Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Lucas Jade Zumann, Billy Crudup
The late seventies in Santa Barbara, California finds Dorothea (Annette Benning) as a forward thinking single mother raising her child of the sixties, teen Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann) who is struggling to become a man. Dorothea feels unprepared to offer him her advice so she calls upon two women of different generations, Julie (Elle Fanning) and Abbie (Greta Gerwig) to train him in how to be a man and to resolve his issues.
This is a very slow moving story. It’s a lot about feminism told from a male point of view, I guess, and it develops really slowly and somewhat pointlessly as it plods along. Somehow I felt like the writer had something to say, but just couldn’t get it together. Some people (mostly ladies I presume) really seemed to enjoy this film, but I found it to be over the top boring. We watched as everyone’s life unraveled but without any real point. In the end, everyone goes their way, and we are none the richer for it. Elle Fanning was really good and did a great job. The rest of the cast was adequate. It’s just that it was such a weird story that went nowhere. I didn’t enjoy this movie very much, so I suggest you skip it.
Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson
This live action version of the classic Disney feature Beauty and the Beast stars Emma Watson as Belle, the beautiful daughter of Maurice (Kevin Kline) who is captured and imprisoned in the cursed enchanted castle of The Beast (Dan Stevens). In order to break the curse, the Beast must learn to love, but also be loved in return. Naturally we all are cheering with the hope that love once again conquers all.
This is a film that could have come out completely different. Disney wanted to NOT make this film a musical, and tell a story without the songs. But the songs are far too amazing to be left behind, and it would have been a huge disaster. As it is, there is a lot of time, a lot of additional backstory, and the correction of a few error that makes this as familiar as ever, but with much more richness and beauty to add and make it a must see. The story is handled with loving care, and the things that are added to it only made it better. Emma Watson is beautiful as Belle, and a lot of her personal strength and attitude went into it as she added few changes to the role that fixed the story. It is stunningly beautiful, from the ugly castle, to the snowy forest filled with wolves, to the ballroom scene. This version of the mandatory Be Our Guest song is wonderfully done. SO many things could have gone wrong to ruin this movie, but it is perfect. This certainly came together well and will ensure Disney has enough money to shoot themselves in the foot again in the future, but this time they came through unscathed. And from the audience reaction to the trailer for the next “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie, it seems that one is a lock too. I completely loved this film and will definitely add this to my list of memories I will never lose. This was a very good movie, and one I encourage everyone to get out to see while you can! It’s definitely worth it.
