Frozen II
Directors: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee
Cast Headliners: Idina Menzel, Kirsten Bell, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, wacky elements
Original Release Date: November 22nd, 2019
If 2013's Frozen was a typical Walt Disney Animation Studios main film with some really nice flourishes then Frozen II is a typical Disney sequel with some flourishes of its own. However it's rare that these get released on something more than direct to video at a theatrical level. The effort of the film is felt giving a colorful, emotional, attempted epic story once again however for everything it does well again it falls short in areas the first did. But maybe one can “let its flaws go”.
Knowledge of the first film is key to the events of this one with it taking place after the changed situation of that. In the lush oranges of a fall autumn the kingdom of Arrendelle has it new ruling generation in the friendly reunion of sisters kind-hearted Anna(Kirsten Bell) and ice-gifted Elsa(Idina Menzel) along with Anna's simple goofy boyfriend Kristoff(Jonathan Groff) along with reindeer Sven and living snowman Olaf(Josh Gad).
Their sing-song-y idyllic lives are interrupted by a legacy from their past as seen in flashbacks from their parents Agnarr(Alfred Molina) and Iduna(Evan Rachel Wood). Legends speak of mysterious river of memories in the Enchanted Forest where things such as the wild out of alighnment elements, rock giants, the Northulda people led by Yelena(Martha Plimpton) and a group of knights led by Lietunanent Matthias(Sterling K Brown).
It's a movie that ends up with some mixed delivery but some things must be praised. The CGI animated visuals are incredible with Disney itself even surpassing the best of Pixar to levels of realism perhaps never seen before especially in the backgrounds. The natural scenery is breathtaking and people / critters are so smooth even if it trends towards the “cute”. Some impressive use of scale makes things feel fresh or darker when needed. Solid kudos again to directors Christopher Buck and Jennifer Lee as they return.
Of course the music is a key part of the experience. The orchestral score by returners Robert and Kristan Anderson Lopez is lush with some new usage of things like guitars, drums, and even retro-70s keyboards to give it a nuanced experimental feeling. On the songs well...it's some mixed bag. Great in effort and composition to perhaps new heights but their usage is not the best. They're more of them but they seem to pop up at times odd intervals without the emotional context or fall into the trope of “explain everything”. They have more layers and emotional but lack the right punch at times or aren't as catchily iconic as “Let It Go”. Some exceptions apply however in both epic and even self-aware humor. The Olaf number seems oddly familiar however.
On Olaf, he's a stand-out character again in new if even more ridiculous ways that may trend towards a comedic overload. The script is full of a lot of heart and laugh worthy moments mostly from him but at times the sisters, Kristoff, or Sven. Bell's Anna seems to have slightly regressed as a character but has her depth and charming moments although not as quite where the first one was. This actually leads to Groff's Kristoff having some more stuff with her in his established relationship and proposal goals. Menzel's Elsa has an amazing singing voice of course but so too again has some decent character growth with extra emotion this time although once again it seems she goes away from the main plot for long stretches. Newcomers like Brown's soldier or the Northuldrans offer little more than exposition in the tapestry with one wanting some more of their various new cultures explained.
What it succeeds in audio-visuals it unfortunately finds itself confused in narrative. There's very rare moments of excitement and drama but really the plot is so frustratingly simple in comparison to the past. There's not really a true antagonist or challenges to overcome. There's moments almost like these but they're glossed over quickly like many things. Questions are raised that are never really answered and somehow even with a bigger scope things feel smaller. One wishes some more time was spent on certain revelations or the meaning of the non-ice elements but nothing ever does.
However that's since it is a Disney movie and those at times are not so much about the “plot”. The best of their like however do have some substance and here everything just scratches at the surface. It's another slice of family weather-related fun but try to keep the bar of the first at home. 7.6 out of 10
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Doctor Sleep Review
Doctor Sleep
Director: Mike Flanagan
Cast Headliners: Ewan McGregor, Kyliegh Curran,Rebecca Ferguson, Cliff Curtis, many minds and ghosts
Original Release Date: November 8th, 2019
Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining is one of the most iconic films of all time. Author's note that it was a firsthand watch in full in the past few weeks but it holds up incredibly, amazingly well. How can anyone possibly follow it up and why. Well Stephen King himself stepped up to the plate with a 2013 novel Doctor Sleep. Now it's become a film but is it really The Shining 2 . It's a mix of very much being one, too much at being one, and it's own frontier.
Some (seldom little!) usage of the old theme song takes audiences back to the 80s where a young Danny Torrance is being raised in Florida by his mother Wendy after the horrific events of the Overlook. They're played by Roger Dale Floyd and Alex Essoe rather than their originals... part of several old characters who show up again who never quite match the original but at least go for an attempt at looking like them such as a dcent Shelly Duvall or a slightly mediocre Jack Nicholson. This includes Danny being haunted by ghostly visions whether the evil old woman (what a 2019 of those) or the helpful Halloran(Carl Lumbly). He learns to master his mental powers a little more which is more what this film is about than horror.
In present day in multiple jumps of time Danny is now a drunken loser of an adult(Ewan McGregor) who is still haunted but by much more realistic demons. He finds himself on the east coast befriending Billy Freeman(Cliff Curtis) in a small town. Elsewhere a young girl named Abra Stone(Kyliegh Curran) makes contact with him with her own telekinetic powers. They attract the attention of a murderous cult of energy-vampires the True Knot led by Rose the Hat(Rebecca Ferguson). Various adventures, deaths, close calls, and magical revelations occur in the saga of shining-mind versus shining-mind.
That's an important thing to know of this film as mentioned. It's definitely spooky with some jump scares and an overall dark ambiance (thank director Mike Flanagan for that as the influence of The Haunting Of Hill House is felt in mood and ghostly reveals). However it truly dives deeper into the lore of these mind powers. There's some fascinating sequences of mental astro projection almost like Doctor Strange or Inception or something as these gifted individuals compete with each other. Some pulse pounding and or creepy music by the Newton Brothers aids this fantastical atmosphere. There's even such contrast features as a gun fight but it ends up working.
The new cast is decent if nothing mind-blowing like the original. McGregor's adult “Dan” is of course hard to compare to the child version but that lets him be something new. He's a bit typical but carries his tortured addicted mental state with his capacity for heroism with some slight humor at times. Curran's Abra makes for a great pair with him and she has some solid young potential. Curtis's Billy has some generic kindness and this appears through most the other family / neighbor characters like other King works.
Ferguson's Rose is the most solid of all with a bit of an ancient Celtic accent hinting at her true origin. Her vampire partners, henchmen, and lovers have this unique Cajun-esque odd sensibiility to them that makes them distinct. Her number two and lover Crow Daddy(Zahn McClarnon) and newcomer Snakebate Andi(Emily Alyn Lind) makes some particular fierce impact.
All of this could be a movie on its own and it really is a loose connection to the original. However of course they try to include some connections to the Overlook Hotel (as there was in the original novel). This time elements of the Doctor Sleep novel , the Shining novel's alternate ending, ad the mini-series remake are all mixed into having an excuse to go back to that snowy mountain. This part of the film is what truly is like “shining 2” and it's interesting to see other characters react to it. Some impressive efforts are made to re-create certain sets and visuals although some of this has shaky CGI. The lore doesn't quite make sense and some truly questionable choices happen in the climax but it manages to be both silly and deliver on what viewers of the first film would want to see for a sense of closure.
It's a long movie, almost too much at times, with some room possibly having been gotten from cutting down on some character development. There's a few mistakes made but the emotion, scares, and atmosphere do a decent job of bringing back the legend. It's an epic mind saga when it does it right. 8 out of 10
Director: Mike Flanagan
Cast Headliners: Ewan McGregor, Kyliegh Curran,Rebecca Ferguson, Cliff Curtis, many minds and ghosts
Original Release Date: November 8th, 2019
Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining is one of the most iconic films of all time. Author's note that it was a firsthand watch in full in the past few weeks but it holds up incredibly, amazingly well. How can anyone possibly follow it up and why. Well Stephen King himself stepped up to the plate with a 2013 novel Doctor Sleep. Now it's become a film but is it really The Shining 2 . It's a mix of very much being one, too much at being one, and it's own frontier.
Some (seldom little!) usage of the old theme song takes audiences back to the 80s where a young Danny Torrance is being raised in Florida by his mother Wendy after the horrific events of the Overlook. They're played by Roger Dale Floyd and Alex Essoe rather than their originals... part of several old characters who show up again who never quite match the original but at least go for an attempt at looking like them such as a dcent Shelly Duvall or a slightly mediocre Jack Nicholson. This includes Danny being haunted by ghostly visions whether the evil old woman (what a 2019 of those) or the helpful Halloran(Carl Lumbly). He learns to master his mental powers a little more which is more what this film is about than horror.
In present day in multiple jumps of time Danny is now a drunken loser of an adult(Ewan McGregor) who is still haunted but by much more realistic demons. He finds himself on the east coast befriending Billy Freeman(Cliff Curtis) in a small town. Elsewhere a young girl named Abra Stone(Kyliegh Curran) makes contact with him with her own telekinetic powers. They attract the attention of a murderous cult of energy-vampires the True Knot led by Rose the Hat(Rebecca Ferguson). Various adventures, deaths, close calls, and magical revelations occur in the saga of shining-mind versus shining-mind.
That's an important thing to know of this film as mentioned. It's definitely spooky with some jump scares and an overall dark ambiance (thank director Mike Flanagan for that as the influence of The Haunting Of Hill House is felt in mood and ghostly reveals). However it truly dives deeper into the lore of these mind powers. There's some fascinating sequences of mental astro projection almost like Doctor Strange or Inception or something as these gifted individuals compete with each other. Some pulse pounding and or creepy music by the Newton Brothers aids this fantastical atmosphere. There's even such contrast features as a gun fight but it ends up working.
The new cast is decent if nothing mind-blowing like the original. McGregor's adult “Dan” is of course hard to compare to the child version but that lets him be something new. He's a bit typical but carries his tortured addicted mental state with his capacity for heroism with some slight humor at times. Curran's Abra makes for a great pair with him and she has some solid young potential. Curtis's Billy has some generic kindness and this appears through most the other family / neighbor characters like other King works.
Ferguson's Rose is the most solid of all with a bit of an ancient Celtic accent hinting at her true origin. Her vampire partners, henchmen, and lovers have this unique Cajun-esque odd sensibiility to them that makes them distinct. Her number two and lover Crow Daddy(Zahn McClarnon) and newcomer Snakebate Andi(Emily Alyn Lind) makes some particular fierce impact.
All of this could be a movie on its own and it really is a loose connection to the original. However of course they try to include some connections to the Overlook Hotel (as there was in the original novel). This time elements of the Doctor Sleep novel , the Shining novel's alternate ending, ad the mini-series remake are all mixed into having an excuse to go back to that snowy mountain. This part of the film is what truly is like “shining 2” and it's interesting to see other characters react to it. Some impressive efforts are made to re-create certain sets and visuals although some of this has shaky CGI. The lore doesn't quite make sense and some truly questionable choices happen in the climax but it manages to be both silly and deliver on what viewers of the first film would want to see for a sense of closure.
It's a long movie, almost too much at times, with some room possibly having been gotten from cutting down on some character development. There's a few mistakes made but the emotion, scares, and atmosphere do a decent job of bringing back the legend. It's an epic mind saga when it does it right. 8 out of 10
Friday, November 8, 2019
Terminator: Dark Fate Review
Terminator: Dark Fate
Director:Tim Miller
Cast Headliners: Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Original Release Date: November 1st, 2019
The Terminator film franchise is much like its apocalyptic future in that things were, are, and will be messy. Sequels to the iconic first two films have been extremely mixed bags with each attempting to start its own era of stories only to be swept away. What sets Terminator: Dark Fate, the sixth film overall, apart is that even more of the DNA of those first two films is present. Not only does Arnold Schwarzenegger as a T-800 return again but so does Sarah Connor, Linda Hamilton, herself. James Cameron also helped produce and craft a story that is set in a time-line canon only to the first two films. One might think this is sure to work but only in a mixed way.
A short prologue actually explains this timeline divergence. With some incredible de-aging CGI used to show the 1990s again a young John Connor is killed by another (apparently many ) T-800 in a move very reminiscent of Cameron's choice in Alien 3. This sets the future up for a new and unknown world ahead.
Jumping to 2019 Mexico is the world to which cyborg human-terminator hybrid soldier Grace(Mackenzie Davis) is sent back. Of course naked and afraid she at first only reacts to this strange time with no context or civility. Soon she realizes that her mission is to protect Dani Ramos(Natalia Reyes) from a Rev-9 terminator robot(Gabriel Luna) on their trails. There's some other new characters but none of them really make an impact aside from a moment. Even the new heroes and villains are pretty generic with Reyes being like a younger new Sarah Connor / John Connor fusion with much less of both the charisma and aptitude. Davis' Grace and Luna's Rev-9 have some fierceness to them but like so many in this franchise are generic while being better at action scenes. It's also questionable if it needed to really be “Legion” and “Rev-9's” instead of Skynet again since its the same plots but with the nouns swapped out.
What gives the movie its most authentic charm is the presence of the legacy characters used better than ever. It's so great to have Hamilton back as the older Sarah Connor. She's maybe even tougher than ever with great combat prowess and some funny quips. It's as if she never left and the character arc feels very much true to her past. Schwarzenegger's older “Carl”, who's connections to the past must be seen firsthand, is also really good. Much like Genisys he's able to bring a humorous angle to things although here more robotic and reserved to fit a more accurate dark tone. It all works so well and it's a bit of a shame that they come in late to the picture (Sarah around 1/3 in and Carl for the last 25% respectively). The absolute best stuff is their rivalry with each other which brings both laughs and emotional feels. However it's understood that, like so many soft-reboots these days, these are precious connections whose minimal usage makes feel that much better.
The gritty 80s tone is mostly successfully brought into the modern day. It's helped by the pounding metallic soundtrack, including the iconic theme, by Junkie XL although the synths are interspersed with generic orchestrations. James Cameron's lore touch and some tone is felt although he actually didn't direct it this time. This was done by Deadpool 1's Tim Miller. Through this a slight lower budget CGI cheese is felt but his frenetic style is felt (as if it was Wade Wilson versus foes but in a more grim way). Things tend towards larger than life movements which work with Rev-9's splitting-into-two-halves angle with liquid effects that remind one of T2(why does everything try to be T2....it was a legend of course). Things become a bit better when realistic gritty car chases and gunfights occur since they're more practical. It can be at times rough with the movement but it entertains.
That's what this film is... it's nothing too new but it entertains. Some of the ingredients help bring it up slightly from the muck of its franchise past but what isn't working still isn't working that well. However it acts as a bit of a nice closed loop for the series(with its box office this may be the end forever) and worth it for either big fans or those looking for some silly robotic time-jumping fun. 7.35 out of 10.
Director:Tim Miller
Cast Headliners: Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Original Release Date: November 1st, 2019
The Terminator film franchise is much like its apocalyptic future in that things were, are, and will be messy. Sequels to the iconic first two films have been extremely mixed bags with each attempting to start its own era of stories only to be swept away. What sets Terminator: Dark Fate, the sixth film overall, apart is that even more of the DNA of those first two films is present. Not only does Arnold Schwarzenegger as a T-800 return again but so does Sarah Connor, Linda Hamilton, herself. James Cameron also helped produce and craft a story that is set in a time-line canon only to the first two films. One might think this is sure to work but only in a mixed way.
A short prologue actually explains this timeline divergence. With some incredible de-aging CGI used to show the 1990s again a young John Connor is killed by another (apparently many ) T-800 in a move very reminiscent of Cameron's choice in Alien 3. This sets the future up for a new and unknown world ahead.
Jumping to 2019 Mexico is the world to which cyborg human-terminator hybrid soldier Grace(Mackenzie Davis) is sent back. Of course naked and afraid she at first only reacts to this strange time with no context or civility. Soon she realizes that her mission is to protect Dani Ramos(Natalia Reyes) from a Rev-9 terminator robot(Gabriel Luna) on their trails. There's some other new characters but none of them really make an impact aside from a moment. Even the new heroes and villains are pretty generic with Reyes being like a younger new Sarah Connor / John Connor fusion with much less of both the charisma and aptitude. Davis' Grace and Luna's Rev-9 have some fierceness to them but like so many in this franchise are generic while being better at action scenes. It's also questionable if it needed to really be “Legion” and “Rev-9's” instead of Skynet again since its the same plots but with the nouns swapped out.
What gives the movie its most authentic charm is the presence of the legacy characters used better than ever. It's so great to have Hamilton back as the older Sarah Connor. She's maybe even tougher than ever with great combat prowess and some funny quips. It's as if she never left and the character arc feels very much true to her past. Schwarzenegger's older “Carl”, who's connections to the past must be seen firsthand, is also really good. Much like Genisys he's able to bring a humorous angle to things although here more robotic and reserved to fit a more accurate dark tone. It all works so well and it's a bit of a shame that they come in late to the picture (Sarah around 1/3 in and Carl for the last 25% respectively). The absolute best stuff is their rivalry with each other which brings both laughs and emotional feels. However it's understood that, like so many soft-reboots these days, these are precious connections whose minimal usage makes feel that much better.
The gritty 80s tone is mostly successfully brought into the modern day. It's helped by the pounding metallic soundtrack, including the iconic theme, by Junkie XL although the synths are interspersed with generic orchestrations. James Cameron's lore touch and some tone is felt although he actually didn't direct it this time. This was done by Deadpool 1's Tim Miller. Through this a slight lower budget CGI cheese is felt but his frenetic style is felt (as if it was Wade Wilson versus foes but in a more grim way). Things tend towards larger than life movements which work with Rev-9's splitting-into-two-halves angle with liquid effects that remind one of T2(why does everything try to be T2....it was a legend of course). Things become a bit better when realistic gritty car chases and gunfights occur since they're more practical. It can be at times rough with the movement but it entertains.
That's what this film is... it's nothing too new but it entertains. Some of the ingredients help bring it up slightly from the muck of its franchise past but what isn't working still isn't working that well. However it acts as a bit of a nice closed loop for the series(with its box office this may be the end forever) and worth it for either big fans or those looking for some silly robotic time-jumping fun. 7.35 out of 10.
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