Category: Film Review

The Little Mermaid 2023 Review

This is weird but I decided to watch the new Disney version of ‘The Little Mermaid’ without having seen the original. I mean, I knew the main songs from Disney compilations and specials. But I never got round to watching the whole first movie. Anyway, I was keen to try out the live action version so here is my The Little Mermaid 2023 review.

On a recent visit to Denmark I was shown where the writer of the Little Mermaid actually lived (see photo). I also got to see a remarkable statue of a Merman (below) and one of a Mermaid (but it was raining so I never got a good picture of that one).

The Merman.

The home of storyteller Hans Christian Anderson

My Review

I was interested in the movie as it was directed by Rob Marshall who has a great track record. I enjoyed his recent ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ film and ‘Into The Woods’ a few years before. I’d also seen Jonah Hauer-King in the dramatic series ‘World On Fire’ and ‘Flatshare’ so wanted to see how he portrayed Prince Eric.

Halle Bailey was introduced to the role of Ariel and her singing voice was perfect for this. She sang ‘Part Of That World’ so brilliantly and her acting was believable. She and Jonah worked well together as potential lovers. The original songs were added to with a lovely song for Prince Eric, which he performed flawlessly.

Melissa McCarthy played an evil sea witch known as Ursula. She was a good fit for that role and showcased her comedy skills alongside her singing and threatening side. With side characters such as a seagull, a fish and a lobster, the cast was complete.

The CGI was really magical and the storyline was paced nicely. The only thing that irritated me was a rap that the seagull did which felt out of place.

Final Thoughts

The Little Mermaid 2023 was magical and the soundtrack soothing. I especially enjoyed the performances by Halle, Jonah and Melissa. I would totally recommend checking out this two hours and fifteen minutes live action remake. It is heart-warming, keeps you interested and full of Disney beauty.

For my last movie review, check out my The Mother Film Review. Also, please consider following my blog for future reviews and similar content.

The Mother – Film Review

As someone who loves watching films at the cinema, I have been impressed by the number of movies made for streaming services too. Lately there have been some really entertaining ones such as Boston Strangler and The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die (which I should have reviewed by now). This week I want to share my film review of ‘The Mother’ – a thrilling new movie starring Jennifer Lopez.

A wolf and her pack play a part in The Mother.

‘The Mother’ had an exciting trailer showing J-Lo doing pull ups in the Alaskan forest and readying her rifle for battle. It suggested that she had a daughter who she was determined to protect at all costs. As far as trailers go, it definitely made me look up and take notice.

So when it was released on Friday on Netflix I quickly started watching. Here are my thoughts about this Number One Netflix film.

What’s It All About?

The funny thing about this movie is that we don’t really hear Jennifer’s character’s name spoken. In fact, the subtitles and IMDB refer to her simply as THE MOTHER. This made me chuckle but as you watch the movie, it kind of makes a lot of sense.

J-Lo literally is THE MOTHER of this film, dominating every scene with her likeable but tough leading role. I have always been fond of Jennifer but even my friends who don’t normally watch her films have warmed to her in this.

The Mother gets caught between two moguls in an arms deal and tries to inform the police. At the start she is pregnant and we can only guess that one of these bad guys might be the father. Joseph Fiennes plays Adrian who is one of these deadly characters who is constantly in hot pursuit of J-Lo and eventually the daughter too.

The Mother helps an FBI agent who later makes it his job to keep an eye out for the daughter. He becomes an ally to J-Lo and does a lot to keep her informed and defend her too.

The daughter is adopted for her own protection. Zoe, played by Lucy Paez, has no idea about who her mother is but soon is put in danger and comes into contact with The Mother.

Will The Mother reveal her identity or can Zoe guess? Can The Mother keep her safe from the militia? Is Adrian the dad or Hector? You will have to watch to find out.

Positive Points

– Niki Caro did an excellent job of directing this fast paced story. She followed the live action Mulan movie with this juggernaut.

– There was a heart to this story. Stripped down, it was all about a relationship between a mother and her daughter. It brought a tear to my eye.

– The parts of the film based in Alaska at winter were breathtaking and the cinematography was great.

– Jennifer and Lucy had good chemistry and you believed J-Lo’s motivations for going to extremes.

– At 1 hour 55 mins the film still flew by as it was thrilling, intriguing and well acted.

Shortfalls

– Perhaps there could be slightly less violence and more dialogue. The script is great but I would have liked a little more balance.

Final Thoughts

This film is jam-packed with thrills. It is well written and has a good story arc. Jennifer is incredible in this role, where she obviously had to do a lot of physical preparation. The actress playing the daughter will no doubt appear in more high profile movies as she was excellent too.

Definitely check out ‘The Mother’ on Netflix and let me know what you think about this film in the comments.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my film review of ‘The Mother’. Perhaps also consider following my blog for future similar articles about movies, TV, books and climate change.

Boston Strangler – Review

Disney Plus have recently released a movie about a famous murderer. Having seen the trailer, I was intrigued to see that Kiera Knightly played a journalist for the American Record, who took it upon herself to hunt him down. My Boston Strangler review is all about thoughts on this under-publicised film.

In A Nutshell

This movie is a true story of how a woman working for a prominent US newspaper wrote about a string of vicious murders. She had to convince her boss to let her deep dive into the killings and keep reporting on the continued investigation.

With many of the attacks involving a tell-tale signal, Loretta (Kiera Knightley) was starting to notice potential linkages. Despite being advised to leave it to the male reporters, she continued to push to see the evidence for herself and join the dots.

Set in the 1960s, this narrative was well told. The dim lighting and stylish cinematography make this an easy watch. The subject matter, however, is disturbing. Having said that, you see very little gore but mostly watch the lead up to each murder.

Positives

– The movie is well written with a good pace.

– Quality acting from Kiera and others.

– I felt intrigued and surprised throughout.

– The cinematography made it feel like you were taken back to 1960s America.

Point to improve

– If I am honest I was totally satisfied with this film but I do feel it would have made an excellent TV series. It deserved wider advertising and more credit.

Final Thoughts

With an audience score of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, this film is definitely well received. Kiera plays the lead cleverly and you really get a feel for what it must have been like working at a newspaper during a very traumatic time.

Thank you for taking the time to read my brief review of ‘Boston Strangler’. For another of my film review articles check out my thoughts on the recent Dungeons and Dragons movie.