Posts tagged La Belle et la Bete
MOVIE REVIEW: Beauty and the Beast
MOVIE REVIEW: Beauty and the Beast

Bill Condon’s “Beauty and the Beast” stands firmly on its own merit.  True to Disney’s recent trajectory, its goal is to “reimagine” a previous animated classic into the live-action medium for a new era and audience.  Unlike the recent treatments of "Cinderella" and "Malificent," this "Beauty and the Beast" stays a full-blown musical.  Imitation, emulation, and homage are all part of that process, but so is reappraisal and reinterpretation.  Those later two actions are what drive this new fantasy film to soaring and successful heights.

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2017, 4 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanAMC Navy Pier IMAX2017, 2017 Spring Movies, Beauty and the Beast, La Belle et la Bete, Christophe Gans, Bill Condon, Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellan, Guga Mbatha-Raw, Emma Thompson, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Oscar nominee, Best Picture, Disney classics, Disney, animated films, live-action, remakes, Reimagining, Jeanne-Marie Leprine de Beaumont, Hattie Morahan, Kevin Kline Moustache Principle, Audra McDonald, Sarah Underwood, Katie Spencer, Atonement, Sherlock Holmes, Jacqueline Durran, Tobia A. Schliessler, Peter Berg, IMAX, IMAX 3D, Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Evan Spiliotopoulos, Hercules, Tim Rice, Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Evermore, Josh Groban, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Beast, Hugh Jackman, Controversy, La La Land, Screen Junkies, Honest Trailers, YouTube, Gaston, life lessons from film, life lessons, life lessons from films, life lessons from movies, Life lessons, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, review, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment
MOVIE REVIEW: Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bete)
MOVIE REVIEW: Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bete)

All eyes are on the hotly anticipated live-action "re-imagining" of Walt Disney Pictures' enormously successful "Beauty and the Beast" from 1991.  That March 2017 sure-fire blockbuster will garner tremendous attention in its attempt to honor the animated Best Picture Oscar nominee and double Academy Award winner.  In the meantime, the fairy tale's home country of France throws down its own gauntlet to give Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's 1740 original story and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's abridged 1756 standard the grand, epic big-screen treatment it warrants.  Let's just say the French sure know what they are doing.  

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Chicago Film Festival, 2014, 2016, MOVIE REVIEW, 4 STARS, Foreign Film, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanChicago Critics Film Festival, Vincent Cassel, La Belle et la Bete, Christophe Gans, life lessons from movies, Life lessons, Donald Shanahan, movie review, 2016, movie commentary, life lessons from films, French, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Festival coverage, Eduardo Noriega, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Fairy tales, 2014, 2016 Chicago Critics Film Festival, film commentary, Beauty and the Beast, Disney classics, film review, Lea Seydoux, foreign films, life lessons from film, Don Shanahan, Foreign filmsComment
EDITORIAL: The Best of 2016 (so far)
EDITORIAL: The Best of 2016 (so far)

Many of my personal most-anticipated picks and my crystal ball Oscar prognostications are still coming, but I have been lucky enough to see over 50 film films in the first half of 2016.  Since it's only been a half-year, I'll split a year-end "10 Best" list into a Top 5.  True to this website's theme, I present you my picks for the "Best of 2016 (so far)" coupled with their best life lesson from my full reviews. 

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2016, Editorial, Best Films, 10 Best, Column, SPECIALDon Shanahanmost anticipated movies, Lo and Behold, Everybody Wants Some, Best Movies of 2016, Deadpool, 2017 Oscar Predictions, Louder than Bombs, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Life Animated, 2016 films, 2017 Oscars, Oscar contenders, 10 Best, Top 5 list, Column, Coming Through the Rye, most anticipated films, Race, Oscar hopefuls, Born to Be Blue, Best of 2016 (so far), 2016, Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World, Elvis & Nixon, High-Rise, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, SXSW Film Festival, Kung Fu Panda 3, Sundance Film Festival, In a Valley of Violence, Tribeca Film Festival, Cannes, 10 Best Films of 2016, Hail Caesar!, Midnight Special, Editorial, Best Films of 2016, Captain America: Civil War, Cannes Film Festival, La Belle et la Bete, Beauty and the Beast, Top 10 list, Best of 2016, List, The Invitation, The American SideComment
CAPSULE REVIEWS: The 4th Chicago Critics Film Festival
CAPSULE REVIEWS: The 4th Chicago Critics Film Festival

The Chicago Critics Film Festival is currently in action at Chicago’s historic Music Box Theatre and runs until May 26th.  The festival offers a selection of films comprised of festival favorites and pre-distribution sneak peeks from around the country and world.  The CCFF is in its fourth year and is programmed by the Chicago Film Critics Association.  I was granted press credentials to cover this year's slate.  With so many pre-release debuts, full reviews for the films often have to be held until their formal release.  In the mean time, check back here to this article for my capsule reviews of what I soak up.  I will update this as I add films this week!

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2016, CAPSULE REVIEW, Independent FilmDon ShanahanMusic Box Theatre2016, 2016 Chicago Critics Film Festival, Chicago Critics Film Festival, Music Box Theatre, CFCA, Chicago Film Critics Association, Beauty and the Beast, La Belle et la Bete, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Lo and Behold, Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World, Little Men, Life, Life Animated, In a Valley of Violence, The Other HalffComment