10s Movie Review - Cats

Director: Tom Hooper
Genre: Musical
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Francesca Hayward, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, Robbie Fairchild, Ray Winstone

Description: A tribe of cats called the Jellicles must decide yearly which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new Jellicle life.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 52: A MUSICAL

Review: Some movies are better left unseen. And I was warned, I read only bad reviews for “Cats”, but I was curious to how bad it could really be. They sure were exaggerating, right? Well, no.
In 2012, film and theater maker Tom Hooper revolutionized the musical film world with his raw adaptation of “Lés Miserables”.  His approach, in which he let the actors sing live on set and only later added the instrumentation, wasn’t to everyone’s liking, but it was daring. I liked it. It even gave Anne Hathaway an Oscar.
This time, Hooper decided to tackle another classic. In his version of “Cats” we yet again witness are teary eyed soloist during the most famous song of the musical. With Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of “Memory” you have the only highlight of this musical adaptation by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The song passes by twice and the kick-off and reprise re forged together by and endless line of music videos that take advantage of Lloyd Webber’s beautiful music.
Hooper has a different take on this musical than with “Lés Miserables”. This time no approach to reality, but a thin plot about a bunch of street cats trying to choose one of them for a new cat life during a restless London night. The chosen one of a group that calls itself the Jellicles is not so easy to identify. Especially the bad guy Macavity seems to throw a spanner in the works by kidnapping potential candidates. The timid Grizabella feels unseen and Jennyanydots is just a little too confident. Then there is newcomer Victoria who is not yet officially part of the group and can try to have a new life with the Jellicles.
Hooper has taken special digital techniques to shape his cats (and even mice and cockroaches). The first trailer already came with a lot of criticism. And I understand why. The special effect look terrible, the cats look to much like humans. They even have hands instead of paws. And their ears seem to have been given a life of their own. The constantly move. It’s more like something out of a nightmare, then an enchanting musical which it is supposed to be. And because these cats look so much like people, the oversized setpieces make no sense. They are supposed to be the size of our domestic cats, so everything in their environment is blown up. But now it’s just hairy people dancing around large furniture. And the overuse of cat references and cat puns doesn’t really help either.
And why did they torture great actors like Judi Dench, Ian McKellen and Idris Elba with this? “Cats” is one of the worst movies I have seen in the past few years. It’s pure torment. Never see it, even if you’re curious.

Rating: 0,5 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 5: The Lorax

Director: Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda
Genre: Animation/ Family/ Fantasy
Runtime: 86 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Ed Helms, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle, Betty White

Description: In the walled city of Thneed-Ville, where everything is artificial and even the air is a commodity, a boy named Ted (Zac Efron) hopes to win the heart of his dream girl, Audrey. When he learns of her wish to see a real tree, Ted seeks out the Once-ler (Ed Helms), a ruined old businessman outside of town in a stark wasteland. Upon hearing of how the hermit gave into his greed for profits and devastated the land over the protests of the Lorax (Danny DeVito), Ted is inspired to undo the disaster. However, the greedy Mayor of Thneed-Ville, Aloysius O'Hare (Rob Riggle), has made his fortune exploiting the environmental collapse and is determined to stop the boy from undermining his business.

Review: The movie is based on a story by the popular children’s book author Dr. Seuss, so a lot was expected. And one of the directors, Chris Renaud, also made “Despicable Me”.
In the futuristic town Thneed-ville all the green has disappeared, there is not a three left. The richest man in town earns his money to sell fresh air to the people. Young Ted wants to find out why and he goes outside the city walls. He meets the Once-ler and he can tell him everything about it, for instance who the Lorax is.
The original story leads to an unoriginal film. A lot of the material has been seen before. An animated hero with a light form of ADD, singing fishes, slapstick humor and clumbsy and cute animals. Although this isn’t all very original, the makers deliver an inspiring movie though. There are some great jokes, fantastic sing-a-long songs and it all looks very colorful and fanciful. With that “The Lorax” has a good message as well, which is the true essence.
“The Lorax” is easy to watch, but also just as forgettable. It doesn’t live up to the standards of “Despicable Me” and “Horton Hears a Who”.

Rating: 3/ 5