It has been a rough season for musicals; at least the ones I have sat through have been bad. I had the lowest expectation for Scrooge: A Christmas Carol. I believed this would be another of Netflix’s shameless cash grabs at a timeless IP, but I was mistaken. This adaptation does justice to the classic Dickens story and is one that I recommend you watch this holiday season.
There is a lot to love about this movie. The music is catchy, the voice acting is solid, the animation is beautiful, and the dog is so cute. I was initially captured by how pretty this movie is, but I stayed for the music that followed. I have mentioned before that I am not a fan of musicals, but this has to be the exception. A few of the songs still rattle around in my head as I write this review. If you are hesitant at all to watch this movie, give it a chance. It will be better than any hallmark movie you’ll have to sit through. For those wondering, this is better than Spirited.
There isn’t much I can say about the story because it is based on the classic by Charles Dickens. What sets it apart is the art direction. The animation is fantastic. The haunts take advantage of the dream world and create some truly breathtaking moments. I recommend it just for the art style, but trust me, the songs are pretty good as well. I particularly loved how they chose to handle Scrooge. Scrooge isn’t an evil man. Instead, he is a tragic character who has closed his heart because he doesn’t want to be hurt. His redemption arc may be rushed, but gosh is it pretty?
Unfortunately, the writer, songwriter, and director, and the reason we are blessed with this movie this season has passed away. I am truly grateful for the gift she left us for the season. May she rest in peace.
If you need a movie to add to your Christmas marathon, this should be somewhere on your list. It is colorful and wonderful, and the songs are great. Go stream it on Netflix.
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Movie Review: Spirited (2022)
Spirited has released just in time to disappoint you for the holidays. If you are looking for a good holiday movie to add to the season’s list, look elsewhere. Spirited is a modern and mediocre adaptation of the holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. This movie proves that star power should never outweigh talent. For those of you wondering if there was an Elf reference, here you go:
Spirited focuses on the agency of ghosts responsible for the hauntings of terrible people in the hopes of making them better. Will Ferrell is the ghost of Christmas Present and is at the point of his career where he feels like something is missing in his life. Ferrell finds hope as he takes on his most hopeless soul yet, Ryan Reynolds. Ryan Reynolds is a spin doctor who makes a living by causing disorder and chaos without regard for his fellow man. Can Ferrell change Reynolds in time for Christmas, or is Reynolds truly irredeemable?
Spirited is a boring musical that I can’t recommend. For those of you interested in this movie, wait till someone with talent makes a better cover of the songs. While some of the songs are catchy, the singing and dancing by the leads are rough. The leads can barely hit their notes, and their choreography is stiff at best. If you are looking for your new favorite Christmas musical, Spirited isn’t it.
As far as comedies go, this one isn’t funny. Spirited has taken its collection of funny and charismatic actors and placed them in roles where they are anything but. The jokes are bad and outdated, and this movie tries way too hard to be funny. As much as they shoved their meta jokes down my throat, I did not appreciate any of them. All this movie managed to do was have me sit here and contemplate my boredom.
It should come as no surprise that this story has been adapted better elsewhere. I suggest you choose your favorite adaptation and watch or read that instead. The characters in this movie are just generic renditions of their actors. Ferrell and Reynolds play themselves but are restricted by the writing and their singing. Ferrell’s singing would be fine for an internet short, but it isn’t for a whole movie and Reynolds can barely sing. To make matters worse, Reynolds pays himself yet again. This character has lost his charm a long time ago, and I hope that he can find roles where he can play anything else. There is no real reason to have these two as the leads for this movie because they don’t add value to it except to maybe trick people into wasting their time on this movie.
My biggest problem with this Spirited is that it wastes the star power it didn’t need. This movie needs real singers who can dance. As disappointed as I am with this movie, I caught myself singing one of the songs. They aren’t all bad. I would have easily forgiven the boring plot and comedy if the singing was good. But it’s not, and I am left here with my growing disappointment.
You can stream this movie on Apple TV if you have a subscription, but I wouldn’t waste the data. I urge you to wait for better covers or to look up the songs on YouTube. There isn’t anything worth watching in between the singing, and I am sure there are better covers on their way if they aren’t already out.
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Movie Review: The Bob’s Burgers Movie (2022)
The Bob’s Burgers Movie is a delightful and wholesome experience that I recommend to everyone. It is full of singing, dancing, and laughter, and it is a much-appreciated addition to the series. While I don’t believe the theater experience is necessary, I am glad to have seen it in theaters.
Bob’s Burgers is one of my favorite animated series. I have re-watched this show more times than I would like to admit. I was rightfully excited when I learned about this movie and my excitement has been properly reciprocated. I was skeptical about this movie, fearing that there would be changes made in order to capture a more general audience. I am relieved that the animators worked tirelessly to create a story that is not only true to the spirit of the series but expands on it as well.
This cute little murder mystery is one of the better ones to be released recently. Although you might figure out who the killer is early on, it won’t matter because of how much fun this movie is. The singing, dancing, and pageantry all work in conjunction with a very fun and interesting narrative. While the singing and animation aren’t on par with something you expect from Disney, it is fantastic in its own way. There are a lot of laughs to be had in this movie, and if you are a fan, even more so. I hope that this movie is canonical because there are some important moments of character growth that as a long-time fan left me teary-eyed with joy.
If you are a fan, you probably already watched it. It is full of Easter eggs and nods that will make you appreciate the attention to detail put into this film. Do not be discouraged if you have never seen the show before. Although you will miss out on some of the nuances and jokes, the story works well enough on its own that you will understand what is going on. You will still laugh, you will still cry, and you will even want to start watching a show you should already be watching.
This is a fantastic movie that truly captures what has made the Belcher family a staple in American pop culture. If you are a long-time fan, it will provide some very important insight into the Belcher family. Go watch this in theaters!
YouTube Movie Reviews: Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Little Shop of Horrors is a musical based on a movie of the same name from the 60s. I am not a huge fan of musicals so I can’t comment on how it holds up as one. That said, it still holds up as a film. The singing is fine, the acting is decent, and the special effects are appropriate. It was the actor’s gravitas and charisma that kept my attention. I can see there being an audience for this movie; unfortunately, I am not among them.
This isn’t a bad movie. If you like musicals and 50 eras music, you should check this out. If you are like me and do not like musicals, you should still watch this version for its impact on modern pop culture. I didn’t realize how much this movie is referenced in modern media. I didn’t like it as a musical, but I did enjoy it for its importance in modern American Pop Culture. I appreciate all the risks this movie takes to tell such an odd story. I believe it is important to go back to these older films to see the different forms of storytelling, and how it has changed over the years.
Anyways, if you are looking for a solid musical with a lot of nostalgia, this is a safe bet. You can watch this movie free on YouTube. You can do a lot worse for free. Trust me.
Movie Reviews – Cyrano (2021)
I have never been a huge fan of musicals. This form of storytelling never resonated with me. I will watch them if I have to, but I never actively search for them. Cyrano is the first movie in recent memory that has challenged this view. This movie has dug a special place in my heart; I can’t recommend it enough. The cast is amazing, the music is great, and the choreography is pretty cool. I am saying this with little knowledge of the source material or even much experience in musicals so take my recommendation as you will.
The filmmakers use the setting and the music in a way to properly tell a tragic story that will keep the audience engaged till the very end. The charisma Peter Dinklage brings to the table is intoxicating. The charisma between the characters is palpable. If you are not in tears in love with these characters by the end of this movie, we didn’t watch the same thing.
I suggest you watch this in theaters. The music in this movie is amazing, but you need a proper sound system to experience it as is intended. It is in theaters in February. Go check it out!
Movie Reviews: Sing 2(2021)
If you have kids, this won’t be a terrible time. The singing is fine, the song choices are better than the first movie, but there is no plot. I believe that the goal of this movie was to pack as many songs into the run time as possible. There are more songs than plot and that is fine. I don’t see this movie lasting very long because of its lack of substance. The movie is essentially a playlist with animals singing or dancing to them. Nothing award-winning, but entertaining enough for kids.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch this unless your kids want to watch this. For everyone, even if you like the first movie, it is lazy and done to sell a soundtrack. It isn’t bad by any means, but I wouldn’t spend the money to watch this unless necessary. If you do have to watch it, it’s not going to be a dreadful experience at least.
The Greatest Showman (2017) Review
Recently re-watching The Greatest Showman I can say that this is one of those movies that you can only see once. The first time watching it, I was mesmerized by all the pageantry, the singing, although the plot still leaves me unimpressed. The plot follows a young boy who grows up poor that falls in love with a girl who is a different social class. Because of his own status, it makes this love one that is frowned upon and now Hugh Jackman makes it his life’s goal to become a man that is worthy of his love’s affection. To do this, Hugh Jackman’s character gathers a group of “misfits” and creates a show of oddities. A circus if you will. But, as he becomes more successful and is no longer poor, he is never fully accepted by high society. This need for acceptance becomes an obsession for Hugh Jackman’s character and we get to watch as his motives are no longer to earn the affection of the woman he loves, which he has from the beginning of the movie, but rather to gain acceptance in a society that he doesn’t really want to be a part of. Because of his obsession, he ends up forgetting why he started the show in the first place and hurts the only people that had faith in him.
As plots go, you aren’t watching this movie for the plot. You are watching it for the singing, so I will excuse all the holes and some of the bad dialogue in this film. And as far as the singing goes, I have seen way worse musicals. The issue is that on second viewing, this movie lost all its charm and I was bored with it. Maybe it was watching it on a smaller screen with weaker speakers, but it didn’t hold the magic that I remembered it having when I watched it first.
I wish that they had gone a little more over the top in this film and not try to be as serious. I wish that they didn’t use so much CGI in this film. And I wish that Hugh Jackman’s character wasn’t such a dick. I get it, the premise was clear, but I didn’t spend enough time with his character to forgive him being a dick when he turns into one. My biggest issue is how quickly all of the drama in the this film is solved. Again, I can excuse this because of the genre of the film but it doesn’t change the fact that this is one of those movies that you can only view once or twice. I don’t see this movie having a long shelf life like other films of the genre because the story and the songs aren’t extremely memorable. Maybe I am not the target audience, maybe I don’t know enough music to fully appreciate it but I couldn’t get into it the second time around.
If you haven’t seen it, I recommend watching it. It’s a good sit the first time around. If you have already seen it, you should know where you stand. Check it out.