DOOLITTLE: Robert Downey Jr. stars in this re-imagined tale of the Doctor who could talk to animals. And the animals? A splendid array of stars do the voices of these CGI wonders. They include Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez and Marion Cotillard. Other stars giving "real life" performances are Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen and Jim Broadbent. In a nutshell, Doolittle has become a recluse following the death of his wife (All told in an animated sequence at the beginning of the film). The plot concerned Doolittle being dispatched to find a cure for the ailing, young Queen Victoria. And so begins a voyage to find a magic tree whose fruit will save her. And he his accompanied by his animal friends, a parrot, a polar bear, a gorilla, and ostrich and so on and so on. We also get some whales and even a dragon thrown in for good measure. But sadly, it feels like too much was simply "thrown in." The movie, I would guess was intended for the Christmas holidays but too many hands spoiled the broth and so it is basically a film without the heart is so desperately needs. The CGI animals are quite well done and some of it is, indeed, breathtaking but it eventually sags under it's own weight. And when an added scene is tacked on after the closing credits just to let you know what happened to the villain, well you know you're in trouble. The younger set will most likely forgive all the errors that the filmmakers indulged it, but it is still not what it should have been.
1917: The winner of two Golden Globe awards (Best Picture-Drama and Best Director-Sam Mendes), this epic look at WW1 is a brilliant piece of movie making. The story of two young British soldiers assigned a nearly impossible task of going behind enemy lines to deliver a message that could potentially save countless lives including the brother of one of them. Newcomers (to me) George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman portray the two men (Schofield and Blake). The supporting cast includes Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch in minor roles. Director Mendes has delivered a film that is edited in such a way that the whole thing seems to be in one continuous shot and it is a wonder to behold. Brutal, at times, but always honest in its portrayal of the horrors of war. There are no big battle scenes here, but rather an intimate look at soldiers doing their duty, making this a war film like no other. Touchingly poignant at times, I found myself in tears more that once. This is arguably one of the best films of this genre ever made. No surprise if it also gets an Oscar nomination.
CATS: The long-running Andrew Lloyd Weber musical has made it to the big screen. And it's not nearly as bad as some critics would have you believe. In fact, I found it rather charming and weirdly whimsical . With an all-star cast including Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, James Corden and Rebel Wilson, their individual "moments" worked much better on film that it did in the stage production. Star power has it's upside after all. The choreography by Christophe Ross is imaginative and downright thrilling at times. The book has been reworked from the stage production and all to the better, thanks to a wonderful dancer and actress, Francesca Hayward. While this may not be everyone's taste and it takes a bit of getting used to cats with human faces, by the time Dench appears as old Deuteronomy, I was hooked. (There was a bit of overkill early on with the introduction of singing mice and cockroaches, but they soon were a thing of the past.) To sum it up, if you have an open mind and believe in the wonders of film, I think you might be pleasantly surprised. I know I was.
