critic-14

I am by no means against musicals, but this was Willy Wonka.on LSD. The sets were contrived. The direction was amateurish. Unnerving choreography. I don't know how the Broadway version played out, but the plot was plodding, and I dread even the thought of part 2. I loved both versions of West Side Story. I loved Little Shop of Horrors and Chicago, but this was just a mess. First, we are supposed to believe that all of this is set in a first-year university where nearly everyone is in their thirties. Of course, we must also have the flamboyant, speech-affected gay man and the overbearing calorically-challenged shrew. The Wizard of Oz was a charming family story. Everyone could relate to the characters. The songs were ALL great. Here, only Popular and Defying Gravity are great but ruined by bad direction. Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum are annoying. And Ariana Granda, while her singing voice and impressions are phenomenal, her acting is as cringeworthy as it was in Victorious. Cynthia Erivo's performance was top-rate despite the high school-level screenplay and amateurish direction. I will say, though, that the last five minutes were excellent. But to have to sit through two hours and thirty-five minutes of drivel for five minutes isn't worth it. Directed by Jon M Chu, the same wizard who gave us GI Joe Retaliation. Praise be, L. Frank Baum must be turning in his emerald grave.

Juvenile writing pervades this juvenile excuse for a superhero series. The plot is ridiculous, concerning a time-police supposedly in place to prevent alternate timelines from occurring. All of the characters, including Loki, are two-dimensional and cartoonish. The set designs look like they were stolen from a 1970s sci-fi B movie and the dialogue is stilted. But then this is Disney, taking over Marvel. The only thing this production lacked was everyone breaking out into song. No doubt Disney has plans for The Avengers, the musical. Do not expect the harsh reality of the Daredevil or Jessica Jones series. Loki is painful to watch. There are ridiculous alternate Lokis (including a Loki alligator!) and an equally absurd AI that looks like he, she, or it is related to Spongebob Squarepants. Even the opening titles are awful. I purchased the Blu-ray steel book aversion. May it rust in peace!

Well conceived, well acted. Well written and well directed. The last movies I saw with this much tension were The Descent and Wolf Creek both of which I had to pause numerous times to be able to watch. The only actor I had ever seen before was. Jeffrey Dean Morgan who played Negan on the Walking Dead. Here he played a caring father. Go figure. My only question is, if the tower is 2000 plus feet up, who the hell do they get too change the light bulb every six months? I certainly wouldn't volunteer for the job. I totally recommend this for edge of your seat entertainment and I just wonder what it would have been like in 3D?