Cinderella (Film Review)

Before Cinderella began, the theater was treated to Frozen Fever, an animated sequel short to Frozen.  The story involves Queen Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf celebrating Anna’s birthday with an amazing surprise party; of course everything doesn't go according to plan with Elsa surprisingly catching a cold, causing dozens of tiny snowmen to appear every time she sneezes (entertaining chaos ensues!)  The short does everything right: it’s enjoyable, witty in humor, very cute (Elsa is adorable when sick), quite heartwarming, improves upon the bond between Elsa and Anna, has a very catchy song and further develops the first film’s lore.  In a way Frozen Fever has similar enjoyable aspects with Disney’s animated Cinderella.  The 1950 film is far from Disney’s best, yet its enjoyable characters (such as the goofy mice, wacky King and wicked stepmother), catchy songs, and lovely animation makes it an enjoyable classic.  What made both Frozen Fever and the 1950’s Cinderella effective is precisely where the 2015 Cinderella falls short; a film which follows the guide lines of the original, yet abandons most of the enjoyable features.

Focus (Film Review)

Wow, just wow.  Where do I begin? 

The Duff (Film Review)

Mae Whitman is a very talented, highly underrated actor.  She has a habit of playing secondary characters in beloved shows and films; she plays an ex in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (one of my favorite films of the decade), another ex in Perks of a Wallflower (another favorite of the decade) and most prominently, is the voice actor of Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender (one of the greatest TV shows ever created).  The latter is notable as my first introduction to Whitman (though at the time was unaware of the person voice acting), providing some of the finest, emotionally invested audio for my favorite character on the show.  Whitman has voiced several other characters including April O’Neal on the latest TV reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (a decent show on its own) and Tinker Bell for the Disney Fairies franchise.  No matter how small a role, her characters distinctively stand out amongst the cast with a sense of vividness and emotional connection.  Yet with the exception of Tinker Bell, Whitman has never played a main character; so imagine my utter excitement to learn of her casting as the main character in Ari Sandel’s The Duff…and then I saw the film, and got incredibly sad.

Still Alice (Film Review)

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most terrifying diseases in existence.  An illness which slowly destroys people from the inside, robbing them of their memories, personality and body functions in a painful way until nothing but a shell of their former selves remain…followed shortly by death.  In Still Alice, Alice (Julianne Moore) is diagnosed with a rare version of Alzheimer’s, one which occurs at a much younger age and has a 50/50 chance of being passed onto her kids.  Alice claims she would rather been diagnosed with cancer, a statement I wholeheartedly understand.  Still Alice is an effective showcasing of a person struggling to maintain their life and personality for as long as possible.  As one might expect, Still Alice is far from a happy film; yet while the overall tone is downbeat, Still Alice successfully avoids becoming a sappy Lifetime tearjerker thanks to its editing, balancing, and performances, particularly from Julianne Moore.