Movie Review Madness - Jungle Book

The Jungle Book, 2016 version, is beyond fantastic. The CGI animals are uncanny. The jungle is lush and richly filmed. And Neel Sethi, who plays Mowgli, is just a charmer with his huge brown eyes and resourceful manner. I highly recommend this film for young and old, but for teeny kids there are some scary parts. Heck yeah, I jumped when the tiger leaped from the field. Yikes!!!

Rudyard Kipling wrote this classic story about a boy, Mowgli, raised by wolves and hunted by Shere Khan, the tiger. In his attempt to go to humans, he encounters all sorts of animals and is guided and lured into trouble along the way. The animals are voiced perfectly – Ben Kingsley is the protector panther, Lupito Nyong’o is the mother wolf, Idris Elba is Shere Khan, evil tiger, Bill Murray as Baloo the bear offers humor and zany along the way, Scarlett Johansson hisses as Kaa the snake, and Christopher Walken is King Louis the mighty ape. Through it all, Mowgli has his human tricks to keep himself alive, and he uses and sees the trouble that the “red flower” (fire) gives humans.

The Jungle Book is very worthy of the big screen. This is what movies are all about –a magical world, a classic tale, a journey, and a boy united with the earth and animals.

July Junque: Movie Review Madness - Jersey Boys

sing classic July junque tunes

 

Sherry, Sherry baby………..everyone kicks into this song with their best falsetto. But there is only one Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Jersey Boys, based on the Tony award winning Broadway musical, is now on screen. It’s a well directed film by Clint Eastwood, who was smart enough to cast dudes who can sing – the real Broadway actors. Too often musicals stretch with a Hollywood actor/singer and you can’t disappear into the story. Kudos to Clint.  

John Lloyd Young (Frankie Valli), Michael Lomenda (Nick Massi), and Vincent Piazza (Tommy DeVito) are young punks trying to get out of their small Jersey town. Frankie cuts hair by day and sings at night. Tommy’s the charmer, working the gigs, grooming Frankie, spending the bucks, and has the goods that fall off the truck. He rolls in and out of Rahway prison with a smile on his face. But everyone looks out for Frankie. He even brings the local capo (a great Christopher Walken) to tears with a version of Your Mother’s Eyes.  

But they need a real band name, and an original songwriter. Enter a buddy, Joe Pesci (yes, the one who becomes an actor). Joey knows this Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen) who can play, sing, and write. The group meet and while Tommy senses leadership competition, they agree to take on Bob. Kaboom – with the right record producer, gigs on American Bandstand, tours galore and songs like Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, and Walk Like a Man The Four Seasons should be raking in the dough.  

Jersey Boys goes behind the scenes of the group’s story. We see the wife’s alcohol problem, divorce, the daughter’s drug issues. Daddy’s on the road and she’s missing out on fatherly guidance and love.

 

Tommy’s gambling problems cause huge money issues, strife, and breakup of the group. We see the guys grow from kids on the street to men dealing with fame and turmoil. The film shows the grinding hard work, and the need to perform.  

Frankie sings, he chases the music, and eventually goes it alone. We finally see the group meet up at the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame Induction. Bad feelings are put on the back burner with handshakes and hugs. And then they sing again, and that voice of an angel soars. It’s tough to beat a real live Broadway production, but the Jersey Boys film does a darn good job of keeping your toes tapping. You’ll go home and break out that falsetto – Sherry, sherry baby………