecs, "We could go anywhere," before slightly undermining the world of possibilities by adding, "Even California."

But, while none of the audience were there for the plot, the film's overall tone was great, in that it managed to portray the kind of supercool urban world that every teenager would want to be a part of, without there being even a hint of booze, sex, drugs or violence. And for that, Step Up 3D deserves applause.

Toy Story 3

It has been a good year for animation. Up took it to a new emotional level with its fable about friendship, love, living-for-the-moment and helping/relying on others. Anyone who didn’t cry in the first 15 minutes has a heart made of granite. Then came Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - a wittily scripted and truly madcap comedy about raining hamburgers. The latter was, in fact, winning the race to be film of the year at Bobby Six headquarters (not just animated film of the year, film film of the year), until, one rainy afternoon in early July, Pixar dropped their latest bomb. And not just any bomb. Toy Story 3.

Because Toy Story 2 was so close to perfection, it was always going to be tough for this third instalment to live up to expectations. And it has been a really long time coming too… surely it wouldn’t be worth the wait. Well, gloriously, the toys are back in town and their adventures are every bit as good as the two films that came before. In fact, Toy Story 3 might just be the best of the bunch.

Seeing the likes of Woody and Buzz on screen again offers the warmth and familiarity of delving into your own childhood toy box, and there are also new characters to enjoy, not least a vacuous Ken doll voiced, brilliantly, by Michael Keaton. Visually, the movie is stunning (at times you have to remind yourself that Andy is not a real boy, so lifelike are his skin tones and the way he moves). The story whizzes along at pace, with moments of humour punctuating exciting and inventive set pieces. There is laugh-out-loud hilarity (and not the tiresome in-gags that have littered other animated movies, but, rather, well-crafted and perfectly-delivered jokes) and, importantly, there are tear-inducing moments too.

Like the aforementioned Up and Cloudy…, Toy Story 3 has clearly been crafted with genuine loving care, rather than having its dots joined by accountants and marketing executives. It is a work of art, and as perfect an example of storytelling with a heart as you are likely to find.



As an aside, because I chose to see the film in 2D, I found myself having to attend an afternoon showing as there were no evening screenings on that or any other day, whereupon I was herded to a tiny room at the very far corner of the multiplex. The screen was the size of a postage stamp and the audio seemed to coming through speakers with the same power as a pair of ipod headphones. I’m sure those who paid double to see the film in 3D watched it on a massive screen and with beautifully clear surround sound, but, if cinemas are going to charge exorbitant prices for 3D movies, then surely they have a duty to provide as good an experience as is possible for those who can’t afford it. Am I wrong?