A little throwback Thursday up in here.

Can’t Buy Me Love

“Whatever happens to your popularity, stay yourself, don’t change to please others.”

-Cindy Mancini

I really need to update more often, life though, what can you do? I know most people are on the side of the fence that 2020 has just been a shit year. I mean yeah it kind of has been for the movie industry with everything being lockdown and theaters being closed. As for me personally it’s had its ups and downs for sure but mostly ups. Here me out before you think I’m blowing smoke and I assure you this leads into my movie pick for this post. There are two very important reasons I am happy with this year and wouldn’t change it.

Number 1 and most important is the people I have met. One person in particular. I have never met anyone like this person before and yes they can be a pain in the ass like a 12in dildo but so can I 🤣🤣. They are a great person who I will always have an unending love for that can’t be measured. Number 2, I got on much needed medication for anxiety/depression that I have struggled with my whole life and started therapy. I actually owe number 2, to number 1. I refuse to lose them out of my life for any reason and that means making some changes so I did.

One of the things I am learning about myself in therapy that leads into my movie pick, is that everyone shows their love differently. My way is that I am very selfless and I like gifting people things and taking care of people, that’s how I show I care and love them. I am also learning as it has been pointed out by my therapist and my brother, that I have to air on the side of caution. You can’t buy love. I feel unloved and want to be loved by people so bad that I go overboard and unintentionally try to buy their love. That stems from a whole mess of childhood issues with my father.

“Nerds, jocks. My side, your side. Man, it’s all bullshit. It’s hard enough just trying to be yourself. I know cause I messed up. I tried to buy my way in. But Kenneth, he’s not trying to buy anybody, he’s just trying to make friends; being himself.”

-Ronald Miller

Without further ado I give you Can’t Buy Me Love, one of my absolute favorite rom-coms. If you haven’t seen it, I advise you to put it on your list asap! Before Patrick Dempsey was McDreamy on Greys Anatomy, he was Ronald Miller. The guy who went from geek to chic and back again. The guy who felt unloved and undeserving of the attention and affection of Amanda Peterson’s Cindy Mancini(God rest her soul). So much so that when he saw her at the mall, he offered to buy her a chic outfit and pay her 1000$(big money back then) just to be seen with and pretend to date him.

As they hangout more often to perpetuate their charade two things happen: Ronald’s popularity at school and with Cindy’s friends soars. Cindy starts to develop real feelings for Ronald unbeknownst to him. He thinks its just part of the charade which leads to their fake break up to their fake relationship but pepper with truth and real feelings from Cindy when she catches him in the bathroom with another girl trying to ride the Ronald Miller train. Cindy hurt and devastated because she developed real feelings gets drunk and lashes out at the party telling everyone the truth of what has been going on. That she was paid to date him to help him be popular.

After a lunchtime confrontation when Ronald stands up for the friend he left behind in his pursuit of popularity, explaining to the jocks and popular kids that Kenneth is trying to do it the right way, not buy his way in. Ronald is redeemed in the eyes of Cindy and her friends who were watching on. The movie ends with a very iconic scene, much like John Cusack standing outside the window with a boombox in Say Anything. Ronald comes to mow Cindy’s family’s lawn and she initially jumps in the jeep with her friends and rides off but they return her moments later and she jumps on the back of Ronald’s lawn mower, steals his hat and they ride off into the sunset negotiating future dates.

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Now you see me, Now you don’t…

The Invisible Man

So this is the last movie I actually saw in theaters before the Coronavirus hit. I saw it with a friend of mine and we both really enjoyed it. It’s based off the H.G. Wells novel of the same name and a remake/reboot of the original 1933 movie by James Whale.

 It follows a woman who believes she is being stalked by her abusive and wealthy boyfriend even after his apparent suicide. She ultimately deduces that he has acquired the ability to become invisible. When the movie opens we meet  Cecilia Kass who is trying to escape an abusive and manipulative relationship with her violent, controlling, wealthy optics engineer and businessman boyfriend Adrian Griffin. She drugs him with diazepam and escapes their home with help from her sister Emily. She then hides out with her childhood best friend Detective James Lanier and his teenage daughter Sydney.

But when Cecilia’s abusive ex Adrian commits suicide and leaves her a generous portion of his vast fortune(5 million to be exact), Cecilia suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of eerie coincidences turns lethal, threatening the lives of those she loves, Cecilia’s sanity begins to unravel as she desperately tries to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.
No doubt about it: the movie works. And it works on a nasty personal level; it exploits our awareness that women are gaslighted by abusive men all the time, to perpetuate and add to the abuse. It is a refreshing take on this Universal Classic Monster with a modern twist. It’s a terrorizing look into abusive relationships and just how far someone could go to stay in control, becoming the villain hidden in plain sight.

 The Invisible Man is sophisticated sci-fi-horror that dares to turn a woman’s often silenced trauma from a toxic relationship into something unbearably tangible. Charged by a constant psychological dread that surpasses the ache of any visible bruise, Whannell’s ingenious genre entry amplifies the pain of its central character Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) at every turn, making sure that her visceral scars sting like our own. Sometimes, to an excruciating degree.

It was a great movie, trigger warning for any woman that has been in an abusive relationship, it just might trigger some PTSD!

“One night I was sitting and thinking about how to leave Adrian. I was planning the whole thing in my mind. And he was staring at me. Studying me. Without me saying a single word, he said that I could never leave him.”

-Cecilia Kass (The Invisible Man)
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Ready or Not…

It’s another blog post!

Well it’s been a hot minute since my last movie update, but you know life, covid, women, and everything else sometimes gets in the way. That is why I like movies, they are faithful, they are always there, and they are a good escape. Today is usually a flashback Friday post but since its been a minute, I am switching gears.

So here you have your classic boy meets girl story. Only instead of boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl get married, and they live happily ever after we have the killer twist that boy’s family tries to kill the girl.

When Grace marries Alex Le Domas we are introduced to his family of quirky characters. undefined Alex’s alcoholic wastrel of a brother Daniel, played by the hilarious Adam Brody who constantly hits on Grace. Alex’s mother Becky played by Andie MacDowell who is always somewhat cagey about her approval. Cocaine addicted sister Emilie, played by Melanie Scrofano, who does not even bother showing up in time for the ceremony with her jackass of a husband Fitch played by Kristian Braun. And Alex’s father Tony, played by Revenge patriarch Henry Czerny, who has no problem announcing his outright displeasure at Grace’s status. And lastly Aunt Helene played by Nicky Guadagni who has done nothing but stare daggers at Grace since they met.

From here we learn that the Le Domas family name in the world of the film, is meant to be as ubiquitous as Parker Brothers or Milton Bradley. They’re world renowned for their board and card games. After the ceremony Grace is introduced to a family tradition, Tony explains that his ancestor amde a deal with a man named “Le Bail” to build the Le Domas fortune in exchange for the family observing a tradition: every new member draws a card from Le Bail’s puzzle box, naming a game they must all play.

Grace draws “Hide-and-Seek” and is sent to hide, believing they are merely playing a game; Grace takes the little moonlit challenge as a quirk because of their chosen industry. The Le Domases arm themselves with antique weapons to hunt her down. Unwilling to participate, Alex escapes into the mansion’s secret passages and finds Grace, who witnesses Emilie kill a maid she mistakes for Grace. Alex reveals the Le Domases’ curse: everyone who marries into the family must play the game determined by Le Bail’s box, or die mysteriously. Only hide-and-seek also requires the family to kill the newcomer; the card was last selected by Helene’s husband Charles, on their wedding night thirty years ago.

For much of the rest of the movie we are treated to a game of cat and mouse, and we get to see much of the cats start turning on each other. It’s replete with ‘badass’ images of Grace in her wedding dress wearing post-“Kill Bill” swagger heading to do battle with the batty Le Domas progeny, covered in blood, sporting a bandolier, a half-baked quip, and a ripped wedding dress. It’s filled with easy jokes about the insanity of the rich and the callousness with which they take to their task of hunting and killing a woman on the grounds of their mansion. undefined

As we come to the close of the film, Grace breaks free, and the family realizes dawn has arrived. When they realize that nothing has happened to them after the failed ritual, Helene still tries to kill Grace, but one by one, the Le Domases explode; Alex begs for Grace’s forgiveness, but she rejects him and he explodes as well. Le Bail appears momentarily, nodding to Grace in respect. Soaked in blood, Grace lights a cigarette outside the burning mansion as the police arrive. Questioned about what happened, she replies, “In-laws”.

I mean.. In-laws, am I right?

“You married into the family. You have to love me. It’s a contractual obligation.”

Julia Quinn, It’s in His Kiss

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Booty, booty, booty, booty, rockin’ everywhere, rockin’ everywhere..🎵🎙️🎼

Hustlers

Don’t go off rushing to see this movie if you are expecting a bunch of tits and ass. I mean yes there is plenty of that to go around but there is more to this story then strippers. So put away your preconceived notions about strippers and listen up! This is based on a true story off of a New York magazine’s 2015 article, “The Hustlers at Scores” by Jessica Pressler. First off boys and don’t get your panties in a twist, this is a deeply feminist film, one where men are given less screen time than the cameoing Cardi B and Lizzo. This is a movie about strippers running a con, yes, but it is also much more than that — it’s an incisive commentary on women in the workplace, including bread winning mothers, navigating an economy that disadvantages them. Surprisingly enough, it shares cinematic DNA with the 1981 juggernaut 9 to 5.

” This city, this whole country, is a strip club. You’ve got people tossing the money, and people doing the dance. “

– Jennifer Lopez as Ramona Vega

This film is one that slides between present day and the past. The opening scene of the movie is the first day of work for Destiny (Constance Wu) and the camera movement is from her point of view, following her from the dressing room to the stage. Later, there’s another scene shot with almost the exact same camera movement, showing Destiny rushing home from a harrowing night with a client to take her daughter to school in their suburban neighborhood. It’s a poignant visual pairing that underscores the stakes for Destiny and other women like her. We are start in present day(2014) and meet a former New York City-based stripper Destiny who is invited for an interview with Elizabeth(played by the incomparable Julia Stiles, who we know, knows a thing or two about dancing😉) , a journalist working on a story involving Destiny’s former friend and mentor, Ramona Vega(Jennifer Lopez). From here we flashback 7 years to when Dorothy known by her stripper name Destiny was working at Moves, a strip club, to support her grandmother but was barely making it by and the first time she meets Ramona after being mesmerized by her performance and tips she earns.

The two form a close friendship and team. As we watch there bond strengthen and their wealth grow for the next year we finally hit the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Both women find themselves short on money and Destiny ends up pregnant by her boyfriend Johnny(cameo by G-Eazy). She returns to stripping but the game has changed as it has been impacted by the financial crisis. The club is now staffed with immigrant women who will preform sex acts for money. Destiny not wanting to sink that low reconnects with Ramona and learns of her new “buisness” venture.

Ramona, along with her two new protegees, Annabelle and Mercedes(Lili Reinhart stepping out of her squeaky, good girl Riverdale image and Keke Palmer) target rich men at bars, gets them drunk, and then escorts them to Moves where the girls steal their credit card numbers and charge them to their limit. Destiny joins in, and learns that Ramona uses a mix of ketamine and MDMA to impair judgment and cause memory loss in their targets, a tactic deemed worthwhile since their victims will rarely admit to being robbed by strippers. The girls enjoy their wealth and friendships but as some customers becoming increasingly to hard for Annabelle and Mercedes to handle, Ramona starts hiring drug addicts and felons to work for her much to Destiny’s chagrin who had suggested bringing in other girls like themselves.

When other strippers at the club get wise and try to steal there strategies, Ramona cuts her business ties with Moves and starts servicing clients in hotel rooms or their own homes. Destiny’s fears prove true when a client suffers a near-fatal accident and she must bring him to the hospital. While Ramona is busy bailing out a particularly unreliable new hire, Dawn. Destiny returns home to find her grandmother has died. At the funeral, Ramona makes amends and promises to take care of Destiny from now on.

Flashback to present 2014, Destiny becomes uncomfortable and stops the interview when Elizabeth insists on talking about Ramona. Destiny later calls Elizabeth to finish their conversation, recalling how her friendship with Ramona – and their crime ring – fell apart. Ramona’s callousness drives a wedge between the women, and Destiny feels she can no longer justify her crimes. Dawn is picked up by the police and snitches on her partners, while investigators manage to locate several victims and identify all of the girls. Destiny, Ramona, Annabelle, and Mercedes are arrested, but, only Destiny (thinking of her daughter) takes a plea deal. Ramona is sentenced to five years probation, while the others serve short jail sentences before being released on probation. A year later, Elizabeth visits Ramona, who is now working a retail job. Ramona muses that Destiny was the only person she could trust, revealing a picture of her friend that she keeps along with her most valued possessions. The article is published, and Elizabeth encourages Destiny to reach out to Ramona and make amends.

“Mercedes: What if somebody calls the cops?  Ramona Vega: And says what? ‘I spent five thousand dollars at a strip club, send help.“

Although the women of Hustlers are clearly stepping over a very thin, dark line between working the system and criminal behavior, you can’t help but root for them and all women who are tired of struggling financially and decide to use what they know to get ahead. It’s a classic underdog story about the kind of Americans people don’t often think of as self-made. With so much talk about the “forgotten working class” since the 2016 presidential election, Hustlers makes clear that women of color in cities are also a part of that group. In other words: Don’t hate the player, hate the game. Over all it was a decent movie and it made a killing at the box office. The end does kind of leave you wanting, but then don’t strippers usually leave you wanting.. lol

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Time to float…

It Chapter 2

” The thing about being a loser is you don’t have anything to lose. “

Stanley Uris

So me and my very own Loser’s club partook in Chapter 2 of director Andrew Muschietti’s IT this weekend. I am a HUGE fan of the original especially of Tim Curry’s version of Pennywise the dancing clown so I was beyond pumped for Muschietti’s version. He delivered on part 1, but part 2 would be a true test because anyone that has seen the original miniseries or read the book knows the second half is where is slows down. Kids are easier to scare so of course there is more story to tell and thrills to get off during that timeline, so once we dive into the new timeline 27 years later as adults it was gonna be a treat to see how Muschietti kept it interesting. I think he delivered pretty well on that.

The Losers Club from Derry, Maine have all grown up as 27 years have passed from that fateful day they battled evil Pennywise and lived. Mike has stayed behind, cataloging the events of the small town, waiting for the return of what he knows is coming. He alerts his old friends to once again return so they can take care of Pennywise as he feasts once again on the children and adults of Derry. Bill has become a famous and frustrated horror author, incapable at the moment of writing a decent ending. Beverly has married an abusive man reminiscent of her father. Richie has become a famous stand-up comic harboring a long kept secret. Ben has slimmed down and become a wealthy architect, mind you who like to conduct his meetings via video chat from home without pants on and still carrying a torch for Beverly. Eddie is with another overbearing woman much like his mother and fraught with anxiety as an insurance risk assessor. Stanley is conflicted about returning as he views himself the weakest link of the group, only to turn out to be the strongest. Chapter 2 adults

The old gang revisits the town of their youth and take turns remembering what they had selectively forgotten through the years. Only they can band together to stop Pennywise but they must all work together to survive yet again. The first act checks in with each character for us to see where they are in life, and then concludes with their reunion at a Chinese restaurant. After dinner they each take turns wondering around town to areas that mean something to them and while there, their memories are seemingly activated. Leading us into the final confrontation between the losers and Pennywise.

Not gonna lie this movie definitely falls more on the comedy side and less on the scares unlike its predecessor which was a slight let down because we call come for the scares. Some of it was just over the top CGI that made it funny. I do appreciate the fact that they stayed true to the book for the most part, only removing maybe 2 scenes and adding 2 things. (SPOILER ALERT) I did appreciate them making Stanley’s suicide have more meaning than the book or original miniseries movie did.

Everything here is as it should be: funnier, darker, deeper, and at moments scarier. Incredible casting. Not only do we get the returning child actors that we grew to love. Now we get their adult counterparts by veteran actors like James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Hader. The big thing about this movie is the run time. Sitting at a whopping 2 hours and 50 minutes, it does a great job of keeping your attention. Also look out for a cameo from IT creator Stephen King himself. You’ll enjoy this movie, just maybe not carnivals/fun-houses afterwards.

“Let’s kill this fucking clown!”

Richie Tozier
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School is back in session so for this Flashback friday were going back to school… Just so we can talk about skipping it.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Ferris Bueller

You’re lying if you say you have never dreamed of ditching school. I don’t just mean you run of the mill everyday skip out. I mean having an epic, out of this world adventure for day just like Ferris Bueller. Written and directed by LEGENDARY filmmaker John Hughes. Who knows high school movies better than the man that gave us the Brat pack in other movies like Pretty In Pink, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles. Mathew Broderick became a household name starring as the titular character Ferris. It also sees Jennifer Grey in an earlier role before her Dirty Dancing fame.

Ferris Bueller wants a break from the everyday monotony of rigorous school life. So he feigns sick and his lovable but naive parents allow him to stay home and “recover”. Once they leave he is off and running to grab his best friend Cameron and girlfriend Sloan. Not to mention Cameron’s dads 1961 Ferrari convertible to hit the town. Meanwhile the slow and vile school Principal pursues Ferris to catch him in the act while his resentful and jealous older sister tries to rat him out. Despite a few snags here and there Ferris succeeds

The parade scene itself it pretty iconic. It was filmed during an actual parade. Hughes added the movie float to the parade unbeknownst to anyone, including the governor. Although they had choreography for the Danke Schoen and Twist and Shout numbers, Hughes would yell into the megaphone not to do it because he wanted it a total mess, to just make it all up and go with it. The radio stations carried announcements inviting people to take part in ‘a John Hughes movie’. The word got around fast and 10,000 people showed up for that scene.

One thing I love and appreciate about this movie is even though they are skipping school their idea of an adventure is seeing the stock market in action, and visiting the art museum and going to a parade. While some may see this movie as glorifying defiance of authority or skipping school with zero negative consequences, it’s also charming and clever and I see it as the message it was meant to send, live life to the fullest.

This movie is both enjoyable and king of the “smart kid/dumb parent” trend. You don’t have to be as bright as Ferris Bueller to see how young viewers would patronize movies that show them as savvy and resourceful, outsmarting uncool authorities, moms, and dads at every turn. But back when this premiered in 1986, the clever Bueller was a refreshing change from a too-common movie image of teenage boys as sex- and drug-crazed on the run from mad slashers. John Hughes made his reputation creating quirky young characters with rich inner lives and realistic personal concerns.

I know school just started but if you feel like skipping I suggest grabbing the popcorn and watching this flick. Try my back to school quiz below! https://www.tryinteract.com/share/quiz/5d60345fccced2001484d65c

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HEY YOU GUYS!!! It’s Flashback Friday!

The goonies

The Goonies – 1985

“Um Brand. God put that rock there for a purpose and I’m not so sure you should um move it.”

Stef

For this one I am touching way back in my childhood like specifically the year I was born for The Goonies. One of my top 3 all time favorite movies directed and produced by legendary movie makers Richard Donner, Chris Columbus, and Steven Spielberg. It also stars and launched the careers of Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, and Corey Feldman among others.

This movie is about a group of rag-tag kids who live in the “Goon Docks” neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, and refer to themselves as “The Goonies” In an attempt to save their homes from foreclosure after they discover an old treasure map in the attic they begin an adventure beneath the city to unearth the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary 17th-century pirate. During the entire adventure, they are chased by a family of criminals, The Fratelli’s who also want the treasure for themselves.  Beyond the (now-dated) special effects, cavernous (literally) sets, stunts, hideous skeletons, and out sized props, there’s a message about being yourself and bonding with your friends and siblings — even if they’re outcasts. Some stereotyping — the fat kid, the jock older brother, the Asian who’s a gadget fanatic, etc.

Who didn’t love going on fake treasure hunts and digging for gold down in the ground with your friends? Pretending the tree you were climbing was part of a pirate ship. This movie pretty much sums up what its like to have a childs imagination. There isn’t a character in this movie I didn’t fully enjoy watching…you have the dim-witted, evil Fratelli’s, heavy-set, melodramatic Chunk, Data with his “booty traps…that’s what I said, booby traps” galore, the odd-looking but loveable Sloth, and Mouth with his, well, Mouth. Those are only a few…there are many more. A lot of great lines come from this movie along with memorable moments (the Truffle Shuffle). I’ve seen The Goonies about a thousand times and I STILL enjoy watching it over and over again. This movie defined my childhood. For years and years I always wanted to be a “Goonie” and go on adventures and for awhile there I was and I did.

It is a great family flick but maybe suited for like 12 and up do to language. I definitely recommend you watch but first “you gotta do the truffle shuffle“.

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Frightfest Saturday!

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

So I love horror movies, maybe its the adrenaline pumping action that gets me, I dunno. But I went and saw Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark this weekend with some friends. Shout out to Christina and Brittain. As a fan of the books, I gotta say it didn’t disappoint.

A little backstory of the books; they are a collection of short stories by Alvin Schwartz with original charcoal and ink artwork by Stephen Gammell. They have a cult following and in the 1990s/2000s groups tried to have them banned due to the nature of the stories and the artwork for the audience they were intended for, which made the books that much more popular.

Back to the movie. Its 1968 on Halloween in Mill Valley where it starts off as a quaint, atmospheric small-town fright flick before plunging headlong into a full-on, grotesque shriek-fest with severed heads, scarecrows that fight back, demons that are ripped into pieces and then reassemble themselves, and asylums filled with giant bulbous smiling creatures that slowly corner you and consume you. Here we learn of the Bellows family and more specifically their young daughter Sara, a young girl that turns her tortured life in to a series of scary stories, written in a book that has transcended time. Stories that become too real for a group of teens that discover the book. Its like Goosebumps meets Stranger Things, so what more could you want. It doesn’t hold back on the scares and its creepy without being a bloody gorefest. Fans of the books will pick up immediately which stories producer Guillerrmo Del Toro picked to include in this one. Harold, The Big Toe, The Red Spot, The Dream, and Me Tie Dough-ty Walker! are a few that are front and center and propel the central story.

I can’t wait for the sequel on this one and see which stories they incorporate into the next! Also, kickass cover of Season of the Witch by Lana Del Ray was the anthem to the movie and totally sets the mood. Check it out below!

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Flashback Friday

Mrs. Doubtfire – 1993

“Oh, sir. I saw it! Some angry member of the kitchen staff, Did you not tip them? Oh, the terrorists! They ran that way. It was a run-by fruiting. I’ll get them, sir. Don’t worry.”

Mrs. Doubtfire

For this weeks flashback, since I featured an 80’s movie last week I thought that I would flashback to the 90’s with this classic.

Daniel Hillard is devastated when his wife, Miranda files for a divorce and gets custody of the kids. Regular visits with his three children aren’t enough, so when he hears that Miranda is looking for a nanny/housekeeper, he gets his make-up artist brother to transform him into a british old woman. Posing as the nanny, Mrs. Iphegenia Doubtfire. Daniel gets the position and quickly wins over the kids and hilarity ensues.

The late great Robin Williams was at the top of his game in the 90’s and this movie is a fierce example why. He gave us a hilarious and some what serious look at what a devoted father would go through for his children and as children he gave us that nanny that we always wanted and dreamed of. Along with the comedic genius of Harvey Fierstein, the classic Sally Field, and the charming Pierce Brosnan before James Bond turned him into a household name Williams brings us his most zany character.

A lot of people don’t know it but this movie was actually a book first. Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine.

As funny as Mrs. Doubtfire is, it’s really about the pain of separation and divorce. Serious issues such as the perception that Daniel is a bad father because he doesn’t make a lot of money, and the implied criticism of careerist mother, Miranda, are buried under a lot of padding and jokes. Williams clowns around, talks a mile a minute, and drops all kinds of pop culture references. What raises Mrs. Doubtfire above other movies about separation is the care it takes in dealing with real human problems. Though it provides a basis for a comedy, the issue of divorce and custody is treated seriously. Irresponsible Daniel grows from the experience of looking at the world from a woman’s point of view.

It want you want a heartwarming story and comedy gold. This is the one. P.s. try my new movie quiz. I’ll update the page regularly with new quizzes!

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In the jungle, the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight.

The Lion King

“Oh yes, the past can hurt. But from the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.”

Rafiki

Let’s dive right in. I definitely took my nieces and nephew to see the new photo-realistic live action The Lion King this weekend. Lets be honest though, even if I didn’t have them I would have seen it because if you are a child of the 90s as I am, you have been waiting for this moment, your moment. I’ll be honest, this movie has received generally mixed reviews. With that being said, I am of the opinion that everyone should form their own. This is why we have cult classics. People like what they like and don’t necessarily follow the masses like sheep when it comes to movies. Simba It is a visionary tale worthy of National Geographic, and Disney hit it out of the park yet again, because lets face it, Doesn’t Disney usually? It holds the record for highest grossing animated film of all time, even though it is technically “live action” photo realism, dethroning Frozen. And it has a killer voice cast:

  • Donald Glover as Simba
    • JD Mcrary as young Simba
  • Beyonce Knowles-Carter as Nala
    • Shahadi Wright Joseph as young Nala
  • James Earl Jones as Mufasa
  • Alfre Woodward as Sarabi
  • Seth Rogen as Pumbaa
  • Billy Eichner as Timon
  • John Oliver as Zazu
  • John kani as Rafiki
  • Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar
THE LION KING – Featuring the voices of JD McCrary as Young Simba, Billy Eichner as Timon and Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Disney’s “The Lion King” is directed by Jon Favreau. In theaters July 19, 2019. © 2019 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

It’s a remake so I don’t really have to dive into the plot. We all know it. Simba is a young lion who must embrace his role as the rightful king of his Pride lands following the murder of his father, Mufasa, at the hands of his uncle, Scar. That’s the cut and dry of it. The real draw for me and many others was James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa. His voice was iconic and not gonna light, I got chills when he uttered his first words again. You can hear the again in his voice, tired, like a king who has ruled for many years. If that doesn’t get you to the movie, the soundtrack will. Original composer Hans Zimmer returned with Pharrell Williams as a collaborator. Elton John, the original films lyricist returned ahead of his retirement to rework his original compositions with Beyonce’s help.

You know your inner child and 90s heart wants to see this, so do yourself a favor and do it.

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