Guess who got back from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST?
I did, and it was amazing! I loved it!
Trailers I got:
Can't say much stood out except for Transformers 5 (the protagonist seems awesome but that dang vomit joke in the trailer killed it for me) and Wonder Woman (which...Gal Gadot is going to kick so much butt). And Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, which...does not look good.
The movie experience:
It was fun. I had a great time at the theater with some friends I saw it with and on the way back, we actually sang "Be Our Guest". It was really cool.
The movie itself:
Oh my God this is one of the best movies of this year so far. Oh my God. I mean, Emma Watson as Belle! I mean, she was so absolutely awesome and clever and funny and feisty and just plain awesome. Luke Evans rocked it as Gaston, going from comedic to absolutely menacing and horrible (and what he does to Maurice, oh my God. I mean, that's one of the worst things I've seen in a movie even if I was spoiled for it). He was so amazingly evil there that I don't think I'll be able to watch The Hobbit movies again. The Beast...at first, I absolutely hated him, but then Dan Stevens made a really good saving throw and made me love him. The scenes with him and Emma Watson where they're bonding over books -- let's say it was one of those moments where you could just *feel* the chemistry between the two of them. Just seeing Belle warm up to him was a joy to watch onscreen as much as it was in the animated version. And Josh Gad was awesome as LeFou. His sense of comedic timing (it's safe to say he got some of the best lines in the film) was great, but also his own sense of internal conflict in regards to what happened with Maurice (the scene where Gaston bullies him effectively into discrediting Maurice was bonechilling to watch). They really gave LeFou more depth than in the animated version where he was mostly there for comic relief, which I thought was impressive, and I liked him ultimately turning against Gaston. Heck. Yeah. And saving Mrs. Potts' life, to boot!
And Kevin Kline was great as Maurice. His scenes with Belle were genuinely heartwarming and you could definitely buy their father-daughter bond. One of the things I loved in both the movie and the musical was their father-daughter bond (there's even a great song where he tries to cheer Belle up re: the villagers in the musical) and they transferred it gorgeously to screen.
And the songs! Emma Watson rocked it as Belle. I mean, her range on "Something There" is astounding, as well as on her introductory song. The Beast too -- I mean, Dan Stevens' range on his own monologue song is amazingly good. (And, not gonna lie, if someone sung this about me, I'd be pretty won over. I mean, I just about melted in the theater) Josh Gad as LeFou killed it on his bit in "Gaston" -- I mean, I swear it was like the original voice actor for LeFou was possessing him or something. And Luke Evans...holy crow this guy can sing. I swear he was even channeling Gaston's original voice actor during "Belle". (Seriously, let's say everyone was perfectly cast and leave it at that)
The visuals were also amazing. The design for the Beast, the visuals in the transformation sequence, everything was just perfect. And the "Be Our Guest" sequence looked just about as spectacular in live action as it did in the original film.
And I'm not gonna lie, I cried twice during the movie. Not all out sobbing, but definitely a few tears. One was the flashback with Belle's mother (and Christ, even typing that I'm tearing up. Poor Maurice, poor Belle's mom, poor baby Belle), and the next was while the servants were starting to turn into inanimate household objects. (Seriously, Disney, never do that again. You gave me *such* a fright) The emotional moments in general were great, including one additional change to the Beast's backstory (although I think it is a little cliche to have the bad father and the good mother) and Mrs. Potts sadly reflecting on how they did nothing to help as the father molded the Prince in his image. (I'm sure that counts as some form of emotional abuse, at least the more I learn about abuse. Poor Prince/Beast)
And the ending was of course great, but two additional things I liked were Belle talking to the Prince about growing a beard (that was funny) and the villagers being reunited with their loved ones from the castle. Just...gah. I didn't cry this time, but it was genuinely moving and gave some humanity to the villagers. (Although it does add some Fridge Horror to the mob scene -- they could have accidentally killed their loved ones. Makes the Enchantress actually pretty despicable for wiping their memories like that, not that she wasn't despicable before)
Honestly, it was an amazing movie, and a more than worthy adaptation of its animated movie.
So overall? Go watch it! Seriously, it's amazing.
Trailers I got:
Can't say much stood out except for Transformers 5 (the protagonist seems awesome but that dang vomit joke in the trailer killed it for me) and Wonder Woman (which...Gal Gadot is going to kick so much butt). And Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, which...does not look good.
The movie experience:
It was fun. I had a great time at the theater with some friends I saw it with and on the way back, we actually sang "Be Our Guest". It was really cool.
The movie itself:
Oh my God this is one of the best movies of this year so far. Oh my God. I mean, Emma Watson as Belle! I mean, she was so absolutely awesome and clever and funny and feisty and just plain awesome. Luke Evans rocked it as Gaston, going from comedic to absolutely menacing and horrible (and what he does to Maurice, oh my God. I mean, that's one of the worst things I've seen in a movie even if I was spoiled for it). He was so amazingly evil there that I don't think I'll be able to watch The Hobbit movies again. The Beast...at first, I absolutely hated him, but then Dan Stevens made a really good saving throw and made me love him. The scenes with him and Emma Watson where they're bonding over books -- let's say it was one of those moments where you could just *feel* the chemistry between the two of them. Just seeing Belle warm up to him was a joy to watch onscreen as much as it was in the animated version. And Josh Gad was awesome as LeFou. His sense of comedic timing (it's safe to say he got some of the best lines in the film) was great, but also his own sense of internal conflict in regards to what happened with Maurice (the scene where Gaston bullies him effectively into discrediting Maurice was bonechilling to watch). They really gave LeFou more depth than in the animated version where he was mostly there for comic relief, which I thought was impressive, and I liked him ultimately turning against Gaston. Heck. Yeah. And saving Mrs. Potts' life, to boot!
And Kevin Kline was great as Maurice. His scenes with Belle were genuinely heartwarming and you could definitely buy their father-daughter bond. One of the things I loved in both the movie and the musical was their father-daughter bond (there's even a great song where he tries to cheer Belle up re: the villagers in the musical) and they transferred it gorgeously to screen.
And the songs! Emma Watson rocked it as Belle. I mean, her range on "Something There" is astounding, as well as on her introductory song. The Beast too -- I mean, Dan Stevens' range on his own monologue song is amazingly good. (And, not gonna lie, if someone sung this about me, I'd be pretty won over. I mean, I just about melted in the theater) Josh Gad as LeFou killed it on his bit in "Gaston" -- I mean, I swear it was like the original voice actor for LeFou was possessing him or something. And Luke Evans...holy crow this guy can sing. I swear he was even channeling Gaston's original voice actor during "Belle". (Seriously, let's say everyone was perfectly cast and leave it at that)
The visuals were also amazing. The design for the Beast, the visuals in the transformation sequence, everything was just perfect. And the "Be Our Guest" sequence looked just about as spectacular in live action as it did in the original film.
And I'm not gonna lie, I cried twice during the movie. Not all out sobbing, but definitely a few tears. One was the flashback with Belle's mother (and Christ, even typing that I'm tearing up. Poor Maurice, poor Belle's mom, poor baby Belle), and the next was while the servants were starting to turn into inanimate household objects. (Seriously, Disney, never do that again. You gave me *such* a fright) The emotional moments in general were great, including one additional change to the Beast's backstory (although I think it is a little cliche to have the bad father and the good mother) and Mrs. Potts sadly reflecting on how they did nothing to help as the father molded the Prince in his image. (I'm sure that counts as some form of emotional abuse, at least the more I learn about abuse. Poor Prince/Beast)
And the ending was of course great, but two additional things I liked were Belle talking to the Prince about growing a beard (that was funny) and the villagers being reunited with their loved ones from the castle. Just...gah. I didn't cry this time, but it was genuinely moving and gave some humanity to the villagers. (Although it does add some Fridge Horror to the mob scene -- they could have accidentally killed their loved ones. Makes the Enchantress actually pretty despicable for wiping their memories like that, not that she wasn't despicable before)
Honestly, it was an amazing movie, and a more than worthy adaptation of its animated movie.
So overall? Go watch it! Seriously, it's amazing.