Hey everyone! It’s time for a quick update on the new films I’ve been watching.
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
My feelings concerning this movie are surprisingly complicated. Ever since I first started reviewing films back in 2014 I heard about Blazing Samurai and it seemed like a project we were never going to see. Now in 2022 we finally have it and considering the production history it’s not half bad. Then again I might be giving it too much credit because of very low expectations.
The strength of this film is the humor and the animation. I laughed quite a bit, and the animated action looks great. The downside is the plot is quite dry and slow. The pacing could have been better. Still it’s a harmless action comedy the family can enjoy (it should have gone to streaming).
6 out of 10
Smile Worthy
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris
In a world where the cinema seems crowded with superheroes and explosions it’s nice to take a break and watch a movie about human beings with simple dreams. Such is the case with Mrs Harris Goes to Paris.
The film stars Lesley Manville as the Mrs Harris in the title and she is a cleaning lady who decides to travel to Paris and buy a couture Dior dress. While there she meets Isabelle Huppert’s Claudine who runs Dior and doesn’t know what to make of this British woman who wants such a fancy dress.
Manville should get nominated for an Oscar for her performance. She’s so good in this role. You feel for her desire to be recognized and that she is worthy of great things like a Dior dress. The costumes are also obviously gorgeous and there’s a lot of escapism in all the fashion.
My only real flaw with the film is we don’t get to see much of Paris as most of the movie is in the Dior offices. Might have been nice to get out into the city more just to break things up. This is a movie you can take your family too and all have a great time. It’s a heartwarming tribute to dreamers.
8 out of 10
Smile Worthy
Love Accidentally
Everyone knows I’m a sucker for a romantic comedy so I was excited to see Love Accidentally in the new service Freevee, which is associated with Amazon Prime. This is not a great romcom but it is serviceable if you are in the mood for the genre.
It mostly works because Brenda Song and Aaron O’Connell are charming and have decent chemistry. It’s about a couple working together who end up in a texting relationship without realizing who the other texter is. This story has been done many times but it almost always works for me. It’s romantic the idea of falling in love with each other’s words.
Still we’ve seen this all before and most of the attempts at comedy fall flat but it hit my romcom craving so I give it a mild recommendation.
6 out of 10
Smile Worthy
Zombies 3
I consider myself a bit of a defender of the DCOM especially the musicals. I think they have an energy in choreography, music and casting I enjoy. One of my favorites is the first Zombies film. It’s a cute little metaphor for tolerance with talented young actors and some entertaining choreography. Then we got Zombies 2 and now to Disney Plus we have Zombies 3.
Each entry in this series adds a new group the residences of Seabrook must learn to accept. First, zombies. Second, werewolves, and third, aliens. I still enjoy the cast of this 3rd film with Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly in the lead with new addition Matt Cornett as one of the aliens. I love him on HSMTMTS so was excited to see him get more roles.
Zombies 3 tries to tackle a lot and unfortunately the music and dancing get lost. It’s like Grease meets Wrath of Kahn meets Bring it On and that’s a lot for any movie, let alone a DCOM, to take on. The songs are also weirdly placed and not memorable. In the end, it’s too much and not enough at the same time.
4 out of 10
Frown Worthy
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song
I am always fascinated by creatives and the process by which they come up with great music or art. In Hallelujah we get to peek behind the life and career of musician Leonard Cohen who wrote the incredibly popular song Hallelujah (you definitely need to like that song to enjoy this film as you will hear it about 40 times!)
This doesn’t reinvent the wheel for this kind of documentary but I appreciate how thorough this one is. They even go into the process for how Hallelujah ended up on Shrek and how they completely changed the lyrics for the film.
If you like this song than you’ve got to watch this documentary!
6 out of 10
Smile Worthy
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