But the F.B.I. elbows them off the case, and it is left to a rookie, Bernadette Manuelito, working Border Patrol near Mexico, to follow the cynical scheme to its bedrock, allowing Hillerman to tie all three investigative strands together in an extraordinary display of sheer plotting craftsmanship.
In providing sheer moviegoing satisfaction — plot, characters, verbal wit and visual delight, cheap laughs and honest sentiment — "Toy Story 3" is wondrously generous and inventive.
Below, Weiss discusses how he and Benioff weighed the desires of the audience to see their favorites with the needs of the story; balancing the sheer tonnage of plot in Martin's grand tale with the more emotionally poignant and dramatic sides of "Thrones"; and an important event that may or may not happen next season (and don't worry, you'll get a spoiler warning before you get to that section).
For sheer terrorist ambition, the plot remains unmatched.
He added that "in providing sheer moviegoing satisfaction -- plot, characters, verbal wit and visual delight, cheap laughs and honest sentiment -- 'Toy Story 3' is wondrously generous and inventive".
I recall being giddy with excitement at the story centered on a train from Los Angeles to Chicago — the sheer exuberance of its plot, the combustible chemistry of its two stars.
He still gave the game a perfect score, concluding, "these problems are minor nits next to God of War's creative design, riveting plot and sheer balls-out fun.
He criticised the writing and plot for "sheer derivativeness", noting that the opening scene was "similar in concept" to Whithouse's previous Doctor Who episode "School Reunion" and thought the "aliens-posing-as-humans idea" was taken from that script as well.
That's what made "AD" special -- the fact that it tried so many things so often, and more often than not, pulled off a brazen combination of cutting wit, intricate plotting and sheer silliness (if you're ever down, put this in your search engine: "Arrested Development chicken dance").
One of the main problems with the plot is the sheer implausibility of it all.
