A Wrinkle in Time

Tags

2018, Disney, Fantasy, USA

“The only thing faster than light is the darkness”

• What is this movie about? 

After the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him.

 

• Why should you probably NOT watch this movie?

Because it’s going to be the most expensive siesta that you have ever taken. This is sadly the outcome of watching this movie: you would want to keep sleeping and never remember the wasted time that you have just had.

The main problem with this movie is not the plot. As the movie is based on an acclaimed novel, which indeed is, it’s not the fault of the story, but the fault lies on how the script has been adapted. It is true that is not an easy story to adapt to the big screen and less easy is to addapt it to a film under two hours. The fault doesn’t specifically lie on which things have been prioritized before others and which things have been changed (skin colors, gender, character with more weight, characters that disappear). The things that have been changed aren’t the cause of the failure of this movie, but most of the problem is which parts of the story have been shown and how long have been presented to the audience. While the book keeps going at a fast pace, never stopping, never letting you breath, the movie goes fast in some aspects that should be taken more slowly and goes really slowly in some aspects that should be gone in two seconds.

Plus, the movie seem like a Oprah show. Why is she taking so much screen? (literally speaking, if you have watched the movie you will know what I am talking about). It’s ok to put black actors on the screen to appeal to a bigger audience, but please, the main character is the girl, not Oprah’s characters. Just watching the credits roll at the end of the film makes you realize who owns the movie (if you haven’t done it before) , in terms of money at least.

If you have read the book, you will feel a bit out-of-place, because this is not the story you have read. This is a boring story, with characters that make no sense, and scenes that make less sense. If you haven’t read the book, you will mostly likely want not to create a wrinkle in time, but in space. More specifically to your sofa. A wrinkle to your sofa.

#AWrinkleInTime becomes a #AWasteOfTime

 

 

• Did you know?

– There is a diagram of space-time “folding” in the presentation that Mr and Mrs Murray are giving. This shows how two distant points can be brought together without having to travel the distance between them. This fold is where the “wrinkle” in the expression “a wrinkle in time” comes from.

– Despite the title, the movie isn’t about a wrinkle in time, but a wrinkle in space.

– There is a diagram of space-time “folding” in the presentation that Mr and Mrs Murray are giving. This shows how two distant points can be brought together without having to travel the distance between them. This fold is where the “wrinkle” in the expression “a wrinkle in time” comes from.

– In the book Meg and her family are Caucasian, and in the movie the Murry family is multiracial. This became controversial among fans of the book and its sequels, but filmmakers believed a multiracial family would be more relevant and relatable for contemporary audiences. Chris Pine has said that the multiracial family dynamic was actually one of the aspects in the script which attracted him to the project.

– In the book, the Murry family includes identical twin brothers Sandy and Dennys (pronounced like Dennis) who do not appear in the movie.

– Over the entrance to Mrs Who’s house is a street-number sign with the eight hanging lopsided, forming an infinity symbol.

– The cast and crew shot scenes in New Zealand for two weeks. During shooting, they were treated to a traditional Maori powhiri and Kara Kia by the indigenous people of New Zealand. The cast and crew enjoyed shooting in New Zealand and frequently spoke about their love for the country.

– First live-action movie with a nine-digit budget to be directed by a woman of color.

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Beauty and the Beast

Tags

2017, Disney, Fantasy, Romance, USA

“If she is the one who’ll break the spell, you must finally learn to love…”

• What is this movie about? 

An adaptation of the Disney fairy tale about a monstrous-looking prince and a young woman who fall in love.

 

• Why should you watch it?

Well, who doesn’t like the Disney classic of 1991? I know, many might think, why do we need to watch another live action remake of a Disney classic? Well, because they know that we’ll go to the cinema to watch it, as Disney has been proven right in the last year with: “Alice in Wonderland”, “Maleficient”, “Cinderella”, “The Jungle Book”, and it’s only a matter of time before we have: “The Little Mermaid”, “The Lion King” or “Aladdin” on the big screen with real actors. So if Marvel is a non-stop machine of superhero movies making, this more classical side of Disney is a non-stop machine of cartoon classic movies.

So, the movie is interesting to watch; because of course you will wonder: have they changed the story? Are the dialogues the same? What do the characters look like (in case you are of that minority who hasn’t watched any advertising at all). And best of all: how is Hermione, er Emma Watson, playing Belle? So, the movie is not bad, but maybe is not that good, but as said before, is interesting to watch and enjoyable. Maybe a bit too long, and there are many added situations and details that try to give an added value compared to the 1991’s one but honestly, it could have worked without it.

There is one real problem here: that the classic movie from 1991 was too good, too good, so anything that is being made will be compared no matter what, and if we do compare this one, sorry, but it loses. If the cartoon one didn’t exist at all, then maybe our opinions would differ. The plot is exactly the same. Except some updated facts: more feminism, black characters, and even a gay one, which by the way, it’s probably the funniest thing of the movie. Then another trouble is that making CGI characters leaves less flexibility than designing it as a cartoon, and that is why all household characters look a bit weird at the beginning, but you’ll get used to it pretty fast.

Then there are the human actors. Emma Watson nails it as Belle, giving her a Hermione touch of course, that will make Potterheads crazier. Opposite her is Dan Stevens who is most of the movie behind the beast face but his voice is enough for us to love the characters. But leaving the main couple aside, there is another couple that in my opinion steals the show; and those are Gaston and LeFou, which a probably the best characters in this adaptation. Gaston playing a narcissist and LeFou playing the unwanted lover, which is really hilarious and a breath of fresh air.

Last but not least, we have the other main character of the movie: the music. Just listening to the first opening tunes gives us goosebumps that we’ll reappear at other points of the movie when we listen to the songs we were waiting for, special “Tale as old as time…”. Plus there are three extra songs that weren’t in the cartoon movie that will probably surprise us too.

A movie about a tale that we all know about. It might be too long at some point, but nonetheless it’s a movie to enjoy with the whole family. It doesn’t matter if you were a kid when you watched the original one or a parent of said kit, the tales is the same, what only changes is the way it is told. Just remember, when you get out of the cinema, you’ll only want to watch the cartoon one and be five years old again.

#BeOurGuest

 

 

 

• Did you know ?

– As in the original fairy tale, Belle’s father in this film is caught by the Beast when he attempts to take a rose for his daughter, instead of Beast accusing him of trespassing, as was the case in the 1991 film.

– Most of the characters in the remake, are noticeably different in appearance, than their 1991 counterparts. Lumiere is more of a hybrid between a human and a candelabra; Mrs. Potts’s face is on one side of a teapot instead at the spout; Gaston is less muscular; Le Fou is a bit taller, rather than being a dwarf; Maurice is also taller, and much older looking, and the Beast has ram-like horns, and his face is slightly more human like.

– Ryan Gosling was offered the role of the Beast, but turned it down to appear in La La Land (2016) instead. Emma Watson was offered the lead role in that film, but turned down that film to star in this one.

– Emma Watson released to fans that she would be playing the role of Belle, before it even went on record. A big fan of Beauty and the Beast (1991) since childhood, she told her fans that her “six year old self is on the ceiling – heart bursting.”

– Emma Watson (Belle), Emma Thompson (Mrs. Potts), Luke Evans’ (Gaston) and Nathan Mack’ (Chip) all share the same birthday, April 15, which was also the date of the first cast read through.

– Shortly after it was announced that Emma Watson would be playing Belle, Belle’s voice actors Paige O’Hara (the original voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast (1991)) and Susan Egan (who originated the role on Broadway) expressed their endorsement and approval of Watson as a live-action Belle.

– The song ‘Gaston’ has new lyrics that were written by the late Howard Ashman, but never made to the final cut of the 1991 film. As a result, the song is slightly longer, and is more mature themed.

– The film’s songs use new lyrics penned by Howard Ashman, which had previously been rejected for being too risque.

– Belle’s ballroom gown required 3,000 feet of thread and over 12,000 designer-hours to complete. It was accentuated with 2,160 Swarovski crystals.

– Emma Watson refused to wear a corset as part of her costume.

– During the ballroom scene, Emma Watson had a hard time not looking at her feet, because Dan Stevens was wearing steel toed shoes, and she was afraid he would step on her.

– Emma Watson came up with the idea to have her character wear boots in this film, instead of the black flats that Belle wore in the 1991 film. Watson claimed that because her character was going to be an inventor, the first thing that was to go was the flats. And unlike the film, Belle’s hair is worn either in a messy bun, or straight down, instead of a ponytail, as well as wearing a few cloths on her blouse, instead of an apron.

– Bill Condon had actors sing The Lion King (1994)’s “Hakuna Matata” at the auditions to measure their singing voices. This was how he chose the final cast for this film.

– A portion of the song number “Be Our Guest” has a nod to the final song number in the movie Moulin Rouge! (2001) in which Ewan McGregor has starred in.

– According to Disney, the first teaser trailer was viewed 91.8 million times in its first 24 hours. This marks the first teaser trailer of “Beauty and the Beast” to be the most viewed teaser trailer in history. Beating the previous record by Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (88 million views), followed by Captain America: Civil War (61 million views), each of them Disney films as well.

– The fictional town of Villeneuve is so named for the original author of “La Belle et la Bête,” and Production Designer Sarah Greenwood used the real French village of Conques in Southern France for the inspiration.

– Filming was completed by August 27, 2015, more than 18 months before the film’s release.

– The movie was partly filmed on land adjoining the classic English golf course at Berkhamsted Golf Club, also a prior location for the “Harry Potter” films and several others.

 

Finding Dory

Tags

2016, Animation, Disney, Sequel, USA

“You can do whatever you put your mind to.”

• What is this movie about?

One year after the adventures of Finding Nemo, we find our heroes Marlin, Nemo and Dory facing a new adventure before them: the quest to find Dory’s parents.

• Why should you watch it?

One Word to watch it: Dory!! The fish with a fish memory, yeah it’s right. She was the funniest thing in Finding Nemo, but that movie had many magnificent things. This 13 years later sequel, has the main funny character from Finding Nemo as THE main character, and yes, you will laugh, a lot but it kind of misses something, maybe the novelty?

Here we find Dory one year after the events that happened in Finding Nemo and what does she does? Well, she goes finding her parents!! So, once again, we find ourselves in an Oceanic adventure through the Seven Seas, er, I meant the Pacific Ocean. This time is Dory that leaves and Marlin and Nemo that go after her. Yeah, the story is kind of repetitive, but nonetheless this a great movie to watch with your kids, or not so kids.

Before judging this movie, we need to consider the original one; it was a fantastic movie, a piece of art you could say, and of course making a sequel has always its risks and using that one as a basis it has greater one, but Pixar has done a wonderful job in here! Although it is a sequel, so nothing is new and we might not get so much surprised as we got with Finding Nemo but you will really, really enjoy it.

We meet new friends in this story, we meet some old friends again and best of all is that we get to learn about Dory’s past! And we can understand some things about the previous movie which were left to our imagination. Here everything is well explained and with a ground behind it, not just for the sake of coming up with something to fill the gaps. Some of the new characters will melt your heart and you will love them right away, I love Hank, the octopus (he is the best!). So grab your kids (so you have an excuse) and go watch it!

 

 

• Did you know?

– The film is set one year after the events of Finding Nemo (2003). The film was released 13 years after the first.

– Finding Dory (2016) was first announced by Ellen DeGeneres, who voices Dory, on her talk show following a long campaign for a sequel.

– Hank has only seven tentacles because the animators realized they could not fit eight onto his body. His backstory was rewritten to account for the missing limb.

– The license plate on the truck is CALA113. “A113” appears in all Pixar movies, as a reference to the Cal Arts room where many of the animators of Pixar Studios attended.

– The setting of the film was changed from an aquatic park to a Marine Biology Institute after the controversial documentary Blackfish (2013) was screened for the crew of Pixar.

– The photo of Darla from Finding Nemo (2003) can be seen in the background during Dory’s first visit to the quarantine facility.

– With over 25 million likes, Dory is the most liked character on Facebook from any Disney or Pixar film.

– The Pizza Planet Truck in a wrecked sunken state appears at the area where Dory, Marlin and Nemo encounter the Giant Squid, as well as on the Freeway, passing by the Truck heading to Cleveland.