February 19, 2014
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Disney: Come Back Kids?
AP PHOTO
AP PHOTO
By SCOTT IWANIEC
FILM EDITOR SIWAN1@.UNH.NEWHAVEN.EDU
––––––––––––––––––––– Remember the days of The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast? Remember how celebrated and genuine these films were? Every year we couldn’t wait to see what animated film Disney came up with next. Then, Monsters Inc. happened and, needless to say, everything bit the dust. Not that Monsters Inc. was bad; it was the last great and memorable animated film for a while— a long while. Sure a couple films hit the mark like The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and Wall-E, but Disney went through a dry spell for about 10 years until Toy Story 3 grabbed our hearts again. Then, the very next year, Tangled happened. My point in all of this is Disney seems like its breaking the sucking-streak and
significant feature of this new era of great Disney films? Characters. Most of these new films seem to lean more towards two characteristics: strong females, and sarcasm. Gone are the days of Cinderella waiting to get rescued. In Tangled, Frozen and a little in Wreck it Ralph we see women taking the initiative and becoming the heroes instead of the men. We also see dialogue and humor more common in our society today. In Tangled, we see Flynn Rider talking like a hot-shot, rebellious teenager, and in Frozen we see Anna be an awkward teenage girl. These are the things that makes this new era of films successful and we can look forward to seeing in future Disney animated movies. For the first time since 2001, we welcome Disney back in to our homes again and again.
ladies and gentlemen, Jesse Eisenburg is playing Lex Luthor. The first two casting choices were combated with disapproval, where as this one is met with confusion. The general consensus doesn’t hate this casting as much as their confused as to why. DC has revealed they did indeed have a discussion with Breaking Bad star Brian Cranston, and academy award winner Juaquine Pheonix turned down the role. So why go to Eisenburg? Director Zack Snyder has made it clear he wants to challenge the status quo of a lot of DCs characters and shake a few things up to give it a fresh taste. It seems
one of his changes includes a young Lex Luthor. Believe it or not, Eisenburg is 30, the same age as Henry Cavil (Superman). He just looks like he’s in his early 20’s. What could this mean for the character of Lex Luthor? Well he could go from being a control freak to a spoiled, young hot-shot who wants to inherit much more than just a global power business. It’s different, yes, but at the end of the day doesn’t change that much about Luthor, which is why I actually don’t mind this casting. This gives the audience a more solid reason for Luthor’s actions as opposed to the simply power hungry. Many complain about Eisenburg’s acting ability,
By JORDAN SCHONBERGER
Prosser is so believable, and her accent game is so on point, that she leaves audience members in awe. O’Russel creates female characters that can always stand up to the men. They’re stronger and fiercer. This is consistent in American Hustle, especially in Jennifer Lawrence’s case, where her character isn’t afraid to show her face in situations when the others might be more timid. Her performance as Christian Bale’s passiveaggressive, loose-cannon wife was incredible. While she did appear to be too young looking for the part, she managed to steal breaths with her side-splitting laughter. This film is equal parts drama and equal parts comedy. It’s comedic because the characters are so indelible. They say things and do things that are funny in moments that are intense.
STAFF WRITER JSCHO1@UNH.NEWHAVEN.EDU
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You know you’ve seen a great film when you can’t stop talking about it, hours after walking out of the theater. Such is what you can expect to find after seeing David O’ Russel’s newest film, American Hustle. The director that brought such greats as Silver Lining’s Playbook and The Fighter does it again with this dramedy about a conman and his partner who are forced to work for the FBI, until things go awry with the mob. This film is one not to be missed this award season. The Golden Globes certainly haven’t missed Amy Adams, as she rightfully won the statuette for Best Actress for her role in the film. Her stunning performance as partner-in-crime Sydney
And it’s dramatic because it’s relatable. The plot line is so well thought out, that you leave the theater with thoughts swirling around in your head. It is a story about reinvention and doing what you have to do to survive, but there’s still such ambiguity with the characters’ actions that it leaves an impression on you. O’Russel creates complex stories around character behaviors and because of this, the stories stick out in your mind. This film is his take on Boogie Nights and Goodfellas, and it’s as raw and spontaneous as life itself.
Jesse Eisenburg is Lex Luthor
FILM EDITOR SIWAN1@.UNH.NEWHAVEN.EDU
––––––––––––––––––––– Batman vs. Superman is just full of surprises, isn’t it? Not only is there a backlash against the Batman casting, but Wonder Woman is played by a model and not even an actress. That’s not enough? Well we already know the release date has been pushed back an entire year, while openly admitting they have no idea what they’re doing. Oh that’s not enough either? Well Lex Luthor, the billionaire mastermind arch-nemesis to Superman, is being played by Mark Zuckerberg in the Social Network. Yes
but may I remind you he is an academy award nominated actor. In all his roles, especially in Now You See Me, he plays this monotone, fast-talking genius that I think will fit well with this new take on Luthor. I think he can display arrogance really well and talk down to others in an intimidating manor. This is just my opinion; I totally understand why someone doesn’t like this casting decision. Like any other casting, we have to see the movie to know for sure. Mark your calendars for summer 2016.
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By SCOTT IWANIEC
we are now in the next memorable age of Disney. This is the first cluster of Disney movies that consistently hit it out of the park since the late 90s-early 2000s. We have Tangled, Wreck it Ralph, Brave, Monsters U, and of course Frozen. What’s the common factor of these successes? The lack of Pixar. Note that not all CG animated films are Pixar; Pixar is just a company owned by Disney that specializes in CG animation. Three of the five films I named were non-Pixar films, and strictly Disney’s own creations. For most of the ten year dry spell, Disney became too heavily dependent on Pixar due to their Toy Story and Monsters Inc. success, and started pumping out garbage like Cars and Cars 2. Disney has now realized how much Pixar is holding them back, and have gone back to their roots of just being Disney. What’s the
American Hustle Review