Pete's Dragon (2016) review

Up until now, Disney’s current trend of live-action remakes have mainly been based on the studio’s long line of animated films; Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book, Cinderella, etc. And as I’ve gone over before, while this current practice has obviously been rather controversial with some fans, at the very least the films have been performing very well commercially and some of their more recent ‘re-imaginings’ have actually been doing really well critically too. But with their newest remake, Pete’s Dragon, things are a little bit different. This time around the source material is not an animated film, well, not entirely at least. In 1977, Disney released Pete’s Dragon, a live-action musical centered on the titular Pete, a young orphan boy, and the adventures that he had with his best friend, a dragon named Elliott. While the majority of the film was live-action, Elliott was an animated character with the film’s animation notably being directed by animation legend Don Bluth. Upon release, the film was a fairly decent box-office hit and although the reviews were mixed at best, it has since gone on to amass a pretty sizable cult following. But now here we are with a brand new take on the story of the boy named Pete and his dragon friend Elliott, brought to us by David Lowery, director of 2013’s indie hit Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. His take on Pete’s Dragon is noticeably different from its predecessor because whereas the original 1977 film was a full-blown musical, this new film is more of a drama. But despite the change in ‘genre’, this new take on Pete’s Dragon is still a very charming and heartfelt story that may seem simple but is full of strong themes that both young and old can admire.

The film opens as a young boy named Pete (Oakes Fegley) tragically loses both of his parents in a car accident while the three of them are on a road trip. The accident ends up stranding him in the forest alone but he soon comes across a large, furry, and friendly green dragon whom he names Elliott (Elliott’s ‘vocals’ are provided by John Kassir) after the title character of his favorite book. The two become best friends and spend the next 6 years living together in the forest. But Pete and Elliott’s peaceful lives are soon interrupted by the growing presence of people from the nearby town of Millhaven, specifically a bunch of lumberjacks from the local lumber mill owned by Jack (Wes Bentley). Pete ends up being found by one of the town’s park rangers, Grace Meacham (Bryce Dallas Howard), who also happens to be Jack’s fiancé. Fascinated by how a young boy like himself was able to survive ‘alone’ in the forest for six years, Grace decides to invite Pete to live with her, Jack, and Jack’s daughter Natalie (Oona Laurence) until they can figure out where he really came from. However, Pete becomes increasingly anxious about being separated from Elliott for too long and Grace realizes that he’s referring to the same mythical ‘Millhaven dragon’ that her father, woodcarver Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford), had always told her about when she was younger. And to make matters worse, Elliott soon becomes ‘known’ to the people of Millhaven which then leads to people like Jack’s hunter brother Gavin (Karl Urban) to go after him.

As noted earlier, this film eschews the musical aspect of the original film for a more ‘straight-faced’ approach, which was probably the best move that it could’ve done in order to readapt the story for modern audiences. However, with that said, some have argued that this is really just Pete’s Dragon ‘in name only’ due to how much is changed from the original. However, despite the change in overall execution, this new take on Pete’s Dragon is quite fantastic. Thanks to the indie experience of director David Lowery, the film very much finds the heart within its extremely fantastical story. As a result, the film could certainly remind you of a film from the likes of Steven Spielberg or even more recent efforts like J.J. Abrams’ Super 8. It’s a simple story overall (heck the film is even set in the late 70’s/early 80’s) but one that is rooted in strong themes; family, friendship, etc., and said themes are handled excellently. It also isn’t afraid to go to some dark places at times. After all, the film straight up opens with the death of Pete’s parents (this is a Disney film, after all). But amidst all of the serious moments, the film also very much wears its heart on its sleeve, allowing audiences to be whisked away by the magic of the story. And while it’s very much told from a child’s perspective, both young and old can appreciate it for its charm and lovable characters.

Pete and Elliott are very much the heart of the film. Oakes Fegley does a fantastic job in the role of Pete, displaying a great sense of maturity for his age and showing that he’s perfectly capable of carrying a lot of the film on his own. But of course it wouldn’t be Pete’s Dragon without its dragon and while he is a CG-created character, Elliott proves to be a very believable and extremely endearing character. Just watching Elliott respond to various things, from Pete scaring off a bear in the beginning of the film to when he ends up going into town to look for Pete, is an incredibly charming sight. Their friendship is so strong that, without giving anything away, the ending is most certainly a tearjerker. But they’re not the only great members of this cast. Another young star, Oona Laurence, also shines in the role of Natalie, who quickly becomes Pete’s friend as he adjusts to normal life. Bryce Dallas Howard brings much warmth to the role of Grace, who very much becomes the closest that Pete has ever had to a ‘mother figure’ in quite some time. After all, as Jack notes, Pete being alone in the woods for so long doing his own thing is very much reminiscent of her. Robert Redford also provides plenty of charm in the role of Grace’s father, who unlike his daughter and the rest of Millhaven still believes in magic due to his own experiences with the mythical Millhaven dragon. Finally, there’s Wes Bentley and Karl Urban as brothers Jack and Gavin, who admittedly end up getting the least amount of material to work with in the film. Both Bentley and Urban do excellent jobs regardless but Jack is basically the most thankless part of the story and doesn’t really add much to the proceedings. And as for Gavin, who’s basically the main villain of the film, while he is at the very least not a completely evil ‘mustache-twirling’ villain he’s still a fairly simple villain who’s primarily motivated by greed.

I should probably mention that, at the time I am writing this, I actually haven’t seen the original Pete’s Dragon. I recall watching snippets of it when I was younger as I did own the film on VHS (ah, the good old days…) but never in full. I promise that I will try and get around to watching it in the future but until then, I can only talk about the newer Pete’s Dragon. And remember back in my review of The Jungle Book in which I explained why I’m optimistic about all of these upcoming Disney live-action remakes, saying that if they can be done well and stand on their own merit while still respecting their original adaptations then this slew of upcoming remakes isn’t such a bad thing? Well, now Disney has had three straight hits in a row when it comes to their most recent remakes because Pete’s Dragon is another fantastic Disney flick. As someone who, as noted earlier, hasn’t seen the original, this new film very much stands on its own merit. I mean it pretty much does the smartest thing that any remake can do and doesn’t directly copy its predecessor note for note. Instead of being a straight-up musical like the original adaptation, this new film is more of a drama. But even with the change in tone, the film still maintains a lot of heart, especially in regards to the friendship between Pete and Elliott. Sure in some ways it’s a pretty simple story but sometimes that’s exactly what audiences need, if you ask me. As a result, this is very much a highly recommended family flick that both young and old will very much enjoy. It may seem strange that Disney decided to remake one of their lesser-known live-action films but ultimately it worked out in the long run.  

Rating: 4.5/5

A Walk in the Woods (2015) Short Review

(This will only be a quick little review because I’m busy working on other projects. Enjoy!)

Had things turned out differently, ‘A Walk in the Woods’ would’ve ended up being the third on-screen collaboration between acting legends Paul Newman and Robert Redford, following their critically acclaimed turns in 1969’s ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ and 1973’s ‘The Sting’. Sadly, this would never come to fruition as Newman retired from acting in 2007 and died just a year later in 2008. Despite this, Redford moved on, brought in another acting legend in Nick Nolte to take over the role that was originally intended for Newman, and was finally able to get ‘A Walk in the Woods’, based on the 1998 memoir of the same name by travel author Bill Bryson, brought to the big-screen. It follows Bryson (Redford) as he attempts to hike the Appalachian Trail with his old friend Stephen Katz (Nolte), who he hadn’t been in contact with for about four years. But due to the two of them being not so prepared to take on this adventure, hilarity ensues as the two end up getting into all sorts of crazy situations as they try to complete the over 2,000 mile long trail. All of this comes together for a film that is just as pleasant as the trip these two men are taking (not counting all of the chaotic stuff that happens to them).

‘A Walk in the Woods’ is a fairly simple story but that doesn’t mean it’s not an enjoyable one to watch. The cinematography for the film by John Bailey is absolutely breathtaking with its shots of scenic vistas and Americana. And ultimately the film really benefits from its charismatic duo of leads in Redford and Nolte. The two have excellent chemistry, perhaps almost as good as Redford and Paul Newman, and it’s fun to see these two deal with everything that happens to them on the trail, from bears to crazy hikers, including an overly enthusiastic, and rather annoying, hiker named Mary Ellen (Kirsten Schaal), and so on. And it’s also rather nice to see these two old friends reconnect again through all of the chaos. Back them up with a few solid supporting roles, including Emma Thompson as Bryson’s wife Catherine and Mary Steenburgen as the owner of a motel who flirts with Bryson, and you have a nice little buddy road trip; no more, no less. ‘A Walk in the Woods’ isn’t the most profound film of its genre but it still manages to be a nice little film that strongly benefits from its leads and its beautiful scenery. If you’re looking for a nice little indie flick after all of the big blockbusters from this past summer, I think you’ll enjoy ‘A Walk in the Woods’.

Rating: 4/5

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) review

2011’s ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ is one of my personal favorite films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I will admit that I may be a little biased about this seeing how I first saw the film the day after I watched the terrible ‘Captain America’ film from 1990 (the less said about that one, the better) but ‘First Avenger’ has stood out as one of the best films in the MCU. It is, in many ways, an old school summer blockbuster with the modern tricks, showcasing director Joe Johnston’s talents for period pieces in a film that was mostly set during WWII. Also, the film did an excellent job with the portrayal of the character of Captain America AKA Steve Rogers. While I may not have read any of the comics these films were based off of, I’ve heard many say how he’s one of the less interesting characters in the Marvel universe. That certainly wasn’t the case in the film, as it gave us a character that we could root for before he was subjected to the superhero serum but was someone that maintained his patriotic sense of duty and honor as well as a likable persona after he became Captain America. Of course, that was mostly thanks to Chris Evans’ terrific performance in the role.

Like his fellow Avengers, Cap would return for ‘The Avengers’ and while it wasn’t a major element of the film, it did give us our first look at how Steve was trying to adapt to the new world he now lives in, having been reawakened from an icy slumber to find that he had been asleep for more than 70 years. The journey of this ‘fish out of water’ continues in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ where a lot has certainly changed, not just from the time period in which the story takes place but also behind the camera. Taking over for Joe Johnston for this film are brothers Anthony and Joe Russo. Marvel has been known for making some bold decisions in regards to the directors they hire (including Joss Whedon and Shane Black, to name a few) but this is certainly one of the most interesting choices they’ve made so far. That is because this is pretty much the Russo brothers’ first major action film. They’ve mainly been known for their work on television, mostly for comedy shows; they’ve each directed (sometimes as a duo, other times by themselves) a handful of episodes for the cult hit series ‘Arrested Development’ and ‘Community’. It may seem like an extremely ‘left-field’ choice for Marvel, but let me tell you, these two certainly delivered.

‘Winter Soldier’ takes place two years after the events of ‘The Avengers’. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) AKA Captain America has been living in Washington D.C., where he not only continues to work for the organization of S.H.I.E.L.D. but also tries to adapt to his new life in the modern world. The latter goal hasn’t really been that easy as he continuously finds that it has been harder to trust people now than back when he was living in the 1940’s. But he soon finds himself facing a brand new threat when S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is critically injured in an attack led by a mysterious assassin known only as the ‘Winter Soldier’ (Sebastian Stan). Now finding himself on the run from not only this powerful enemy but S.H.I.E.L.D. as well, Steve teams up with agent Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) AKA Black Widow and former Pararescueman/war veteran Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) AKA ‘The Falcon’ in order to stop the Winter Soldier but in the process, they discover a much darker plan occurring within S.H.I.E.L.D. itself that spells doom for millions of people.

The first thing to note about this film is that it is very much different from ‘The First Avenger’ in many areas, specifically its overall style. ‘The First Avenger’ was, of course, an old-school World War II action movie. This film is, as advertised, a political thriller and as such, it’s a pretty damn good one at that with a plot that is full of plenty twists and turns. That’s especially in regards to how this film really sets the stage for what’s to come down the road in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, perhaps even more so than any of the previous MCU films. It definitely leaves you wondering what’s going to happen now considering what happens in this film. This genre of film also blends well with the character arc of Captain America as he continues to discover how much things have changed in the 70+ years he’s been ‘asleep’; in other words, it’s a ‘fish out of water’ story both figuratively and literally. But even with the passage of time, Cap still retains his strong sense of honor and patriotism, which shines through just as it did in the last two films he was in. True, it may not mesh well with the current world he now lives in but to paraphrase a quote from Coulson in ‘Avengers’, sometimes we ‘might just need a little old-fashioned’.

I also have to give a lot of credit to the Russo brothers for their work on this film because for a duo who have mainly been known for working on comedic shows, the direction here is fantastic, especially in the action scenes. This film has some great action set pieces and some pretty good camera work as well. It’s interesting I say that because like how the whole movie is very much different than ‘First Avenger’, that can also be said for the cinematography during the action sequences. Upon rewatch, I find that ‘The First Avenger’ had some of the best action from not just any recent superhero film, but any of the action films to have come out in recent years, mainly because Johnston kept the camera steady during the majority of the action scenes allowing us to see most of the action. Here, the cinematography is more in line with the handheld camerawork style that has been really popular these last few years. However here, they do it well as it’s not to the point where the camera work is so shaky that we’re unable to see just what the heck is happening onscreen.

Now in his third appearance in the role of Captain America, Chris Evans gives probably his best performance in the role to date. He was already doing an excellent job in ‘The First Avenger’ and ‘The Avengers’ but he’s really at his best here now that he’s had two other movies to really fine tune his performance. The same can be said for Scarlett Johansson, who also makes her third appearance in the role of Black Widow in a MCU film. Evans and Johansson have excellent chemistry, the relationship between their characters is a really good one without really going the way of a ‘romantic’ connection, and after all of this, who doesn’t think Marvel should do a Black Widow movie? Come on Marvel, make it happen! The returning ‘vets’ from previous Marvel films, including Samuel L. Jackson in what is easily his most substantial role to date as Nick Fury, are excellent as well. As for the new additions to the cast, the biggest standout here would be Mackie as Falcon. Like with Black Widow, he has excellent camaraderie with Cap and the scenes of him in action are pretty damn cool. Robert Redford also does an excellent job here as Alexander Pierce, a senior leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. and friend of Nick Fury.

Finally, we come to the titular ‘Winter Soldier’ for whom this film is named after. I do sort of wish that he was in the film just a bit more (you know, because his name’s in the damn title) especially considering that he’s not really the main villain here. But for what it’s worth, they still do a really good job at handling his whole character arc/relationship with Captain America. Normally, I don’t spoil important plot points like this, but this is something that many comic book fans know about and for those who aren’t comic book fans like me it wasn’t exactly that big of a secret considering who’s playing him. For you see, the true identity of the Winter Soldier is that of James ‘Bucky’ Barnes, Steve’s best friend from his World War II days who had apparently died during the events of ‘The First Avenger’ but as soon as the title for this film was announced, many of us knew that this wasn’t the case. Again, I do wish the character was given more to do but Sebastian Stan does do a very good job with what he’s given and I’m hoping they’ll dive more into this storyline with ‘Captain America 3’.

‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ was one of the best films of Marvel’s Phase One. ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ is both one of the best films of Marvel’s Phase Two and one of the best MCU films period. For one thing this film, probably more so than any other MCU film, really sets the stage for the future path of the MCU. But on its own, ‘The Winter Soldier’ is an effective political thriller and a very exciting superhero film. You really have to give a lot of credit here to directors Anthony and Joe Russo, who proved that they could do an action movie (I have no argument against them directing ‘Captain America 3’ now), one that has great action sequences and cinematography but also one with excellent writing and performances. Is it the absolute best film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even more so than ‘Avengers’? Well, I’ll have to watch this film again to see where it will ultimately stand compared to the other films in the MCU, but no matter what, it’s definitely going to end up being one of their best. DC, I’d take notes if I were you.

Rating: 5/5!