Cinderella Blu-ray Review

    Actors: Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter, Nonso Anozie

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Writer: Chris Weitz

Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS-HD High Res Audio), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Subtitles: French, Spanish, English

Dubbed: French, Spanish

Region: Region A/1

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Number of discs: 2

Rated: PG

Studio: Walt Disney Studios

Release Date: September 15, 2015

Run Time: 105 minutes

        In watching Kenneth Branagh’s 2015 live-action adaptation of the 1950 animated Disney film and its 1697 source material by Charles Perrault, I found myself marveling at some of the climactic moments of romance and magic. I had imagined that there would be no surprises in the viewing experience, which was a faulty assumption despite the fact that the greatest surprise was how easily I was swept up in the grand visual spectacle of the romance. Perhaps it says something about the power of nostalgia that the moments which affected me most were those that reminded me of the animated classic, but I am still simply impressed that a curtsy could be so magnificently executed that it caused me to rewind and re-watch. Unnecessary as this film may have been, Cinderella stands as the best in Disney’s slew of cash-grab live-action adaptations, free from cynical updates or feminist revisionism.

 

Closer to the Moon DVD Review

     Actors: Vera Farmiga, Mark Strong, Anton Lesser, Harry Lloyd

Director:Nae Caranfil

Format: Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC, Widescreen

Language: English

Region: Region 1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: Unrated

Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO

DVD Release Date: September 15, 2015

Run Time: 112 minutes

 

 

        Despite being based on true events, Closer to the Moon takes a number of liberties within the narrative in order to attempt an explanation behind a crime which still remains a mystery. This also frees the filmmakers to adjust the tone of the narrative, so that moments are comedic where they could have been melodramatic. The story fits into the ‘unbelievable but true’ category which is always bait for cinematic adaptation, though Closer to the Moon left me feeling as though there wasn’t quite enough story for the amount of movie.