Epic (2013) used Beyonce better than The Lion King remake and they only had her for 10 minutes onscreen.

“I’ve been waiting”

The rivalry between Shenzi and Nala in tlk 2019 is cool and all, but it kind of came out of nowhere. They should’ve fleshed it out

Andrew’s Review of The Lion King (2019) and Knives Out

   I have two movies to talk about. The first is the 2019 remake of The Lion King, or as I like to call it, Ingonyama nengw’ enamaRemake. I did not see it in theaters due to the not-so positive reviews, and instead saw Aladdin (2019) to avoid it (which was nice, about a 6 or 7/10, but clearly was inferior to the original and could have used some tuning up). And after seeing it on Disney+…Yeaaahhh, I chose wisely to avoid wasting my time at a theater.

   Now the one positive thing there is to say about Ingonyama nengw’ enamaRemake is that, in terms of revolutionary visual effects (or, animation, since this is 99.9% animated), it does look extremely good at replicating realism. With every grass, animal, fur, movement, whatever, it shows how far computer-animated technology has gone. But that is where the positivity ends, since the way the remake tells the story is what breaks this movie.

   Now while, yes, it is remaking The Lion King, it does so in a way that is Boring. There can be times where it is nearly shot-for-shot, while other times, it pads out a scene of someone or something traveling just to show how good the visuals are. Either way though, neither help make this interesting, and it does not help either that the characters are not as engaging as before, with most of the actors giving an alright performance while attempting to emulate the ones from before. The sole exceptions are Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen giving their takes to Timon & Pumbaa; James Earl Jones as Mufasa making us wonder if age has caught up with his acting or if he just did not give as much energy as he could have (2019 Mufasa: “is that a challenge ?”); Keegan Michael-Key and Eric Andre as Not-Banzai & Not-Ed not being as funny; and Florence Kasumba giving a fierce take to Shenzi.

   And then there are the visuals themselves. While it does stay realistic, it does so to a fault by preventing what was once an animated animals movie from being creative. Are the songs as vibrant and fun as before? Nope, they mostly consist of the characters running about with the soundtrack sounding nearly the same, except for ‘Be Prepared’, which is turned into an odd song-speech. Does Rafiki use his staff all the time? Nope, he instead acts like a monkey the entire time, Even when he brings his staff-stick at the end just to attack like a real monkey, while also calling it an old friend for unexplained reasons! Is Mufasa’s death scene as powerful as befor-NOPE!!! It help shows how not making the animals emote like in The Jungle Book (2016) can have people Not connect to them, and quite possibly Laugh at their ‘facial expressions’ not matching the mood of the scene! (2019 Simba looks like he is roaring while sillily saying: “Nooooooooo.”)

   So yeah, if you were wondering which Disney Remake is probably worth skipping, this one would be a good contender (and considering how it is an unnecessary remake of not just a great Disney Renaissance film, but one that everyone in the world must know about, that is not really too surprising). Now despite this technically being an animated film, I will go the live-action movie route and just give the overall rating, which is a 5/10 for forgetting that it is more than what it has become.

   Thankfully, I also saw a great movie as well, and that is Rian Johnson’s murder-mystery, Knives Out, and honestly, this might be my favorite live-action movie of 2019 I have seen so far. Keep in mind, this is a movie where not spoiling it for your first watch is an Important requirement, so I will try my best to keep things spoiler-free as possible. As a murder-mystery, while I am not very familiar with that genre, I can say with absolute certainty that Rian Johnson made sure to make this an Interesting and Complex one, making us unsure of who to trust or suspect, and keep surprising us even when we think we have been given a good amount of the true story. And by the end of the third act, even the most-tough-to-express-emotions-at-a-movie person like me will be amazed at what is revealed. Another important part of the movie is its political message, which is a bit difficult to describe through words, but the best way I could put it is that it points out the hypocrisy of rich, white established families, while also acknowledging some issues surrounding immigration.

   And then there are the characters, who help bring the story and message together, and help make this experience unforgettable. Starting with the main ones we focus on the most, there is Benoit Blanc, a detective who is trying to investigate and solve the case; Harlan Thrombey, the wealthy novelist who has mysteriously died; Ransom Drysdale, the rude and jerkish member of the Thrombey family; and Marta Cabrera, the Thrombeys’ house servant who may be at the center of this mystery, and also has a gag reflex whenever she lies. Sounds a bit silly and ridiculous, I know, but it doesn’t just end up as a silly running gag. And that leads to the strength of these characters; they could just be as typical as I made them sound, but thanks to the strong writing and use of surprises, they end up being more than just their roles.

   And then there are the rest of the Thrombeys. There are some notable individuals, like Richard, Joni, and Walt, who have some trouble with Harlan; Linda, who acts like the head of the family; and Meg and Jacob, with the former being friendly with Marta, and the latter who is literally portrayed as a kid always being an alt-right troll on his phone. Now while it could be possible that some of the Thrombeys did not get focused on a whole lot, it probably does not matter because, when they are put together as a whole, they are meant to help represent the film’s message, and that is as an entitled family filled with people who are either ‘nice’, or blatantly racist. As for the other characters, there is Detective Lieutenant Elliott and Trooper Wagner, the regular cops assigned to the case, with Elliott being the more rational one and Wagner being a fanboy of Blanc and Harlan’s works, and other characters like Fran, Nana, and Alan Stevens who are meant to help move the plot along, while also bringing in more twists and turns. And to top it all off, the cast in here is Just Great! If anything, it feel likes this is a Perfect cast, with actors like Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, and many more. Granted, I haven’t seen much of their works, but I feel safe in believing that they are not being themselves when bringing life to these characters.

   Overall, Knives Out is just a Great movie that is worth seeing, and probably several times, with a very impressive story that keeps on surprising, a wonderful cast full of great characters, a nice use of a political message, and some nice visuals with the Thrombey mansion, the camerawork, and how almost every shot feels like it has some sort of purpose. Does this mean this gets a great rating? OF COURSE IT DOES! This film gets a solid 10/10 for its sharp wit and clever script. Oh, and one more thin-Ransom: “Eat $%#^. Eat $%#^. Definitely eat $%#^.” Yeaah, don’t expect Chris Evans to be as kind as Captain America, and do expect tons of cursing. Walt: “I ain’t eating one iota of $%#^!”

𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚗𝚎𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚊𝚛𝚝Ｉᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇɴᴀɪꜱꜱᴀɴᴄᴇ (1989 - 1999)

when will people learn that live-action remakes will never be good as their original animated counterparts because the glory of animation is the colour, movement, and fantasy that's just untranslateable to live-action

after the interdarshan championship

a little WIP because im having a bit of a bad day I just couldnt resist drawing pleading eyes emoji kaveh with those desert foxes

Inspired by (x)

Hey look it’s Simba, I mean Nala, I mean Mufasa, I mean Kiara, I mean…

Man, if only there was an easier way to be able to tell the characters apart…like 2D animation or something 🤔

Note: I’m not including “Lavender’s Blue” from Cinderella (2015) because it was not written for the movie. It’s a 17th century English folk song.

At this point, what is even the point of making new animated movies? Why bother if they’re just going to be remade in live-action less than a decade later? Not to mention that remaking classic animated films devalues those classics and makes it less likely that future generations will see and enjoy them because they’ll watch the live-actions instead. Corporations are prioritizing money over telling meaningful and creative stories, and it shows.

So anyway, capitalism is killing art.

Nepeta: :33< your honour, i admit that i do have a supurriority complex over not watching disney "live action" remakes, but in my defense, i am right

Hyenas and lions can't breed.

Forget the Disney Live Action Remakes. They should just record the Broadway Shows and make them available for purchase or on Disney Plus. Who’s with me?