Cinderella Review

What I liked: The best part by far was the fairy god mother. She was the funnest and most

interesting character presented. It looked like she had fun with the part and she was entertaining to watch. I also liked the transfiguration of the pumpkin, lizards, mice etc. The portrayal of the evil step mother was also excellent though naturally less fun so not as interesting. But I liked her costuming and she was convincingly evil. I also liked that all the colors were so bright through the whole movie, it certainly made it feel more like a fairy land.

What I didn’t: Um, who permitted the step sisters’ outfits. Clearly their mother has much more refined taste so I’m not sure that she was really trying to get them married off to the prince, despite her many exclamations that she was. Possibly she actually wanted them to join the circus, or a tinsle factory, or she had read the story and knew that in the older versions the birds are evil and to be feared-thanks Hitchcock-so she was trying to drive them away with the shiny metal? Also do we need a narrator the entire time? It felt like the old spiderman movies, let me just explain everything for you because we can’t shoot it in a way that you would be able to follow along on your own. Finally, while I know they were trying to get us to like the prince by giving him more screen time we still have the same fundamental problem: they see eachother once and decide to get married. Really you have two options for these stories 1) stick to the love at first sight approach, it’s a fairy tale those kinds of magical things can happen 2) Invest enough time into building a relationship-like in Everafter-that we believe the characters have actually fallen in love. When films try to take a middle road you end up with a love disaster of Hobbit type proportions and we are left thinking “really to be a good king he probably should have married the politically favorable princess” But he ends up with Cinderella because “it was real”

Who should watch this: Kids who love the princess movies.

Would I watch it again? If I want another Cinderella fix I will watch the original animated one or more likely Everafter or the Roger and Hammerstein version.

Comments

The Titanic

What I liked: Liked is definitely the wrong word for it but the scenes of the sinking of the Titanic were masterful. They were technologically impressive, apparently remarkably accurate, and emotionally gripping. The variety of ways in which different people dealt with a completely hopeless situation was both touching and thought provoking. Especially beautiful was the string quartet. In isolation from the love story, the sinking of the Titanic is a tragic reminder of the cost of hubris and the necessity of regulating emergency procedures and capacities. It carries similar gravitas as a war film. At the 25th anniversary of the film, I can appreciate how Titanic has impacted movies made later. What I didn't: So here's the thing. I feel very bad for you if you died in the sinking of the Titanic. I feel less bad for you if you managed to get on a lifeboat on the Titanic and then decided to get off. I question all of your decision making and priorities if you decide to get off a...

Ready Player One Review

What I liked: I bet all of the developers loved making this film, I saw so many video game and movie references in the background of scenes. I bet all the developers just inserted their favorites like the ninja turtles, a whole platoon of halo soldiers, and orcs. That it was a video game made it possible and exciting to have all kinds of absolutely random physics and logic defying things happen. Obviously, I loved the T. Rex and who would not enjoy seeing Mechagodzilla or a cyborg orc driving a monster truck? Early in the movie they made good use of the video game architecture in a way that reminded me a bit of secret rooms in super mario. The characters visit the world of the Shining, which was amazing and hilarious. I loved the variety of characters, vehicles and weapons that we get to see and it is more fun (at least for me) that they draw from more than strictly the 1980's. I also really liked the music, for the most part the selections were great for the scenes. The book was...

Captain Phillips Review

What I liked: I liked the suspense, I liked the acting, I liked that I got to watch it. I liked that the captain was really good and took care of his crew. The pirates were terrifying but I also liked that the movie made them more than just scary, it worked for me more than the little bit of scene of the captain getting dropped off to go to the boat in the beginning. I thought they did a good job of conveying the Captain's shock at the end. I was glad when I looked up the main pirate actor and found that he was not actually as malnourished and terrifying as he looked in the movie. What I didn't: I am concerned about the boats fighting pirates with water cannons. I also am not sure what the crew's plan was if they caught up with the pirates' boat. The pirates weren't that clever, at the latest when the navy seals got on the radio the pirates should have known something was up. I didn't really care for the part where the Captain jumps in the water, it seemed very...

Terrible Plan! Movie Reviews

Search This Blog