Joker Review

4 Stars

Since Cesar Romero's first on-screen portrayal of the Joker in the Adam West's Batman television series in 1966, every actor who took on the role of the Caped Crusader and everyone who wore the white painted face of his arch nemesis Joker has been debated over who did it best; and, sometimes, who did it worst.  After Adam West, of course, Tim Burton cast Michael Keaton as billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne with the iconic Jack Nicholson as the psychotic clown, bringing new life and depth and realism to the comic book characters.

Val Kilmer and George Clooney took the beautiful, dark realistic world of Gotham back to a 1960's level of campy and absurd as they both made strong cases among critics as to who would be the worst Batman.  It's still a pretty close race.

Christopher Nolan re-vitalized the franchise, but not how he originally intended.  He fought to get up-and-coming actor Heath Ledger to put on the pointy-eared Bat Costume, but Ledger passed and Christian Bale took the role.  The disappointment turned to triumph, however, in the second of the Nolan Batman trilogy as Ledger gave a masterful performance as Joker.

Jared Leto took the character in another direction in Suicide Squad and Shameless actor Cameron Monaghan did so in the TV series Gotham.  And, while there are heated debates over which Batman was portrayed best, and also who failed in their attempts, the arguments for best Joker are harder since each was so unique and successful in their own way at their own time.  And I have not heard of many arguments for who was the worst Joker.  

Well, now you can add Joaquin Phoenix to the list of memorable, palpable, unique visions for Joker brought to life.  Set in Gotham in the 1970s, we are introduced to failed comedian Arthur Fleck who works odd jobs as a clown to try to make ends meet and support his aging mother.  The film opens with a group of punk kids stealing Fleck's advertisement sign he is being paid to hold.  He chases them down, but when he catches up to him, they give him a severe beating.  The next scene shows Fleck on a public bus sitting behind a young boy and his mother.  Fleck makes a couple funny faces to the child's delight.  The mother quickly chides him for bothering them.  He tries to explain that he wasn't bothering the boy, but the intense feeling of judgment and anger coming from the mother sends Fleck into an uncontrollable fit of awkward laughter.  He hands the mother a card that explains he suffers from a medical condition that forces him to laugh inappropriately and that his external outbursts are not a reflection of his actual feelings.

Fleck dreams of making it big as a comedian like his idol, talk show host Murray Franklin (Robert DeNiro).  We are brought along on his tragic journey into darkness as the attacks on his physical body, his emotional well-being and his very soul are relentless.  Each time we think a glimmer of something good is going to happen for Fleck, it is quickly snatched away from either Fleck or from the audience member.  Whether he is successfully entertaining patients in a hospital, being acknowledged and welcomed by Murray, meeting a nice girl who takes an interest in him, or getting a few laughs during his attempt at stand-up comedy, he either wakes from the daydream or somehow ruins the moment himself.

After one such incident, he is on a train heading home, dejected once again.  Three Wall Street frat boys are harassing a woman on the train.  Of course Fleck can't help but laugh.  The woman gets away, but the boys deliver another beating.  And that's the straw that broke his back.  He pulls out a revolver and kills all three of them in a scene that really messes with the audience's emotions.  You hate the boys for the way they treat the woman.  You sympathize with Fleck who has not done anything wrong.  You hate the boys even more for beating him down and feel even worse for Fleck than you did a moment ago and you hope and pray they don't get away with it.  But when he pulls out the gun and shoots them, it's a shock.  It is the brutal justice you were hoping for, but now are questioning if that's really how you wanted it.

And that begins, the decent into psychosis, but also the praise and adoration for the vigilante clown.  The acclaim of his persona and the justification of his action further propels him into his more confident, take-no-crap, dole-out-justice clown alter-ego, the Joker.  

The film is intense, tragic, deliberate, methodical, sad and horrifying.  Phoenix's portrayal does what no other Joker has done by extensively creating a detailed back-story leading up to his existence.  A story that gains your sympathy and compassion and understanding of who he is and why.  You don't support his gruesome actions, but you can't completely condemn them either.  

Joker is filled with both classic hits from Frank Sinatra, Cream, Fred Astaire, Jimmy Durante and more from the 1970's.  But the film's score is mostly a lone cello that is haunting, unsettling, disturbing and perfectly appropriate for Fleck.  Peter and the Wolf used very specific instruments for each character in the story.  Films like Star Wars created theme songs for its main characters.  Without even looking, you would know who was on the screen just by hearing their song.  The dull, but intentional cello is the perfect score for Fleck.

My only critique from the previews versus the actual film is that it doesn't really prepare you for the graphic violence at the hands of the insane clown.  Not that I have a problem with it.  Nicholson and Ledger's characters were both violent to the degree they were allowed at the time of their filming.  And not that the violence isn't completely warranted for the character or the story and not just there for the sake of violence.  I just wasn't prepared for that from the previews.  

Joker was emotionally draining, it was tragically sad and disturbingly brutal, both what Fleck endured and what he inflicted.  Phoenix was convincing, captivating and brilliant in his performance that lands him as an early contender for Best Actor once the Oscars are announced.  And, though we're just getting started with Oscar season, it's not hard to see Joker being nominated for several others including Best Picture.  I originally gave Joker a 4 Star Prediction.  Based on one of my criteria for grading, I would be inclined to knock it down a half star for the slightly less-than-honest preview.  But Phoenix's performance would bring that right back up again.  I'm going to stick with my original estimation and give Joker a sold 4 Stars.  It was well worth the money in the theatres, it's one I'm still talking about and will be analyzing for days to come, I'd like to see it again, and it has a strong chance of making it to my home collection.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Joker Preview

Batman first appeared in the comic book Detective Comics #27 in 1939.  A year later, he had his own comic book.  And in the very first edition, we were introduced to his arch nemesis, Joker.  Batman and Joker first came to life in the 1960's with Adam West in the role of the Caped Crusader and Cesar Romero as Joker.   They made a movie from the TV series in 1966, but it wasn't until 1989 that the dark, odd, beautiful, genius mind of Tim Burton unleashed a Batman movie that arguably is the reason the character is still popular to this day.  Mega movie star Michael Keaton wore the pointy-eared costume.  Instead of the powder blue that West had donned, his was all black with accents of yellow on his belt and chest bat-emblem.  The Joker was masterfully performed by Jack Nicholson.  The movie resulted in three additional films with Burton directing Batman Returns before the franchise took a nose dive with Val Kilmer and George Clooney taking over the role.  But this isn't about Batman, it's about Joker.  So I digress. 

Batman, the Animated Series was next with Star Wars' Mark Hamill lending his vocal talents to the animated Joker in the 1990's.  In 2005, Christopher Nolan took the movies to an even darker place with Christian Bale as Batman.  He originally wanted Heath Ledger to play the role, but fans were much happier that he signed on the play the white-faced villain in the second movie in the trilogy in 2008.  The TV Series Gotham traced the beginnings of Detective Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne in his teens.  Shameless star Cameron Monaghan played twins Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska that lead to the Joker character.  In 2016, it was Jared Leto's turn in Suicide Squad, which was the first time we saw Joker without Batman chasing him down.

And now, in 2019, it's Joaquin Phoenix's turn to play the tragic, psychopathic clown known as Joker.  As many times as the Joker role has been performed, there have been as many back-stories told about who he is and how he came about to be.  The preview for 2019's Joker portrays him as a failed comedian Arthur Fleck who is publicly mocked, is beaten, is cast out by society and drives him down a spiraling decent into madness.  The result: the Joker.

The preview shows Fleck on a bus making silly faces for a small boy who laughs with delight.  The boy's mother demands he stop bothering them and gives a nasty, glaring, disapproving look that makes him sheepishly apologize.  We see him dressed as a clown, holding an advertisement sign on a sidewalk.  Bullies take his sign and beat him down in an alley.  He is in a hospital and there is a girl in the hospital bed beside him.  It is unclear their relationship, but it is obvious that she is the patient and he is the visitor.  On the television, he lights up with excitement as a popular comedy talk show host mentions his routine.  His excitement turns when he sees the host is only mocking him for having no talent or humor.  And then things turn chaotic, which is really the common theme with every Joker: inciting chaos, disrupting the status quo, making people crazy - like him.  At the end, it appears he is given a chance to appear on the very talk show that had ridiculed him, and he has a request of the host.  He asks to be introduced as Joker.

Phoenix's repertoire is quite extensive and eclectic.  His movies range from popular blockbusters like Hotel Rwanda, The Village, Signs, Walk the Line and Gladiator, to the more obscure and odd ones like Her, I'm Still Here and You Were Never Really Here.  Joker looks like the best of both his worlds.  It looks haunting and scary and yet humanizes the psychotic clown in a way that no other Joker has done before.  

Unlike Batman, it's difficult to decide who was the best Joker since each of them is so unique and brilliantly evil in their own way.  By the same token, there aren't a lot of debates over who was the worst Joker, while it's not hard to come up with a couple names when it comes to Batman's character.  From the preview, it looks like you can already add Phoenix into the mix of yet another wonderfully terrible, maniacally twisted Jokers like his predecessors before him.  I'm excited to see his creation and take on the classic villain.  The movie looks disturbing, but not in a violently gruesome way.  More in a psychologically terrorizing way.  I'm giving Joker a 4.0 Star Prediction.  I think I will enjoy it in the theatre, I'll want to see it again, and it will have a solid chance of making it to my home collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.

Lion King 2019 Review

5.0 Stars

This is the one I've been waiting for.  Since September 2016, after the success of The Jungle Book live action remake, when it was announced Disney would be remaking one of its most iconic animated films of all time, The Lion King, and it would also be directed by Jon Favreau, this is the one I've been waiting for.  The long-awaited live action remake of The Lion King is finally here.  However, this one is different from every other remake that's been done so far, and there's a heated debated over words like live action and animation.  But I'll get into those later.

I'll give a brief recap for anyone who has been living under a rock for the past twenty-five years.  Yes, The Lion King came out twenty-five years ago! With its ground-breaking animation, powerful story, lovable characters and award-winning music, The Lion King is a Disney film that is just as popular today as it ever was.  A lion cub and heir to be king, Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matthew Broderick) is tricked by his uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons) into thinking he is responsible for his father Mufasa's (James Earl Jones) death.  He grows up away from the pride, but makes two friends: a warthog Pumba (Ernie Sabella) and a meerkat Timon (Nathan Lane).  Eventually, Simba must return home and defend his family against his uncle.

The preview gave us a lot of screen shots that are nearly mirror images of the original film.  The red paint being swiped across the brow of Simba, indicating he is the chosen one.  Simba being held up and presented to all the animals who reside near Pride Rock.  Simba, Timon and Pumba walking across the log in the moonlight.  The epic battle between Scar and Simba.  It's all there.  While Favreau has promised to pay great tribute to the original 1994 film, he also said that the 2019 version will have it's own unique take on the classic story.  The tribute was definitely there, though the differences between the versions were subtle as this modern remake was nearly identical from scene to scene throughout.  They were subtle, but important and helped to make this a whole new classic.  Slight modern twists to the classic songs, a little more modern dialogue, an Easter Egg to Beauty and the Beast, were all welcomed revisions.

While Beauty and the Beast was nominated for Best Picture in 1991, the Best Animated Feature category didn't exist until 2002 for films released in 2001.  However, The Lion King was recognized and awarded greatly for it's music.  It was nominated for three original songs and original score and won 2 academy awards.  Hans Zimmer has returned to remake his award winning original score for the film.  And Tim Rice and Elton John have both returned for updates to their classic songs like Can You Feel the Love Tonight and Hakuna Matata.  

And the legendary, iconic James Earl Jones returned to provide the unmistakable deep, regal sound of Mufasa.  He was be accompanied by an all-star cast of characters like Donald Glover as Simba, Beyonce Knowles as Nala, Seth Rogan as Pumba, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, and John Oliver as Zazu.  Beyonce also contributed a new song in the movie that fit perfectly and seamlessly.

Favreau really took the Disney remakes to a whole new level and set the bar of realism through the roof with his live action remake of The Jungle Book.  But there's a difference in The Lion King.  In fact, there's something different that makes The Lion King unique from all of the live action remakes to date: there's no live action in this one.  In Jungle Book, Mowgli and a few small set pieces were the only things that were not created by a computer; but it was executed to near perfection earning a 4.5 Star rating in my review.  In Favreau's Lion King, all of it was created by a computer.  So critics are reluctant to call it live action, but Favreau doesn't want it to be called animation.  Whatever you call it, the preview looked absolutely amazing.  They might have to create a new category of awards for these types of realistic movies through computer graphics. 

Often times, the animation or CGI is so good that the slightest flaw will take you immediately out of the movie and distract you from the film.  I hope this makes sense, but The Lion King was so absolutely perfect that it distracted me for much of the film.  I went in fully aware that absolutely nothing on the screen was real.  The water, the trees, the animals, the sky, the fire, none of it was real.  And I found myself physically shaking my head in disbelief that the entire movie was completely realistic.  I often got chills at the beauty and detail in addition to the tragic story and enchanting songs.

I remember when they first "mastered" hair in animated films with Sully in Monsters, Inc.  Well, Jon Favreau seems to be the master of bringing the world to life through computer graphic.  I gave The Lion King 2019 a hopeful 5.0 Star Rating based on the preview and the film did not disappoint.  I laughed out loud, I shook my head in disbelief, I got goose bumps and I loved every second of this movie.  It not only compliments the 1994 animated film, this movie stands alone as its own unique and modern classic.  I am proud to give The Lion King 2019 a perfect 5 Star Rating.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Lion King 2019 Preview

This is the one I've been waiting for.  Since September 2016, after the success of The Jungle Book live action remake, when it was announced Disney would be remaking one of its most iconic animated films of all time, The Lion King, and it would also be directed by Jon Favreau, this is the one I've been waiting for.  The long-awaited live action remake of The Lion King is finally here.  Although, this one is different from every other remake and there's a heated debated over words like live action and animation.  But I'll get into those later.

I'll give a brief recap for anyone who has been living under a rock for the past twenty-five years.  Yes, The Lion King, with some of its ground-breaking animation, a Disney film just as popular today as it ever way, came out twenty-five years ago!  A lion cub and heir to be king, Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matthew Broderick) is tricked by his uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons) into thinking he is responsible for his father Mufasa's (James Earl Jones) death.  He grows up away from the pride, but makes two friends: a warthog Pumba (Ernie Sabella) and a meerkat Timon (Nathan Lane).  Eventually, Simba must return home and defend his family against his uncle.

The preview gives us a lot of screen shots that are nearly mirror images of the original film.  The red paint being swiped across the brow of Simba, indicating he is the chosen one.  Simba being held up and presented to all the animals who reside near Pride Rock.  Simba, Timon and Pumba walking across the log in the moonlight.  The epic battle between Scar and Simba.  It's all there.  While Beauty and the Beast was nominated for Best Picture in 1991, the Best Animated Feature category didn't exist until 2002 for films released in 2001.  However, The Lion King was recognized and awarded greatly for it's music.  It was nominated for three original songs and original score and won 2 academy awards.  Hans Zimmer has returned to remake his award winning original score for the film.  And Tim Rice and Elton John have both returned for updates to their classic songs like Can You Feel the Love Tonight and Hakuna Matata.  

While Favreau has promised to pay great tribute to the original 1994 film, the 2019 version will have it's own unique take on the classic story.  In addition to the familiar images, and familiar songs, a very familiar voice will be returning as James Earl Jones will be providing the unmistakable deep, regal sound of Mufasa.  He will be accompanied by an all-star cast of characters like Donald Glover as Simba, Beyonce Knowles as Nala, Seth Rogan as Pumba, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, and John Oliver as Zazu.  Beyonce will also be collaborating with Elton John and Tim Rice for a new song in the movie.

Favreau really took the Disney remakes to a whole new level and set the bar of realism through the roof with his live action remake of The Jungle Book.  But there's a difference in The Lion King.  In fact, there's something different that makes The Lion King unique from all of the live action remakes to date: there's no live action in this one.  In Jungle Book, Mowgli and a few small set pieces were the only things that were not created by a computer; but it was executed to near perfection earning a 4.5 Star rating in my review.  In Favreau's Lion King, all of it was created by a computer.  So critics are reluctant to call it live action, but Favreau doesn't want it to be called animation.  Whatever you call it, it looks absolutely amazing.  They might have to create a new category of awards for these types of realistic movies through computer graphics.  

The Jungle Book earned an enthusiastic 4.5 Stars from me.  In just a few years, the quality of animation has just gotten even more flawless and realistic and Favreau seems to be a master of bringing that world to life.  I'm giving The Lion King 2019 a hopeful 5.0 Star Rating.  I think it will compliment the 1994 animated film while standing alone as its own unique and modern classic.  I think I will want to see it again in the theatres and immediately add this film to my home collection.  So, am I right?  We shall see.

Aladdin 2019 Review

3.0 Stars

Directly on the heels of the live-action film Dumbo, Disney has released its 12th re-imagination of one of their animated classics.  Aladdin (Mena Massoud) is the story of a street rat kid who steals to survive in Agrabah with his sidekick pet monkey Abu.  The Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) had snuck out of the palace and gave two loaves of bread to a couple hungry children.  The merchant wasn't pleased with her, but Aladdin helped her escape.  They started to fall for each other but she could only marry a prince.  All she wanted was to step into her father's role as Sultan (Navid Negahban), but that was also forbidden.  And, she had competition.  The royal vizier, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) also had his dark evil soul set on becoming the Sultan.  To do so, he'd need the magic of the Genie of the Lamp (Will Smith).  But the lamp was in a cave in the desert where only the "diamond in the rough" could successfully enter.  Aladdin was forced to retrieve the lamp for Jafar, but kept it for himself becoming the Genie's master.  He is granted three wishes and uses his first wish to become Prince so he could woo the Princess.  Trouble ensues as Jasmine and Jafar discover Prince Ali's secret identity.  

The animated film released in 1992 featured the late great Robin Williams as the many voices of the Genie.  Will Smith has taken on the impossible task of filling the pointed Genie shoes.  While Williams had a very distinct voice that was immediately recognizable, he also possessed the genius talent of creating characters in whom you did not see Williams, but the character.  My fears about Smith taking on the role were two-fold: I felt his performance would be constantly compared to Williams (which is inevitable, but not fair to anyone trying to fill the role); and I felt that the Genie would be another comedic Will Smith performance.  I do enjoy most of Smith's movies, but he is one of those actors you could pull up out of most of his movies, drop into another one and it's pretty much the same character.  It felt like watching Hitch, Bad Boys, Fresh Prince, or Men in Black but on the set of Aladdin.  He did a respectable job with some original and funny moments.  But trying to modernize the Genie and adding his own flair sometimes just didn't work at all, like beat-boxing.  

Another concern I had was in Guy Ritchie sitting in the Director's chair.  Aladdin is definitely different from the types of film Ritchie is known to direct.  He's called the shots for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; Snatch, RocknRolla, and the Sherlock Holmes films; so it was a little difficult to see how that would translate to the fantastical, live-action animated, family Disney film.  My biggest concern was his lack of experience with CGI and the amount of animation that would be necessary to successfully accomplish bringing Aladdin to life.  Honestly, I felt he did pretty well.  I think John Favreau really set the bar with animal animation in The Jungle Book and everyone has really learned from his accomplishments.  Ritchie's Abu and Raja (the Tiger) were nearly flawless.  The first carpet ride was really a great effort.  The second one got a little sloppy.  Ritchie should have taken a page out of Tim Burton's playbook who really played around the limitations of animation with the scenes where someone was riding Dumbo.  Overall, I thought Ritchie really put out a decent film.

I didn't mind the mild storyline tweaks that has also become a standard characteristic of the live-action versions of their animated classics.  What really did irk me, though, was that Smith's and Massoud's vocal performances as Genie and Aladdin were not on par with the original animated version.  And, while I'm critiquing the cast, the Parrot Iago was a disappointment.  Gilbert Gottfried lent his unique voice to the wise-cracking side-kick to Jafar.  He was a snarky, loud and hilarious character.  This one was barely audible and pretty tame.   And with a not-so-intimidating Jafar as the villian, we could have used a few more laughs.  Jafar was not menacing in the least.  His presence in the film was as lackluster as Snoke from the new Star Wars movies.  

The saving grace of Aladdin was the performance of Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine.  She was a strong female lead, beautiful, elegant, funny, smart and sang her heart out with a pitch perfect delivery that was mesmerizing.  It is because I am such a huge fan of Disney and because of Scott's performance that I am not knocking my rating down further from my original prediction of 3.5 Stars.  I'm going to give Aladdin 3.0 Stars.  It was worth seeing in the theatres, but I also could have waited for it to come out on DVD.  I might watch it again when it does become available, but it probably won't find a home in my personal collection on the shelf next to the 1992 animated version.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Aladdin 2019 Preview

Directly on the heels of the live-action film Dumbo, Disney has released its 12th re-imagination of one of their animated classics.   Aladdin is the story of a street rat kid in Agrabah who steals to survive with his pet monkey Abu.  He meets the Princess Jasmine who snuck out from the palace.  Aladdin releases a magical genie who grants him three wishes.  Aladdin's first wish is to become a prince so he can impress Jasmine.

The animated film released in 1992 featured Robin Williams as the many voices of the Genie.  Williams tragically passed in 2014 and Will Smith has taken on the impossible task of filling the curly pointed shoes.  While Robin Williams had a very distinct voice that is immediately recognizable, he also possessed the genius talent of creating characters in whom you did not see Robin Williams.  Unfortunately, from the brief glimpses we get of Will Smith's Genie, it's clearly Will Smith.  Yes, I know it's live-action, so you're supposed to recognize him.  What I mean is that even the performance just seems filled with typical Will Smith-isms.  It feels like not only will the audience be comparing his performance to Williams' Genie, but will also be watching another Will Smith comedic performance that could have been pulled from Fresh Prince of Bel Air; Bad Boys; Men In Black; or Wild, Wild West. I almost wanted the iconic role to go to someone unknown, rather than someone who is known for a pretty specific comedic acting style.

Aladdin is directed by Guy Ritchie, and this is a bit of a new arena for the director with quite the resume.  Ritchie is known more for his gritty, raw, uncomfortably funny and dry films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; Snatch; RocknRolla; and the Sherlock Holmes movies.  Not only are those films not logically translatable to directing a movie like Aladdin, but they are not known for their integrated use of CGI.  Disney's live-action remakes have been getting more and more flawless with their CGI needs to make their cartoons come to live.  Jon Favreau was absolutely genius in his direction of Jungle Book.  Bill Condon put forth a wonderful remake of Beauty and the Beast.  And Tim Burton dazzled and amazed us with Dumbo.  We'll see how Ritchie is able to keep up with the animated demands Aladdin requires to make realistic.

Disney has also taken calculated risks in each of their live-action remakes by changing up some of the original stories we grew up with and quote word-for-word.  So far, the changes have been appropriate and successful.  With so much that could potentially be wrong in Aladdin (Smith's performance, Ritchie's ability to direct a film like Aladdin and the use of CGI), the storyline tweaks might be just what the film needs to set it apart from the 1992 original.  We'll see how realistic Abu the monkey and Iago the parrot and Raja the tiger are created and how magically believable the iconic carpet ride will be.  

I've been excited about each one of the remakes and I absolutely cannot wait for The Lion King to come out in July with Jon Favreau calling the shots once again.  Aladdin, I have some concerns, so I'm going to give it a cautious but optimistic 3.5 Star Prediction.  I'm hoping I'll enjoy paying to watch it in the theatres and will want to watch it again.  I'm hoping to be delightfully surprised and raise my rating which would mean it reached the status of finding a home in my personal collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.

Dumbo Review

4.5 Stars

Disney continues its recent movie trend of live-action remakes of their animated classics with 2019's Dumbo.  This is Disney's 11th live-action remake following hits like Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, Jungle Book, and Christopher Robin, though Christopher Robin was actually a live-action continuance rather than a remake.  And they won't be slowing down any time soon with previews already out for Aladdin, The Lion King and Little Mermaid.  And each one of these live-action movies gets more and more realistic and close to a perfectly imperceptible blend of CGI and actual actors and animals.

After a long string of weird, wonderful, fantastic and bizarrely beautifully haunting movies, Director Tim Burton has been somewhat quiet in the last several years.  He directed Big Eyes in 2014 and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in 2016 and produced Alice Through the Looking Glass in 2016, but this is the one Burton fans and Disney fans alike have been anticipating for years now since it was first announced he would be taking on the project.  

To add to the cornucopia of delicious movie ingredients, Burton has reunited with stars Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito for the first time since he directed them both in Batman Returns in 1992.  

In the live-action Dumbo, Timothy Q. Mouse has a couple of quick cameos, but is not the encouraging, mentoring friend and manager as was his role in the original cartoon. Instead, it is a pair of children who discover Dumbo's talent and hone his skills.  

In this version, Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) was a big circus star until he went off to fight in the war.  He did not return the same man: his wife had passed, he lost his arm, and he was left to raise his two children with the help of his circus family.  Circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) purchased an Asian elephant, Mrs. Jumbo, who was due any day with a baby that would bring a new spark to the dying, struggling circus.  When her baby is born, Medici is shocked and embarrassed by the enormous size of the baby's ears.  Since Holt can no longer perform horseback, the act that made him a circus star, he was charged with caring for the elephants.  Medici charges Holt with fixing the baby's giant ears while he gets to work demanding a refund for the faulty elephant.  Mrs. Jumbo is hauled away, but when Holt's children discover that Dumbo can fly, the are convinced that his aerial feats will draw enough crowds and make the circus enough money that they could buy Mrs. Jumbo back and reunite them.  When word of the flying elephant get out, entrepreneur V. A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton) and circus aerial acrobat Colette Marchant (Eva Green) show up to make the big-eared wonder a super star and give a permanent home to the flailing traveling circus.

The animation, as it appeared from the preview, was nearly flawless.  Burton and Elfman are nearly flawless, especially when they work together.  And having Keaton and DeVito back together was just perfectly fantastic.  There were many throwbacks to the original cartoon, but Burton definitely made this live action film his own.  As I mentioned, we got to see Timothy Q. Mouse a couple times.  I liked the choice in his use of the storks when it was time for the miracle of birth.  It was great to hear Elfman's original yet distinctly recognizable music.  Hearing his take on the classics like Casey Junior and Baby Mine (get your Kleenex ready) and Elephants on Parade.  In the cartoon, Dumbo accidentally drank some of the clown's booze and blew elephant bubbles from his trunk during that song.  The way Burton worked that into this movie was clever.  And, I won't give it away, though I missed the crows singing When I Seen an Elephant Fly, the way he payed homage to that one was as perfect as could be done without actually having the crows back in the movie singing it.

One of the biggest challenges animators still have with CGI is when actual actors interact intimately with their CGI counterpart: walking down stairs, dancing, flying, especially when Dumbo has such an awkward flapping style of flying.  The way Burton accommodated his animators by his choice of shots was genius and made for flying scenes that did not take you away from the movie at all.

I have been excited to see this movie for a long time now and I gave an enthusiastic 4.5 Star Prediction to Dumbo.  I am sticking with my 4.5 Star Rating and the only reason really that it wasn't a perfect 5 stars was because of Holt's daughter who played such a major role in the film but lacked any kind of emotional range throughout 95% of the movie.  I don't know if it was her acting choices or a director's guidance, but she had the same lack of emotion when Holt came home without an arm, when her dad was dismissive of her desires to leave the circus, when Dumbo began to fly, when Dumbo was separated from his mom, when their small circus was bought by V. A. Vandevere.  No facial expressions, no emotion in her voice or eyes.  It was just flat.  But, other than that, I thought it was well worth the money in the theatre, one I'll want to see again and again and will definitely add to my collection as soon as I can.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Dumbo 2019 Preview

Disney is continuing its recent movie trend of live-action remakes of their animated classics with 2019's Dumbo.  This will be Disney's 11th live-action remake following hits like Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, Jungle Book, and Christopher Robin, though Christopher Robin was actually a live-action continuance rather than a remake.  And they won't be slowing down any time soon with previews already leaked out for Aladdin, The Lion King and Little Mermaid.  And each one of these live-action movies gets more and more realistic and close to a perfectly imperceptible blend of CGI and actual actors and animals.

After a long string of weird, wonderful, fantastic and bizarrely beautifully haunting movies, Director Tim Burton has been somewhat quiet in the last several years.  He directed Big Eyes in 2014 and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in 2016 and produced Alice Through the Looking Glass in 2016, but this is the one Burton fans and Disney fans alike have been anticipating for years now since it was first announced he would be taking on the project.  

To add to the cornucopia of delicious movie making ingredients, Burton has reunited with stars Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito for the first time since he directed them both in Batman Returns in 1992.  

Dumbo is the story of an baby elephant born into the circus with comically large ears.  He is unwelcome by the other elephants.  During a parade in town, a group of boys tease Dumbo incessantly to the point that his mother must defend him.  For her protective instincts, she is locked away as a dangerous elephant.  Dumbo is alone save for his only friend Timothy Q. Mouse who is determined to look after the pachyderm.   Timothy is able to convince the circus ringmaster to let Dumbo be the top of the elephant pyramid, but he trips over his own ears causing harm to the other elephants.  

The next morning, Timothy and Dumbo wake up in a tree.  A group of crows convinces them that Dumbo flew up there.  Back at the circus, Dumbo's newest trick is to jump from a burning building to be caught by clown firemen as he plummets into a tub of water.  With the aide of a black crow feather and the encouraging words of Timothy, Dumbo flies through the circus instead of plunging into the water.  Dumbo becomes an overnight sensation and the star of the show.  He and his mother are reunited and given a private luxury car on the circus train with Timothy as his manager.

In the live-action preview, we get a peek at a character who looks to be Timothy Q. Mouse, but it's pretty clear from the peek that he will not be performing the same role he did in the original cartoon.  Instead, it is a pair of children who discover Dumbo in a pile of hay.  While there are allusions to similarities to the original film, it is also clear that this will be a very different version of Dumbo.  One thing is for sure, though: the scene that made everyone cry in the cartoon will be there in the live action as Dumbo and his mother share a tender moment outside of her prison cell.  The famous song from the cartoon is Baby Mine.  The preview has a hauntingly beautiful version playing as only Burton's best music buddy Danny Elfman could compose.  

In this version, Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) was a big circus star until he went off to fight in the war.  He did not return the same man.  Circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) enlists Holt's assistance in watching after Dumbo, the newborn elephant with giant ears who is the laughing stock of the struggling circus.  When Holt's children discover that Dumbo can fly, entrepreneur V. A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton) and circus aerial acrobat Colette Marchant (Eva Green) show up to make the big-eared wonder a super star.

The animation looks nearly flawless.  Burton and Elfman are nearly flawless, especially when they work together.  And having Keaton and DeVito back together is just perfectly fantastic waiting to happen.  I've been excited to see this movie for a long time now and I'm giving an enthusiastic 4.5 Star Prediction to Dumbo.  I think it will be well worth the money in the theatre, one I'll want to see again and again and will definitely add to my collection as soon as I can.  So, am I right?  We shall see.  

Green Book Review

3.0 Stars

Green Book, winner of Best Picture at the 2019 Oscars, is the story of an unlikely pair on tour in the deep South of the United States in 1962.  Tony "Tony Lip" Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) was a nightclub bouncer from the Bronx.  Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) was an African-American classical pianist originally from Pensacola, Florida.  

Shirley, leaving the comfort of his deluxe suite above Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, was to embark on a tour with his Trio in the deep South.  The nightclub where Vallelonga worked as a bouncer was closing for renovations.  Vallelonga is tough, simple, loving, and street-smart though not book-smart, and he is extremely good at what he does.  Shirley is gentle, refined, educated, and acutely aware of the dangers his chosen tour path presents to he and his band members.  He is also exceptional at what he does.  After reluctance and negotiations, Vallelonga agrees to drive and look after Shirley on his tour of the South.

Before I go too much further into this review of Green Book, I feel compelled to remind you of my rating scale and what the stars mean.  I rate the movies I watch on three factors: the accuracy of the preview that lead you to watch the movie, the movie in and of itself, and (most importantly) the likelihood that I will watch the movie again and own the movie in my personal collection.  With that in mind, please continue reading my review.

The phrase Green Book refers to The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide used by African Americans for safe travels through the deep south in the 1960s.  It had a list of roads, hotels and restaurants that were friendly and safe for African Americans in an otherwise hostile and unwelcoming part of the country.  Though Green Book is based on a true story, it felt very much like a John Hughes movie from the 80s, namely Planes, Trains and Automobiles.  While Shirley and Vallelonga fought against each other along the way, and endured violence and racist hatred, there were plenty of endearing and humorous moments as well.

Early in the film, Vallelonga stops at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Kentucky.  In the car, he offers Shirley a piece of the fried chicken, which he disgustingly refuses.  Confused, Vallelonga comments that "you people love fried chicken".  Unmoved, Shirley responds, "You have a very narrow view of who I am."  Vallelonga takes is as a compliment to his sharp observational skills.  Moments later, Shirley has acquiesced and consumes the greasy delicious chicken. 

The acting performances by Ali and Mortensen were definitely Oscar-worthy.  They were honest and believable.  We got to see how both of their particular views matured and evolved by the others' influence throughout the course of the tour.   Shirley never gives up on refining and educating Vallelonga, while Tony continues to chip away at the overly prim and proper shield put up by Dr. Shirley.  At one point on the road, Vallelonga is penning a note to his wife.  Shirley reads the first line and puts it down critiquing it as pathetic.  He then takes on the role of Cyrano de Bergerac, giving him the eloquent poetic words that bring his wife to tears.  

Mortensen was nominated for his leading role as "Tony Lip".  Ali won his second Oscar for his role as Dr. Shirley, his first win was in 2017 for his performance in Moonlight.  Green Book also won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.  I commented in my preview that while the movie looked touching, gut-wrenching and smartly humorous, it wasn't a preview that I saw and immediately though of as an Oscar-contender.  Based on it's Oscar wins and recommendations from family and peers, I raised my expectations and gave Green Book an anticipatory 4 Star Prediction.  For me, I enjoyed it, though I thought it was slow at times.  I thought what Dr. Shirley endured was sad and embarrassing.  I thought it was humorous, almost too humorous at times that overshadowed just how serious the topic of racial prejudice was trying to be covered.  Again, it felt like if John Hughes made a movie today: it knocks you down with a healthy dose of reality, but picks you right back up with humor.  It draws you in with believable and well-acted characters who develop through the movie and have great relationships, and then ties it up with a pretty bow with a heart-warming feel-good ending.  

While it was a good story, based on real events, and Mortensen and Ali gave fantastic performances well worthy of their nomination and win, I don't quite agree with Green Book winning Best Picture of the Year.  For me, seeing it was enjoyable, but once was enough.  I probably wouldn't stop on it flipping through the channels, I wouldn't rent it, and I won't be owning it.  With that in mind, I'm lowing my rating to 3.0 Stars.  I wasn't exactly disappointed, just felt it didn't live up to the hype.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.

Green Book Preview

Green Book, winner of Best Picture at the 2019 Oscars, is the story of an unlikely pair on tour in the deep South of the United States in 1962.  They say it's always darkest before the dawn and the 1960s were some of the darkest in the country's history for racial discrimination.  

While the nightclub where he works as a bouncer was closed for renovations, Tony "Tony Lip" Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) reluctantly accepts a job offer to provide security for an African-American classical pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on his tour through the South.  Vallelonga is tough, ignorant and simple, but he's good at what he does.  Shirley is classy, sophisticated and intelligent, and he's exceptional at what he does.  It is clear from the beginning that these two men have nothing in common.  In the preview, Vallelonga offers Shirley a piece of fried chicken which he disgustingly declines.  Confused, Vallelonga comments that "you people love fried chicken."  Unmoved, Shirley responds, "You have a very narrow view of who I am."  Vallelonga takes it as a complement to his sharp observational skills.  

The phrase Green Book refers to The Negro Motorist Green Book, a sort of guide for safe travels for African Americans through the deep South.  Even with the guide, they both know they are in for trouble on their tour, but the full extent of how ugly people with hatred in their soul can be soon became a brutal reality.  In one scene in the preview, the two are pulled over by the police.  Vallelonga, trying to protect his client the way he knows to do, decks one of the officers and they end up in jail.  Shirley is heard giving sage advice: "You never win with violence.  You only win when you maintain your dignity."

It is a difficult topic, an embarrassing time in our history, and Green Book is based on a true story.  As uncomfortable as it is, the unique and beautiful characters in the story make it a fascinating, touching, warm, entertaining and heart-warming film.  At one point on the road, Vallelonga is penning a note to his wife.  Shirley reads the first line and puts it down critiquing it as pathetic.  He then takes on the role of Cyrano de Bergerac, giving him the eloquent poetic words that bring his wife to tears.  And through their journey, they are able to help each other to understand, to grow and to become more well-rounded people.

Mortensen was nominated for his role as Leading Actor.  Ali won his second Oscar, his first was in 2017 for his performance in Moonlight.  Green Book also won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.  While the movie looks touching, gut-wrenching and smartly humorous, it wasn't a preview I saw and immediately thought of as an Oscar-contender.  I thought it would be one I'd enjoy, but not necessarily rave about.  The recent wins at the Academy Awards and recommendations from my family and peers have made my expectations rise about this movie.  With that, I'm giving an anticipatory 4 Star Prediction.  I'm hoping it lives up to and exceeds the hype and turns out to be a movie I'd watch again and possible own in my collection.  Am I right?  Are the critics and peers right?  We shall see.