Tag: Disney+

The Old Man (2022)

Where to find it: Disney+ (as many billboard advertisements inform me)
Length: Seven 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: Rogue CIA retiree has to answer for his past actions
Recommendation rating: 1/5

What I like about it: nothing
What I don’t like about it: slower than dial-up, terrible stodgy writing, phoned-in acting, total lack of characters, unforgivably bad action sequences for an action show

Review:
Jeff Bridges plays the titular old man, whose exploits in Afghanistan in the 80s have led to a festering grudge which finally brings assassins to his door in the 2020s. The commentary on U.S. foreign policy really runs no deeper than that. The vibe running through this show about an invulnerable state-sponsored super soldier is very similar to Homeland and 24, only without the pulpy drama and tension that pulled those along. This is just a dour, slow collection of people talking around subjects in a very unnatural way to try to build some mystery. I couldn’t finish it – which is rare for me, I watch some garbage! – and think it may be the worst TV show I’ve seen in a long time, especially for one so hyped.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence

Beatriz at Dinner (2017)

Throughout September I will be raiding my collection of favourite movies to review one a day, with a focus on overlooked and underappreciated films.

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: 80 minutes
Synopsis: Hyper-empathy horror play
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: themes, dialogue, acting, ending
What I don’t like about it: sometimes cartoonish villains

Review:
Salma Hayek plays Beatriz, a Mexican-American immigrant and alternative medicine practitioner, who finds herself stuck at her rich client’s mansion during a business dinner. Beatriz feels empathy very deeply, her best friend is a goat who has recently been senselessly murdered. The people she is stuck at dinner with barely feel anything at all. It plays out very tense as we watch Beatriz’s feelings get hurt dozens of times, only occasionally giving voice to her opinions. Of course it builds to a large argument in which Beatriz is ‘hysterical’ and the rich people continue with their disgusting lives.

Mike White, one of my most favourite creatives, wrote this dialogue-heavy play which is an absolute horror movie to those of us who share Beatriz’s hyperempathy. I am very appreciative to have media which I feel explains something ineffable about myself and the ending was sadly very realistic. It means a lot to me.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, animal rights / meat, suicide

West Side Story (2021)

Throughout September I will be raiding my collection of favourite movies to review one a day, with a focus on overlooked and underappreciated films.

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: 156 minutes
Synopsis: … it’s West Side Story
Recommendation rating: 5/5

What I like about it: spectacular, reverent, beautiful
What I don’t like about it: Ansel Elgort, too much lens flare, a touch too long

Review:
The most fun I’ve ever had watching a Spielberg movie, this isn’t so much a remake of the sixties movie as a re-adaptation of the original play and it’s such a huge improvement. The beautiful Bernstein score is turned up in this version, the star of the show over Sondheim’s often juvenile lyrics. Spielberg uses his gift for dynamic camera work and visual flair, the period recreation looks perfect and the Technicolor effects are charming. My only negative opinion of the direction is that he used to use lens flare to wonderful effect (E.T., Close Encounters) and then J.J. Abrams cribbed it without knowing how to use it, drowning every scene in digitally-enhanced lens flare and his hero seems to have stooped to the same level.

Ansel Elgort, the token name in this movie, puts in a lot of effort and his dancing is very good but his singing is less so and he’s out of his depth in this cast of legitimate triple threats. It drags in the third act but I liked the finish. If you can tolerate musicals at all, see this one. It bombed at the pandemic-affected box office but it’s growing an appreciative audience on streaming.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): violence, racism

Flora & Ulysses (2021)

Throughout September I will be raiding my collection of favourite movies to review one a day, with a focus on overlooked and underappreciated films.

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: 90 minutes
Synopsis: Precocious youngster befriends squirrel, reunites parents
Recommendation rating: 5/5

What I like about it: funny, smart, visual references to other movies, great CGI
What I don’t like about it: nothing, it’s great

Review:
The biggest surprise of last year, I expected this Disney movie about a girl and her CG squirrel to be formulaic fluff and well, it is but they nailed every aspect of the formula. Cute, funny, snappy and family-friendly, even at my grouchiest I can’t find anything about this movie to hate on. The cast of Ducktales (2017) are reunited in this one, something which cannot be an accident and it has a similar sense of humour to that cartoon. The squirrel’s animation is amazing, as is the young lead actor.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):

This Fool (2022)

Where to find it: Disney+ (I assume)
Length: Ten 25-minute episodes
Synopsis: Character-based comedy with a lot of heart
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: funny, absurdity, acting, directing
What I don’t like about it: fond of gross-out humour, characters take a few episodes to grow

Review:
Julio lives in South Central Los Angeles with his grandmother, mother, sister and her two children. He works at a rehabilitation programme for gang members called Hugs Not Thugs, where most of their time is spent baking cupcakes. In the pilot, his routine is interrupted by the arrival of his cousin and childhood bully Luis, who moves from prison into Julio’s home and work. Everyone in this series is imperfect but kind-hearted; it makes for a great set of characters that really grow on you and it’s also the funniest comedy debut of this year.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): one instance of sudden violence/injury, gross humour (vomit, defecation)

Nightmare Alley (2021)

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: Two and a half hours
Synopsis: Ambitious drifter climbs out of the carnivals but slips on a Freudian
Recommendation rating: 3/5

What I like about it: stylish, considered, compelling
What I don’t like about it: long, often unpleasant

Review:
Nightmare Alley (1947) was a great overlooked old noir – I confess I only saw it when I heard this remake was in production – about a drifter who joins the carnival and learns some mentalism tricks, using them to look out for himself and con everyone who cares about him until he meets his match in a wily psychologist. Remarkably dark and gritty for Hays Code Hollywood, it’s easy to see why it appealed to Guillermo Del Toro and this remake proves that the tale is a perfect match for his macabre visual genius. Particularly great are the larger-than-life carnival and Art Deco sets which present an absorbing imaginary world for a non-fantasy story, unusual ground for Del Toro but he packs plenty of fantasy into those visuals all the same.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): abuse, addiction, a man bites the head off a (convincing CGI) chicken, other grim CG violence

Single Drunk Female (2022)

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: Ten 20-minute episodes
Synopsis: A young woman recovers from alcoholism
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: thoughtful
What I don’t like about it: not very funny, not great characters

Review:
Sam, a twentysomething blogger, gets fired and arrested for drinking and has to move back in with her mum in Boston. I like media about recovery and this is well-informed, an early episode does a good job of portraying how slowly time moves when you’re newly sober, but it doesn’t distinguish itself much. The characters have no memorable traits and aren’t explored enough; this probably would have worked better as an ensemble without Sam being the main focus, she isn’t strong enough as a character for that and the AA meetings feel under-utilised. Also paced very strangely, six months can pass between episodes. Its heart is in the right place but quality-wise, it’s right in the middle of the road.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): addiction, recovery, alcohol, bereavement

The Owl House (2020)

Where to find it: Disney+, I assume
Length: Forty 25-minute episodes
Synopsis: A young girl finds family in a strange and distant realm
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: imaginative, funny, weird and gay
What I don’t like about it: already cancelled by DSNY for a lack of merchandising opportunities (though three specials have been promised to wrap it up)

Review:
One for weird goth kids who like cute cartoons inspired by Hieronymus Bosch paintings. Has a great cast, good jokes and (by season two at least) great drama. If you liked Gravity Falls or Steven Universe, you’ll like this.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):

Light and Magic (2022)

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: Six roughly 1-hour episodes
Synopsis: Streaming service filler about ILM history
Recommendation rating: 2/5

What I like about it: occasional interesting “how they did that” moments
What I don’t like about it: bloated beyond reason, it’s Disney corporate autofellatio

Review:
The first half focuses on the early days at Industrial Light & Magic as they made Star Wars, the second half loses what little interest it had by focusing ostensibly on the computer graphics revolution but meandering around it because the topic isn’t that interesting. I had hoped this would focus on the process of modern ILM as they work on recent projects but it turned out to be hagiographic filler trash.

Content notes (may contain spoilers):

Turning Red (2022)

Where to find it: Disney+
Length: 100 minutes
Synopsis: A Chinese-Canadian teenager rebels against her parents as a menarcheal red panda
Recommendation rating: 4/5

What I like about it: good themes, fun setting and cartoon animation
What I don’t like about it: it’s a little forgettable compared to Pixar’s best

Review:
The real Pixar movie of this year, Turning Red is a fun all-ages adventure about puberty and growing up. It’s a very worthy addition to their collection of message movies such as Inside Out and Soul, movies you could watch and discuss with older children to introduce them to certain ideas and themes. I appreciate that this film comes the closest I’ve ever seen in children’s media to endorsing rebellion against parental authority, it’s pretty great to see that barrier being broken down.

Content notes (may contain spoilers): menstruation, friend drama, parental conflict, megalophobia