The Jungle Book: Movie Review #9365 THE JUNGLE BOOK.
Remake of the 1967 Disney animated movie which in turn was based on a collection of stories written by Rudyard Kipling late nineteenth century. As a kid I never got to see the animated version & remember feeling quite left out as all my friends did. Anyway having long since gotten over that childhood trauma, I popped along to the 3D version showing this evening in downtown Palmerston North. Have to say it is a beautifully crafted film, made all the more dramatic in 3D, albeit with a few obvious hat tips to StarWars, The Lion King & the original Planet of the Apes. Cinematography is amazing & NZ's own Weta Digital had a hand in its production. I picked most of the voices apart from Bagheera the panther whom I initially thought was Sir Anthony Hopkins but turned out to be another British knight, Sir Ben Kingsley. If you don't know the story, man-cub Mowgli is raised by wolves in the Indian jungle & forms all sorts of interesting relationships with the animals within his surrounds. Shere Kan the tiger however is intent on man-cub for supper/revenge & pursues him through thick & thin, finally meeting his match in Mowgli's tricks, which he had previously been berrated for deploying. Along the way Mowgli meets Baloo the bear (Bill Murray), Kaa a python (Scarlett Johanssen) & King Louie a massive orangutan (a very Godfather-like Christopher Walken), each wanting Mowgli & his tricks to help with their own agendas. A few little goofs noted; Baloo emerges from a river almost completely dry & when the wolves get rained on they don't seem to get wet, unlike Mowgli who is often submerged & drenched! All-in-all thoroughly entertaining although being a Friday night, I was pretty jaded after a tough week & had a little trouble staying engaged. Note: make sure you see it in 3D! 9/10.
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Geoff HorneI'm a movie nut from way back with my first ever being The Hallelujah Trail from 1964. Ever since being mesmerized by the giant screen, the darkness that went on forever & the infernally uncomfortable seats + having to stand for God Save the Queen, I've been enticed ever since to duck into a theatre whenever I can for a few hours of escapism. My favourite movie of all time is Schindler's List, one of only two movies I've ever cried in (the other was Bambi when I was 6!) & I'm a sucker for a damn good comedy; Dumb & Dumber, The Hangover & Death at a Funeral stand out. I'm also a musician and work in IT. I have 4 grandchildren who also seem to enjoy their movie excursions with grandad. I can be reached at geoff@nztester.co.nz. Archives
November 2020
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