He’s a Repost-It Note. He’s the…
Vidiot
Week of March 21, 2014
Be the inspirational quote Gandhi would post. First up…
Frozen
Finally, Disney addresses the issues of their aging audience with this feature about poor blood circulation.
Oops, apparently this animated movie is about an ice princess, not about icy toes.
In response to an incident involving her ability to make snow that occurred when they were young, Princess Anna (Kristen Bell) shuts herself off from her sister Elsa (Idina Menzel).
It’s not until Elsa’s coronation does Anna reappear.
Unfortunately, her frosty condition unleashes eternal winter on the kingdom. Forcing her into exile.
Now it’s up to Elsa, her guide Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and a snowman (Josh Gad) to find Anna and convince her to lift her blustery curse.
With more than one earworm on its soundtrack and a cast with both singing and slapstick chops, Frozen is Disney’s best of the 21st Century.
Mind you, with the power to make snow, you’ll always have a job at any ski resort. Green Light
Saving Mr. Banks
If it weren’t for Herr Disney during WWII, Anaheim and Orlando would have become Allied strongholds.
However, this drama isn’t about Walt’s ideology, it’s about his adaptation of Mary Poppins.
After decades of being wooed by Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) to sell him the film rights to her book, a penniless P. L. Travers (Emma Thompson) agrees to fly to L.A. to help with the script.
Unfortunately, for the film’s writer (Bradley Whitford) and lyricists (Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak), she is an obstinate collaborator who detests animation and musicals.
Meanwhile, flashbacks of P.L.’s youth detail her relationship with her alcoholic father (Colin Farrell).
Although well acted, Mr. Banks downplays the tension between Walt and the author in order to get the desired happy ending that has become the company’s stock-in-trade.
Incidentally, I’m more curious in how Disney convinced someone to walk-around in the California heat in a mouse costume. Yellow Light
American Hustle
The hardest part of scamming before the Internet was you had to find someone to play the son of a deposed Nigerian King.
Fortunately, the con artists in this 1970s crime-drama only have to find someone to play a Sheikh.
Irving (Christian Bale) and his girlfriend Sydney (Amy Adams) agree to help an FBI Agent (Bradley Cooper) bring down corrupt politicians to avoid conviction on their most recent swindle.
The target of the operation is a New Jersey mayor (Jeremy Renner) willing to work with the mafia to revitalize the gaming industry.
But when Irving’s dingbat wife (Jennifer Lawrence) gets involved in the dupe, it could cost them everything.
Inspired by real events, director David O. Russell assembles a crack team of talented actors to pull off an adroit script that tackles both the dramatic and comedic duties masterfully.
Mind you, the biggest swindle of the seventies is still disco. Green Light
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
The perk to being a political prisoner is that you get to waste triple the amount of taxpayer dollars.
However, there are no pricey dinners for the convict in this drama.
When Nelson Mandela (Idris Elba) moves from his South African village to the segregated city to become a lawyer, his eyes are opened to the injustices in the courts and on the streets.
Compelled to march in the Anti-Apartheid protests, Mandela later bombs government buildings, and is subsequently sentenced to life in prison.
On the outside, his second-wife Winnie (Naomie Harris) leads an international campaign for his release.
With a praiseworthy performance from Elba, this adaptation of Mandela’s autobiography may not be the most artistic but it’s the most comprehensive movie about his triumphs and failures.
And, eventually, whites and blacks in South Africa learned to get along through their mutual love of annoying other countries with the vuvuzela. Yellow Light
***Donald Duckumentary***
Walt: The Man Behind the Myth
The key to being a rich and successful animator is reusing old backgrounds and pocketing the cash.
Mind you, the cartoonist in this documentary made a fortune through innovation.
From his early days in the mid-west scheming to fight overseas in the Great War, to his first animating gig in California, Walt Disney was as ambitious as he was talented.
But when his first character was stolen from him, Walt learned that cartoons could be cutthroat, so he protected his creations.
This paid dividends when he concocted a mouse named Mickey.
What followed was an illustrious and groundbreaking career not only in animated features but live-action, television and eventually theme parks.
Although it opts for the Disney-fied version of Walt’s private life, this collection of family photos, film clips and celebrity interviews do honour his public legacy with aplomb.
Incidentally, Disney’s most profitable rodent isn’t Mickey - it’s Miley Cyrus.
He’s Yellow Snow White. He’s the…
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