NinadeL

The remake of the classic Disney animation is a category in itself. Some ideas were executed better here, while others were suppressed. The second half works slightly better thanks to the changes. At times, it is still horrible kitsch, and I mean absolutely horrible, and the casting is dreadful. Especially in the case of Emma Watson, who is indeed the perfect girl next door, but in no way a universal beauty. And Luke Evans? He is simply wasted on such an operetta villain. Fortunately, the theme has been done so many times that there is no reason to despair and outside of Disney, you can choose, for example, the impressionistic Beauty and the Beast, the Czech Beauty and the Beast or the modern Beauty and the Beast, which may look like a Disney clone, but is actually pure French.

30th full-length Disney film The classic French material inspired Disney in the 1930s, but the final premiere came many years after his death. The universal story somewhere at the beginning apparently drew from the real life of Petrus Gonsalvus (1537-1618), who suffered from hypertrichosis, as the desire of many playwrights to express their own ideas through "beauty" and "beast" had been erupting since the 18th century. Therefore, it is perhaps impossible to be angry at this animated film, because none of the stories told around the world can be determined as original. From a basic perspective, Beauty and the Beast is one of the greatest successes of the Disney Renaissance era, which spawned a trilogy of sequels and one live-action remake. In hindsight, it became the home of one of Disney's most beloved princesses, Belle, and an excellent soundtrack by Alan Menken, thanks to which Angela Lansbury added a teapot song to her immortal portfolio.

Heat is three hours full of genre joy. It may seem a bit dated now, and the original Michael Mann script is from 1979 and the events that inspired it are of course even older. The first endeavor was supposed to be a series, which remained at the pilot - L.A. Takedown. Nevertheless, even with that 90s look, it is still a first-class acting showcase by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. There are solid performances even in the supporting roles, especially Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd and the young Natalie Portman. Heat has several peaks, the opulent shootout comes after two hours as the climax of the first act, surprisingly fitting into the second act is also a very well-written romance and a family drama of epic proportions. A surprisingly solid experience.

Producers' Showcase used to be a cycle of regular live performances. The productions had staggering budgets, and a new one was always aired once a month. These were fascinating years in television, when material that would stand alone in European movie theaters as a feature film was designated for a single screening in America. Among the most famous is probably Mayerling with Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer from 1957, a subject to which Anatole Litvak returned in his European film Mayerling.

Belle is one of those films that rely on the lives of real people from the past and tell a story through them that is important today. It is not important to have facts 1:1, but the message is. Dido Elizabeth Belle (1761-1804) did indeed live, and we can also find a shared portrait with her cousin Lady Elizabeth Finch-Hatton (1760-1825), which plays a certain role in this film. However, the result is an average film with an incredibly bad ending. The ending is almost overly saccharine kitsch, unfortunately. But I attribute that to the fact that the theme of Belle was completely exhausted within a few years. After the exhibition of the double portrait at Kenwood in 2007, at least 6 books and 7 other dramatizations were released, whether for film or theater. It's not possible to rewrite one biography so many times in such a short time without completely diluting it.

Regarding the dispute between Joan and Bette, much has been written, and I would be pleased if more interest was found in their real careers before 1945, as their swan songs were truly just one chapter among many. In any case, Murphy is a good guide to the classics for today's pop enthusiasts, who would otherwise ignore classic Hollywood.

Epic Road Trip is an interactive Barbie movie that has problems adapting to all types of media due to its form. Nevertheless, if you manage to access it, it offers quite an interesting adventure. There is the usual gang, Barbie and her trio of younger sisters, Brooklyn and Ken. They all travel together in a pink caravan across the United States, Ken wondering if Barbie is ready for them to have a relationship, and so on. Epic Road Trip is a showcase of the current Barbie narrative designed for the animated universe.

If Chelsea got to have her own movie in The Lost Birthday, it was clear that Skipper would also receive attention. And of course, Stacie will also be a star in To the Rescue. That's all of Barbie's sisters taken care of. These films are average even within the series, and the toys they promote are not top-notch either. But Mattel has succeeded. In this film, one can appreciate the combination of 2D and 3D animation and the basic message that it's nice to earn some extra money with a summer job.

After the concept of two Barbies settled down, it was apparently necessary to complement the urban adventure Big City, Big Dreams with something more fairy-tale-like. And so we have the story of Mermaid Power. I still can't come to terms with the fact that Barbie cartoons should always be about Malibu, Brooklyn, and the trio of sisters Skipper, Stacie, and Chelsea, but it apparently makes sense for Mattel, so it is necessary to tolerate this era.

Another self-absorbed romantic statement about a mass murderer, and a film not unlike the farce called Bonnie & Clyde. Sure, we can call it neo-noir and pretend that Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek weren't too old for their roles. The backdrop of the North Dakota-Montana area is of course engaging, but as a celebration of Charles Starkweather (1938-1959) and Caril Ann Fugate (*1943), it is toxic. Fortunately, it is just one film from a series inspired by works responding to the pathological need to perceive murderers as cool people: The Sadist (1963), Badlands (1973), Stark Raving Mad (1981), Kalifornia (1993), Murder in the Heartland (1993), Natural Born Killers (1994), The Frighteners (1996), and Starkweather (2004).