TOY STORY 4

G, 100 minutes. Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. It’s easy to question the necessity of another “Toy Story” movie, especially after the emotionally devastating “Toy Story 3.” Arriving nine years later, “Toy Story 4” has to earn its relevance. It does so in spades, with astonishingly beautiful animation, smart humor and a story filled with the kind of pathos and poignancy we expect. In a summer glutted with tiresome sequels, the team at Pixar more than makes the argument for another “Toy Story” by combining the beloved characters and tone of the original trilogy with fresh comedic elements and new additions to the toy crew — most importantly, a spork named Forky who isn’t even sure he’s actually a toy. Writers Valerie LaPointe, Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Martin Hynes, Stephany Folsom and co-writer/director Josh Cooley update the original tale by Andrew Stanton and John Lasseter featuring beloved cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks), who has been passed down to a new child, Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw), after his tenure with Andy. Woody’s had to embrace change over the passage of time, saying goodbye to old friends like Andy, and old toys, like Bo Peep (Annie Potts), relegated to the donation box. But despite the losses, Woody clings to routine, and to his mission: Be there for your kid. With that calling in mind, Woody takes on the task of protecting Bonnie’s newest favorite plaything, a spork dressed up with googly eyes and a pipe cleaner called Forky. Taking care of the existentially bereft Forky (Tony Hale) is a unique challenge. He thinks he’s trash, not a toy, flinging his flimsy body into every garbage receptacle he can. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

WILD ROSE

monitor underneath her signature white cowboy boots. “Johnny Cash was a convicted felon,” she declares proudly, before throwing down with a rival singer at an old haunt. Despite all the limitations on her life, RoseLynn is one of the most free-spirited creatures to ever be put on film. It’s a tailor-made role for the electrifying Buckley, an actor who communicates pure primal instinct with a startling immediacy. As Rose-Lynn, she communicates every emotion physically, on her face, in her body and her voice. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

YESTERDAY

1/2 PG-13, 116 minutes. Through today only at Madison Art Cinemas, Mystic Luxury Cinemas. Still playing at Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis’ “Yesterday” requires its viewers to take quite a few leaps of faith. First, you have to wholeheartedly buy into the rule that, categorically, the best songs ever written are by The Beatles. They’re great songs, to be sure. But in “Yesterday,” they are revelatory, tear-jerking, Best Songs Ever, no matter the context or who is singing them. It’s very high stakes, but then again, most everything about “Yesterday” is high stakes. This heightened high-concept magical dramedy presents the idea that a weird electrical blip/solar flare causes electricity all over the world to go out, while simultaneously wiping our collective consciousness clean of all traces of The Beatles. Jack (Himesh Patel), a struggling pub musician and busker, is at that moment hit by a bus (thank goodness he’s wearing a helmet), totaling his teeth and his bike tire. But somehow, his memory of The Beatles remains magically intact. He discovers the quirk when, as a get well gift, his pals get him a guitar. And because “a great guitar deserves a great song,” he plays a few bars of The Beatles’ “Yesterday,” absolutely flooring his friends, who wonder when and how he wrote the tune. Jack’s the only person in the world who remembers the band (or so it seems). And so, through a series of jogs in the rain clutching his forehead, he ultimately decides to capitalize on it, sending his career into overdrive. His trajectory to the top is aided by Ed Sheeran, who is apparently now the world’s best songwriter (in this timeline, Oasis does not exist, but the Rolling Stones do), and his manager, Deborah (Kate McKinnon) hears Jack’s crooning and sees dollar signs. Written by Jack Barth and Richard Curtis, the king of the British rom-com (“Love Actually,” “Four Weddings and Funeral,” “About Time”), “Yesterday” is a love story disguised as a high-concept music film. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service