TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 of 2022 (No. 1849) by Leroy Douresseaux
Lightyear (2022)
Running time: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – PG for action/peril
DIRECTOR: Angus MacLane
WRITERS: Angus MacLane and Jason Headley; from a story by Angus MacLane, Matthew Aldrich, and Jason Headley
PRODUCER: Galyn Susman
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Jeremy Lasky (D.o.P.) and Ian Megibben (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Anthony J. Greenberg
COMPOSER: Michael Giacchino
ANIMATION/SCI-FI/ACTION and FANTASY/ADVENTURE/DRAMA
Starring: (voices) Chris Evans, Peter Sohn, Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, Uzo Aduba, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., Angus MacLane, Bill Hader, Efren Ramirez, Keira Hairston, and James Brolin
Lightyear is a 2022 computer-animated, science fiction, action-adventure film directed by Angus MacLane, produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film is based on the character and story surrounding the character, Buzz Lightyear, that first appeared in the 1995 film, Toy Story. Lightyear focuses on a marooned space ranger who takes on an army of robots with only an inexperienced group of recruits to help him.
In 1995, a young Andy Davis (of Toy Story) saw the film that inspired the “Buzz Lightyear” toy line that he loves so much. Lightyear is that film.
Lightyear introduces Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans), a “Space Ranger” in Star Command and the pilot of “the Turnip,” a space exploration vessel. Buzz and his commanding officer, Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba), are exploring the habitable planet, Tikana Prime, when a series of accidents occur. Now, the Turnip is stranded on Tikana, marooning the entire crew.
Lightyear spends the next several decades experimenting with hyperspace crystalline fuel in a bid to get the marooned crew off the planet. Eventually, he is mostly a forgotten outcast, with only SOX (Peter Sohn), his robotic cat his only companion. Buzz meets another group of misfits: Izzy Hawthorne (Keke Palmer), Alisha's granddaughter; Mo Morrison (Taika Waititi), a clumsy recruit in the colonial defense forces; and Darby Steel (Dale Soules), an elderly paroled convict conscripted into the defense forces. Together, they will take on a ruthless army of robots and their mysterious leader, Emperor Zurg (James Brolin), who has a shocking connection to Buzz Lightyear.
Lightyear is the first Pixar Animation Studios film to receive a wide theatrical release in North America in over two years, the last being 2020's Oscar-nominated Onward. In that time, among the Pixar films that Disney released on its streaming service, Disney+, is one almost perfect Pixar film, Soul (2020), and one perfect film, Luca (2021).
Lightyear is a good, but not great Pixar film. Yes, it follows the formula of Pixar films of having likable and lovable characters with engaging story arcs. The characters have to overcome flaws, such as Buzz's insistence that he go-it-alone; Izzy's determination to be just like her grandmother; and Mo's clumsiness that is always endangering the mission and his compatriots. Like many Pixar films, Lightyear has a last act filled with peril and near-disaster, if not near-death. That is the problem with Lightyear, however; it is simply too formulaic.
Lightyear is not a particularly imaginative science fiction film. Tikana Prime's aggressive plant vines and killer bugs are generic elements that can be found in American comic books, Japanese manga, sci-fi cartoons, etc. Lightyear does have one great character, the robotic cat, Sox, who is in the great tradition of both Walt Disney and Pixar's memorable and lovable animal and animal-like sidekicks. Sox is the reason that Lightyear does not fall into mediocrity. Also, Peter Sohn, the actor who voices Sox, sounds like actor Jason Bateman (which is a good thing), at least, to me.
After seeing it, I realize that Lightyear is the kind of animated film that I usually wait to watch via the home media release instead of going to a movie theater to see it. But Sox makes the trip to the theater worth it, and he is the reason for the grade I am giving the film. While the last act is a nice reward for watching the entire film, Lightyear is not a Disney “instant classic,” and that's all there is to it.
7 of 10
B+
★★★½ out of 4 stars
[This film has three post-credit scenes.]
Friday, June 17, 2022
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by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:
SPORTS - From YahooSports: The Golden State Warriors are the 2022 NBA World Champions. They beat the Boston Celtics 103-90 in Game 6 of the 2021-22 NBA Finals Championship Series to win the best-of-seven series 4 games to 2. This is the Warriors fourth title in eight years.
EMMYS - From Deadline: Chris Rock and Dwayne Johnson have been approached about hosting this year's Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on NBC this Sept. 1st, although neither is expected to accept the offer.
NETFLIX - From Deadline: Melissa McCarthy and Amy Schumer are among the stars appearing in Jerry Seinfeld's Netflix comedy film, "Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story."
ANIMATION - From Deadline: Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, and Miranda Otto have joined the voice cast of New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation's "The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim."
MOVIES - From Deadline: "Man on Fire" costars Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning will reunited on Sony's "The Equalizer 3," which is due September 2023.
TELEVISION - From Deadline: Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Wendell Pierce, and Karen LeBlanc will star in an episode of Fox's anthology crime drama, "Accused," which focuses on defendants on trial.
From Deadline: The syndicated talk show, "The Wendy Williams Show," will officially end Fri., June 17th, with its final original episode after a 13 year run. Williams will not be present for the final episode. In the fall, it will be replaced by a syndicated talk show hosted by Sherri Shepherd.
TONY AWARDS - From Variety: Here is complete list of winners at the 2022 / 75th Tony Awards, held Sun., April 12, 2022. "A Strange Loop" wins "Best Musical" and "The Lehman Trilogy" wins "Best Play."
From Variety: Singer-actress Jennifer Hudson has become the 17th "EGOT" recipient. That is a person who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award. Hudson won her Tony last night for producing "A Strange Loop."
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 6/10 to 6/12/2022 weekend box office is "Jurassic World: Dominion" with an estimated take of 143.3 million dollars.
DISNEY - From Variety: Chris Evans, star of Disney/Pixar's "Lightyear," talks about the intimidation of voicing a character made famous by the voice of actor, Tim Allen.
OBITS:
From YahooEntertainment: Actor Philip Baker Hall has died at the age of 90, Sunday, June 12, 2022. Hall was in his late 30s when his prolific film and TV career began with the film "Cowards." He played numerous character roles on TV series and in television films. He may be best remembered for his role as the hard-nosed library detective, Lt. Joe Bookman, on Season 3 Episode 5, "The Library," on NBC's former sitcom, "Seinfeld," in which he was hunting down a book that Jerry Seinfeld had borrowed in 1971 and never returned. Hall was also known for his lead role in Paul Thomas Anderson's 1996 film, "Hard Eight," and for his supporting role in Anderson's 1997 film, "Boogie Nights."
From THR: Film and television costume designer, May Routh, has died at the age of 87, June 1, 2022. Routh began as a fashion illustrator for such magazines and "Elle" and "Vogue" before she began working in film and television. She is best known for her work on such films as "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (1976) and "Being There" (1979). Routh also received Emmy nominations for her work on the TV films, "Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter" (CBS, 1991) and "Andersonville" (TNT, 1996).
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UVALDE, TEXAS MASS SHOOTING:
From YahooAP: An 18-year-old gunman slaughtered 19 children and two teachers on Tues., May 24th, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. All 21 victims were in the same 4th grade classroom at Robb Elementary.
From Jacobin: "The Uvalde Massacre has exposed the lies that once justified police militarization" by Branko Marcetic
From Truthout: We don’t need more evidence that police can’t be trusted.
From Truthout: 44 percent of GOP voters view mass shootings as part of living in “Free Society”
From ABCNews: Arnulfo Reyes, a teacher who survived the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, calls the local police "cowards" because of slow response to an active shooter at his school, Robb Elementary. All of 11 students in his class were killed.
From DallasNews: Joe Garcia, the husband of Irma Garcia, one of the two teachers killed at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, has died of a heart attack two days after the murder of his wife. They had been married for 24 years and had been high school sweethearts.
From Axios: Texas gubernatorial candidate, Beto O'Rourke, interrupted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's gaslighting press conference on the Uvalde elementary school mass shooting.
From USAToday: Beto O'Rourke's outburst at Gov. Greg Abbott's Uvalde news conference shows the spine Democrats need.
From BostonGlobe: Steve Kerr, head coach of the NBA's Golden State Warriors, asks "When are we going to do something?"
From NBCNews: A Robb Elementary teacher describes "the longest 35 minutes of my life" and the terror she now feels.
From NBCNews: The Uvalde school district had an extensive safety plan, but 19 children were killed at Robb Elementary anyway. Even security plans that appear to be up to the latest research-based standards may have gaps and fall short of preventing the worst-case scenario, experts said.
From MSN: Angeli Rose Gomez, the mother who was handcuffed outside Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, was able to get inside the school and rescue her two children.
From YahooNews: Daniel Defense, the maker of the rifles used by the Uvalde massacre killer, has used "incendiary ads" in the past, including one in which a toddler holds one of its rifles.
From TheIntercept: The police aren't obligated to protect anyone NOT in their custody, as the Supreme Court has ruled twice.
From RollingStone: Right wing lies about the Second Amendment and why they tell them are killing America's childrne.
From Vice: The law enforcement personnel in Texas that arrived at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas on Tues., May 24th did the opposite of what their own training documentary videos show.
From Vox: Uvalde police keep changing their story.
From TheDailyBeast: The families in Uvalde, Texas who lost loved one in the Robb Elementary massacre say that the cops there are "Nothing more than cowards" and that they need to pay for doing nothing while a gunman rampaged through the school last Tues, May 24th.
From TheNewYorker: Thoughts and prayers, Uvalde, Texas. This is the America that Republicans and the right wing have being thinking about and praying for all these decades.
From ABC: Sources say that Uvalde police and school district no longer cooperating with Texas probe of shooting of the May 24th massacre of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.
From GuardianUK: Canada plans to freeze all handgun ownership.
From RSNWashPost: Is it time to show the true horror of mass shooting - in pictures?
From MSN: Angeli Gomez, the Uvalde mother who rescued her two children from the Robb Elementary shooting massacre, says that a police officer threatened to arrest her if she did not stop telling her story.
From RSNTheAtlantic: The Uvalde police chose dishonor. Where was there courage?
From RSNWashPost: Brenda Bell: I hid from the Texas Tower sniper (Charles Joseph Whitman) in 1966. His successors have found us all.
From RSNTheIntercept: "AR-15s Were Made to Explode Human Bodies. In Uvalde, the Bodies Belonged to Children" by Murtaza Hussain
From RSNNPR: The tragic history of police responding too late to active shooters.
From VICE: There is likely bodycam footage of the school shooting in Uvalde, TX, but the public may never see it.
BLM-BUFFALO:
From ABCNews: A 18-year-old white MAN shot 13 people, killing 10 at a Buffalo, New York Tops Friendly Markets supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2021.
From RSNAP: The white male suspect in the Buffalo Tops Supermarket shooting, Payton Gendron, was charged with federal hate crimes on Wed., June 15th and could face the death penalty if convicted.
From Truthout: The racist attack in Buffalo at the Tops Friendly supermarket was crafted to terrorize us. We can fight back, and here’s how we fight back.
From WGRZ: Who are the victims of the Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets grocery store shooting. This comes from local station WGRZ Channel 2 and includes video and some victim photos.
From BuffaloNews: One of the 10 Black murder victims of the Buffalo massacre was Katherine "Kat" Massey. She was a leader in her community and civil rights activist and advocate for education.
From NewYorkPost: One of the 10 Black murder victims of the Buffalo massacre was Andre Mackniel. He was at TOPS Supermaket to pick up a birthday cake for his son.
From Truthout: The racist attack in Buffalo, NY at the Tops supermarket was crafted to terrorize us, so here is how we fight back.
From CNN: What is known about the 18-year-old MAN, Payton Gendron.
From NPR: 198 mass shooting this year ... so far.
From Truthout: White supremacist massacre of 10 people in Buffalo, NY shows that the “Alt-Right” ideology leads to murder.
From RollingStone: Buffalo rampage killing is "Straight Up Racially Motivated Hate Crime."
From InformedComment: Rene Binet, the originator the "great replacement" was a French Nazi, and he saw all American as "Negroes," an "impure mestizo 'race'."
From WashPost: Only 22 people saw the live-stream of a white terrorist kill Black shoppers at the Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets supermarket, but millions have seen it since...
From GuardianUK: Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets shooter may have been motivated by "eco-fascism," a focus on overpopulation and environmental degradation.
From RSN: "What Lessons Have We Learned From the Buffalo Shooting?" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
From Truthout: “Innocent” White People Are Also Complicit in the Anti-Black Murders in Buffalo by George Yancy.
From Truthout: "Black Lives Matter" cofounder discovered that Alicia Garza has learned that her name is mentioned in the Buffalo Tops supermarket killer's manifesto.
From GuardianUK: Cornell West says, "Trump isn't out there with a gun, but he's enabled this war against Black people.
From Slate: From the Tulsa Race Massacre to the Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets shootings: the legacy of anti-Black violence.
From Truthout: After mass shootings, Republicans shield white supremacists from scrutiny
From MSN: Angeli Gomez, the Uvalde mom who rescued her children from the school shooting at Robb Elementary, says that local police have threatened to have her arrested if she does not stop telling her story.
UKRAINE:
From TheDailyBeast: Russian soldiers allegedly raped and killed a 1-year-old Ukrainian boy and have reportedly raped or sexually abused children as young as 9 months old.
HATE WATCH:
From NPR: 31 members of the white nationalist Patriot Front arrested near a "Pride Month" event in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. They are believed to have been planning to riot held at a local before moving on to rioting downtown. They were not the only haters trying to sour the "Pride in the Park" event, which included families with children.
From SpokesmanReview: The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office released the names and photos of all 31 "Patriot Front" members who are suspects in a planned riot at the "Pride Month" event in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
