Ed's Review Dot Com

Fairview Entertainment, Moving Picture Company (MPC), Walt Disney Pictures,

Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Neel Sethi

Disney brings us the live action Jungle Book based on their animated film based on Rudyard Kipling’s books. Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is raised by a pack of wolves until he gains the unwanted attention of Shere Kahn, the fiercest Lion in the Jungle. The panther Bagheera who found him, tries to take him back to the man village, but the journey is plagued with danger and the eventual meeting with Shere Kahn.

This live action version of the classic Disney film is by far the most successful of the animated to live films that Disney has been trying lately. Mostly I suspect this is due to the quality of the writing and the original stories. There are many surprises in this film and many things that have led to it’s huge success. First is Jon Favreau who is an excellent director who has outdone himself here. Second is the intense world developed by the animators of this stunning look at the jungle created on Disney’s lot in Burbank. The lighting, shadow, and details down to every hair is absolutely breathtaking. Then there’s the tribute to the original, while still making this a grown up totally different experience for those like me who have seen the original over and over again. The characters are mostly the same, and the major story points are pretty similar, but it juts off at a couple places that really makes this experience new. Then there’s the music. How can we beat Louis Prima’s “I Wanna Be Like You” or Phil Harris’ “Bear Necessities”. Well they did use much of the same music, though not all, but in a completely new and modern style that will let you remember the tune and the gist of the story, but with many new words and different sounds that make it feel like a new song in many ways. Unlike the cartoon, the music isn’t the main feature, but a background reminder of what you’re watching in a whole new light. Then there is the really exciting and fun voices. Bill Murray as Baloo and Christopher Walken as King Louie is fabulous. But all the voice talent is top notch, that’s for sure. Finally, the performance of Neel Sethi as Mowgli. There are whole clips on YouTube about how he was selected, and this kid is as unexpected as the stars of Slumdog Millionaire when it arrived on the scene. All the buzz is about this fellow, and he was unbelievably good. This is a must see film, so don’t miss out. Catch this one right away while it’s still in the theater on the BIG screen….the BIGGER the BETTER!!

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Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,

Raymond Ochoa, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Steve Zahn, Anna Paquin, Sam Elliott, A.J. Buckley, Marcus Scribner, Jack Bright

Many Pixar films start out with a concept. The concept here is simply “What if the meteor that killed the dinosaur’s missed?”. This film is the view of what Earth might be like if the dinosaurs never left and mankind was not allowed to grow to the top of the food chain. The story centers around a young family of dinosaurs, a Father and Mother, and three children who are farmers and grow crops to survive the winter. The youngest of the three kids though is Arlo and he’s a bit of a shrimp. Scared of the chickens and afraid of his shadow, Dad wants to make him grow up and make his mark on the world. Instead, he gets lost in a raging river and has to fight to survive and find his way back home in this animated Pixar film that is as cute and funny as all the rest of their gems.

Not only does Pixar start with a concept, but they also recognize that it’s all in the story, and this is a very, very well told story. The characters are extremely well voiced (and drawn) and this is a darling little film. The only problem that keeps this, in my mind, from being one of the best Pixar films is the fact that the story is rather derived from both Land Before Time and An American Tale. Granted the idea of a small one, lost and fighting to survive on his own is not all that original. Now that I think of it, isn’t that what Finding Nemo was about too? There are certainly similarities in the story, but I think most of it is fresh enough, and with enough tweaks and adjustments to make it very enjoyable. Like all Pixar films, I suspect folks of any age from 2 to 102 are going to really enjoy the story. It’s adult enough in it’s humor that grown ups will get a kick out of some of the characters, but it’s sweet and charming enough that the little ones will like it too. Note that this is PG, and though PG films are really mild nowadays, there is some violence and scary parts in this movie that might scare the little ones. Personally I think my younger grandchildren would be able to handle much worse than this without being afraid, but be alert if they are getting frightened to help them through a couple scary scenes. For example, when Arlo gets washed away in the river, it’s very intense, and there are a couple of vulture like pterodactyl like creatures that give Arlo a rough time. But there are many learning moments as well that stress things like helping, caring, needing to ask for help, and such that are very valuable gems. This is a really sweet movie, a very exciting adventure, and another Home Run for Pixar.

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Twentieth Century Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios, Feigco Entertainment,

Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Alexander Garfin, Mariel Sheets, Venus Schultheis, Rebecca Bloom, Noah Johnston, A.J. Tecce, Francesca Capaldi, Bill Melendez

Charlie Brown is back in this new 3D feature film with all the Peanuts gang. This goes back to the roots and the beginning of the peanuts gang and is about their adventures in school and out. A new neighbor moves in across the street from Chuck and Snoopy and it turns out to be a little red haired girl. Charlie Brown is smitten, and tries his best to impress her. but Charlie has nothing but bad luck. Snoopy, meanwhile, along with Woodstock and company and his new girlfriend set out to write the worlds greatest novel about his adventures fighting the evil Red Baron. This is a flash back to our youth that is brought to us with all the greatest new technology and techniques.

This is a stunning 3D film. All of the gang is there, and though they’re presented in a new way with 3D Pixar style computer generated characters, they never looked better. There were many adults in the audience, including me, that laughed out loud numerous times as the humor was really poignant and just really funny. We took my 7 year old grandson with us, and although he liked the movie, he told us it was a bit boring and too slow. Imagine this coming out of a 7 year old boy, but he knows what he likes. The problem for him, of course, is that it the nostalgia and the warm memories of Charlie and Snoopy that bring such pleasure to the older folks. The kiddies are aware of Snoopy and the gang, but don’t get the fuzzy warm memories that we have. When I was in college, the only comic strip our paper carried was Peanuts, and we literally ran to the newspaper stand to get our copy every morning turning to the last page first to check out what Charles Schultz had written for us. In those days the strips continued the story for weeks and weeks on end, and it was a pleasure to see them every morning. That’s why I think the adults may love this film way more than the kids. Just don’t be devastated if your kids don’t get as excited afterward as you do, as they are just too young to get it. Still, the story is very well told, and though it is slow developing, that’s the way Peanuts always was. For kids who are used to Iron Man and their doses of Saturday cartoons that are all action, they won’t get the relationship stuff that good kid friends have when there are no adults around. One elephant in the room. Prior to his death, Charles Schultz insisted that Charlie Brown die with him. Charlie Brown, after all, was Sparky Schultz, and he couldn’t bear for anyone, even his son, to create new stories without him. I don’t know what the agreement was, or how this was done, but one thing that stood out like a sore thumb was the title screen where it said, “by Schultz”. It seemed really odd, and though there wasn’t much original here, but more background of the original comic strip, I felt a little like maybe we were cheating on Charles Schultz, final wish by watching this. Then I realized that he is gone, and his estate belongs to his family, and it’s up to them how they honor his wishes. Perhaps it was only the daily comic strip that he wanted to stop, and I sure he would have loved this homage to his original characters. Whatever the case, I really loved it and was very glad to see it. This is a true G rated film, good for everyone, and very much worth seeing. If you get a chance to see it on the big screen with the reclining seats, in 3D, please do it. If you have fond memories of Peanuts at all, you’ll love this as much as I did.

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Allison Shearmur Productions, Beagle Pug Films, Genre Films,

Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter, Stellan Skarsgård, Derek Jacobi, Nonso Anozie

This big budget film is the live action retelling of Disney’s version of Cinderella, the animated feature from the 50’s. Poor Ella (Lily James) loses her mother, and her father remarries and brings home a new stepmother (Cate Blanchett) for her. But when her father falls ill and dies, things get harder for the family and the servants are let go, and Ella is required to be a servant, doing all the work maintaining the house while her stepmother and her two daughters take great pride in torturing her.

What an enjoyable film. I have heard lots of rumblings of how bad this film is and how it was a huge bomb at the box office, although the figures seem to contradict that. However, it probably wasn’t the huge bonanza that most of the studio execs suspected, and I’ve hear rumors of the death of big budget remakes. Another complaint I have heard is that it’s the same as the cartoon story and there was no point to remaking the film. I disagree with both assessments. First of all, the actual Cinderella story “Ashenputtel” by the famous Grimm Brothers is a horrid and gory little tale, although one of their more famous story. Disney really cleaned it up tremendously for younger folks not to give them nightmares. Rogers and Hammerstein gave it the Broadway Musical treatment and that is the other well known version of the story. But I suspect that the Disney version is the one we fondly remember from our childhood. This updated version which is very true to the original with a little bit added is a valuable story with many life lessons that is a film with real family values. Lily James was wonderful as Cinderella, perhaps the best I have ever seen with the naivete and charm and downright goodness that she portrays. She gets hurt and suffers and even gets angry, but has a pure heart that is very well played. Cate Blanchett actually did a really good job as the stepmother as well. She plays it as a bad, greedy, selfish person only concerned for her own daughters, but mostly herself, but is not as “wicked” as some have played it. She did an excellent job. Helena Bonham Carter was an unusual choice as the fairy godmother, and plays it a lot like her role as the Queen of Hearts in the live remake of Alice in Wonderland. But I enjoyed the novelty of a live action version of this story. It is a different experience, and though the mice help Cinderella with her dress are real mice and Lucifer the cat is really a cat. The animals do not talk, unlike the cartoon. In fact, there’s a short on the rental version of the DVD of a feature about all the many animal actors and how they got them working together. The other feature on the rental version is a new Frozen cartoon “Frozen Fever” where Elsa is trying to throw a birthday bash for Anna, but she is coming down with a cold, and and ice queen with a cold is not something very nice. It was, I assume, the cartoon that proceeded the film in the theater. It was well worth watching as well as long as the “Cold doesn’t bother you anyway”. All in all, I really enjoyed this film and I thought it was beautifully done. Cinderella’s ball gown is truly spectacular, and the extra bits that were added in filled in the story. (I have always wondered why the slipper would not fit hundreds of maidens in the kingdom since shoes sizes don’t vary that much, but it is a “magic” shoe after all, and this film explains that. I thought it was very well done and a movie young people are going to like for the exciting story, and the older folks are going to have a great time watching and walking down memory lane. I highly recommend this movie, especially for Disney fans.

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Illumination Entertainment,

Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Steve Coogan, Pierre Coffin

In this prequel to the Despicable Me films, we go back to the very beginning of time to see the creation of the minions. Since prehistoric times, the Minions have sought to help the most despicable criminals of the time, whether it be a T-rex or the Abominable Snowman, but it never seemed to work out for them until they met Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock). She has some great plans to use the Minions to help her become the baddest bad guy of all times.

This documentary feature shows how the minions got started. It’s a very cute movie, and I found I really enjoyed this film much more than the actual Despicable Me films. At least much more than the second one. I think because my favorite parts of the main films were the Minions to begin with. This movie introduces us to three special minions who are chosen to go out into the world and find a new bad guy to support. We get to meet Kevin, Stuart, and Bob, three special guys each with their own talents and personalities. I think this is what made this movie so enjoyable. They have a special bond, and are really funny. There’s a lot of things in this film that made it a lot of fun to watch. Sandra Bullock’s character is a bit over the top, but not as insane perhaps as Dru. Basically I was totally entertained by this movie, and I thought it was very well done. Certainly the story was interesting and very much fun. The kids will love it, but the adults in the group should have fun as well. I think they did an excellent job on this film, and I recommend it as one of the better animated films of the summer.

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