
Darren (1599 KP) rated Dumbo (2019) in Movies
Nov 30, 2019
Story: Dumbo starts when Holt Farrier (Farrell) returns from war, to re-join the circus run by Max Medici (DeVito) where his kids Milly (Parker) and Joe (Hobbins) have been living and working for years, Holt has come back injured, with the only job offered to him, being cleaning up after the elephants, one of which is pregnant giving birth to an elephant with giant ears, which only causes chaos on his debut in the circus.
After Dumbo’s mother is taken away, he is left alone, while the children learn about his flying skills, which turns Max’s circus into the talk of the country, attracting V. A. Vandevere (Keaton) who wants to offer Max the world for Dumbo.
Thoughts on Dumbo
Characters – Holt Farrier is a war veteran widow that has returned to his children in a circus. He has been suffering with his time away, this has seen him not show as much affection as his wife would have, he takes the only job he can get which sees him training and cleaning up the elephants, his time back in the circus does bring him back to his kids, where he learns how important life still can be. V. A. Vandevere is the operator of Dreamland, he sales the idea of a better life for the whole troop, even if he has his own ideas to just make himself rich. Max Medici runs the small circus that discovers Dumbo’s talent, he has always been in the game for the money and can’t resist the idea of money when Vandevere arrives but must learn there is more to his life than money. Colette Marchant is the star performer in Vandevere show, she has been for years though she is just the hottest thing he has going for a while, she doe solve to perform. Dumbo is the baby elephant with giant eyes, who loses his mother, but has the incredible ability to fly, drawing crowds from miles.
Performances – Colin Farrell gives us a wonderful performance as the caring veteran who has been struggling with his own problems once returning from war. Michael Keaton enjoy the villainous role, while Danny DeVito is shows the desperation while still bringing the heart needing for the role, Eva Green shines to as the beautiful performer too.
Story – The story here shows how a small circus that finds themselves with a star attraction in Dumbo, which sees them become a success that the whole country wants to see. The story might focus on Dumbo being forced into performing after having his mother taken away, while deeper down we get to see a family that has been broken from death and war, needing to come back together. We see themes of greed with the circus masters at times, but all together the ideas behind everything all shine through to show that people who do good will get what they deserve in life.
Adventure/Fantasy – The adventure shows the how Dumbo comes into the world and put through traumas at a young age before finding his feet and learn that some people are good in life, with the fantasy of an elephant that can fly being the highlight of what makes Dumbo so special.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show the different sizes of circus that we see Dumbo being part of.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are brilliant bringing Dumbo to life like nothing we could have imagined.
Scene of the Movie – The Dumbo flight.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does spend too much time telling Milly she can’t follow her scientist dreams.
Final Thoughts – This is the best live action Disney film of 2019, it brings the scale of the idea to life, which looks wonderful and has great performances too.
Overall: Beautiful Fantasy Film.

Andy K (10823 KP) rated Charly (1968) in Movies
Aug 3, 2019
Charly is a man who wants better for himself and for his simple life. He tries to do better by constantly challenging himself, but it is no use. He is the butt of jokes at his job at a bakery and he doesn't even know it. He can't even beat a mouse at a maze game given out by his physician friends. When a wild chance arises that could resolve all of Charly's woes, he jumps at the chance.
The operation does seem to be a slow success. His intelligence grows as well as his zest for life, his noticing the little things in live and also an interest in the opposite sex. Will his happiness be temporary or permanent?
The acting and screenplay in this film are superb as well as some interesting split screen camera work. Charly's growth and development are in stark contrast from the beginning of the film through his discovery of knowledge.
I had seen this film in middle school I think after we had read the source material "Flowers for Algernon" so I was anxious to revisit.
So glad I did.

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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Alita: Battle Angel (2019) in Movies
May 26, 2020 (Updated Jun 18, 2020)
Based on a Manga series and subsequent Anime from the early nineties, Alita brings the signature Japanese comic style to life in style, as a whole heap of (mostly) decent digital effects collides with real-life.
The world of A:BA is really well realised, with the film taking place in the 26th Century, a future that sees man and cyborg live side by side. The plot takes place in The Iron City on the ground, eclipsed by the floating city of Zalem above. It's a striking aesthetic that reminded me of something from a Final Fantasy game. The main narrative follows Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz) who finds the remains of a deactivated cyborg in a trash heap. He gives the cyborg a new body and a new life, and gives her the name Alita. She has no memory of who she was before, but as she begins to explore the world, her memories slowly return. Alita (Rosa Salazar) is a stupidly likable protagonist. She's a fiery, lethal weapon who has a child like innocence. The motion capture combined with Salazar's performance work really well. In fact, the whole cast is great. Christoph Waltz, Mahershala Ali, Jennifer Connelly, Jackie Earl-Hailey - it's a stellar line up. The only cast member I couldn't get on with was Hugo (Keean Johnson) who mainly serves as Alita's love interest. I didn't particularly like his character and as a result didn't fully buy their romance side plot.
The main issue I had was the pacing. The plot is trying to pack so much into 2 hours, that it moved forward at breakneck speed at times. Some plot points become a bit lost in the whole thing, and a few of the characters seemed inconsequential as a result.
It does go a bit CGI overload at times but that's to be expected by the very nature of what A:BA is. The effects on some of the other cyborg characters are ropey as well, but honestly, these are small gripes against a film that I found myself really enjoying.
I sincerely hope a sequel gets green lit as I for one want more of this world to be explored.