It’s a movie, not a wedding, but still you’ll find something old, something new, something borrowed and yes, even something blue in the live-action remake of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” that opens today nationwide.
Tonight is Oscar night and in-between political rants and protests, a few awards might also be handed out.
Tonight the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will present the 2017 Golden Globes. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will wear the most hideous outfit as if they were dressed by Stevie Wonder? My predictions are listed here and I’ll update with the winners as the awards are presented.
The original “Star Wars” trilogy (meaning episodes IV-VI) owed its success to a simple, easy to follow yet intriguing story, memorable characters and fantastic visuals. The second set of movies (Episodes I-III) lacked many of these qualities (Jar-Jar Binks, anyone?) and were considered inferior by many fans. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” falls somewhere in the middle, both figuratively and literally.
A valid criticism of modern Hollywood is that the trailers often reveal too much or feature the only good parts of a movie. The previews for “Passengers” are one of the biggest problems with the movie, not because of what they show but rather because they lead one to believe this is a different type of film than what it truly is.
In an era where sequels, remakes and reboots seem to dominate the Hollywood landscape, it’s nice (not to mention rare) to find a film of refreshing originality, joyful energy and a style that is both infectious and hard to describe.
One of my favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes is called “Darmok” and it is, in my humble opinion, one of the best hours of science fiction ever created. Forced to work together to overcome a mutual threat, Captain Picard and an alien Captain must learn to communicate without technology or any help from the outside world. There are very few special effects and just two actors for the majority of the episode but the simple, clever story carries the weight.
The new film “Arrival” could be a distant cousin of, and in some ways perhaps inspired by the tale of Darmok and Jalad.
When Newt Scarmander (Eddie Redmayne) was first mentioned in the debut Harry Potter novel “Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone” I doubt even the most ardent fans knew he would become the face of the next wizard world franchise. But he has done just that, to remarkable effect, in the first installment of what is expected to be a five-film saga.
Welcome to my new blog. Way back in the MySpace days I used to enjoy the ability to post long-form stories, critiques and other thoughts and that desire has recently returned.
