paulclaassen

'The Ugly Stepsister' is a very different retelling of the famous Cinderella story. Even more unusual, is the fact we initially root for the ugly stepsister, and not Cinderella, but as the story develops, we later root for Cinderella, and not the stepsister. Strange indeed.

The ugly stepsister in question is Elvira. Her sister is Alma and they are the daughters of Rebekka, who is a widow. Rebekka marries widow Otto, who has a beautiful daughter named Agnes. Shortly after their wedding, Otto dies, and a secret is revealed: Otto married Rebekka thinking she had money. Rebekka in turn married Otto, believing he had money. When they are suddenly penniless, Rebekka resorts to desperate measures when it is announced all maidens are invited to a ball at the Castle, where the Prince is to select a bride.

Rebekka wants Elvira to win the Prince's heart, but first she needs to be beautified - and the extreme measures for the sake of beauty will make you squirm - I mean, literally. Some of the scenes are very difficult to watch. The film is graphic and detailed as Elvira undergoes grueling operations. Elvira takes it a step further when she swallows a tapeworm, believing she will be able to eat whatever she wants and still loose weight.

Elvira's obsession with beauty and winning the Prince's heart, Rebekka's desperation, and subsequent humiliating way of treating Agnes later makes us root for Agnes, who off course becomes Cinderella. There is no glass slipper here, and no stunning transformation visuals like the ones that dazzled us in 2015's 'Cinderella', but 'The Ugly Stepsister' is so uniquely different that it can't really be compared to any other Cinderella film. And this Cinderella is no good girl either; she's not even a virgin...

'The Ugly Stepsister' is a refreshingly different Cinderella story, and this ain't no fairytale either. Go on, give it a watch - if you can handle some body horror.

'Jurassic World: Rebirth' certainly is much better than its predecessors, but that isn't really saying much. The original 'Jurassic Park' (1993) is still the only film in the franchise I really enjoyed, and is still far superior in storytelling, character development and visuals to any of its sequels and reboots.

'Jurassic World: Rebirth' is yet another reboot for the series, and we are introduced to new characters. In the movie, it is said public interest in dinosaurs waned (and I believe this to be the case with viewers, too). Dinosaurs now only live on a few islands around the equator, and thankfully they do give a justifiable reason for this - as long as you don't over-analyze, off course. As a result, travel to the area is forbidden.

Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) from a pharmaceutical company believes DNA from three specific dinosaurs can be used to create a treatment for heart disease. (If the premise sounds familiar, think 'Deep Blue Sea', but with a cure for Alzheimers...). Martin recruits Ops operative Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) as mission specialist, who in turn recruits some of her contacts to make up a team on their way to the Equator.

Also at the Equator, is Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), who took his daughters Teresa and Isabella along with Teresa's boyfriend Xavier on a sailing trip. (Why the hell is he sailing in the forbidden zone!!!) Needless to say, they soon get into trouble when sea creatures capsize their boat). Martin's team come to the rescue, but when they, too, are attacked, the group find themselves stranded on an island crawling with flesh-hungry dinosaurs, and the quest for survival begins.

It's pretty much the same recipe (for disaster) as the previous films, but I did find 'Rebirth' much better. At least the humour is actually funny and not as slapstick as in the previous Jurassic films - especially the Chris Pratt films, no offense! Some of the visual effects are amazing, but some are not that great. I mean, the backgrounds look incredibly fake. Considering how CGI has evolved, it should have looked much better. The visuals in 1993's 'Jurassic Park' are still far more believable.

The Director clearly tried to recapture the magic of 'Jurassic Park', and although the visuals are not as impressive, I believe he mostly succeeded. 'Rebirth' is still the best film since the original (for me), although there hardly is any suspense here, which is a pity. In general, this is an entertaining fantasy adventure.