By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
Why another “Lion King” after the original animated feature (1994), the Broadway musical adaptation (1997) and more than 20 spinoff international productions? Because new, eye-popping photo-animation makes the fable look as if it’s live-action.
Computer animation has become so advanced, so realistic that the result is “virtual cinematography,” meaning the African animals look as if they were photographed on-location. Credit veteran cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, working with visual supervisors Robert Legato and Adam Velez, who previously collaborated with director Jon Favreau on “The Jungle Book.”
Jeff Nathanson’s screenplay begins with King Mufasa (James Earl Jones, reprising his original role) and his mate Sarabi (Alfre Woodard) introducing newborn Simba to the savannah – much to the consternation of his jealous brother Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
Awhile later, after young Simba warbles “I Can’t Wait to Be King,” conniving Scar lures him into a steep ravine where malevolent hyenas launch a wildebeest stampede. After making sure Mufasa takes a fatal plunge, treacherous Scar slyly convinces Simba that it’s all his fault – leaving him no choice but to flee.
In his travels, now-adult Simba (Donald Glover) acquires two carefree companions – witty meerkat Timon (Billy Eichner) and genial-if-gassy warthog Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) – who teach him their philosophy: “Hakuna Matata,” meaning “no worries.”
Meanwhile, sneering Scar and his scavenging hyenas turn the fertile Pride Lands into a barren desert.
Eventually, Simba’s best friend/betrothed Nala (Beyonce) convinces him to return to assume his rightful role as King, musically cueing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” Augmenting Hans Zimmer’s score with songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, Beyoncé sings “Spirit” which, inevitably, will be Oscar-nominated.
Unlike the original 1994 film, all the lions are now voiced by actors of African descent. And the no-nonsense monkey Rafiki, the King’s trusted aide, is embodied by John Kani, a South African actor.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Lion King” is a vivid, nostalgic 9, an astonishing continuation of “The Circle of Life.”
As Alex Holmes’ exciting documentary “Maiden” begins, the camera captures the roiling sea with Tracy Edwards’ voice-over warning: “The Ocean is always trying to kill you. It doesn’t take a break.”
And British sailor Edwards should know. Back in 1989, she mortgaged her home to restore an old boat that she re-christened Maiden. She then assembled the first all-female crew to enter the grueling, nine-month, open sea Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race, now known as the Ocean Race.
As a rebellious youngster, she ran away from home in the aftermath of her father’s death, settling in a seaside town. Since girls weren’t allowed to crew, she managed to get a job as a cook/cleaner on a yacht. At that time, this was considered enough of a sexist oddity to warrant a TV human-interest spot.
Mixing archival footage with insightful interviews and wry social commentary, featuring Edwards and her competitive crew members, Alex Holmes has come up with a fascinating sports tale, filled with surprising suspense. Unfortunately, the only area he doesn’t explore his how Edwards accumulated enough seafaring knowledge to catapult directly from cook/cleaner to yachting captain.
Sponsorships were so difficult to acquire that Tracy Edwards eventually went to King Hussein of Jordan for funding, having befriended His Highness years before when she was a lowly deckhand.
Once committed to racing Maiden on a 33,000-nautical mile voyage from 1989-90, Edwards was beset by other problems, including mocking, misogynistic journalists who referred to the Maiden as “a tin full of tarts,” the departure of her highly qualified cohort Marie-Claude Heys and the brutally grueling passage from Uruguay to Australia in which temperatures dropped down to -20 degrees.
On the Granger Gauge, “Maiden” is an empowering 8, a rousing, real-life feminist adventure.
Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista team up in “Stuber,” the latest entry in the odd couple/buddy action-comedy genre.
For months, Vic (Bautista), an LAPD narcotics detective, has been tracking his former partner’s killer Teijo (Iko Uwais), a major link in the local heroin chain. Unfortunately, the day he gets a tip on Teijo’s next big drop, he’s just had Lasik surgery, meaning his eyes are unable to focus.
Frantic, he flags down chatty, conscientious Stu (Nanjiani), who supplements his low-level job in a sporting-goods store by working as an Uber driver in a leased electric car with the vanity license plate FIVE-STAR. Hence the nickname “Stuber.”
Eager to romance his best-friend/business partner Becca (Betty Gilpin), Stu is initially quite reluctant to help Dave catch the baddies. Gradually, as time goes by, Dave bonds with mild-mannered Stu, who is so enthusiastic for a five-star rating that he suddenly finds himself an accessory to multiple murders.
Vaguely reminiscent of Michael Mann’s thriller “Collateral” (2004) in which hit man Tom Cruise takes taxi driver Jamie Foxx hostage, forcing him to drive around Los Angeles, Tripper Clancy’s satirical script updates the idiocy with slapstick and scatological humor, while director Michael Dawes (“Goon”) concentrates on the clichéd cartoonish violence with stops in Koreatown and Compton.
So endearing in the semi-autobiographical “The Big Sick” (2017), Pakistani-American Kumail Nanjiani once again uses his nerdy charisma to make the most of a sketchily-scripted character, cleverly complementing gruff, grizzled, former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer in “Guardians of the Galaxy”).
“You’re built for justice,” Stu observes. “I’m built for brunch.”
Unfortunately, the female supporting cast – Betty Gilpin, Miro Sorvino and Natalie Morales – is given short-shrift.
On the Granger Gauge, “Stuber” is a silly 6. Can Lyft compete?
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
