New on DVD: Toys and War

If you're looking for something, you know, good,  to watch with the kids, and not something to just take up time, you're in luck. The best children's film of the year, and also one of the best overall films, comes out on DVD today. As with last week's releases, there's finally something worth watching.

Toy Story 3

Children's Animated Film

The Gist: Woody, Buzz, and Jesse, along with all of Andy's toys, miss the way Andy used to play with them when he was little. As he packs for college, a mixup sends them to the donation pile, and then to a daycare. Run along the lines of a Soviet gulag by the menacing Lotso Huggin Bear, the daycare becomes a den of torture. Can the faithful toys find their way back to Andy and to usefulness again?

The Ups: If you don't cry during the last 20 minutes of this film, you're not human. A silly and funny story about talking toys becomes a profound meditation on friendship and on the bittersweet joy of growing up. The last 20 minutes elevate the film from a good movie to a great movie, and Oscar material.

The Downs: No downs...unless you're afraid of clowns.

The Verdict: Rent it. Buy it. "Toy Story 3" is a must see. Read our full review.

Be Aware: Rated G, this film is appropriate for all audiences. Also rated S for Superb.

The Chat with Kids: What makes a friend? How are Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the gang true friends? Why was Lotso so mean? Is it sad, a little bit, when you grow up?

The Pacific

Television Series - War Drama

The Gist: Three men of varying temperaments are thrown together to fight the Japanese in the Pacific theater of World War II. This ten part miniseries, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, follows emotion, confusion, and drama off the battlefield as much as on it.

The Ups: Powerful effects and acting plus relentless realism (at least as close as they could get) adds up to a powerful experience. It's not meant to be an exhaustive accounting of historical fact, but rather a way to feel what it was like for our young men who acted so heroically in the Pacific theater.

The Downs: War is hell. This series brutally attempts to capture it. Not for the faint of heart.

The Verdict: Rent it. If you're a war buff at all, this is a good addition to the World War II archives.

Be Aware: These episodes are rated individually, but they would be the equivelant of R. They feature graphic violence and explicit sex, making them not appropriate for children or teens.

Read more by the same author:

Movie Review: Hereafter

Eternity itself may not be as long as this movie.

Movie Review: The Social Network

How has Facebook changed us?

Interview: Randall Wallace of "Secretariat"

The "Braveheart" writer talks to SixSeeds