Category Archives: Disney Movies

Teeny Tiny Ant-Man Review

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Ant-Man-Ticket-StubsDon’t worry – This review is spoiler-free!

After my initial reluctance to embrace some of the Marvel movie premises/characters (Guardians, for example), I’ve seen the error of my ways!  I now look forward to, and embrace, any and all installments in Disney’s Marvel Universe.  Sure, I love some movies more than others, but I did at least like them all and found each of them entertaining in their own way.  Ant-Man was SO far removed from anything that sounded interesting to me, the “Marvel” was what had me running for the theater.

Teeny Tiny Ant-Man Review (see what I did there?)

What a great movie!  Wonderfully entertaining with so many Easter eggs, I was on the edge of my seat trying my best not to miss a single one.  I adored seeing Michael Douglas (Dr. Hank Pym) in a great role being his very best (still sexy) self.  Paul Rudd (as Scott Lang/Ant-Man) was completely endearing.  If you’ve ever faced a situation in life that terrified you but at the same time you knew that if you didn’t overcome those fears and do what must be done, you’d never be able to look yourself in the eye, you’ll love this movie.  I was especially charmed by Paul’s facial expressions throughout the film, which often said so much more than the dialogue.Ant-Man Sign

The casting in this movie was especially well done.  GREAT villain (Corey Stall as Darren Cross/Yellowjacket), wonderfully strong main female characters (specifically Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne and Abby Rider Fortson as Cassie Lang), a supporting cast that was key to the film’s success (goofballs Michael Peña, David Dastmalchian, and T.I.).  Yes, it was definitely, unmistakably a Disney Marvel film, but the unique features, the pacing, the insects and special effects made this show a standout on its own.Ant-Man-Pic

I was prepared to have some negative commentary on how the Fire Ants (a.k.a. Red Ants, here in Louisiana) were depicted, but they were portrayed very accurately, based on my unfortunate familiarity with them.

See this movie!  Ant-Man is such a fantastically relatable human being, this Superhero film will hit you close to home.

Have you already seen Ant-Man?  What did you think about it?

 

Top Five Disney Animated Movie Soundtracks

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I’m very happy to say that my good Disney friend Andrew Carrieri is back with a great post on one of my favorite ways to add a little Disney to my day – Disney music!  (Andrew can usually be found as a contributing writer at The Mouse For Less and on Twitter @AndrewCfran)

Top Five Disney Animated Movie Soundtracks

Andrew Carrieri

Disney animation is legendary. Through 2014, the company has released fifty-four full length animated movies, which feature classic characters, unforgettable moments, and amazing music. The latter element is the subject of this post. Below, I will list my top five soundtracks among these animated flicks and provide reasons for my choices. You may very well disagree with my selections. If such is the case, don’t just “let it go”! Sound off with your opinions in the comments! After all, there’s plenty of music to go around.

Fifth-best Soundtrack: Oliver and Company (1988). Huey Lewis’s “Once Upon a Time in New York City” and Billy Joel’s “Why Should I Worry?” are two of my favorite Disney songs, in part because of my New York bias. As a Long Islander, I’ll gravitate towards anything that features Joel, one of our top celebrities.

Fourth-best Soundtrack: Hercules (1997). From a depth standpoint, I think Hercules has the most underrated soundtrack in Disney history. With upbeat Gospel music (“The Gospel Truth”), songs of despair (“I Won’t Say I’m in Love”), and one of the most epic numbers in animation history (“Go the Distance”), Hercules’ soundtrack brings it all. Hercules

As a general note, I typically prefer the popular version of Disney songs to the in-film rendition where applicable. Here, I find Michael Bolton’s rendition of “Go the Distance” during the end credits superior to Robert Bart’s performance in the movie proper.

Third-best Soundtrack: Pinocchio (1940). Disney’s second animated feature may not have as many great songs as some of its counterparts, but it gets bonus points for “When You Wish Upon a Star,” which is undoubtedly my favorite song from any Disney movie. I am known to tear up whenever I hear it played, usually at the start of Disney movies with the “Walt Disney Pictures” logo.Pinocchio

Second-best Soundtrack: Aladdin (1992). “A Whole New World” is one of my favorite Disney songs, and the film’s other numbers are anything but shabby. Whereas some movies feature songs that are solid in the moment but otherwise forgettable, Aladdin has a plethora of memorable numbers. “Arabian Nights,” “Friend Like Me,” and “Prince Ali” are extremely enjoyable tunes in their own right.Aladdin

Best Soundtrack: The Lion King (1994). What is the best song in The Lion King? Now, that is an easy question! It is “Circle of Life.” On second thought, it is “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”! Or, maybe it is “Hakuna Matata”? Umm, maybe this question is not so easy after all.The-Lion-King

Suffice to say, in my opinion, The Lion King features the greatest and most complete soundtrack in Disney history. All the songs are catchy, and they bring different vibes to the table. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and “The Circle of Life” are beautiful and sentimental, “Hakuna Matata” and “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” are whimsical, and “Be Prepared” is foreboding.

As an aside, while I usually prefer the popular versions of Disney movie songs to the in-film versions, I find the in-film rendition of “The Circle of Life” superior to the Elton John version, which is still excellent. The song provides an exhilarating commencement to the film.

Well, that’s my list! Feel free to share your favorite Disney soundtracks in the comments!

Spoiler-Free Avengers Age of Ultron Review

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RM-Avengers-Age-of-Ultron-Ticket-StubI am pretty much the geekiest Marvel-loving-50-year-old-female person I know.  I’ve enjoyed every Marvel movie that’s been produced.  I’ve liked them all on different levels, though.  I did not like all the Iron Man movies the same.  Thor? The second was better than the first to me.  Captain America? – Loved ’em both equally.  I thought the first Avengers movie was about as good as it gets, super-hero-entertainment-wise.  I also loved Guardians of the Galaxy for many of the same reasons.  In fact, I’ve probably watched Guardians more times than all the other Marvel movies combined.  “We ARE Groot!”  The original Avengers movie and Guardians had much in common:  unique, likable characters who learn to work as a team, a great storyline, well placed humor, and excellent villains.

So…Avengers Age of Ultron.  I had high expectations.  Which was probably the problemRM-Avengers-Age-of-Ultron-Poster to begin with.  I wanted my expectations fulfilled:  all the laughs, the fighting, the egotistical world-domination-obsessed villain, the good versus evil excitement…and it was there.  Sort of.  No spoilers, but there were a bunch of holes in the action scenes that begged for a little comic relief (HA! See what I did there?) – or at least some humorous one-liners or funny situations that never materialized.  Some of the action felt forced, as did some of the character interactions – like everyone was going through the motions without any real passion.  Twice during the film I checked my watch, which never happened during the original Avengers.  The elements of a great film were there, but…

I missed Loki.  Not just because he’s easy on the eyes.  I missed him because he brought the fun, the mischief, the charming bad-boy spark.  Yes, Age of Ultron had a good – actually, GREAT villain, but still there were holes.  I can’t tell you precisely how those gaps could have been filled with a good, bad-boy character, but I do know that unexpected laughs and endearing bits of charm were in short supply during Age of Ultron.  There were some gems, but not as many as I wanted there to be.

Summary:  Decent, but slightly convoluted plot, diabolically evil bad guy, strong heroes with lovable human weaknesses and vulnerabilities, excellent new characters.  Lacking:  The sparkle, the humor, the rapier-edged, perfectly placed wit that would have saved much of this film.  There was too much reliance on fancy special effects instead of a strong script.  I wanted more than humdrum, but that’s all there was.  I liked the movie, but left the theater feeling less than wowed.

 

Cinderella Tea Set & Movie Comments

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RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-BoxBack in February, long before the live action Cinderella movie opened, Raymond and I were very typically spending an evening at home watching TV and working on our respective computers; sharing companionable silence with an occasional comment on this or that.  I noticed something in my Facebook news feed that caught my eye and I turned my screen around to show Raymond the beautiful blue and white Cinderella Tea Set for sale through the Disney Store online.

Raymond, in his usual way, managed to convey volumes in as few words as possible.  His comment, as he studied the picture through his reading glasses was, “You need one.”  Haha, I thought.  Very funny.  I did then notice that the production number was 3000 and mentioned that it was a limited edition set and that it came with a steep price tag.  This time he looked at me over those reading glasses, one eyebrow raised, and said, “Get it.”

We have a few tea pots, but I wouldn’t really call them a collection.  Teapot 1I have two that are Disney, like this Dalmatian, and three others that were given to me as gifts and are all very beautiful.  I enjoy hot tea very much, but I certainly didn’t need this pricy Cinderella tea set.  I couldn’t stop thinking about it though.  It’s hard to hold out against temptation when I have Raymond’s encouragement to cave!

The box arrived a day before we left for Walt Disney World, so I didn’t have time to do anything but check to make sure the pieces were unbroken.  When we got home, I took the time to appreciate the beauty of both the box and its fragile contents more completely.RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-Certificate-of-Authenticity2 RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-Certificate-of-Authenticity1  RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-BoxedI have to say, Raymond was right – this was a great purchase.  The certificate of authenticity is written in French on one side and English on the other.  The shape of the teapot is elegant, the cups and saucers dainty and beautiful.  Sadly, there are no cream and sugar servers in this set, but the gold design on a blue and white background is gorgeous and depicts many of the Cinderella movie’s best moments.RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-Teapot RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-Saucer RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-Detail RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-Cup

Speaking of the movie.  We didn’t see it on opening weekend due to prior commitments.  During the movie’s first week post-release, I read many ridiculous (to me) blog articles about this unexpectedly controversial film – one mother wrote an entire post on why she wouldn’t be taking her child to see Cinderella, basically because there are moments dealing with death and loss, moments dealing with unkind behavior, moments dealing with falling in love, moments dealing with people consuming (presumably) alcoholic beverages, playing card games, and so on and so forth.  When we finally got to see Cinderella this past Saturday morning, I had no idea what to expect!  All that drama over a fairytale?  Maybe Disney ruined the story!

Here’s my two cents:  This isn’t a movie for small children, but not because it deals with actual things that happen to people in real life or make-believe, magical things that don’t.  Small children may find the movie boring and the subtle parts of the film that I found touchingly beautiful might be outside a pre-school-aged child’s ability to understand.  One little one sitting near us in the theater (which was heavily packed with princesses under the age of 6), loudly exclaimed, “I hate this movie!” about halfway through.

Cinderella is visually stunning and true to the story I grew up with.  It also offers a modern touch that, while keeping the story timeless, allows us to see the characters in a deeper, more genuine way than the run-of-the-mill fairy tale usually offers.  The main lesson in the movie?  Be true to your convictions and your heart.  Love, kindness, and courage will help you prevail in the most difficult times, even when it’s impossible to understand what motivates others to be hurtful.  As far as a story’s moral goes, what could be wrong with that?RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set