Belle review

BELLE:

MAMORU HOSODA’S UPDATE ON CLASSIC FAIRY TALE IS AS THOUGHT-PROVOKING AS IT IS GORGEOUS TO LOOK AT! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

GKIDS

A young girl will become one of the biggest online sensations of all time in Belle

 

            Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Mirai) gives the timeless Beauty and the Beast story a modern update in Belle, the new anime film from Studio Chizu. The film can be best described as Beauty and the Beast meets Ready Player One as it revolves around the friendship/possible romance between a young girl and a mysterious beast (In this film’s case, an anthropomorphic dragon) and the film takes place in both the real world and a digital, computer world where anything is possible. 

            While I don’t talk about Mamoru Hosoda nearly as often as I do Hayao Miyazaki or Studio Ghibli, I’ve really enjoyed several of his films from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars to Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast, and his most recent film, Mirai all of which had gorgeous animation, likable characters, and clever and even poignant stories. Belle is no exception as the entire movie is a feast for the eyes and imagination and a bold coming-of-age story. 

            The film follows Suzu (voiced by Kylie McNeill), a shy and socially awkward, everyday high school girl living in a rural village. For years, Suzu has been a shadow of her former self due to the sudden passing of her mother…that is until she enters the virtual world of U, a place where anything is possible and you can be anyone, and she becomes the beautiful and globally famous singer, Belle.  

            However, when a mysterious creature appears during one of her concerts, Suzu with the help of her best friend, Hiroka (voiced by Jessica DiCicco-The Buzz on Maggie, Loonatics Unleashed, Adventure Time) and childhood friend/crush, Shinobu (voiced by Manny Jacinto-The Good Place, Bad Times at the El Royale, Top Gun: Maverick) embarks on an emotional journey to discover the true identity of the Dragon (voiced by Paul Castro Jr.) and discover her true self along the way. 

            The film also features the voices of Brandon Engman as Suzu’s sportsman classmate, Kamishin, Ben Lepley as Suzu’s father, Hunter Schafer (Euphoria) as popular girl, Ruka, Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, The Boys) as Justin, Ellyn Stern (Gemma Wars, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Bleach) as Okumoto, Andrew Kishino (Superman VS the Elite, Batman: The Killing Joke, Batman VS Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as Jelinek, Barbara Goodson (Power Rangers franchise, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Robotech) as Yoshitani, Wendee Lee (Dragonball, Cowboy Bebop, Naruto) as Nakai, and Julie Nathanson (Searching, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Batman: The Long Halloween) as Suzu’s mother. 

            Overall, Belle is as lovely to listen to as it is to watch with breathtaking animation that’s some of Mamoru Hosoda’s best, compelling characters, a stellar soundtrack, a thought-provoking and heartfelt story, and very effective drama. Despite the film’s PG rating, I wouldn’t really call this a movie for kids as it goes into some very mature subject matter like the loss of a loved one, isolation, and even child abuse and not the Disneyfied kind from things like James and the Giant Peach, Annie, or Harry Potter, it is genuinely uncomfortable and tragic, not nearly on the same level as Precious, but still quite intense especially compared to most American PG-rated animated films that play it too safe, it’s refreshing to see one that takes risks and earns that P in front of the G. 

            The animation is spectacular especially in the digital world, which is made out to look like this magical, otherworldly place with no limits in contrast to the all-too familiar realm of reality. Even the real world is pretty to look from the art design, lighting and shadows, to even bodies of water, to the point where it feels like you could reach into that world, touch the water, etc. 

Unlike something like Ready Player One where whenever it cuts back to the real world, you’re never sitting there just waiting for all the virtual world stuff to come back, because the characters are mostly bland and forgettable. The virtual world never overshadows the characters and their real-life conflicts, the scenes involving Suzu’s personal life is interesting and relatable, which is what makes her such a likable character. You want to see her succeed in finding the dragon’s identity, you want to see her be more involved and accepted among her peers, and as the movie progresses, she grows as a person, if anything Belle is just a video game skin. 

Even the side characters make an impression, Suzu’s genius best friend, Hiroka gets a lot of funny dialogue and Jessica DiCicco’s voice fits the character perfectly, Kamishin, a friend of Suzu and Hiroka who is obsessed with kayaking for some reason and has a high-pitched, almost Tom Holland-sounding voice has a few laughs, Shinobu is probably the most generic as the typical nice guy character, but he has some charming moments, and when you discover who the person playing the Dragon is and the backstory, it’s actually quite heartbreaking and you want to see the person overcome it. 

Honestly, this movie could work even without the Beauty and the Beast tie-in, which I think is the weakest aspect of the film. Not to say it’s bad or anything, there are some incredible scenes when it retells the story and the design of the Beast is really neat (Honestly, it kind of puts the Disney Beast to shame…which I can’t believe I’m saying!), but it just isn’t all that interesting and you don’t see much of an emotional connection between Belle and the Beast compared to other iterations of the story. 

Belle isn’t a perfect film, but the experience of watching it on the big screen and getting wrapped up in the drama, invested in the characters, and marveling at its dazzling animation makes it a treat for any animation fan. It may not have the same emotional depth compared to other Mamoru Hosoda titles, but this “Tale as old as time” is something truly special that’s worth checking out. 

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania review

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA: 

FOURTH (AND APPARENTLY FINAL) HOTEL VISIT HAS ITS MOMENTS BUT IS UNNECESSARY IN THE END! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** ½ out of 4

AMAZON STUDIOS, COLUMBIA PICTURES, AND SONY PICTURES ANIMATION

Dracula, Mavis, Johnny, Frankenstein, Wayne, Murray, Griffin, and Blobby in Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

 

            The Drac Pack returns for one last hotel visit in Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, the fourth and final installment of the Hotel Transylvania franchise, and the first not to be directed by Genndy Tartakovsky or feature the voices of Adam Sandler and Kevin James as Dracula and Frankenstein. In their places we have former crew member on SpongeBob Squarepants and Adventure Time, Derek Drymon and storyboard artist on the first two Hotel Transylvania films, Jennifer Kluska directing while Brian Hull (Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure) and Brad Abrell providing Dracula and Frankenstein’s voices while the rest of the voice cast remains the same for the most part. 

            If you read my reviews of the earlier films, then you know that I really enjoyed the Hotel Transylvania franchise, when I saw the first one nearly ten years ago (Hard to believe it’s been that long) I adored the concept of a hotel for monsters inside Dracula’s castle with a lot of creative-looking monster designs, zany, fast-paced animation, humor that doesn’t always hit bullseye but the majority of it does, and a lot of heart, it was easily one of the best Adam Sandler comedies in recent years and the same goes for the second film. The third film, I’m not the biggest fan of despite being the best-reviewed in the series, it isn’t terrible, and a good handful of the jokes and heartfelt moments do land, but it felt like it was mostly catering to little kids rather than families, it’s perfectly serviceable. 

            This brings us to the fourth film which was originally scheduled for a theatrical release in 2021 but was constantly pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic until finally landing on Amazon Prime Video in early 2022, similar to what happened with The Mitchells VS the Machines, another recent Sony Pictures Animation film. To be honest, I came into this movie with no expectations, the trailers looked fine, and the idea sounded fine, but it also felt pointless and unnecessary in its existence. 

            So, is Hotel Transylvania: Transformania a hidden gem, especially in terms of the extremely divisive Sony Pictures Animation library or will it be a passable diversion for little kids without much substance? Unfortunately, it’s the latter. 

            The film isn’t horrible or anything, it does have some imagination, a handful of the jokes got a good laugh out of me, and the heartfelt moments are very effective, not to mention the film ends on a strong note. However, the plot is uninspired and often rehashes various plot points from its predecessors without much of their charm. 

            The film follows Dracula about to announce his plan to retire and leaving his hotel in the hands of his daughter, Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez-Wizards of Waverly Place, Monte Carlo, Spring Breakers) and her human husband, Johnny (voiced by Andy Samberg-Saturday Night Live, Hot Rod, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping). However, when Johnny accidentally screws up Dracula’s speech, he assumes that Dracula still has some human prejudice and thinks he would be better fit to run the hotel with Mavis if he too was a monster. 

            Johnny asks former monster hunter, Abraham Van Helsing (voiced by Jim Gaffigan-Super Troopers 1 and 2, My Universe, Luca) to turn him into a monster with his “Monsterfication Ray”. The ray works, but it also transforms Dracula, Frankenstein, Wayne the Werewolf (voiced by Steve Buscemi-Desperado, The Big Lebowski, Monsters, Inc.), Griffin the Invisible Man (voiced by David Spade-Tommy Boy, The Emperor’s New Groove, Joe Dirt), and Murray the Mummy (voiced by Keegan Michael-Key-Key & Peele, Keanu, Toy Story 4) into humans and now Drac and Johnny must venture to South America in search of a magic crystal that can reverse the rays before Johnny becomes a mindless monster forever. 

            The film also features the voices of Kathryn Hahn (Step Brothers, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, WandaVision) reprising her role from Hotel Transylvania 3 as Dracula’s new wife, Ericka Van Helsing, Molly Shannon (Saturday Night Live, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Other People) reprising her role as Wayne’s wife, Wanda, Fran Drescher (Saturday Night Fever, This is Spinal Tap, Cadillac Man) reprising her role as Frankenstein’s wife, Eunice, Asher Blinkoff reprising his role as Mavis and Johnny’s son, Dennis, and the director of the first three films, Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars) as Blobby. 

            Overall, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is…fine but unnecessary. It just feels like we’ve been here before, Dracula’s still got a bit of a prejudice with humans (Didn’t we see that already in the first two films?), Johnny being a bumbling idiot who has a good heart, bouncy animation with a lot of silly character walks for the kiddies, and the writers desperately trying to come up with new ideas.  

            Hotel Transylvania 3 is somewhat inferior to the first two, but at least it had more of a reason to exist, Dracula zinged with another woman and lives a happy, married life again. This one is more about acceptance and the importance of family which would have been fine if it wasn’t already explored in the first two films…and explored better in them as well. 

            Aside from the Dracula retiring and giving the hotel to Mavis and Johnny plot, there isn’t much here that expands the Hotel Transylvania story further. If anything, the retirement plot could have been worked into the ending of Hotel Transylvania 3 just fine, it is the movie where Dracula gets a new wife after his original one died tragically prior to the first film’s events so maybe they could have had Mavis and Johnny become the new owners after Drac and Ericka get married instead of wasting an entire movie to establish that. 

            With that said, the animation is still very good, the characters are very likable, some of the jokes got a good laugh out of me, and the heartfelt moments are very effective. Had the film been better plotted, paced, and allowed more time for the side characters to shine, I think this could have been a great conclusion to the Hotel Transylvaniafranchise, but as is, it’s decent enough and the kids will probably enjoy it. 

            If you’re a fan of the earlier films and want to see how the story ends or if you got little kids who really want to see it, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is a mostly harmless and at times funny and heartfelt diversion. Personally, I’ll stick with the first two movies as they had a much stronger balance between energetic animation, silly humor, and heart. 

Scream review

SCREAM:

FIFTH OUTING CONTINUES THE FORMULA OF SLASHER VIOLENCE AND META-HUMOR WITH A THOUGHT-PROVOKING “STAB” AT EXTREME FANDOMS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

The Ghostface Killer returns to town in Scream

 

            Ghostface is back for another killing spree in Scream, the fifth installment of the popular horror franchise of the same name that began 25 years ago with the late Wes Craven’s groundbreaking hit that was arguably one of the first slasher/horror movies to be extremely self-aware of the genre’s tropes. The film also continues with Hollywood’s stupid gimmick of giving a horror movie sequel the exact same title as the first film, Halloween (2018), Candyman (2021), The Final Destination, The Predator, etc. to the point where even the film itself mocks this cliché. 

            Before we dive into this new film, I’m going to share my thoughts on the previous films, while I’m not big on the slasher genre that much, I really enjoy the first Scream from 1996 because of how it can blend slasher violence and self-aware humor while pointing out the tropes and clichés of the genre in a very loose, tongue in cheek way. The second film released only a year after the first I think is a very solid follow-up as it goes even further with its meta-humor right down to there actually being movies about the first film’s events in its universe, third one I’m not a big fan of and is definitely the weakest of the film, but it has its moments, and the fourth film released in 2011 I actually watched for the first time a couple years ago and thought it was pretty decent, though not quite on par with Scream or Scream 2. 

            Enough build-up let’s finally talk about Scream (2022), which marks the first film in the series not to be directed by Wes Craven due to his passing in 2015 and is instead helmed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not) and revolves around a new group of people being attacked by the Ghostface Killer with the original characters in supporting roles (Sounds a lot like a certain sequel trilogy that everyone loves!). I can gladly say that where Halloween Kills misses its mark, Scream (2022) sticks the landing with the best film in the series since Scream 2. 

            The basic set-up is more of the same, mysterious killer wearing a Ghostface costume going on a killing spree and the kills are all connected to a victim’s past while taunting them over the phone, and the survivors have to figure out who it is and pay attention to the rules of surviving a horror movie and satire of Hollywood’s over-reliance on franchises. However, the film also takes a “Stab” at toxic fandoms, which is extremely timely unless you’ve been living under a rock when the Star Wars sequel trilogy and the female Ghostbusters reboot were released, makes fun of dumb Hollywood gimmicks (Stab 8 just being called Stab and is the most despised by fans…sounds familiar!), references elevated horror like The Witch, Hereditary, or The Babadook and discuss how the genre has changed over the years because of those films, and on top of that, has a gripping mystery that kept me guessing. 

            Set 25 years after the events of the first film, a new killer in Woodsboro dons the Ghostface costume and targets Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera-In the Heights) and her sister, Tara (Jenna Ortega-Insidious: Chapter 2, You, Studio 666), both of whom are connected to the events that occurred in Woodsboro all those years ago. Sam and Tara enlist the help of retired police sheriff, Dewey Riley (David Arquette-Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Wild Bill, Eight Legged Freaks), news reporter, Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox-Friends, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective), and the original victim, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell-Party of Five, The Craft, Wild Things) to find out who the killer is and stop him/her before he/she strikes again. 

            The film also stars Jack Quaid (The Boys, Vinyl, Star Trek: Lower Decks) as Richie, Dylan Minnette (Let Me In, Goosebumps, Don’t Breathe) as Wes, Mason Gooding (Booksmart, Let It Snow, Love, Victor) as Chad Meeks-Martin, Jasmin Savoy Brown (The Leftovers, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sound of Violence) as Mindy Meeks-Martin, Mikey Madison (Better Things, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Addams Family (2019)) as Amber Freeman, model and singer, Sonia Ben Ammar as Liv McKenzie, Marley Shelton (Pleasantville, Sin City, Grindhouse) reprising her role from Scream 4 as Sheriff Deputy Judy Hicks, Kyle Gallner (Veronica Mars, The Haunting in Connecticut, Jennifer’s Body) as Vince Schneider, Heather Matarazzo (The Devil’s Advocate, Saved!, Hostel: Part II) as Martha Meeks, and Roger L. Jackson (The Powerpuff Girls) reprising his role as the voice of Ghostface. 

            Overall, Scream (2022) is a bloody good time for fans of the series and will likely take you back to when you first watched the 1996 original. The film does an excellent job recreating the feel of the first film from its tone, opening scene reminiscent to the famous/infamous Drew Barrymore intro, and the climax takes place in the same house Billy Loomis and Stu Macher, the original killers lived in. 

            The movie also satirizes toxic fandoms, which let’s be honest is a very relevant topic and the fictional Stab movie franchise is basically this universe’s Star Wars…if Star Wars was a slasher film series. It shows just how dangerous it can be for fans to go to these extreme lengths for the sake of their fandom, the Stab movies have gotten so manufactured and recycled, they work best when they’re based on a true story…you can pretty much figure out where this goes. 

            Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette are still great as their iconic characters, though they aren’t the main focus this time. Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega as Sam and Tara are extremely likable and are the heart and soul of the film, you feel this strong sisterly bond between them and you want to see them stop the killer and survive, this is what makes Scream work, it’s a slasher but it never forgets about compelling characters or a good story. 

            The plot itself is your typical Scream story, but the mystery of who the killer is kept me guessing all throughout the film. I had a few possible hunches as I was watching it, but by the end it completely took me by surprise, I’m not going to say who it is, but let’s just say the reveal will make you want to bash the person’s face in with a can of dog food. 

            Yeah, in case you couldn’t tell, I had a really good time with Scream (2022) AKA Scream 5, it gave me everything I enjoy about the previous films while also updating the formula and throwing a few surprises and twists in along the way. This is one phone call from Ghostface you’ll definitely want to answer.