I chose Openwork 4 as today's fractal "cookie" because it is a tangled, candy-colored image and Tangled is a candy-colored movie! (I was desperate to find something--anything--worked and was too lazy to try and create a new image.) So--on with the review!
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The Disney marketing machine has a habit of milking the proverbial cow until it's dry--and they've done it no more than with the (in)famous "Disney Princesses" we know and love (?) so well. It seems the "Princess Cow" is coming to an end--not with a bang but a whimper. All that being said, Tangled isn't a BAD movie--it's just not all that good...
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Generally, I go into a movie hoping for the best but I went into Tangled hoping it just wouldn't be too bad. And, as I said in the previous paragraph--it's not bad. You have a familiar plot (if you know Rapunzel you know the story) jazzed up a bit for a modern audience. The all-too familiar characters are ably voiced by a cadre of well-know talents and seasoned professionals but there are no particularly standout performances in the whole lot. Most of the music is forgetable (even as you're listening to it). The animation is solid, craftsman-like work (pretty and well-rendered without being particularly memorable). Being Disney's 50th animated movie, I hoped for more but Tangled simply doesn't deliver.
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Tangled is perfect for young Princesses and their parents will probably be able to tolerate the movie--even if they don't love it. It's a toss up whether you bring the Princess's brothers to the movie (there's some action and a cute horse they're sure to love but a lot of gooshy romantic stuff to wade through. Animation fans need not go since there's nothing new and exciting for them and it will play just as well (maybe better) on DVD. Adults don't need to go unless they're mad Disney fans.
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FINAL GRADE: C+
A review of any "Harry Potter" movie requires a fractal cookie with something do to with magic. Hence I chose Magic Syne--and the coloor palette even goes with the film.
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Harry Potter films have grown longer and more complex with each film but really that's no surprise considering the books grew longer with each offering. Still, the long, thickly-stuffed films couldn't include nearly all the details in the books and the films came close to incomprehensible for non-fans. That's partly why the last film was divided into two parts: like the book.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a dark and complex offering. Fans will find the film satisfying: non-fans might find it a bit confusing with so many characters you need a playbook to figure out who's who and how they are related. Still, dividing the movie into two parts helps clear up details left unexplalined in earlier offerings (although there is still a lot of details left out). The movie's dark and brooding tone matches the book. As always, the acting is fine and the special effects are first-rate. Still, there are a few things missing from this film: Hogwarts never appears and there is, of course, no spectacular Quidditch scenes to dazzle. Likewise missing are the humor and sense of cammeraderie that made the earlier books and movie such a wonderful experience. Even so, this fits with the book and, somber as it was, I found myself being sorry the I'll have to wait until July to see the rest.
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Fans and those who have read the books are sure to enjoy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One. It deserves to be seen on a big screen with good sound. Others may well find the movie confusing, long and a bit dull (but they probably wouldn't be jumping on the bandwagon at this late date). You know which group you belong to and that will determine whether you see the film.
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FINAL GRADE: A
Why is Kudzu an appropriate fractal cookie for a review of Little Shop Of Horrors? If you've seen the movie or the show you can probably figure it out: if you haven't check it out and the similarities should become clear. (If it's not clear after that you probably shouldn't be reading this blog. So--on with the review!
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Little Shop Of Horrors has made a long journey from the begining as a "Grade Z" black and white film directed by "Schlockmeister" Roger Corman way back in 1960. (These days the film is noted for the performance of a then-unknow Jack Nicholson.) The film quickly came and went leaving little impression but somebody got the bright idea to turn the property into a musical send-up of Sci Fi and Broadway musicals. Thanks largely to a clever script and awesome songs by Howard Ashman and Alan Mencken (who later went on to major fame as the musical force behind such hits as Disney's Litle Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and many others). The show ran Off-Broadway for five years and spawned a second movie (staring Rick Moranis). Since then the show has surfaced periodically in regional theaters throughout the nation.
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Little Shop of Horrors is a perfect show for a group like Performance Riverside: the cast is small and doesn't require a big band or major effects (with the exception of the puppetry required to manipulate Audrey 2). Still, the show DOES require everyone involved to be high-caliber talent--and this Performance Riverside has in plenty and they miss few opportunities to milk the show for all its worth. Seymour (Morgan Reynolds) is does "loveable nebbish" and he can seriously belt when he needs to (and that's pretty often in the show). Alyssa Marie has the big voice, great face and fine figure required for Audrey (but her outifts are way to understated for the character). Isaac James comes off as a bit to flamingly gay in his myriad roles (Orin the Dentist and several other minor parts) but his manic energy is effective and charming. (If they ever do Batman as a Broadway musical he'd be a magnificent Joker.) The "Urchins" are as fine a girl-group as the Crystals, Chiffons or Ronettes: they keep the show rolling along. Audrey 2 is given voice by M. Darnell Suttles and movement by Jason Graham. It wouoldn't be a show at the Landis without techncal problems and Audrey 2 gets the worst of it. Still, everything works (at least mostly) and they soldiered on no matter what.
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I need to give the cast exceptional "props": we show the show as a Sunday Matinee with an audience that was thoroughly uninvolved. Still, the cast gave 100% in spite of everything and a good time was had by all. The script and songs are clever and almost never let the pace flag: they never let the technical issues get the best of them. Little Shop Of Horros (at least this production is well worth the price of admission.
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FINAL GRADE: A-
