MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat's YouTube roundtable for "Spider-Man 3"

While I fully support my friend Ian Simmons’ year-long moratorium on “new” comic book films and TV shows, I like the chances he’s chosen to reflect on old titles for his Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel. Ian requested “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” to revisit the 15-year-old Spider-Man 3 from director Sam Raimi with fresh eyes and an open heart. I tried my best with a rewatch, but the movie only got worse for me. With many absentees from the usual crew, it ended up being Ian hosting Will Johnson and myself representing the Cinephile Hissy Fit podcast for this lovely conversation on all the emotions of success and failure that came from Spider-Man 3. Enjoy!

Media Appearance, Podcast, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2020Don ShanahanJuly 21, 2022AMC River East 21Kicking the Seat, Lightyear, Toy StoryComment

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat's YouTube roundtable for "Lightyear"

It’s not often that my fellow Cinephile Hissy Fit podcast host Will Johnson and I find ourselves alone in a room defending a popular movies, but that was the case this on Ian Simmons’ Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel and his critics roundtable for Disney/Pixar’s Lightyear. Hear our passionate defense! Watch and listen to Ian, Will, myself, David Fowlie of Keeping it Reel, Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions, and Annie Banks from Chuck Load of Comics.

Media Appearance, Podcast, Social Media, SPECIAL, 2020Don ShanahanJune 21, 2022AMC River East 21Kicking the Seat, Lightyear, Toy StoryComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Lightyear

There is a tremendous dichotomy of thought and talk amid Pixar’s Lightyear. Within the movie, we are granted a dramatic hero truer than the memorable action figure caricature we have come to cherish playing alongside other toys. This beefier Buzz Lightyear may still be narrating to himself, but his talk expresses strong emotions and virtuous desires more than push-button quips. He is his own man, not a packaged program of settings and market research.

2022, 4 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJune 13, 2022Lightyear, Toy StoryComment

EVENT: Scenes from the "Toy Story 4" Ultimate RV event at Navy Pier

This past Friday in Chicago, the “Toy Story 4” Ultimate RV event came to Polk Plaza area of Navy Pier. Sponsored by GoRVing.com, the movie-themed event had an alluring array of free activities. Contestants young and old could spin wheels, take selfies with “Forky,” toss snakes into boots, or throw rings around rockets to win various prizes, Toy Story swag, and even Fandango vouchers for free movie tickets. Every Movie Has a Lesson (and my eager family) was able to get an early peek at the festivities and wanted to share some sights and sounds from the sunny display on a perfect June morning, just in time for the movie’s box office debut.

2019, EVENT, NEWS, Social Media, SPECIALDon ShanahanJune 24, 2019Navy PierToy Story 4, Toy Story 3, Toy StoryComment

EVENT: "Toy Story 4" Ultimate RV comes to Chicago's Navy Pier this Friday

Sponsored by GoRVing, the “Toy Story 4” RV is rolling into Chicago’s Navy Pier and bringing the ultimate summer road trip event on Friday, June 21 from 10am to 2pm. With the release of Pixar’s newest family film, start your summer off right with Woody and the gang with a carnival including the “To Infinity and Beyond” rocket ring toss, “There’s a Snake in My Boot” bean bag toss, a prize wheel with “Toy Story 4” plush prizes and tickets to see the film in theaters. Guests can also jump in the “Forky photo booth” to take a picture featuring the gang’s newest friend to join the fun.

2019, NEWS, Social Media, SPECIAL, EVENTDon ShanahanJune 16, 2019Navy PierToy Story, Toy Story 4Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: War for the Planet of the Apes

A significant shift in attention and investment has occurred in this series. Our hearts and allegiances swayed from rooting for the madness of our own mankind to the superior traits of humanity exhibited by Caesar and his ape brethren. A transformation of empathy like that is downright miraculous. War for the Planet of Apes is a full-bodied epic of glory and pain that matches and then exceeds the moving importance and heart this rebooted franchise has established in two previous knockout films.

MOVIE REVIEW: Finding Dory

Unless the title begins with "Toy Story," Disney/Pixar has not had very good luck with effective sequels. "Cars 2" aimed too high for a bigger international stage and "Monsters University" failed as a bonding origin story prequel. Thirteen years after the original, "Finding Dory" changes that weak trend with a winning flourish. Teeming with plenty of vibrant energy and anchored by Pixar's signature punch of finely tuned emotional storytelling, this sequel will delight audiences young and old and earns its mature place as a companion piece to the classic "Finding Nemo."

MOVIE REVIEW: Inside Out

The prevailing feeling has been that the hallmark extra level of magic and poignancy that used to be Pixar's calling cards have been lost while they milked dollars from lackluster sequels and prequels like "Cars 2" and "Monsters University." We have missed the visual originality from "Monsters Inc." and "Cars." We have missed the sense of wonder from "Wall-E" and "Ratatouille." Most of all, we have sorely missed the strong familial dynamics of the "Up," the "Toy Story" series, and "Finding Nemo." "Inside Out" is exactly the redemptive return to form that Pixar desperately needed. The film rivals each of those prior greats in each of those areas. This is exactly what you loved and were missing while being something truly great that can stand on its own merits.

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

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