Friday, 27 May 2016

The Jungle Book (Favreau, 2016)

Can I just start by saying that I love the original animated version of the The Jungle Book (Reitherman) from 1967. I would say that from where I stand on the remakes I'm always kind of like 'no, why Disney why? Just leave it alone. The original is amazing you can't top that' and I wouldn't say that I was wrong with that statement to an extent. Because to me those movies can't be beat by anything not even their new counterparts that were produced by the same company. The animated movies resonate with me in a way that these new live action remakes just can't.

Ok, ok, it may just be because I simply love animation and I grew up with those films. Those two factors make me insanely biased but I shall still say that these new versions are not as good as the animated features they come from. However, that does NOT mean that these movies are bad, in fact The Jungle Book (Favreau, 2016) is shockingly gorgeous (I do have a few less stellar notes but I'll get to those in a minute), the CGI is astounding. The acting by Neel Sethi is rather good and I can certainly see him making a name for himself in the upcoming months and years to come.

But, Disney are not doing great with the casting of their voice actors at the moment. I have an issue with the casting of Elsa in Frozen (Buck and Lee, 2013) she just doesn't sound right, and that seems to have occurred again in this live action Jungle Book. Myself, and the two friends that I saw the feature with, all agreed that some of the voices just weren't quite what we were expecting and even exactly what we were expecting. The voice of Kaa, Scarlett Johansson, was not quite right, she just wasn't scary more seductive. I didn't think it would be hard to be scarier than the original voice of Kaa, bearing in mind the same voice actor also leant his voice to Winnie the Pooh but she didn't quite manage it, although I wasn't exactly expecting that she could. The other much more surprising disappointment was Idris Elba as Shere Khan whom was scary but also not at all scary, because his voice didn't quite fit the character in a similar way to Idina Menzel in Frozen (Buck and Lee, 2013).

Overall, I would totally recommend this film. I can get past the two voices that I didn't quite like and the few scenes that they cut out quite disappointingly. My only warning would be don't go in thinking it's going to be an exact remake, which would be silly enough a notion anyhow, but it is a different film. Same story, different film almost entirely.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars


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Sunday, 20 March 2016

Zootropolis (Howard & Moore, 2016)

Can I just initially say oh my gosh I love this film! Disney has come back with a bang after Big Hero 6 (Williams & Hall, 2014). This animated feature is based around the idea that all animals (in a humanless world) have evolved at the rate that we did and created an utopian society where predator and prey live in harmony. Hence why the film was originally titled Zootopia.

The characters are fun, my personal favourite is Nick Wilde due to my love of Foxes and sarcasm of which he encompasses both, and relatable which Disney has done so well in recent films. The characters, despite being exactly that, seem real due to the circumstances that they are in which gives them more depth and makes it easier for one to connect to with them. 
The story is rather unexpected, however Disney have done similar things before but through these characters have doing something new and created a Disney film which has made me fall in love with Disney all over again. 

Overall, the film is fun and an easy watch. The characters are super fun and weirdly relatable. The animation is gorgeous, which not everyone looks out for but it is certainly a plus. Perfect for family viewing because no member, I don't think, could really find this film boring due to the exciting fun filled story and engaging characters. Filled with an inspiring message for the kids watching to not discriminate against one another because of the past or what they look like which is very much an issue that has always been around but is particularly getting a spotlight currently. 

Rating: 4.5 (I would give it five but it didn't beat my favourite Disney films, although may have gotten on to that list). Totally go and see this film for an easy watch that is fun and suitable for the people of all ages.


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Monday, 1 February 2016

Resolutions

This year I promised to myself that I would see as many new films as they came out as I could. So far so good it seems. This month I watched six films that came out in the months of December and January (mostly January).

This Month I have seen:

  1. Room (Abrahamson, 2015) - This was the first film that I saw this month and it was just lovely. Brie Larson in her most moving role yet, just a beautifully made film with terrific performances from all involved.
  2. The Danish Girl (Hooper, 2016) - Alicia Vikander needs to win the Oscar for her performance in this gorgeously made film. Her character is really the star of the film, and her performance was just so moving.
  3. Joy (Russel, 2015) - I'm not the biggest fan of Jennifer Lawrence but this film has made me rethink my stance on her as an actress. Whilst watching this film I honestly just forgot that it was Lawrence, and I was just immersed completely in her performance. Also, great for a girl power boost.
  4. Dirty Grandpa (Mazer, 2016) - Just a super fun and silly film that features Zac Efron naked or half naked a lot. Also, Robert De Niro is just amazing, any film with him cannot go badly, right?
  5. The Big Short (McKay, 2016) - The editing, oh my gosh the editing! This film is just put together so beautifully, and uses such quirky techniques to talk to the audience directly.
  6. Spotlight (McCarthy, 2015) - This film is just perfect. The way it handles such a subject is done just so perfectly. As much as I would love for Inside Out to win best original screenplay the script for this film is how this it creates the impact that it does on the audience. 
All of the films that I have seen this month were just great films for different reasons. The Best release is Spotlight (McCarthy, 2015) in my opinion, it just left me both speechless and motionless. 

I hope that this resolution continues throughout the year, I know it will at least next month as I already have five films booked already! I would have more but I reached my booking limit, oops! 

Love, Bethany Ann xx

p.s. hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a very Happy new year!

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Thursday, 22 October 2015

Frozen thoughts

If you have read any of past posts on this site you probably realised that I am a rather large fan of both Joss Whedon and Disney. Disney has always on my little film brain since before I can even remember. I love Disney, everything about it from the music, to the films, to the channel (maybe older disney channel). I really believe that this love comes from always having Disney at my disposal.
I really didn't think that Disney could create a film in their 'classics' that I wouldn't love but then Frozen happened. Personally, I always find that when I say that I don't like Frozen I regularly get questioned because I'm a Disney fan and I should like all things Disney but Frozen for me just doesn't cut it. The first thing that really made me go against Frozen was purely Elsa being voiced by Endina Menzel she just doesn't sound right, and I do not apologise for this, but she sounds too old for the character. The Second thing that got me was how the songs kind of just lacked that something that Disney songs have even in the classics immediately before Frozen, Tangled and Princess and the Frog, had this thing that makes me immediately love them. Don't get me wrong 'Let it Go' has it, although the Endina Menzel version again bugs me because again too old.
However, I do have a theory that all of this (apart from the voice) may simply be because of the hype that surrounded this film. A lot of what people said about it annoyed me before I even saw the film because a lot of what they were saying was wrong. I heard so much, 'Only film showing sisterly love' and 'only disney film with an unexpected love interest' which personally I think are both wrong. One example of sisterly love (which is much better than Frozen) would be Lilo and Stitch. Unexpected Love interest please, it was obvious that they were going to go together because please like Hans was not the villain. It wasn't going to be Elsa once her outfit turned blue.
Also, when people like expressed their surprise at the twist of Hans being evil it was like King Candy all over again, these people do not understand the Disney Villian rule. Purple = EVIL.

Rant over now, go back to regular daily lives. Lots of love.

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Wednesday, 14 October 2015

Sci-Fi Ramble Anyone?

Personally I am way more of a sic-fi girl myself than anything else, apart from eighties films, but hey one of the best sci-fi films ever came from the eighties right? Although I do prefer the more traditional sic-fi films that show a bright future rather than a dingy one. It's just that I would much rather think of my possible future with a positive outcome than a negative one. Don't get me wrong, I love the Hunger Games and The Maze Runner and I certainly love Firefly all of which are slightly dingy versions of the future with two out of three being based around the outcome of a war. But for the most part I prefer when there is a shiny city with lots of lights and flying cars and possible aliens, I wouldn't say no to an alien film maybe apart from Alien which I guess is the quintessential alien film it being called alien and all. My favourite sci-fi films and TV shows definitely revolve around a future theme, whether it be going back to the future or it being all in the future. I just like all the ideas surrounding it, to find out which ones are going to happen and which ones aren't. I feel war is inevitable though because there is just so much hate in the world which makes me hope and pray that maybe our world to come will be Firefly which would make me a very happy little Joss Whedon fan (we need a word for us, I mean its more than just Buffy in the Whedonverse, #Slayerette). Maybe without the Reavers though, I'd be happy if they stayed fictional but I kind of doubt that they would.
Anyway, Sci-fi preference for myself is the future, preferably featuring space cowboys and ships. Which technically means that I prefer a sub-genre of a Sci-fi, god damn it people genre doesn't fit into a neat little box as much as I very much want it too!


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Friday, 14 August 2015

Classics to see before you die

There are some classic films that one just has to see before one dies. In my personal opinion these are the top five classic films to see before you die (in no particular order).

  - Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961, Blake Edwards)
  - The Breakfast Club (1985, John Hughes)
  - Taxi Driver (1976, Martin Scorsese)
  - Roman Holiday (1953, William Wyler)
  - It's a Wonderful Life (1946, Frank Capra)

Yes there are two Audrey Hepburn films on there but if I didn't want some variety on that list they would probably all be Audrey Hepburn. To me these are just the ultimate 'classic' films to see before you die because they will all teach you a little something, some definitely more than others but they will all teach you something. All these films are rather famous and they have reason to be. Some of these films would even be in just my ultimate top five films of all time, but oh my gosh that list is CONSTANTLY changing!
Also, I know that alot of people maybe wouldn't say that 'The Breakfast Club' is a classic but it is 30 years old this year so yeah, it's a classic (at least to me).

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Monday, 10 August 2015

Drive (Winding Refn, 2011)

One of my favorite people's favorite films so I had to watch it and oh my gosh am I glad I did! Ryan Gosling plays the driver, the unnamed main character of this feature (I don't want to say protagonist as that suggests he's a good guy and it is way more complex than that). It starts quite simply, he drives for people that need to get away, as in from a crime scene, during the night and during the day switches it up between working at a garage and being a stunt driver for films. But it begins to get more complicated when he starts to notice his neighbor, portrayed by the very pretty Carey Mulligan, whom has a child with her husband whom in prison. And no spoilers but stuff gets serious and it gets rather Tarantino in this neo-noir arthouse feature.
The best thing about this film is the ending because it is so unpredictable, yet as it happens you realise that the ending you wanted so desperately to happen for 90 minutes was just never going to happen for real because lets face it this film apart from the almost Tarantino levels of blood is very real and gritty, very gritty for a film that really doesn't seem like that kind of film whatsoever. The second best thing about this film is the soundtrack because every single time I have gotten into my car since watching this film I have felt a desperate need for that soundtrack, so much so that I have actually ordered it already! In addition to this the cinematography, oh my giddy aunt they knew what they doing, it's just so perfectly done. It isn't symmetrical or perfectly framed in the center and that is why it is perfect. Because it isn't perfect, like the story isn't perfect. Our main characters life isn't perfect, it's just symbolism in camera shots and it is beautiful. 
Ok, I'll stop now. Basically this film is amazing, and you have to go and see it even if you don't like 'arthouse' films because it is just unexplainbly good! Five stars easy, I don't know how I could give it any less than that!

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