kellym40 film review

Love knows no boundaries in ‘Beauty and the Beast’

Rating 3/5

This review is being written never having viewed the 1991 animated classic or the 1946 original or any other incarnation of the classic tale. In viewing the latest version of Beauty and the Beast, one can only think how good it might be. There must be something to this story for it to have seen two television series, the classic Disney animated film, a foreign film from France/Germany in 2014 and now this film version. As I understand, this 2017 version is more of a direct remake of the 1991 Disney classic. At the 1992 Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Picture (which apparently was the first animated film to do so) and Best Sound and won Oscars for Best Original Song and Best Original Score.

This film version has its merits and does bring some of the magic and wonder that you might expect from Disney in a tale like this. Bill Condon directed this story from writers Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos and has produced a new version for new viewers. The cinematography by Tobias A. Schliessler was marvelous to look at and added to the film with musical numbers like “Be Our Guest.” From the depictions of small villages to the vast countryside and from the crowded, treacherous woods to the grand castle in which lived the prince (Beast), the cinematography brought the characters and surroundings to life.

The acting in this film seemed short of extraordinary, but that is not to say the performances were dull or plain, they just appeared to fit and served the purpose of the story. The film starred Emma Watson as Belle, the fair beauty of the land, who lived with her father Maurice (Kevin Kline), and Dan Stevens as the Prince turned Beast by the Enchantress (Hattie Morahan) because of his vanity and cold soul. Luke Evans portrayed Gaston, a seemingly vain character himself who would do anything to win the affection of the fair Belle, while LeFou (Josh Gad) stood by and unwillingly served him. Not knowing the cast before going in to seeing this film, I was surprised at some of the acting talents that lent their voices through much of the film, talents such as Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, and Stanley Tucci. Of course there were many others (because musicals usually bring large casts to the production) whose faces we did not see for much of the film that did a wonderful job with their voice characterizations.

I believe the musical score and choreography were worthy of most any big stage musical production and the CGI seemed to flow flawlessly through the musical numbers. So, hats off to the original animated inspiration. There might be differing views here, though. While this production’s musical performance served its purpose for this production, from what I understand, it might pale in comparison to the 1991 animated classic in some aspects. Not having seen the animated version, I can’t quite adequately compare the two. But I, regardless if the film is a remake, a remake of the remake, or some sort of adaptation of the original source material, I take it as I see it in the current version. In this case, this musical version appeared to serve its purpose – and I believe that purpose is to entertain and be visually stunning while still maintaining a true sense of story.

Even with its merits, stunning cinematography, and near flawless CGI action sequences, the film does suffer from some inadequacies. In part, the aforementioned CGI, but mostly the relationship between the Beast and Belle. It seemed a bit rushed and the sense of connection between the two wasn’t quite strong enough for me. I wanted a little more to be truly believable. From what I understand, the backstory of how Belle lost her mother was a nice little addition to the story and character, but I’m not sure if it was truly warranted.

There was some talk in the film’s release about some “gay characters.” I don’t consider this a true issue or controversy. There might have been a “sense” of it if you were actually looking for it, but it was not overtly done and was done with enough subtlety that I don’t believe should really be an issue. That’s all I’m going to say about that.

This new version of Beauty and the Beast fell just short of remarkable, but still had enough story and action to keep me engaged with the characters to make this an enjoyable film to watch. At some point, I will have to visit the 1991 animated version to truly compare the two (as I have with other remakes) to test the true virtue with this story. Until then, I leave you with this enlightening and entertaining film.

 

 

 

 

kellym40 film review

Feathers are ruffled in ‘The Angry Birds Movie’

Rating 2/5

In 2009, a video game application came on the scene available for download on your Smartphone – Angry Birds. It quickly became a popular download and has crossed into other platforms such as tablets and Facebook applications and has reached into other pieces of merchandise. And seven years later in 2016, it became an animated film.

Some may call it a cartoon. But it seems the term animation has come into play within the last several years and that’s exactly what it is – animation. This medium is very prevalent in today’s storytelling movie-going experience. And it can be an effective way to tell a story. That’s one strength with the film in that the animation is well done and there is nearly the look and feel of the video game. That being said, there are flaws with the film.

I’m sure most everyone is familiar with the game and this film version stays pretty faithful to it. It’s simple. Piggies come to Bird Island and offer peace and friendship. That is until they discover the birds’ eggs. The piggies hatch a plan to steal all of the eggs for themselves. So the birds attack the pigs to get their eggs back. This is the concept for the game and plays well for the latter part of the film, but for the 97-minute runtime it makes for a long exposition.

That exposition involves a basic backstory, some music, and some sight gags that give a reason for these birds to exist. It doesn’t seem this is enough to fill the needed time with satisfactory material for an engaging, entertaining film. It does have moments and the animation is colorful and is true to the game, but it does little to add to the overall enjoyment of the film.

We are introduced to the three protagonists – Red (Jason Sudeikis), Chuck (Josh Gad), and Bomb (Danny McBride) – who lead the attack on the pigs. Other big names lend their voices to the birds and give them personalities and somewhat entertaining characters. A few of those names are Maya Rudolph, Peter Dinklage, Sean Penn, and Keegan-Michael Key. To lead the pigs is Leonard (Bill Hader), who is the most distinct pig character as the rest lack individuality. For the most part, these characters seem to be the only lively thing in the film.

Co-directors Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly do what they can with the material presented in the script by Jon Vitti. So while the premise works well for a game, it doesn’t do so well for feature length animation. I’m not sure if there would be anything else one could change or add to the script to make it more enjoyable, but it seems this was a futile attempt in trying to capitalize on the franchise.

 

 

 

kellym40 film review

‘The Lego Movie’ snaps together, brings fun entertainment

Rating 4/5

When I first saw the previews for The Lego Movie, I wasn’t sure what to think. Of course, it seems like there has been a run of success with Lego video games base on films like Star Wars, so why not have a film like this. I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly entertained. With the success of this film, another film – the Lego Batman Movie – comes to theaters next year.

I remember playing with my Legos often as a child. I had a series of the Lego spaceships and spacemen. I fondly remember my brother attaching firecrackers to the Lego men. For the longest time, I had several with no hands and burnt bodies.

But I digress. The Lego Movie is a wonderfully crafted piece of animation. The film’s story introduces us to Emmet (Chris Pratt), an average guy who is happy with his life (oh, and by the way he is in construction). He is happy to follow the instructions for living implemented by President Business (Will Ferrell). Soon he meets a fiery adventurer called Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) who lets Emmet in a prophecy stating that a hero will rise up to save the people from President Business’ evil plans of using a weapon of mass destruction known as the Kragle.

As Emmet is seemingly mistaken to be the hero, he is introduced to Virtruvius (Morgan Freeman) and Emmet then becomes aware of President Business’ plan. Virtruvius tries to instill the belief that Emmet can be the hero they need in order to stop the dastardly plan. Along the way, Emmet is introduced the team of Master Builders comprised of a 1980’s Spaceman Benny (Charlie Day), (the exact kind that my brother so eloquently blew up), the pirate Metal Beard (Nick Offerman), Batman (Will Arnett) and others that include a few known heroes from the DC Universe.

Writers/directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller masterfully penned a script that has fun, action, and humor, with just the right amount of sentiment to make these characters fully “animated” with life. I found the film’s theme song, “Everything is Awesome,” was a catchy, entertaining song and added to the fun of the film (and was Oscar nominated). The film was a fun, colorful spectacle of imagination brought to life on the screen. Everything seemed to click in this film, from the dialogue and characters to the story and visual effects. With heart, The Lego Movie also showed the idea of working together (despite differences) and accomplishing great things. It taught us to believe in one self; dream big, and that we can be a part of something awesome. The Lego Movie is charming, fun, and very entertaining.

kellym40 film review

Adventure rises in Pixar’s ‘Up’

Rating 3.5/5

Up is one those animated films that doesn’t seem to cater to being a film for “kids,” although it certainly relates to a younger audience, but transcends through all ages. With its use of colors and masterful animation, it brings the characters and story to life.

Another great work from Pixar with Pete Docter directing, Up tells a story of love, loss, adventure, dreaming big, and never giving up. The story begins with two children, Carl and Ellie, who happen to have a chance encounter one day. They discover they both have a love for adventure and hope to one day be explorers. Then, through an elegant montage of bits we see their life as they grow closer, get married, buy a run down house and turn it into their magnificent home, they grow older, and Carl is left to deal with the loss of his wife. This sequence is done without dialogue, while music underscores the entire montage. This quickly, but effectively, sets up the rest of the film. Carl is left to deal with his loss as he soon decides to attach thousands of helium filled balloons to his house and be carried away to Paradise Falls (Carl and Ellie’s dream spot). Little does Carl know he has an unsuspecting stow away aboard his flying house – Jordan, a plucky Wilderness Explorer Scout.

Meanwhile, in Carl’s childhood, another explorer, Charles Muntz, was famous for his adventurous exploits until one of his great discoveries was proved to be false. He vows to return to Paradise Falls and capture one of its creatures to restore his glory. He has spent years in Paradise Falls trying to capture a magnificent, elusive bird. With him are hundreds of dogs, of various breeds, which also cook, clean, serve, as well as perform various other tasks, like helping him hunt the creature. He has also equipped them with collars that enable the dogs to actually speak. He arrived there in his giant airship, which looks more like an oversized zeppelin.

Edward Asner lends his vocal talents to the elder Carl. Charles is voiced by Christopher Plummer, and Jordan Nagai voices the Wilderness Scout, Russell. All of the characters appear as real as any other characters in recent Pixar movies.

I enjoyed this film, although, it did appear to slow down some, it still had just enough to hold my interest and be entertaining. This film had heart. It wasn’t just action and adventure. It had humor and was also emotionally moving at times. It was also a little refreshing to see elderly characters at the heart of the story. Pixar has another stupendous work under their belt with a lot of the credit going to a wonderful screenplay by Bob Peterson and Pete Docter, who were also co-directors. They brought this seemingly wonderfully simple story to life to entertain all audiences.

 

 

 

 

kellym40 film review

The secret is out with ‘The Secret Life of Pets’

Rating 3.5/5 

Another animated film hit theaters this summer along the lines of “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo,” and this summer’s “Finding Dory.” The writing credits for this film go to Cinco Paul, Ken Daurio and Brian Lynch. It is directed by Chris Renaud, who directed the “Despicable Me” films and 2012’s “The Lorax,” among others, and Yarrow Cheney is credited as co-director.

The animation is this film appeared to be a slice of the animation for “Despicable Me” and the story had elements of the “Toy Story” series. But all in all it was an enjoyable film, even with the familiarities.

The first several minutes of the film showcased a series of bits and scenes in which we see how a pet might actually spend their day while the owners are away. These clips essentially filled the trailer for the film before its release. In the opening, the audience meets Max, voiced by Louis C. K., a Terrier who is living a happy life with his owner, Katie (Ellie Kemper). The story picks kicks up when Katie brings home a new friend for Max. Instantly, Max does not like his new friend, Duke (Eric Stonestreet), who appears to be bossy and boisterous and so Max develops a plan to get rid of Duke. The next day on their walk, they slip away from their dog walker and have a run in with an alley full of stray cats. During the confrontation, their collars are ripped off. Max and Duke are then picked up by animal control. They escape with the help from Snowball (Kevin Hart), a rabbit with a vengeance towards humans. They are lead back underground where they find Snowball to be the leader of gang of animals who have been abandoned. As Max and Duke work together to make it back home, Gidget leads her own search party with the help from some other friends.

The film had its share of fun humor and touching moments blended with some action sequences that would keep children and adults alike entertained with the story. The animals such as dogs, cats, birds, a pig, a snake, and so on were brought to life by their actions and dialogue. Other familiar actors provided their voices to help bring some of the other main animated characters to life on screen like Albert Brooks, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Lake Bell, and Steve Coogan.

The film stands on its own as a new animated adventure with lively characters and a tender story about friendship and the longing to love and be loved. And coming in at just under 90 minutes, it’s a good length to where the story is not too drawn out and still can keep the audience’s attention. All in all, it is a fun, family film.