Mufasa: The Lion King

FamilyFaire:  Mufasa: The Lion King  (2024) PG In Mufasa: The Lion King, Mufasa is a cub who is lost and alone. He meets another cub named Taka, heir to a royal bloodline. They become fast friends, and with Taka’s help and some new friends, Mufasa might survive in this savage and beautiful world. Lately, it seems Disney has given up on new ideas and is just remaking all their classic animated films with live-action ones. So, when it was announced that Barry Jenkins, Academy Award-winning filmmaker (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk) would be directing, and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, In the Heights) would write original songs for it, I had great hope that this would break the streak of bland musical remakes. Unfortunately, it's not even close. We have a story that no one was asking for: the origins of Simba’s dad, Mufasa, and his rival, Scar.One is how Mufasa and Scar first met, became friends, and then became enemies. The original animated 1994 movie was nominated for four Oscars, three of which were nominated for Best Song (Elton John (music), Time Rice (Lyrics), with ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ winning. Nothing in this film comes even close to any of the songs from the original film. There is one song, ‘Tell Me It’s You,” when (small spoiler alert) Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) and Sarabi (Tiffany Boone) profess their love for each other that is catchy and works in the moment. The rest of the songs are instantly forgettable, and there is one song, ‘Bye Bye,’ where the villain of the film, Krios (Mads Mikkelsen) sings about killing all his enemies, that is possibly the worst song that has ever graced the Disney movie screen (and that includes all those family musicals that Disney did on the cheap back in the 60s) with our bad guy constantly singing the words Bye Bye to his soon-to-be victims. Although there are some glimpses of what Barry Jenkins wanted to achieve with this film, he is hindered by the fact that the film has two storylines. The other storyline, which brings this whole film down to almost unwatchable, is Rafiki, with the help of Timon and Pumbaa, babysitting a young lion cub by telling him the story of Mufasa. I am guessing that Disney told Jenkins, hey, can you throw in the comic relief guys every ten minutes to keep the kids interested? It will help with our toy lineup. These interruptions to the story are grating and full of horrible jokes, most of which only a 3-year-old will find funny. While the lifelike animation is an improvement over the 2019 The Lion King remake (where every animal had faces that showed no emotion), this film would have worked much better as a traditional 2-D animated film. One of the great things about the Disney animated films of the 90s was that they had some incredibly beautiful shots, something this live-animated film is sorely missing. I guess I’m old school, but having lifelike animated animals singing just seems a little weird to me. The film feels longer than the two-hour runtime, with too many songs, too much Timon/Pumbaa, and an ending that seems very anti-climactic. By the movie’s end, I just wanted to say “Bye Bye,” and I sure wasn’t singing or humming any of the songs from this overly long and dull film.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Mufasa: The Lion King Website  Now playing in theaters nationwide.

FamilyFaire:  Sonic the Hedgehog 3  (2024) PG Sonic the Hedgehog 3 begins with Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails facing their most powerful foe ever, Shadow. If they have any hope of defeating Shadow, they will need help from a very unexpected source, Dr. Robotnik. As a film critic, I see about two-thirds (sometimes more) of the films I review with an audience. Sometimes this helps (seeing a children’s movie with kids in the audience lets me know if they are engaged with the film). Sometimes, it hurts (audience members pulling out their iPhones and distracting my vision while a key scene is being played out on screen). With horror, comedies, and Marvel films, seeing a movie with an audience can help significantly with the experience, sharing in the screams, laughs, or cheers. When I saw this film, it was evident that the audience I saw it with were fans of the Sonic games. They cheered when Sonic or Shadow showed off their powers, and when new characters were revealed, the audience would erupt. So, from those reactions, I feel that if you are a fan of the games, you will enjoy this film. I am not a fan of the film series. I barely liked the first film, mostly because of Jim Carey going nuts on screen, and I hated Sonic 2, mainly because Jim Carey’s Dr. Robotnik took a backseat to Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba) in the film, taking away from the joy of the first film. Luckily, the studio figured out we wanted more Jim Carey, not less, so we get two Jim Carey roles: Dr. Robotnik (who has been watching a lot of Telenovelas) and his grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, who is also an evil bad guy but even more so. And then we have Shadow, voiced by Keanu Reeves, who is a character who is determined to get his revenge for killing a friend of his and imprisoning him for 50 years. Carey has a blast playing two evil and weird bad guys, including several dance numbers he does as both characters. Shadow is a much better villain than Knuckles was in the second film, with a backstory that helps you understand why he is so pissed off all the time. The film is fast-paced, and even better yet, there is less interaction with the weak points of all three films, the husband and wife team of Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter), mostly seen at the beginning and end of the film. Of the three films, this was the one that I enjoyed throughout, and I think you will enjoy it too. And by the way, there are two bonus scenes, one in the middle of the credits that the audience went nuts over and one at the end of all the credits.Both set up the next film in the series.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Website Now playing in theaters nationwide. 

My View: The Six Triple Eight  (2024) PG-13  The Six Triple Eight takes place in 1943 during the height of WWII, when priorities changed, and a huge backlog of undelivered mail was overflowing warehouses. The 6888th Women’s Army Corps’ all-Black battalion was tasked with sorting years’ worth of mail and raising the spirits of soldiers and their families worldwide. This film is directed and co-written by Tyler Perry, a filmmaker not known for his subtle touch. The Six Triple Eight is based on a true story about an all-Black battalion that not once but twice did what others before them failed to do: finding a way to get the mail to the soldiers fighting the war and getting their letters to their loved ones back home delivered. Perry, unfortunately, makes this film about what these soldiers endured and not about the incredible accomplishment they were able to achieve against all the odds. The film constantly hits us over the head with how badly these women were treated and how they were set up for failure. It’s a constant theme throughout this film, and the repetition gets old after a while. Add in that the dialogue in this film is horrendous, with lines that felt hollow and out of place, making the film hard to watch. Their commanding officer, Major Adams (played by Kerry Washington), is constantly surprised by the racism she encounters. Every ten minutes is another scene where Capt. Adams stands up for her troops and is shot down by a racist military man. Her reaction is always of surprise and shock. The film never achieves any of the power and emotion that this story richly deserves. Instead, we get scene after scene that has little impact on the story or the great accomplishment that this battalion did. The film’s final scenes are with some of the surviving members of the battalion, who finally got recognition for their outstanding service to our country in the last few years. I wish the feeling I got from those few moments had carried over into the rest of the film. My Rating: Cable  The Six Triple Eight Website  Now playing in select theatres and on the Netflix platform. 

Forgotten Film:  The Taylor of Panama  (2001)  R  Andy Osnard (Pierce Brosnan) is a British spy for MI6 who has a habit of sleeping with women that can get him in trouble. Andy is given one last assignment to redeem himself. Go to Panama and find out if the Panama Canal is going to be sold to a foreign government. Andy needs someone who can supply him with information. He meets Harry Pendel (Geoffrey Rush), a tailor for the rich in Panama. Andy finds out Harry has a past that could ruin his career, making a perfect patsy from which Andy can mine information from. Harry also has a beautiful wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) whom Andy can hit on. The Taylor of Panama is a film based on a novel by John Le Carre and is directed by five-time Oscar nominee John Boorman (Hope and Glory, Deliverance). It's a brilliant spy film where no one is a hero and has one of my favorite lines from a spy film: 'Welcome to Panama-Casablanca without heroes.'   My Rating: Full Price  The Taylor of Panama Info  The film is available to rent/buy on Amazon and Apple TV.

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Sonic The Hedgehog 3: Sports Therapist to Mr. Carey

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The Last Showgirl  (2024) R  Shelly (Pamela Anderson) has been part of a Las Vegas revue show for over 20 years. Shelly has given up everything to be a part of the show and is told that in two weeks, the show will close forever. Pamela Anderson hasn’t headlined a movie since her 1996 film Barb Wire. Anderson playing the aging showgirl that has gotten a lot of attention recently from film critics and the Golden Globes, and could possibly garner an Oscar nomination for the role. The film contains an outstanding supporting cast, including Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, Dave Bautista, Billie Lourd, Jason Schwartzman, and Jamie Lee Curtis.   The Last Showgirl Website  The film is in theaters on Friday, January 10, 2025. 

Until Next Time!