Ricki and The Flash

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not for profit. All images and footage used are property of their respective companies unless stated otherwise. I do not claim ownership of this material.

This film is worth watching for one reason and one reason alone- it is a testament to Meryl Streep’s abilities as an actress. Her performance brings up a clichéd and to be honest quite predictable film, meaning it is actually rather enjoyable, in spite of its many, many issues.

The primary reason is the way in which she evokes sympathy within a decidedly unsympathetic role. The film itself focusses on a musician who essentially abandoned her family to pursue her dreams of music stardom and now wants to make amends following her (now adult) daughter’s breakdown. 

Said abandonment for her own selfish ambitions initially makes it very hard to be on her side. However, you can really see through Streep’s performance that she deeply regrets her actions and desperately wants to reconnect with her family. Therefore, the character is actually redeemed throughout the film.

However, Streep’s performance does not change the fact that the film is very clichéd, as mentioned earlier. This is essentially the basic premise of 70% of Indie movies, with someone returning to somewhere to try and reconnect with some people who they were once close to. It doesn’t matter how well done this particular re-hashing is, the audience knows exactly how this story is going to go, they can predict every move the story will make.

In spite of this, this type of story has been done to death for a reason. It does make for a sweet film. Even if you do know exactly what is going to happen, it is still vaguely enjoyable due to a combination of this and Meryl Streep’s performance as the main character.   

The Jungle Book (2016)

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not for profit. All images and footage used are property of their respective companies unless stated otherwise. I do not claim ownership of this material.

Whilst it is a classic with some brilliant music, I’ve always felt that Disney’s 1967 animated film was not one of their best. It was always just a fun bit of fluff, but not anything particularly outstanding. 

This new adaptation adds more meat to the bones of the film on which it is based, whilst still allowing for just enough nostalgia to seep through, adding more substance than Disney’s first adaptation, whilst keeping its best aspects. Twists are added and they are also effective, although the film does become a bit heavy handed in its desperation to set up certain story elements.

The most striking thing about this film are its visual effects. The animals look fantastic, but the film’s greatest triumph is the incredibly immersive Jungle, which looks unbelievable. This is also shown through some stunning cinematography, as they take every opportunity to show off the marvellous world they have created. This is one of those movies that has to be seen on the big screen, it can’t possibly have the same effect on DVD.    

The voice actors are also remarkably well cast. Bill Murray and Ben Kingsley fit the roles of Baloo and Bagheera perfectly, whilst Idris Elba is appropriately threatening as Shere Khan and Lupita Nyong'o is wonderful as Mowgli’s adoptive wolf-mother, Raksha. Christopher Walken is also surprisingly well cast in the role of King Louis. One of the only issues is Scarlett Johansen’s slightly stiff performance as Kaa, although her scene does not last long.  The actor playing Mowgli also does a good job considering that this is his first role and that he (literally) had nothing to work with.   

Overall, ‘The Jungle Book’ effectively adds a fresh perspective to a classic, whilst being a stunning film in it’s own right.