Beauty and the Beast 2017

Beauty and the Beast ~ This is yet another of Disney's unnecessary live action remakes.  I don't see the point of these honestly, unless of course they are told from a different point of view entirely like Maleficent, or completely different as in the Tim Burton Alice films.  While Cinderella did answer some questions from the animated feature (as does this one), I found it ultimately dismal, and what could have been the best part of The Jungle Book was left on the cutting room floor (Scarlet Johansson's "Trust in Me").

I was very wary of the new Beauty and the Beast.  Not only was the original an Oscar nominated and winning classic of Disney's new animation age, it could have been decidedly difficult to animate.  In fact, the scenes I had seen in previews of the castle objects come to life, like Lumiere and Cogsworth, did not impress me. 

The casting worried me as well.  Hermione Granger? I'm not saying that Emma Watson is typecast but she would have to go a long way to make me believe she is anyone but Hermione, and as hard as she tries here, Emma never comes off as anything but playacting as Belle.  Honestly all of the roles are very solidly in most of our minds from the animated feature, it's hard to envision anyone else in those spots. 

The animated objects in the original are charming cartoons but here the CGI versions come off as a bit creepy, just to the left of Tim Burton.  We love those cartoon characters but the new ones are impressive yet cold and inhuman.  Similarly the music is also impersonal and feels very much like artificial or karaoke covers. 

Don't get me wrong, the live action Beauty and the Beast is a good movie, heck, it might even be a great movie for those who have never seen the classic original, but for me, the best it will ever be is a pale and ill wrought imitation.  Worth seeing only for the curious and the hardcore Disney fan only.

This Is The End

This Is The End ~ This film does one thing that I like. Usually when one sees a movie with name stars, unless the movie completely immerses the viewer or the acting is prime, one will always think of the star as the star rather than the character. For instance most folks don't know who John McClane is, but they know Bruce Willis was all that in the Die Hard films.

This Is The End uses that logic in its own favor by having its stars - Seth Rogan, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, etc. - play themselves. Well, it's themselves as pot smoking partying losers, which may or may not be the truth, but at least you know who is who. As someone who stopped 'partying' quite some time ago, it made me think of most of these actors in a lesser light, fiction or not. Now get off my lawn.

Anyway, the pothead slob comedy brigade are at a party at James Franco's house when apparently The Rapture happens, followed by an apparent Hell on Earth. It vacillates between end of days satire and Exorcist parody and succeeds in neither. The movie tries really hard to be funny, but unlike old Cheech and Chong, which is funny whether you're high or not, I imagine only stoners would find this flick hilarious.

The only time I even smiled was when Emma Watson from the Harry Potter films, and later the Backstreet Boys, showed up for a couple minutes. Although I did jump when the demon bull jumped in through the window - so points for horror but very little for comedy. For a movie called This Is The End, it really never seemed to end, it just went on and on and on. This was relentlessly bad, I hated it a lot.

Harry Potter 90210

The sixth film in the Harry Potter series, unlike the previous ones, is only loosely based on the book “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J.K. Rowling. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing, just a departure from previous entries. I think perhaps it is a wise choice seeing how the last two films have noticeably suffered by leaving elements from the books out. Half-Blood Prince services its source material well, telling the integral story and also keeping the crucial character elements. Anything that was jettisoned is forgivable here.

Daniel Radcliffe shows off his acting chops well, except for being a bit goofy (although it works) while under the influence of liquid luck, and is amazing to watch. All of the teen leads, especially Rupert Gint and Emma Watson (the latter sadly having little to really do this time out), also show their improvement over the years. I’ve never been a fan of Michael Gambon’s Dumbledore, and Jim Broadbent also disappoints but the rest of the regular cast turns in great performances no matter how small or large their parts are in this one. I like Tom Felton a lot but his Draco Malfoy feels flat to me except for when he actually physically confronts Harry. Their chemistry is hot, when they’re apart – not so much.

Speaking of hot, most of the film is thriving and thrumming with sexual energy and tension along with a good portion of teen angst. The character interplay in Half-Blood Prince is a fun game of who likes who and who should be with who. Throw in a charm potion or two and hilarity ensues. There were lots of little winks at the audience who have already read the books and knows who ends up with whom. It makes the film fun, especially good when the world it happens in is so dark and on the brink.

The fun doesn’t last forever as the final two acts take a turn into sudden horror and then melodrama. The same voices in that packed midnight theatre audience that were giggling over the young romance games are also the ones sobbing toward the end. It’s a powerful emotional rollercoaster. I enjoyed the film a lot, and didn’t mind one bit the deviation from the print version. And I’m looking forward to the final two installments, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which will be split into two segments, to be released some time in the next two years.




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