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Reviews
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
One of the best films I've ever seen!
Going into this film, I had no idea what to expect; I'd not seen any trailers but there was a buzz about it on the internet and reviews were good, so I thought I'd check it out.
The film surprised me in so many ways I don't really know where to begin in heaping the well deserved praise on it.
This film has everything you could want in film making - comedy, romance, drama, pathos, martial arts, clever editing, interwoven storytelling, luscious score, amazing and surprising performances from all the cast - all on a bagel.
The most joyous part is seeing Michelle Yeoh (who is wonderfully sublime) and Ke Huy Quan (who makes a very welcome return to cinema) interacting and performing different aspects of themselves in the different multiverses. Jamie Lee Curtis is also brilliantly surreal in her role.
Yet despite all the theatrics, and special effects, the film has the simplest of messages: Be kind. This message isn't forced, comes across beautifully and leaves you feeling uplifted and content by the film's close.
Simply put, this is one of the best films I have ever seen and has broken into my top 10 films of all time. Thank you for creating such a beautiful film.
West Side Story (2021)
Respectful Remake
As a fan of the original film and the music, when I heard a remake of West Side Story was in the works, I had my doubts, even if it was to be directed by Steven Spielberg.
Watching the trailers still didn't convince me and I went into watching the film with concern. However, I shouldn't have worried as Spielberg has lovingly brought the story up to date for a new generation and has had me humming the melodies of my favourite musical.
Pros:
The script has had a reworking by Tony Kushner and I really enjoyed the new settings, character interactions, back stories (Tony's prison time and Chino not being a gang member) and the new character created specially for Rita Moreno, Valentina. She helped bring gravitas to the film.
The cinematography and lighting was sublime in every scene, completely capturing a crumbling New York while bringing wonderful contrasts between the light and dark of the story. I would go as far as saying I preferred this style over the 1961 version.
The casting was also superb and in keeping with the nationalities of the characters (which the original lacked). I had my doubts about Ansel Elgort in the trailers but I was pleasantly surprised by his performance and singing. The young cast have a bright future ahead of them.
The music - well, it was perfect and the new recordings conducted by Gustavo Dudamel brought fresh life to Bernstein's score, especially the trumpet playing! A nice touch was having Valentina sing 'Somewhere'.
Cons:
Although I understood Spielberg's decision not to subtitle the Spanish throughout I was enjoying the new script and would have liked to have known what the characters were saying. It would have given me a little more insight to their backstories and feelings.
The musical numbers, although well choreographed and thought out, part of me felt there was no natural segueway into them at times. America didn't seem to have the fizz of the original, I Feel Pretty wasn't as charming (they were cleaners instead of working in the Bridal shop) and Gee, Officer Krupke felt shoehorned into place, didn't feature all of the Jets and wasn't as comical.
I didn't feel like I got to know the Jets as well. They were separated at times and it was difficult to keep track of who was who except for Baby John, Riff and Tony.
The climax of Anita's attempted rape and the shooting didn't quite have the emotional impact as the original which left me wanting.
Conclusion: In all, I enjoyed Spielberg's love letter to West Side Story though when comparing it to the 1961 version I preferred the grittiness to the score and some of the dramatic performances. I'd highly recommend viewing the film.
Animorphs (1998)
Well.........
The show wasn't a complete failure because it brought a new fan base to the premise but it did let the fans down in some ways, especially in plot and characters.
Things that were notably good were the morphing effects were very good and I didn't really mind about the Animorphs morphing straight from their clothes instead of having morphing suits. Also the performances by the actors who played Jake and Rachel. In my eyes they did the characters justice.
Things that were bad: the acting from Marco, Cassie and Tobias. Cassie was not soul searching or caring enough, the Tobias in the series was too anxious and drippy and Marco was just too slimy and in no way as funny as the book Marco. Bad casting. Adding to that the cast were too old, in the books the characters were younger.
New plot points being brought in by the writers - what was this business with the disk made by Elfangor? From the fans' point of view it seemed like the writers were totally disregarding any of the plots, characters and dialogue of the 54 regular titles written by K. A. Applegate. The series missed key alien species such as the Taxxons and not enough use of the Hork-Bajir or Ax and Visser Three in their Andalite form, preferring to have them in their human morphs all the time.
It was a shame that it didn't meet to the standards of the fans because it could have been really good. However, it was nice to see the Animorphs on our screens and I hope maybe one day there will be a movie!