“Dolittle” Movie Review

    I haven’t had the opportunity to view many new movies lately while my state has been on lockdown.  Theaters remain closed and even deliveries take quite some time to arrive due to increased orders of essential items from websites such as Amazon.  I finally got a chance to check out the latest remake of “Dolittle” and I was very excited to see something new.

    The film opens up with an animated sequence which sets up the rest of the film showing Doctor John Dolittle and his wife Lily before she passes away while at sea.  Following Lily’s death, Doctor Dolittle has become a recluse and only communicates with the animals he lives with.  Dr. Dolittle is forced to set off on an adventure to save the life of the Queen, much to his dismay.  While on the adventure, Dolittle ends up taking on an apprentice named Tommy, a young boy with a love for all animals as well.

    I went into this film a bit blind as far as the overall tone of the movie.  I enjoyed the Eddie Murphy films but I had never read the source material and I have never seen the original musical adaptation so I was curious how this film would be.  I was pleasantly surprised by how family friendly the movie ended up being.  I figured it wouldn’t be too adult in nature, but you never know these days.

    Much like the original books written by Hugh Lofting, this film is set in Victorian England unlike the contemporary setting of the Eddie Murphy adaptation.  This time frame helped set it apart from the most recent adaptations while also providing a fresh visual palette that the modern setting couldn’t take advantage of.  All of the colorful sets and costumes featured really help you feel engrossed in the setting.

    Now, there are some faults I found in the film which I will now dive into now.  The most distracting aspect of the film for me is how the film uses voices overs to cover exposition and actions not shown on screen, it doesn’t happen often, but it can be a little jarring (it was to me at least).  It almost felt like the filmmakers forgot to film some scenes and just figured a quick ADR session would be a better (and cheaper) solution to reshoots (which to be fair, it is).  Also, there are some beautifully shot scenes in the film and the cinematography is often very good overall, but there are parts with extreme zooms that I found a out of place with the rest of the film.

    The animals and the overall computer animation is very good.  The voice cast including the likes of John Cena and Tom Holland also did a stellar job making the animals feel real.  So many different personalities are displayed with the animals and they often feel the most realistic elements of each scene.

    As far as the human cast of characters goes, they are led by the great Robert Downey Jr. and he seems to be having a blast.  Now this admittedly seems like an odd role for Downey to take post Iron Man, but I think he just wanted to make a different type of movie.  I really enjoyed Robert Downey Jr. in the movie and it was a delight to see him go over the top in the role.  Downey Jr. sets himself apart from Eddie Murphy and Rex Harrison with this adaptation and showcases why he gets paid the big bucks.  I should also point out that despite little screen time, Antonio Banderas absolutely steals his scenes and he managed to make me wonder why he was never cast in a “Pirates of the Caribbean” film.

    In a world consumed by the Coronavirus epidemic, it’s refreshing to see a film like this and know that the author who wrote this came up with the characters during another dark time in the world, World War I.  Even during dark times, light always shines through.  While “Dolittle” isn’t a perfect film, it was still cute and better than I expected with some wonderful performances.

Grade: B

“Onward” Movie Review

    Traditionally, a joint effort from Disney and Pixar means big bucks for ‘the house of mouse’ at the box office.  2020 has been anything but traditional for Hollywood unfortunately and due to the deadly outbreak of the Coronavirus, the latest Disney and Pixar film “Onward” ended up doing rather poorly at the box office before the theaters ultimately closed down.  “Onward” seemed like a film doomed to fail due to circumstances beyond it’s control but it is fortunately found life again on Disney+.

    The film tells the story of two brothers, Ian and Barley, who are very different from each other.  The brothers live in a world that was once filled with magic and mythical creatures but that world, like our own, has been lost due to modern innovation.  The only thing seemingly connecting the brothers is the fact that they both miss their father deeply.  Upon Ian’s sixteenth birthday, the brothers are presented a magical staff that their father wanted them to have when they were old enough.  In addition to the staff, their father also left them a powerful gem and a spell to bring him back for twenty-four hours.  After Barley fails to be able to summon their father back, Ian is able to successfully make the spell work.  Unfortunately for both of them, the gem powerful enough to bring their father back explodes halfway into the process and they only bring his bottom half back.  After that, the group set off on an adventure to find another gem to finish the process before their twenty-four hour goes away forever.

    It’s really a shame this film fell victim to the forced shutdown of theaters due to the Coronavirus.  “Onward” just happened to be one of the last major studio films released before the theater chains were forced to shut down and studios scrambled to find new release dates for future releases.  Fortunately, Disney was wise enough to offer the film for digital rental shortly after the pandemic and put the film on their Disney+ streaming service roughly a month after it was released in theaters.  This has turned out to be a rather smart move for the company because their streaming service keeps getting more and more subscribers and “Onward” has been trending on social media since it’s digital release.

    “Onward” is the kind of film that I feel really would have had legs at the box office.  It’s unique and has the perfect amount of sentimentality to really get people spreading good word of mouth.  It is also a film that is relatable to many people on very personal levels.  Anyone who has had a sibling who turned out to be more of a parental figure to them or anyone who has lost a parent are going to have a hard time fighting back tears at certain parts of this film.  As someone who has lost both their parents, I would do anything to see them once more.

    A large part of the charm of this film comes from the vocal talent of the two main stars, Tom Holland and Chris Pratt.  Both actors are veterans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and automatically have a natural chemistry with each other.  Holland and Pratt are able to give very funny performances but also pull on the heart strings when an emotional scene comes up.

    I love the feel of this film and the nods to other fantasy movies as well.   “Onward” is basically what the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth would look like now with modern technology and it was incredibly entertaining!  Can you imagine if games like ‘Magic the Gathering’ or ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ were based on historical events?  Imagination like that is what gives Pixar movies their charm.

    I was very impressed by “Onward” and it was nice to see a new movie with some passion put into it from home.  During these troubled times, a sweet fantasy movie is just what we need.

Grade: B+

“Freaked” Movie Review

    How do I even begin a review for a film like “Freaked”?  I can tell you a stumbled upon it as a child and watched it mostly due to the fact Alex Winter was in it (I was a huge “Bill & Ted” fan).  I was fascinated by the movie and felt a bit special because no other kid I knew had seen this hidden gem.  I felt a bit special, like I was the only person allowed to see this movie (I was a kid after all).

    The film follows former child star Ricky Coogin as he accepts a deal to endorse a chemical called Zygrot 24 which acts as a toxic fertilizer in South America.  Ricky and his friend Ernie travel down to South America to promote Zygrot 24 where they cross paths with environmentalist Julie and trick her into accompanying them to a freak show run by Elijah Skuggs.  Skuggs ends up capturing the three and uses the chemical Zygrot 24 to transfer the trio into freaks to be used in his freak show.

    It’s impossible to review this film without noting how bizarre the humor is on top of a ridiculously insane and over the top premise.  This is the kind of film that could never be made now within the studio system.  Perhaps this is what sets the film apart the most.  The humor certainly isn’t highbrow and often relies on it’s gross out factor, but it also has a charm behind it because you can sense the passion that went into it.  It reminds me a bit of a Troma film with a larger budget and more experienced cast.

    Alex Winter, who stars and co-directed the film, provides a great performance which is quite different than his role in the “Bill & Ted” franchise.  This was Winter’s last non-cameo role until 2013.  I am a big fan of Alex Winter and if you ever have the pleasure of meeting him (he does conventions from time to time), he is one of the nicest and most appreciative stars you will have the pleasure to see.  I remember meeting him along with my mom shortly before she passed away and he was so wonderful to her and myself.  It was refreshing to see a celebrity who enjoyed meeting his fans and didn’t seem jaded by appearing at a comic convention.

    The rest of the cast was also entertaining in their supporting roles.  Randy Quaid was delightfully chewing up every scene he was in.  Megan Ward was also great in this film and I really wish her career took off more.  I remember loving Mr. T’s role as the bearded lady a lot and I am still surprised he took the role.  The film also featured a little “Bill & Ted” reunion with co-stars Keanu Reeves and William Sadler also appearing in the movie (although Reeves is almost unrecognizable).  The only cast member I didn’t love was pretty much Michael Stoyanov of “Blossom” fame.  I found his  performance to be too annoying.

    The film wasn’t released theatrically (except in a handful of theaters) because the Fox executive who saw it thought the film was too weird to be successful.  The film also did receive poor test screening performances and mixed to poor reviews upon it’s release but has since become something of a cult classic.  It’s easy to see why some people hate this movie while others adore this film.  I feel like most dark comedies become rather divisive but with this film’s unique humor as well as it’s makeup and animation effects, this film is a cut above most other dark comedies.

    Ultimately I believe this film was actually a bit ahead of it’s time and I think a lot of the humor was lost on people at the time.  It was self aware and cheesy.  It’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea and if you don’t enjoy self aware potty humor, this isn’t the movie for you.  If that sort of thing sounds interesting to you, I strongly advise you seek out the film “Freaked” and thank me later.

Grade: B