By Susan Granger
Based on Charles Perrault’s “Cendrillon, or the History of the Glass Slipper” (1698), “Cinderella” is a live-action extravaganza that re-imagines the romantic folk tale for the 21st century.
As the story begins, 10-year-old Ella (Eloise Webb) is living happily with her merchant father (Ben Chaplin) and devoted mother (Hayley Atwell), who urges her to “have courage and be kind.”
Years later, after her mother’s death, Ella’s father marries haughty, mean-spirited Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) who has two vain daughters: Drisella (Sophie McShera) and Anastasia (Holliday Grainger).
After he dies on a business trip, now-grown Ella (Lily James) is treated like a scullery maid and banished to the attic where she befriends the house mice. But she doesn’t lack self-esteem, as evidenced by her chance encounter with Prince Kit (Richard Madden) while riding her horse in the forest.
Eager to see his son married, the ailing King (Derek Jacobi) hosts a ball, inviting all eligible women in the land. But the only way Ella can attend is with the help of her Fairy Godmother (Helena Bonham Carter), who weaves the necessary magic, transforming Ella’s tattered pink gown into butterfly-encrusted blue.
There’s the familiar fantastical pumpkin coach, glistening glass slippers and frantic flight at the stroke of midnight -– with the Prince in dogged pursuit.
Faithfully adapted by Chris Weitz and Aline Brosh McKenna, it’s impeccably cast and eloquently directed by Kenneth Branagh, who emphasizes the importance of courage, kindness – and forgiveness.
FYI: Lily James and Sophie McShera co-star on PBS’s “Downton Abbey,” in which Lily plays aristocratic Lady Rose while McShera is the ambitious kitchen assistant Daisy. And Richard Madden is notable as HBO’s “Game of Thrones” King of the North Robb Stark.
While three-time Oscar-winner Sandy Powell creates sumptuous costumes, Dante Ferretti’s production design dazzles, Patrick Ledda’s visual effects entice and Haris Zambarloukos‘s cinematography is impeccably idealized, it’s a shame that Disney didn’t include more of the memorable “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” music from its own whimsical 1950 animated version.
Adding to the overall enjoyment, this film is preceded by the animated short “Frozen Fever.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Cinderella” is an elegant, enchanting 8 – with the song “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” over the end credits.
South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp catapulted to international acclaim with the subtly apartheid-themed “District 9” (2009), followed by the uneven health-care allegory, “Elysium” (2013). Now he’s back with “Chappie,” a dystopian update of the sci-fi “RoboCop” (1987).
In Johannesburg, police have started to use mechanical crime fighters known as Scouts with remarkable success. They’re the invention of gentle, geeky Deon Wilson (Dev Patel), an artificial intelligence engineer who is now determined to develop one of his droids into a sentient creature.
That infuriates a highly competitive, bullying ex-military, Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman), who has devised a monstrous killing machine named The Moose, which their tech-company boss, Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver) refuses to activate.
Denied permission to pursue his passion, Deon steals discarded robotic parts and loads them in his van, only to be car-jacked and kidnapped by a trio of moronic criminals (Ninja, Yo-Landi Visser, Jose Pablo Canbtillo) who owe money to a local crime lord.
While held captive, Deon convinces them to allow him to construct a sophisticated cyborg named Chappie. Childlike Chappie is eager to learn, yet left in the company of these thugs, he soon acquires a gangsta mentality and vocabulary.
But Deon is his ‘Maker’ and, as such, still exerts a major influence on his decision-making ability. Major conflict and carnage is not only predictable but inevitable.
Co-writing with his wife Terri Tatchell (“District 9”), director Neil Blomkamp’s convoluted concept continuously defies logic. It serves primarily as a showcase for the cyberpunk rap-rave group Die Atwoord, whose “I Fink U Freeky” has charted more than 61 million YouTube views.
Blomkamp’s favorite actor, Sharlto Copley voices Chappie and plays his physicality through motion capture and CGI, evoking unfortunate memories of “Star Wars” annoying Jar-Jar Binks.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Chappie” is a chaotic 5, as the stylish heavy-metal hardware short-circuits.
In “Unfinished Business,” scrap-metal exec Dan Trunkman (Vince Vaughn) feels such antipathy toward his bullying boss, Chuck Portnoy (Sienna Miller), that he quits and starts his own company.
His cohorts are aging Timothy McWinters (Tom Wilkinson) and goofy, inexperienced Mike Pancake (Dave Franco). After a year of working out of a Dunkin’ Donuts, they get their proverbial “big break” -– which demands they travel to Portland, Maine, and then on to Hamburg and Berlin, Germany.
Predictably, everything that can go wrong does. In forced camaraderie, Dan winds up in a bizarre public art installation/hotel as the typical American businessman, while Tim consumes an assortment of drugs and Mike loses his virginity.
Sloppily scripted by Steven Konrad (“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” “The Pursuit of Happyness”) and ineptly directed by Ken Scott (“Delivery Man”), it’s filled with underdeveloped characters and inconsequential subplots.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Unfinished Business” is a trivial 3. Watching a fumbling comedy flop isn’t fun.
( 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.)
