UNCUT GEMS Review

What is maybe the best aspect of the exceptional Uncut Gems is the fact that yes, this is very much Adam Sandler doing something outside of his standard routine, but this isn't Sandler playing serious simply for the sake of proving he can in fact act when the material calls for it. No, this isn't sad or depressed Sandler simply for the sake of being taken seriously, but instead the Safdie Brothers (Good Time) have somehow lured the Sandman into giving both a layered, physical performance while also remaining one that plays off the inherent charm and charisma Sandler naturally possesses. Moreover, he's used perfectly here. So perfect in fact, it's hard to imagine anyone else in this role besides Sandler.

In Gems, Sandler is a jeweler in the diamond district in Manhattan. He’s ingrained in the Jewish community there and he's also a gambling addict. He has a wife (Idina Menzel) and several children, but he also has a girlfriend (Julia Fox) who works with him in his shop during the day and hustles for The Weeknd at night. Sandler's Howard Ratner pawns jewelry from his store to pay off bookies and accumulated debt some of the time, but most of the time he’s using that money to place bigger bets in something of a small scale Ponzi scheme. Context clues aside, the focus of plot comes into view when a giant opal that has been mined from the caves of Ethiopia comes into Ratner's possession. Ratner has plans to auction the rock off as he believes it to be worth untold amounts of money, but he first brings it to the attention of Kevin Garnett (via Lakeith Stanfield's character who will vouch for Howard's product to potential high dollar clientele such as Garnett). The NBA star can't seem to pass up the opportunity to own the stone as he believes it to bring him some type of luck (the film is set in 2013 when the Celtics were facing the Sixers in the Eastern Conference finals) with Ratner making one bad choice after another; deepening his debt rather than his pockets.

FROZEN II Review

As a parent who has seen Frozen approximately 108,054,523,678,245 times it would be easy to go into a sequel with a cynical mindset expecting directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck to repeat themselves or simply recycle the rather exceptional visual and auditory elements that worked so well the first time, but have been consumed so frequently since that it now seems there was never any other option for what that film was meant to be or be received in any other way than becoming the cultural milestone that it did. There is also the inherent fear that studios will play it safe to the point they will simply re-fashion the first film to include a few new characters and a few new songs that will have the old characters go through the same motions of learning the same lessons, but never actually having them grow in any real or meaningful way. With this film in particular though, this never seemed as if it was going to be a concern-otherwise this sequel would have arrived three years ago. What made the idea of Frozen II exciting from the first teaser was the fact it seemed apparent the writing and directing team were intent on not repeating themselves-at least as far as narrative went-for even though Frozen II ultimately comes to explore many of the same themes touched upon in the original film it isn't doing so in a re-purposed fashion, but more expanding on them-namely, the idea of love not solely being that of a romantic quality, but that this greatest and most mysterious of all emotions is maybe even more genuine when there is no romantic factor to the equation, but is instead a pure, authentic, respectful appreciation of and connection to another being. This is a sequel that is admittedly a tough one to crack as it explores the ripples left over from the first film's complex emotional arcs. Furthermore, there's this idea that the world of Frozen only needed to be expounded upon if there was a desire for it and while the answer to that might seem obvious given the amount of money the first film made when taken on face value there was no real need to fill in further historical moments from the history of Arendelle. Still, Frozen II has many things on its mind and chief among them is allowing its two protagonists to come to terms with how they wound up in the crazy positions the events of the first film landed them in; if Frozen was about Elsa and Anna figuring out who they are then Frozen II is about them figuring out who they were meant to be and how well that aligns with who they've actually become.

New Trailer for FROZEN II

As the parent of a nearly five year-old I have seen Frozen more times than I care to think about and am both genuinely surprised as well as kind of appreciative that Disney has taken the six years they have to bring a sequel to the big screen. On the one hand, surprised as the audience who originally saw Frozen in theaters is now six years older (and 6-12 is quite the gap), but at the same time my daughter wasn't even born until nearly a year after the first film's release and she loves Anna and Elsa as much as anyone could. So, there is no shortage on the key demographic who are more than happy to see more of these characters no matter the iteration, but it seems Disney and particularly directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck (with Lee having penned both screenplays-this time around with Hidden Figures scribe Allison Schroeder) were keen to mature the sequel with that of the audience who it was originally intended for. That is to say that this new, full look at Frozen II offers a glimpse into a more fully realized Arendelle meaning that while the events of the first film took both the characters and the viewer by storm with Elsa's powers, what they entailed and how they immediately affected the people around her the sequel is seemingly here to explain the mystical history of Elsa's kingdom as well as the origin of her powers and furthermore, just how powerful Elsa is exactly. Of course, this movie could be about Sven's pooping habits and it would make a billion dollars, but it's nice to see the sequel to the biggest animated film the box office has ever seen (over $1.2 billion worldwide) be more than just another attempt at another billion bucks. Also of note is the fact the new film will feature new songs from original songwriting and husband/wife duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Frozen II will see the return of Kristen Bell as Anna, Idina Menzel as Elsa, Jonathan Groff as Kristoff, and Josh Gad as Olaf along with Sterling K. Brown and Evan Rachel Wood joining the cast. Frozen II is set to open on November 22nd, 2019.

Official Trailer for FROZEN II

As the parent of a four and a half year-old I have seen Frozen more times than I care to think about and am both genuinely surprised as well as kind of appreciative that Disney has taken the six years they have to bring a sequel to the big screen. On the one hand, surprised as their audience who saw Frozen at the time of its release is now six years older (and 6-12 is quite the gap), but at the same time my daughter wasn't born until nearly a year after the first film's release and still loves Anna and Elsa as much as any girl could. So, there is no shortage on the key demographic who are more than happy to see more of these characters no matter the iteration (Olaf's Frozen Adventure was a fine enough holdover), but it seems Disney and particularly directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck (with Lee having penned both screenplays-this time with Hidden Figures scribe Allison Schroeder) are keen to mature the sequel with that of the audience who it was originally intended that originally saw it in theaters. That is to say that our first, full look at Frozen II offers a glimpse into what is not necessarily a darker/more grittier Arendelle, but rather a more fully realized existence within these characters in Arendelle meaning that while the events of the first film took both the characters and the viewer by storm with Elsa's powers and what they entailed and how they immediately affected the people around her and the kingdom she ruled given she'd been sentenced to hide them away forever the sequel seems to be getting more at the question of where did these powers come from in the first place and furthermore, just how powerful is Elsa? It's an interesting if not more existential direction to go with an animated sequel to the biggest animated film the box office has ever seen (over $1.2 billion worldwide), but while I fully expect Lee and Buck's sequel to have all the necessary trademarks of its predecessor including new songs from original songwriting and husband/wife duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez it seems it will be fascinating to find out just what else Frozen II has up its sleeve. Given Lee also assumed the head of Walt Disney Animation, after succeeding John Lasseter, last summer it will also be interesting to see what this new film tackles as its chief creative force undoubtedly had complete freedom to do whatever she wished with the story. Frozen II will see the return of Kristen Bell as Anna, Idina Menzel as Elsa, Jonathan Groff as Kristoff, and Josh Gad as Olaf along with new cast members Sterling K. Brown and Evan Rachel Wood in undisclosed roles with the film is set to open on November 22nd, 2019.

FROZEN Review

Frozen is all about defying expectation and convention. Looking at the marketing campaign for the film you really don't get much of a sense of what the story is (very similar to Pixar's usual tactics in fact) and what we do gather from the commercials we've seen and the pictures plastered all over Wal*Mart and Target is that this is more than likely a new Princess tale from Disney looking to capitalize on the good will of both Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph as those two films have come to be revered with much more excitement than anything Pixar has produced in the past few years. Going into the film, I wasn't overly sure of what I was getting myself into, but the early word of mouth that praised it as being the best Disney animated film since Beauty & the Beast or the The Lion King was certainly something that caught my attention. If nothing else, I was now curious to see how the film would measure up against these other films that shaped my childhood and are nothing short of classics in my mind. Frozen does indeed fit nicely into the library of what Disney has brought us before in terms of beautifully realized castles and princesses with funny supporting characters to lean on and charming princes or underdogs that rise to the occasion, but as I said earlier it is also all about defying those expectations and it is those variations on the structure, those added moments where the characters within the film look at each other as if to say what every grown-up in the audience is thinking, that make this all the more delightful and all the more fulfilling than simply being another knock-off of the early princess stories that made Disney the brand that it is.  Disney animated films have always been able to transcend age groups and trends, but what makes this film work along with its past couple of efforts that differentiate it from something like Treasure Planet is that it is no longer trying to be cool or stay with the times, but is instead playing by its own rules and letting the magic flow without any caution as to what might be widely accepted and in return is being rewarded handsomely.

First Full Trailer for DISNEY'S FROZEN

Since the inception of Pixar one has had to unfortunately be rather hesitant when approaching a film strictly produced by the parent company that once ran the market of childrens animated films. As their animated feature run started to dwindle after 2002's Lilo & Stitch with Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, and Home on the Range failing to capture that once inherent magic the studio also had a hard time competing with Pixar when they began producing computer animated flicks. With the one-two punch of Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph though is seems Disney animation studios is back in the game and with their latest feature on the horizon we have finally received our first full glimpse at what we can expect from Frozen. Once again, the animation looks really impressive and the characters, who look much like the humans of Tangled, seem cute and funny enough with the comic relief and likely hot toy of the season this Christmas being Josh Gad's Snow Man named Olaf. What really excited me about the trailer though is that it seems to have the tone of a Disney film from when I was a kid. It looks to have the adventure aspect of something like Aladdin and the romance of a Beauty and the Beast or Lady & the Tramp. I'm not saying it will end up being as good as those films as the trailer is a bit more cheesy than I'd expected, but it has that kind of energy to it. This and the fact the film is directed by Chris Buck (Tarzan) and Jennifer Lee (Wreck-It Ralph) and is said to feature musical numbers that hopefully have a score to match the greats of the studios past works. Frozen features the voices of Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Idina Menzel, Alan Tudyk, Santino Fontana, Chris Williams and opens in 3D on November 27th.