MOVIE REVIEW: FROZEN 2

Elsa the Snow Queen and her sister Anna embark on an adventure far away from the kingdom of Arendelle. They are joined by friends, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven.

Director: Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck

Cast: Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Ciarán Hinds, Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Martha Plimpton, Jason Ritter, Rachel Matthews, Jeremy Sisto

Release Date: November 22, 2019

Genres: Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Rated PG for action/peril and some thematic elements

Runtime: 1h 43min

Review:

The original Frozen was a film I ignored as long as I possibly could.  Once I finally succumbed to the weight of its cultural impact and finally watched the film, I was left shrugging my shoulders.  The film itself is perfectly fine but it reminded me a lot of older Disney films which never really did much for me.  The songs were catchy enough to make the whole thing watchable.  The sequel has a very similar feel with a story that’s adequate if uninspired.  Honestly, the music is the center piece of this animated musical.  The songs are all solid enough but sadly none are nearly as memorable as “Let It Go” from the original.  As such, it’s easier to dissect the fairly routine story that doesn’t hold any sort of tension for anyone over the age of 10.  Pixar has raised the bar so high for children’s films that it’s almost quaint to run into a film that’s perfectly fine just catering to its core audience while leaving very little for the adults in the audience.  It’s a shame the story isn’t a bit more dense because the cast is all impressive with Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell carrying the film with great ease.  Josh Gad’s Olaf still fluctuates between amusing to annoying and his character is given a bigger role in this sequel.  Ultimately, this sequel checks all the boxes to keep the younger kids entertained but I doubt anyone will look back on this entry with sort of great fondness or affection. 

B-

Movie Reviews: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Saturday, February 09, 2008
Movie Reviews: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
ON DVD



ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

This musical, based on the songs of the Beatles, finds a young woman named Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) falling for a young British radical named Jude (Jim Sturgess). The young lovers get caught up in the '60s counterculture and have their relationship tested to the limits while struggling to hold on to their ideals. Directed by Julie Taymor (Frida and the Broadway version of The Lion King).

Cast Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther McCoy, Bono (more)

Director(s) Julie Taymor

Writer(s) Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais

Status On DVD

Genre(s) Musical

Release Date Sept. 14, 2007

DVD Release Date Feb. 5, 2008

Running Time 131 minutes

MPAA Rating PG-13 - some drug content, nudity, sexuality, violence, and language

Review:

Across the Universe is the kind of movie that seemed tailor made for me to like. Great music paired with wonderfully staged dance numbers, vibrant and imaginative imagery throughout. The fact that the Beatles are providing the aforementioned music should have made this a homer run. Should have being the main point, sadly Across the Universe Julie Taymor's ambitious but severely flawed musical fails to deliver on its promise, only occasionally hitting the right note. First off the story and acting are all nearly a non factor as there isn't much time given to them. Throughout the characters and story feel like nothing more than devices. I personally can forgive both after all Baz Lurman's Moulin Rouge did a wonderful job with a similar set up as long as it works. Here its more misses than not. Across the Universe feels so force and un-organic mainly because Taymor is far more interested in getting into the musical numbers than giving the audience the slightest bit of reason to be invested in the characters or the story. It makes for a taxing movie watching experience as your just waiting for the next number to start. The musical numbers are all wonderfully staged and the movie is beautifully shot so its fun to watch. The numbers which do hit the mark really nail it. Come Together as sung by Joe Crocker is just perfect. Bono's take on I am the Walrus is another well done musical number even if its accompanied by a visual hodgepodge of psychedelic overkill. Strawberry Fields Forever sung by Jim Sturgess is probably one of the high points of the film as it's matched with wonderful imagery. Sadly, Taymor's follow up to Frida is wildly ambitious but fails to reach any sort of resonance especially considering the timeless Beatles soundtrack.

C+