Moana (2016)

Moana is the daughter of an ancient Polynesian chief which makes her a princess. What a princess she is.

Like Pocahontas before her, Moana is technically a princess though some may deny it. Whatever you choose to view her as, she is a strong character. The strong princess character audiences have been hoping for.

It only gets better. She has a strong, toned body and looks more like a human than a doll. There is also no love interest anywhere to be found.

While Anna didn't necessarily need him in her life, she still had Kristoff. This makes Moana try;y unique. Of course, it is also delightful to look at.

Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) dreams of venturing further than her island but her father (Temeura Morrison) will not allow anyone to travel past the reef of their island Motunui. However, Motunui is starting to experience the curse unleashed by the demi-god Maui (Dwayne Johnson) 1000 years before when he stole the heart of the goddess Te Fiti. The ocean chooses Moana as the person who must venture out, find Maui and get him to return Te Fiti's heart to its rightful place.

It's a relatively simple plot, but the things Moana sees and the creatures are anything but. She encounters the Kakamora (little pirates); a treasure-hoarding crab (Jemaine Clement); and Te Ka, the lava demon who also eyes Te Fiti's heart.

Moana's journey should be simple as she is traveling with a demi-god, but Maui complicates things more than he helps. He is vain and selfish and only going on this journey for the glory that awaits him when he makes things right. He has lost his magical fish hook and when he regains it, he can't get it to work the way it used to.

Yes there are similarities to Moana and past princesses in terms of their journey. It only makes sense as Ron Clements and Jon Musker directed various films during Disney's renaissance period, but they have improved upon their formula. Dwayne Johnson is also great as Maui. He is charming, witty and funny.

Disney struggled a little bit after their renaissance period ended, but they are gaining traction once again. Frozen, Wreck-It-Ralph, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia were not only box office gold, they were stories audiences were craving.

I enjoyed Moana more than Frozen, the only one in the aforementioned films it can really be compared to. Opetaia Foa'i, Mark Mancina and Lin Manuel Miranda have created a catchy and memorable soundtrack. The visuals are stunning and every color, every movement is beautifully rendered.

Moana is another Disney princess film. One that parents can approve of and children can look up to. Everyone should check it out.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

4/5 Stars
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Colin Farrell
Classification: PG

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is wonderful. This whole story is based off of one of Harry Potter's textbooks. J.K. Rowling has said that as she was writing the textbook, Newt Scamander began forming an identity in her mind. This is fascinating to me. Of course, I'm also happy I get to revisit the wizarding community once again.

I was not sure how this story would play out, but of course I was willing to give it a chance. The twist at the end did catch me off guard and I am looking forward to the sequels. The monsters we are introduced to are beautiful and there is such a humanity to them. More so than the actual humans in the story.

This new story is set for a total of five films. J.K. Rowling wrote the script for this one and hopefully she will write the others as only she can truly explain those parts of the wizarding world we haven't seen. I loved that we got to see the American wizarding community. It is fantastically different from the modern, English world we are used to seeing. David Yates, who also directed the last four films in the Harry Potter franchise, brings 1920s New York to life.

The story opens with Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) arriving on Ellis Island with a suitcase full of magical creatures which is illegal in the United States magical world. New York and MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America) are quickly turned upside down as some of Newt's creatures escape.

He is arrested but not before becoming friends with ex-Auror Tina (Katherine Waterston) her sister Queenie (Alison Sudol) and a no-maj Jacob (Dan Fogler). There are also an array of other characters we are introduced to.

The beasts in this film are truly fantastic. We get glimpses of nifflers, bowtruckles and demi guises amongst others.

As Newt goes after his creatures he and his friends become involved in other plots including one involving an obscurus and Gellert Grindelwald, the famed evil wizard.

The film is magical. After Newt befriends Jacob, they both head down into Newt's suitcase. It is filled with magical creatures and they all have room to roam about. It feels good to be back in the magical world and as long as it continues existing, I will continue to be amazed by it.

Tarzan of the Apes (Tarzan, #1) by Edgar Rice Burroughs

“I do not understand exactly what you mean by fear," said Tarzan. "Like lions, fear is a different thing in different men, but to me the only pleasure in the hunt is the knowledge that the hunted thing has power to harm me as much as I have to harm him. If I went out with a couple of rifles and a gun bearer, and twenty or thirty beaters, to hunt a lion, I should not feel that the lion had much chance, and so the pleasure of the hunt would be lessened in proportion to the increased safety which I felt."

One of the advantages of reading is that I can distract myself from the things that are worrying me. Right now, I'm worried about the upcoming election. As I await the results of the election, I feel a deep pit in my stomach. I hate that there is one candidate who makes me feel this way. I pray that that candidate does NOT win. I digress. This is my first time reading Tarzan of the Apes. Of course, I had heard of the popular character my entire life. It was a story I had never wanted to read. I decided to finally check it out mainly because the film came out this year.

Tarzan of the Apes; courtesy of wikimedia

As I read the introduction, I knew to be prepared with less that accurate descriptions of native Africans. It is obvious this was written in the early 1900s. Published in 1912, there are many racist tones in the novel. While it is incredibly offensive, I can overlook this due to the time it was written although I do not approve. Tarzan is a product of his time. The native Africans are depicted as savage cannibals. This is definitely a time when there was a superior race as I will discuss further.

Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan; courtesy of Amazon

Tarzan is born to upper class parents from England. After his parents die, a female ape mourning the death of her infant finds Tarzan and starts caring for him as her own. Despite the other apes' disdain of the human child, he thrives and becomes one of the strongest members. As he grows older, Tarzan discovers the cabin where he was born and becomes intrigued by it. He explores the cabin and finds his children's books. Miraculously he learns how to read just by studying the letters and pictures in the books. Being a straight, white man he has the ability to do this apparently. 

Tarzan of the Apes; Courtesy of Open Monthly Letters

Jane is a damsel in distress always accompanied by her equally offensive mammy. Some minor characters are killed off in different ways and Tarzan is always there to save them. He swings through the forest with Jane in his arm as though she weighed no more than a feather. After he rescues Jane she is smitten. He has no way of communicating with her though as he can read and write  English, but can not speak it. Of course, Jane is willing to overlook this.

The Edition I read; Courtesy of Literary Fictions

This could be the end of the story as most film adaptations end here, but it doesn't. Instead Jane returns to America (She's American. Who knew?) where she is engaged to marry an awful suitor. When Tarzan finds out she is gone he decides he must return to her. He learns to speak French from D'Arnot a man he saved and is helping him get to America. From there, he begins to learn English. Tarzan can speak elephant and ape, who could resist such a man?

Tarzan; Courtesy of Library Thing

Despite the racist humor and stereotyping, I found myself enjoying this novel. This is the most popular literary character raised by animals. Tarzan has a hard time believing he is completely human. Yes, the racial portrayals are awful but you have to give Burroughs' credit. He could easily have made only the black characters awful especially given the time. There are some white characters who are greedy and terrible people. The animals are also given the same treatment. Kala is one of the best literary mothers written. The gorillas she lives with are vindictive and only spare Tarzan due to the respect they have for his mother. The overall message of Tarzan is that man is inherently good and are only corrupted when exposed to civilization. Edgar Rice Burroughs' characters are fleshed out for the most part. 

All Story Magazine Cover; Courtesy of ERBzine

The first story in the Tarzan series ends on a cliffhanger. None of the major problems in the story are resolved. As such the story continues for twenty-five more novels.

Tarzan is one of those characters that you grow up knowing about. He's been in everything from films to television shows to video games. My mom grew up watching a television show about Tarzan. My generation had the animated Disney film. This generation has the latest Tarzan film starring Alexander Skarsgard. 

Tarzan of the Apes; Courtesy of Mana Pop

I'm not sure when the next time we'll see Tarzan again will be. I'm also not sure I'll continue the series. It was good and I enjoyed reading this adventure, but there are other books to be read and other series to be discovered.

The only film adaptation I have seen is the animated Disney film. That adaptation is nothing like the book. To begin with, Sabor is a lioness and not a leopard. Small detail, but still interesting. Disney did portray Tarzan as intelligent. Whatever the case, it is interesting to see how this man raised by apes turned out to be. There are themes that relate to the modern world. Edgar Rice Burroughs may have misrepresented some people, but he does have some messages he is trying to send out about humans in general. It may not be interesting to some people, but I say check Tarzan out. 

It was a good story and it kept me distracted. I must return to the real world now.

The Addams Family (1991)

Genre: Horror, comedy; Starring: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Dan Hedaya, Carol Struychen; Director: Barry Sonnenfeld; Rating: PG-13

I don't know much about The Addams Family. My boyfriend loves this film and when our local AMC showed it he jumped at the chance to show it to me. 

I don't know if the actors portrayed the characters as originally intended, but I enjoyed the cast and had fun watching them Morticia (Anjelica Huston) is sultry. Raul Julia plays Gomez and he appears to be having the time of his life in the role. Christopher Lloyd who plays Fester is silly. Christina Ricci as Wednesday is the best, though. She delivers her lines perfectly.

The story itself is kind of complicated. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, the film follows the Addams family lawyer as he seeks money to pay back some debts he has. Knowing the Addams family is rich, he comes up with a scheme to convince the family that they are being reunited with long lost family member Fester. While it is funny to see the macabre family interact with the rest of the world, it does get predictable.

My first romp with the Addams family was fun. However, I do wish the characters had been fleshed out more. The characters play off of each other wonderfully, but they were missing some more interactions with members outside of their home.  3/5 stars

Colonia (2016)

3.5/5 stars

This film is inspired by Colonia Dignidad started by Nazi pedophile Paul Schafer. Schafer fled to Chile and began the religious cult. It's a place I had never heard about, but one I want to research now. It's shocking getting a glimpse into what life was like in this place. Emma Watson is fantastic. 

Lena (Emma Watson) a stewardess reunites with her German boyfriend Daniel (Daniel Bruhl) in Chile. Daniel is an activist fighting against Communism until General Pinochet assumes power. He is captured, tortured and brought to Colonia Dignidad. Here the men and women lead separate with Schafer (Michael Nyqvist) saying it is to keep everyone from feeling and experiencing impure thoughts. Despite the dangers, Lena joins the cult in order to rescue Daniel.

It was a thrilling watch and it is obvious why Watson chose this role. Lena is a strong woman and Watson brings her talent and intelligence to the role.