Wicked Moana

Two movies with singing!

Wicked

This musical fantasy is framed as a back story to Elphaba's origin aka the Wicked Witch of the West, very well played by Cynthia Erivo. Opposite her is rival and frenemy Glinda who is portrayed by the amazing and scene stealing Ariana Grande. Awesome sets, effects, songs and a nice story with a few strong emotional beats, make the long run time go pretty quick. Excellent movie. I just didn't realize it was a part one type of deal and was surprised when that showed up in the opening title. :P  

Moana

This animated Disney movie follows the titular Moana, the daughter of a chieftain to an isolated island tribe who are forbidden in sailing too far from home. Of course, Moana has an adventurous spirit and wants to find out what exactly lies beyond that horizon while also ending up discovering more about herself. Self discovery is actually the main theme of this film and it really hits home especially in the finale. Song wise its not bad, but nothing the general public will probably sing along to afterwards. Still an enjoyable film all up. Recommended!

Today I Smiled: Random Funnies and Musics

Hmm, its been a minute since I've used a title like that. Anyway, here are some random things that I'm enjoying at the moment - starting with Vought International. If you're a fan of the Boys and/or Gen V, this has a fair bit of extra content in here that ranges from intentional cringe to really hilarious. I've also been enjoying the FreeMMAGyms channel for both its humor and instruction.

Onto pure silliness we have this Catan clip that anyone can enjoy (sound on), translations of Westeners Chinese Tattoos, stealing a girl's car skit, and proof that live action anime style openings done well can work for anything. As I am compelled to add music stuff, here's Lord Vinherio playing some chickens!?

If you prefer some better musics, here's the One Voice children's choir with a Wicked Medley and their rendition of Golden from KPop Demon Hunters, and an orchestral one of Soda Pop. Note that last one is purely just the music, the visuals are "fake". Speaking of fake, Rick Beato has a quick vid of how easy it is to make an AI Artist. If you prefer something more live and less produced, here's Laufey on tiny desk.

Maleficent

This is to Sleeping Beauty as Wicked is to the Wizard of Oz.

A re imagining of the Sleeping Beauty story, this film follows a fairy named Maleficent - from when she is a young girl to when she grows up to be an ultra powerful and hot woman in the form of Angelina Jolie. She forgets she has magic often though and likes taking a more physical approach to violence.

Despite that, the plot is not bad and the special FX are fantastic (it is Disney), though you do get that feeling of wire work every now and then, and for some reason some flight scenes reminded me of How to Train your Dragon. Jolie is great to watch which is good since she's on screen for most of the time. When she isn't though things seem to turn down a notch.

One horny fairy. Erm... I mean, horned fairy. Horned.

I was also being thrown by the accents a bit. Funny that the folk of the "magical land" speak with the English accent and the inhabitants of the "human land" speak with a Scottish or Irish accent. Still, it's a very entertaining film and the lack of any musical numbers might be a plus for some people. Not sure if it is still as age friendly for the little ones as the original but I recommend it, giving it four out of five black wings and wouldn't mind seeing it again.