Beauty and the Beast (2017)

"This was the Paris of my childhood." (Belle)
"I let her steal in my melancholy hear. It's more than I can bear." (The Beast)

In short, despite some truly inspired additions/subtractions, this remake lives in the shadow of its animated forebear. A few new songs, a good cast, and nostalgic "prettiness" just don't cut it.

This was a cash grab: pure and simple. So right away, you can know that I will judge the film harshly. Beauty and the Beast was not made out of spite or malice and it was clearly made with the best intentions and some joy. But its core is still economic in nature.  And, that is a strike against.

What struck me was the decisions on what to include and what to leave out of the dramatisation of a cartoon, and thus the difference between 1991 and 2017. How have we the audience changed and how did the creators look to meet our new needs with the same story 25 years apart?

Here's run down of what I saw:

	1991	2017	Difference	Reason
The Beast	Brooding, arrogant, a little scary, but not necessarily repentant.	The same as before, but more self sacrificing, and genuine	Dan Stevens was a great Beast, bringing more humor and bluntness to his decision to let her go.	I think in 25 years we recognize that we too have The Beast inside us.
Gaston	Vile and manly to a tee	Still toxically manly, but now in a sad post-war agression sort of way.	His depravity is more relatable in this way, his motivations of rage and greed more understandable, but less forgiveable.	The ability for "men" to just be "men" without reason, at least US society, has diminished and thus his actions need justification. In the past, they didn't.
La Fou	A Toady's Toady	A fawning, if gay, admirer eventually disenchanted.	Josh Gad is great. And the gay subtext.	1. I think this is just a nod to LGBT inclusion from the producers. Etc. 2. I think the subtext existed in the orignal but now it woul seem strange to not acknowledge it. #Progress
Maurice	a quacky inventor -absent minded	a loving father, who taught his daughter courage and smarts.	Kevin  Kline. And a greater backstory	The original actually doesn't build up the story of father and daughter and it is an important one.
Songs	A+	Impressions +sparkling new additions	The originals are generally better. The 1991 and 2017 ones are.	I think in the quest to make  2017 different they strayed into homage.
Backstory	Very little	quite a lot	25 years of questions. Also, people take actors more seriously than cartoons.	It's not exactly enough to provide just a pretty story. Now audiences want context.

Outcome: 2 out of 5 stars. I recommend the original. But, you could do much worse than see this remake.

Spiderman: Homecoming (2017)

Favorite Line(s)

New format:

Short pithy synopsis mean to bite and be catchy

What it made me think about.

Peter Parker: But I'm nothing without this suit!
Tony Stark: If you're nothing without this suit, then you shouldn't have it.

Duality: An honestly weak direct plot that was strained by the confines the greater universe in which it inhabits. In contrast, a strong character arc, pithy ancillary characters, and decent jokes made for a passable if unremarkable movie going experience.

While I appreciate a call out to an earlier popular work, sometimes it can be too blatant. I love Ferris Bueller, but the homage seemed too family guy for me. What I found very interesting about Homecoming was it's overall emphasis on the forgotten elements of the movies we've all been watching as a part of the MCU- The clean-up crew, contractors, suburban parents, unpowered teens, kids in gym, even Happy. And it kind of reminded me of the tales of Hercules, he should be a GOD -aka an Avenger- but upon an invitation to Olympus he returns to be mortal. (Yes, Tony Stark is Zeus in this metaphor.)  There's even an Icarus corollary in the winged villain in the Vulture.

Thumbs up on:
Tom Holland
Jacob Batalon 
Legos

Thumbs down on:
Product Placement -aka Legos
Use of the Romones as credit footage. 
-I know that it fits, but the HARD no.

Questions:
As I know that "Homecomings" are a particularly American (Canadian, too?) tradition....do foreign markets and audiences understand what was going on?

2 stars: No need to see, but enjoyable.