The Disaster Artist (2017)

The Disaster Artist (2017)

7/10

Starring

James Franco

Dave Franco

Directed by James Franco

It’s not every day you get to watch and enjoy a biographical comedy-drama about the worst movie ever made. The Disaster Artist is a true-life story based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell. Both the book and this movie (which share the same name) focus on the production of Tommy Wiseau’s The Room (2003).

The Room is famously known as the worst movie ever made, and that reputation has ironically turned it into a profitable cult classic. Upon its initial release, the movie earned a mere $1,800 at the box-office, despite a production budget of over $6 million. After being widely panned, it has since become a movie everyone wants to watch—or has already seen—and, as mentioned earlier, it now sells out many evening screenings, turning a profit.

This biographical film begins with Tommy Wiseau, a mysterious stranger from nowhere. His origins are known only to him, and his seemingly endless wealth remains a mystery to this day. Tommy meets Greg at an acting class when Greg approaches him for some acting tips. Despite Tommy’s poor speaking and acting skills, he was never shy about stepping up to perform his lines.

Tommy, being weird and eccentric, befriends Greg and invites him to move to Los Angeles, where Tommy owns a home, so they can pursue their acting careers together. The journey starts well, but the purpose gets lost for both actors. After numerous rejections, Tommy wants to give up, but Greg talks him out of it. A comment about how great it would be if they could make their own movie sparks an idea in Tommy’s mind.

Tommy decides to make his own movie—a movie he will finance entirely by himself. He writes, produces, stars in, and directs it. This begins a massive financial investment and a wild ride filled with sadness, discomfort, and all kinds of weirdness as the movie takes shape and eventually wraps up.

The premiere of The Room is attended by the entire cast and crew, much to the surprise of Greg, who had distanced himself from Tommy after the production ended.

The Disaster Artist is produced, directed by, and stars James Franco as Tommy Wiseau, with his brother Dave Franco playing Greg Sestero. James Franco’s performance in this movie is truly noteworthy.

The movie is worth seeing, as it has already started collecting the accolades it deserves.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

6/10

Starring

Dwayne Johnson

Jack Black

Kevin Hart

Karen Gillan

Nick Jonas

Directed by Jake Kasdan

A much different take from the first movie, I can tell you that much. The actors here are all well-suited for the roles they played (not saying they performed better than the ones in the first movie), and their reactions and characterization will leave you anticipating when they’ll get the chance to show off such magnificent acting again. Combined with the script and production, I feel the movie is just a little above the bar of mediocrity for me.

We all remember the first Jumanji, released in 1995 and starring the late Robin Williams. This movie is a standalone sequel to that and pays tribute to Williams, as his character Alan Parrish’s home—where he was trapped in the game for twenty-six years—is shown, with his name engraved on it.

So, what is this movie all about?
This standalone sequel is also based on the children’s book Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg and is the third installment in the Jumanji franchise (the second being Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), which is also based on an Allsburg children’s book but isn’t worth remembering or seeing).

The movie has some similarities to the first one. At the beginning, a young man picks up the game—this time, the board game has transformed itself into a cartridge so it can be played on a gaming console. The new user, named Alex Vreeke, slots the game into the console and gets sucked into it. Twenty years later, a group of high school kids in detention come across the game. They plug it in, select characters on the screen, and the moment the game starts, they’re sucked into it. Their high school bodies are transformed into the characters they selected.

Now, they’re in the game for real, with three lives each. They must overcome obstacles, find the treasure, defeat the game’s boss, and complete the main task to get back home.

The main challenge in this plot isn’t just the three lives each character has (which is fun to see how they lose them), but also the fact that their new bodies don’t match their real-life personas. This becomes a challenge as they have to adapt to these new characters, who possess the strengths needed to complete the game.

The movie isn’t bad to watch with kids, who will likely enjoy it more than adults. However, don’t expect much more than an above-average script with some good acting performances. A sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level, was released in 2019.

Paddington 2 (2017)

Paddington 2 (2017)

7/10

Starring

Hugh Bonneville

Sally Hawkins

Hugh Grant

Ben Whishaw as voice of Paddington

Directed by Paul King

After Paddington is convicted and sent to jail, the movie starts to test you. The test? How hard can you hold yourself from falling over laughing as Paddington clumsily makes his way through prison? We see him adjust with some help and transform the prison using Aunt Lucy’s teachings to make everyone a little nicer.

Paddington 2 is a live-action/CGI animated comedy film, full of the same characters from the first movie (Paddington (2014)) and some new additions, many of whom you’ll love to see. One standout is Hugh Grant, whose character is thoroughly enjoyable.

In this installment, Aunt Lucy is about to turn one hundred years old, and Paddington wants to get her a special present. He sets his eyes on a unique pop-up book of London in Mr. Gruber’s antique shop. Paddington wants this book because Aunt Lucy has always dreamed of visiting London, so he hopes to bring London to her. The problem? The book is far more expensive than Paddington can afford, so he takes on odd jobs to raise the money.

One evening, on his way home after a busy day of work, Paddington makes a detour to the antique shop to look at the book through the window. While there, he spots a thief breaking into the shop. Paddington, of course, goes after the thief, but in doing so, he ends up inside the shop and then outside chasing the thief, who eventually escapes. The incident triggers the alarm and alerts the police, but Paddington is the only one left at the scene. He insists he’s innocent and mentions the thief he saw, but his paw prints and marmalade stains are the only evidence left behind—enough to convict poor Paddington.

The Browns believe Paddington and take on the task of trying to find the real criminal. The only challenge? The thief happens to be a master of disguise.

The Paddington films are fun family movies set in a fictional world where an anthropomorphic bear migrates from the jungles of “darkest Peru” to the streets of London. The movie is based on the stories of the character Paddington, from the children’s book series of the same name created by Michael Bond.

I’d advise you to take the whole family to see this movie. And don’t worry—Mr. Curry, played by our beloved twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi (of the Doctor Who series), is still around to hate on Paddington and, in the process, bring the whole community together to save and clear his name.