Tag: reposts

Disney has done it with its big screen, live action adaptation of the animated musical Beauty and the Beast. The opening scene’s of Belle’s “provincial” town might as well be take straight from the cartoon classic. They are done well however and live-film aspects are utilized fully. I’m sure many were skeptical of what the film might do but it’s this author’s opinion that it entertains more than the animated classic.

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Bill Condon directed it will all the accolades of directing 2 Twilight films and experimental ones like Kinsey. He’s been around the block and it shows. Emma Watson does an excellent job as Belle. She has the chops to deliver and I found her to be “Belle” very shortly into the film. Like everyone, i was waiting for her to sing and when she did, it wasn’t small or nasal, she commanded the songs with a voice like an instrument.

The music remixes most the earlier songs. There are some added that have already brcom instant classics. One way Disney got this film right was by not making it too musical and conversely not too “drama film.” I think they achieved that balance well.

Dan Stevens was the best casting choice in the film. He emoted the beast in and out of costume. He probably had the most lines and screen time so it was integral to the success that he be liked and “bught.” I bought it! Every minute of him. The CGI wasn’t perfect but the acting and voicing was so good, I don’t feel the need to criticize. The wolf fight along with the Gaston jump fight at the end are some of the best action scenes in all Disney movies.

There are other amazing actors in this who do not fail to satisfy: Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellen, and Emma Thompson. The acting is first rate and part of what makes this an outstanding film experience. The animated clock and candlestick figures were among my favorite. They are very relatable, just as much if not more so than the prior animated ones.

The story is probably known to all by now. A sorceress’ spell keeps a Prince in the beasts’ body until true love sets him free. This is kind of like the life story of anyone who has sought love. The process of patience and understanding is chronicled much more clearly in this live action film than in the cartoon. We live among the characters and there are scenes where there was not a dry eye in the house. It’s not just a chick-flick either, there are wolf attacks and beast fights, and all the other sort of exciting stuff you’d expect from a legendary tale such as this. Most know that true love wins.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Listen, we all know the story here. It can easily appear that Disney is simply cashing in, once again, on a classic anmated musical to make a sure thing. That isn’t true though because we have learned through time that remakes don’t always succeed. This film is a success in its own rite. Emma Watson delivers as Belle and Dan Stevens is a knockout power punch as the Beast. Then there are 6the smaller successes in the music and the smaller roles. There is a reason this film keeps packing theaters, people want what it gives and they’re ready to pay at the box office. Hollywood should take note for future remakes of such classic animated films.

5/5

Everything Must Go was directed by Dan Rush. This is his debut as a director. Will Ferrell (Nick Halsey) lends an everyman face to suburban failure and renewal in this dark comedy. Alcoholism and depression are addressed in this movie, hefty topics for an independent film but they are handled deftly and respectfully.

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It begins with Nick Halsey losing his job. If you think it can’t get worse than that for a suburban married man in a mortgage, it does. When he gets home, he finds all his possessions, including clothes, strewn across the front lawn. Can’t get worse? Yes it can. Soon after he arrives home he finds he cannot get into the house as his wife has changed the locks. This is when we begin to see he is an alcoholic. He plops down on the easy chair in the yard and decides to have a yard sale. The course of events that follow involve a young kid who visits him on the lawn (Kenny Loftus played by C.J. Wallace who is the son of Notorious B.I.G. in real life). Their interplay is marvelous because it is tender and human.

Kenny doesn’t judge Nick for his misgivings. Instead, they find a common ground where they share a love of baseball and a common theme of loneliness. For me, this relationship was the most significant. There are other ones in the movie though. Samantha (Rebecca Hall), Nick ex-wife, is adamantly against him. Though we don’t know the details it can be boiled down to the well-known failings of an alcoholic in a marriage. Details show us that Nick was not just a casual alcoholic but a raving black-out type. He’s quite lucid and sensible in the movie though. The cop that drives by and has befriended Nick, Frank Garcia (Michael Peña), seems to have Nick’s best interest at heart but that remains to be seen. Needless to say, Nick’s days on the lawn must come to an end. When they do, we see a transformation. While a bit predictable, it is the journey that held my attention. What would you do if you lost everything in a day? This movie let’s that “what-if” play out to a clear conclusion.

I enjoyed this movie immensely, it was an image of our humanity. Who has never been afraid of living out in the street? At a time in history when so many people are being forced out of their homes, it can be cathartic to watch this. Will Ferrell shows us in this film that he can act. Sure, he is funny but his acting makes it easy to believe he is homeless.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Watching Nick and Kenny together is touching. With all the bad going on in Nick’s life, he takes the time to get to know Kenny. I know from personal experience as a teacher kids require patience. The other relationships are a little flat and I thought could have been developed more. Still, this movie was valuable in the way it portrayed Nick’s relationship with Kenny. There is a lot to take away from that and it makes Everything Must Go highly entertaining.

4/5

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When meditating, still life nature scenes and soft spoken recordings are excellent help for me. It was as if this film purposely included such chunks in the film to entrance its viewers. Because I practice meditation and relaxation, I’m attuned to this and I found those places where Paterson read poetry and waterfalls were running in the background to be ethereal, calming.

It reminded me of the music they play when I get my monthly massage. The insertion of calming scenes however couldn’t make up for the lack of believable characterization and the presence of a very dull plot. Still, as a whole, this movie was i its own way enjoyable for me. Paterson is well versed in famous poets but for the most part, he writes like an unschooled diarist and that was hard to sit through.

Jim Jarmusch is the Director. He directed Only Lovers Left Alive. While much more experimental and “otherworldly,” that film has a similar entrancing yet undefined component to it. I’m not yet convinced this director is one I appreciate but I respect he tries doing films that are different.

Adam Driver plays Paterson, the poet by night/Bus driver by day. I had a real hard time swallowing this character. His wife dotes on him, makes special cupcakes for his lunch, and begs him to buy her a guitar. It’s all a disjointed mess if you asked me. City transit bus drivers make just above poverty level wages and yet she treats him as if he is the king with the fat bank account. Sad for her. More importantly though, she has passion while he has none. Well, he is passionate about poetry but not much more.

FINAL THOUGHTS
No one can wow me with William Carlos Williams references. My MA is in literature. I had many classes on modern poets and wrote many papers. Perhaps that’s why this all seemed very contrived to me. I like bringing the great poets back but the way Jarmusch did it here was droll and gauche. This is one where I have to part ways with the big critics who appear to love this film. I give it:

6/10

In these days of the Hunger Games, this movie makes a pale statement. Still, it was fun watching this 1976 film make its statement against the media, specifically the news. Some of it even reminded me of the stuff trump is pulling these days (lowercase is intentional).

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The story is basically in a news station. A crazy newscaster who the world has grown used to and familiar with has a psychotic break and begins making promises that he will take his life on television. Instead of getting rid of him, the network sees the ratings go up and puts him on camera again and again.

We see the greed of the network from all angles. We also see the sheep-like nature of the audience. There is a culminating event that wraps the whole cynical point up nicely. There are some great classic actors in their 30’s like Faye Dunaway. I love films from 1976 and thereabouts. They are simply showing the buildings and attire of the day and yet it looks like the best retro modern films can offer.

I recommend this film mostly for political cynics. Besides that, it’s a tense but well made drama from 1976. I recommend to all.