Blog Archives
This November, Disney Wants Us at the Movies…’Frozen’ Too
For my ‘Frozen’-loving nieces:
Disney’s brilliant Animation Studio just let its first teaser trailer go for ‘Frozen II’ into the video sphere (ie-YouTube) so the public could get its first glimpse at the much-anticipated sequel to the 2013 smash hit ‘Frozen.’ Like the first film, it looks like lots of wonders for children to enjoy.
Perhaps the most obvious omission from the trailer above is the lack of a new song that will be played on repeat for all eternity–as in “Let It Go”–by Idina Menzel…yet.
We’ll surely hear something new for ‘Frozen II’ sometime between now and November 22, 2019, that will be stuck frozen in all of our heads for the foreseeable future. For now, however, we just get to chill.
Happy Monday
Well…hmmm…OK…I…huh.
Some character revivals should be left in the cartoon bottle.
Disney’s latest live-action-ish reboot of the 1992 animated smash success ‘Aladdin’ looks…well…hmmm…OK…I…
As a big fan of Will Smith, this particular role seems like it might be a good idea on paper yet once that paper is animated, it should’ve become perfectly clear that this is simply a character and story that should have stayed bottled from back in Disney’s 1992 vault. Why? Robin Williams.
Need I say more?
I’ll say a little bit more.
The late Robin Williams was a brilliant comedian and actor with a razor-sharp, racing imagination that we will never see again. He was hilarious–ironically with clean and blue comedy–and heartwarming and real and surreal all when he needed to be. That was his gift. And his vocal portrayal of the Genie in ‘Aladdin’ in the early ’90s was perfect and memorable. He brought the Genie to life in a way no other actor could. Attempting a live-action adaptation without Robin Williams just doesn’t work. It’s akin to going forward with ‘Mrs. Doubtfire 2’ without Robin Williams.
Will Smith, good intentions aside, cannot embody this Genie role. Pus, the blue look on Mr. Smith doesn’t help…at all (just ask Tobias Fünke). It looks like either a caricature or an imaginative letdown of the famed magical character in the trailer above.
After seeing the fan reaction to this brand new trailer–specifically, that one character–Disney may be hoping for a wish or two that might involve a time-traveling DeLorean.
Have a Better Week Than Last Week.
P.S. The same scene–and more–involving the Genie from above, just with Robin Williams.
You see my point.
Lloyd Christmas Is About To Lose His Mind Again
The Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy-led ‘First Man’ from 2018 revisited the historic Apollo 11 mission that culminated in the United States landing on the moon on July 20, 1969. The film’s director Damien Chazelle and his set crew beautifully recreated the moon’s surface and chronicled the first step by Neil Armstrong as well as a surprise, deeply reflective walk that personalized a grand moment that is now–impressively–more awe-inspiring.
Hollywood can dramatize and expertly recreate historic events. And yet a documentary tells a true story in masterful, artistic ways that are, at times, indescribable.
‘Apollo 11’ is one of these realities.
Director Todd Douglas Miller and major motion picture distributor Neon aims to do just that with its recent official trailer.
An exact release date has not been determined for ‘Apollo 11.’ Although it’s fair to say that people will surely mark their calendars when this exciting and informative documentary finally takes off into a theater near you.
Welcome to the Christmas Movie Shelf, Pal
Is ‘Die Hard’ a Christmas movie?
This is a heated debate that rages throughout the entire year–almost as much as the fictional Nakatomi Plaza skyscraper did that fateful night–for movie fans (and even non-movie fans) of the 1988 action film masterpiece that starred Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman (RIP), Bonnie Bedelia and Reginald VelJohnson (Carl Winslow!) and Alexander Godunov (RIP). Due to the extensive conversation that follows this seemingly fun and nonsensical question, it’s best to exercise brevity whenever possible. With that in mind, here are a few key notes regarding the aforementioned debate.
Just last year, ‘Die Hard’ screenwriter Steven E. de Souza confirmed via Twitter that #DieHardIsAChristmasMovie.
FYI – That specific tweet was covered and discussed on Time’s website.
Yes, that Time.
Then there’s this snippet from a Washington Post article published yesterday online titled “‘Die Hard’ isn’t just a Christmas movie — it’s the best ever, according to its Hollywood distributor” by Eli Rosenberg and Alex Horton.
“Christmas is a liminal ritualized period of carnivalesque inversion during which underdogs and the powerless are briefly elevated above hierarchical structures,” historian Greg Jenner wrote on Twitter. “John McClane is a classic Christmas underdog triumphing over selfish venality.”
So this is a very real debate. So gloriously real that 20th Century Fox has reignited the topic of its popular film via a recently produced trailer just this week that is every bit as awesome as you’d hope it would be.
Is ‘Die Hard’ a Christmas movie?
Yes.
Make room, Elf on the Shelf.
