Toy Story 4 - Excited or concerned?

Nine years ago, we were given Toy Story 3, the conclusion to a great trilogy that was part of our lives for 15 years, the first movie was a phenomenon, as it was the first computer animated feature length film, then the second one was a great follow up, and then the third gave a fantastic conclusion to this great trilogy....or so we thought. I don't remember when it was announced, but soon we found out that there would be a Toy Story 4. My first reaction was why, we had a great conclusion and we don't need a follow up, I was guessing that they had success with the shorts that featured Woody and the gang in Bonnie's house, so my thought was that they wanted to capitalize on that success and make another one, my initial thought was that they wanted more money, and of course that would be the reason for most of these movies in the film industry, but then I wondered if they had another reason behind it, I didn't think about that until recently.

Each time I see a trailer for the new Toy Story movie, there was nothing that really got me excited to see it, it seemed like a movie that was created just to get more cash for Pixar and that was it, it seemed like a new adventure with no real reason to continue the series. So that is the trailers, but then I started looking into the articles that talked about the movie where they interviewed the principle actors of the main characters, mainly Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. I first read that Tim Allen got emotional when he came in to record the final scene for the movie, he said it was tough for him to get through. At this time, I have no clue what that exactly means. Not too long ago, there was another article where Tom Hanks talked about being warned by Tim Allen about recording the final scene and how it was a tough one, and Tom Hanks admitted it was tough for him to get through. Based on this, it sounds like it's more than just the realization that this would be the last time these characters would be playing these iconic characters, but that there was more to this final scene. The next piece I heard is that when Toy Story 4 was proposed, many shot it down because there was already a conclusion to the series, and then it was stated that Toy Story 3 was a conclusion to Andy's story, but that they should do a conclusion to Woody's story.

So with all this in mind, am I excited or concerned? I prefer to say that I am intrigued. I heard reports that this was suppose to come out a while back so it appears that they took their time to get this right, so I think it's safe to assume that this movie will probably surprise us. Either way, I will go see this opening weekend and will try to share my impressions of it as soon as I can.

Personal Ranking of the X-Men movies

My experience with the X-Men movies has been a very interesting ride to say the least. There are some I really like, and others that I thought were alright, and a couple that are just painful to watch. With the last X-Men movie coming out under the Fox name, I thought now would be an appropriate time to do a personal ranking of all the X-Men movies under the Fox name, this is going to include the Wolverine movies. I will not be including the Deadpool movies on this list as I have not seen them. So here is my ranking:

9. X-Men Origins Wolverine - This may be the last on many personal rankings, or at the least near the bottom. I was looking forward to this, I was kind of excited to see the origins of Wolverine and get a solo movie of this X-Men favorite. I saw it before everyone else got to see it, and I was really disappointed with the final result. I haven't rewatched this in years, but I may rewatch it at some point to see how it is after all these years.

8. X-Men: The Last Stand - I didn't get to see this in theaters, but caught it on video many months later. I heard about the main demises, so I already wasn't too excited going in, and also I remember the scope of X2 being really impressive, and this just felt like a weak conclusion compared to what we got in the last entry. There were a few pluses, one of them being Kelsey Grammar as Beast. 

7. X-Men Apocalypse - At the time of writing, I have not seen this since theaters, I enjoyed it when I saw it but for some reason, this one never really got me excited in the X-Men franchise, maybe it was because I got more invested in the MCU at that point, but I wasn't disappointed because I didn't get too excited by the trailers either, so it was a movie that kind of came and went for me. However, I really liked the Quicksilver sequence in the middle of the movie, and there were some cool moments here and there. 

6. The Wolverine - This is another movie I saw the trailers for and I didn't get too excited for, so I wasn't expecting anything, but then I saw it and I was kind of surprised by it. Yes it dragged in certain areas and there were issues with the story, but this was a visually interesting movie and a very interesting experience that I really appreciated it. I just really liked the atmosphere that this movie presented, and I also liked how it handled the relationship between Logan and Jean. Yes, there are other ones that I appreciate more, but this one has a unique place for me and I enjoy re-experiencing here and there.

5. X-Men - The first X-Men movie we ever got, I was familiar with the cartoon series from the 90s, though I did not watch it faithfully, but I saw a few episodes, so I was familiar with the world of X-Men because of the series, and a few video games I played as well, so I was looking forward to this for that reason, and this was very entertaining. I got to admit that rewatching it all these years later, some parts are dated, but what sticks out is how small this movie feels compared to all the other movies we got later on, that is the crazy part for me. I also felt that the people cast fit their roles well, especially Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, and definitely Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

4. X-Men First Class - When I saw the first trailer, I thought that this was it, this was the movie that would end the X-Men series, at this would tank and it would be done with, I wasn't impressed with X-Men 3 or X-Men Origins Wolverine, so I thought the series was through. I then heard the reviews were good and then I ended up seeing it and I was very surprised, and not only that, this is one of those movies that I am able to rewatch. It continues to be very entertaining and the story very well crafted. This movie is the biggest surprise in the series, and the connections that were established here really brought an interesting perspective on the original trilogy.

3. Logan - This one was very intriguing to me. I heard that this would be the very last time that Hugh Jackman would play the role of Wolverine, so for that reason I was very intrigued on how they would handle the ending to such a favorite character. I have only seen this once, but I really appreciate the smaller scale story that this one had, I also really like the atmosphere that this movie presented for all that viewed it, kind of that feeling of being a western almost. It was very well shot and very well written. This may be on the top of almost everyone's list, but there are three that had more of an impact than this one did, but this doesn't dismiss this one from being extremely well crafted.

2. X2: X-Men United - Ever since the release of the first movie, I was looking forward to the sequel and where things would go next. This movie was before the establishment of the MCU, so sequels to comic book movies were still in an early stage, but I had high hopes for this, with people comparing that this could be the next Empire Strikes Back, and in many ways it was, it really expanded on everything that was established in the first movie, and also gave us new threads on where things could go next. This felt like a bigger movie than the first one which made things more exciting. 

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past - As I learned more about this movie, my anticipation grew, it was going to include the cast from the original X-Men trilogy, and the cast from X-Men First Class, it would involve time travel, and Bryan Singer, the director of the first two X-Men movies was coming back, I was excited for this. This movie delivered in what I was hoping for in this, an epic story with lots to take in and appreciate. In my opinion, this movie takes the best of everything and gives us a good story and many exciting moments and great interactions. It also gave me moments that I didn't know I wanted, like the sequence with Quicksilver. This is easily my favorite in the X-Men series under Fox.

With Dark Phoenix coming out, I have been uncertain on what to think of it, but with it being the last with this iteration of characters (with the exception of Wolverine since he already got his conclusion), I am very interested in how they wrap up the story, I have heard not so pleasant things from early screenings and all, but I want to wait till the movie comes out before casting judgement.