Frozen II

Frozen II

dir: Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck

Voice cast: Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, Sterling K.

Brown & Ciaran Hinds

        When the first Frozen came out, it became a worldwide phenomenon from which many

    parents haven't overcome. The song "Let it Go" became a hit and unfortunate earworm

    which became ingrained in peoples ears. Unfortunately, this sequel doesn't live up to 

    its predecessor. 

          Taking place a few years after the last one, we get a little backstory on Elsa and Anna's

    parents and the area surrounding their kingdom of Arendelle. One night Elsa hears a call

    coming from the woods and sets out on an adventure with her friends to locate it.

          Frozen II's plot felt recycled and tiresome and fails to live up to the hype that the 

    first one set. Most of the songs featured are just forgettable and add nothing to the

    overall story. It's not a bad movie per se, just one not worth plunking down your 

    hard earned cash to go out and see. 

              Grade: C+

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman

Dir: Patty Jenkins

      Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston,

      David Thewlis

       The DCEU has had a pretty bad track record when it comes to their movies. This 

    breaks that trend and is actually pretty good. The gorgeous Gal Gadot stars as 
    Diana, an Amazonian warrior who believes in the greater good in humanity and
    must fight to protect it. 

       Much like the first Thor, Wonder Woman begins with little Diana looking up to

    her mother while being raised on the remote island of Themyscira. This island is 

    strictly inhabited by strong women who fight like Roman soldiers. As Diana grows
    up, she gets trained to fight just like her fellow sisterhood.

      One day while she is gazing out over the ocean, a spy named Steve Trevor (Pine)

   crash lands on the island and tells her that a war to end all wars is about to happen.
   She makes it her personal mission to save the world before all of humanity is lost. 
   The two team up to take down the Nazis who want to use powerful mustard gas
   to end humanity.

     The Good: 
    The action scenes were phenomenal along with the slow motion shots during the
   fight sequences. The cinematography was excellent, as there was a perfect blend
   of action, comedy and some romance. Her theme played during the action scenes
   was on point. Chris Pine and Gal Gadot shared great on screen chemistry and the
   attractive Israeli is quite easy on the eyes.

   The Bad:
    It was a little long for me but it kept my interest up enough from becoming boring.
   The villain of the film falls into the pit that every Marvel movie did; forgettable.
   He had so much more potential as his convoluted plan didn't work as hoped. 

   Overall:
   Wonder Woman is your typical fish out of water story and it's an excellent movie
   from start to finish. From here on out, it's a step in the right direction for the 
   DCEU. It should light a fire under Marvel to keep them from being complacent.
   The passion project for director Jenkins worked out pretty well for her and it 
   opened the door for future female directors. Little girls should be inspired 
   by Wonder Woman's fearlessness to take charge and kick some serious butt.

 Grade: B+ (8.5/10)

Beauty & the Beast (2017)

     

Beauty & the Beast
Dir: Bill Condon
Cast: Emma Watson, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Dan Stevens,
Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellan, Emma Thompson

      It has become a yearly tradition for Disney to release a live action adaptation of their

animated classics that started with Cinderella. This is one is based on the 1991 Oscar 

winning film of the same name.

    Emma Watson portrays Belle, a bookish young woman who encounters a lonely beast

(Dan Stevens) while looking for her father (Kline). The cursed beast must find true love

before the last rose petal falls or he remains a beast forever. Living in the dark castle,

he hides from the townspeople never to show his face. Keeping him company are

sentient objects that sing and dance.

   The narcissist villain Gaston (Luke Evans) comes to town looking to marry Belle.

Frozen's Josh Gad plays his sidekick LeFou who constantly praises him. The 

controversy surrounding his character has been blown out of proportion and 

shouldn't have been an issue to begin with.

    The movie was quite enjoyable with its memorable songs. The costumes and

settings were top notch as well as the CGI. There are a few scenes that may be

intense for the little ones but older ones should be able to handle it.

    The Beauty and the Beast is a proper remake and should be regarded as one.

It's a perfect date movie and a tale as old as time. 

    Grade: A (9.5/10)

Walter Mitty

 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

 Dir: Ben Stiller

    Cast: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Sean Penn, Shirley McClaine, Kathryn Hahn

     It's not everyday you come across a movie that you can personally relate to. The 

  Secret Life of Walter Mitty is one of them.

     

     Ben Stiller stars as the title character, a guy whose daydreams help him escape the

 boring and mundane life as a photo editor, all the while trying to win over the new

 girl at work (Wiig). Until one day, he gets an assignment that changes his life and
 makes his dreams a reality. This remake is a stark contrast to the 1947 version that
 starred the late Danny Kaye. 

    I can relate to Walter due to the fact that I am very introverted in social settings

  and find it hard to talk to people. Like Walter going off and exploring the world,

  I want to come out of my shell and be more outgoing.

    This movie may not be well liked but that's because they don't see it from an 

 introverts prospective. The best scenes was when his fantasy had him jumping 

 off a platform & rescuing the new girls dog in her apartment before it exploded.

    I had the opportunity to see this or Frozen with my class and definitely made

  the wrong decision. This is a really good movie.

Grade A+ (10/10)

Class Movie 1: The Jungle Book

    This past summer, my class went out to the movies and saw "The Jungle Book" 
 It tells the tale of an orphaned boy named Mowgli living in a remote part of the 
 jungle. He befriends a bear named Baloo. 
     I can't give a review of this since I was out sick with a bad cough and didn't get
 a chance to see it. My classmates reported back and said they enjoyed it alot. I 
 did see the 1967 animated version when I was little. My favorite character in the 
 movie is Baloo.