Tag: lin Manuel-miranda

MUFASA: THE LION KING – Review

With Christmas less than a week away, the “Mouse House” has decided to send another family-friendly flick into the multiplexes to share space with its recent “box-office behemoth” MOANA 2 (which is still in the number one spot). Oh, and this is somewhat of a sequel, too. When the Marvel Cinematic Universe made a huge cinematic splash, many studios wanted to create their own versions of a “brand”. Naturally Warner Brothers had their DC Comics line (which is getting a big “re-do”) and Universal keeps attempting a “Dark Universe’ based on those classic monsters (THE WOLF MAN is on the way next year). And though Marvel is a partner, Disney itself is “getting into the act” with their legacy of classic animated tales, the twist being that they’re being remade in “live-action”. This new film is unique in that it is “technically” an animated film with pixels replacing the pencils involved with 2-D “hand drawn” films. And, as I mentioned earlier, this is the first sequel. to one of these remakes. Ah, but it’s actually more of a prequel, since its main focus is the “origin” story of MUFASA: THE LION KING.

This film begins a few years after the finale of THE LION KING, as we return to the denizens of Pride Rock. Nala (voice of Beyonce Knowles-Carter) has embarked on a “sabbatical” in the deep woods leaving her daughter Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter) with Papa Simba (Donald Glover). But now it’s time for him to join her so he enlists three “babysitters”: Pumbaa the warthog (Seth Rogan), Timon the meerkat (Billy Eichner), and the shamen-mandrill Rafika (John Kani). Kiara is frightened by the approaching thunderstorm, so Rafika decides to calm her by telling the story of her grandfather, Mufasa. His blissful life as a royal cub is shattered by a flood that separates him from his adored parents. Mufasa is swept far away by a swift stream until another cub, Taka, pulls him onto the shore. The two return to Taka’s pride, where their king, Obasi (Lennie James) shuns him and pushes him toward the females, led by his mate Eshe (Thandiwe Newton). Luckily she is a nurturer and encourages Mufasa’s “gifts”. The years pass, and teenaged Mufusa (Aaron Pierre) and Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) practice their hunting skills and encounter a pride of white lions known as “The Outsiders” ruled by the cruel and avaricious King Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen). When they attack Obasi’s pride, the two teens begin a desperate journey to find the bountiful land known as M’Leilei. Along the way, Mufasa and Taka are joined by a young lioness named Sarabi (Tiffany Boone) and her scout/servant, the hornbill Zasu (Preston Nyman). And they luckily run into their guide, the younger Rafiki (Kagiso Lediga), but can his mystical skills protect them as Kiros and his pack trails them in order to enact his vengeance? Friendships are tested and changed for good during the long hard trek.

Though it’s been five years since the remake (the original just turned thirty), those returning voice actors slip right back into their roles as though they were in the recording studio yesterday. Especially potent is the comic chemistry between Eichner and Rogan who riff like a classic vaudeville comedy team, with Pumbaa a bit more of a lunkhead who beams with pride about his “fragrance” while Timon is the motor-mouthed wiseguy who delights in breaking (not the wind like his BFF) the “fourth wall”. Spin-off, please. In her acting debut, Miss Carter projects a sweet energetic innocence as the future queen. Both Kani and Lediga give Rafiki the proper gravitas and magical mentoring. Pierre is an engaging lead who goes from confusion to confidence as the king-to-be, while Harrison relates the pressure of his lineage while slowly succumbing to very human emotional faults. Boone is a spunky heroine who can dive into the action right alongside the fellas. James is a great blustering and conniving king as Obasi. The film’s best asset might be the compelling Mikkelsen who accentuates each threat with a sneering snarl making Kiro a fearsome villain. He’s pure silky menace.

Aside from the film’s unique structure as a sequel/prequel, it’s got another unusual filmmaker for an animated film in the director’s chair. It’s helmed by the acclaimed crafter of live-action dramas (MOONLIGHT, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK), Barry Jenkins, who is working from the screenplay by Jeff Nathanson (based on the 1994 film). He gives the story an added emotional heft, slowly zooming in during essential conversations and confrontations. Of the latter, he brings lots of excitement to the deadly encounters, from hungry crocs to the revenge-obsessed Outsiders. The African environments are stunning, going from arid plains to snowy mountains and particularly the utopia of M’Leilei with its lush vegetation. But despite the advancements in CGI, the animals (though expertly rendered) just can’t convey the bravada acting and emoting of those hand-drawn icons of that 90s classic. Though they’re caricatures the gestures and expressions tell us so much more than these computer creations. It helps that the coloring and voices make the main characters here more distinct, along with the voices, but I can still mix up the principals. Wisely, the narrative cuts back to the present, to provide some welcome comic asides from T & P, but the pace seems to drag before the big reveals of the third act (key settings and props are introduced). Perhaps another “pass” at the script was needed to trim a few minutes. Still, it’s a well-crafted extension of the story rather than a quick “cash grab” like the straight-to-home video follow-ups back in the VHS “glory days”. A few more memorable songs might have helped since none of the new tunes comes close to the stellar work of Elton John and Tim Rice. But kids that are “crazy about critters” will be happy to return to the exotic “pride lands” as they explore the legend of MUFASA: THE LION KING.

2.5 Out of 4

MUFASA: THE LION KING is now playing in theatres everywhere

RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT – Review

“Hey you guys!!!” And at the risk of either being non-inclusive or sexist, “you gals, too”! There’s a new feature-length documentary arriving in theatres this weekend that certainly breaks the preconceived notions of what many consider “film homework”. Yes, there are a considerable amount of “talking heads”, but the movie is far from “dull and dry”. Now, that’s due in large part to the doc’s subject matter (hence all those “talkers” on camera). This is a prime example of this film genre’s popular “subset”, the “show biz” documentary. Last year saw two great entertainment profiles on the Go-Go’s, the Bee Gees, and Natalie Wood. Now, this look at the life and career of one of the latter’s co-stars will no doubt earn similar accolades this year (along with another out today). Speaking of accolades, this lady’s amassed so many, even joining the elite group known as EGOTs (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony winners). And after nearly eighty years in the “biz called show,” she’s still wowing audiences. But somehow, she still holds on to a good deal of modesty. That may account for the profile’s full title, RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT. Hang on, because she’s not slowin’ down, you guys!!

In the film’s opening scenes we encounter the magical Ms. Moreno as she prepares for Her own big birthday party, making decorations alongside her only daughter Fernanda (and laughingly saying that a truly big star would have hired someone for these tasks). Cut to the big “old school” “wing-ding” as Ms. M joins the hired entertainment, cutting a rug with the much-younger dancers. After some praise from another media legend, Norman Lear, the filmmakers delve into Moreno’s colorful history, told by the lady herself. Truly a rags-to-riches fable, Rita tells us of her idyllic early years in her birthplace of Humacao, Puerto Rico. At barely five years of age, Rita accompanies her now single seamstress mother Rosa Maria to a new life in the states, taking a crowded boat to NYC (Rita says she never saw her left-behind-with papa younger brother again). Rosa knew her daughter was gifted and “hitched a ride’ on her own rising star. While most youngsters her age were centered on school, she was singing and dancing in swanky supper clubs and night spots. It’s then that the film abruptly returns to the “now” as we follow Rita on a “working day” (still before the cameras when most retired), up at dawn, driving herself to Sony Studios for a long “tape day” on the Lear-produced sitcom revival for Netflix of “One Dat at a Time”. It’s then back to her history, as Rita and her mama somehow score a meeting with MGM head Louis Mayer during his Big Apple visit. He’s impressed (“She’s a Spanish Liz Taylor”), and Rita is under contract (her fifth film is SINGING IN THE RAIN). But after that career high point, she’s regulated to supporting parts, slathered in brown makeup and long jet black hair, as the exotic native girls, brushed aside for the blonde Anglo leading ladies. And outside the sound stages, Rita must deal with lecherous older men (that Harry Cohn) and abusive directors. The next decade in film finally gives her a chance to shine as she is awarded a Supporting Actress Oscar for WEST SIDE STORY. But the good roles didn’t immediately fly her way as she deals with a tempestuous love affair with Marlon Brando that nearly destroys her. But Rita finds a loyal hubby in Dr. Leonard Cohan and begins a family as she conquers TV ( the cult PBS TV fave “The Electric Company” in the early 70s) and Broadway, getting a Tony as the campy Googie Gomez in 1975’s “The Ritz” (a movie version followed in 1976). The Awards keep coming as Rita continues her political work in DC (we see lots of 60s archival footage of her alongside MLK), and she assumes the role of Latin-American icon. What a life this lady has lived!

This cinema love letter is deftly crafted by director Mariem Perz Riera utilizing an incredible amount of movie clips that will delight cinephiles and TV fans (look, Rita’s dancing for Zorro). One unique device used to illustrate the transitions in Rita’s life story is animations of her as a classic toy of yore, the paper doll. The pixelation of paper cut-outs show her at different ages donning all manner of costume and clothing to reflect the eras and her many roles. And then there are those “talking heads”, an amazing gathering of stars from Hollywood’s “Golden Age” like Mitzi Gaynor, who had to go on “studio dates” with other “contract player” (we see many awkwardly staged stills of the couples having a “fun night on the town”). Luckily we also hear from several of her co-stars like her “Bernardo” and Oscar night co-winner George Chakiris and direct from “The Electric Company, “Easy Reader’ himself, Morgan Freeman (the clips from that kids’ classic show Rita’s superb comic talents, with the “glamour gal” transforming into a broad, mugging, but still charming, clown). Plus there are also those inspired by the icon like Lin-Manuel Miranda (who “name-checks” her in the new film of his IN THE HEIGHTS) to Eva Longoria who tells of her own struggles with producers wanting her to “spice up” her roles. Oh, and there’s even another EGOT, as Whoopi Goldberg joins the admirers (was hoping for my favorite EGOT, Mel Brooks, to drop in, alas…). But more entertaining and compelling than all of them is the lady herself. Her reflections to the camera are often a brilliant acting lesson, shifting quickly from one character to another (her grumbling mother becomes a snooty hotel clerk). Her tales are often hilarious (Yul Brynner tells her that her role in THE KING AND I is boring…and Rita agrees) to harrowing (she’s nearly ravaged at a daytime party for a whiskey distiller). Most interesting may be her romantic encounters, like a fling with the King, Elvis Presley. But the most complex is Brando, which consumed her to the point of attempting suicide (after a botched abortion he arranged). She now mocks him in her one-woman show, yet still keeps a photo of her with him (dressed as Napoleon) amongst her family portraits and snapshots. She seems to have a more stable relationship with her husband Gordon, but Rita tells of the stumbles and reveals that his death left her feeling more liberated than devastated. Her passion for current affairs is also shown (she’s watching the Brett Kavanaugh hearings while having breakfast in her TV dressing room). The biggest surprise may be her saying that she’s completely exhausted after the big “tape day” at Sony. It’s a flip on the talk show cliche of actors saying they never wish to retire as she appears to somewhat regret taking on such a big project in this point in her life (or maybe it was an unusually trying day). Oh, but there’s no “throwing in the towel” for the film’s finale since it’s far from her career’s fade-out. She’s got a small role, written in just for her, in Steven Spielberg’s big-screen remake of WEST SIDE STORY, which will be out in December, just in time for her 90th birthday. Now that’s something to celebrate, much like the wonderful RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT. Oh, how lucky are we that she “loves it here in ‘Am-air-i-kaaa!!”.

3.5 Out of 4 Stars

RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT opens in select theatres and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at the Hi-Pointe Theatre and Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas on Friday, June 18, 2021