Passengers

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



This film is essentially about Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt being stuck on a spaceship. With no one else around. And with no way off. That's pretty much it (up until the more action based third act). They were on a spaceship, they woke up earlier than they were supposed to and now they are trapped. However, a lot of the film is more interesting than this initial plot description would suggest.

Passengers' core concept actually provides a great opportunity for some really interesting narrative. For example, the way in which they delve into the more emotional side of the protagonist's situation is very effective, especially in the first act. These character's lives have been taken from them and that fact is never glossed over. When they do focus on the psychological impact of the film's events, it makes for some of the best sequences in the movie as a whole. This is also helped by good performances from the two leads, particularly Chris Pratt in the first half.

On a more superficial level, there are also some really nice looking special effects, so it works on a visual level throughout.

But the biggest problem is also a major one- the writing. It's just very clunky. Although there are some great opportunities within the script, there are obviously going to be some hitches in a narrative that involves putting two characters in one place with no escape and nobody else around. And these hitches happen over and over again. They have an interesting plot point, but then it peters out and they clearly have no idea where to go next. They write themselves into endless corners and then they have to randomly swerve out and into  the next part of the story. And you can clearly see the points at which said swerving occurs. All in all, the progression of the plot just feels very stilted and in addition is often a bit predictable.

Overall, Passengers has good performances and a decent concept, in spite of how it looks on paper. It does do some good things with said concept but it is ultimately let down by bad writing and the flaws of it's narrative.

Moana

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.

Disney’s latest animated film is a beautiful one, with fantastic songs, animation and brilliant characterisation. The story itself focuses on a young girl named Moana, who travels across the Ocean with the legendary demi-god Maui, to save her island from destruction.

First of all, this is a visually incredible movie- it just looks stunning. It’s one of those films where you owe it to yourself to see it on the big screen. In addition to incredible computer animation, there are also certain scenes that blend hand drawn animation and CGI in a unique and wonderful way, which is something very creative and rarely seen in animated films.

It is also really funny, with a witty script and some great characters. It gets very meta at times, in terms of it’s references to Disney tropes and this feels very refreshing.

Something else not yet mentioned is probably the movie’s greatest strength- it’s wonderful music, written by Lin Manuel Miranda, Mark Mancina and Operaia Foa’i. It is everything you could want from a Disney film- highlights include ‘How Far I’ll Go’, a great, ‘I want’ song with a rousing reprise or two, a brilliant (oddly enough David Bowie inspired) villain song, ‘Shiny’, and the infectiously catchy ‘You’re Welcome’.     

The only criticism thrown against it could be that (in terms of the plot) it is a rather by the numbers Princess film. But something about the characters and the way they interact makes the whole story believable in a way that overrides this.

This is also helped by the brilliant voice acting. Dwayne Johnston does a brilliant job playing Maui, just as you would expect. But the nicest surprise is newcomer Auli'i Cravalho, who does a fantastic job as Moana, especially considering that this is her first film role and that she is only 16.

Overall, this is a great Disney movie, and I could not recommend it more.