The Lion King (2019)

Another live-action remake of a classic Disney animated movie, this film follows the story of young Simba, the lion born to be king of the Pride Lands.

I'm sure most people are aware of the majority of the plot details of the film, as the animated version was released back in 1994, but I will give a brief description of the plot before moving on to the actual review.

Simba (JD McCrary) is the lion cub, born to parents Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Sarabi (Alfre Woodard), who by his birth becomes the next in line to rule the kingdom. This pushes his uncle, Mufasa's brother Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) off the top spot, and Scar becomes insanely jealous of the future king.

With the assistance of three hyenas, Kamari (Keegan-Michael Key), Azizi (Eric André) and Shenzi (Florence Kasumba), he hatches a plot to kill both Mufasa and Simba, and take over the kingdom for himself.

Scar (Chiwetel Ejoifor) and his band of hyenas.

Unbeknownst to him, however, Simba is not killed, but escapes and grows up (and is now voiced by Donald Glover) with new friends, meerkat Timon (Billy Eichner) and warthog Pumbaa (Seth Rogen), until such time as he is ready to return and challenge Scar for the title of king. Assisted by old friend Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter), and former royal advisor hornbill Zazu (John Oliver), he mounts a mission to overthrow the new, terrible regime Scar has put in place.

If you are a fan of the original film, there is plenty here to enjoy and remember, while at the same time, plenty to discover and experience that is new.

The screenplay, by Jeff Nathanson, is very well-written, with some of the more significant sections of the film being identical to the original, to the point that there were large chunks of dialogue I could quote from memory due to my repeated watching of the animated version all those years ago. But there is also plenty of new material here that - while the main structure of the plot and characters are the same - brings the film into a new century and opens it up to a whole new audience.

Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter).

The songs, with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, are the same as we all remember. Every one of the songs from the animated film are there, with the inclusion of a couple of songs previously only present in the Broadway musical of a few years later. There is also one brand new song - entitled 'Spirit' - sung by Beyoncé, because if you've got Beyoncé in your film, you'd better make sure she sings at least one song, right?

The score, as separate from the songs, has been composed by film-scoring royalty Hans Zimmer, and is - as you might expect - incredible. Again, large chunks of the score are incredibly similar to the original animated film, but often with slightly different instrumentation and arrangement. However, there are many new themes and melodies developed throughout this film, all of which fit well with the songs composed by Elton John, unifying the soundtrack together as one complete entity.

Calling this film live-action is a little deceptive, however. Technically speaking, the film is still animated, using CGI animation to create the animals. However, it doesn't look like an animated film, as the animation is made to look extremely lifelike and realistic, right down to the natural behaviour of each of the animals. The standard of the visuals is absolutely top-notch and does not look unrealistic at any point (that is of course when the animals aren't singing or talking).

Young Simba (JD McCrary), Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen).

Caleb Deschanel's cinematography is absolutely beautiful, with plenty of contrast between light and dark, and good use of shadow. The African landscape is stunning, breathtaking, beautiful, and serves as the perfect backdrop for this epic story. The animated animals seem right at home in the authentic world, which only adds to the realistic feel of the movie.

All of the voice performers have been well cast in their respective roles, and do an incredible job. James Earl Jones as Mufasa is a clear standout, which is probably to be expected, as he is reprising the role he voiced in the original animated film. Eichner and Rogen are fabulous as comic duo Timon and Pumbaa, and have an excellent chemistry together. All the songs are performed brilliantly as well, and - while the lyrics are the same - have an updated feel to them here.

Director Jon Favreau has done an amazing job bringing the original animated film to life in a whole new way. As I mentioned already, if you're a fan of the original film, you simply must watch this. If you're not a fan of the original, then there is probably something wrong with you (ha ha). I will certainly be watching this many more times to come.

8 1/2 out of 10.

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Inspired by a true story, and based on the tell-all book by Frank W. Abagnale and Stan Redding, this film tells the remarkable story of the youngest person to ever make it onto the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

Frank W. Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) lives in a small suburb of New York, with his father Frank Sr. (Christopher Walken) and French-immigrant-mother Paula (Nathalie Baye). His life is relatively happy, until he returns from school one day to an ultimatum: his parents are getting a divorce and he must choose which parent he wants to live with from now on.

Rather than making a decision, he runs away, and begins to support himself with the assistance of a slew of bad cheques, until he decides to pose as an Pan-Am airline pilot.

Using the practice of 'deadheading' (a term in air travel for a pilot who flies on an aircraft in a 'spare' seat (not actually piloting the aircraft, but 'hitchhiking' in a sense), he flies all over the country, and even internationally, though never with Pan-Am itself, for fear they will clock his fraudulent ID badge.

After he has enough of flying, and all while contiuning to cash fraudulent cheques, he settles for a time in Georgia, where he poses as a paediatrician, and winds up supervising the night shift in the emergency ward of a hospital, where he meets young candy-striper Brenda Strong (Amy Adams).

The two become engaged, and Frank then begins working for Brenda's father Roger (Martin Sheen) in his law firm as an assistant prosecutor (having successfully passed the bar exam in the state of Louisiana).

All through his exploits, he is relentlessly pursued by FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), who works in the bank fraud department. There are a few near misses for Hanratty, moments where he comes so close to capturing Abagnale, but only to have him slip away yet again.

The screenplay by Jeff Nathanson, from Abagnale's book, is reasonably well written, with plenty of action, and plenty of twists and turns to keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Of course, most of these twists are taken from the book, rather than being of Nathanson's invention; Abagnale's life was filled with twists. There are a few minor alterations from the book to the script, but these are nowhere near significant enough to affect the plot of the film greatly (these are just things I happen to know, having followed Abagnale's story since hearing him speak a little over twenty years ago).

John Williams's music is fantastic (but when has John Williams ever written a bad score?), with a repeated leitmotif throughout the film that, while appearing simple in its construction, is anything but, particularly as it recurs throughout the film in different arrangements and with modified instrumentation at each occurrence.

One of the strongest elements of this film, however, is the cinematography. Janusz Kaminski has an incredible touch when it comes to his use of light and dark, and particularly the use of shadow. There are many sequences which take place in almost total darkness, which give these moments a film-noir feel, and highlight particular elements exceptionally well. I refer primarily to the scenes set in the French prison (nothing more about that here; I don't want to spoil the film for you).

Jeannine Oppewall's production design and Mary Zophres's gorgeous costumes both set the scene perfectly, and particularly ground us in the world of the 1960s when most of the film takes place.

The performances of the cast are also fantastic, particularly those of DiCaprio and Hanks, as the two opposing forces who continue to be forced together by fate. An honourable mention must also go to Christopher Walken who, as always, is brilliant in his performance, bringing so much life to his character, but doing so in the most subtly beautiful way.

Director Steven Spielberg has made a wonderful thrill-ride of a film here that, though I may be biased due to my fascination with Abagnale's exploits, is a film I always enjoy watching. If you haven't seen it yet, make sure you check it out at your earliest opportunity.

8 1/2 out of 10.