Tag Archives: Movies

Emma Watson as Belle! Let’s cast the rest of “Beauty and the Beast”!

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It was officially announced last week that Emma Watson will be playing Belle in an upcoming live-action film adaptation of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.  It will be a musical using Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s songs from the animated film (and presumably from the stage version), will be directed by Bill Condon, and is due for release sometime next year.  The film was actually announced last summer, but it didn’t really feel real until it had some casting to go along with it.  I personally couldn’t be more thrilled about Emma Watson as Belle.  I think she’ll bring the right amount of brains and attitude to the Disney Princess role, and I have little doubt that they can get her singing skills up to scratch.  But with the film more a reality now than it was two weeks ago, it’s the perfect time to play casting director and fill out the other major roles in the film.  Read on for some of my ideas (which may not be particularly original), and then leave a comment to let me know who you’d like to see singing alongside Emma Watson next year.

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What I’d like to see from tomorrow’s Academy Award nominations

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With the Academy Award nominations due to be announced tomorrow morning, most movie blogs and websites are busy trying to predict what names will be called before dawn. I don’t have the expertise to join them, nor have I seen enough films to really get a sense of how things will shake out. However, despite my feeling that 2014 was a bit of a dud at the movies, I still have some nominations I’d like to see in the morning. I’ve broken them down below into three general categories based on their likelihood, with some seemingly locks for a nomination, others possible but less likely, and others that will never happen no matter how much I want them to.

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Trailer Tuesday: Jurassic World

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Jurassic World Logo

Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies, since I’ve always found them to be endlessly fascinating.

I’ve been sitting on the Jurassic World trailer for a couple months now.  (I actually do this a lot, prepping screencaps of trailers without actually posting them, something I intend to change in 2015.)  In some ways I’m intrigued by it, but in others I’m very wary.  I’ve previously referred to Jurassic Park as the Star Wars of my generation, and to me it’s a cinematic masterpiece, one of the most awe-inspiring films I’ve ever seen.  I love The Lost World, but was pretty disappointed in Jurassic Park III, which was hurt by Spielberg’s lack of involvement.  I didn’t really need another Jurassic Park film, but I was intrigued by the way the script leak for Jurassic World was handled last year.  So when the trailer arrived in November, it stirred up a mix of emotions.  Take a look below and read on for my thoughts:

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My Top 10 (and Bottom 3) at the Movies in 2014

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2014 has come and gone, and while there were some definite highlights to the year of movies, overall I’d say it was a bit disappointing compared to years past.  There were some movies that I really loved, but I wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic in 2014 as I usually am for the world of cinema.  However, things are looking up for 2015, with a lot to be excited about, plus there are still a few movies I need to catch up on from 2014 that I either missed or haven’t gotten around to (Big Eyes, Selma, The Imitation Game, etc.).  But now that 2015 is underway it’s time to take a look back at the highs and lows of 2014 at the movies.  Instead of a traditional top 10 list of movies, I like to list out my favorite cinema-related things from the year.  Some of them are movies, but others might be scenes, characters, moments, or even just announcements.  So without further ado, here are my top 10 and bottom 3 of 2014 at the movies.

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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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Analysis: Into the Woods – Why do people not understand musicals?

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Into the Woods - "On the Steps of the Palace"

I rarely pay much attention to those around me in a movie theater.  We all have experienced a myriad of awful behavior from both adults and children, and it’s driven some people to stay home and simply watch movies on Netflix (or pirate them), but I’ve mostly learned to tune them out.  There are exceptions, when I want to see how people react to a particular moment in a film I’ve seen before, but mostly I ignore people rudely talking or checking their cell phones and such.  However, I started to notice an interesting trend during Into the Woods that brought a lot of questions to my mind, particularly as it pertains to the state of musical films in today’s pop culture landscape.  And it all made me wonder whether movie musicals will ever be popular enough again to have a regular place at the table of major film genres, and why, exactly, people stopped loving musicals.

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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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Trailer Friday: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens Logo

I have vivid memories of seeing the trailer for The Phantom Menace for the first time, and dissolving into a puddle of tears and emotion.  Of course, it was 1998, so it was on the big screen instead of on my phone, but the new trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens still had the same effect all these years later.  You can see the trailer on the big screen this weekend in front of any movie at 30 select theaters across the country, or you can see it right now right here.  Check it out below and read on for my thoughts and analysis.

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