Film

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

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When I heard about the new Jumanji movie, my 10-year-old inner child screamed in horror at the thought of a remake of one of my beloved childhood movies.

How dare “they” try to bring another movie from my early years to the big screen AGAIN. I was a little judgy about it, but my grandma, who has a major crush on Dwayne Johnson, wanted to see it. I sucked it up and took her to the theater.

To my surprise, I actually liked it (I had similar feelings/thoughts about the remake of IT). There are MAJOR differences from the original and I think that is a huge part of why I enjoyed it. (SPOILERS…sort of) The film goes from two kids/two adults to four kids who change to four adults and one Nick Jonas who later is Colin Hanks, from board game to video game, from the game coming out into the real world to the characters going into the game world. Definitely different.

Homage was paid to the original film with a shout out to “Alan Parrish,” which won some points from me. If they would’ve made the movie more like the original, I immediately thought Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler: Stranger Things) should be young Alan. Alas, they didn’t and I’m okay with the casting. Again, surprised like so many others.

Dwayne Johnson, who I still call “The Rock,” is mediocre, but seriously addicting to watch (he’s way better than his first role in The Mummy Returns). He’s also funny in his own way (see Bay Watch as another example – it’s like a car wreck, you can’t help but stare). Sprinkle in Kevin Hart, who has previous film chemistry with Johnson and is hilarious; Jack Black, who is perfect in his role as a teenage girl stuck in “an old white guy’s body;” and the beautiful and talented Karen Gillan, who is a total badass (might be a little biased because Amy Pond is my favorite Doctor Who companion).

I have to give props to the creators. I was either smirking or laughing through most of the movie, as was the rest of the theater (probably more so because I’m a tough audience). My advice is to go into the movie knowing it is an action comedy that isn’t like the 1995 Jumanji with Robin Williams, who can NEVER be replaced. It almost feels like the creators knew that and took the story into a more modern direction that would have the next generation loving it. I also like to think that the tribute to “Alan” was a tribute to Williams (hey I can dream). I find remakes often include a sentimental salute to the originals to help us cope with the changes to the film.

Go see it, and maybe you’ll join me and the many others who are bewildered by the fact that we actually liked this movie.

 

Disclaimer: I am not a film expert or critic. I leave that up to the professionals, but I hope you take my thoughts into consideration when trying to figure out what to see in theaters this weekend. The movie is a fun, light-hearted piece that is definitely more suited for ages 13 or up (there is some adult humor).

 

-AMS

TFiOS and the “feels”

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“The-Fault-in-Our-Stars”

Okay. I was a fanatical nerd, who couldn’t wait, so I went to the movie premiere of The Fault in Our Stars, which if you’ve been living under a rock, is the story of two teens with terminal cancer who fall in love. The Night Before Our Stars was an opportunity for the Fault Fanatics (that would be me) who couldn’t wait for June 6 to see the movie.

I have to say that moviegoers and fans of the book will probably fall in love with TFiOS the way Hazel Grace fell in love with Augustus Waters, slowly then all at once.

I know it sounds cheesy, but it is true. Maybe it is my natural distaste of book-movies that made me hold back in instantly loving this movie. Filmmakers often don’t do justice to the books they turn into films, but there are always the exceptions. It is especially hard if the book is outstanding and extremely well written. And of course, as much as I enjoyed the film adaption, the book is better…okay? Okay. Don’t throw eggs at me just because I wasn’t instantly smitten with the film and the actors. I was committed to trying to like them, which is why in the end I love them.

Josh Boone and the filmmakers at Fox did a superb job at capturing the elements of John Green’s bestselling novel. I won’t go into details of the film, but I will say you need to read the book before you see the movie. I think reading the book makes the movie so much better (not that it can’t stand alone…because it can). You get all the unsaid jokes, all the emotions that had to go unfelt, all the words that had to be cut, if you read the book.

Ansel Elgort and his winning smile will win you over, too. He’s pretty adorable and I’m a bit disappointed that more reviews aren’t commenting on his performance. Shailene Woodley is stealing the limelight. I’m not saying she wasn’t good, but Elgort shows you that even cute boys are ugly criers. He does a great job of bring Gus to life and being as boyishly charming as John Green wrote the character to be. You can’t help but like Augustus Waters.

Woodley’s performance is also well done. Some reviews are saying her performance deserves an Oscar nomination, but I wasn’t THAT impressed. Don’t get me wrong, I thought she did an outstanding job of making Hazel Grace real for so many people including me. Her chemistry with Elgort is obvious and plays out well for the storyline. The girl can shed some tears, I’ll give her that.

One thing I didn’t like about the movie was the pop up, animated text messages. I thought it was a little too silly, but it was easy to get over because it was meant to make you laugh. In a way, it brought a lightheartedness to an extremely sad story.

Beautifully written, well acted, heartbreaking tale of first love — it will make you laugh and cry just like the book.

Take a box of tissues. It’s okay…even grown men will cry.