Gary Wolcott's "Mr. Movie" column has appeared in the Tri-City Herald since 1992. The Tri-City native now lives in Portland, Ore., and watches about 250 movies each year. This member of Portland's association of movie critics, Far From Hollywood, believes movies are made to be seen on theater screens and should be seen there and not on television screens. Have a question for Mr. Movie? Click on "Add Comment" below. Mr. Movie has joined Twitter. Follow him here.
The Princess and the Frog features Disneys first black heroine.
It is set in New Orleans where the main character, Tiana wants her own upscale restaurant.
The hero a lazy spendthrift, neer-do-well prince booted off the family fortune gets turned into a frog and his frog-looking assistant is turned into the prince so he can marry a wealthy woman.
The frog convinces Tiana that a kiss will return him to mortal status and for the kindness hell get her the cash to make the restaurant a reality. She puckers up, plugs her nose and does the deed. Presto Tiana is turned into a frog and off they go on an adventure to get things returned to normal.
Tiana and the princes story is peppered with some good and some not-so-good cajun music from Disney mainstay Randy Newman. It also reunites the Aladdin and The Little Mermaid team of Ron Clements and John Musker who patiently hand-draw the films every frame the first time Disney has done that since 2004.
More attention has been paid to charges of Disney racism than to the story, characters and song. Tony Award-winning star Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls) does the lead character vocal and manages to bring Newmans so-so music to life. Oprah Winfrey gave Disney her blessing and does a small part. So does Terrence Howard.
A goofy alligator and a firefly provide pratfalls. Kids will find them boring. It wont be techno enough for the movies target pre-teen and teen girls. Two songs in, and theyll be diving for the cell phone and texting friends.
Yes, Disney probably should have done something like this a couple of decades ago. But do we have to bring race into everything? Forget race. The Princess and the Frog deserves to be skipped because its slow and boring.
Mr. Movie rating: 2 1/2 stars
Rated G. It opens Friday, Dec. 11 at the Carmike 12 and at Fairchild Cinemas 12.
5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen
4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it's your type of movie.
3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on video.
2 stars to 1 star: Don't bother.
0 stars: Speaks for itself.
Valentine's Day is almost here, and a young man's fancy turns to ... trivia quizzes. If you are a fan of great romantic films, try this test. If you wouldn't be caught dead in a chick flick, maybe we'll do a "Rambo" quiz some day. For now, pucker up.
Alexandra Cid gets to fulfill her childhood dream of slipping into a Disney princess' shoes for her role in the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast .
"We were all raised watching our favorite princess and each little girl has her wishful dream of becoming a princess herself. I am the typical girl who wanted to live in a fairytale.
"I want children to see me and instantly know I am Belle as soon as I walk out on the stage," she said of playing Belle in the Chiawana High School production of the Disney classic.
Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams play characters Leo and Paige. Their story and that of the real life couple the film is modeled after have little in common. Married, careers on the upswing, he produces music and she’s an artist growing in fame. And they are very, very happy.
Then comes the traffic accident. She has serious head trauma. When Paige eventually comes around she remembers nothing about Leo or their life. All her memories are up to a year or so before she met Leo.
35th Annual Portland International Film Festival begins
The 35th Annual Portland International Film Festival has begun. It runs through February 25. For film fans this one is loaded. There are 140 films from 36 different countries — 93 are features and 46 shorts.
Portland isn’t that far from Tri-Cities art film lovers. This entry reviews a few films from the first weekend and Monday. I’ll be posting reviews throughout the series until its conclusion February 25th.
Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson lead We Bought a Zoo's cast. It is a highly fictionalized but based on a true story film about a widowed writer who buys and refurbishes a small zoo.
Reality and fiction meet in just two places, the name of the main character and the zoo.
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