Brave: Pixar’s Forgotten Masterpiece

Brave is an animated fantasy film by genre giants Pixar. The plot follows Merida a Scottish princess, who doesn’t like that she has no control in her own life; being expected to marry and keep alive old alliances.

When looking back at Pixar’s history and filmography, Brave falls solidly in the middle, in the average category. However, I genuinely believe that this film is criminally overlooked and, is, in fact, one of Pixar’s best.

The crux of the story is a relationship between a mum and her daughter, Princess Merida, (Kelly Macdonald), wants to have her own life and, follow her heart, whereas her Mum Queen Elinor, (Emma Thompson), wants her to marry and, become the next queen; crucially they don’t understand each other and won’t listen to what the other has to say. Merida makes a deal with a Witch, (Julie Walters), to give her a potion that will ‘change’ her mum, thinking it will change her mum’s mind; instead it turns her into a bear.

Despite her mum not being able to talk from this point forward, until the very end of the film, the emotional relationship between these two characters is a thing of beauty. As the two go on a journey to get Queen Elinor turned back, they bond and learn to see things from each others point of view. Despite this being done before, it perfectly captures the mother-daughter relationship in an incredibly honest way, that only Lady Bird has done before, it is incredibly affecting; and is a fantastic example of the soul Pixar films are known for.

The voice cast is fantastic, Kelly Macdonald is a great leading lady and, the role of Queen Elinor seems as though it was written for Thompson as she captures the regal, wise Queen in a way only she can. However, the standout performance of the voice cast is Billy Connolly as King Fergus, he is effortlessly hilarious and, perfectly captures the loving if misguided father.

It is nice to see a Scottish Princess and to see a film inspired by the folklore of the Highlands, it gives the film a very unique sense of identity, that I for one greatly appreciate. I would love to see more films set in this universe and, see the mythology further explored; as there is a deep well of folklore waiting to be tapped.

Ultimately it is a crying shame how this great film has faded into obscurity, forgotten under the weight of Toy Story and Coco. This film is beautiful and, has more soul than any other animated film I’ve seen this year. If you didn’t see this film when it came out or, just love Pixar films than this is a must-watch. This is miles better than the likes of Frozen and has a message we should all take notice of.

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Current Star Wars Climate

Today I thought I would write about the current state of Star Wars and, my thoughts on it; what better time than with the Rise of Skywalker mere weeks away. I will try and, keep politics out of it.

So before I talk about current Star Wars, I will talk about my history with the franchise I was born into the prequel era, I was 3 when The Phantom Menace hit cinemas, the first Star Wars film I saw in the cinema was Revenge of the Sith. So I grew up watching the prequels, and anyone who knows my thoughts on Star Wars knows I have a soft spot for them. I, of course, watched the Original trilogy religiously, it was revered in my house; so of course when it was announced that we would be getting a new trilogy, a sequel trilogy I was excited.

At the current moment in time, I strongly dislike the sequel trilogy and, I will now explain why.

It all began with the Force Awakens, I like many others was incredibly hyped for it, the trailers and the teaser had captured my imagination. However, when I went to see it I was left with one thought, that was incredibly average, incredibly safe.

That is my key issue with the new trilogy, it has potential but, instead it seems to be content to be average. The characters are all likeable but, they aren’t characters not really a lot of them are just there to carry the plot along; glorified macguffins. The Last Jedi that believe me I will get to in a minute, rather than deepen any of these characters just stuffs more characters into the mix, as though that will fix anything, you’re not able to care about the characters because they’re so flat. The other major issue with how the new trilogy treats characters is with the preexisting veterans. The new trilogy does two things with these characters milk them for nostalgia and, then kill them off to force an emotional reaction out of the audience; in the cheapest kind of way.

Now the second film in the trilogy The Last Jedi does take risks, I can’t criticise them for that, but what it also does far more than The Force Awakens is force in a political message; which yes Star Wars has always been political but, this is blatant and off-putting.
Whatsmore, while I do genuinely like Rian Johnson and think he is a talented filmmaker, I don’t think he was the right pick for this film as he disrupted the flow of the trilogy; through subverting expectations, this could have been done well but, here it just comes across as alienating and jarring. If Johnson was given his own trilogy set in a completely new part of the universe it could be outstanding but, this just wasn’t the film for him.

At the time of writing The Rise of Skywalker is weeks away and, I feel nothing. These films no longer feel like Star Wars to me they just feel like generic science fiction with bland forgettable characters. It is a shame to see a series that I once looked up to fall this low, I think the only way to save it is to move past everything that has gone before and, start afresh in a new part of the galaxy with new characters.

But hey Rogue One, Solo and the Mandalorian are all pretty good.

Written by Luke

Jumanji Welcome To The Jungle: The Perfect Videogame Adaption

Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle is a fantasy, adventure comedy film acting in many ways like a sequel/ soft reboot of the Robin Williams classic. The plot follows a group of mismatch teenagers, a la the Breakfast Club, that all find themselves in detention together; having to clean out a room in the High School. While there they run into a mystical game Jumanji, this time around it takes the form of a videogame, because who plays board games, as they start playing they soon realise that Jumanji is so much more than just a game.

The characters themselves are the usual collection of stereotypes, the shy quirky boy, the shy quirky girl, who end up together, of course, the vapid self-obsessed girl, and the jock. Naturally while inside the videogame each character gets an avatar, these are the big Hollywood stars, Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan. The shy quiet nerds, Spencer, (Alex Wolff), and Martha, (Morgan Turner), get the avatars of the cool badass confident, Dr Smolder Bravestone, (Dwayne Johnson) and Ruby Roundhouse, (Karen Gillan), respectively. The character development couldn’t be more obvious they both learn to be more confident and to love themselves; however, despite being cliche, these character arcs are well done and, the character transformation does feel rewarding at the end of the film.

Likewise making the popular girl, Bethany, (Madison Iseman), have the ingame avatar of Professor Shelly Oberon, (Jack Black), is equally as expected, but also equally hilarious; Black has the best lines in the film and, the humour of having a teenage girl in the body of a grown man provides some great laughs. Finally, you have the traditional jock Fridge, (Ser’Darius Blain), having the avatar of Moose Finbar, (Kevin Hart), the joke here is that Fridge goes from being big and muscular to small and weak, these jokes don’t land as well and, Hart often comes off as whiny and annoying.

Jumanji itself works almost perfectly as a videogame adaptation despite not actually being one, capturing the feeling of playing a game and the rules of them really well. Furthermore, the surprise reveal of Nick Jonas’ Seaplane being Alex Vreeke a kid who went missing 20 years ago gives the story a real emotional weight; especially when he realises how long he has actually been in Jumanji. There is a kind of jokey romance between Alex and Madison in the film, which in context feels quite icky, but at least this is mostly kept on the sidelines.

Ultimately Jumanji works perfectly for what it is, a dumb popcorn movie, it is not going to give you something you haven’t seen before, it doesn’t have anything new to say, but it is incredibly amusing and entertaining. The awkward nerd romance is nice to see, and Alex Wolff is a good leading man. However, this is Jack Black and Jo Jonas’ film, they’re both equally hilarious and, if the soon to be released sequel can give them and Gillan’s character more attention and, Johnson and Hart less, then it could be something really special.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

How to Train Your Dragon: The Love Between A Boy and his Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon is an animated action-fantasy film; loosely based on the 2003 kids book of the same name. How to Train Your Dragon is set in a Viking esque world, where every night villages are raided by troublesome dragons. Most of the Vikings are brave warriors who face off against the dragons to protect themselves and their land. However, Hiccup, (Jay Baruchel) isn’t like them he can’t swing a sword or, an axe, but he has a big heart. One day Hiccup captures a dragon, one of the most feared types the dreaded Night Fury, however rather than kill it and embrace his inner Viking, Hiccup befriends the dragon that he call toothless and what follows is their story.

The themes of How to Train Your Dragon are universal, the ideas of not feeling as though you belong, being different to everyone else around you, everyone has felt like that at some point in their life; and that is what this film and it’s sequels capture so well.

The animation is beautiful, each dragon has it’s own unique design and every corner of the map is dripping with detailed Norse mythology. This is just one of the few reasons why How to Train Your Dragon is one of Dreamworks big three franchise, the others being Kung Fu Panda and Shrek.

The relationship between the Hiccup and Toothless will strike an emotional chord with anyone who has ever had a pet before. The pure love is so perfectly captured here, and the film is not afraid to go dark with this, showing just how dark Hiccup and Toothless are willing to go for each other.

Whatsmore the relationship between Hiccup and his father Stoick is also incredibly well done. Stoick, (Gerard Butler), is the clan chief, as well as this he is a Viking in the truest sense, he is tough, manly and slays dragons for fun. To him, Hiccup never made any sense, he was always keen to understand him, but the lack of anything in common always kept them apart. The scene in the final act of the film when Stoick thinks he has lost his son, after effectively disowning him not long before, and he breaks down and realises that his outlook is wrong and, that Hiccup was right all along; then it turns out that Toothless the dragon Stoick hated has saved his son and he thanks it, it is the most touching scene I have seen in a film in a long time.

Ultimately the world of the How to Train Your Dragon is beautiful the mythology is rich and well explored, but the greatest strength that How to Train Your Dragon uses so well is its use of heart and emotion. It is despite being about dragons and Vikings and very fanciful, an incredibly affecting film and, one that will leave an impression on you long after the credits roll.

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Frozen 2: Into The Unknown?

Frozen 2 is an animated musical fantasy film; the plot takes place three years later and centers around Elsa, (Idina Menzel), finding out the origins of her powers.

The most notable thing about Frozen 2 is the distinct change in tone it is very much similar to the tonal shift that the Harry Potter films had; with Frozen 2 being much more mature and exploring far darker themes than Frozen.

The overall narrative choice of tieing Elsa’s powers into her being an elemental is an interesting choice. The other elementals, air, fire, earth and water are a mixed bag; fire is a cute salamander, literally to sell merchandise, air and earth are bland and full of plot holes; water is by far the best.

The songs, which are a key part, are even better this time around. ‘Into the Unknown’, is a better song than ‘Let it Go’, as it says more about Elsa’s character motivations while also serving to set up and foreshadow the later plot. That is something that applies to all the songs in this film they no longer just feel forced in because the films needs a song, which Frozen 1 is guilty of. Instead, most of the songs this time around serve a narrative purpose.

The characters except for Elsa and Olaf,(Josh Gad), who I will talk about separately, all feel sidelined in this film, being reduced to caricatures. Anna, (Kristen Bell), becomes so needy and, controlling with Elsa that she can’t let her out of her sight for more than five minutes; which leads to Anna repeatedly putting herself in danger and needing to be saved. Kristoff, (Jonathan Groff), who was already a background character in the last film is now given even less to do; making me ask the question why was he even included if they weren’t going to use him? His whole story line revolves around him wanting to propose to Anna, and it keeps going badly, does that sound funny to you? The first time it’s passable, maybe you think it’s just a throwaway gag, but no that is his whole arc; and it is incredibly unfunny. He does get a song this time around ‘lost in the woods’ which is surprisingly, but that is it. There are some other side characters but, they’re only featured briefly.

The two characters who I think are good in this film and progress in interesting ways are Elsa and Olaf. Elsa’s quest to find out who she is keeps us guessing most of the film, yes at times some of the twists along the way are painfully obvious, but I still respect how her character progresses and, the fact that by the end of the film she is no longer Queen. I think the side plot of her maybe having a romantic moment with a Northuldra woman, is brushed over far too quickly, but maybe we will get that in the inevitable Frozen 3? Olaf, who was mainly comic relief, here has an existential arc where he questions reality and the nature of change; which I thoroughly enjoyed and thought it added a nice bit of comedy for a more mature audience.

To conclude I think that this film could have been better if it was just an Elsa, and maybe Olaf, standalone film. Anna and Kristoff have so little to do why include them? The more mature story is definitely a plus as well as the ballsy ending, but the issues I have mentioned just drag it down for me.

3.5/5
Reviewed by Luke

Frozen: The New Christmas Hit

Frozen is an animated musical fantasy film, focusing on two Princesses Anna, (Kristen Bell), and Elsa, (Idina Menzel), as they have to save the Kingdom of Arendelle. Elsa is born with ice powers that she can’t control, which scare her to the point she seals herself away from society. However, she rejoins society when her parents die and, she ascends the thrones, this all turns bad and, the kingdom is plunged into eternal winter, she then runs off so she can’t hurt anyone else. Her sister Anna then begins a journey to find her sister and save the kingdom.

The refreshing thing about Frozen is how it bucks the traditional Disney formula. There is no Prince Charming, and the closest we get is the villainous Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. There is a romance subplot between Kristoff, (Jonathan Groff), and Anna but, this isn’t the main focus. Furthermore, the ending of the film which calls for ‘true love’, is the love between the two sisters; which I found to be delightfully subverting.

The songs are all very well done, especially ‘Let it go’ the song a million little kids listened to on repeat, they add to the dramatic elements of the film nicely. Furthermore, the Nordic/ Sami influence in the score helps the film to have a sense of original identity.

The two sisters are incredibly well fleshed out characters with very well defined motivations and personalities, being great role models for younger audiences. However, the rest of the cast are ignored as a result. Kristoff and Olaf, (Josh Gad), have their moments but, they end up feeling more background characters; with Olaf being the worst for this.

Olaf is only in the film to act as comedic relief, which more often than not comes across as annoying. The humour of the film is very much skewed towards a child audience, yes it is a film aimed at children, but most good animated films have jokes and lines in for the older members of the audience; this one does not.

The mythology of the film is very interesting, with strong Nordic influences, it is rife to explore; though it is only lightly touched on here.

Overall all this is on the better side of Disney fare interestingly bucking the trend of the film’s gone by. Anna and Elsa are both incredibly well-formed characters that have a lot to love about them; being great inspiration for little girls. The score is well used and, memorable with songs you will remember long after the credits roll. My one issue with the film is that the supporting characters aren’t given a lot to do which makes them feel more akin to cardboard cutouts.

4/5
Reviewed by Luke

Doctor Sleep: The Sequel King and Kubrick Wanted!

Doctor Sleep is a supernatural horror film, based on the Stephen King book of the same name. Doctor Sleep follows on from the events of Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film the Shining and follows an adult Danny Torrence, (Ewan McGregor), who has been scared and broken after the events at the Overlook Hotel; the ghosts still haunt Danny, both literally and figuratively, and he has all but, stopped using his ‘Shine’.

The Plot follows Danny as he tries to come to terms with what happened to him and move past it, it does to a degree until follower Shiner Abra Stone, (Kyleigh Curran), bursts into his life. Abra is the target of a group of beings who feed off the souls of shiners, with her powers drawing them ever closer.

First thing first I loved his film, and I will get to that, but I want to talk about the one negative that bothered me about the film. Said negative is the de-aged characters, through the film, there are several flashbacks to the events of The Shining, but the original cast don’t reprise their roles. This change in actors did distract me and take me out of those scenes; with them being more than a bit jarring.

That said everything else about the film is a triumph, Doctor Sleep manages to be a sequel not only to the Stanley Kubrick film but also to Stephen King’s The Shining. Both of these version of the story are very different, with some people liking one more than the other. However, Doctor Sleep manages to do both versions justice and be a worthy follow up.

Furthermore, it’s nice to see how the events of The Shining affected Danny, and see how he has lived with his abilities since then. McGregor does a great job showing us this, as we can see just how damaged he is, but he is still sympathetic and believable as the hero. It’s nice to see him take on a mentorship role to Abra, just like Dick Holloran to him.

Carrying on from that one of the best things that Doctor Sleep does is build the world of The Shining, it highlights what the shine is and what it can do, and how different people have a variety of shine based abilities and use them for varying odds and ends. Danny’s shine was always the most interesting part of the original narrative and, I’m glad to see it explored in more detail here.

Finally, the best part of the film is Rebecca Ferguson’s villain, Rose. Rose is the leader of True Knot, the evil group hunting down Abra. Ferguson plays this evil manic pixie girl to perfection, easily being one of the best and most memorable antagonists of 2019. She is a scene stealer.

Overall, Doctor Sleep is a worthy follow up to one of the all-time horror greats, which is no mean feat. The narrative fits perfectly into the ending of The Shining and makes it feel like required viewing, which if you like horror films, Ewan McGregor, or Rebecca Ferguson it is.

4.5/5
Reviewed by Luke

Abominable: Dreamworks most surprising Gem

Abominable is an animated film from Dreamworks, about a young girl Yi, voiced by Chloe Bennet, who has shut herself off from the world after the death of her father. That all changes when an escaped Yeti takes refuge on the roof of her building. As she embarks on a mission to help him get home to Mount Everest, the Yeti helps her through her grief and reminds her of what a beautiful place the world can be.

I had low expectations going in, and I hadn’t heard much about the film, what I had heard was suggesting it was going to be incredibly average. However, I can honestly say after seeing the film that it’s a delight. Abominable is greatly influenced by Dreamworks other heavy hitters, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragons. Though their respective influences are clear, I think this film rises to the same level as these two greats, if it doesn’t surpass them.

The central theme of the film is grief, and what this film does better than something like Coco, the emotion does not feel artificial or forced, but rather incredibly raw and genuine. So much so that you can relate to Yi’s level of grief and empathise, imagining the level of pain you would feel if you were in that situation.

Everest, the Yeti, doesn’t have much to say or do, apart from wanting to get home to the mountain of the same name, but he takes the traditional role of making all the kids realise who they are. Though this role is incredibly cliche, here it can’t help but make you smile as the dynamic between the kids and Everest is precious.

The one area this film falls down in is its’ villains. Said antagonist is Dr Zara, who the film first reveals to us as a sympathetic character who wants to study and protect this majestic creature. However, as we should all know because she has a British accent, she must be evil, and sure enough midway through the film this turns out to be the case. Her motivations are quite lacklustre wanting to capture the creature so she can sell it, and though Sarah Paulson is drafted in to voice her, she is given precious little to sink her teeth into. Something the film does well in the antagonist department is show how the character Burnish, who is presented as a nasty man who wants to recapture the Yeti to prove himself right, has a change of heart and realise that Everest needs to be protected. This shows how even the villains of the film can be redeemed. The main characters show elements of this as well, as they develop to become better people.

The world the film creates is beautiful and expansive, with a robust lived-in feel to it. Every destination the kids go to in their quest to get Everest home feels like it has a thousand stories to tell; leaving them aptly for a sequel.

Overall Abominable blew my expectations away and was one of the most charming, heartwarming animated films I’ve seen in a long time. Chloe Bennet deserves praise for her role as Yi, and the film as a whole deserves recognition for its positive messages about grief and coping with it, and the importance of family and being yourself. Abominable is a film I can’t recommend enough.

4/5
Reviewed by Luke