Movie Review - The English Teacher

The English Teacher (2013)

Starring Julianne Moore, Michael Angarano, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, and Nathan Lane

Directed by Craig Zisk

***The film is currently streaming on Netflix***

When Jason (Michael Angarano) returns to his small Pennsylvania hometown after spending a few years in New York City trying to make it as an aspiring playwright, he's greeted kindly by his former high school English teacher Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore) who is thrilled to have a student who has gone on to write a play (despite the fact that it's never been produced).  After meeting with her school's drama teacher Carl Kapinas (Nathan Lane), Linda decides to produce Jason's play with Carl for their high school dramatic production.  Along the way, however, Linda and Jason begin to have a relationship beyond teacher-former student and complications arise that may affect Linda's typically mundane and rote life.

Unfortunately for Julianne Moore, she's yet to star in a comedy that I've really enjoyed (yes, that includes The Big Lebowski which I think I highly overrated when I watched it several years ago).  The English Teacher does nothing to change this thought of mine.  Moore herself isn't the problem -- I think she could do decent with comedic roles if she'd only choose comedies that were actually funny.  All of the actors here are actually game and try their hardest in their roles, but even their significant acting chops couldn't elicit a single laugh from me.  Moore's facing a mid-life crisis, Angarano's trying to figure out his path in life, and Kinnear's attempting to become a better father to Jason, but none of these plot points are funny -- and therein lies the problem.

There's a sweetness that permeates through The English Teacher that is moderately enjoyable, but director Craig Zisk's first feature film is too trite and ultimately too bland to merit your time.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Mirror Mirror

Mirror Mirror (2012)

Starring Lily Collins, Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, and Nathan Lane

Directed by Tarsem Singh

No one was more surprised than me to discover that Mirror Mirror wasn't nearly as bad as its heinous trailer advertised it to be.  A case of lowered expectations certainly worked in this film's favor, so take this review with that in mind, but for what this movie is -- a slightly re-imagined, humorous take on the Snow White tale aimed at kids and their parents -- Tarsem Singh's visually gorgeous and sumptuous spin is inventive and unique enough to make you feel as if you're not watching the same tired fairytale over again.

Rather than anchor the film around Snow White, Mirror Mirror certainly places its emphasis on the Wicked Queen, played here in an over-the-top scenery chewing performance by Julia Roberts.  Obviously hamming it up and seemingly having a blast, Roberts appears to be relishing this opportunity to play evil.  Clothed in some of the most ambitious, colorful, and flamboyant costumes I've seen in years (courtesy of the late Eiko Ishioka), anytime the Queen wasn't onscreen, you longed for her to return.

And given that this film is, at its core, a story about Snow White, the lack of creating an interesting story for Snow herself is perhaps the film's biggest disappointment.  Lily Collins plays Snow White as innocent, yet with a modern-day spunk that is typically attributed to princesses in films today (think Rapunzel in Tangled) and she's quite good and absolutely engaging in the role.  In fact, she's almost about as perfect as one can get in terms of casting the "ultimate image" of Snow White.  However, despite having a bit more independent take on the character, the screenwriters couldn't give Snow nearly enough of an interesting storyline to compete with her wicked stepmother.

The rest of the cast of characters we've come to expect from Snow White tales are present as well.  Armie Hammer plays a suave yet smarmy Prince with much exuberance and the Seven Dwarves are given a bit of an interesting spin as they turn into thieves stealing from the rich.  There's also a nice sidekick role for Nathan Lane that provides a bit of humor (although he's certainly overshadowed by Roberts in their scenes together).

But the real star of the show (beyond Roberts' performance) is the previously mentioned costumes (which deserve an Oscar nomination...and likely an Oscar win) and rather ingenious production designs.  Director Tarsem Singh is known for his attention to detail when it comes to these areas and Mirror Mirror is no different.  For those reasons alone, Mirror Mirror is worth a watch.  It's not without its flaws and its humor does skew a bit young, but with the nice performance from Julia Roberts and the fantastic visuals, you likely won't be disappointed with a rental of this one.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - The Lion King

The Lion King (1994)

Featuring the voices of Matthew Broderick, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson, Cheech Marin, and Whoopi Goldberg 

Directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff

Having not seen The Lion King in probably more than a decade, I was looking forward to revisiting it upon its two-week limited engagement back in theaters in order to promote its upcoming 3D Blu-Ray release.  The flick was never a huge favorite of mine and, as I discovered, my thoughts really haven't changed on that matter.

Don't get me wrong.  The Lion King is a solid member of Disney's animation canon, but something just doesn't connect with me here and although I admittedly have a difficult time figuring out what my issue is with it, I think it stems from the fact that nothing in this movie is a stand-out.  Everything skates by being better than average, but nothing screams "EXCELLENT" which, ultimately is a detriment that likely keeps this film outside of my Top Ten Disney Movies of All Time.  [A list, by the way, which I need to get to one of these days on this blog.]

Let's look at the story, for starters.  Despite a few amazing moments -- the stampede, the "Circle of Life" number, Scar as an overall villain -- the film feels too bogged down in metaphysical gobbledy-gook.  Despite the fact that Rafiki is an amusing character, his swami-style New Age-y vibe gets under my craw at times.  Additionally, I can' help but feel that Simba much too quickly agrees to return home upon his reunion with Nala.  I just feel like there's no conflict there for him to overcome in order to want to return home.  In general, Simba as an adult feels greatly underdeveloped and, with Simba as your main character, that's a bit of a problem.  [The less said about the slow motion finale battle sequence the better...I'll just say it comes off as a horrible choice by the animators and it's almost laughable nearly two decades later.]

Music-wise, "Circle of Life" is stellar and "Be Prepared" is deliciously evil, but "I Just Can't Wait to Be King is a colorful disappointment, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" furthers the lack of development in the adult Simba as I mentioned above, and "Hakuna Matata," while funny, will always be the song in which Disney crafted a tune around bodily odors.  Still, I remember thinking when this first came out that there was a lack of songs in this flick (and considering this came out in the era of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin this definitely has the least amount of songs in a Disney animated flick at that time).  This time around, though, I feel like the songs are appropriately spaced and never seem out of place.  The addition of more songs (like "The Morning Report" which was tacked on for the dvd release and thankfully doesn't show up in this theatrical rerelease) would have felt like overkill.

But enough about the criticisms...let's focus on some positives.  Firstly, the humor here is better than I remembered.  I worried that Timon and Pumbaa would come across as annoying sidekicks, but their one-liners were still quite successful.  Similarly, the hyenas -- Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed -- were also just as funny as I remembered them and were quite effective.

The voice talent is also certainly a positive here.  Jonathan Taylor Thomas as the young Simba probably has the most difficult part acting-wise, having to range from childhood innocence to sheer despair, and he's quite successful.  Ratcheting up the humor, Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella are the perfect duo in Timon and Pumbaa.  Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin are also stand-outs as the aforementioned hyenas.  And, despite the fact that I'm not a big fan of the character, Robert Guillaume brings a unique spin to the baboon Rafiki.

But perhaps the best part of the film and the reason it works as well as it does lies in Jeremy Irons's Scar.  A perfect meld of voice acting, character design, animation, and story, Scar is one fantastic villain -- a stand-out amongst Disney films.  Over-the-top at times, Scar is quite the campy theatrical villain...but I mean that in the most positive way (and considering the flick is loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet, perhaps the screenwriters drew some inspiration from the Bard's evildoers).

The Lion King is certainly a successful animated film, but (and I realize I'm probably alone in this assessment) it's simply not a standout to me in the Disney pantheon.  A good premise filled with some amazing moments, but it doesn't quite add up to a great film.

[As far as the 3D goes...the less said, the better, I guess.  It's not the the film looks bad (and if 3D is what it takes to see this up on the big screen again then so be it), but I think I'm over the 3D fad.  There has yet to be a 3D film that matches the genius of the experiences you have when you see the short 3D movies at theme parks.  Granted, those flicks go for gimmickry, but in the end, isn't 3D a gimmick in and of itself?  I want the gimmicks when I watch something in 3D and 99% of the time, they aren't present in theatrically released 3D.]

[It also should be noted that, in the grand scheme of things, I feel like I've maybe been spoiled by seeing Broadway's version of The Lion King twice since I last watched the film.  Considering that the Broadway musical is perhaps the best thing I've seen on stage makes the film a bit more of a letdown for me.  The play manages to significantly improve the role of Simba which is a big step up from the film.]

The RyMickey Rating:  B