The Lion King: An Animation Sensation

It often pays to have low expectations because then you can't be disappointed. This is true of most things in life, and particularly movies. I went into The Lion King expecting it to be mediocre and left pleasantly surprised. Does this movie need to exist? No. But is it a perfectly entertaining way to spend an afternoon? Yes.

Obviously the first point to comment on is the animation. This is a "live-action" film, but they didn't actually wrangle a bunch of animals to run around the Serengeti. Instead, they have done a brilliant job of rendering these creatures with CGI, to the point where the majority of the film feels like you're watching Planet Earth. All that's missing is David Attenborough. And all that animation is front and center right when we head into the movie's famous opening scene. As those memorable Zulu vocals burst through the speakers and all the animals start racing from the watering hole to Pride Rock, you can settle in and enjoy the show. Every animal is rendered in startlingly fine detail, and as the movie progresses, the animation just gets more impeccable. Towards the end, there's a scene in the rain, and watching how the raindrops cling on to Simba's mane is a feat that probably took some animator a few months to perfect. That being said, however, by making the animals this realistic, you lose the anthropomorphic magic of animation. Apart from moving their mouths when they speak, you can't really see any emotion on these animals' faces, so it's hard to feel emotionally involved as the more dramatic events of the film transpire.

Then we get to the voice cast. There's still James Earl Jones' iconic voice as Mufasa, gently handing us over from the 1994 film to this remake. While it's remarkable how little his voice has changed, it also means that the first half of this movie feels identical to the cartoon and there's nothing particularly new to enjoy, apart from John Oliver's splendidly British ditherings as Zazu. However, where this movie excels is the second half, with the introduction of Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumba. The two make a fantastic double-act and insert much-needed comic relief into a movie that would have otherwise gone off the rails pretty quick. Also, I don't know what's going on with animators in Hollywood, but there's a sequence in this film when Timon and Pumba are explaining to Simba how life is meaningless. Coupled with the existentialism of Toy Story 4, it's starting to feel like all of Hollywood is experiencing a mid-life crisis.

Of course in the second half, we also finally get Donald Glover voicing adult Simba, and Beyonce voicing adult Nala. And hoo boy, those voices are smooth as butter. Those two can make a children's movie feel fraught with sexual tension. They don't spend too much time talking, but whenever they do it's glorious, and when they're singing, it's sublime. This is not remotely a surprise (it's Donald Glover and Beyonce!) but still, it's the most novel aspect of a movie that is otherwise not offering up much in the way of new revelations.

The Lion King is a gorgeous movie featuring great voice acting, but it doesn't throw in any twists and turns that differentiate it from the 1994 original. Like most of Disney's remakes, it's very obviously an attempt to cater to nostalgia and make money. It adequately delivers, but if you are not a fan of this story or do not want to give in to the corporate greed of our Hollywood overlords, you can easily give this film a pass. We'll probably get another version of it in twenty-five years anyway - that's the circle of life. 

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Something Interesting Happened After a Whole Lot of Nothing

As a huge Tarantino fan, I was eagerly looking forward to watching Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Reunited with Brad Pitt, I was hoping for something reminiscent of the heyday of Inglourious Basterds. Sadly, I spent two and a half hours in the theater constantly checking the time to see when this agony would end.

I did not like this movie. And it saddens me to say it, because I do love Tarantino, and his previous movies have always brought a tremendous amount of entertainment value, even if they can't all be masterpieces like Basterds. But I was legitimately bored throughout this film and even while writing this review am struggling to understand how it went so off the rails. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie, it boasts an all-star cast and is set in 1969 Hollywood. These are all the ingredients for a blockbuster but they are failed by a lackluster script, which is generally Tarantino's forte. His style is to set all the chess pieces on the board and build up to an epic finale, but this time, the showdown happens in the last fifteen minutes of the film, and nothing that leads up to it feels remotely coherent or interesting. Instead it feels like a series of disjointed vignettes about characters who aren't particularly compelling. And the finale features characters who get a gory comeuppance that you don't even feel like cheering for because they barely got any screen time previously. It's hard to root for a villain's demise when you've only know the villain for about ten minutes.

The dialogue wasn't crisp, and the banter was far from engaging. There were odd bits of voiceover narration that I found particularly jarring, because the hallmark of a Tarantino flick has always been to show, not tell. And yet it seemed clear that he kept writing himself into corners that only a narrator could fix. DiCaprio as a has-been Western actor has his funny moments but is ultimately striking one note throughout. Brad Pitt is a far more compelling screen presence (when he takes his shirt off, it was like an ode to Thelma and Louise that at least got me engaged in the proceedings for a few minutes before I was bored again). But his character is played for laughs, despite him allegedly killing his wife? What? Margot Robbie is also flawless as Sharon Tate, but her character mostly exists to play a tanned, leggy, blonde bombshell without much of an interior life. Sure, she goes into a theater and puts on large glasses to watch herself on screen, which seems to be the only way male filmmakers seem to know how to tell us a beautiful woman contains multitudes within. She wears big, unflattering glasses - she's complex!

Margaret Qualley is probably the most interesting character in the piece, a hippie called Pussycat who lives with the rest of the Manson family on the ranch. I do appreciate the attention to detail by allowing her to have robust armpit hair and have her look somewhat distressingly emaciated (though still gorgeous). Note to teenage girls and all-age men who think that's what a normal woman should look like - no. She is clearly starving and that thigh gap needs to go. But again, her character is a weird one-off who brings Brad Pitt back to the ranch but serves no real other purpose. She and Pitt do share great chemistry, and the scenes where they just communicate via facial expressions might be the highlight of the movie, but otherwise, she's yet another wasted actor in this film.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood features a great soundtrack, most of which you've already heard in the trailer, and is an ode to Westerns like many of Tarantino's latest endeavors, which means great cinematography of sweeping vistas and a general desert vibe. But there is a dearth of engaging content that makes it a complete slog to watch. The same gag is repeated too often, none of the characters feel fleshed out, and it all feels a bit too self-satisfied and assured of its own success to ever win you over. I will be quickly forgetting this movie (much like I forgot The Hateful Eight) and hope that Tarantino moves away from Westerns and goes back to killing Nazis. DiCaprio did get to wield a flamethrower in this movie, but it was too little, too late. 

The Farewell: The Immigrant Identity (Or Lack Thereof)

Many of us have been debating about immigrants this week and reading several racist tweets about what it means to be an American. If you're drowning in social media agita and would rather take a break by immersing yourself in a poignant and funny story about the true immigrant experience, you could do no better than to run to the theater to watch The Farewell.

The movie centers around Billi (Awkwafina, who seems guaranteed to get some awards love this year) a Chinese-American woman from New York who goes back to her hometown of Changchun, China, to see her grandmother (known as "Nai Nai") under the pretense of attending a family wedding. Nai Nai has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, but in traditional Chinese fashion, she had been told that everything's fine. Instead the family will carry the emotional burden of her diagnosis, allowing her to enjoy her last few months of life. For Billi, this seems like a bizarre and unfair thing to do, but her family insists she keep up the charade, saying that this is how things are done in the East and she cannot mess up the plan with her Western notions. Instead, they are planning a shotgun wedding for her cousin Hao Hao and his Japanese girlfriend, so that the family can all gather and see Nai Nai without her realizing that this is all part of an emotional farewell tour. 

This movie might sound sad, but all these machinations to hide the truth from Nai Nai and go along with the audacious plan are hilarious and this movie is a riotous comedy for much of its running time. I saw it with my friend Laura, who spent the latter half of the movie sobbing, so be forewarned, but you'll be laughing through your tears too. It is a rich portrait of what it means to be an immigrant and not quite belonging to the place where you were born or your adopted homeland. Billi is too American to her Chinese family, but will always be considered Chinese by her American friends, and carving out an identity for herself is a slow and confusing process that all immigrants can relate to. Every single character in this film is beautifully realized, with a rich inner life and specific conflicts of their own that they must deal with during this trip. Billi's father (played by the always lovely Tzi Ma) is grieving over the impending loss of his mother and his guilt that he hasn't been able to take care of her himself. Her mother (Diana Lin, in a wonderful performance) is being a dutiful daughter-in-law but has also had a contentious relationship with Nai Nai in the past and struggles to know how to best express her emotions unlike her American daughter who seems to demand everyone wear their heart on their sleeve.

The movie is brimming with very specific observations about the immigrant experience and particularly the Asian-American experience. Asians in film are often portrayed as stoic and affectless, so it is wonderful to watch the entire cast express every emotion under the sun and deal with grief in a manner that is both traditionally Chinese and utterly universal at the same time. And Zhao Shuzhen, who plays Nai Nai, might be the best thing about this movie. I don't care what race or ethnicity you are - she will immediately make you think of your own grandma and you will feel warm and fuzzy every time you see her on screen. Her first words when she sees Billi are about how she's not as thin as she was led to believe and then she spends the entire movie trying to feed Billi various items at every meal. I can certainly relate.

The Farewell is based on the director Lulu Wang's actual experience with her own grandmother, and was shot in her hometown - her great-aunt (Lu Hong) even plays Billi's great aunt in the movie and has a wonderful moment where we get to learn more about some of her thwarted ambitions. As such, there's no surprise that it is so precisely observed and rich in detail. It is a glorious movie that has already met with much critical acclaim and is sure to garner massive awards buzz. But more importantly, in this day and age, when people are so quick to vilify immigrants as the "other," this movie achieves the impossible. It introduces you to an entire family that is nothing like yours, and yet incredibly, completely like yours. Yes, immigrants may not always look like you and speak the same language. But guess what. They still grieve when their grandmothers are ill, bicker around the table at a large family dinner, worry about money, and repress their feelings until it all comes bursting out at inopportune moments. Turns out they're just human beings too.

Spider-Man: Far From Home: Marvelous Manipulation

Spoiler alert: if you're one of the two humans who haven't seen Avengers: Endgame yet, the below does contain spoilers to that movie.

Looking back on it, I'm shocked that Spider-Man: Far From Home is only two hours long. There were multiple times I thought the movie had ended, and was then shocked by a new twist that led to even more trippy insanity, and by the time I left the theater, I was certain I must have been there for hours, because so much had happened. But nope, Marvel somehow manages to beat the space-time continuum and create movies jam-packed with plot and wit that feel so rich and meaty and yet seem to get over in no time at all. It's like eating a steak that feels like a souffle. Or maybe the other way round? I don't know, this movie has thrown my metaphors for a loop.

The action picks up after Avengers: Endgame, where half of humanity has re-appeared after five years, after the event known as the "blip." Those who were blipped out when Thanos snapped his fingers haven't aged, so in Peter Parker's (Tom Holland) case, he's in high school with some classmates the same age as him, and others who grew up in the intervening five years. Best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and unrequited crush MJ (Zendaya) thankfully stayed the same age, and they are all about to head to Europe for a school science trip. Peter has plans to tell MJ how he feels and basically just enjoy himself like an ordinary high school teenager, putting aside all the superhero stress for a while. However, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has just returned from being blipped himself and is keen to re-start the Avengers initiative following the loss of both Iron Man and Captain America. Tony Stark handpicked Peter to be his successor, so Nick demands that he step up. Unfortunately, Peter is terrified at the prospect, and avoid Fury's calls in the hopes that he can just ignore his responsibilities and enjoy a Euro trip.

Naturally, that cannot happen. Fury has his ways, and before he knows it, Peter is forced to don the Spidey suit and work alongside a superhero from another dimension named Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) to save Europe from a bunch of destructive creatures called Elementals. Mysterio is a perfect partner and together, the two make quick work of these villains. At which point I thought the movie was winding to a somewhat safe and insipid conclusion. But this is Marvel we're talking about. They had more than one trick up their sleeve.

I can't go into more detail about this movie without giving away masses of intrigue and amazing plot that delighted me from start to finish. Even though Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse was a standalone film, there are elements of Far From Home that feel inspired by that movie, with its intricate plot and sophisticated silliness. Suffice to say, I left the theater texting my friend Ben, "is nothing real?!" It truly is a trippy film, filmed with impeccable visuals that continually pull the rug out from under you. And of course, it's brimming with jokes, sight gags, and all manner of levity, never allowing the tone to get too somber or self-important. That is evident from the opening scenes of this film, where we have to acknowledge the extremely sad events of Avengers: Endgame, but in a hilarious fashion that makes it clear that this movie isn't going to waste too much being maudlin. It's time to launch a new phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Spider-Man is going to lead the charge.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is super fun and super satisfying, a perfect way to recover from the high-stakes angst of Avengers. Tom Holland is on top form, and I'm totally on board for him to take over top Avenger status. It seems fitting that Jon Favreau is back as Happy Hogan, Iron Man's right-hand man who now has to help out Peter, because Favreau was the director of the very first Iron Man and kick-started this whole juggernaut in the first place. So if you thought Marvel wouldn't be able to recover after all the losses of the Avengers, boy do you you have a lot to learn. Strap in and get ready for twenty-two more films. 

Evvie Drake Starts Over: Comfort Reading

Last week, my friend Laura and I went to see an author panel with Linda Holmes, the host of Pop Culture Happy Hour, and first-time author of the delicious novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over. Readers of the blog know I adore Pop Culture Happy Hour, and I have been hearing about Holmes' writing project for years as she first started writing it and then eventually sold the book and officially had to worry about editing and marketing. To see her live in person and get a copy of this book that I had been hearing about for so many years was brilliant. It also helps that she might be one of the most charming ladies on the planet.

Evvie Drake Starts Over is exactly the kind of book you would expect Linda Holmes to write. Over the years, I have learnt what she likes in her pop culture, and this book is brimming with pop culture references, witty banter, silly jokes, and a well-defined three-dimensional heroine who is wrestling with her demons but does it with aplomb. Evvie (it rhymes with Chevy), is a widow who is suffering from immense guilt because she never told anyone that she hated her husband and was planning on leaving him on the night he died. So now that he's dead, she has to act like the grieving widow, stuck in a giant house that is filled with bad memories and figuring out how on earth she gets her life moving again. Enter Dean Tenney, a pitcher for the Yankees who had to unceremoniously retire from baseball when he woke up one day with the "yips," a bizarre psychological condition where an athlete simply cannot do the thing they were good at anymore. He can no longer pitch, so after some excruciating games, his career sputters to a halt. Eager to get away from New York, he takes up an offer from his childhood friend Andy, who lives in Maine and says Dean can rent the apartment in his best friend's house for a few months as he tries to figure out his next steps. Who's Andy's best friend? Evvie.

You can see where this is going, of course. Dean and Evvie start off as mere acquaintances, quickly evolve into friends, and then fireworks start to spark. It's a slow-burn romance that still feels explosive, probably because of the enormous amounts of screwball banter that make it clear they were meant for each other. But there's also so much emotional work that these two need to do. Each is grieving a very specific loss and needs to come to terms with how their life moves on. My favorite facet of this book is that while it has a romantic angle, it is still very much a book about how these two characters deal with their problems independently, and not co-dependently. Also, a lot of romances tend to go back and forth with the male and female perspective, but here, Evvie's story is of paramount importance. Watching her come to terms with what has happened to her and what new adventures she might have in her future is the most joyous aspect of this novel. Some of these characters have to deal with harsh truths, but the end result is a warm, gentle, and kind story about second chances. As Linda Holmes is the reason I even discovered the romance genre to begin with, it makes sense that the woman knows how to craft the perfect romance.

At the author panel, a question was asked during the Q&A about whether the authors, all of whom were arts critics, ever felt bad that they weren't reporting on more "important" things like politics or climate change. Linda Holmes brought down the house with the following metaphor: "You know in the movie The Martian, where Matt Damon is stuck on Mars but needs to get home to Earth? He spend the first half of that movie growing potatoes. Now the potatoes won't get him back to Earth. But they're what he needs to stay alive so that he can then figure out all the other stuff to get back. So I like to think of my writing as space potatoes. It's what helps people get through the day before they tackle all the other stuff that needs to be solved." I have told that story to every person I know. To me, this blog is my version of space potatoes. And last week, when I finished reading Evvie Drake Starts Over, I smiled and thanked Linda Holmes for this delicious space potato of a novel. I can't wait to devour the next one.