Beauty And The Beast

PG
Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Hattie Morahan,
 Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, Nathan Mack, Audra McDonald, Stanley Tucci and Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Running Time: 2 Hours and 9 Minutes

It's hard to believe after waiting for such a long time and so much anticipation...
"Beauty And The Beast", is finally here!
I have always truly loved this classic Disney fairy tale and I was so excited to see it. There has been so much hype and controversy surrounding this remake that I wasn't quite sure what to expect.
I will say that I am delighted with this movie and I found it to be a feast for the senses!
 It was an incredibly beautiful adaptation of the original 1991 animated Disney version. There have been several other remakes of the tale, one dating as far back as 1946.
This "Beauty And The Beast" takes place in a small village somewhere in France where you find beautiful Belle (Emma Watson) walking through the village where the townsfolk find her quite a peculiar girl because of her great love of books and literature.The most desired bachelor Gaston (Luke Evans) in the village has his eyes set on marrying Belle and does not want to take "no" for an answer! Belle has no interest in him and actually finds him offensive and does everything she can to avoid him! She has been raised alone by her widowed father after her mother had tragically passed away. Her father Maurice (Kevin Kline) loves her dearly and has done all that he can to give her a good life. He has to leave for a short trip to deliver some goods and promises Belle he will return as soon as he can. While out on that trip he encounters a bad storm and loses his way. The horse is spooked and the cart crashes. He finds himself lost and totally disoriented. Suddenly he is surrounded by wolves! Very  intimidating and terrifying wolves that appear very, very hungry! He is barely able to escape and finds his way to a castle. He enters inside and finds it dark and dreary. He finds some cute little creatures, Cogsworth (Ian McKellan) and Lumiere (Ewan McGregor) who entice him.
He searches around where he encounters the BEAST (Dan Stevens)!!! The beast flies into a rage and locks poor Maurice up in a cell! A few days later their horse returns home to the village, but not with her father Maurice, so Belle jumps on the horse and sets out to search for her father. The horse follows the path he had traveled earlier and Belle falls into the very same fate! Attacked by the very vicious and wicked wolves, she survives and finds herself also at the dark and dreary castle! She enters reluctantly and eventually finds her father locked up! The Beast confronts her and she begs him to release her elderly father and the Beast agrees... but only if she takes his place. So her father is set free and she is locked up!
Many years beforehand, there was a young and handsome prince who lived in the castle and he had greatly offended the enchantress Agathe (Hattie Morahan) who quickly put a curse on the prince, the castle and the grounds surrounding it! The only way to break the curse was for the prince/Beast to fall in love before the last rose petal falls off of the rose that the enchantress had encased in a glass dome for many, many years.
In my opinion this movie is a true masterpiece! It was just as beautiful of a movie as you can possibly imagine. I loved the people they cast in these truly iconic roles. The amazing special effects and how they brought all of these objects to life, were simply incredible! All of the little characters we have grown to love over the years like; Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson) and Chip (Nathan Mack), Cogsworth, Lumiere, Plumette (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), Madame Garderobe (Audra McDonald) and Maestro Cadenza (Stanley Tucci). They were simply delightful!
Gaston was his usual over-the-top self with his sidekick Lefou (Josh Gad) who took the brunt of Gaston's collateral damage. This movie is not without its controversy, there was said to be a "gay" scene towards the end of the movie, so I watched closely for it. It consisted of a very brief (maybe five seconds if that) of Lefou dancing with another male during the grand ball. I found Lefou to be just a jovial kind of guy throughout the entire movie.
Emma Watson did an outstanding job as Belle. She was perfect in this role! Dan Stevens was also exceptional as The Beast!
I was truly entertained and did not want the movie to end even at 2 hours and 9 minutes! A great movie for adults as well as youth!
Parents be advised: This movie did have several very intense scenes that I feel will be very intimidating for young children. The Beast has a harsh temper in the beginning and can be scary! What I found to be the most frightening were the wolves! The wolves were terrifying!
I would recommend this movie for children over the age of eight.
I am giving "Beauty And The Beast" four bags of popcorn.

KONG: Skull Island

PG-13
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John Goodman, Samuel L. Jackson, John C Reilly, Toby Kebbell, Corey Hawkins, Thomas Mann, Jason Mitchell and Shea Whigham
Running Time:1 Hour and 58 Minutes

There have been so many variations of King Kong movies made over the years that I really didn't think this one could be much different. However, this one definitely has its own identity with a nostalgic feel as well.
A special group of scientists including Bill Randa (John Goodman) get permission from the government to go and explore a very remote island that is hidden away and very obscure, hoping to find answers and cures to some of man's most deadly diseases.
The remote island is surrounded by perpetual mega-storms which have always deterred humans from exploring the island. However, the scientists feel that they must gain access to the island in hopes of finding worthwhile solutions to some of man's most perplexing issues.
The scientists convince James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) to accompany them along with Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), some top-notch Vietnam soldiers, and a young photojournalist, Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) embark upon the dangerous journey.
 Once there they hop aboard the helicopters and head directly into the storms. The storms are much more powerful than they had anticipated and they are fighting to keep control of the choppers! They all land and crash in different areas and they are desperately trying to find the rest of their people.
When they find this island is not like any other place they have ever encountered, they realize they need to hurry and find their way off of the island as fast as they can! Suddenly they have a King Kong confrontation! As with all the King Kong movies before this one, the people encounter some of the most unusual and deadly creatures they could possibly imagine!  One pleasant meeting was when they come upon a World War II vet, Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly), that has been stuck there since the 1940's. He was a lot of fun and somehow miraculously survived all the hazards and dangers that thrive on the unusual island. As one thing leads to another the ultimate showdown takes place and King Kong proves that he is indeed, the King!
This movie was a very intense and intimidating movie.The creatures were violent and in a league of their own! Kong on the one had was fierce and held his own but also had a tender and gentle side as well. The special effects were off the chart and the creatures were incredibly realistic! I will say that the audience was totally into this movie and applauded loudly when it was over.
I really enjoyed the story, the scenery and the feel of the old time classic King Kong stories from the past. I also got a kick out of the seventies music and the feel of that genre. If you do go and see this movie make sure you stay until the credits are over, there is a really fun snippet at the very end you do not want to miss!
Parents be advised: I would not recommend this movie to children under the age of thirteen.
The creatures were alarming, frightening and might be too intense for youth that are intimidated by new and creepy beings. There was some profanity and one f-bomb and
another almost f-bomb.
I am giving "KONG: Skull Island" three bags of popcorn.