20s Movie Review - The Color Purple

Director: Blitz Bazaluwe
Genre: Musical/ Drama
Runtime: 141 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Halle Bailey, Phylicia  Pearl Mpasi, Ciara, H.E.R., David Allan Grier, Louis Gossett Jr.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 19: A MUSICAL
 
Description: A woman faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.

Review: This is the musical rendition of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book “The Color Purple”, already very successfully adapted into a drama film by Steven Spielberg in 1985. And seen as a play in 2005.

In the hands of director Blitz Bazawule, the raw account of the oppressed Celie, who slowly breaks fre from an environment filled with misyny and violence, does not gain the depth and layering of the original and its source material. However, lead actors Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks and the beautifully executed music make up for much.

I still think they should have left the original film alone and leave it as is, it’s not the best story to be turned into a musical.

Rating: 3/ 5

Movie Review - Muppets Haunted Mansion

Director: Kirk R. Thatcher
Genre: Family/ Comedy/ Musical/ Adventure
Runtime: 52 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Will Arnett, Taraji P. Henson, Darren Criss, Yvette Nicole Brown, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, Eric Jacobsen, Matt Vogel, Alfonso Ribeiro, Ed Assner

Description: On Halloween night, Gonzo is challenged to spend one night in The Haunted Mansion.

Review: It’s Halloween and the Muppets celebrate. Except for Gonzo and Pepé. Gonzo receives an invitation to the spooky manor in which magician MacGuffin disappeared exactly a hundred years ago.
The Haunted Mansion is one of Disney most popular attractions, a kid-friendly haunted house. There is already a live-action movie based on this ride, starring Eddie Murphy. But let’s be honest, it’s more fun with the Muppets in it.
Several famous Halloween movies are spoofed here as well, most obvious one is “The Shining”. That’s where again this Muppet movie is for the entire family, because this is a joke that kids won’t understand, but the adults do.
“Muppets Haunted Mansion” stars the side characters of the popular puppets. Not Kermit or Miss Piggy are the stars, it’s Gonzo and his King Prawn friend Pepé.
It’s a fun Halloween film, for the whole family and for every Muppets fan.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Ralph Breaks the Internet

Director: Phil Johnston, Rich Moore
Genre: Animation/ Adventure/ Family
Runtime: 112 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Gal gadot, Taraji P. Henson, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Alfred Molina, Ed O’Neill

Description: Six years after the events of “Wreck-it Ralph”, Ralph and Vanellope, now friends, discover a wi-fi router in their arcade, leading them into a new adventure.

Review: With the arrival of Pixar and the incorporation of this studio by Walt Disney you would almost forget that Disney still has its own animation line. Meanwhile the canon, which started with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and includes titles like "Bambi", "Pinocchio" and "The Lion King", has over seventy titles. The latest addition is “Ralph Breaks the Internet”, the sequel to the successful animation film Wreck-It Ralph.
Disney has continued its own series despite the fact that the studio has almost completely switched to the computer as its main drawing tool. In 2012 we were able to get to know the very well-built and very strong Ralph, who acted as the main character in his own arcade game. Actually, Ralph was a bad guy whose mission was to destroy pretty much everything with his enormous fists. But Ralph was done with it to be a villain.
In the inevitable sequel, the characters from the arcade games see a new enemy looming. The internet is full of unknown secrets and temptations. Ralph's former enemy, but now best friend Vanellope, is bored to death in her richly coloured racing game in which nothing exciting ever happens again. Ralph tries to break the rut by introducing a bonus level in Vanelope's game. The daring race that follows ends hopelessly wrong and the steering wheel of Vanellope's classic arcade game breaks.
Because the game is no longer being made, there is no other option than to go deep into your pocket for a new steering wheel. The only place where the attribute is still available is on the internet. Ralph, Vanellope and their computer friends have to raise money online to get their hands on the wheel via eBay. Due to a stupid action by the impulsive Vanelope, the price has also risen considerably.
In terms of approach and set-up, this second movement, Wreck-It Ralph, is reminiscent of the hopelessly flawed “The Emoji Movie”. Here it turns out once again that everyone can animate pictures very well, but all that stands and falls with a good story and finely worked out characters. Moreover, it is wonderfully refreshing when the makers seek out contrasts. Ralph and the overly cute Vanellope suddenly end up in a very rough racing game. Exactly the fun Vanellope was looking for, but it's also an unfamiliar world where danger lies in every corner. The dark, ominous colours form a wonderful alternation with the multicoloured shades with which the worldwide web has been designed.
As in the previous film, "Ralph Breaks the Internet" is full of videos, references and allusions. This is most obvious at times when Disney is taking a beating about the bush. By far the most successful scene is the one in which a whole army of Disney princesses make their appearance. Even the translation to the digital canvas is a success, and on top of that all the princess interpreters who are still alive have flown in to speak to the voices of the princesses. The makers also play with the clichéd and often unemancipated appearance of the heroines.
Precisely because of its capacity for self-mockery and its ability to address the modern digital world in which communication takes place in a very special way, this second part of Wreck-It Ralph is a successful animation adventure with layers for both young viewers and a mature audience. The main criticism is the crowded plot and the sometimes very fast action and chases. They are small blemishes on an otherwise almost undamaged blazon. It remains to be seen whether Ralph Breaks the Internet will go into the books as a classic. A plus point is a new song by Alan Menken, the man who, with his magical music, also pulled Disney out of the doldrums at the end of the eighties.

Rating: 4 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 99: Hidden Figures

Director: Theodore Melfi
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 127 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali

Description: The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.

Review: “Hidden Figures” is based on true events. About three African-American women who served a vital role in NASA. This inspiring period in recent American history is combined with the systematic injustice that was going on.
“Hidden Figures” is set in the early sixties, a time that is notable because for America’s optimism. The central characters are Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, who each exceed in mathematics and technically do the work that computers do now. But the race difference and the fact that they are also women, constantly put them behind. Even though they excel at what they do.
“Hidden Figures” shows us that it’s not just the so called rednecks that act racist, but also the schooled brainiacs did it, without realizing.
The story is really inspiring and it rubs off because of the fantastic performances by all three ladies. And it’s also great to see Kevin Costner in his role as project manager Al Harrison. He fits the Kennedy era perfectly.
“Hidden Figures” maybe feels a little bit too Hollywood, but it’s a beautiful story that I’m happy to learn about.

Rating: 4/ 5