Thursdays at the Theater XVI

Hello there Titans, we’re back at it again with yet another volume of Thursdays at the Theater! The summer movie season is set to pop with Civil War on May 6th as I mentioned last time, but before we get to that, let’s pay attention to some of the smaller movies coming out.

This Friday, we have Mother’s Day opening, the third in Garry Marshall’s anthology of romantic comedies that has been preceded by Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve. Personally, I don’t hate these movies like a lot of other people do, and I have an okay time watching them. I don’t think they’re good and they don’t offer anything meaningful, but they’re harmless, so what can you do? Aside from that, we have the Ratchet and Clank animated film based off of the popular Playstation exclusive video game series. There has been a push to get video game movies rolling like comic book films are now (Mass Effect movie, please! And throw in Legend of Zelda while you’re at it. And make sure not to forget about Halo!), but this isn’t going to be the one to do it simply because it does feel more like another animated feature - which it should, it’s a movie. I feel a lot of video-game films are too concerned with being like the game that they do so not in terms of story and character, but in the way it’s presented. Games and movies are two different beasts and I hope that studios are beginning to assign good directors so we don’t have to call a cheesefest like Mortal Kombat, the best video game movie out there. Unless you’re a Tomb Raider person, I can’t blame you with Angelina Jolie in the lead role.

Also coming out is the R-rated comedy from acclaimed sketch duo Key and Peele. It’s about two best friends who go to rescue their adorable cat Keanu, named after Keanu Reeves because of his role in John Wick. If you’ve seen that movie, you’ll understand why. The trailers have been hysterical, these two crush their sketch comedy consistently, and I hope they have what it takes to deliver and I wanna have a good time giggling over all of the inappropriate humor that’ll be thrown in.

And the week after that is Civil War. You’ve seen the trailers, you’ve seen the posters, you’ve seen the other movies building up to this. Another disastrous incident involving the Avengers causes the American government to begin to decide that heroes should be placed under tighter control. Tony Stark is for this and Captain America is against, and from this clash of ideologies, we have our conflict and thus, our movie. Early screenings have yielded rave reviews praising the film for its emotional impact, character development and exploration of thematic elements. Black Panther and Spider-Man, in particular, are subjects of praise in how they are introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So basically, it’s really awesome and you should buy your ticket. Now.

If you read the last one of these, you’ll know that I wanted to go see the Jungle Book and see the Jungle Book I did. I’m going to cut to the chase: This movie is amazing. It’s phenomenal in the way that it adapts the original 1967 cartoon and puts a new spin on it. Almost everything you see except for the child actor and some props is completely CGI. This was filmed in a soundstage in Los Angeles and should be marked as a big win for Jon Favreau and Disney.

The voice cast is incredible, from Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Bill Murray as Baloo and Idris Elba as the villainous Shere Khan. Having all of these veteran actors playing these roles lends a gravitas to the film. While normal voice actors would’ve been good, hearing these familiar voices as the classic characters we know and love immediately allows you to ease into what is being presented. I have to give the kid who played Mowgli, newcomer Neel Sethi, massive kudos as well because what you have to understand about this movie is that this kid was acting against nothing. Where you see Shere Khan or Bagheera, this kid would see some stunt guy moving some animal puppets. He’s 12 years old in his first film role ever, so he should be given praise.

And I have to talk about Shere Khan here: He is, so far, the best movie villain of 2016. Every time he is on screen, it’s all about Shere Khan. He is out to kill Mowgli for reasons that are divulged as you watch the movie, and he is absolutely ruthless. Elba’s voice gives the character a presence and his actions solidify that presence.

As I’ve already mentioned, the CGI is a technological marvel. The way the animals’ mouths move, the lighting, the way the jungle itself looks, how Mowgli even interacts with the animals physically is painstakingly detailed and it’s all the better for it. Of course you know it’s all CGI, and there are certain shots that are clearly CGI, but where we are now with technology shows how far we’ve come and how far we can go.

There are two musical numbers in this film, and one feels very natural but not so much for the other. The score itself though is really good though.

All that being said, I’m going to give Disney’s The Jungle Book 4.5 out of 5 stars, and I would argue that it’s better than any other version we’ve had. This movie is a lock for the VFX Oscar next year, and I will be cheering for it when the time comes unless another movie comes along and proves more visually stunning. Bottom line: Go see it, especially in IMAX because it is marvelous.

Alright then, that is it for this edition of Thursdays at the Theater. I want to thank you for taking the time to read this. Remember, you can stay up to date on everything we do here by following the Titan Times on Twitter and Instagram and liking us on Facebook. My name is Joshua Volkers and I’m signing off. Stay strong Titans!

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