Quick Reviews: The Hustle, Mirai, Uglydolls, The Fifth Element

I'm clearing out my drafts folder, and this has been sitting there untouched, so why not post it now? Below are my thoughts for the four titles mentioned.

The Hustle
The Hustle stars Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson, and is about two con-artists trying to up one another to see who succeeds in stealing something from their chosen mark. With Hathaway scoring a few comedic roles under her belt, and Wilson being a regular on the genre, one would think that this would be a bit funny. The leads have no on-screen chemistry, the writing was terrible, and none of the women were funny. It felt like a paycheck movie for both and they didn't exactly insert any effort to it. 

Mirai
Mirai is a Japanese animated film about a 4-year old boy whose life changes when he becomes a big brother. The film moves as a series of vignettes where his backyard would transform into some alternate setting relating to the boy's current situation. I thought that the film was magical. I liked the presentation of the story: the film was visually stunning, and each scenario was quite different from one another. While it isn't that emotion-punching film it was setting out to be, this was still a wonderful film.

UglyDolls
UglyDolls is about a group of misshapen dolls (led by Kelly Clarkson) who sets out to be part of the real world so they could be gifted to a child. This doesn't go off without a challenge, as they face a foe who is about perfection. Since it is a children's movie, this does work out in the end. It presents a simple idea, and it all connects just fine, but the movie was just okay. It doesn't stand out in terms of characters, and the song numbers seem off, mainly because the way it started didn't make it seem like this was going to be some whimsical piece. I also found it odd that the doll that Kelly Clarkson's character chose to listen to was the same doll who was just singing about changing herself if she had a chance (as opposed to her original tune, which was be yourself) in a previous scene. I think children will like this, and the message is child-appropriate.

The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element existed in a time where wacky sci-fi movies were the norm. This is about a taxi driver/retired agent who gets tasked to retrieve the stones in order to save the planet. What I liked about this though is that the arcs are seemingly connected through coincidence as the characters encountered each other through varied circumstances. Gary Oldman and Chris Tucker were over the top, and it just fits with their character. It was as if the film was on a trip of its own - it was fun. It did drag a bit at the beginning since the build up to the main plot of the film was long, though things ended really quickly after the climax.

No comments:

Post a Comment