‘Soul’ Is A Thoughtful Piece Of Art About What It Means To Be Alive

Release date: December 25, 2020 (Disney+)

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Daveed Diggs, Angela Basset, et al

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I picked up a new movie habit this year, where I go into a movie semi-blind. No full knowledge of its synopsis, no viewing of its trailers, or some of the other promotional materials that form a preconceived notion of what to expect when I eventually see the movie. Funny thing with Soul is that, I actually didn’t plan to do so with it from the start, but once I figure that was what was happening I just went along with it. And boy, am I glad I did!

Joe is a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn’t quite gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz — and he’s good. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul.

Official poster

‘Soul’ is a thoughtful piece of art. Director Pete Docter, known for hits like ‘Up’ and ‘Inside Out’ movies that stimulate important conversations around what it means to truly be alive, follows up his awesome streak of incredible movies with this even more incredible entry. Soul definitely is my favourite animated movie of 2020, and with time, may rank high up the list of Disney Pixar’s greatest movies of all time. It’s a wonderful movie with a message that may appeal better to adults than kids, but both ages are sure of a good time watching it. If you’re a big fan of animated movies, you’ll definitely enjoy it.

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Directed by:

Rinzy’s Rating: 4/5

Is ‘Mulan’ Just Another Disney Live-Action Remake?

Disney’s live-action depiction of ‘Mulan’ makes some major changes that definitely won’t sit well with everyone. It’s bold, gorgeous, visually-stunning and raging with the need to be something different from its predecessor.

Does it excel at this?

That’s largely dependent on who’s answering.

Many people (in the abroad) have a problem with the movie’s leads and how they “support police brutality” and as such, don’t seem to care about its story and what it’s supposed to stand for. Some others still hold grudges with the producers for not including some of the iconic characters that made the animated movie memorable (Li Shang, Mushu, etc.). But I believe if you watch ‘Mulan’ with an open mind, you may come to terms with the fact that it’s its own entity with a story altered to fit the reality of the year 2020.

Mulan has never been a helpless character, her story is about her courage and sacrifice in the face of huge adversity, yet the Mulan we see this time is even fiercer, and more of her own woman without needing a man, or dragon, for validation. Although this is cool, my major problem with the movie lies with its hastened pacing after the first battle between the fifth Batallion and Bori Khan’s forces. A little bit of calming down would’ve helped the movie.

Mulan (2020) may not be as memorable as its original (I’m yet to see a Dismey live-action movie that is), but it’s a decent, interesting watch.

If you’ve seen Mulan (2020), describe how you feel about it in as few words as possible.

PS: Did you catch that (SPOILER) cameo scene in the palace? I thiught it was nice.

Rinzy Reviews ‘Frozen 2’ (2019)

Release Date: November 22

Starring: Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Evan Rachel Wood, Josh Gad, et al.

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After six years, we finally return to the enchanted land of Arendelle, where Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, Sven and Elsa are off to their next adventure. This time, it’s the sins from their parents’ past they try to outrun.

In a move to further expand its own mythology, this sequel sometimes bore resemblance to that of Avatar: The Last Airbender (remember the elements?)

Elsa starts hearing a mysterious siren out of the blues, so she and the her band of merry adventurers go into the unknown forest to uncover unpleasant truths about her family and Arendelle. Their adventure, once again, reinforces themes about sisterhood, love, teamwork and acceptance.

Frozen 2 is a considerably weaker sequel. For starters, none of its songs come close to the high-bar set by the monster-hit that was ‘Let It Go’. Also, there’s the noticeable absence of a worthy villain; what we get are giant rocks without any personality or backstory and another with a semblance of a backstory, but is already dead.

Although it took this long for Disney to commission a sequel, it’s hard to not think of this movie as a cash grab.

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Rinzy’s Rating: 3/5

Netflix For The Weekend – December 7

It’s a very busy weekend on Netflix. So much content to be binged with so little time to do so.

Here are five movies/shows that come highly recommend from me to you:

1 VWars s01 (Dec. 5)
If like me you’ve missed seeing Ian somerhalder’s adorable face plastered all over your screen, then you’d have been counting the days leading to Its arrival. I’m currently 3 episodes into its 10 episode count. It’s not the best in terms of writing and pacing, but its story really looks like it’s he’s towards a big payoff and, for now, that’s okay by me.

2 Fuller House s05 (Dec. 6)
The is the fifth and final season of this spin-off show. Luckily for it, it’s been split into two halves, allowing it more creative room to breathe and end with a BANG!

3 Marriage Story (Dec. 6)
If you’ve ever nursed the idea of what it’d be like if the Disney multiverse had a crossover, here’s a sprinkle of what that’ll look like. Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver) would be married to Black Widow (played by Scarlet Johansson)… Let the drama begin!

4 A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby (Dec. 5)
Just in case you’d forgotten, Netflix is reminding you it’s Christmas season.

5 The Irishman Nov. 27)
Martin Scorsese’s magic brings us Al Pacino, Robert Deniro, and Joe Pesci under one roof. We’re eternally grateful, especially for the lengthy runtime, which means more

Happy binging this weekend.

The Mandalorian: Disney Plus’ Big Show Is Here

Disney +’s The Mandalorian is here and believe me, it’s off to a really crazy start.

SPOILER ALERT!

In typical Star Wars fashion, we get to see a lot of creatures in this episode. A large mammoth living under iced water; the return of the blurrgs; a commendable killer robot/ bounty hunter. You name it. But what stood out for me most throughout this episode is that our titular character -and his kind- is said to never take their masks off. Way to go to make a big deal out of something so small because now I can’t stop thinking about what face is underneath that helmet.

For a show, the world-building is impressive, but I guess that shouldn’t be much of a big deal since it’s funded by Disney. The occasional nod and tidbit reference to the larger Star Wars universe was cool, too. The biggest part of the episode is arguably the revelation at the final part of the episode and that’worrisome. If you want to know what/who that was, you should check it out.

I believe Disney has a lot more in store for us than having its lead prance about the galaxy in search of his next big pay or hoping a stronger purpose comes along to make him feel less bored. We just have to wait and watch the story unfold. Now that a 50-year-old green baby has come into play, things are looking interesting already.

BONUS: The episode’s roughly 39 minutes long. The titular character is played by Pedro Paschal (Game of Thrones, Narcos, Kingsman: The Golden Circle). And the Droid is voiced by Takai Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok)

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Rinzy’s Rating: 3/5

The Lion King: Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Scar Is Just As Menacing As Jeremy Iron’s

Disney in all its glory and wisdom saw fit to give The Lion King, one of its most beloved animated classics the live-action treatment. And in its magnanimity, the mouse house retained most elements of the original, which I thought and still believe was the right move. Let’s be honest, The Lion King isn’t like Aladdin, you can’t just usurp the emotional impact of Mufasa’s death for cheap thrills or retcon Timon and Pumbaa meeting and raising Simba for the sake of having a twist, and not expect the whole world to riot. Not all intellectual properties are created equal, we made our peace with that a long time ago.

Save for James Earl Jones, the cast of The Lion King is entirely new. It’s no shocker why director Jon Favreau decided to bring back JEJ: his voice is surreal, mysterious, yet soothing, and definitely one of the best in the industry. The decision to bring him back was welcomed by millions of fans all around the world and definitely aided in convincing some indifferent fans to go see the movie, which currently has $1.629B attached to its name at the box office.

The only casting decision to rival Mufasa’s was the announcement of 12 Years A Slave Star, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mufasa’s conniving younger brother Scar. The British-born actor of Nigerian descent had really big shoes to fill. Jeremy Iron had done such a good job with Scar in the animated movie a lot of diehard aficionados would’ve preferred Disney to give him the same treatment as James Early Jones, but if ever there was a shroud of doubt in them going into the movie, Ejiofor definitely slashed it the moment he made his first appearance, at least by half.

The scene with Mufasa in the cave is frightening, exciting, and riddled with nostalgia. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s ability to capture and relate the essence of Scar’s being, fragile relationship and resentment of his big brother within few minutes of screen time is highly commendable. I found myself yelling “yeah, that’s my Scar!”

There have been complaints of Ejiofor’s voice not being menacing enough as Scar, but I think it’s just perfect. He puts his own spin to the character, coupled with the character’s distinct, more-realistic look, he owned the role, and that’s a win for me!

Sorry, Jeremy Irons, but Chiwetel Ejiofor’s my Scar now 😌.

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Rinzy’s Rating of The Lion King (2019): 3.5/5

Directed By: Jon Favreau

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Top Ten Disney Live-Action Characters

Once upon a time, animated characters from Disney were a thing to love and treasure, but these days the bulk of the attention is on giving these classic characters the live-action treatment. And at the rate the mouse house’s going with these adaptations, it’s only a matter of time before their library gets exhausted, but that’s a story for another day.

In honor of my still-in-session binge-watching of Once Upon A Time for a third time now, I’ve compiled a list of the ten times Disney’s impressed me while trying to bring some of these classics to life. Some of these picks are from standalone titular movies, while the rest are from the hit ABC Network show.

In no particular order, here are my pics:

1) Beauty And The Beast (2017)

2) Elsa from Frozen (OUAT s04)

3) Cinderella (2015)

4) Shere Khan from Jungle Book (2016)

5) Winnie The Pooh from Christopher Robin (2018)

6) Mowgli from Jungle Book (2016)

7) The Evil Queen (OUAT)

8 Maleficent (2014)

9) Brave (OUAT s05)

10) Prince Charming (OUAT)

Did your favorite make the list? Tell me what you think of my list in the comments. ❤️

Rinzy Reviews ‘Aladdin’ (2019)

Release Date: May 24

Starring: Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Will Smith, et al.

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Aladdin is the latest entry in Disney’s recent obsession with remaking its animated classics. The big question that follow these remakes is if they live up to the high standard set by their originals.

The 1992 animated movie is one of my favorites from the mouse house, and although most part of this remake stays same, there was something about seeing these characters come to life I found novel and very appealing. So, yes, I think it does live up to its original.

Mena Massoud’s Aladdin is still the same urchin with the heart of gold we know and love, and I thought his portrayal of the character was pretty good. Naomi Scott’s Jasmine’s fashion style and curves might be far from the original’s, but she, too, shines in the role. Both actors have palpable chemistry, and the movie wastes no time throwing them together since viewers already know they’re endgame. It’d be pointless to change that because the core message of the movie is at the heart of their love – appearances can be deceiving; the content is always more meaningful than the container.

But even with these two powerful leads, the movie doesn’t really get off the ground until Will Smith’s genie enter the mix. I thought the first 10 minutes we’re cringe-worthy. For an actor whose casting as the fan-favorite character was greeted with much scrutiny, Will Smith turned out to be the best thing about this movie, eventually filling Robin William’s large boot many once thought impossible. Smith’s genie is still hilarious AF, but more human than his predecessor’s. He even gets a love interest; they bear two children, and live happily ever after, in fairytale style. Beautiful twist if you ask me.

This Aladdin is fun, lively, colorful, and lives up to its predecessor in ways many feared it wouldn’t. I love the spin Guy Ritchie puts on the story, especially in the third act with the events leading to Jafar’s downfall. It might not be a whole new world, but it’s a fairly used one, and we’re good with it.

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Directed by: Guy Ritchie

Rinzy’s Rating: 3.5/5

Rinzy Reviews ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)

Release Date: April 26

Starring: Robert Down Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johannson, Paul Rudd, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffallo, Josh Brolin, et al.

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Last year, when I first saw Avengers: Infinity War at the cinema, I was in awe at how one movie could be so awesome. How so many characters could be fitted into a run-time of about 150 minutes, and, yet, justice was done to most of the characters. Now, take almost everything I felt about Infinity War and magnify it by three or more… that’s how Avengers: Endgame made me feel, especially in its final act.

Endgame movie leaps five years in time since Infinity War, and Earth’s mightiest heroes have taken the time to handle their grieves in various ways, some better than others (hello, Hawkeye, can you read me?)

In a way, it’s understandable considering all they lost at the hands of the Mad Titan, but the movie fails to address the fallout from their various actions during that time, and instead proceed to erase and ignore that timeline in its entirety with the introduction of time travel. Thanks to the quantum realm and Tony’s groundbreaking technology, The Avengers can now go back in time to various key events that shaped the MCU into the juggernaut it now is.

I liked seeing new parts of scenes previously closed out to viewers, like Alexander Pierce’s appearance after the Battle of New York, which gave an insight into how Loki’s Sceptre got into the hands of Hydra kicking off the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and so many more tidbits.

By the final act of Avengers: Endgame, Thanos proved once again why he’s the perfect big bad for the MCU. “I am inevitable,” he says, and I almost concurred, that is until that snap didn’t work. Thanks to Tony’s sacrifice, Earth’s mightiest heroes (what’s left of them) can live to fight another day, and for that were grateful.
Thank you Marvel for 11 years of awesomeness. This was a terrific swansong ; I love you 3,000 ♥️.

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Rinzy’s Rating: 4/5

Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo