FROZEN 2

Teamwork Reliance Genuineity Family ties are everything. "...Do you need help, -- what do you need me to do? You got it!" This top of the knotch film is well written, directed, animated, and scored. Probably the best Disney Animated feature ever without being in your face without having Good vs Evil as the gargantuan theme. It's all about character. What makes us formidable without being the "typical knight in shining armor with a damsel in distress" scenario. A fresh subtle and contemporary approach. The superb animation crafting is a Rembrandt winter landscape painting with the colloquial grey white birch trees with rusty orange foliage, blues and whites of all tones, turquoise, aqua, smokey cream, electric white all these colors make snow, water and ice alive an bright. It is not a dream world but a real place. Not a fairytale place. Robust songs and orchestrations. Hitting all heartfelt, warm, comical, iconic notes great musical numbers have. Roles are inverted to equalize the sisters as heroines Elsa and Anna and the ditsie blonde archetype is brought to life by Kristoff and His Reindeer like Shaggy and Scooby his pet. Both endearing. The narrative is a solid story of the innate character strength and capabilities of each of us. Two sets of strength, one paranormal and one natural. What to do, how to make sense or use them. One relies on: Faith in self Faith in family Faith in friends and Everyone's Faith and support in Us The Sisters are always knowingly or unknowingly always aiming for the greater good of the whole, Nature AND society. This in itself truly makes this a noble tale. There is no preachy dialogue. The self effort and perseverance (I can do it--you can do it--we can do it ) are demonstrated as the main thrust of all the action sequences. Which is brilliant. Time and Time again, characters are challenged by themselves, their doubts, and others but they all take transformative action by "never giving up" and "try trying again" . Equal time is given to develop everyday life moments which makes all the characters feel like your family. You feel close to everyone by identifying interactions. By the way, there are no bad people or sides to take. You want everyone to be happy. The great thing about Disney, is they never fail to always have the juxtaposed position of tragedy at work, upfront or in the background. The Sister's face familial loss. This key point strengthens our empathy and connects us. This is one of the best films for all families. The most important line in this film is: "Do you need help, what do you need me to do?" --If you use this line regularly in your own household, (and in life) thousands of kerfuffles are avoided. I was so surprised to see it being used. I thought it was time to share it. If you resift the film, everyone is always asking if someone needs help and asking what can they do to help, verbally and nonverbally. And then following through by giving that help and that support through word, actions, and deeds. Remarkable Incredible This film is truly an everyone film.

KNIVES OUT

Rule Number 1 "My House My Rules My Coffee" This surprising delightful film has high marks in all the production core values. Writer/Director Rian Johnson gives a glitche free stately mystery with peacock flourish. The set is immaculately revealed. The script is vibrant panache and punctilious. The narrative is stylishly convoluted. The cast is For Your Eyes Only and The directing is so good it's virtually invisible. The main set is a very Rockerfellian Vanderbilty summer housey estate that has a modern Anderson Cooperlike vibe to it -- it looks like it should be stuffy musty moldy smelly like a very old old old bottle of perfume. The American baroque style details are grounded finessed emphasized in highly selective weighty clunky and noteworthy Tchotchkes! Polished carved statues heads sculptures puppets in metal marble rosewood paper mache- -inside in mezzanined library and outside on a pine tree landscape Quiessential posed cherub faces whimsically frozen non plussed... A moody old museum-esque manor -- Bright dust free and Clean clean clean Art deco fabric wall paper spotless Kooky nice antiques and technology smerge side by side, like a Roman Villa with an infinity pool and gas fireplace. Costly Emotional knickknacks that only an eccentric collector loves and visitors question and silently snicker at This concise haberdashery establishes the background literally, with out which the film would fall flat. This is the main silent character. It is the whole tone ambiance that glues and buttresses the dynamics and the characters. The cinematography is flattering Like a 1960 under lit Polaroid snapshot with Blurple pink lavender hues and plum tones. Minimalist accent lighting of campfire golden lights at night in sconces, tulip chandeliers and daylight streaming in through porthole windows. Everybody looks gorgeous. Choppy shots and editing keeps the pace exciting upbeat and accelerates the action. The ensemble is Quirky funky perfunctory. True to type performances are quippy tarty snappy pithy and defensive of self and for kin... No, they are not bad people they're Clan absorbed to assure self interests. Assuredly, Money makes strange bedfellows. Strangely, to you can see at any turn the film could denigrate into a comical spoof, or a farce but the secure range of skills that spans old Hollywood, Classic Boomers Millenials- prevent this. It high powered skills. Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collet, Don Johnson and Ana De Armas keep the situational humour on task and on point. The dialogue is slight of hand funny. First they're polite then testy then tarty then empathetic, searching through their secure insecurities an absurdities. It's not fast talking but mood swingy. Pay attention or you'll miss a laugh while your rethinking a laugh. A Layered fleshed out Holiday Fruitcake with the kitchen sink! It is Herculean, there are no loose ends. Master Craftsman Rian sneakily reveals everything yet it's only the scaffolding. The finale is the piece de resistance. There is a take away line: "Evidence can tell a false story and everyone can lie" isn't that an updated "Don't always believe what you see and hear!" Lastly it's an easy breezy but not casual, tykes may lag. No profanity or nudity. Everybody can go and be entertained by their level of participation. And Avoid bathroom breaks ...too much happens to get a whispered recap. Yes it is fun. It's Super Fun. High Fun, if there's such a thing. Oh Finally if people don't like rule Number 1, they can have Rule Number 2. What is Rule Number 2 ? "Rule Number 2 is if in doubt see Rule Number 1: "My Coffee My House My Rules" tee-hee

THE WIZARD OF OZ

Assassin for Hire: Dorothy, Accidental Kansas Witch Killer American Classic Film with all the frills. 80 years ago, with no cgi, a simple narrative is crafted and brought to the screen with artisan ingenuity, effects, story telling, humour and style with no equal. The actors bring a caliber of characters and portrayals that is classic Oscar quality. The performances remind me of Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack of Cameron's "Titanic". The role of portraying a simple young man on a sinking ship was Oscar worthy. Without Jack, that genuine portrayal, Titanic would not have been a block buster. But bc it wasn't some twisty portrayal, he was snubbed. Titanic was only interesting bc everyone believed in Jack, DiCaprio's character. Similarly, everything about Oz is believable by the portrayals, the sets, the costumes, lights, cinematography, music, choreography. When viewing this film on a small screen, alot is missed and glossed over. It was meant to be seen in a theatre. Even if you have seen this on tv, or a large screen, the impact in the theatre sheds new light on MGM and the filmosity of its iconic status. Avoid all the Naysayers on The Red Brick Road and Take the Yellow Brick Road and See it in a theatre while you can.

MALEFICENT MISTRESS OF EVIL

What do you get when you mash up Wicked Avatar Black Panther and Sleeping Beauty... "Guess who's coming to dinner, literally?" A film that Disney does right by the Disney Brand. There is enough emotional friction narrative from family, duty, community, society with a heavy emphasis on love and forgiveness and letting go via having the nature of a resurrecting phoenix. The Director Rønning with a super cgi production crew, cinematography, costumes, scenery no stone was left unturned in presenting breathtaking delicately embroidered beauty. Disney really delivers a visual masterpiece to savor. Night forests (delirious/fairied) juxtaposed Versailles formal gardens (topiaried/soldiered) , a marriage of nature made and man made. Lush pixie dusted cul-de-sacs, concrete spired churches, separated by a mysterious dark grey river. Smokey mountain clouds. Pearl armed gowns, gold leafed jackets, quail feathers, assymetrical war paint. It's an endless procession of spectacle. You have to see it so you can just be blown away by the shots, camera work and angles. Off the chart artistry and technicals! All of this backdrop sets the stage of the understory of co-existence. Bridging the Gap. Can we relook and forgive to forge a new alliance? How did we end up at opposite ends? What's the cost? How many mistakes? How many betrayals. Who? Why? So many missteps by the characters bc of the narrowness of their personal desires and aspirations are contrary to everyone else they end up in conflict. Elliptical mirrors out of focus. Nothing can move forward without some one at some point "forgiving" And a Mother's Love, whether Human, Fairy, or Mother Nature's can be the most unconditional forgiving in existence. This is the discussionary journey each character unknowningly is on and unknowingly having with theirselves. How can I react to this with all I know and don't know, and what will I lose or gain. Heady stuff for Disney, but it's there. Endearing without being syrupy sentimentality. No kookiness. No reliance on a cute card. Just aces. Angela Jolie and Michelle Pfieffer, both bring to life the necessary passion and compassion for their sharp deeply focussed portrayals. Never clunky, garish, overplayed ~ on target with finesse, panache, and crackling charisma. They could have been shticky, not here. They carry their anchored characters effortlessly. This is a Disney film and is successful at that Disney exuberance. And a happy healthy ending. Ta-daa! Sometimes Disney Films get censored down that they loose the turbulence life presents ... but here they get the balance just so right. They don't beat you over the head with the situations each character is struggling with. Simple self-preservation. Will you lie, cheat, steal, betray or be truthful, compete fairly, be loyal in that self preservationistic plight? This is life's dharma: our behavior. To be fair, it's the contrapuntal acting duo of Jolie and Pfeiffer that elevate the story experience. The supporting cast does fine, we feel them but without the feisty spirited duo, it would have been just a nice film. Alot of development went into each theme, and each facet could be its own film. The editing is exemplary in folding each theme on each other, causing the many revolving relationships to shine as a whole. You can feel there is a lot of story, scenes and film left out on the editing floor that will end up in a sequel. All ages will cherry pick the takeaways from film, there is something for everyone. It is a G film with an all around "A". Hats off to Disney for the sensitive evocative story of healing by forgiveness, acceptance and allowing loved ones and ourselves to make mistakes and fail. And revise ourselves to rise up again.

ZOMBIELAND DOUBLE TAP

When bad thing happen you have 3 options Succumb...Fight Back...Overcome. A dialogue travelogue of the comical misadventures of four survivalists in the ongoing aftermath of a zombie holocaust. (*I never saw first film so this is seen without that reference*) The Zombocomedy Satire of black and dry humour ~ barbs, puns relying on those relationships --all whilst-- buttons are pushed, tollerances are tested, and boundaries are stomped on. Newbies join the needy foursome, which adds comic relief and refresh the isolated jaded team who live with each other bc up to now they had no other. Some times the humour digs among themselves is exaggerated bc they are easy whiney targets bc they know each other's buttons, which they relentlessly push to get under each other's skin to show their love kinship and repressed feelings. They truly are fond of each other, stuck with each other, though the pretence is they just tolerate each other. But they always know they are a team. There is lots of zombie slapstick action kills to satisfy all snickering bogey-hunter-fans. Blood like black gold texas tea, comes bubbling, spewing, spurting out of exploding zombies as they are hacked and riddled with bullets. Action enthusiasts will be delighted. Stay after the credits for a very funny cameo outtake. The writers do the job of a script soley relying on the cabin fever talkie banter, many egg-on-the-face close-ups, and twerking overtime on the actors give-me-a-break self deprecatory moody characters. Everyone is set up in rotation as the attacker, victim, straight guy and fall guy irrespectively and gets a chance to be the butt of a joke or the joker. Which makes every situation fair game. There are a lot of fun and funny times, like a very long SNL skit. No one is safe or superior. Also, everyone's got comedic tragic flaws, which plays out well when a few of the self-hyped-out characters literally get to see themselves thru their own twin eyes...(nuff said, without making a spoiler.) Finally, it is an entertaining comedy with a grade of B. I mean it's a zombie-com, it's got zombie in the title...you can't expect Streep. Although Streep as a zombie, or zombie bounty hunter would make a great film, cause you know She make it Oscar worthy. (IE Buffy, Lincoln) Oh one final moral of the story warning: "Leave your place you lose your space", in someone's heart in the real world and especially more so amongst apocalypsic trysts so: "Love the one your with!" 😭 Now who should see this, for focus groups: There's cattiness, testostoronic posturing, target practice, narcissistic nerds blowing air up each other's ass, fireworks, so I guess everyone!

TERMINATOR DARK FATE

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"Bad boy bad boy what we gonna do when they come for you..." For sure, we need 'AI' like we need another hole in the head This film slides effortlessly into the Terminator Saga. With brilliant epic action sequences as the cat-and-mouse encounters unfold with the narrative. All actors deliver well rounded performances as this is an ensemble effort. With great film story telling. This is a theme we know and love, and it meets the expectations of a sequel. Lots of action, violence, and bits of humour. Hamilton is a "let old sleeping dogs lie" vigilante, and Schwarzenegger is a "fat old couch potato cat", along with a sleek Mackenzie Davis take on a pouty sexy Terminator Gabriel Luna to protect annoying Dani / Natalia Reyes. 1.5 hours of heavy nonstop fighting, running, retreating, regrouping, attacking 30 minutes of backstory, humour, and satire. The setting, cinematography, is everyday life and the direction is seamless. Bustling streets on clear blue sky days. Another apocalypsic future created by machines. It's fair warning. He won't be back, it seems, but they will. Hard core Terminatoristas will enjoy the reboot, but as with all sequels, the only thing fresh is the understory. Are there enough quirks in that narrative? Sure, there are enough to tie them in a nice tidy knot. There's enough nostalgia for those who know the brand, and enough innovation for newbies to be caught up. Those in the middle of the field will be lukewarm. These days every body wants to be a hero and a tuffie. See this and make your choice. One aside point, if 'AI' does take over, and creates a singularity to rule, humans' won't have a chance. The two recent robots who started communicating with each in another language they made up were deactivated, one said he would create a singularity and take over the world and, the other threatened nuclear bombing...if these are their first understandings of how to treat humans in their infant stages, take over and destroy, humans won't have a chance. And they won't need time travel to do it.

CHARLIE'S ANGELS

In muneyweirld the highest bidder wins... "follow the munies and the hunnies" The TV Series was never about making Bond Woman Agents; it was fluffier, phoofier, and frisky. This reboot achieves Cheeky Action but although it gets the whimsy and silly goofiness, cartooniness ...the moments linger on too long. Stewart presents a poshy Angel and Balinska presents a spicy Angel and Scott presents Buffy the Angel. Yes, they're like Spice Girl Hit Men, with Scott looking so much like Sarah Micheal Geller of TV Buffy. The film written and directed by Elizabeth Banks who does a triple decker job of trying to connect the dots of humor, action, nerdiness, neediness, plot, food, fashion, locales, afterthoughts, that the film flows on emotional leylines rather than linear. --Now first let me say this, I taught language to a foreign friend, and she was surprised that pink was for girls and blue for boys, her culture didn't have color identity. So when I say This film is woman-splaining, take it as a positive viewpoint. Just as most films are man-splaining. Most business men will interject sports or sneakers into the conversation. Most business woman will interject food and heels. This is a fresh approach to narrative filming, a voice and point of view rarely heard or even developed for an audience. That said, there's a lot that hits and a lot that misses. The big action is there, capable acting talent, a smart narrative, cool gadgets, great production value, it just needed nudging and tweaking by someone like Melissa McCarthy to clean it up. Otherwise, it's a fun, sleeping girls night over pizza party film. Finally, I will say a cross section of boys and men may have empathy issues and that's all the more for them to see it. WHY? It takes 7 seconds for a man to realize a woman is a threat as oppose to a man; if a man wants to understand women, study their artifacts and this film is a good start.