Search

Search only in certain items:

Cruella (2021)
Cruella (2021)
2021 | Comedy, Crime
9
8.0 (24 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Until going back to the cinema this year I'd not watched a trailer or read any reviews of Cruella. When I finally saw it on the big screen, I was excited... but also terrified of the Disney live action antics.

Estella is a young aspiring designer with a wild side and an even wilder hairstyle. Making friends with a ragtag duo in London, she sets up in the shadows of a high profile department store that sets her down a path with a dark future.

Of all the live action films recently this has definitely given me some hope (which I'm sure I'll regret saying at some point). It starts the set-up of what we know Cruella to be. Origin story, villain, you know I'm in. And I loved the way that she wasn't inherently evil, it was the circumstances around her that created it by twisting her wild side.

My two favourite Emmas in one movie, it's a dream. Let's start with the lead, Emma Stone. It must have been amazing fun doing this role, at least it looked like that was the case and she could really let loose. You see Estella's spark of creativity, the embers of the young Cruella inside her even as an adult, and the blazing fire as the evil starts to peek through. I loved how they managed to get some nods in to the animated movie, and how she managed to capture them perfectly. If you asked me to cast someone in this role, I'm not sure I could have come up with someone better.

Emma Thompson was a surprise to me, it wasn't until the trailer that I realised she was in this. The instant I saw her I knew that I was going to love her. The Baroness is a force to be reckoned with and you can see the influence that she has. Ruthless and driven, every scene felt right.

Henchmen next, and of course I'm using "henchmen" in its loosest terms for Jasper and Horace. Another perfect vision of what's to come. Joel Fry as Jasper makes for an interesting take on the story, and while I can see why it's there, and I generally enjoy Fry's acting, I did not love Jasper quite as much as everyone around him. Particularly as he was paired with Paul Walter Hauser. Hauser is a great actor, if a little typecast in the slightly bumbling characters. His take on Horace is my favourite thing about this whole film. As a double act with Wink it was glorious and understated humour. I'd happily sit through a film entirely of them just being them.

I can't really talk Cruella without talking costume design. If this doesn't win all the awards then quite frankly it's complete insanity. Everything design-wise in this was amazing as far as I'm concerned. Cruella's hair changes and dresses blew me away. Eccentric, flamboyant, and just the right amount of crazy.

I'm not sure how I feel about the possibility of a sequel, but I really enjoyed this one. Everything from the film itself, to the posters, it ticked all the boxes.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/06/cruella-movie-review.html
  
In the Heights (2021)
In the Heights (2021)
2021 | Drama, Music, Musical
I love me some musical action, so I'm not sure how I never knew this existed. Not to worry though, I was quickly reeducated.

Usnavi is saving up everything he can as he plans a future back in the Dominican Republic. Living at the centre of his neighbourhood, we join his story and the dramas of the community.

In The Heights dives into the stories in the hot spot of the community as a heatwave bears down on them. Families, friendships and business dealings, all come out of the woodwork as they try to cope with the heat... and it does all of that with some and dance thrown on top.

I know that Lin-Manuel Miranda is all the rage these days, but I don't enjoy the talky-singing that's a bit of a trademark. Here though, the jazzy beats and hip-swaying tunes really helped. Had I not been restricted by the fact I was in public and it's generally frowned upon to do it in the cinema, I would have been dancing. With that restriction though, it was dropped to toe-tapping and shimmying in my seat.

There's a lot of talent in the cast, though not all the singing was music to my ears. With so many cast members I'm not going to go into the individual performances because, while a handful of characters are bigger in the story, it's very much an ensemble piece. Together they have great chemistry, and those relationships shine because of it.

Choreography during the numbers is fantastic, and the use of space in and out of those moments worked well with the confined spaces. There's one scene in particular that was very inventive and (even though it gave me a vertigo wobble) it helped to make the song stand out from the others... though there's probably something in every song that I could pick out for the same reason.

Design of... everything... is great in In The Heights. There's not really a point where your eyes aren't darting about looking at the sets or following the performers. If there aren't awards in this film's future then I'd be surprised, it would have to be something epic that beat this.

I didn't have that previous connection with the theatre production, and I think that would definitely have helped matters. In the theatre setting the long runtime never feels like it's actually that long, you have the intermission and scenes are broken up by the nature of it being a live performance. 2 hours and 23 minutes isn't really that long in that context, and these days it's not even particularly long for a film. But as a film, I did feel its length. I'm also one of those people that goes to theatre productions and likes to see what peripheral characters are doing, and that's not something you can easily do in a film. I may listen to the soundtrack at some point, but I don't think I'm in any rush to rewatch In The Height even considering all the things I enjoyed about it.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/in-heights-movie-review.html
  
    ComBank

    ComBank

    Finance

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Thriving towards their mission of providing reliable, innovative, customer friendly financial...

    Time Timer: iPad Edition

    Time Timer: iPad Edition

    Productivity and Education

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Enjoy stress-free time management with the new & improved Time TIMER for iPad (iOS 8 upgrade) – an...

    Onet - wiadomości

    Onet - wiadomości

    News and Business

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    WIADOMOŚCI ONET: CZYTAM, SŁUCHAM, #WIEM Z ONET! Szukasz najświeższych wiadomości z kraju i ze...

    The Wonder Weeks

    The Wonder Weeks

    Health & Fitness and Reference

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    The Wonder Weeks worldwide bestselling baby app is a personalized weekly calendar of your baby’s...

    CIB Bank

    CIB Bank

    Finance

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    [HU] Az alkalmazás elnyerte a 2016-os MasterCard Év mobil- és online-banki eszköze kategória...

    Oje, ich wachse!

    Oje, ich wachse!

    Health & Fitness and Lifestyle

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Der weltweite Bestseller unter den Baby-Apps von “Oje, ich wachse!” ist ein personalisierter...