Finally Friday - Dreamin'

 Rylee, Disney cruise, Princess Dress.  This is a good friend's granddaughter. 

What is she thinking?

Hopes, dreams, or thinking  about dessert - looked like a lot  of choices  at the  ice  cream bar. 

and the kid loves french fries too....ha!

What will she do in her life....so much potential?

Meanwhile - I seek this innocence, peace, contemplation. 

I'll be honest. I may joke about Disney Corporate blah, blah...but there is magic. 

There were a lot of other pictures showing the sheer joy of meeting Cinderella, Snow White, etc.

They were "real" and these young Disney worker bees truly gave a young girl joy and magic. 

Let this carry you into the weekend with a smile.   Cheers and big hug my blog friends. 

What's in Your Queue?

 Television. Netflix. HBO Max, Amazon. Hulu. Disney. 

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I still read quite a bit as you can tell from my reviews.  But the old boob tube draws me in. So many choices. So many binges. So many golden oldies too. 

Here are a few things I've been watching. 

Disney - Loki  from the Marvel Universe. I love Tom Hiddleston. I have no freakin' clue what's going on in this series. There's time variance.  Time keepers. Variants. And life can be in disarray.  Okay....

Whatever, I'm amused.  If anyone can explain it - feel free...... Alex??

Netflix -   This is POP.   I enjoy music documentaries and this series zeroes in on some themes. It's been very entertaining as they explore the 60s, black music, and what came out of the Brill Building in NYC. Very cool

HBO Max -  Let Him Go with Kevin Costner and Diane Lane. Takes place late 50s in Montana. Lots of quiet moments and then some violent moments. Great acting.  Kevin and Diane want to save their three year old grandson from the clutches of in-laws. Let's just say that doesn't go smoothly. 

HBO Max - Judas and the Black Messiah.  A wow of a serious movie.  Fred Hampton and the Black Panther movement - watching the growth of the movement, the electricity of Fred, and the quiet FBI tracking of this group.  Daniel K. won an Oscar for his portrayal of Fred, and Lakieth Stanfield gives an amazing performance too. This was thinking material. 

Hulu - Summer of Soul   Another music documentary - this one produced by Questlove.  Really good - around the time of Woodstock, there was a huge music festival featuring black musicians at a park in Harlem. Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, the 5th Dimension and more. It was crazy good, but never had the oomph like Woodstock did. Now rare footage has been compiled and it's worth watching. Very cool

So, what's in your Queue?

Movie Review Madness - Beauty and the Beast

A tale as old as time….Beauty and the Beast gets a live action Disney remake that is absolutely gorgeous and worthy. Go see it on a monster big screen. Spring for the good theater with XD fancy screen and sound. Get the big tub of popcorn and bask in an old fashioned musical.  Not much new to the story. Belle (Emma Watson) is the odd girl in an old French town. She reads books, for goodness sake, and dreams of more to life. No, she does not want to marry Gaston (Luke Evans) – the hot male in town who’s an egomaniac.  Her father (the always good to see Kevin Kline) is eccentric and when he goes off to market loses his way and ends up a prisoner in an odd creepy castle. His faithful horse shows up and takes Belle to find him. There she says, “Step into the light” and meets the Beast.

This formerly vain prince had a curse placed upon him and his castle.  Now, until a final rose petal falls, he must remain a hideous creature and his servants are stuck as candelabras (Ewan McGregor), clocks (Ian McKellan), teapots (Emma Thompson), and the fancy wardrobe (Audra MacDonald- fabulous voice),  etc.   Belle swaps places with her father and shows her strong will. She’s not going to put up with crap from the Beast. But slowly she realizes he is her match – he’s well read, has a fabulous library, and she slowly makes him less selfish. Meanwhile, she charms the characters and they love her.

Emma Watson is perfect in this role. She projects intelligence. Her interplay with the Beast (a charming and worthy Dan Stevens) works. And he slowly wins her favor and ours. Deep down he is human, he does care, and does need and seek love. Can she fall for him in time to save them all?  Oh, you must enjoy the film to the end – bask in the lavish numbers (Be Our Guest). Love is unpredictable, and sometimes you do have to look into the soul, into the core of a creature to find what’s worthy.  So, yes, a bit of a lesson in this day and age. But the supreme goal of Beauty and the Beast is to entertain, to tell a tale as old as time…and golly gee, it will win your heart. 

Movie Review Madness: Cinderella

No animation, no singing bluebirds or mice. However, the new live action Disney Cinderella is truly a magical feast for the eyes. I shall mention Dante Ferretti, the production designer because he deserves high praise for the richness of the castle, ballroom, and the lushness we see on screen. Lily James is a gorgeous Ella – beautiful within and out. Richard Madden is a handsome Prince Charming. Helena Bonham Carter is a wifty fairy godmother. But it is Cate Blanchett as the Evil Stepmother who amps this movie. She just oozes selfishness and nastiness abounds as she turns poor Ella into the house servant when Ella’s father dies.  

They stick with the familiar Cinderella story. Raised by two loving parents, Ella wants for nothing. Sadly her mother dies but not without the words, “Have courage and be kind.” That motto shall sustain Ella. The father remarries thinking this will be good, bringing the Lady and her two horrific daughters into the home. But he dies, and Ella becomes Cinderella, sleeping at the hearth for warmth and cooking and cleaning. A chance meeting in the woods, and the Prince now seeks the commoner for marriage. But his father has other ideas. So a huge ball brings in royalty and the public. The Evil Stepmother schemes to have her daughters marry the prince. But Cinderella, thanks to the magic of the fairy godmother, appears at the ball and wins the Prince’s heart once again. The transformation scene is splendid – pumpkin to carriage, mice to horses, lizards to footmen, etc.  

At the stroke of midnight, Cinderella must flee the ball, leaving a glass slipper behind. The search is on for the girl’s foot to fit the slipper and become the Queen. Who shall it be? Will the ending be happily ever after? This is an excellent popcorn movie for the family. There were plenty of little girls in the audience wearing their princess outfits. And frankly, the motto “Have courage and be kind” is a good lesson for young and old. Cinderella is a classic and this movie upholds the tradition and more.