4.5 Stars

 

Disney has done it again.  We all know the story.  It's a "tale as old as time".  We all know the formula by now.  Disney is taking their classic movies and re-making, re-imagining, recreating them (whatever you want to call it) as live-action movies.  In 2010, Tim Burton and Disney brought the live-action version of Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp to the big screen.  Maleficent followed in 2014 starring Angelina Jolie re-telling the story of Sleeping Beauty.  Next was Cinderella in 2015 and 2016 gave us Pete's Dragon and The Jungle Book.  Now, Emma Watson reprises the role of Belle in Beauty and the Beast.  Disney's original groundbreaking animated masterpiece was released in November 1991.  It was nominated for Best Picture of the Year, the first of only 3 animated movies to ever be nominated for Best Picture.  

For any of you who don't know, here's the story: A selfish Prince is turned into a hideous beast and his staff are all made into furniture and kitchen utensils.  The curse will be broken if the Beast (Dan Stevens) can find true love before the last petal of a magic rose falls.  Meanwhile, in a quaint village nearby,  Belle (Emma Watson) does not fit in with the rest of the bubbly bimbos who are fawning over the town hunk, Gaston (Luke Evans).  Instead, she immerses herself in books and imagination, traits she gets from her inventor father Maurice (Kevin Kline). Lost in the woods, Maurice stumbles into the Beast's castle and is taken prisoner.  Belle finds him and offers herself up for his release.  The Beast agrees and their courtship begins.  Meanwhile, Maurice returns to the town to enlist Gaston's help in rescuing Belle.  When Maurice can't find the Beast's castle again, Gaston has him committed for insanity (and also out of rage since Maurice will not give Belle's hand in marriage).  Belle sees her father in trouble through a magic mirror and Beast allows her to return to him, an act of selfless love.  She demands her father's release and offers proof that Maurice is not crazy by showing the villagers images of the Beast through the magic mirror.  Further infuriated, Gaston incites a riot and the villagers launch an assault on the castle for the final standoff.

The preview for Beauty and the Beast looked breathtakingly beautiful.  There is so much to show in so little time, so they don't really waste any of it trying to summarize the plot like they do in most previews, assuming you already know the story.  Instead, you are given little gems.  A glimpse of the Beast that looks like Disney's original animation come to life.  Brief shots of our favorite characters: Chip, Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson), Cogsworth (Ian McKellen) and Lumiere (Ewan McGregor).  Emma Watson as Belle, who may not be the obvious choice, but looked in the preview to pull off the role quite well, and she does a fantastic job.  The CGI that looked like it would hold its own against Disney's latest reinvention of The Jungle Book that just won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.  And some of the familiar music that made the first so special.  

I had extremely high expectations for Beauty and the Beast, but there were a few things that I felt would have to be nailed for this to be perfect.  Belle.  As I just said, Watson doesn't immediately stand out as the obvious choice for the role.  She looked great in the preview, but I wondered if she could hold it with the intelligence, grace, bravery, strength and singing required to match her predecessor's performance.  She did.  In fact, after seeing her performance and hearing her voice mastering so many iconic songs, I don't know that I could imagine anyone else in the role.

I also felt that the animation needed to be flawless.  This film had two previous movies to live up to: the original animated version from 1991 that was nominated for Best Picture and the 2016 Jungle Book.  Many of the critiques I've read about Beauty and the Beast criticized the CGI, specifically the Beast.  They say his eyes are off and the characters are flat.  I disagree and wonder if they didn't understand the difference in story-telling between Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast.  Jungle Book was supposed to be much more realistic, aside from talking animals.  It wasn't a fantasy world, it wasn't a dream, it was a man-child in the jungle with real animals.  Beauty and the Beast is fantasy, a place of Belle's dreams and others' nightmares.  A Prince turned into a hideous beast.  Servants turned into a candlestick, a clock, a dresser, a teapot and cup.  Of course the animation is going to look different.  Now, that being said, there were a couple moments with Beast walking that were slightly less perfect than his animation for the rest of the movie.  However, the human characters' interactions with the animated ones were seamless.

The music.  Jungle Book didn't hold back with their musical numbers and I hoped that Beast wouldn't either.  They didn't.  In fact, we were introduced to a few new songs written just for this live-action version of the classic.  We get to see the history of the Prince and why he became such a selfish man.  We also got to see what happened to Belle's mother and what drove her father from Paris when she was just a baby.  Though they didn't have the same catchy lyrics that will have kids and adults singing for 16 years to come, they fit right in with the story and were welcomed additions to the film.

And finally, the ballroom scene.  The sweeping shot of the chandelier in the grand ballroom with Belle in her yellow dress and Beast in his blue suit was nothing short of iconic and groundbreaking in the original animation.  It's a lot to live up to.  They went a slightly different route with the ballroom scene.  Instead of one central chandelier, they had several in the room and the sweeping shot around the room revealed instruments on the wall helping to orchestrate their dance.  My only criticism of that scene was that the original shone so bright and golden and this version, although beautiful, was a little muted.

There were two other elements that could be challenged for their decisions.  The first is the reveal of the grand library to Belle.  In the animated version, it is a gift from Beast to Belle and the camera pans around to what seems like an endless offering of literature that makes her nearly cry with joy.  In the live action version, Beast simply takes her there to show off just how many books he has.  There's no build-up to the entrance to the room.  However, instead, they have a little playful banter that reveals the Beasts' softer side and also gives a hint that Belle is warming up to him.  It was sweet and tender.

The other element was LeFou (Josh Gad) and the way he portrayed his loyalties for Gaston.  In the animated version, LeFou is an impish, goofy, loyal, encouraging sidekick.  In this version, Gad plays LeFou as more than just a sidekick, but someone enamored with Gaston, not just for his size and strength and looks out of admiration, but from a deeper sentiment.  I realize this is 2017, but the affection was awkward and forced and detracted from their scenes together.

Beauty and the Beast had a lot to live up to, and the preview made it look like they were up to the task.  So I gave it a very enthusiastic and hopeful 4.5 Star Prediction. After watching the movie, I believe they were very successful in paying tribute to the original while making decisions to set their live action version apart and modern-ish for 2017.  I enjoyed it completely and thought it nearly perfect except for my few minor criticisms.  So I'm sticking with my 4.5 Star rating.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Beauty and the Beast Preview

Disney is doing it again.  We all know the story.  It's a "tale as old as time".  We all know the formula by now.  Disney is taking their classic movies and re-making, re-imagining, recreating them (whatever you want to call it) as live-action movies.  In 2010, Tim Burton and Disney brought the live-action version of Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp to the big screen.  Maleficent followed in 2014 starring Angelina Jolie re-telling the story of Sleeping Beauty.  Next was Cinderella in 2015 and 2016 gave us Pete's Dragon and The Jungle Book.  Now, Emma Watson reprises the role of Belle in Beauty and the Beast.  Disney's original groundbreaking animated masterpiece was released in November 1991.  It was nominated for Best Picture of the Year, the first of only 3 animated movies to ever be nominated for Best Picture.  

For any of you who don't know, here's the story: A selfish Prince is turned into a hideous beast and his staff are all made into furniture and kitchen utensils.  The curse will be broken if the Beast (Dan Stevens) can find true love before the last petal of a magic rose falls.  Meanwhile, in a quaint village nearby,  Belle (Emma Watson) does not fit in with the rest of the bubbly bimbos who are fawning over the town hunk, Gaston (Luke Evans).  Instead, she immerses herself in books and imagination, traits she gets from her inventor father Maurice (Kevin Kline). Lost in the woods, Maurice stumbles into the Beast's castle and is taken prisoner.  Belle finds him and offers herself up for his release.  The Beast agrees and their courtship begins.  Meanwhile, Maurice returns to the town to enlist Gaston's help in rescuing Belle and the villagers launch an assault on the castle for the final standoff.

The preview for Beauty and the Beast looks breathtakingly beautiful.  There is so much to show in so little time, so they don't really waste any of it trying to summarize the plot like they do in most previews, assuming you already know the story.  Instead, you are given little gems.  A glimpse of the Beast that looks like Disney's original animation come to life.  Brief shots of our favorite characters: Chip, Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson), Cogsworth (Ian McKellen) and Lumiere (Ewan McGregor).  Emma Watson as Belle, who may not be the obvious choice, but looks in the preview to pull off the role quite well.  The CGI that looks like it will hold its own against Disney's latest reinvention of The Jungle Book that just won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.  And some of the familiar music that made the first so special.  

I have extremely high expectations for Beauty and the Beast, but there are a few things that will have to be nailed for this to be perfect.  Belle.  As I just said, Watson doesn't immediately stand out as the obvious choice for the role.  She looks great in the preview, but can she hold it with the intelligence, grace, bravery, strength and singing required to match her predecessor's performance?  The animation also needs to be flawless.  This film now has two previous movies to live up to: the original animated version from 1991 that was nominated for Best Picture and the 2016 Jungle Book.  The music.  Jungle Book didn't hold back with their musical numbers and Beast certainly shouldn't at all.  Judging by the previews, they don't.  And finally, the ballroom scene.  The sweeping shot of the chandelier in the grand ballroom with Belle in her yellow dress and Best in his blue suit was nothing short of iconic and groundbreaking.  This film has a lot to live up to, but the preview makes it look like they're up to the task.  So I'm giving Beauty and the Beast a very enthusiastic and hopeful 4.5 Star Prediction.  Am I right?  We shall see. 

Get Out Review

3.5 Stars

 

Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) have been dating for five months and it's time for Chris to meet the parents.  He's a bit tentative about the weekend because he's black, she's white, and Rose hasn't told her parents.  Chris' best friend Rod (LilRey Howery) advises him not to go to their secluded mansion in the woods, but Rose is able to convince him that it's going to be fine.  Chris meets her parents Dean (Bradley Whitford) and Missy (Catherine Keener).  Dean is a neurosurgeon and Missy is a psychologist skilled in the science of hypnotherapy.  At first, they seem like an awkwardly cute, sweet couple trying too hard to be accommodating to their daughter's first black boyfriend, but things turn more than just awkward quickly.

  Chris meets Georgina (Betty Gabriel) the maid and Walter (Marcus Henderson) the groundskeeper.  They are both black.  Dean reassures Chris that despite how it looks (white family with black help), Georgina and Walter were brought on to help with his sick parents and they were invited to stay on after their passing, but there is something off about them.  They are blank, vacant, almost like the Stepford wives.  Their first night there, Chris steps outside for a cigarette and witnesses both Georgina and Walter behaving quite strangely in the middle of the night.  He goes back inside to see Missy waiting for him.  Rose and her parents are not thrilled with Chris' smoking and Missy has offered her services to hypnotize him to cure him of his addiction.  Despite his opposition to the procedure, Missy is very good at what she does.  Chris ends up in "the sunken place" and awakes the next morning in bed, apparently rid of any desires to smoke.

Over the weekend, that has turned into a large get together, Chris meets another black man who is a guest at the party.  He introduces himself to Logan (Lakeith Stanfield).  At first, Chris is relieved to see another black man at the party, someone who isn't employed at the estate, but his relief quickly fades as he finds out that Logan is just like Georgina and Walter: present, but not all there.  Chris snaps a picture of Logan and the flash triggers something in him.  He charges at Chris warning him to get out.  Rod, who also works for the TSA, also warns him to get out when he finds out that black people have gone missing in that area.

Chris and Rose go on a walk and eventually Rose agrees that it's an awful weekend.  She is embarrassed by her family and friends and the experience Chris is having and agrees they should leave.  While packing, Chris finds a hidden box of photos revealing he is not Rose's first black boyfriend.  In fact, he recognizes her with Georgina and Walter in the pictures. That's when Chris realizes he was invited for the weekend, but he was never meant to leave.

Get Out was written and directed by Jordan Peele of the comedy team Key and Peele.  The preview looked completely creepy, a scary thriller with a bit of humor thrown in.  I was concerned that it looked like it also might have quite a few of the cliched "gotcha" moments.  Those are scenes where something is inherently unnerving or unsettling, mildly startling, but you are forced to react more severely because of a sharp music tone, a jarring sound effect, or a sudden camera movement.  Personally, I don't care much for the forced jumps in scary movies.  I'd rather just let the action or lack of action itself be what is scary on its own.  Fortunately, there were only two of those "gotcha" moments and they did exactly what they were meant to do by shocking the audience.  We all immediately laughed at ourselves for falling victim to the ploy.

Peele has written for MadTV and Key and Peele and also co-wrote the movie Keanu, a movie about a lost cat that didn't really live up to the hype.  Get Out is Peele's second feature film he's written and his directorial debut.  It's definitely quite a different genre than Keanu, but I went in to this one with low expectations and only gave it a 2.5 Star Prediction. To my delight, it was much better than I thought.  It mixed elements of the creepiness of Deliverance, the Stepford Wives, and the Shining; the music of Jeepers Creepers, Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and Halloween 2; the humor of Django Unchained, Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland; and the triumph of 10 Cloverfield Lane, Alien, and 1408.  I thought it was worth the money in the theatres and would recommend watching it with a crowd of at least 30 other people in the theatre who are there to be entertained and you can all experience this film together and out loud.  You will laugh, squeal, cringe, gasp and cheer for Get Out.  I'm bumping up my rating to 3.5 Stars as not only did I enjoy it in the theatres, I'm heavily inclined to watch it again and might even add this one to my home collection.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

 

 

Get Out Preview

Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) have been dating for five months and it's time for Chris to meet the parents.  He's a bit tentative about the weekend because he's black, she's white, and Rose hasn't told her parents.  Chris' best friend Rod (LilRey Howery) advises him not to go to their secluded mansion in the woods, but Rose is able to convince him that it's going to be fine.  Chris meets her parents Dean (Bradley Whitford) and Missy (Catherine Keener).  Dean is a neurosurgeon and Missy is a psychologist skilled in the science of hypnotherapy.  At first, they seem like an awkwardly cute, sweet couple trying too hard to be accommodating to their daughter's first black boyfriend, but things turn more than just awkward quickly.

The housemaid Georgina (Betty Gabriel) and the groundskeeper Walter (Marcus Henderson) are also black, but there is something off about them.  They are blank, vacant, almost like the Stepford wives.  Over the weekend, that turns into a large get together, Chris meets another black man who is a guest at the party.  He introduces himself to Logan (Lakeith Stanfield) and finds out that Logan is just like Georgina and Walter: present, but not all there.  Chris snaps a picture of Logan and the flash triggers something in him.  He charges at Chris warning him to get out.  Rod, who also works for the TSA, also warns him to get out when he finds out that black people have gone missing in that area.  But it's not that simple as we find out that Chris was invited for the weekend, but was never meant to leave.

Get Out was written and directed by Jordan Peele of the comedy team Key and Peele.  The preview looks completely creepy, a scary thriller with a bit of humor thrown in.  However, it looks like it also might have quite a few of the cliched "gotcha" moments.  Those are scenes where something is inherently unnerving or unsettling, mildly startling, but you are forced to react more severely because of a sharp music tone, a jarring sound effect, or a sudden camera movement.  Personally, I don't care much for the forced jumps in scary movies.  I'd rather just let the action or lack of action itself be what is scary on its own.  

Peele has written for MadTV and Key and Peele and also co-wrote the movie Keanu, a movie about a lost cat that didn't really live up to the hype.  Get Out is Peele's second feature film he's written and his directorial debut.  It's definitely quite a different genre than Keanu, but I'm still keeping my expectations low going in to this one.  I'm giving Get Out an anticipatory 2.5 Star Prediction.  I think it will have it's moments, but overall, barely worth the money in the theatres.  It might be more worth your time and money to wait for the Red Box on a Friday or Saturday evening when you have nothing better to do.  So, am I right?  We shall see.

Oscar Winners 2017

The Oscars have come and gone once again.  I found this year to be harder than ever to pick some of the winners because there was so much diversity in each category and some really strong candidates.  Also, movies are so much more emotional than other things.  For example, in football, there is a lot of statistical analysis you can do before a match-up.  Who is injured? Who's got the better record?  Who's got a stronger defense?  Who plays better on the road?  And so on.  You can make a much more informed decision and be pretty accurate in your predictions if you do your research.  Nothing is ever guaranteed, but you can get a high percentage of your predictions correct if you do some digging.  That's not the case with movies.  For Best Picture, Arrival was a sci-fi alien drama.  Fences was a filmed production of August Wilson's Pullitzer Prize winning play about African American life in the 1950's.  Hacksaw Ridge was a World War II movie.  Hell or High Water was about bank robberies as revenge for the banks foreclosing on their land.  Hidden Figures was about a group of African American geniuses who helped NASA propel man into space in the 1950s.  La La Land was a modern musical with a throw-back feel.  Lion was about an orphaned Indian boy who used Google to track down his parents as an adult.  Manchester by the Sea was a drama about a troubled uncle taking guardianship of his nephew.  And Moonlight was about broken families, parental figures, drug abuse and sexual identity.  So how do you possibly say that one is better than another when they are all so completely different?  Well, I made my predictions and the Academy voted.  Below are the results.  The winners are in RED and my predictions are Bold and Underlined.

BEST PICTURE:

Arrival

Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)
Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)
Denzel Washington (Fences)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Isabelle Hupert (Elle)
Ruth Negga (Loving)
Natalie Portman (Jackie)
Emma Stone (La La Land)
Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)
Dev Patel (Lion)
Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Viola Davis (Fences)
Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
Nicole Kidman (Lion)
Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)
Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopoia

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

COSTUME DESIGN:
Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land

DIRECTING:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE):
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
OJ: Made in America
13th

FILM EDITING:
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE):
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG):
"Audition" La La Land
"Can't Stop the Feeling" Trolls
"City of Stars" La La Land
"The Empty Chair" Jim: The James Foley Story
"How Far I'll Go" Moana

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):
Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider & Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper

SOUND EDITING:
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully

VISUAL EFFECTS:

Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY):
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY):
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
20th Century Women

Well, there you have it.  The 2017 Oscar Winners.  And I was pretty close in my predictions.  I actually tied for first in our Oscar Competition.  So, back to the movies.  And what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.