Tag Archives: Film Review

Review: Cinderella

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I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from Disney’s new live-action version of Cinderella, and I even had some doubts about how it might turn out (and I am definitely not the doubting sort).  With Maleficent, it was clear from the outset that we would be seeing a familiar tale retold from the villain’s point of view, and this focus allowed the cast and crew to breathe new life into a well-known story.  Cinderella, on the other hand, presented itself as a straight-forward adaptation, and I was worried that it would either feel dull or unnecessary as a result, with nothing new to bring to the conversation.  (In the spirit of full disclosure, Cinderella was always my least favorite of the classic Disney princess films.)  Could Cinderella find a way to be engaging and feel fresh despite its old-fashioned approach?  In the end I was wrong to doubt, because Cinderella succeeds not in spite of its old-fashioned approach, but because of it.

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Review: Frozen Fever

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Given the phenomenal level of success enjoyed by Frozen, a follow-up of some sort was inevitable.  And while a full sequel was recently announced by the Frozen’s creators, we already have a sequel-of-sorts in Frozen Fever, the new animated short showing before Cinderella.  The seven-minute short reassembles the team behind Frozen, including the directors, cast, and songwriters, to deliver a fun update to what Arendelle’s queen and princess have been up to now that Elsa’s ice has thawed.

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Review: The Imitation Game

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In telling the story of Alan Turing, The Imitation Game is an interesting conglomeration of films and stories, and which one it feels like to you will probably be more a reflection of your interests and views than of the film itself.  It could be a World War II movie, about the various efforts by the Allies to gain the upper hand and win the war against the Axis powers in a race against the clock with lives hanging in the balance.  It might feel more like a celebration of math and science, of how wars are won with brains instead of brawn, and how one of the first computers was created to solve an unsolvable problem.  Or perhaps it’s the story of a brilliant man with a gift to offer society who is unable to find his place or fit in, and how that society he stood to help eventually destroyed him just because he was different.  Regardless of which story you might feel you’re watching, the end result is a compelling, driven, expertly crafted film shedding some light on a man and an endeavor with which few are probably familiar.

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Review: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

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After three Hobbit movies and three Lord of the Rings films, it’s hard to view The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies as a standalone picture.  It carries far more weight than it necessarily should, and as the presumed final film in the Lord of the Rings saga it has higher expectations than perhaps are fair.  So while it’s a film that can be both thrilling and emotional while also plodding and uneven, its place in the saga serves to magnify both its faults and its virtues as a representation of the successes and failures of the Hobbit trilogy and the LOTR saga as a whole.  Narratively, it serves as both and end (to The Hobbit) and a beginning (to Lord of the Rings), but it’s status as a link doesn’t detract from the big dramatic moments of the film’s story, even if at times it feels designed more as a link than as a cinematic experience of its own.

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Review: Into the Woods

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The production of Into the Woods has been a series of ups and downs for theatre fans around the world.  The film’s mere existence is worthy of excitement, but the presence of Disney overseeing the relatively mature Stephen Sondheim musical was cause for concern.  Sondheim’s involvement (along with the original show writer James Lapine) allayed some fears, but his interviews caused a lot of confusion about what changes had been made, what songs had been cut, and how “family friendly” the film had been made.  The A-list cast and director Rob Marshall brought some Hollywood glamor to the movie, and all that remained was to wait and see how it turned out.  The end result is a fairly faithful, extremely well made adaptation of a musical that is perhaps better suited for stage rather than screen.

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Review: Birdman

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Birdman is one of those films that are difficult to describe or categorize.  It’s nominally a “black comedy,” but it was tragic enough that a fellow moviegoer leaving my theater felt the need to tell the ticket-taker that it was depressing and reminded him of Robin Williams.  It is also hilarious.  It’s an ensemble piece, yet it’s entirely dominated by one actor in the comeback role of a lifetime, despite the fact that he’s never been gone.  It’s a straightforward story of backstage theater drama and shenanigans, but it’s also a meditation on life, fame, popularity, art, and how we define ourselves and let others define us.  It’s a simple film, set in one small corner of New York with only a handful of characters, while simultaneously being one of the most exhilarating works of cinematic craftsmanship I’ve seen in years.  More than anything, it’s the sort of film that sticks in your head, refusing to be easily dismissed or forgotten.

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Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 could definitely have benefitted from dropping the saga’s title and just sticking with that of Suzanne Collins’ novel.  While it is the continuation of the story that began two years ago with The Hunger Games, it is the first film in the series not to feature the titular games, although their impact looms large over Katniss’s mental and emotional state.  The “Part 1” has renewed the debate over splitting books into multiple films (a complete success with Harry Potter, a disaster with Twilight, and the jury is still out on The Hobbit), as well as what is actually required to distinguish a film as more than just an extended TV episode, but at this point it’s so common as a practice that it’s been grudgingly accepted by many.  But the most important part of the title is right there in the middle: Mockingjay.  Mockingjay focuses almost entirely on the idea of the Mockingjay, as a symbol and as a person, and to that end it’s an extremely successful and engaging film despite its occasional faults.

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Review: Big Hero 6

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At this point it’s pretty safe to say that the Disney Revival is now in full swing.  The era which began with either Bolt or The Princess and the Frog depending on your tastes, and which so far seems to mirror the trajectory of the Disney Renaissance in the 1990’s, has seen Disney producing some seriously outstanding films in the last few years.  Tangled is an underrated masterpiece, Wreck-It Ralph is a creative, kinetic marvel, and Frozen has reached the point where it no longer requires description.  Big Hero 6 represents not just the next big step for Disney Animation, but also the first attempt by Disney at creating its own Marvel-based content outside of the wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe.  And while Big Hero 6 could never hope to live up to something like Frozen, it’s still wildly entertaining and enjoyable in its own right, and another solid rung in the Disney Revival ladder.

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Review: Feast

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I’m definitely a fan of the recent resurgence of animated shorts preceding feature films.  It harkens back to an earlier time when cartoons and news reels were a part of the cinema experience (though I hope they don’t bring back news reels!).  Pixar, of course, has always had a short attached to each of their new releases, but Disney Animation has gotten back in the game for their last three movies and the results have been impressive.  Paperman (which aired before Wreck-It Ralph) is nothing less than a masterpiece, while Get a Horse! (attached to Frozen) was a fun, creative use of 3D that captured a bit of that historical Disney magic.  The recent debut of Big Hero 6 brought with it a new short, Feast, that serves both purposes of an animated short: it serves an hors d’oeuvre for the main film while also telling an endearing and entertaining story of its own.

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Review: Pride

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The year is 1984.  Miners in the UK, angered by the government’s plans to close more than 70 coal mines (the coal industry had been nationalized following World War II), went on a strike that would last almost a year.  The miners manned the picket lines every day, while back in town their wives strove to keep the community together, making the most of what donations of food and clothing they could find, hoping to keep the government from starving them out.  If that sound like a familiar setting for a film, perhaps you’re thinking of Billy Elliot, but instead of merely using a place and time to tell a story, Pride actually tells the story of that place and time, particularly of the unorthodox union of two groups who just might be able to help each other out.

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