Reel Critics: ‘Cinderella’ still has the magic
The story of the little orphaned girl who meets her Prince Charming is as old as time and has been done in various ways on screen: animated, live action, musical and even revisionist. (“Pretty Woman,” anyone?) We all want the fairy tale.
In Disney’s latest “Cinderella,” we get our wish with Lily James (“Downton Abbey”) as the sweet but not saccharine Ella, who has courage and kindness, values instilled by her mother before she died.
Years later, Ella’s father marries a widow in what he hopes will be a second chance for happiness. The new stepmother sweeps onto the scene with magnificent couture and hauteur in the form of Cate Blanchett. For a brief moment, we see she wasn’t always wicked — but jealousy soon turns her as acid green as her stunning gowns.
The highlight, of course, is when Cinderella gets a magical makeover from a fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) and dazzles everyone at the royal ball with her beauty. Seeing that epic blue gown — a truly exquisite creation by Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell — made the little girl inside of me squeal with delight.
Richard Madden (“Game of Thrones”) shows more wit and teeth than most princely heroes, and seems to be smitten by Ella’s kind wisdom as well as her beauty.
But in the tradition of Disney films, it’s the villain who steals the show. Blanchett is a ravishing, funny mix of Joan Crawford and Cruella de Vil. With her two silly, overdressed daughters yapping like puppies in tow, they put the fun in dysfunctional.
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A ‘Night’ of vengeance
Someday my prince will come, and I wouldn’t mind if it he looked like Liam Neeson. Even though this talented thespian turned action star shows signs of fatigue, who better to portray an Irish hit man haunted by past sins?
As Jimmy Conlon in “Run All Night,” Neeson is down on his luck and must depend on his old Brooklyn pal, crime boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris), for handouts.
While Shawn’s son is fully into the gangster lifestyle, Jimmy’s son Michael (Joel Kinnaman) lives quietly with a wife and kids and has disowned his father for being “The Gravedigger.” But when Michael turns up in the wrong place at the wrong time, it is Dad to the rescue — like it or not.
Following a time-honored formula of retribution and revenge (anyone remember “Road to Perdition”?), this is a lean, mean thriller that boasts a solid lineup, including Vincent D’Onofrio, Bruce McGill, Common and an uncredited, barely recognizable Nick Nolte (let’s hope that was just skillful makeup).
A thrilling chase sequence down Queens Boulevard keeps us in suspense, as does the cat-and-mouse game between Jimmy and Shawn, two fathers who will fight to the death for their sons.
Neeson is still a force to be reckoned with as the man doesn’t burn, doesn’t scorch and doesn’t melt. If “Run All Night” does turn out to be his last actioner, let’s hope he doesn’t vanish from the big screen altogether.
SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a company in Irvine.