Spoiler That five minute illusion sequence the first time Spiderman fights Mysterio was incredible. Yes, finally. Thank you Chlidonias.
Continuing with the live-action remakes: Mulan. I haven't seen the animated one, but this looks good to me.
It looks good yes but will have no songs and no Mushu (Eddy Murphy’s dragon character in the original) so I feel it won’t live up to the original in the way the jungle book did. In that case Disney - dishonour on you. Dishonour on your cow!
So for the first time in a long time I've been to the cinema twice in a week, no prizes for guessing what my second film was... That's right, obviously it was Spider-Man: Far From Home and it was good. Not the best MCU movie, and probably my least favourite of this years offerings, but still very good. Unlike @ThylacineAlive I enjoyed the post-credits scene and thought it was quite well done, even beating the mid-credits scene in entertainment and shock value. I'll stop there as the film's already been covered extensively, so final score is 7/10. And an added extra for you all, because I think I'm the first person to discover it... Bonus Easter Egg; A Town Called Malice by The Jam is played when they're in the bar, the song was featured heavily in Billy Elliot (the movie), Tom Holland started his career playing Billy Elliot in the live musical... Boom, mic drop, Brum out!
**Schpoiler alert if you ain’t seen Dumbo (2019): I was effectively forced to watch this movie this week and actually quite enjoyed it! I hadn’t heard a lot about the movie prior to seeing it; so was initially waiting for storks that never came, as I wrongly assumed the movie was a CGI version of the original. I liked the original as a kid, bar all that awful singing (which was largely cut out), but the storyline of this movie was much more interesting. Other things I liked: The abusive handler who I expected to be the villain of the movie was killed early on in the movie. The ringmaster was a likeable character, as opposed to the stereotypical abusive ringmaster you usually see in movies. When Vandevere and Colette turned up, it was predictable that any offer they made was gonna come with a catch. What I didn’t expect was the development of Colette’s character into that of a heroine. They specified ‘Mrs Jumbo’ was an Asian elephant. ‘Dumbo’ reminded me of ‘Motty’ the African/Asian elephant hybrid and I thought this could be a reasonable explanation for his physical appearance. The setting of ‘Dreamland.’ Given the time period it was set in (Post WWI), you can really envisage how cutting edge/futuristic this theme park would have appeared to the characters. How they renamed ‘Mrs Jumbo’ as ‘Kali the Destroyer.’ Kali is the name of the Hindu goddess of destruction. While not reflective of the elephant’s positive attributes, I like nothing more than when an animal is given a name that pays tribute to its country of origin (in this case, India). There was no talking animals. For some reason, I can accept the elephant taking flight; but find the advent of talking animals as pushing the boundaries of reality. The talking mouse was adequately replaced with talking children (who were also decent actors). What I didn’t like: ‘Dumbo’ was separated from his mother without any regard for the weaning process. I’m not even sure he received adequate colostrum postpartum. The elephants (even a young calf) had full comprehension of the English language. While I liked that ‘Medici Brothers’ had become ‘Medici and Family’ illustrating that Max Medici and his crew were a family (albeit one hell of blended one); his revised circus seemed really crappy and nobody in their right mind would buy tickets, or accept them as gifts. To be fair, with limited funds at his disposal; this was probably the best visitor experience they were capable of conjuring and I shouldn’t diss his entrepreneurial spirit. The wild Asian elephant herd held a ridiculously high number of adolescent and adult bulls (at least one to every cow). While it could be partly explained by the gathering of multiple herds at a watering hole (it was after all, larger than the average herd); the scene was portrayed as ‘Dumbo’ and his mother returning to their family, which in reality would have been a smaller herd of around 10-15 cows and their calves. When that guy announced the elephant was flying to Nightmare Island: ‘Dumbo’ was showing no signs of descent at that point, so thanks for the spoiler. In reality, he could have been headed for his night barn, his favourite pretzel wagon, the Statue of Liberty (or just about anything else in that direction). Final rating: 7/10. This film is perfectly watchable for kids and adults alike.
I saw it other week and thought it was great. And the music was as great as you'd expect it to be. I enjoyed that trailer, and I look forward to seeing it when it comes out, looks very entertaining! Hix
Some short blurbs about movies I've seen and haven't written reviews on. Midsommar (directed by Ari Aster) 8.5/10 Disturbing psychedelic folk horror from the director of Hereditary that explores PTSD and unhealthy relationships. Florence Pugh delivers an outstanding lead performance. Gorgeous cinematography and directing. One of the most unsettling films of the year. I can't recommend this film to most people due to the extreme disturbing imagery and violence. Rated R, though it could be argued NC-17 may have been more appropriate. Toy Story 4 (directed by Josh Cooley) 7/10 The fourth film in what was a very solid trilogy. Pixar's animation continues to become more and more photorealistic, some of the character interactions were charming and I appreciated that the antagonist had a solid redemption arc. The new characters, especially Ducky, Bunny, and Duke Kaboom are stand-outs in the cast. Otherwise, it's nothing that original or special. If you've seen the previous films you already know the themes and basic story. That being said, it's a nice summer family film. If you have kids or feel like enjoying some nostalgia it's worth seeing. Rated PG. Avengers: Endgame (directed by Joe and Anthony Russo) 8/10 The culmination of the Infinity Saga and direct sequel to Avengers: Infinity War. In my opinion this is the weaker of the two latest Avengers films, the long run time didn't do it any favors, but it's still a very solid film. Character arcs are tied up in very emotionally satisfying ways. I appreciated that there were real stakes in this movie. Definitely worth checking out if you've been following the Avengers films. Rated PG-13. Shazam! (directed by David F. Sandberg) 7.5/10 Charming family-focused adaptation of the DC comics. Zachary Levi steals the show as the adult Shazam/Barry Batson. Easily the most fun of the DCEU films. The pacing sometimes felt uneven and the villain was forgettable. Worth checking out if you enjoy comic book movies that aren't grimdark or three hours long. Rated PG-13.
Just got back from the lion king. Was not impressed. Most of the cgi was pretty good, i loved the mass representation of animals (there were more featured in this one) i am hoping it will inspire people to discover more about those species. Most of the acting was very flat. The changes to the background music i liked. Scene where mufasa dies didnt stir the emotions the way the original does. Visually cool, i wanted to love this movie and ihave been looking forward to it since it was announced but i thought the aladdin remake was better.
Oh wonderful, I'm supposed to go and see this next week but your review (and everything else I've read recently... ) is not filling me with confidence!
Hot take but I liked the Lion King. Helped that I went in with very low expectations after reading all the reviews, and also that I'm extremely attached to the music, which is updated phenomenally. All the songs are adapted well and with more South African elements, which I liked. Many aspects of the movie feel more culturally grounded in Africa, e.g. the Rafiki character. I agree that the species representation is great. Friends of mine asked me about the species in the Hakuna Matata crew. Reminded me a lot of Baloo's crew in Jungle Book. Favreau respects and depicts biodiversity in a way that, for example, Andy Serkis didn't, which I respect. Script is a bit weak. Lots of the great moments from the original are done well but the spaces in between are... weird. It feels like there should be more lines and things happening during the set up, and all that screen time is given to... Scar and Nala stuff, I guess? It was hard to tell because the movie felt "less full" than the 1994 version despite being longer. I still liked the "big moments" of the original: Mufasa's "lesson" to Simba after the elephant graveyard; the stampede sequence; Simba-Timon-Pumba discussing the meaning of stars; Simba-Nala reunion; Mufasa reflection; and the climax. Not gonna lie, had tears for most of it. Getting shivers now thinking about them. There is something special about seeing these moments in pseudo-live action for 90s kids. I don't like the Beyonce song. It comes in at a weird spot where the original's soundtrack was better. I didn't mind her portrayal as Nala, and actually really enjoyed all the voice actors. They're leaning in to their actual personas as John Oliver, Billie Eichner, etc. more than imitations of 1994, which is good. Hyena storyline rankled me a bit. Ofc, the original wasn't kind to hyenas either - but that was so cartoonish that it didn't feel so bad. Now we have what often feels like a nature documentary, and still the hyenas are treated as insatiable scavenger maniacs who destroy every habitat on which they tread. It's a really strange and jarring aspect of the movie for anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of ecology - specifically because it's done with so much more seriousness/gravitas than in the obviously comical, exaggerated and Nazi-esque original. Stay for the credits. There's an Elton John song, followed by the two best tracks (IMO) of the entire album: Lebo M's new, all-Zulu/Xhosa, extremely South African takes on "He Lives In You" and "Mbube" (the original song on which "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is based, or, well, plagiarized; I hope its inclusion here indicates that Disney compensated or recognized the original songwriter.)
I've seen several clips that were leaked on YouTube for Lion King and it seems like like the majority of the time is spent in the Masai Mara although when Simba is exiled by Scar and the hyenas it seems like he ran all the way to Ethiopia because there is a tropical rainforest area in Eithiopia and the plant life reminded me of what you see in the Simien Mountains. Can anyone confirm this? I was like this for Favreau's Jungle Book (2016) too trying to figure out where Mowgli was in each scene. Or did Simba run west towards the Congo?
Saw The Lion King on Thursday. I can't say it was a bad movie because it was very competently made, many of the technical aspects were state of the art. But it wasn't good either, there were major issues with pacing and writing. So the pros: The eye for detail was very impressive, there were some scenes where I could have sworn it was actually live action. The animals felt alive and real. I appreciated that Shenzi was made a villain in her own right instead of just being a minion of Scar. It was a cool change that I think really worked. Some of the new voice cast was quite good. I liked Donald Glover as Simba, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, and John Oliver as Zazu. And the cons You could tell a lot of these lines were written for other actors originally. They don't fit the vocal portrayal in this movie. Since most of the movie takes place during the day without many lighting changes it feels like there's no passage of time. Additionally, there are no pauses to let the movie breathe, it goes from one scene directly to the other. While other actors were cast well other's weren't. Chiwetel Ejiofor is a fantastic actor who was very miscast as Scar, or at least Scar as originally written for Jeremy Irons. He came across as whiny and angry, when Irons' Scar was an intimidating and eccentric villain. Beyonce as Nala was also miscast in my opinion: her voice is too "old" and mellow for the character, especially opposite of the energetic and youthful Donald Glover. She may have been a better Sarabi. Quite honestly, this isn't a movie that should exist on it's own. It's not distinct enough from the original to really stand out as a unique movie, and it isn't a strong enough movie to be worth watching over the original. I'd give it a 5/10, a neutral rating. Like I said, it's not good or bad, it just shouldn't exist really.
I'm currently watching all of the MCU movies in chronological order. Besides Endgame, Captain Marvel was my favorite.
I mean, it's less egregious than the idea that a meerkat came north all the way from the Kalahari, or that a mandrill crossed the width of Africa from Gabon. Favreau chooses a broader swathe of geography and then does a fantastical rendition of real biodiversity. So in the Jungle Book, he took very real landscapes and species from across regions (and time zones) of India and populated his fantastical version of Seoni. TBF, in the Lion King's case, he is working with landscape choices that are present in the original as well - the Hakuna Matata land that Timon and Pumba live in looks even more rainforest-like in the animation, and I thought the remake did a decent enough job of redesigning that into a green patch that could be reminiscent of the highland forests of central Kenya, e.g. Aberdares, Mt. Kenya, etc. Far more out of place is a legit sandy Sahara-like desert with dunes (again, from the 1994 animation). You've got to think of it, imo, as a "Disney's Animal Kingdom" version of a bio-geographic region. No giant anteaters in Africa (as in 1994) or brown hyenas in India (as in Serkis's Mowgli), but yes meerkats in a Mara-inspired setting and yes lion-tailed macaques in Seoni.
Not a review, but this seems like the place to mention that Avengers Endgame has surpassed the Avatar as the highest grossing movie of all time! I see this as an absolute win .
Here are the MCU movies I remember listed in order from best to worst IMO 1. Endgame 2. Captain Marvel 3. Iron Man 4. The Incredible Hulk 5. Iron Man 2
Since the year is now over halfway over I'm going to put up my rankings of the movies I've seen so far, plus my rating for them. I'm going to see Once Upon a Time in Hollywood this week when it opens, and I'll likely check out Spider-Man Far From Home sometime soon. Expect short reviews of both of those after I see them. Midsommar (dir. Ari Aster): 8.5/10 Avengers: Endgame (dir. Joe & Anthony Russo): 8/10 Us (dir. Jordan Peele): 8/10 How to Train Your Dragon - The Hidden World (dir. Dean DeBlois): 7.5/10 Shazam! (dir. David F. Sandberg): 7.5/10 Toy Story 4 (dir. Josh Cooley): 7/10 The Lego Movie - The Second Part (dir. Phil Lord & Christopher Miller): 6/10 *I honestly forgot I saw this* Captain Marvel (dir. Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck): 6/10 The Lion King (dir. Jon Favreau): 5/10 I've adjusted a few ratings since my initial viewings. Some have moved down a little, others have stayed around the same.
I went to watch The Lion King earlier, it wasn't great. It was passable, and if you haven't seen the original it would be fantastic but unfortunately I have seen the original. Many times. The problems are many; John Oliver does an awful Rowan Atkinson impression, Beyonce is over used as Nala, Timon and Pumba have very little chemistry, song lyrics hace been changed, James Earl Jones no longer has the same qualities to his voice... The list of complaints could go on and on but, fortunately, the CGI is fantastic, the voice acting is pretty good on the whole, and the story is still timeless (Thanks Shakespeare). Out of the Disney remakes that I've seen this is probably the second best, coming after Jungle Book but being miles better than Beauty And The Beast, Maleficent and Dumbo. I'll give this film a 5/10.
