Disney's newest outing in live action remakes stands true to the success of the original animated film.  The "tale as old as time" remains relevant to society with it's depiction of love and different levels of societal classes.  Beauty and the Beast has deeper messages hidden in its storyline, but is still enjoyable as a family film filled with charm and attraction.  Sticking to a storyline that has already been put to the test on the big screen can be hard, but Bill Condon's (Dreamgirls) direction gives the film a fresh setting and jaw-dropping effects.  Throughout the film, animation still prevails with normally inanimate objects.  Lumiere (played by Ewan McGregor [Trainspotting, Star Wars]) shines as bright as he did in the original film, and Cogsworth's (played by Ian McKellen [The Lord of the Rings]) gears turn once again in the new adaptation.  The two actors for these roles heavy lifting with their voice acting roles.  While McGregor was able to charm as Lumiere, I'm not sure that I buy his French accent.  It was a bit over-the-top, but it did not detract too much from the film.

The best roles are saved for two very prominent actors of our time.  Dan Stevens (The Guest) is unrecognizable as the beast, which is a good thing.  After the opening scene, we get a scary image that takes time to gain the audience's trust.  His role is much different from his other works.  Stevens seems to be one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood right now.  

Speaking of versatile actors, Emma Watson (Harry Potter) graces the big screen once again as an iconic Disney character.  In this remake, Belle is different from the original film.  This time, she is a much more empowered character.  Watson's work on feminism clearly made its way into the film, proving that equality in movies is possible.  No one could do a better job in this role than Watson, and no one is more fitting.  Condon makes it very clear that this story is more based around Belle than it is around the beast.  

Of course, this wouldn't be a Disney live action adaptation without a reworking of the original score.  Usually, pre-recorded performances distract me from the screen as I watch clear lip-syncing.  However, I applaud Beauty and the Beast's sound crew for making the singing look as realistic as possible.  Sure it is not as authentic as the Les Miserables performances, but this is as good as it gets!  The massive scale choreography is also exciting to watch as the cast dances to iconic songs such as "Belle", "Be Our Guest", and the titular song "Beauty and the Beast".  Of course, "Gaston" remains as one of my favorite Disney songs ever with a job well done by Josh Gad (Frozen) and Luke Evans (Fast & Furious 6).  These familiar names play off of each other with a grand stage presence.  Evans is menacing as hell and Gad brings another wimpy character to life.

The Bottom Line: Beauty and the Beast ​brings back a tale as old as time with grandeur and charm-filled acting that could only be produced by the familiar faces in the cast.

Score: 9.3/10

Image credit: ​By http://flickr.com/photos/nieve44/ - http://flickr.com/photos/nieve44/418072188/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2099783

When Across the Universe was first pitched, I am sure there was backlash to the project.  Creating a film about a highly critiqued war effort is one thing, but using the Beatles's discography to progress the story is a whole other monster.  As a Beatles fanboy I can appreciate the covers throughout the film, even if the film falls short of being a masterpiece.  Jim Sturgess (21, Cloud Atlas) shows off his talent in singing and acting as the main star in the film.  Kudos to Evan Rachel Wood (The Wrestler) as well, who has now proven that she is a major star in Westworld.  Awesome cameos from Bono (Click, Batman Forever), Joe Cocker (Iron Man 2, The Pursuit of Happyness, Flight​), and Eddie Izzard (Valkyrie) round out the film's soundtrack.

The one area where the film falls flat is the storyline.  The storyline occurs over a long period of time as Jude (played by Jim Sturgess) grows up.  The film parallels his life with current events of the time period.  At times, the metaphors seem to push too hard towards a very heavy anti-war message.  I like the message, but it's a bit too heavy a lot of the time.  Odd interactions seem out of place along the way as well.  At points, I wish that a lot of the film was cut out because it is irrelevant to the storyline.  It was really cool that the filmmakers tried to use as many Beatles songs as possible, but sometimes they distract the flow of the film.

Coming out in 2007, Across the Universe used innovative tools to create a visually striking piece of art.  Kaleidoscope images cross the screen during Bono's performance of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", portraying the psychedelic style of the late Beatles music.  My favorite part of the movie occurs during a scene about the army draft.  The scene starts off with a horrifying image of Uncle Sam reaching out of a poster to grab a conscripted soldier.  The choreography is grand and the song fits perfectly with the scene, displaying the political messages embedded in a lot of the music by the Beatles. 

The Bottom Line: Even with a flat storyline, Across the Universe is a spectacle based around an anti-war message embedded in iconic Beatles songs.

Score: 6/10

As my first Jim Jarmusch (Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai) film viewing, I am quite impressed.  Jarmusch brings out great performances in his layered characters, while subtly dropping heavy symbolism throughout Paterson.  The film is a deep look at a single person's daily routine as he gets up, drives his bus for work, and ends up at the bar each night.  Rather than being repetitive like Groundhog Day, this film is a closed circle of commentary.  Yes, the story loops and certain elements are kept constant.  However, we do not have to drudge through the same thing happening over and over on a smaller scale.  

The shining element that keeps this film rolling is the character development.  One might argue that there is not a lot of development in the characters, but I would argue that each day there is a different perspective for each character.  Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Inside Llewyn Davis) fits perfectly into the role of Paterson, a bus driver by day and a poet by night.  Everything around Paterson is constantly changing, yet his routine remains the same.  Driver plays a passive and yet productive character, which is a hard concept to understand.  Alongside Driver, Golshifteh Farahani (Exodus: Gods and Kings​) plays a great supporting actress as Laura.  As Paterson's partner, Laura can get into his mind and yet never fully understand him.

This film would be fun to view and then discuss in a group because of its deep metaphors and symbolism.  No matter how many times I watch this one, I will always have different thoughts about what Jarmusch was getting at.  Right now, I am contemplating a theme that relates to twins.  I am not sure what Jarmusch was trying to say with the theme, but clearly there is something there.  If I ponder this one for a while, maybe I will have an answer in the near future.  Yet, if I rewatch the film I might change my mind.  That is the beauty of this film!

The Bottom Line:  It's not full of action, but it is full of dense character writing and a deeply symbolic screenplay.

Score: 9.4/10 

​Image credit: By Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49203449

Early buzz on this movie had me intrigued.  I have always enjoyed the idea of a live-action Tarzan movie, mainly because of the fantastic Disney adaptation.  This movie lacks a few things, falling short from being good.  Of course it lacks the superb Phil Collins soundtrack from the Disney film, but it could have been good even without that.  The Legend of Tarzan strives to swing above the other blockbusters released in 2016, but lands itself in the mud because of a poor storyline and oddly written characters.

At first glance, this movie had a lot going for it.  It's muscular lead actor looked to be the perfect Tarzan.  Yet, Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) plays a sympathetic and wimpy Tarzan.  He makes the audience feel sad for his situation, but never brings the strong character to life.  The rest of the cast is well-rounded, bringing Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, Suicide Squad, Focus) onto the big-screen once again this past year.  She did not quite fit my vision of Jane, but maybe it is because she doesn't usually play a damsel in distress.  Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained, Inglorious Basterds, Spectre) add their usual type-cast characters into the midst of the action.  Jackson plays an outspoken sidekick and Waltz plays his typical mysterious villain.  

The timeline of the film brings a new take on Tarzan to the big screen.  Still, the storyline creates a boring view of the man raised by apes.  Honestly, I like the origin of Tarzan and would rather see that as a live-action film than this later timeline.  The new story feels like every other action movie, putting a hero and sidekick together to go against a villain who has kidnapped Tarzan's love.  American audiences no longer need the damsel in distress story.  The writers seem to have gotten lost in their own writings by attempting to create an original story.

The Bottom Line: The action is neat, but the storyline and script feel wholly unoriginal.

Score: 5.6/10

Image credit: ​By Thierry Sollerot from Vernon (Eure, Hte Normandie), FRANCE (08-09-2016-17 Alexander Skarsgard) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Going into the theater, I expected something a bit different from what I encountered with this film.  I expected a dreary and dark thriller that would lack the coherency of Chan-wook Park's (Oldboy) past filmography.  Yet, The Handmaiden is most definitely my favorite film that Park has directed.  It is a long film, but almost all of the scenes add to the building tension of the characters.  Park's final product is reminiscent of the storytelling methods used by Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained, Kill Bill​).  The technical aspects are brilliant and constantly catch the audience off-guard with a series of twists.

Throughout the film, a symphony of sweet melodies and tense pitches add to the perfection of the story.  This is my favorite non-lyrical soundtrack of the year so far, and it will be damn-near impossible for any other film to beat it.  The melodic tracks add a charm to the characters, as the audience tries to figure out who is good and who is bad.  At the same time, there are tracks that have the intensity of 80s horror themes.  The balance between all of the instruments creates a tone that is coherent, but everchanging.

I warn readers that this film is not for the faint-hearted.  Filled with nudity and gory sequences, the darkness of the film is overwhelming.  However, if you appreciate modern cinema even in grotesque forms, this film is a must-see.  Although it is grotesque, most viewers will find something to enjoy about it.  You can focus on the filming techniques or the setting to move through the film without disgust.  Or at times, you can close your eyes and listen to the soundtrack.  In order to get the full experience though, you must watch the full 2.5 hour film and focus on everything at once.  Then, once you realize that you missed something, you can watch it again in fragments to see what is going on behind the outer-shell of the story.

The Bottom Line:  This film ranks within my top 10 for the year because of the depth in storytelling and technical aspects.

Score: 9.7/10 

Image credit: ​By tenasia10 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbknOaI-4pI, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52956567

It has been a long time since I have seen this play, but this retelling refreshed my memory of the great tragedy written by William Shakespeare.  Kenneth Branagh (Valkyrie) reimagines the play with a modern touch and an older age group of actors than I have ever seen.  Some of this works for the better, but a lot of the changes fall flat and detract from the emotions of the original story.  I liked the noir atmosphere that often surrounded the stage with smooth jazz.  This ambience felt fresh and original, making it easier for the audience to connect with the old play.

My biggest issue for this retelling of Romeo and Juliet was the age of a lot of the actors.  Romeo and Juliet are usually young and innocent lovers, but Branagh's troupe chose to cast Lily James (Cinderella) as Juliet and Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) as Romeo.  Lily James is 27 years old and Richard Madden is 30 years old, so let's keep those ages in mind.  Those are both 10 years over the ages of Shakespeare's characters.  To be fair, James tries to make her character younger by portraying the nervousness of a young lover.  Yet, her character comes across as frantic and becomes annoying after the first hour or so.  James and Madden both give decent performances, it's just hard to put them in the shoes of Romeo and Juliet.  Mercutio is played by Derek Jacobi (Gladiator, The King's Speech), which is another older choice for the character.  Jacobi brings great comedy and gravitas to his performance, but he is another odd choice to fill this Shakespeare role.

At first, I was not sure if I was going to write about the play because it was filmed during a live performance.  During a live performance, the audience gets to look where they want to at all times.  However, when an event like this is filmed the editors choose what the audience can see at certain times.  One of the more interesting choices for the filming is the black and white coloring.  I am not sure why they chose black and white for the film, maybe it was to give a noir tone to the viewer.  Personally, I would have enjoyed seeing the real coloring of the stage and costuming, but this was the director's choice for the filming so I respect that.  

The Bottom Line:  Overall the play is modernized with its staging and filming, but younger viewers might struggle to relate to it because of its older cast and black-and-white color palette. 

Score: 6.5/10 

Once again, Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, Doubt) reminds us of the importance of fine arts.  As Florence Foster Jenkins, Streep takes on the role of a poor singer who pays her way to the top.  However rather than being a self-centered rich woman, Jenkins had a true love for the art of opera.  Streep gives us this portrayal through her emotional journey as Jenkins.  No one other than Jenkins's husband and accompanist understood this, but now the movie-goer gets this look at their perspective.  Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena) once again targets an older audience, but anyone who enjoys a well-made film can find something to entertain themselves with this one.

The film is often times hilarious, but also heartwarming as a story of true love, loyalty, and devotion.  Hugh Grant (Music and Lyrics) plays Jenkins's loving husband, providing for her but also living a double life.  As St Clair Bayfield, Grant is dramatic around his costar but playful around the other characters.  The two roles suit him well and I cannot remember a performance by Grant that I liked as much as this one.  The other stand-out star in this film is Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) as Cosme McMoon.  McMoon was Jenkins's piano accompanist, which was clearly an odd setup for McMoon.  Helberg brings the awkward relationship that the two "musicians" had throughout their time together.  Towards the beginning of the film, Helberg steals the show through his comic delivery and facial expressions.  He fits perfectly into the shoes of his character, overacting to get the audience roaring for more of his screentime.

In a film about such a famous singer, it is important to realize the soundtrack accompanying the imagery.  Streep brings out a new voice in her portrayal of Jenkins.  Listening to recordings of Jenkins, Streep sounds almost exactly like her.  This is one of Streep's best performances in any role I have seen.  It is also an extremely painful performance to watch, but somehow I could listen to Streep sing like this for over an hour and still find it hilarious.  The original music written for the film is a complete contradiction to Florence's voice.  Alexandre Desplat (The King's Speech, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Argo, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) once again creates a score that fits the setting of a bustling New York in the early 1900s.  Desplat's score is dramatic and retrospective, bringing out the gravitas of the film.

The Bottom Line:  This film is painfully hilarious and fantastically flat.

Score: 7.5/10

Considering this is Sian Heder's first feature film, I would keep her name in mind for future reference.  Tallulah is a brilliant study of four different characters who continue to bring us down a road of conflict.  When misfit Tallulah is forced into a childcare situation, she struggles with the child's upbringing and decides that she is more fit to take care of the child than the biological mother is.  Through deception, Tallulah "kidnaps" the child and the story starts to unravel from there.  Continual conflicts arise along the way ranging from rich vs. poor to individual values vs. family values.  

All of the characters keep us wondering what will happen next throughout the movie.  They are each stuck in their own world, but also show flexibility.  Ellen Page (Inception, Juno, X-Men: Days of Future Past) takes an outstanding role as a "homeless" young adult who just cannot find her path in life.  Page has shown excellence throughout her acting career and this might just be her best performance to date.  The rest of the cast bring their own unique acting styles to the mix.  Allison Janney (Finding Nemo, Juno) plays a woeful and lonely mother who has a lot of money but clearly cannot buy her own happiness with it.  Tammy Blanchard (Into the Woods, Blue Jasmine) also acts as a mother who is too rich to figure out how to take care of her child.  I've never seen such an immature and yet middle-aged woman who is so bad at taking care of her child.

With all of these characters, there are many twists and turns that Heder throws us down.  I found myself trying to predict what was going to happen next, but I was constantly at a loss.  With all of the twists and turns the film is still subtle, keeping a realistic vibe to the film.  Earlier today I wrote a short piece about Little Men, Ira Sachs's newest film.  Tallulah and Little Men match each other tonally, making the films great for a double feature.  Both films also take a lot of time in helping us get to know the characters.  By the end of the Tallulah, I felt as though I knew every character inside and out.  Often we do not get this connection with big name actors, but this script was well fleshed out producing the connection.

The Bottom Line:  In a medium dominated by action and special effects, Heder brings us a film that focuses solely on characters and their deep development.

Score: 9.6/10

​Image credit: https://teaser-trailer.com/wp-content/uploads/tallulah-movie-1.jpg

eThis film struck me because of its unique style, one that I cannot say I have seen before in a film.  From the very beginning of the film, we are thrown straight into a story that started a long time ago.  When Glen Hansard's (The Commitments) character is heartbroken by his girlfriend, he flees to Dublin where he busks and works at his father's vacuum repair shop for a living.  During this time, Marketa Irglova's character stumbles upon him while she is walking along the streets.  From there, the story unravels in a quick manner through a small amount of dialogue and a large amount of music.

The score of the film is heartfelt and emotional, tugging at the empathy of the viewers.  Overall, the film is a long form music video that is glorified beyond MTV.  Over the course of one hour and twenty-five minutes, there are over five original compositions to enjoy.  Most of the pieces are slow but continue to progress the storyline until the very last minute.  By the last minute, I was ready to grab a bowl of ice cream and listen to the soundtrack all over again.  After all, Hansard's composition, "Falling Slowly," rightfully won an Oscar for the film.  Irglova's voice must also be commended in the song with her playful harmonization of Hansard's voice.  I am disappointed that the score was not nominated for Best Original Score, but I guess the film flew a bit under the Academy's radar because of its independent method.  After seeing Begin Again, Sing Street and Once, John Carney has proven to be a talented music-based film director who will likely shine on with future additions to his filmography.

Begin Again and Sing Street act as really well made music indie films, but Once stands out from the other two because of the way it is shot.  Rather than using typical film conventions, Carney refers to a reality television filming style.  The film angles are often placed in a candid situation and everything we see looks real.  At first I thought that I had turned on the wrong film because of the raw material on the screen.  At one point, there was a shot through a window that included the glare of the window.  Carney seems to have intentionally scrapped a lot of the post-film editing so that we could join the characters in their daily living situation.  There are multiple long takes as we follow them through a shaky handheld camera.  So many other diverse filming conventions are used throughout the film.  These conventions may sound like a negative for a film, but this love story cuts deep into our souls because of this realism.  It has been a long time since I have watched something so unique and soulful as Once is.

The Bottom Line:  Raw footage and diverse filming conventions harmonize together to create a realistic, serene film which put Carney on the map as a brilliant indie music film director.

Score: 9.7/10     

Image credit: http://images1.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Once-movie-stills-once-832293_600_280.jpg