Toy Story 4 Review Roundup: Here’s What The Critics Think About Pixar’s Latest

Pixar’s latest movie, Toy Story 4, opens in theatres this weekend. Ahead of that, reviews for the animated film have started to appear online, and they’re largely very positive.

To help you get an idea about if the movie is worth your time and money, we’re collecting excerpts from reviews from a variety of outlets across the internet. Scroll down to see a sampling of these, and maybe it’ll help you decide if you want to see the film or not.

You can also check out this silly video in which Tom Hanks, who voices Woody, speaks to Jimmy Kimmel about all the things he’s supposed to say–and not say–when giving interviews about Toy Story 4.

You can see a rundown of Toy Story 4 reviews below, while more information on the film’s critical reception can be found on GameSpot sister site Metacritic.

Toy Story 4

  • Directed By: Josh Cooley
  • Written By: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Josh Cooley, Valerie LaPointe, Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Martin Hynes, Stephany Folsom
  • Starring (the voices of): Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Keanu Reeves, Joan Cusack, Christina Hendricks, Patricia Arquette, Jordan Peele, Annie Potts, Timothy Dalton, Betty White, Wallace Shawn, Keegan-Michael Key, Jeff Garlin, Don Rickles, Mel Brooks, Bonnie Hunt, Carl Weathers
  • Release Date: June 21 (United States)

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The Guardian

“It may only be a repeat of earlier ideas and plotlines, but compare it to the fourth films in other franchises and Pixar’s latest is an amusing and charming gem.” — Peter Bradshaw [Full review]

Chicago Sun-Times

“If this movie doesn’t touch your heart, you’d have to be as lifeless as the toys pretend to be when humans are in the vicinity.” — Richard Roeper [Full review]

New York Post

“Unfortunately, knowing the characters as well as we do now, and with a finite amount of mischief that miniature toys can get up to, Toy Story 4 at times feels more like a high-budget episode of television than a sweeping film.” — Johnny Oleksinski [Full review]

The Hollywood Reporter

“With some Pixar franchises having worn out their welcome and lent the impression of a capitulation to Disney’s desire for more sequels at the price of less preparation and care, this one conveys the confident feel of a creation that, as a big man used to say, has not been served before its time.” — Todd McCarthy [Full review]

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The Los Angeles Times

“Toy Story 4 will blow you away in ways you won’t be expecting. It’s something new from a computer-animated series so antediluvian that director Josh Cooley was in high school when the Pixar original came out back in 1995.” — Kenneth Turan [Full review]

The Wrap

“After the unalloyed triumph that was Toy Story 3, did we need another sequel to the popular Pixar series? Not really. Now that Toy Story 4 exists, does it tarnish the reputation of a franchise that is the gold standard in contemporary American animation? Not in the slightest.” — Alonso Duralde [Full review]

Joker Movie Is Rated R, Director Confirms; New Image Also Released

This year’s new Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix will be rated R, director Todd Phillips has confirmed. Not only that, but the director shared a new image from the set that shows Phoenix looking into a mirror applying his Joker makeup.

Regarding the rating, Phillips said in reply to a fan on his Instagram post, “It will be rated R. I’ve been asked about this a lot. Just assumed people knew.”

The way he said it, Phillips seems certain the new Joker film will be rated R. However, the MPAA–which decides ratings in America–has yet to issue an official rating.

The R stands for Restricted. According to the MPAA, an R-rated movie “contains some adult material.” People under the age of 17 cannot see an R-rated movie without a parent or adult guardian accompanying them.

As for the new image, it shows Phoenix and multiple mirrors. The makeup was done by Nicki Ledermann. It’s a lovely image, and you might get to see more behind-the-scenes shots. In the comments of his Instagram post, Phillips said the team would “love” to release some sort of photo book of stills. The image was shot by Niko Tavernise, who Phillips says is “truly one of the best still photographers working in movies; we were so lucky to have him on set.”

Joker opens in theatres on October 4. It’s something of a change for director Todd Phillips, who previously made the the Hangover and Old School comedies. He also wrote for Borat, which earned him his Oscar nomination.

Joker also stars Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Marc Maron, and Frances Conroy.

Lena Headey On How She Feels About Cersei’s Fate On Game Of Thrones

Game of Thrones actress Lena Headey has come forward to respond to how the hit HBO fantasy show wrapped up the fate of her character, Cersei. You can see her full quotes down below the image; beware, these are significant spoilers.

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Cersei and her brother-lover Jaime died in Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5 when they were crushed under rubble during Daenerys’ assault on King’s Landing. Many fans remarked that her death scene left much to be desired, and it turns out that Headey also wanted something different.

She told The Guardian that she hopes to catch up with Game of Thrones showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff over a few drinks, at which time she’ll tell them she wanted Cersei to die another way.

“I invested as a viewer and I have my favourite characters. And I’ve got a few of my own gripes. But I haven’t sat down drunkly with David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] yet.” She said she’ll tell Weiss and Benioff, “I wanted a better death.”

Over the years, Game of Thrones has aired some gut-wrenching and climatic death scenes, but Cersei’s lacked the same kind of emotional punch in the eyes of some viewers. Headey admits that no death scene will please everyone, but she still wished for something more.

“Obviously you dream of your death,” she said. “You could go in any way on that show. So I was kind of gutted. But I just think they couldn’t have pleased everyone. No matter what they did, I think there was going to be some big comedown from the climb.”

Overall, though, Headey said she enjoyed the years she spent working on Game of Thrones. “It was amazing,” she said. “And things end and you move on.”

Top New Game Releases For Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC – E3 2019

In this special episode of New Releases, we’ve gathered 28 upcoming games with release dates you can actually mark on your calendar. Enjoy the video above, and take a look below for the full game list.

  • Borderlands 2 – Commander Lilith & The Fight for Sanctuary | PS4, Xbox One, PC | Out Now

  • Forza Horizon 4 – Lego Speed Champions | Xbox One, PC | Out Now

  • The Last Remnant Remastered | Switch | Out Now

  • The Sims 4 – Island Living | PC | June 21

  • Apex Legends Season 2 | PS4, Xbox One, PC | July 2

  • Oninaki | PS4, PC, Switch| August 22

  • Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey | PS4, Xbox One, PC | August 27

  • Astral Chain | Switch | August 30

  • Blair Witch | Xbox One, PC | August 30

  • Gears 5 | Xbox One, PC | September 10

  • Daemon x Machina | Switch | September 13

  • The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening | Switch | September 20

  • Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered | PS4, PC, Switch | September 20

  • Contra Rogue Corps | PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch | September 24

  • The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III | PS4 | September 24

  • Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition | Switch | September 27

  • FIFA 20 | PS4, Xbox One, Switch | September 27

  • The Outer Worlds | PS4, Xbox One, PC | October 25

  • Just Dance 2020 | PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, Wii, Stadia | November 5

  • Death Stranding | PS4 | November 8

  • Doom Eternal | PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, Stadia | November 22

  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps | Xbox One, PC | February 22, 2020

  • Gods & Monsters | PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch | February 25, 2020

  • Final Fantasy 7 Remake | PS4 | March 3, 2020

  • Watch Dogs: Legion | PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia | March 6, 2020

  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Switch | March 20, 2020

  • Cyberpunk 2077 | PS4, Xbox One, PC | April 26, 2020

  • Marvel’s Avengers | PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia | May 15, 2020

  • Next week, New Releases returns with a regular episode looking at the final week of June, which is home to games like Judgment and Super Mario Maker 2.

    Bee Simulator is More Educational Than You’d Expect

    With a name like Bee Simulator, you might expect to see a tiny, airborne version of something like Goat Simulator – a wacky, physics-based comedy game that, while entertaining, does very little to actually simulate the day-to-day reality of Bovidae Capra. However, you would be very much mistaken.

    Bee Simulator, from development team Varsav Games, focuses on what the real lives and struggles of the American wild bee. Or, at least, as close as they can get while still making an entertaining game – and one that’s far more educational than you might expect.

    “Goats are, like, doing nothing interesting. They eat grass,” laughs Lukasz Rosiński, Varsav’s founder and CEO. “And bees are doing many, many interesting things. There’s a whole part

    Continue reading…

    Men In Black: International Opens To Disappointing Box Office Number

    The latest box office report is in, and the weekend’s biggest new release, Men in Black: International, won the weekend but it was overall a commercial disappointment.

    The spinoff starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson was never expected to perform as well as the earlier films. It made an estimated $28.5 million in the United States and Canada for its opening weekend, according to box office numbers from Entertainment Weekly.

    That’s below the $52.1 million that the last movie, Men in Black II, made when it opened in 2002. The original Men in Black from 1997 made $51 million over its opening weekend. Those movies starred Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in the lead roles.

    Men in Black International was generally a miss with critics, and the CinemaScore rating of people who saw it in theatres was only a B. In GameSpot’s Men in Black International review, Chris Hayner wrote that the film is “mediocre and unimaginative.”

    June 14-16 Us/Canada Box Office

    1. Men in Black: International — $28.5 million
    2. The Secret Life of Pets 2 — $23.8 million
    3. Aladdin — $16.7 million
    4. Dark Phoenix — $9 million
    5. Rocketman — $8.8 million
    6. Shaft — $8.3 million
    7. Godzilla: King of the Monsters — $8.1 million
    8. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum — $6.1 million
    9. Late Night — $5.1 million
    10. Ma — $3.6 million

    Shenmue 3 Dev Responds To Concerns Over Epic Store Exclusivity

    During E3 last week it was confirmed that the long-in-development crowdfunded game Shenmue III will release on PC as an exclusive to the Epic Games Store at launch.

    Some people got upset about this because the studio, Ys Net, had originally said the game would be available on Steam. The game is still coming to Steam, but not until 12 months after its release on the Epic Games Store. Now, developer Ys Net has responded to the outcry, but only in a preliminary way.

    In a post to the game’s Kickstarter page, Ys Net said it hears the concerns of fans. Representatives from the studio were in Los Angeles for E3 where they showing off the game, but when they return to home base they’ll look into how to “find a way forward” as it relates to explaining to fans that their faith in the studio can be upheld.

    “We want to make sure that the Backers are aware that we are listening to their concerns,” reads a line from the update. “We kindly ask all our fans to have some patience, we are currently at E3 demoing the game and need to get back to our respective offices to assess the situation and together find a way forward to justify the trust you placed in us.”

    In 2015, more than 69,000 people contributed $6.3 million to fund the development of Shenmue III on Kickstarter. Saints Row publisher Deep Silver later came aboard as a publisher.

    Shenmue III was among the titles that Epic announced as being timed-exclusives for the Epic Games Store. Another title was Untitled Goose Game from Australian developer House House. The studio said Epic made an offer that gave them a unique sense of stability in an industry where that is far from a guarantee.

    Shenmue III is also coming to PlayStation 4. The Shenmue III release date is set for November 19. A new trailer was released during E3; check it out in the video embed above.

    Katamari Damacy’s Creator on Wattam’s Insane Initial Concept

    Wattam, the latest project from Katamari Damacy and Noby Noby Boy designer Keita Takahashi, has been a long time coming. Many many years at this point. In that time, it’s shifted publishers from Sony to Annapurna Interactive, its team has been broken down and then rebuilt and it’s switched game engines, but one thing hasn’t changed – it’s still a game about creating colourful explosions that send its bizarre cast of anthropomorphic creatures into gales of laughter.

    Of course, I wouldn’t dare call them “creatures” in front of Takahashi. To him, they may be walking, talking flowers, rocks, toilets, poos and blocks of land, but they’re all “people”. Wattam, after all, is a metaphor for the way that people from different countries can find commonalities. We may not all speak the same language, or have a similar culture, but there are things that can bring us together as people. And in the case of Wattam, as mentioned, it’s setting off the bomb that perpetually sits under the hat of the game’s Mayor character.

    Continue reading…

    Cyberpunk 2077 Has Multiple Endings; Photo Mode Not Confirmed Despite Previous Statement

    Like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt’s ambitious upcoming RPG Cyberpunk 2077 has multiple endings. Quest director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz confirmed this in an interview with YongYea at E3 2019.

    The Witcher 3 had three major endings. Which one you arrive at depends on the choices you make during the campaign. Tomaszkiewicz did not say how many endings Cyberpunk 2077 will have apart from confirming there will be multiple ways the story can end.

    Also in the interview, Tomaszkiewicz confirms that players can go through the entire campaign without using any augmentations besides the two that are automatically assigned to you during the Prologue. The rest of the augmentations are optional.

    The developer also confirmed that CD Projekt Red is considering adding a Photo Mode, though it is “hard to tell” if it will happen. CD Projekt Red is considering it “seriously,” Tomaszkiewicz said. This is a big difference from September 2018 when the developers said they were planning for Cyberpunk 2077 to have a Photo Mode.

    Tomaszkiewicz added that the studio is also not committing to a level cap for Cyberpunk 2077 just yet.

    According to CD Projekt Red founder Marcin Iwinski, the studio is now in the polishing phase of development for Cyberpunk 2077. This is the most challenging part of the development process, Iwinski said, adding that he expects the team to be able to deliver “some amazing bells and whistles graphically” when the process is finished.

    Cyberpunk 2077 launches on April 16, 2020, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. For more on the game–which features Keanu Reeves in a lead role–check out GameSpot’s preview of the new gameplay CD Projekt Red demoed at the show, as well as a look at its story.

    More E3 News:

    PS4/Xbox One Cross-Play: Fortnite Boss Talks About The “Contentious Discussions”

    Sarah Needleman’s new profile of Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney for The Wall Street Journal covers a wide variety of topic about the Fortnite boss’s life and career. Among those are how Epic convinced Sony to finally allow cross-play, how much the man is reportedly worth, how much money Fortnite makes from microtransactions, what food he likes best, and lots more. The full report is well worth a read, and we’re highlighting a few of the big points.

    Starting with cross-play, WSJ reports that Sweeney spent six months in 2018 calling and emailing the leadership at PlayStation and Xbox to try to convince them to unlock cross-play. The conversations were intense, it seems.

    “An effort in international diplomacy,” Sweeney said. “Given the long-term rivalries, it was a series of contentious discussions.”

    Microsoft and Nintendo started allowing cross-play in Fortnite and other titles beginning in June 2018, but Sony held out.

    After cross-play support went live between Xbox One and Nintendo Switch for Fortnite, WSJ reports that Sweeney shared data with Sony that apparently demonstrated that cross-play “dramatically” increased engagement. This might have been part of what contributed to Sony eventually unlocking cross-play.

    In September 2018, Sony finally agreed to cross-play, beginning with Fortnite. “It was one of the greatest moments in Epic’s history,” Sweeney said. “I was pleased and tired.”

    Moving on, the piece also reveals that Fortnite has generated $3.9 billion in revenue from microtransactions, according to numbers from research firm SuperData. Sweeney himself is worth $7 billion, according to the Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.

    He’s been wealthy for a long time; by the age of 30 he owned a Ferrari and a Lamborghini. People who didn’t know him thought he was a drug dealer, he told WSJ.

    He’s now 48, and he says he lives a “fairly simple life,” noting that he is single, unmarried, and has no kids. He enjoys spending his down time hiking. Related to that, he has spent hundreds of millions of dollars buying up land (more than 45,000 acres so far!) in his home state of North Carolina for conversation efforts.

    Also in the piece, Sweeney says his favorite food is fried chicken from Bojangles because “it strikes the perfect balance between tasty food and time commitment.” He also said he enjoys the fact that Epic Games is in North Carolina because it’s far away from the influence of “Silicon Valley groupthink,” according to WSJ.

    Read the full WSJ report here.

    Fortnite almost didn’t exist. Epic’s former director of production, Rod Ferugsson, said recently that he would have canceled Fortnite had he stayed at Epic.