Tag: Craig Gillespie

Just Rewriting the Canon in Disney’s Cruella

This character is a devil in disguise when compared to this film’s primary antagonist, the Baroness (no relation to GI Joe here) wickedly played by Emma Thompson.

Cruella (film) - WikipediaBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

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Very few origin stories are going to live up to the stylish path that Disney’s Cruella is known for. When trying to deliver the goods, namely in creating an arc we can care for, this film nicely dodges some uneasy truths from past takes. In the animated version, she wore the soft furs of slain Dalmatians. In this live-action film’s case, she won’t touch an ounce of their fur, and it was an accusation made by her rival. The tables are turned as the story is more about who is the the alpha female. The black and white is more suggestive of which of the two personalities define this titular character.

Props go to director Craig Gillespie for having a solid vision in reveling in the punk rock subculture of London. The early 70s focus was a time of uncertainty and change, even though I sensed more of a 60s vibe. This backdrop does a little jump in time since it goes from showing how a very young Estella (Tipper Seifert-Cleveland) loses her mom to that of a young woman (played by Emma Stone).

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Disney’s The Finest Hours is not Necessarily a Wreck

Facts aside, The Finest Hour misses its mark offering two plots at the same time. The romantic angle felt too underdeveloped.

The Finest Hour Movie PosterThe Force must have been with United States Coast Guardsman Bernie Webber (Chris Pine), the hero in Disney’s The Finest Hours. Although the actor is better known as Captain Kirk in the revitalized Star Trek, this character’s good fortune and instinct to navigate the rough seas is central to this film’s plot.

He’s ordered into a Kobayashi Maru style scenario where rescue seems impossible. When the SS Pendleton, a World War II-era oil tanker, is one of two boats that got ripped apart in the middle of an Atlantic winter storm near Cape Cod, not even Santa Claus can bring hope.

Technically, the events occurred in February — well past the holidays but close to Valentine’s (Feb 18th, 1952), perhaps explaining the subplot of Bernie’s romance with Miriam Pentinen (Holliday Grainger). Though their marriage plans were in the works and the date marked a highlight to make this movie a type to bring a date with, to which it is not.

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