Today's Movie: Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Beauty and the Beast is the live-action remake of the 1991 animated film of the same name.

Overall, it is a pretty faithful remake so I'm not going to go too much into the plot. If you've seen the animated version then you know what happens in this one. The original 1991 film is widely considered one of the major highlights among Disney's large catalogue of movies so, I'm going to compare this one to the animated feature quite a bit.

First off, the songs. What would Beauty and the Beast be without some of that stuck-in-your-head-all-day Disney music? Well, for the most part the songs you're probably expecting if you're going to see this are all there (There are also a few tunes that aren't in the original but they're all pretty bland and forgettable). Now, while most of them are done well enough, the song sequences overall aren't nearly as fun as in the animated version. 'Be Our Guest' for example is good but isn't as memorable and high-energy, resulting in a scene that I found kind of disappointing.

Next, let's move on to the characters. One of the concerns I had going in was that the actors were just going to be doing impressions of their animated counterparts and, while I do enjoy the original Beauty and the Beast, I was hoping that their would be some new life breathed into the material and that actors would really own their roles. Unfortunately, that is not really the case for the most part and Belle's father Maurice (played by Kevin Kline) was the only character that I wholeheartedly prefer in this version. While, overall, the acting is pretty solid (Emma Watson was good as Belle, and Luke Evans was fine as Gaston) there is a lot of simply recreating exactly what was already done. Now, if that's what you want to see then you're in luck. However, at least for me, the result is nearly every performance being a downgrade from the original. Without picking apart every performance, I'll simply say that some of these downgrades are minor, some of them a bit more substantial.

 While on the topic of characters, obviously there is a lot of CGI in the film as all of the inhabitants of the castle have been turned into candlesticks, clocks, teapots, and other objects that would otherwise be inanimate. The CGI is good for the most part, although many of the character designs are less appealing and by trying really hard to make them look like actual real-world objects they lost a lot of facial expressions that made those characters relatable.

Like I stated at the start, this is a pretty faithful remake but, nothing in the film out does the previous film. If you like the animated movie, then you may want to check this one out. However, if you aren't a huge fan of the original then you can save your money and skip this one altogether. A halfhearted attempt was made to flesh out some of the character's motivations but, it is more or less a beat-for-beat remake and I found myself thinking 'Oh yea, that's the scene from the cartoon' rather than getting really invested in the story. By contrast, Disney's remake of The Jungle Book (which came out about this same time last year) kept to the same spirit of the original but still felt like a fresh re-imagining of the animated classic.

Overall, it was a solid effort and the movie looks really nice but, I don't see any reason why I'd watch this one again when there exists a much better version.

I give this one a 2.5 out of 5.

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Kong: Skull Island

 
1933's King Kong isn't just one of the great movies of the 1930's, but it's also become one of the all-time classics. So, is this new Kong movie as good as the original? No, not even close but, I wasn't expecting it to be. There have been numerous films over the years featuring the fictional giant ape and this one isn't the worst. As with my previous review; Logan (which you can check out by clicking here), I'm going to avoid giving a lot of plot details since this is a new movie. Instead, this will be my overall reaction to the film and some of the thoughts I had while in the theater.

First off, if you like giant monster movies then you probably don't need to bother with the rest of this review. Just go see the movie because there are tons of giant creatures, most are pretty threatening, and most of the CGI looks pretty good. In addition to Kong, there is a giant octopus, giant spiders, lizard-like creatures they call "Skull Crawlers", and more. Kong fights a few of theses other beasts and some people get eaten, mostly what you'd expect but done in an entertaining way.

The basic plot of Kong: Skull Island is just that, Basic. People go to Skull Island, immediately encounter Kong, and the rest of the film is them trying to get off the island. That's the whole movie in a nutshell. Now, this film does have a pretty solid cast including Tom Hiddleston, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and  John C. Riley among others. Some of theses actors where put to good use in the film; I thought John Goodman was solid and, John C. Riley was good for a few laughs even though the introduction of his character drastically changed the tone of the movie. Tom Hiddleston's character was pretty bland which was a shame, and unfortunately Brie Larson who plays a photographer does pretty much nothing except snap pictures. I thought while the film was going on that a connection between Hiddleston's character and Larson's would develop but it never really did. Maybe because they were both pretty dull and one-dimensional. 

The most interesting human character by far is Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (played by Samuel L. Jackson). After Kong kills some of his men, Packard takes it personally, and he goes on an insane hunt for revenge. At one point in the movie I thought to myself 'They could've titled this Samuel L. Jackson vs. King Kong'. It was an over-the-top performance but it was also fun to watch.

Overall, it's the big, dumb, fun, monster movie I sort of expected it to be. I was hoping for something a bit better but, I was still entertained. I'm glad I saw it but, I don't foresee myself ever really feeling the need to rewatch it.
I give it a 2.5 out of 5.


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Tonight's Movie: Logan

I had some moderately high expectations going into this one; I had heard good things, read a couple of positive reviews, and the movie currently sits at a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes... So, while I'm not saying the movie is terrible by any stretch of the imagination, I do think it is a bit overrated.
Also, like I often do when reviewing a new film, I'm going to avoid any plot points that may spoil the movie and, instead, offer up my overall impression of the movie.

Now, while I do love the X-Men comic book characters, I have always been pretty critical of the big screen adaptations but, the one consistent positive is Hugh Jackman. Like so many good and bad X-Men films that came before (all of which I've ranked in a previous post that you can check out by clicking here) it's hard not to love Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine. It is one of the all-time best live-action/comic book character castings, and Jackman doesn't disappoint in this one. And the same can be said for most of the acting throughout, I generally enjoyed most of the performances. Patrick Stewart is pretty solid as always and the girl who plays 'X-23' was good as well.

The overall look and feel of this film is a bit different than all the previous X-Men movies; It has a somber tone and a bit of a Western feel (which I liked), and also carries an R-rating which seemed necessary to tell this particular story. It's easy to feel some superhero fatigue with as many of these comic book movies that come out now but, this one felt like something fairly fresh in a formulaic genre. There are some great action scenes but, there are also a few times when the film drags a bit and the 137min runtime could've been cut down slightly. I didn't find the film's villain all that interesting , and there is at least one character that could've been completely cut from the film without it really affecting the plot at all. The first and third act I enjoyed but, it was the middle of the film that started to run on a bit. Additionally, if you are familiar with all of the previous X-Men movies then you may end up with a few unanswered questions throughout the film.

Overall, this is a movie that I really wanted to love and, while it is enjoyable as a whole, it's far from perfect. Maybe this one is worthy of the high praise it has received thus far, but I found it to be a slightly below what I was hoping for.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5.


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