It’s as if Tim Allen has the Midas touch when it comes to picking TV shows of which to star in. ABC’s Last Man Standing, only in its first season, has already solidified Allen as a twice-successful leading man in the world of the network sitcom. In regards to his hugely successful run with Home Improvement, he says of this second go-round, “It doesn’t take a genius to see the similarities here. Instead of Tool Time, I have a VLOG, and on this show I have three girls instead of boys.”

Yes, the formula is familiar, but hey, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? In Last Man Standing, Allen’s Mike Baxter is a traditional man’s man, a lover of all things adventurous and outdoors. A pick-up truck-driving sportsman, Mike is constantly fighting to salvage his idea of a man’s world. He works at an iconic outdoor sporting goods store where he is the king of the hill, and then he returns to his female-dominated home front where he is the odd man out save for his toddler grandson, Boyd.

Among his wife, Vanessa (Nancy Travis), who has recently returned to the work world where she was quickly promoted, and his three daughter’s, he is caught juggling his mission to get men back to their rightful place in society in conjunction with his roles as husband, father and grandfather.

The main outlet for his woes proves to be the VLOG he speaks of. His longtime friend and boss, Ed (Hector Elizondo), puts him in charge of the company’s webpage and Mike soon discovers the cathartic platform which gives him a voice in which to appeal to those who also agree that manliness as a whole is under assault in this new woman’s world that he finds himself trapped in.

Currently filming the episode entitled "This Bud's For You", they bring on Robert Forster (The Descendants) to play Mike’s dad, Bud. There is a certain magic to the set as it is the old Seinfeld soundstage. The laughter is palpable as we watch some takes with Forster before they break and answer a few questions.

Though Cars 2 wasn't Pixar's biggest hit with critics or grown-ups, pretty much everyone enjoyed the short film that preceded it, what with that short starring the Toy Story gang and all.  Audiences may have walked away from Toy Story 3 broken and sobbing, but the lovely folks at Pixar have thankfully decided to bring back Woody and Buzz on the regular with a series of short films preceding Disney movies, and today, we have our first look at an image from the next Toy Story Toon, titled Small Fry.  In this completely-new seven minute adventure, Buzz Lightyear, voiced once again by Tim Allen, finds himself stranded at a fast food restaurant after a Happy Meal version of Buzz conspires to take his place amongst the toys.

Everybody loves Pixar, and the studio is dusting itself off from its first ever critical disappointment with Cars 2 this summer.  The next Disney release from Pixar Animation Studios is their first original tale since 2009's Up, and it's the animation powerhouse's first crack at a proper fairy tale, couched between two sequels and a prequel (Toy Story 3, Cars 2, and Monsters University in 2013).  That's not the only reason to be excited though.  There's also the fact that Princess Merida, voiced by Kelly MacDonald, is the first heroine in Pixar's 25 year run.

We've known for awhile that Brave follows aspiring archer Merida on an adventure across the Scottish Highlands, but a new synopsis for the film reveals some new detail as to the story.  A lot of the info is stuff previously gleaned or known, but there's some intriguing new business in here as well.

Since dropping the first-ever digitally animated feature film with Toy Story in 1995, Pixar Animation Studios has become a reliable purveyor of blockbusters that have been, until now, critically lauded without exception.  This weekend's Cars 2 is the first exception, and the critical pummeling it received last week was at least a partial contributor to low projections for the automotive sequel's opening weekend box office.  Despite the critical walloping, though, Cars 2 managed to outperform some lowered expectations, pulling in an estimated $68 million since Friday.  More surprisingly, the R rated comedy Bad Teacher also exceeded expectations in second place.

One of the many things to love about any movie from Disney and Pixar isn't even the film itself, but the perfectly executed short film that precedes every Pixar release.  Usually, these shorts are self-contained, original wonders, but the short before the new sequel Cars 2 will tie directly into the world of the very first entry in Pixar's catalog.  In Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation, the gang of toys formerly owned by Andy get a surprise visit from Barbie (Jodi Benson) and Ken (Michael Keaton).  After wringing the tears out of audiences with Toy Story 3, Buzz, Woody, and the whole crew return, and today Disney released a new image from the short as if to simply prove that it exists.

While I loved Toy Story 3 just as much as the next guy and I'm sure Cars 2 will provide no end of vehicular amusement, I'm psyched to see Pixar return to original stories with next summer's Brave, in which Pixar takes on a fairy tale adventure for the first time.  The film, set in a mythic, misty Scottish Highlands, tells the story of Princess Merida, a would-be archer who defies her royal parents and ventures off on a mysterious adventure involving new levels of darkness for a Pixar outing.  The first poster for Brave hints at that darkness while also providing a look at Merida's flowing red locks and just generally being gorgeous.

A year ago, venerable film critic and academic Roger Ebert declared on his Twitter, "Pixar is the first studio that is a movie star."  Right he is.  The Pixar name, synonymous with quality storytelling and incredible animation, guarantees a level of interest as surely as globally-recognizable names like Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, or Johnny Depp.  Disney and the Emeryville, California-based animation studio has announced a November 27, 2013 release date for a new original feature film, but details on the project are virtually nil.

Pixar is not merely an animation studio; the Pixar name on a poster is as powerful as just about any movie star's, and while their feature films are justifiably beloved, their signature short films are also incredible, compact little works of art.  Today, Disney and Pixar revealed the logo and a new image from La Luna, the directorial debut of Enrico Casarosa, who worked as a story artist on Cars, Ratatouille, and Up.  Check out the gorgeous image, the logo, and a previously-released image from La Luna right here.

Netflix's streaming Watch Instantly service is fast becoming America's favorite way to watch movies.  The library of available titles is so vast and mutable that you, the avid instant watcher, could no doubt use a guide as you navigate the streaming frontier.  Luckily for you, I'll be here every Tuesday to update you on the latest titles available for instant-watching, as well as bringing attention some gems out there in the instantly watchable wilds.

Last week, Pixar dropped two knowledge-bombs on their prequel to Monsters Inc, revealing both that the film is titled Monsters University and that its director is Dan Scanlon, a co-writer of Cars and story artist on Toy Story 3.  Now, The Pixar Blog has unveiled the official logo for the prequel, which again features the vocal talents John Goodman and Billy Crystal.  Additionally, the film has a new release date about eight months later than the previous November, 2012 date.