Hello, and welcome to this week’s Film Roundup! Every Thursday I take you through the biggest new cinema releases and why you should be excited for them. This week we have tribal coconuts, toxic cardinals and a tortured TV-show contestant…
Usual disclaimer: unless otherwise stated, I haven’t seen these films. All of my opinions are based on trailers, early reviews and other rumours and buzz.
Moana 2
Even after the success of Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia, 2016’s Moana felt like a new high point in Disney’s 21st century output. Everything from the use of colour and texture in the animation to the exclusively South Pacific and Polynesian voice cast (a very deliberate move away from the white-washed casting choices of yester-Disney) was designed to transport audiences to the crystal clear waters of a tropical island paradise. It had a strong, plucky heroine, memorably catchy tunes, adorable animal sidekicks, exciting action scenes, and the Rock. Singing. It was an instant hit – so much so that as well as this new sequel, Disney have also announced that they are already planning a live action adaptation (also starring the Rock).
Originally conceived as a TV series for Disney+, the Mouse House was reportedly so pleased with this story that they had it converted into a full cinematic sequel. On the one hand, it’s an extremely promising sign that the producers are confident enough to upgrade the project and throw more money at it to bring it to the big screen. On the other hand, that approach could have its pitfalls – structurally, a TV series is very different to a feature length movie. Minor characters have more time to develop, and the plot is built more around a collection of short stories than a single three-act narrative. The plot here for example has Moana searching for a way to connect the people of her island to the other inhabited islands dotted around the ocean – you can see how that fits an episodic structure, with the heroes arriving at a different island each week and having a mini-adventure before hopping back in their boat, like a Samoan Star Trek. It will be interesting to see whether anything is lost in the adaptation.
Honestly though, the first film is so great that as long as this serves up more of the same, I’ll be happy – and that’s what is promised in the trailer. More of the Alan Tudyk-voiced chicken Hei Hei being an absolute liability. More of the tiny tribal coconut-pirates the Kakamora, with their ridiculously elaborate battleships. More Maui turning into a grumpy shark-person. More of Auli’i Cravalho belting out power-ballads about the lure of the horizon. And most importantly, more of that gorgeously animated ocean, which will make me wish I’m on holiday as soon as I see it. Unfortunately there won’t be more music by Lin-Manuel Miranda, with the songs instead written by Tik-Tok prodigies Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear. But on the plus side for the changes, there is a new character voiced by Junior Taskmaster Rose Matafeo, who is a welcome addition to any cast list.
Basically, this is going to be great (especially for kids, but not exclusively for kids).
- Moana 2 on IMDB
- Moana 2 on Rotten Tomatoes
Conclave
After the Pope has popped his clogs, it’s up to Cardinal Laurence (Ralph Fiennes) to supervise the selection of a successor. But as the world’s most powerful clergy, including fellow Cardinals Bellini (Stanley Tucci) and Tremblay (John Lithgow) and nun Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini) gather at the Vatican, Laurence starts to uncover a conspiracy that could shake the foundations of the Church.
As shown in the trailer, during a papal conclave all of the cardinals are sequestered and prohibited from any contact with the outside world that might affect their vote. That has the side effect of making it one of the most secretive and mysterious election processes in the world, making it ripe for a tense and intriguing drama. The cast is excellent (as someone who really started getting into cinema in the early ’00s, there is part of me that’s quite excited to see Lord Farquaad and Lord Voldemort sharing a screen). Ralph Fiennes has really captured the world-weary look of someone who’s trying to wrangle lots of important people into deciding which of them gets to wear the biggest hat. It has some gorgeous cinematography too, which somehow makes the Sistine Chapel and the halls of the Vatican feel simultaneously grand and claustrophobic. The director is German Edward Berger, who won an Oscar a few years ago for his excellent adaptation of All Quiet On The Western Front, and it feels very likely that this will be getting a few nominations come awards season as well.
There isn’t much more I can say about this one – it looks like the plot will be good and twisty, which means there isn’t much given away in the trailers and press. But I am very much looking forward to seeing it.
- Conclave on IMDB
- Conclave on Rotten Tomatoes
The Contestant
In January 1998, budding Japanese comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu (nicknamed Nasubi, which means Eggplant) agreed to take part in a challenge requiring him to live in an apartment with no possessions (including clothes) and survive on winnings from entering magazine sweepstakes. He was told that he would win the challenge when his sweepstake winnings reached a value of 1 million Yen, at which point he would be allowed out and the footage of his time in the apartment would be made into a TV show. What he didn’t know was that the footage was in fact being live-streamed across Japan, 24/7, or that the producers had other ideas about what to do when he hit his target. In total, he was alone and naked for 15 months, living a Big-Brother-meets-Truman-Show existence as one of the world’s first reality TV stars.
The Contestant is a documentary about Nasubi’s ordeal, casting a light not just on why the show was so popular but also the ethical lines that the producers steamrolled over to keep the game going. I knew nothing about this program until I watched the trailer and read the Wikipedia article, but now that I do I want to hear everything. It has a similar vibe to Tiger King, focusing on a memorable character at the centre of a hurricane of steadily increasing amorality and weirdness. Unlike Tiger King though, I think I’m just going to feel incredibly sorry for Nasubi the whole way through.
This sounds like a fascinating watch. If you want to see it, the Mockingbird is showing it this weekend alongside a pre-recorded Q&A with Nasubi himself.
- The Contestant on IMDB
- The Contestant on Rotten Tomatoes
If you only see one film this week…
Conclave looks excellent, but there’s a line where the sky meets the sea and it calls me back – my film of the week is Moana 2.
Still in cinemas and worth a watch
- Wicked – Whenever we discuss musicals on the show it quickly becomes apparent that I’m the only one of my Geeky Brummie colleagues who enjoys (or even tolerates) them. As a result, I often try to think when I watch a new one: will people who aren’t into musicals enjoy this? If you are one of those people then Wicked probably isn’t going to convert you – there were some scenes, particularly at the beginning when Glinda is updating the Munchkins on the death of the Wicked Witch (a framing device to connect the events of the Wizard of Oz to the main plot of this film) where even I was thinking ‘You probably don’t need to be singing this bit.’ But if you do like musicals then oh boy are you gonna love this film. The technicolour set design, elaborate dance sequences and catchy songs all hark back to the classic glitzy MGM era while still feeling fresh and modern. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande both give incredible performances, both vocally and emotionally. And whatever you think of musicals, the climactic shot of Elphaba in full Wicked Witch get-up, framed against an autumnal orange sky, defying gravity, the Emerald City guard and the limits of the human vocal chords, has to be one of the most powerful moments you’ll see in the cinema this year.
- Gladiator II
- Paddington in Peru
Trailer of the week
Having picked Moana 2 as my film of the week, the title of trailer of the week is going to a new take on Disney’s other Polynesian classic – a teaser for the live action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch. Easily the most beloved of Disney’s ’00s 2D output, Lilo & Stitch told the story of a little girl in Hawaii who somehow doesn’t clock that the blue ‘dog’ she’s adopted is in fact an alien experiment bred for chaos and destruction. With a little help from her Elvis records and island vibes, Lilo teaches Stitch the meaning of family. It’s a heartwarming tale and Stitch is a fantastically anarchic creation, which they seem to have captured perfectly here as he demolishes a Disney sandcastle while gibbering maniacally (Chris Sanders, who voiced Stitch in and directed the original, returns to voice him here). They’ve also managed to make him still look cute – as he’s an alien, the animators aren’t confined to the same Earthly animal biology that makes it look so weird when the characters start talking in the live action Lion King or Jungle Book. The director of this version is Dean Fleischer Camp, creator of the beautiful Marcel The Shell With Shoes On, which is a very good sign that this will recreate the heart and humour of the original.
My only complaint (specifically about the trailer) is that there was a golden opportunity here for Disney to take the Mickey out of itself a little. The original Lilo & Stitch’s early teasers had Stitch infiltrate and ruin clips of classic ’90s Disney musicals like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid, which was kind of genius. Now that all those classics have also had live action remakes, they could have done the same thing here for the live action versions. At the very least, with the Lion King prequel Mufasa coming out next month, they could have had Stitch pop up in that film’s trailer at the cinema – audiences would have loved it and Disney could have advertised two films in one go. Ah well – there’s a little while yet until the May 2025 release date so maybe those trailers are still to come…
Leave a Reply