In Retrospect: Cruella

Oh honey, you knew I couldn't stay away for long.

What the hell was I thinking giving this an 8.5/10? F*** off, it's better than that! God I took too long to see this again. So big spoiler alert incoming, I still love this movie and I appreciate it even more now. Emma Stone, heaven help me I will crush on you forever in this movie, I cherish you, you are unbelievably good, and because of that performance people will choose sides on who's best. I was too busy revelling just like her in this performance but on a somewhat deeper analysis the second go around she gets a lot of emotion and such creativity and drama too in her performance. I genuinely got some goosebumps when she has the big confession scene and she says, "I am not like her. I am better." and the movie still gets a rise out of me (you filthy bastards shut it) where even though I know what's going to happen I'm still like, oh-ho you go girl punch the f*** out of her! I still get so invested in the story, and a tremendous deal of that goes to Emma Thompson. I mean my God, it's been a minute since I've seen a movie villain so heavily narcissistic and so easily hateable but in the most enjoyable way, just how flippant and yet so mean she is just wows me everytime. Now we got to talk about the stuffs I couldn't talk about before, because of the twists. I wasn't hating the fact Cruella was the Baroness' daughter, bit soap opera but I can roll with it. I really and truly have no issue at all what they do with classic Disney characters as long as they are interesting, fun, and memorable characters despite their own unique spins. My God people get so up in arms over the silliest things. Oh she can't like dogs, oh they softened her up for the kids, blah blah shut the hell up blah, I have no patience for closed mindedness. Yeah, it's pretty screwed up to want to skin dogs for a coat but I didn't hear people get so up in arms over Glenn who people adore in this role and I know it's a younger Cruella and the Cruella we have always seen is a bitter, old, terrible woman so she has time to grow into that. So it's different. Different and good! Huzzah, rejoice for it is not a shot for shot remake of 101 Dalmatians. Innovation, it's grrreat! This tangent will never die but it will be placed back in the box...for now. Okay so the Reichenbach Fall, I loved the idea, totally thought she was gonna either push the Baroness off or pull her off arm in arm, I mean we already had one murder onscreen, onward to two warp factor 1! My only issue is we see how she survived the fall, I didn't like it in the theater and I sorta don't like it now, I would have kept it a mystery because it can be symbolic that Disney villains never die because they are so amazing or something. But I mean those are two brief small problems I have with a movie I love unconditionally. It's great, it's fun, it has it's own style and identity, the story is entertaining and not too out there, the performances are top notch, the design of...everything is class, the music is so much of what I love. We are bumping this baby up and I...may put it at number 1 for the top 10 list. Just saying. I'm not backing down, it's a contender. 4 stars, 9.5/10, I could feel the collective disgust and hate of Disney purists out there and it just gave me a little bit of a thrill, mm that felt nice. Kind of a good buzz going here so let's keep it going with one more before the month of nightmares begins.

Cruella

Not at all a bad film to review for the 800th mark.

Yes, we got that far. And sweet lord did I love this movie, I mean if you asked me before what live action Disney movie was my favorite I'd say The Jungle Book, and after this movie I do not think Cruella can be topped. I had precisely zero idea what on earth they would do with this story, and I was grabbed, intrigued, made incredibly happy, and even kinda wanted a continuation as credits rolled. A lot of people were pointing and crying Joker at the trailer and I strongly disagreed, knowing they would do their own thing entirely and make something good which they did. Shock of all shocks, I'm right. Again. They tipped their hat to that film in their own way but the way the story progresses, shifts and molds to show how Cruella came to be was handled very well I thought. Now I know some people would shriek contrivances abound in this movie, but it could have been handled a lot more hamfisted and it could have fell flat hard. Like dropping a sack of puppies falls hard. But seeing Estella as a young girl (and yes that is future daughter goals to me) who after suffering a tragedy meets up with two thiefs Jasper and Horace and pretty much finds her own identity, oh and plots revenge which might be the most worthless of causes but there's something different when she does it. Am I being too shameless? Yes. Terribly. Hell I could almost argue the whole point of the picture is a take on finding your true persona and characteristics, no compromises. And it is a gradual shift from Estella to Cruella, it's not just one bad day and then bam there she is in all her splendor and fashion, in fact the film just has good pacing and knows when to linger on a shot and when to cut. I caught myself many a time catching on the long takes, and sort of intricate camera movements, I see you Birdman long take you cheeky bastard I see you, so the cinematography is very good. The sets are very well done, each having a personality, and since the film has a great emphasis on fashion you get a lot of that 70s style to it which I was digging quite a lot. The soundtrack, holy great balls of fire, this soundtrack is excellent. You get like 2 points just for playing The Doors, I swear half the movie I was foot tapping and lip syncing, it was made for me. And Emma...my God! I never knew I needed Emma Stone with red hair, almost exclusively and exquisite black outfits, and a british accent. Where has this been my whole life and how have I lived without it? She was outstanding in this role and while I feel you can't compare Glenn and Emma because they are so different in their potrayals, she was excellent. I just had such a great time with it, even when it treaded close to silly or ridiculous it never inhibited my enjoyment or love for it, I've seen many a ludicrous thing in my time so I can roll with all of this. The comedy I felt wasn't busting your gut laughing but it got me often, and I appreciate a more slight giggle and brief guffaw than laugh out loud personally. The plot albeit gets a bit soap opera but the life of Cruella DeVil has to be heavily dramatic to some extent, so hey you just be you movie I can't hold a grudge. If she flat out murdered a dog though it would have gotten a 10/10, I don't hate dogs or anything but come on, though this movie gets a touch dark and doesn't really dumb it down for kids in a way where adults could not take it seriously. It commits to it and bless them for that alone. 4 stars, 8.5/10, yes I meant that, and another month gone. I'll be taking my usual break but I'll be back in time for Scarlett don't you worry, I've been waiting for that day for a long time so I will see you then.

Talking Trailers

I do not recall ever really talking about trailers and it is good to have your opinion on record to compare when you actually see a movie, plus I wanted to do something new so I might as well. We got 3 trailers to talk about that I have seen recently, each having a strong impact on me so let's discuss.

Mortal Kombat (2020): I hated it. Which is so dang weird because when I heard they were doing a new live action Mortal Kombat film I was interested. A hard R rating? Cool looking production stills? A chance to talk about the 90s films? Far out man. And then the trailer happened. Shite. It lost me very early on when the narration stated they were hunting a fugitive and then Sub-Zero popped up and I was just like, huh?? How is he a fugitive? Then they said superhuman abailities and I lost a lot of hope, because the trailer seems like it's trying to do this semi-realistic take on Mortal Kombat which I find to be unforgivable. Just go mental with it, don't try to pin some superhero-esque bullshit like you're expecting Superman to appear, they tried that shit before and it was not pretty. Not to say that the character designs weren't cool, they look pretty grand, and the gore looks legit, but it's the actual elements of the plot that have me seriously dreading this movie. I think they're even gonna pull some nonsense with this Tom Dick nobody being the main character and not an actual person from the video games, which I am praying with all of my might is not true. I don't want to hate it but this trailer has inspired little hope.

Cruella: God I am gonna get so much shit for this. I'd rather watch this than Mortal Kombat. I really am very interested in seeing this. First of all, Emma Stone you have the biggest balls in Hollywood today to say that you are taking up this role after Glenn Close, I mean you have all of my respect for taking it on. Second I heard a lot of people say the trailer had Birds Of Prey/Joker vibes and while I can slightly see it, I feel it's an unjust and ultimately naive label to put on this movie. This looks like such a different beast, because it's not a live action remake. It's a character piece on a Disney villain, which I know they did with Maleficent but even then this looks so different. I don't need to know why Cruella DeVille is the way she is, but she's entertaining regardless. And I for real for real have zero idea what they are going to do with it. That's why I'm so genuinely intrigued to see it. It looks actually kinda cool! So yeah, sign me up for this!

Godzilla Vs. Kong: Ooh. Ooh momma, hold on now. Gotta take a minute. Whew....holy f***!! It's happening, footage has been released! So much to talk about. Great effects, good buildup, I wasn't gaga for the soundtrack but truthfully the Monsterverse has always had such interesting musical choices. 2014 Godzilla had the 2001 A Space Odyssey theme, Godzilla KOTM had frickin' Claire De Lune, Kong Skull Island had Bad Moon Rising, so it has variety if nothing else and we'll probably get some more brilliant music choices for another trailer. It was very Kong centered, I like the relationship with this little girl, we see some other new monsters he fights, but come on man. Godzilla man. Yo, I changed my computer desktop to that neon filled city shot with Godzilla in it, I'm such a damn nerd but how could I ignore such a gorgeous shot? The action looks stellar, Godzilla may be a bad guy which I really love, the reprise of the 2001 theme brought me back to 2016 when I was constantly watching Godzilla, I seriously cannot stop watching this trailer. And to hell with all of you who side with Kong. "Kong bows to no one.", bitch please he gon' learn today! Last movie wasn't called Godzilla KING Of The Monsters for no reason, thank you very much. One shall stand, one shall fall. I trust you'll make the right decision.

Hopefully I can keep doing this, just a sort of trailer roundup of the stuff I've seen and my initial reactions. I had some hot takes for sure but I speak my mind truthfully as always. So I'll see you for a new review later this week.