Marval Movie

"DUMBO, a major, major work. Yeah the perfect film, each sequence is totally self contained, totally complete and still pushes the picture forward."
-Sidney Lument, in conversation

After rewatching the original DUMBO fairly recently I can attest to this statement. It is one of the most accessible and clear storytelling examples in cinema, every shot and emotion they intend to convey both from the characters and the scene rings perfectly clear.

So the question is "Why remake it?" The answer is, no real reason. really I guess I should end the review here but I should fully explain everything. A remake should take the ideas and feeling of the original but still make it it's own thing or at least introduce some new elements and update it appropriately. But when you have something so timeless and so close to perfect your only real place o go is down.

So our story opens in 1919, and two children, Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) they run through a circus which is their home and run by Max Medici (Danny DeVito) the ringleader and to the train station to their father Holt (Colin Farrell) who's back from the war, it cost him his left arm but he's happy to be home with his children, unfortunately his wife died while he was away. You shouldn't really care, the movie and the characters don't so let's move on.

Medici has made an investment, he bought a big elephant by the name of JUMBO, who is expecting to give birth any day soon. One night she goes give birth and the little baby emerges from hiding within a stack of hey. However, it is not what they were expecting, because this baby has unusually large ears. They do their best to cover them up but during one performance the people see his ears and due to a rather clever accident with the sign he gets named DUMBO. However, the children then learn that, with the encouragement of a feather, his big ears can be used as wings, they have a flying elephant, that'll attract paying customers.

Being that DUMBO is an elephant and this is not a talking animal movie he is entirely silent throughout the movie, conveying his thoughts and emotions through his big blue eyes (this is how it should be). But being that they can't let too much time go by without obrolan so we have two children explaining things to the audience and guiding him on his journey. This isn't really necessary and these children just aren't very good actors, they are either overacting or just being stonefaced throughout as well as their poor obrolan that flat-out, directly tells the audience everything.

Being that Tim Burton is behind the camera I would expect one thing before anything else, a strong visual flair. He brings that here, he has made a career out of skeletons, clowns and theme parks. He sinks his visual teeth into these images creating elaborate, slightly frightening and elaborate images that make them seem like something more out of a fairytale than real life.

One of the movies greatest strengths is also one of it's greatest weaknesses and that is Michael Keaton as the villain V.A. Vandeverer. Keaton made his name by working with Burton first in Beetlejuice then in his two Batman movies. His career has made a resurgence recently with Birdman and Spider-Man: Homecoming, where he flexes his theatrical and sinister muscles like a man that sells joyous wonder to the people while himself is only driven by greed and narcissism. This character is a clique and is given lines that would fit a forgettable villain during the nineties but even then he is able to take them and make them wonderful zingers. However, no matter how much Keaton elevates it, the question remains, why does DUMBO need a villain? It's DUMBO, one of the simplest stories ever told and was devoid of a villain because it was not necessary, it was composed of the masalah of separation, not all this greed and contract complexities. Plus some of his character's decisions simply don't make sense, in one point in the movie everyone (including him) is given a chance to get everything they want and he turns it down simply to be the villain. This doesn't make any sense, making a decision against the characters needs is one thing but this would serve him too so whys would he do this? No real reason, besides poor writing.

This wouldn't really be DUMBO without the inclusion of the Pink Elephant sequence. Well, to be sure they do make an appearance but in their own unique way that is quite stylized and fun (I'd be disappointed if it was mundane, especially with Tim Burton behind the camera).

This movie is distinguishable from the original which shows that there are thinking independently. So far out of these movies, I would say the laziest is Beauty & The Beast. This is not a terrible movie and children will most likely be entertained and probably everyone will think the elephant is cute. But still, I have yet to see one of the remakes where I would say they improved on...well anything. For this movie, it's not a waste of time but a much better use of it is to see the original again.

Rating: 2 1/2 stars out of 4

The Revenant understands, if nothing else, that you can't go easy on your main character if you want to create a sense of accomplishment.

We open with water, a group of hunters are stalking local game for their pelts, they are then quickly ambushed by the Native Americans. One of the men leading them is Hugh Glass, with him is his son (Forrest Goodluck) also a Native American. Their company flee and take what pelts they can.

The images of nature and men with weapons being in a situation beyond their control as well as the driving force being madness bring to-mind Werner Herzog's Aguirre The Wrath of God. But in the mix is also voice over and a Japanese use of what Roger Ebert coined as "pillow shots" which invokes the feel of a Terrance Malick movie.

While out scouting Glass spots a few bear cups, which are then followed by their mother. What ensues is a brutal desperate fight for survival, which Glass wins, but along with all the bruises and claw marks it also cuts his throat which renders him mute for a long period of time. He cannot move but he is not dead, he was the reason all of them are still alive so their captain (Domnhall Gleeson) refuses to shoot him on the spot. He does become a weight on the party so three stay to take care of him his son, the young solider (Will Poutler) and Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Fitzgerald has no patience for taking care of Glass and wants to end him, in his attempt Glass son intervenes which leads to Fitzgerald stabbing him to death right in-front of his father, he then tricks the young solider into abandoning them, and even throws Glass into a grave and pours on some earth. Leaving him. But he drags himself out and crawls through the snow and the cold and stars his quest for revenge.

From this point on everything that would be a inconvenience happens, everyone that he would rather avoid finds him, all the breaks that could make his journey easier are denied. This is one of the toughest, unsympathetic journeys a main character has ever had to endure in movie history.

Di Capprio has been denied an Oscar of for both Django Unchained and The Wolf of Wall Street. If he doesn't win for this one then he will either seek an even greater, more daring role or he will give-up entirely (I hope it's the later). He abandons all sex appeal typically associated with his screen persona and goes for a bare-knuckle, dirty, desperate personification of a man that is driven beyond the limits of his body and the ideal of revenge. 

Just like the directors, Alejandro G. Inarritu, last movie Birdman he likes long takes. In this project he does allow editing so no illusion of one long take for the entire movie like his last one, these are more reminiscent of Children of Men.

Though it may exceed its welcome when you get into the last half-hour and Inattitu allows himself to be a little to artsy for the subject matter. This is a movie with bold cinematography and shooting style along with an unrelenting plot on the main character that will have you staring at the screen in awe, fright, amazement and discussed. But always staring and never blinking.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 4

The Neon Demon is a movie that is entirely contrasted by its light and dark segments. Sometimes there are scenes that are perfectly illuminated, others that are pure black, save for those little shapes that emerge from said darkness before they are enveloped by them. Then there are the crossroad scenes where there are equal light and darkness on both sides and eventually, one must be taken.

Elle Fanning plays Jesse, an up-and-coming model that seems to have what it takes. She is slim, blonde and beautiful. Everyone seems to gravitate towards her, she gets signed with an agency easily, the top photographers desperately want to photograph her and the other models have their plastic surgeons cut and stretch their faces to make them more desirable while she simply is. So she becomes desired by some, while for others the source of hate and both to others still. That really is the grand total of the plot. The rest of the experience consists of mood and images that we are given to experience.

We've seen this story before, plenty of times the story has been told of the bright lights of Hollywood that cast dark shadows and the pressure and ugly side of fame. Movies like Black Swan, Hollywoodland, The Informers, Perfect Blue, Birdman are examples off the top of my head. Having a similar theme or message is fine in a movie, but what it needs is to distinguish itself from the others so that it's original. This movie operates on the level of a music video. Having more emphasis on the mood and the image with minimal obrolan sequences with such distance that look like they're out of a Kubrick movie. Director Nichols Winding Refn works best when creating inspired new images and environments.

The mastery that Refn has on placing of the lighting and sets makes him a category of his own. No one else has such images and scenarios running through their mind. He always paints such striking, and quietly disturbing setups to put the characters in or physiologically experience.

The other prominent presence in the movie is the musical score by Cliff Martinez.  At times it is a twinkling fairy-tale tune and others a fever dream, and it always fits with the pacing and colors on-screen.

People have said that a re-make of Susperia will happen one day. Well while a true re-make would be foolish this film is like a spiritual successor. Both are horrors in terms of their frightening moments, mostly Female cast and have their sets and musical scores speak more than their obrolan ever could.

Something you will walk away from this movie remembering is some of the darkest, most disturbing scenes in movie history. Moments that are born from the most deprived part of the human Psyche and desires warped by evil intent. But darkness can be forgiven if there are genuine intent and reason for it. Having something unsettling on-screen is one thing but whether its because the filmmakers want you to think about the why rather than hoping to get a reaction from you and then leave you with nothing.

The Neon Demon will leave you with something. It is a dark look into the pursuit of fame and beauty. But also the knowledge that if that is someone's soul goal then it will lead them out of the bright lights, then they'll be in the darkness and nothing will be left.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 4