The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

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I remember one writing an essay for uni about the various ways that filmmakers can tell captivating stories and deliver an immersive cinematic experience despite the confines of a designated timeframe. The details of the essay are lost to time, I was only reminded of it this morning after watching a very cute and quirky short film from Wes Anderson: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.

Based on the short story by Roald Dahl, the short tells a lovely story about Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch) a rich and greedy man who discovers the means to see without his eyes. Using this talent for gambling, Henry quickly discovers the hollowness of accumulated wealth and determines to use his talents to bring some good to the world.

During the pandemic Taika Waititi and a bunch of friends, including Benedict Cumberbatch, recorded a zoom meeting storytelling session in which they sat about and read James and the Giant Peach out loud, complete with character voices and sound effects from various items from the house and garden. If you’ve not seen it, you can find it on YouTube and I would recommend it because it so lovely and wholesome.

Watching The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar reminded me a little of Waititi’s little story time. It’s a short film that celebrates the oral tradition of storytelling with the added modern joy of theatre. Aware of their own narrative nature, the characters tell the story as though they are reading it from the page, with comically deadpan delivery while stagehands are rushing about behind them changing the backdrop from jungle to London apartment. One would think that this would really disrupt the flow of the film, but because it’s a Wes Anderson movie the weirdness that sits behind the visual gags and painful symmetry within the mise-en-scene becomes rather delightful.

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Sitting at a just over half an hour, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar uses this gorgeous combination of oral storytelling and theatrical reenactment to tell a full and inspiring story that could easily fill 2 hours. It’s an Oscar-winning example of the concentrated power of oral storytelling that has been merely enhanced by theatre and playacting. The obviously cardboard sets rigged to slide away when a change of scene is required are a) a great exhibition of talent and b) bring an added celebration of the power of human hands and humanity’s achievements in storytelling.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film and it’s not hard to see why. Anderson’s signature quirkiness mixed with Roald Dahl’s whimsy is a match made in Heaven and this short film that celebrates two of humanity’s strongest modes of storytelling is a delight.

Director: Wes Anderson, 2023

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kinsley, Dev Pateel, Richard Ayoade, Jarvis Cocker, & Ralph Fiennes

Wicked

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It was inevitable that Wicked was going to made into a musical film, right? The Disney-fied adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s dark take on the witches of Oz that took Broadway by storm and catapulted Idina Menzel into the centre of the universe lends itself sooo completely to cinematic adaption.

Of course, it’s always risky taking on a challenge like this. Adapting something that is so strongly beloved by a wide and vocal audience and transforming it into a new medium. I’m pretty sure there is an unwritten yet universally established law that if the film adaption of Wicked went south, then there would be sanctified lynch mobs with torches and all manner of sharp utensils on the hunt for all involved.

Thankfully, for everyone involved in the production of Wicked, this is not the case. The film has been received very warmly, spawning a whole new wave of fans of the musical.

Young, rich, and popular Galinda (Ariana Grande) has come to Shiz University with dreams of becoming a great sorceress. But her aspirations are shunned when Elphaba Thropp, a wallflower who was born with green skin catches the attention of Madame Morrible and is given the privilege of personal tutelage. The two girls then find themselves roommates and rivals, until their actions at a party changes their opinions of one another and they decide to become friends. This unlikely friendship is then put to the test when Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is invited to the Emerald City to visit the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz.

Covering the first half of the musical that establishes the rival-turned-friendship between the two witches, the film is a bright and glittering croquembouche made up of incredible set design, costume design, makeup, and special effects. Everything is big and bold and bright – a very pretty reimagining of Frank L. Baum’s wonderful world of Oz. But while it brings a classic setting into a modern age, it does not leave the older members of the audience behind. There are a number of sweet and lovely references to The Wizard of Oz, including the original font for the opening title and a very sweet little shadow play from Jeff Goldblum.

The underlying drama of the story, a narrative of racism and tyranny, does get shoved into the backseat of the film, but to be fair this also happened on stage and I can only assume that part 2 of Wicked will cram everything in up to the end – like the last Harry Potter film.

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I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I was going to, but I definitely do not hold any strong opinions of its brilliance or beauty. It was fine, it’s a good adaptation of the Broadway musical, and yes the performances are all very good. Cynthia and Ariana’s praise is literally being sung everywhere so there’s really not much point in my adding to it. I’ve heard complaints that it’s still too long considering that not a lot happens and it’s only half of the story, but I honestly didn’t notice the length so that argument is for you to make up your own mind about.

Wicked is a very visual film. It’s a feast, there’s no other way to say it, and it certainly does deliver the fun and magic of the Broadway musical. The transition from stage to screen has worked very well and everyone involved has been rightly celebrated. While it’s not a film that I can see myself rushing to watch again any time soon, it’s worth the watch if you have the time and the interest.

Director: Jon M. Chu (2024)

Cast: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Ethan Slater, Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Andy Nyman, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Michelle Yeoh & Jeff Goldblum

The Colour of Magic

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The troubles and perils of adaptations are an exciting and dubious part of human society. Sometimes it works incredibly well, e.g. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, or it goes horrible wrong: e.g. The Golden Compass. I like to think that the world’s best adaptations are examples of shared interpretations, senses of humour, and textual understandings that can transcend generations. In a good adaptation, you can often see, feel even, the love for the original story that everyone working on the project has.

With all the reboots, and remakes, and piggyback films, and spinoffs that populate cinematic history, it’s always pleasant to come across an adaptation of a fresh, beloved work. I have just finished watching one such adaptation: The Colour of Magic.

On the back of a giant turtle swimming in space, stands four elephants that hold the Discworld on their backs. The Discworld is an amazing and dangerous place filled with all sorts of wonders and perils. Twoflower, the Disc’s first tourist, wishes to see all of these wondrous things and so he hires an exiled wizard, Rincewind, to be his guide. What begins as a hapless wizard’s con to get as much money as he can from the clueless tourist, turns into a mighty adventure across the Disc (and sometimes off of it) in which the unlikely duo ride dragons, get thrown off the edge off the edge of the world, interrupt a Druidic sacrifice, admire the clock sitting in Death’s hallway, and somehow save the world.

I can understand why there aren’t many adaptations of Terry Pratchett’s works. Film and distribution rights for one thing, but also (having only started reading the books in the Discworld series) there is a such a unique sense of humour to his works that definitely would not be picked up or understood by everyone. This might account for the only adaptations of any his works being British.

Based on the events of both The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett, The Colour of Magic is a fun and exciting two-part feature that beautifully depicts a medieval fantasy world with a lot of modern ideas and attitudes. Unlike the glamorised, rustic aesthetic of Rohan or the Shire, darkness, dust, muck, and dinginess make up the places in which the heroes find themselves in varying predicaments and the absence of a ‘Hollywood’ sheen only serves to better depict the world of the Disc.

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Sean Astin, sticking out like a sore thumb in knee-high socks with sandals and a loud floral shirt, is truly delightful as Twoflower, delivering a performance that is naïve, excitable, and overall just very sweet. David Jason as Rincewind does a delightful job of being the hapless, constantly menaced victim, that somehow grows to care for his charge. And Tim Curry is perfect as Trymon, a murderous and ambitious wizard who is out to gain all the power he can.

A two-part miniseries made for TV, The Colour of Magic is a delightful adaptation of a truly unique world and cast of characters, filled with action, adventure, and plenty of comedy.

Director: Vadim Jean, 2008

Cast: Sean Astin, David Jason, Tim Curry, Brian Cox, Jermey Irons, Geoffrey Hutchings, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Michael Mears, Will Keen, James, Cosmo, David Bradley & Christopher Lee

The Boy and the Heron

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The world of art and content creation is dynamic, meaning it changes all the time to suit the current attitudes of society, whilst also being static, meaning parts of it stay the same. In film, this is usually obvious in changing artistic design, filmic techniques, and technological enhancements showing the every-changing nature of art, while genre and some stylistic choices made by the director remind the audience who’s work they are enjoying and offering them the cinematic experience that they have come to expect from said artist. Whenever we head into a dark cinema, we are armed with the preconceived knowledge of what sort of experience we are going to have, simply by choosing to see a film because of its genre or director. This then gives us great comfort and satisfaction when that experience is realised. I had this experience yesterday when I treated myself to a movie day and went and saw Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron.

The film follows young Mahito who loses his mother in a hospital fire and evacuates to the country with his father during the Pacific War. His father marries his aunt, Natsuko, and while Mahito is distant from the woman at first, he develops a bond with her as she tells him stories from her past and protects him from the strange happenings that occur when a grey heron begins talking to him, promising to reunite him with his mother. When ill Natsuko disappears into the forest, Mahito goes in search of her and finds himself transported to another world full of wonder and danger. He and the heron must work together if they are to find Natsuko and return safely to their own world.

The Boy and the Heron is a semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age film that explores complex themes such as redemption, acceptance, learning to see beyond oneself in the world, and the power/burden of creation. Mahito’s journey is both physical and emotional, as he begins the film hurt and full of self-pity, but then grows to see that the world stretches farther than his own fingertips and his problems are not the greatest of woes, travelling through a strange world that seems to be in conflict with itself and falling apart.

The animation is another triumph; absolutely beautiful, mesmerising, and dramatic from the opening scene where we are placed within the flames of war, to the calm and picturesque Japanese countryside, to the captivating other-realm where young girls create fire and parakeets march with blades behind their backs. The animation is what makes Miyazaki’s films and many from Studio Ghibli so wonderful because, despite the fantastical aspect, they are truly transportive works of art that gently guide viewers through beautiful and captivating biomes with light and sound that makes it feel as though you are actually there, lying in the soft grass feeling the wind place over your face and listening to the soft burble of a nearby stream. This transportive power is why I get so excited when I learn there is a new feature coming from Miyazaki, the experience is always wonderful and I have never been disappointed.

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The Boy and the Heron is a stunning piece of cinema filled with action, adventure, bravery, magic, and wonder. I would certainly recommend you treat yourself and see it in cinemas.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki, 2023

Cast: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yohsino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Keiko Takeshita, Jun Fubuki, Sawako Agawa, Karen Takizawa, Shinobu Otake, Jun Kunimura, Kaoru Kobayashi, & Shohei Hino

Language: Japanese. An English dubbed version is available featuring the voice talents of Christian Bale, Wilem Dafoe, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Mark Hamill, Florence Pugh, & Robert Pattinson

Disenchanted

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There is always a risk with sequels. More often than not they are never as good as their predecessors, especially if those predecessors take the world by storm, as Disney’s Enchanted did. Remember that saccharinely sweet, absolutely over-the-top production that launched Amy Adams into the stratosphere and had us all singing? Admittedly the film is not all that amazing in hindsight, but what made it so huge was the clever way in which it played to that romantic part of us that really adores the idea of love at first sight and happily ever afters. When I discovered that there was a sequel, I didn’t know how to feel about it. How do you write another story when the lovers kiss and ride into the sunset that signals The End?

Giselle has had her happily ever after for a while. She has found her true love, gained a daughter, and even brought a new addition to the family. But when stress of parenthood and being stepmother to a teenager begin to wear her down, she wonders if there are new happily ever afters out there. So she and Robert decide to move to suburbia. Upon moving to Monroeville, the family is visited by King Edward and Queen Nancy of Andalasia, who bring with them a magic wishing wand for their baby goddaughter Sofia. After a fight with Morgan, Giselle uses the wand and makes a wish that turns Monroeville into a fairytale village complete with an evil queen. But her wish takes a turn when she starts to adopt behaviours befitting a wicked stepmother.

This movie was really surprising. As a sequel, it’s actually really good. All of the original cast reprise their roles and it has that same over-the-top, fairytale splendour that so violently coloured the original. The story is a lot more complex, as it explores the intricacies of changing identities, growing up, and the dynamic social roles in both the family and community. The driving force for all the characters is trying to adapt to a world that is getting older with them and mourning the loss of better days. Morgan is going through adolescence, Robert is close to hitting a mid-life crisis, and Giselle struggles to find happiness in a world where there is no magic. It’s actually hard to verbalise all the stuff that is going on.

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The performances are all great and the soundtrack features some bangers that will absolutely be making it into my Favourite Musicals playlist. And every visual aspect of this movie is absolutely gorgeous from the costumes, to the set design, to the choreography, and the computer wizardry that sees some truly amazing scenes.

I’ll admit that I was sceptical and not sure about it for the first half, but the film turned itself around and became something that I really enjoyed and was surprised by. If you liked Enchanted, then I think you’ll enjoy Disenchanted.

Director: Adam Shankman, 2022

Cast: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Maya Rudolph, Gabriella Baldacchino, Idina Menzel, Jayma Mays, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alan Tudyk & James Marsden

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Amongst Thieves

 

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So, given how passionately and fan-girlily I gush about movies, and my love of all things fantasy, it should really come as no surprise that, when I’m not writing in my free time, I’m playing Dungeons & Dragons. I’ve been playing now for about 5 years, playing and DMing (dungeon-mastering) so when I heard that there was an upcoming film about it, you’d better believe I made plans to see it.

Tuesday night saw a friend and I at the cinemas ready to try and guess how much cool action and devasting drama was caused by natural 20s and 1s.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Amongst Thieves tells the story of a charismatic bardic rogue named Edgin (Chris Pine) and his close friend Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) who escape from prison to recover a lost relic and retrieve Edgin’s daughter Kira from an old friend. However, disaster strikes when Forge (Hugh Grant) double-crosses his old friends, refusing to let Kira go with them. Through some sleuthing, the two quickly learn that Forge is in league with the evil Red Wizards, who are hell-bent on creating an army of the dead. In order save Kira and retrieve the sacred relic from their botched quest that landed them in prison in the first place, Edgin and Holga must get the old mismatched and misguided team back together to perform one more, grand heist.

This is just a fun, dumb movie, perfect for a night when you’re tired and don’t want to think through anything. A stock-standard quest narrative mixed with the refreshingly dumb humour and chaos that often comes out of a typical D&D session, there’s not much more to be said.

The characters are all very fun, each with their own little quirky personality traits and I do have to give a special shout-out to the CGI wizards who brought a great number of beloved D&D monsters to life, including the owlbear, the displacer beast, and (of course), the mimic. In all honesty, the movie kind of belonged the special effects sages behind the curtain. Between the fantastic realisation of epic monsters and the brilliant, and often hilarious, execution of classic spells, the film is very much a special effects movie.

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However, the performances were all completely lovely and I found it particularly refreshing to have a central ‘villain’ who wasn’t so much malevolent or villainous, just smarmy and a selfish arse. And of course, Hugh Grant does the role perfectly.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Amongst Thieves is just a load of fun. It’s a delightful fantasy romp packed with humour that is just dumb and off-centre enough to be refreshing and really enjoyable. If you’re a fan of D&D or just like fantasy movies, I’d recommend this.

Director: John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein (2023)

Cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Rege-Jean Page, Justin Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, Daisy Head, Hugh Grant, & Bradley Cooper

Raya and the Last Dragon

 

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While I do love that cinema is surviving these strange new times in which we find ourselves, I won’t say it’s not without its problems. Obviously one is the distribution of movies and the rise of streaming service original content, which comes with its own exclusions because there’s a fair chunk of audiences who either can’t afford the luxury of streaming or have decided they’re too old to learn (this comes from personal customer interactions). Another one came to me only today, that the writing for films has shifted with a lot of new films being written shorter and more ‘made-for-tv’. I’m not saying that this is resulting in bad movies, but I certainly have noticed that I’ve found it hard to get as excited about films as I used to and I think this is why. The thought occurred to me today when I finally sat down to watch Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, a movie that I was very keen to watch, but hadn’t gotten around to. 

It tells the story of a world torn apart by tribal feuds, which are reignited when a peaceful meeting goes awry and unleashes an ancient plague that had been locked away centuries ago by the last dragons. After being betrayed by a friend and losing her father to the plague, Princess Raya goes on a 6-year pilgrimage to find the last dragon, Sisu, rumoured to still be alive. When she succeeds, she gets more than she bargained for when Sisu reveals that she can’t stop the plague like before. The two embark on a great adventure chasing down the last remnants of dragon magic and the only hope to bring back everything that has been lost. 

The film has a very sweet and message about trust and the importance of community, very much needed in a world growing mad and jaded by the pandemic, though still saccharine and trying. Visually, it’s absolutely stunning with the character animation as well as that of the world, both when it’s flourishing and dystopian, being crisp and captivating from the opening scene. Where the movie fell down for me was in the predictable narrative and the fact that, because it was written to be streaming-friendly, it felt short and there was not enough time to form a real emotional attachment to any of the characters. But this could also be a shortcoming of the predictability. 

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Raya is a strong and inspiring heroine, but we’ve seen many like her before and sadly there was nothing that really made her stand out from Moana or Mulan or Jasmine. Sisu was definitely fun and kind of fresh, being beautifully voiced by Awkwafina, but you got used to her pretty quick and even in the film’s more dramatic moments, there didn’t seem to be any real emotional development. 

It definitely seems like I have more negatives to say about this movie, but that does not mean that I didn’t like it. I would absolutely sit down and watch this again when I am in the mood, but I think at the end of the day I feel a little let down by Disney in that this was just another visually appetising and more-or-less nourishing movie. It wasn’t anything particularly special and it wasn’t ‘Disney magic’. 

Having said this, I would still recommend it if you’re wondering how to fill an afternoon. It’s pretty and cute with a fun cast of kooky characters.

Director: Don Hall, Carlos Lopez Estrada & John Ripa (2021)

Cast: Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Izaac Wang, Daniel Dae Kim, Jona Xiao, Alan Tudyk, Lucille Song, Benedict Wong & Sandra Oh

Encanto

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Wow. It has been too long since I watched and reviewed a new movie. It’s disheartening that something I love so much is something that I just don’t seem to have enough time for anymore. But the other day, partner and I made time and we curled up on the couch for a fun time with Disney’s Encanto.

Encanto tells the story of a small community founded by a family that has been gifted with the miracle of a magic candle that spawned a magic house, which then grants magical gifts to each new generation. That is until the tradition is broken when Mirabel, eager to receive her magical gift, does not get one. Upon the gifting of her young cousin, Mirabel discovers strange cracks in the house’s foundation. Soon her family’s various powers begin malfunctioning and it falls to Mirabel to uncover the truth behind the fading miracle and save her family. 

Kind of like The Incredibles, but with magic, Encanto is a sweet and touching exploration into the family structure and the healing/devastating power of family ties. Brightened as it is by its magical themed plot and incredibly stunning and vibrant colour and animation, it’s actually a very adult film, dealing with themes of mental illness, generational gaps, and the ‘evils’ of some familial structures within certain cultures. It’s particularly interesting because there is no clear-cut, typical villain, the stress and anxieties poisoning the family actually stem from a difference in cultural and generational attitudes. 

The animation is staggeringly beautiful: bright and reminiscent of Moana, a voyeuristic escape into another world like a wondrous holiday. And then there is the soundtrack. An incredible blend of Latin and modern pop that makes each and every song catchy, moving, and memorable. You’ll absolutely be singing it for a week after watching the film. 

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Encanto is another feather in Disney’s cap, which by this stage is 100 percent an elaborate Ziegfeld Follies headpiece that you can see from space! It’s visually, audibly, and narratively glorious and I would highly recommend you watch it. 

Director: Jared Bush, Byron Howard, & Charise Castro Smith (2021)

Cast: Stephanie Beatriz, Maria Cecilia Botero, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitan, Diane Guerrero, Adassa, Wilmer Valderrama, Rhenzy Feliz, Maluma, & John Leguizamo

The Thief of Bagdad

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We know that fantasy is timeless; wondrous narratives filled with magic, drama, and heroic quests transcend generations and will continue to so do until all mediums for expressing them are extinguished. This fact has been proven time and time again with various films, however I am still amazed just how much the love for such tales and their own longevity can keep something afloat when the tides of time wash everything else away. 

This afternoon, my film of choice was The Thief of Bagdad, thus the stimulant for my current awe and train of thought. 

The film tells the story of Ahmed, a common thief living in Bagdad who one night sneaks into the palace to plunder it. But once inside his love for treasure is surpassed when he beholds the beautiful princess and he decides to steal her instead. Pretending to be a prince, Ahmed wins the princess’ heart, but his true identity is quickly revealed and he barely escapes with his life. To save her from a forced marriage, Ahmed travels through great lands of wonder and peril to find a rare treasure that will prove his love and worth.

The exotic and romantically erotic setting of Arabia remains tried and true to this day. The gorgeous and extravagant set pieces for this film form a world entirely their own. Despite the grainy, black and white filter and the overblown acting, The Thief of Bagdad still proves to be a cinematic giant capable of grabbing an audience of thousands in one hand squeezing the collective breath out of it.

Without a doubt, the triumphant awe factor of the film is its incredible set: six and a half acres and the biggest set in Hollywood history. Each set from the Caliph’s palace to the underwater cavern of the sirens is absolutely jaw dropping, made all the more incredible by the achievements in costume design. Silks, satins, sequins, and jewels adorn even the commonest thieves in this movie, making the central Bagdad a realm of fantasy. 

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But amidst its rich and exotic aesthetic, the film serves a succinct and powerful narrative of a person’s ability to change. A moral story lies at the centre of the swashbuckling action and political drama and the character arc of Ahmed is both predictable and satisfying. 

While the film itself is quite outdated, and many of the ‘special effects’ had not held up all that well, there is still an awful lot of enjoyment to be taken from this 1920s classic and one can easily see why it has remained in cinema’s classics canon. 

Director: Raoul Walsh, 1924

Cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Snitz Edwards, Charles Belcher, Julanne Johnston, Sojin, Anna May Wong, Brandon Hurst, Tote Du Crow, & Noble Johnson

Onward

Image credit: Disney Movies

I know I don’t have to say it, but man it’s hard keeping up a fresh reservoir of film reviews during a pandemic! Between rewatching Avatar on Netflix, D&D and gaming channels on Youtube, and trying to keep my stress levels under control working in an essential retail service, I really haven’t had much time for movies.

A sentence I never thought I’d write.

Also it’s very hard to review new movies when there are no new movies to go the cinemas to see. But streaming services have come to the rescue a bit there.

My partner and I recently sad down, flicked on Disney+ and watched the newest one from Pixar: Onward, an adorable little quest narrative that celebrates the current trend in popular culture: Dungeons & Dragons!

Onward tells the story of elven brothers Ian (Tom Holland) and Barley (Chris Pratt) who go on an epic quest to complete a spell that will allow them to bring their deceased father back for one day. For Barley, the eldest, the quest to bring back an ancient magic that’s been gone from the world for centuries is a dream come true, but for Ian, who discovers he can do magic, it’s a difficult journey of self-discovery.

While Onward is not Pixar’s best contribution to cinema, it’s still a very sweet story balanced with loads of action and comedy. The central drama of Barley and Ian’s strained relationship as Ian grows up provides the narrative with the perfect amount of drama, making the climax all the more heart-warming.

Being D&D players ourselves and suckers for all things fantasy, my partner and I really got a number of kicks from the jokes, genre gags, and references to popular culture. There were moments when some of the humour felt a little forced or too family friendly, but it was ultimately still really fun and cute.

Image credit: Variety

Holland and Pratt bounce really well off each other, giving their characters a very believable and relatable feeling of family.

While it is not the most groundbreaking or funniest of films in Pixar’s repertoire, Onward is nevertheless a very touching and sweet movie that succinctly depicts the struggles of adolescence, early adulthood, and the current trends in pop culture.

Director: Dan Scanlon, 2020

Cast: Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, Mel Rodriguez, Kyle Bornheimer, Lena Waithe, Ali Wong, Grey Griffin, Tracey Ullman, George Psarras, and John Ratzenberger

Willow

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There comes a moment in everyone’s life where they admit to someone that they have never seen a particular film and that person responds with a high-pitched and surprised, “really?” This happened to me yesterday when I admitted to my partner that I had never seen the film, Willow. Thanks to streaming services, I have remedied this.

Willow tells the story of a farmer (Warwick Davis) who discovers an abandoned baby that is prophesised to overthrow the evil queen Bavmorda. With an entire army out looking for the child, Willow must travel hastily across the land, braving all sorts of dangers so that Bavmorda can be defeated and the world saved from darkness.

Willow is one of those interesting films that you can’t quite decide if it’s being serious or not. It a has reminiscent vibes of Legend and The Princess Bride throughout, however I still can’t determine whether it’s having fun and making a farce of the fantasy/adventure genre or being so sincere that it’s ludicrously funny.

The film gets its strange and different edge from its central band of unlikely heroes, who are then thrown into these traditional fantasy situations (battles, being capture by fairy folk, dealing with magic, etc) with the added bonus of taking care of a baby. While I certainly appreciate that the characters are not bumbling in the baby-care part of the tale (they are actually competent and there are no toilet gags or gross humour like that), but the film struggles in finding a balance between the action scenes and the scenes of character and narrative development.

Indeed the majority of the film is fight, fight, fight, and considering that the battle sequences are more hilarious rather than exhilarating, it’s here where I was entertained, but at the same time confused about whether this film was serious or not. While watching Val Kilmer flail and play swordsman is magic in its own rite, the inconsistencies in action and drama causes the characters to suffer, as they don’t really get the growth they need to bring about any emotional payoff for the audience.

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Sadly too, the film has become quite dated in terms of its special effects. Admirably a large portion of the special effects are done through makeup and creature design rather than CGI, but these coupled with the simple style of filming and production makes me wonder whether the project was too ambitious for its budget and ran into trouble once or twice.

Regardless of these hiccups, the story of Willow is recognisable in terms of high fantasy, yet completely original and, in spite of its faults, fun. The film boasts great performances and good blends of drama, action, and comedy. Its datedness might make it seem like a fantasy farce by today’s standards, but it’s still worth checking out if you’re in for a silly movie to while away the afternoon with.

Director: Ron Howard, 1988

Cast: Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh, Patricia Hayes, Billy Barty, Pat Roach, Gavin O’Herlihy, David Steinberg, Mark Northover, Kevin Pollak, and Rick Overton

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

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If ever there was a movie that did not need a sequel, it’s the goody-goody tale of a misunderstood fey that became known as the Mistress of Evil: Maleficent. But we have one now and, for no other reason than it was a date night and this was the only thing that we were mildly curious about, my partner and I went and saw it.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil chronicles Maleficent’s reaction to Aurora’s planning to get married to Phillip. When invited to the neighbouring Kingdom for dinner to meet the would-be in-laws, the King becomes cursed and Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) is wrongly accused. While fleeing from the castle, she is struck down, but rescued by a stranger and taken to a secret place that harbours the rest of her kind. Filled with vengeance and wrath, the oppressed fey wage war on the human kingdom, with Maleficent leading them into battle.

First thing’s first, do not be fooled by the film’s title! While Maleficent does feature in the movie, she has absolutely no storyline, no character development and practically no dialogue, she’s basically just there to look flawless in plunging necklines and fantastic gothic costumes.

This is a truly terrible movie! Brought flat to its face by it’s incredibly weak and bad writing. For me, the biggest travesty in cinema right now is that writers are not being held in the high regard they need to be. When you think about it, the writing of a movie is the skeleton, the very foundation on which the film stands and if it’s weak or corrupt or just downright terrible, the whole film falls apart and all the audience are inspired to do it spit and pee over its broken body… At least that’s how I felt with this film. The writing is so terrible I can’t even begin to list in how many ways! The story is predictable, the character motivations are weaker than a soap bubble, the dialogue is beyond boring, and there were absolutely no emotional hooks of any kind.

Image credit: Vanity Fair

And, because of all these sins, the film was entirely ruined despite it’s visually gorgeous aesthetic, outstanding costumes, special effects, and art design, and strong cast. I was even annoyed by the simple casting choice of Michelle Pfeiffer (whom I love) because the fact that she was in the film alone completely gave away crucial plot points. Argh!

At the end of it, I came out of the cinema feeling angry, not a feeling I like to have when emerging from a movie experience. As such, I would not recommend Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, go and see Frozen II instead.

Director Joachim Ronning, 2019

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Lindsay, Harris Dickinson, Sam Riley, Chiwitel Ejiofor, Ed Skrein, Juno Temple, and Imelda Staunton

The House With a Clock in Its Walls

Image credit: IMDb

There are so many things that draw people into a seeing a movie: the trailer, the genre, the director, the cast, the aesthetic, etc… Usually it’s a combination of a lot of these things, but I would like to focus on the cast for a moment. While most of the time you can look at a cast and totally see the logic behind it, there are other, glorious, times where you see a list of names and it looks kind of weird, but you’re definitely interested to see how it plays out. Case in point, Pirates of the Caribbean. Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly, and Geoffrey Rush!? Just look at how well that panned out. Slightly similar thinking was lighting up my mind when I saw that Jack Black and Cate Blanchett were in a movie together, so yesterday the movie of choice was The House With a Clock in Its Walls.

Set in the 1950s the film follows the adventures of young Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) when he moves in with his estranged uncle Jonathan (Jack Black) after the death of his parents. Upon his first night there he hears an ominous ticking coming from somewhere in the house and soon discovers that his uncle and his neighbour (Cate Blanchett) are a witch and warlock trying to locate a clock hidden by an evil warlock that is counting down the days to the end of the world.

A bit Hugo, a bit Harry Potter, The House With a Clock in Its Walls is a sweet movie, but definitely nothing to gush over. The central plot of the doomsday clock and the mystery behind who put it there is somewhat watered down by Lewis’ story of self-discovery that runs parallel. Where the two stories bleed together works well, but as separate plotlines they both aren’t pushed to their full potential. Black and Blanchett’s hunt for the clock is told in hushed snippets and tones (for the most part) and Lewis’ story of trying to make friends despite his obvious weirdness is kind of boring and wafer thin. There are some sweet messages and some effective gags, though the toilet humour gets old pretty quick, and I did like that this did not feel like a movie that was trying hard to be something. Nothing feels forced or is trying to be like something else, the story and the characters are allowed to speak for themselves and I appreciated that.

Image credit: Battle Creek Enquirer

But where the film stands up is with its strange, yet endearing central cast. Black and Blanchett as bickering friends is such an unlikely pairing, but it works really well. The two spend the movie hurling adorable PG insults at each other, whilst at the same time having this unspoken but obvious regard for one another. Vaccaro, when he’s not screaming annoyingly, is a good protagonist and while he goes through a 360 degree journey of starting the film happy with who he is, then goes through a period of self-doubt, and emerges from the rabbit hole embracing his weirdness again, his story is nonetheless sweet and relevant, and he delivers a solid performance that stands toe to toe with the pros.

The House With a Clock in Its Walls is not groundbreaking or critically incredible, but it is a sweet and enjoyable family movie that offers something for everyone.

Director: Eli Roth, 2018

Cast: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Colleen Camp, Sunny Suljic, Vanessa Ann Phillips, Braxton Bjerken, Lorenza Izzo, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Kyle MacLachlan

The Mermaid

Image credit: Netflix Aus/NZ

I think the wonderful thing about genre is that it translates into any language. Like facial gestures, there are modes and themes that are universally recognisable and help you to enjoy –or dislike- a film even if you don’t speak the language. One such film that I spent an enchanting night in with was Stephen Chow’s The Mermaid.

An unoriginal, but still very sweet story The Mermaid tells the tale of a rich business owner (Chao Deng) destroying the marine ecosystem with his property developments and a beautiful mermaid (Jelly Lin) sent on a mission to seduce and assassinate him. After an unsuccessful murder attempt the two end up on a date and falling in love. Will she choose love over her own kind? And what will happen if he finds out what she really is?

Forbidden romance stories are as old as the hills and despite its lack of a Rastafarian crab singing about life under the sea, The Mermaid stands as a charming fantasy movie and romantic comedy. Chow’s clever mixture of genre satire and physical comedy could subdue the gag reflex on even the most gooey and clichéd love story, which proves useful here as it lulls you into such a complete state of chilling-out-with-a-popcorn-flick that you can’t even get annoyed about Chow’s misogynist treatment of his female characters.

An entire cast of women feature in this film and none are really shown in the best light. We’ve got the business-driven femme fatale who turns into a jealous bitch when the leading man’s attentions aren’t on her, there’s Shan the mermaid who plays the role of innocent and endearing cute girl that charms the lead with her naïve sincerity, and then a whole score of women that are just gold diggers. One woman we can admire is the grandmother mermaid who is not only the epitome of wisdom, but also a total badass.

Image credit: Express Elevator to Hell

The film is a mixture of sincere love story and bumbling spy comedy, as the story is rich with character transformation and enlightenment while all of the visual, laugh-out-loud moments come from the mermaids’ botched attempts at being assassins. Memorable scenes like the octopus cooking his own tentacles rather than blow his cover or Shan’s attempts to kill Xuan literally backfiring while the hapless lead dances like there’s no one watching completely make up for the film’s gender profiling and questionable special effects. For a quiet night in, it’s worth a look.

Starring: Chao Deng, Jelly Lin, Zhixiang Luo, Yuqi Zhang, Ke Xu, Zhang Wen, Yifan Wu, Shangzheng Li, Zhengyu Lu, Chi Ling Chiu, Mei-e Zhang, Rina Matsuoka, Barbie Liu, Zhen Zhen Xu, and White-Ke

Country: China

A Wrinkle in Time

Image credit: Rotten Tomatoes

When it comes to movies for the family, Disney has been the go-to studio since 1939 when it came out with its first animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Needless to say the studio has gone from strength to strength, churning out memorable adaptations of classic tales. When comparing Disney classics from my childhood to those hitting cinemas today, it’s interesting to see just how much –and at the same time how little- the studio has changed.

A Wrinkle in Time is the latest adaptation to come from Disney and while it can’t hold a candle to Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King, it’s not without its charm. The film tells the story of Meg Murray (Storm Reid) a young girl on the cusp of adolescence trying to find inner happiness. Since the disappearance of her father (Chris Pine) Meg has been different. Teased at school and overprotective of her younger brother (Deric McCabe) she has never let anyone get close to her. But that changes when three inter-dimensional beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend Calvin (Levi Miller) on an adventure through the universe to rescue her father.

Based on the novel by Madeleine L’Engle A Wrinkle in Time is a very pretty and very sweet film that serves perfectly as a family night out. Directed by Ava DuVernay it’s a beautiful coming-of-age story about inner strength and the power of love. While this sounds saccharinely sweet – and it totally is- DuVernay’s balanced release of the film’s morals succeeds in delivering the expected feels: warmth, happiness, and tears of a classic Disney film. Aesthetically it’s gorgeous and a major achievement for everyone in the departments of lighting, cinematography, makeup, costumes, and art design. The entire film is a visual feast made up of nothing but dessert and is wholly immersive, making for an engaging and enjoyable voyeuristic experience.

But where the movie really shines is in the performances of its actors. The three kids are incredible, delivering performances that stand solidly alongside –and even challenge- some of the more seasoned actors.

Image credit: The Nicholls Worth

But having said this it’s far from being a perfect film. In more than one place the story progression gets scratchy and unpolished and there are times when I stopped and thought that there has not been enough challenges or exciting events to properly change the characters and help them grow. From this angle the film is a little one-sided: tilting towards the showcase and spectacle of lighting, costumes, and computer wizardry without being balanced by the writing. But as it achieves emotional responses from the audience and creates a generally positive movie experience, this is not the end of the world.

The clincher is that the emotion and investment that everyone poured into A Wrinkle in Time is felt wholeheartedly throughout the film and that’s what gives it its immersive and emotional edge.

Starring: Storm Reid, Deric McCabe, Levi Miller, Chris Pine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Chris Pine, Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon, Zach Galifianakis, and Oprah Winfrey

Warcraft

Image credit: Vudu

There are one thousand and one dangers attached to the idea of turning a videogame into a movie. While the idea itself is cool, modern, and fresh with the potential for a large viewership, half the time the films themselves suffer from bad writing, being exclusive to audiences unfamiliar with the game, and making a mockery of genre film –amongst other things. Last night I sat down and watched a film that managed to achieve all of these feats.

Warcraft is a prequel slash origin film that chronicles an on-going war between humans and orcs. After an orc world is destroyed, the various clans of orcs band together under the leadership of one with evil magic powers to travel into a new world and conquer it for their own. It just so happens that Azeroth is already peopled with nations of humans, elves, and dwarves, who have lived in peace for centuries. As war for survival looms nearer a King, a mage, a she-orc, and a warrior must work fast to save the world from the incoming Horde that plans to destroy it.

The biggest problem for this movie was the writing. It felt as if everyone was excited about the idea of writing a Warcraft movie, but then after writing only a few scenes discovered that it really wasn’t going to work. The film is set against long-winded information dumps –which I can appreciate- but as a result it goes in the completely opposite direction and doesn’t let the viewers know anything about what is happening and why, let alone who all the characters are. It became a complete fan-service movie: the obvious thinking behind it being, “don’t worry the people who go to see it will know the game”. For the audience members who have not played the game, or know the story, or were dragged along to the film by their partners, it’s a completely incomprehensible mess that inspires absolutely no interest.

Obviously everyone who read the script knew that it was a dud and therefore decided against trying to make it anything less. The performances are beyond lackluster –corpses make more interesting show- and there was absolutely no chemistry between anyone, which made all the dramatic relationships non-existent and punished the script further by eradicating any love or sentiment that was in there.

Image credit: CNET

And then there was the problem of the action-fantasy aesthetic. We all know that this can be breathtaking when done well, but there is such a thing as bad fantasy and this movie was an absolute boss in crimes against the genre. Every single cliché is adhered to so much that I think it gave me acid reflux! A lot of scenes, styles, and ideas were borrowed from Lord of the Rings and made an absolute mockery of becoming predictable, annoying, and at times downright pointless. And then there was the CGI. Now I will give kudos to the computer wizards who tried with this movie. I can appreciate that the animation of the orcs was deliberately made obvious and stark in contrast to the location and live actors to remind people that it’s a videogame. But it really didn’t work. It was oversaturated and annoying to begin with and once humans and orcs were interacting it just become non-existent.

I never like tearing a movie to shreds and having nothing nice to say about it, but with some films there’s no escaping it. Warcraft was just one of those films.

Starring: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell, Ben Schnetzer, Robert Kazinsky, Clancy Brown, Daniel Wu, Ruth Negga, Anna Galvin, and Glenn Close