THE LION KING (2019) – My rating: 9/10

The Lion King is a computer-animated musical directed and produced by Jon Favreau, written by Jeff Nathanson, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a photorealistic computer-animated remake of Disney’s traditionally animated 1994 film of the same name. The plot follows Simba, a young lion who must embrace his role as the rightful king of his native land following the murder of his father, Mufasa, at the hands of his uncle, Scar. As with Jungle Book, the CGI characters were spectacular.  There was very little difference in the story, if any, from the original 1994 animated film. I was glad I went to see Lion King in this format.

In the Pride Lands of Africa, in a place called Pride Rock, lived King Mufasa, Queen Sarabi and their pride of lions who ruled over the animal kingdom. Mufasa’s and Sarabi’s newborn son, Simba, is presented to the gathering animals by Rafiki, the mandrill who is the kingdom’s shaman and advisor. As Simba grows older, Mufasa shows him the Pride Lands and explains the responsibilities of kingship as well as the “circle of life”, which connects all living things.

Mufasa’s younger brother, Scar, covets the throne and plots to eliminate Mufasa and Simba so he can rule the kingdom,  as the new king. He tricks Simba and his best friend Nala (to whom it is expected Simba will marry) into exploring a forbidden elephants’ graveyard, where they are attacked by spotted hyenas led by Shenzi, Kamari, and Azizi. Mufasa is alerted about the incident by his majordomo, the hornbill Zazu, and rescues the cubs. Though upset with Simba, Mufasa forgives him and explains that the great kings of the past watch over them from the night sky, from which he will one day watch over Simba. Meanwhile, Scar visits the hyenas and manages to convince them to help him overthrow Mufasa in exchange for hunting rights in the Pride Lands.

Meanwhile, Scar sets a trap for his brother and nephew, luring Simba into a gorge and having the hyenas drive a large herd of wildebeest into a stampede that will trample him. In order for Scar’s plan to work, he informs Mufasa of Simba’s peril, knowing that the king will rush to save his son.

The Lion King is a classic that most people have seen.  The reason to see this version is the CGI technology that makes the environment and animals of The Lion King seem almost real.  In this version, the plot focuses more on the life of Simba rather than his father, Mufasa.  Simba runs into new and different characters and learns new and different ways to eat and survive.  When Simba was finally pulled back into his reality, he resisted but succumbed to his basic foundation, which included the teachings of his father.  I thought The Lion King was beautifully told with special effects that were out of this world.  I am excited about future endeavors pertaining to picture shows.  The Lion King has grossed $1.4 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing animated film, overtaking Frozen, as well as the second highest-grossing film of 2019 and 9th highest of all-time. It received mixed reviews, with praise for its visual effects, music, and vocal performances (particularly Rogen and Eichner) but criticism for its lack of facial emotion on the characters, with many describing it as “soulless” compared to the original film. I think, without a doubt, The Lion King is definitely worth seeing on the big screen.  Check It Out!

Listed below, is a list of celebrity voices that brought “The Lion King” to life:

Simba (Donald Glover):
A lion who is the crown prince of the Pride Lands.
Young Simba (JD McCrary)

Pumbaa (Seth Rogen:
A slow-witted common warthog who befriends and adopts a young Simba after he runs away from home.

Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor):
The treacherous brother of Mufasa, the brother-in-law of Sarabi and the uncle of Simba who seeks to take the mantle of king of the Pride Lands.

Sarabi (Alfre Woodard):
The Queen of the Pride Lands, Mufasa’s wife, and Simba’s mother.

Timon (Billy Eichner):
A wise-cracking meerkat who befriends and adopts a young Simba after he runs away from home.

Rafiki (John Kani):
A wise mandrill who serves as the shaman of the Pride Lands, and a close friend of Mufasa’s. Likening his role to that of a grandfather.

Zazu (John Oliver):
A red-billed hornbill who is the majordomo (someone who makes arrangements for another) to the King of the Pride Lands.

Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter):
Simba’s childhood best friend and future love interest.
Young Nala (Shahadi Wright Joseph)

Mufasa (James Earl Jones):
The King of the Pride Lands, Sarabi’s husband and the father of Simba. Jones reprises his role from the original 1994 animated film.

Shenzi (Florence Kasumba), Kamari (Keegan-Michael Key), and Azizi (Eric Andre):
Three spotted hyenas who are Scar’s henchmen.

Sarafina (Penny Johnson Jerald):
Nala’s mother.

(Amy Sedaris), (Chance the Rapper) and (Josh McCrary):
voice a guinea fowl, a bush baby, and an elephant shrew, respectively.

 

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018) – My rating: 8/10

Solo: A Star Wars Story, or simply Solo, is a 2018 Space Western based on the Star Wars character Han Solo. Directed by Ron Howard, it was produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the second Star Wars anthology film following 2016’s Rogue One. A stand-alone installment set prior to the events of A New Hope, it explores the early adventures of Han Solo and Chewbacca. I was excited to see Solo based on trailers and my Star Wars history but wasn’t that happy about  how Solo turned out.  While I continued to be entertained, I didn’t feel as touched or as involved in the story as in the past.  Could it be that there are too many Star Wars movies giving one the feeling that it’s just a competition piece without rhyme or reason?  A money grabber, if you will.

On the shipbuilding world of Corellia, orphaned children are made to steal in order to survive. A young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and his girlfriend, Qi’ra  (Emilia Clarke) escape from a local criminal gang. They bribe an Imperial officer with a stolen sample of coaxium, a powerful hyperspace fuel, in exchange for passage on an outgoing transport, but Qi’ra is apprehended by their pursuers before she can board. Han vows to return and rescue her, he then joins the Imperial Navy as a flight cadet. Han is given the surname “Solo” by the recruiting officer.

In the meanwhile, three years have past and Han has been expelled from the Imperial Flight Academy for insubordination. While serving as an infantryman during a battle on the planet Mimban, he encounters a gang of criminals posing as Imperial soldiers led by Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson). He tries to blackmail them into taking him with them, but Beckett has him arrested for desertion and thrown into a pit to be fed to a beast – a Wookiee named Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo). Able to speak Chewbacca’s language, Han persuades him to work together to escape their confinement. In need of extra hands, Beckett rescues them and enlists them in the gang, which includes Beckett’s wife Val (Thandie Newton).  They then plot to steal a shipment of coaxium on the planet Vandor. The plan goes awry when the Cloud Riders show up with their leader Enfys Nest (Erin Kellyman), resulting in the deaths of two crew members and the destruction of the coaxium.  Beckett reveals he was ordered to steal the shipment for Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), a high-ranking crime boss in the Crimson Dawn syndicate. Han and Chewbacca volunteer to help him steal another shipment to repay the debt.

At this point, the film picks up a whole new adventure.  There are many twist and turns and some surprises you won’t see coming.  Solo is an excellent story with far fewer characters than some of the earlier Star Wars productions. You might note the character Lando Calrissian  (Donald Glover) who was formerly played by Billy De Williams has been replaced with a younger actor.  Also, Han Solo was originally played by Harrison Ford but is not played by Alden Ehrenreich.  Over all I think Solo is missing the grandiose feeling usually displayed in these type of movies but still is a very good film.  Solo is definitely not worth seeing in 3D but is worth seeing in the regular standard format.  Check it out!

 

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017) – My rating: 8/10

There’s not a whole lot to say about Spider-Man: Homecoming. I liked it and it was entertaining. I think I’ve outgrown the current format, as it no longer appeals to the child in me. Like Deadpool, I found the cheeky lines designed to draw attention like “look at me” and “I don’t think so” pretty corny and adolescent. I guess I’m more attuned to Tobey Maguire’s version of the super hero. This is not to say a younger audience would not find this version great plus this is how the comic book versions are written.  I knew there was a reason I didn’t read comic books.  Not my cup of tea.

The movie opens at the point when Tony Stark’s / Iron-Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) organization (US Department of Damage Control (DODC) has taken over cleaning up New York after the last big battle involving the “Avengers Initiative”.  Adrian Toomes / Vulture (Michael Keaton) and his salvage company were the former contractors until the DODC took over causing an enraged Adrian to be driven completely out of business.  Adrian decides to keep the Chitauri technology already scavenged and use it to create and sell advanced weapons.  All is well for Adrian until Peter Parker / Spider-Man (Tom Holland) appears, stopping Adrian and his crew at every turn.  Peter has been appointed to an internship by Tony Stark as Spider-Man to join the Avengers. Stark has warned Peter against involvement with dangerous criminals in favor of resolving easier local crimes.  Believing he can do more, Peter is determined to stop this ring of thugs from advancing any further. Peter totally ignores Stark’s warnings, thus proving to Stark, he is not ready for the position or the Spider-Man suit Stark has entrusted him to wear.

Parker quits his school’s academic decathlon team to spend more time focusing on his crime-fighting activities as Spider-Man. One night, after preventing criminals from robbing an ATM with their advanced weapons from Toomes, Spider-Man returns home and is surprised by his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) who is waiting for him while also discovering his secret identity. On another night, Parker comes across Toomes’ associates Jackson Brice / Shocker #1 (Logan Marshall-Green) and Herman Schultz / Shocker #2 (Bokeem Woodbine) selling weapons to local criminal Aaron Davis (Donald Glover). Parker nearly drowns intervening, and is rescued by Stark, who is monitoring the Spider-Man suit he gave Parker.  Toomes accidentally kills one of his own men, Brice, with a modified vibro-blast shooting version of the Crossbones’ gauntlet weapon, leaving Schultz to become the new Shocker.  Parker and Ned study a weapon left behind by Brice, removing its power core and so the journey continues.  Spider-Man gets into much mischief and even falls for a classmate named Liz (Laura Harrier).  You’ll have to check out the movie to see what happens next.

While I’m no longer a fan of this new Spider-Man format, I think there are a great many who will love it.  I think it’s just more appealing to a younger audience than an older one.  It continues to be well acted and has a brilliant cast.  One of the characters who played a rival, gained 61 pounds in order to play the role and guess who saves an announcement party at the end?  Oh yeah, does Peter become a permanent member of the Avengers? Check it out to get answers!

 

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THE MARTIAN (2015) – My rating: 10/10

Look for The Martian to be nominated for best picture and more.  It is worth every second of it’s 141 minutes.  When I heard The Martian being compared to Gravity, I didn’t want to see it because I didn’t particularly like Gravity.  The only similarity is deep space aliened with crisis.  Matt Damon plays Mark Watney, an Astronaut on a manned space mission to Mars along with five other crew members, Rick Martinez (Michael Peña), Beth Johanssen (Kate Mara),  Chris Beck (Sebastian Stan), Alex Vogel (Aksel Hennie) and Mission Commander, Mellissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain).  During a daily routine task, the crew was hit with an intense storm that caused Mark to disappear from their sight while also putting the lives of the crew at stake. Considering the situation, Mark was presumed dead forcing the Mission Commander to reluctantly leave Mark behind as the crew fled from planet Mars.

Mars provides nothing we as humans would need to survive.  Water, oxygen, fertilized soil, gravity, animals and for the most part, no light exists on Mars.  Unable to contact NASA, Mark uses his knowledge as a botanist to grow potatoes within the mission’s artificial habitat, anticipating that he will need to survive for at least four years before the next crew was scheduled to land.  He would have to  journey to the landing site of Ares IV which already has some infrastructure on Mars. To maintain morale, Mark begins to modify the habitat’s rover to make it capable of long journeys while keeping a series of video logs.  Without giving away the whole movie, I will conclude the revealing the plot at this point saying that NASA does find out that Mark is alive and though some ingenious manipulations and thought process, he finds a way to communicate.

Between the efforts of  Jeff Daniels who plays Teddy Sanders, Head of NASA, Chiwetel Ejiofor who plays Vincent Kapoor, NASA mission director, Mackenzie Davis as Mindy Park, satellite planner in Mission Control, Donald Glover as Rich Purnell, NASA astronomer, Sean Bean as Mitch Henderson, NASA mission director and Kristen Wiig as Annie Montrose, NASA spokesperson, the journey becomes both enlightening, intense, complicated and exciting.  Involvement from the China National Space Agency (CNSA) offers NASA classified information and help which was both exciting to hear and learn what they had to offer.

From the cast to the plot, to the intensity of the story to the brilliance of the acting and the efforts and planning of all who worked on this movie, I applaud The Martian and thank Hollywood for a movie that truly makes a difference when we really needed one.  There is so much more that I couldn’t tell as not to spoil any more than I did.  Whether you like science or not, The Martian is worth seeing.  Great job, great directing, great writing, great movie!

[THE MARTIAN is nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Costume Design, Best Director, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Production Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects]