Almost two months ago DC Comics announced the publisher had signed Brian Michael Bendis to an exclusive contract, with no specific titles attached. Over the past month, the speculation on which book or books Bendis will work on has mounted.
On Christmas, the rumor mill heated up as a report came out that Bendis would take over Superman with the artistic team of Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, according to sources from the Brazilian comic convention via Bleeding Cool.
Superman would be bold, and DC Comics didn’t sign Bendis to not be bold.
The story is still in the rumor stage and Monkeys Fighting Robots will update the article with an official comment from DC Comics as soon as one becomes available.
Bendis has also been tweeting a ton of DC Comics art by José Luis García-López. Could a throwback book be in the works?
It’s unfortunate that most will remember Ridley Scott’s All The Money In The World for the gutsy decision to replace a scandal-ridden Kevin Spacey with another Oscar winner Christopher Plummer. Lost in all of this drama are fantastic performances by Plummer and Michelle Williams plus the type of direction that wins awards. Add in a masterfully crafted narrative, and the result is a highly engrossing thriller.
The storyline centers around the abduction of John Paul Getty’s (Plummer) grandson and the circumstances behind the reported ransom. Getty feels that he’s the real the victim and the kidnappers are just using Gail (Williams) the child’s mother only to fleece him. Rather than give the initial request of 17 million dollars for the child’s release, Getty brings his “fixer,” former CIA Operative Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg) to negotiate with the kidnappers. The kidnapping quickly takes a back seat to a battle of wills between Getty and Gail with Chase being stuck in the middle.
Williams plays her character perfectly. Behind closed doors, Gail is losing her mind. She’s frustrated by the perception that if you have the Getty name that it equals wealth. When dealing with Getty, she dials back these emotions because that approach won’t melt her former father in-law’s icy demeanor. This is the type of performance we are accustomed to seeing from the actress and indeed, more than makes up for her work in The Greatest Showman.
It’s hard to imagine another person playing Getty after Plummer’s performance. The makeup on Spacey’s face made him look like a creature from some far distant world. Plummer projects such a cold demeanor and ruthlessness that it’s hard not to despise the man. Even the glare he gives his youngest grandchildren as they write out responses to the mountain of requests for financial help would burn a hole through anyone. In any other year, Plummer would be the odds-on favorite to take home the Oscar, but the category of Supporting Actor is quite competitive this year.
Scott doesn’t appear to get in the way of his cast allowing their performances to take center stage.The only time where we see any semblance of the director’s imprint is evident is during some of the action sequences which had an American Gangster flair to them. David Scarpa skillfully adapts this story by allowing us glimpses inside the mind of Getty. For example, not only showcases the ruthlessness of Plummer’s character, but we also get a glimpse of how frugal he was. We are treated to a scene where Getty is washing his underwear and socks in the bathtub to avoid having to spend frivolously. This does provide a glimpse into why Getty might be resistant to paying a ransom because he views it as an expense that’s unnecessary (even if it is his family).
In the end, All The Money In The World indeed hasn’t received the same buildup as some of Scott’s other projects, but it could gain the most recognition of his storied career. The narrative is engrossing, the performances are fantastic, and the direction makes this release well worth the price of admission.
Production on both Avengers: Infinity War and the untitled Avengers 4 has been underway for quite some time and actors have begun to wrap up their filming as the year comes to a close. Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen both finished shooting earlier this week, with Jeremy Renner not far behind. Now another original Avenger has hung up their spandex, for who knows how long, Black Widow actress Scarlett Johannson has wrapped filming on both Avengers films.
Johannsson’s stunt double Heidi Moneymaker posted a thank you message on Instagram, thanking her partner in crime for a wonderful year of shooting. You can check out the post below:
I know what you’re thinking, “Is Black Widow going to die because she wrapped filming early?”. That is not what that means. As fun as it is to speculate, there is really no way of knowing who will make it out alive against Thanos. So sit back, relax and just wait for May to get here.
As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment – the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.
The cast includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Pom Klementieff, and Josh Brolin as Thanos.
There are plenty of film festivals in the world but few that curate a selection as good as the Miami Jewish Film Festival (MJFF). Think about that statement. MJFF will feature 62 films, all of which come from a host of filmmaking talent from all over the world. Out of thousands of possible pictures, the people behind MJFF carefully select all these proverbial needles in haystacks. It’s no small task.
“This year’s Miami Jewish Film Festival program is monumental in the breadth of talent breaking through in each of the beautifully rich, distinct, and emotional stories that transcend geographical boundaries” – Igor Shteyrenberg, Executive Director of the Miami Jewish Film Festival
What are some of the films to flicker on the silver screen starting this year? The festival kicks off with Itzhak. The documentary film centers on the life of legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman. Directed by Alison Chernick (The Jeff Koons Show, Matthew Barney No Restraint), Itzhak is one of many films this year that centers around music.
Between January 11th and January 25th, MJFF will feature other films such as:
• Samuel Maoz’s Foxtrot, an award-winning film is about a man and his wife coping with grief after learning that their son died in the line of duty. Foxtrot is the director’s third feature following Lebanon and TotalEclipse.
• Lisa Ades’ GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II. The first documentary to tell the story of the Jewish men and women who fought in the war. It features interviews with Mel Brooks and narrated by Jeffrey Tambor.
• Howard L. Weiner’s The Last Poker Game featuring legendary Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau’s final onscreen performance. The comedy is set in a nursing home and the unlikely friendship that forms.
• Menno Meyjes’ The Hero (De Held), a Dutch crime film from the Oscar-nominated writer of The Color Purple. Meyjes also co-wrote Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! The Hero tells the story of a woman who learns a hidden truth about her father after his passing.
• Arnaud Desplechin’s Ismael’s Ghosts starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Marion Cotillard. The story is about a filmmaker whose life goes into a tailspin by the return of his wife, who disappeared 20 years ago and whom he thought dead.
The Jewish Film Festival performs another impressive feat by hosting its selection at ten different cinemas across the city. One such event will include the debut of an After Hours Presentation of the classic animated feature, Fantastic Planet. Along with the featurewill be a live score performed by synthwave artist Mystvries.
To “discover and develop independent artists,” The Miami Jewish Film Festival, along with Film Movement, a renowned US Distributor, join together for a short film competition. The winner takes home a cash prize and receives a distribution contract.
“It is during uncertain and tumultuous times like these that we most need artists and storytellers, and this year’s program is a testament to the unending capacity of film to move us, impact our lives, and even provide much-needed escapism.” – Igor Shteyrenberg
No cinephile should go without a trip to the Miami Jewish Film Festival. Film is a language which transcends barriers. The MJFF prepares to put that truth on display. A host of films will show the diversity of culture, the beauty of life, the horrors we sometimes face, and the struggles that great men and women must overcome to reach a dream. Like music, movies connect the world in a powerful way.
MJFF starts January 11th! Check out the Miami Jewish Film Festival here.
Whoever put together the trailer for director Michael Gracey’s The Greatest Showman should be commended. Anyone who was to take two minutes and twenty-three seconds and watch it online would come off thinking the film is fun, full of amazing songs, and a compelling narrative as well. However, looks can be deceiving. While the musical numbers in The Greatest Showman are at times terrific, it can’t overcome a tale that’s far from cohesive and muddles from one number to the next. It’s unbelievable that a movie which looks so good could be such a dud.
The film centers around the rise of P.T Barnum (Hugh Jackman) who rises from being the poor son of a tailor to one of the more talked about men in high society. Barnum has a vision of a variety show full of performers from all walks of life that celebrates talent and their diversity as well. Charity (Michelle Williams) comes from a family that is well off and gives it all up for a life with Barnum. Barnum can only get so far with his new business venture, but he seeks to change that when Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron) comes on as a financial partner. That’s when their dreams begin to explode.
Despite this release being a massive dud, some parts of the film do standout. Seamus McGarvey’s cinematography was fantastic. McGarvey captures the brilliance of each musical number while still showcasing the vibrancy of the audience. Ellen Mirojnick’s costume design is imaginative and captures the spectacle of this period. Nathan Crowley’s production design comes to the forefront during any number of musical numbers. Crowley gives this universe a very classic look and makes use of warm colors when he designed the circus set. However, just because something looks good or sounds right, that doesn’t mean the film is.
All that Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon had to do was just develop a narrative that connected each of these numbers and at points matched the emotional honesty of the musical numbers. Instead, we are treated with a storyline that doesn’t connect and meanders from Barnum’s need to prove the world wrong to him begging Carlyle to join his business venture. It’s as if they felt the songs will make up for any details they raced through when in fact it just left me baffled. La La Land had dominant musical numbers, but the narrative was well thought out and compelling. The Greatest Showman relies on the musical numbers to provide an emotional core, and that’s a recipe for disaster.
Had the story stayed away from being about Barnum’s redemption and been more about acceptance, this review would have taken a different tone entirely. Lettie Lutz plays the breaded lady and should have had a more prominent role than what she was relegated to. Her tale was one of being shunned by society and gaining confidence after being hired by Barnum. Focusing on her character and other members of the show seems like such a no-brainer, but alas they didn’t. Why?
Instead, this tale ignores the obvious and focuses on the trivial parts of this fascinating figure. The result is a film that raises your expectations but will leave you seeking a refund. Probably not the type of show worth subjecting yourself to.
Alexander Payne’s latest film, Downsizing, is undoubtedly a departure from his previous projects. While Election is a brilliantly written look at politics and Sideways offers a unique perspective on relationships, Downsizing is a muddled mess bordering on being unwatchable. If anything this movie is the perfect example of why even the best casts can’t save a poorly developed concept. The single idea of a shrinking world to help the environment has all the makings of a good film. However, Downsizing wavers back and forth between being a comedy, satire, and a film attempting to make social commentary. The problem is none of it done well. Compounding matters, Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig are lifeless on the screen which brings what little momentum builds to a screeching halt.
The narrative centers around a scientific breakthrough allowing people to be shrunk from six feet tall to around five inches. In this new tiny world, life appears to be more comfortable, it seems to be environmentally friendly, and personal wealth explodes. Paul (Damon) and Audrey (Wiig) see this and decide they want to part of this new world. However, things don’t go according to plan. Audrey backs out leaving Paul living in a world that’s entirely foreign to him. Could this experience lead to an awakening?
Payne and screenwriter Jim Taylor have managed to take a great concept and transform it into something blaise and forgettable. The movie is an interconnected series of events that have no flow while all are seemingly trying to tackle some version of a social issue. Just when it seemed Payne and Taylor were to make a statement, he’d move on. It was as if they didn’t have the guts to make any comment so why not just say nothing. Rather than seize the moment and build our narrative around environmental issues, why not just rely on sight gags. It’s annoying and weak. Speaking of weak, Damon’s performance didn’t do this film any favors either.
In theory, the audience should have been empathetic towards Paul (Damon). The reality is he does nothing to endear himself to the audience. Remember, this is a guy who gave up everything to go into a world so they could have a better life and was abandoned. Damon’s performance is absent from any heart. Some might point the finger at the horrifically crafted narrative but someone of Damon’s caliber should have given at least a decent performance. Christoph Waltz pulled it off.
Waltz plays one of Paul’s neighbors in this new five-inch world and manages to hold his own in spite of the terrible script. Instead of being dazzled by Waltz’s talent, many of us in the theater were puzzled as to why he was even in the film. His whole character could have been cut from the film, and the narrative wouldn’t have missed a beat.
The sets were drab and unappealing. The scenes over the wall were primarily in a massive apartment complex and what’s with only minorities being on the other side of the wall? While certainly there had to be others who lived in that enormous building. Payne’s trying to show us the pitfalls of a class system, and it seems rushed. Hong Chau’s character is meant to hammer this point home, but all she does is muddy up an already cloudy storyline.
One wonders what Damon’s next project will be after two projects fell well short of expectations. Can’t get much worse than Downsizing for the Oscar winner.
Amy Chu is bringing back one of the oldest characters in comics, the Green Hornet. Though the character has been around since 1936 and has had many different comic runs, Chu has unique ideas. “I’ve been listening to the old radio shows from the ’30s and trying to bring back some of the good guy versus bad guy elements of what made it popular in the ’30s. But this is not a pure nostalgia trip, there’s a lot of modern twists,” said Chu.
Whose story influence also comes from her parents’ love of Kato, who Bruce Lee portrayed in the 1960s television series. “I’m weaving in some solid martial arts action too,” said Chu. The first arc of Chu’s Green Hornet series takes place after Kevin Smith‘s 2010 run. Which included the death of Britt Reid Sr. at the hands of the Black Hornet, and the passing down of Britt’s and Kato’s masks to the next generation.
Britt’s son Britt Reid Jr., and Kato’s daughter Mulan. Now it is up to Mulan and her father to protect the city and the Hornet’s legacy while finding out what happened to Britt Jr. after he mysteriously disappears. Causing Mulan to assume the identity of the famed green vigilante and criminal. Artist German Erramouspe (Night of the Living Dead: Aftermath, Rancat) will provide artwork for the series.
While Artists Mike Choi (X-Men, Cable), CP Wilson III (Deadpool, G.I. Joe, The Shadow), Carli Ihde (Kiss/Vampirella, Sheena), and others provide variant covers. As mentioned earlier, the history of Green Hornet goes back to 1936. When George W. Trendel and Fran Striker created the character and his Driver Kato for a radio drama. Since his and Kato’s initial appearances, two movie serials in the 1940s were created.
The Green Hornetin 1940 and The Green Hornet Strikes Again which was released in the same year. From there the duo has appeared in various adaptations. Including comics, television, and a 2011 feature film. After comic book adaptations bounced around different publishers, Dynamite acquired the property’s license in 2009. Issue one of Amy Chu and German Erramouspe’s Green Hornet hits shelves in March of 2018. Check out its cover below!
Who would have a thought a simple story about a female acapella group would have spawned a trilogy, with each entry being a case of diminishing returns.
Since graduating from Barden College life for the Bellas has not turned out so well. Beca (Anna Kendrick) has to deal with egotistical musicians, Chloe (Brittany Snow) is struggling to get into veterinary school, and Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) is an unemployed entertainer. The rest of the Bellas are stuck in crappy jobs. After an unsuccessful reunion, the Bellas decide to have one last hooray by going on a USO tour in Europe and compete in a competition hosted by DJ Khaled.
The first two Pitch Perfect films can be described as sports films about music. They have the same formula as a sports film: set up the competition and why the team is underdogs, showing a rivalry with another team and riffs within their own team before coming together for the final game or in Pitch Perfect‘s case sing-off. Yet there is only so much mileage a film series can get from this formula and Pitch Perfect 3 was running on fumes. The first two films have defined arcs: the first was about Beca having to become more social and the second was about the Bellas having to get their spark back. The third was all over the place.
To show how desperate the series has become, Pitch Perfect 3 starts with the Bellas singing Brittany Spears’ “Toxic” in front of a terrible green screen before a series of explosions happen on a boat. This is indicative of the film as a whole, and it wouldn’t be surprising if writer Kay Cannon had to use all the story ideas she could think of and for the first time in the series she had to team up with another writer.
(L to R) Flo (CHRISSIE FIT), Aubrey (ANNA CAMP), Cynthia Rose (ESTER DEAN), Chloe (BRITTANY SNOW), Jessica (KELLEY JAKLE), Beca (ANNA KENDRICK), Jessica (SHELLEY REGNER), Fat Amy (REBEL WILSON), Emily (HAILEE STEINFELD) and Lilly (HANA MAE LEE) in “Pitch Perfect 3,” the next chapter in the beloved series that has taken in more than $400 million at the global box office.
The core of the story is the Bellas entering another competition, but it is much more disjointed this time. The Bellas seem to be forming a rivalry with another group, this time the all-female rock group Evermoist (a terrible and unrealistic name for any band) but this is forgotten fairly quickly. The other major musical storyline involves Beca being approached by an English music producer (Guy Burnet) for a record contract but that would mean leaving the Bellas. Amy has a subplot involving her criminal father (John Lithgow) which feels like it should have been in another film. Finally, Chloe and Lily (Hana Mae Lee) are given token love interests that hardly play a part of the film.
It wouldn’t be surprising if there were two screenplays and the producers decided to combine the two: one is a continuation of the Pitch Perfect with it all its typical story points and act as a send-off. The other being an action-comedy vehicle for Rebel Wilson. Pitch Perfect wasn’t a series crying out for explosions and a subplot involving an international gangster. It was an excuse to give Wilson more screen time, allow for her to ad-lib even more and the action on the boat made Wilson look like Melissa McCarthy’s character in Spy.
The humor in the film is a mixed bag. There is a self-awareness in some of the jokes: the best revolving around two Bellas who had no characterization in the previous films. The other involves the expository dialogue because it is so bad that even the movie lampshades it. The joke would have worked better if there were no scenes involving Fat Amy describing what happened with Beca’s boyfriend and Aubrey describing how they can get on the USO tour. Other jokes were so telegraphed that even the film draws attention to it. The most obvious involves the Bellas at a private party and a beehive. Just because you draw attention to a tired joke doesn’t make it better.
One of the long-running themes is the parental relationships of some of the Bellas members. In the first film, Beca was hostile towards her dad because he divorced her mother and he dared to pay for her college education. In Pitch Perfect 2 Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a Bella. Pitch Perfect 3 doubles down and gives audiences two storylines because Fat Amy’s dad is trying to re-establish contact, whilst Aubrey (Anna Camp) has an absentee father because of his job in the military and wants him to see one of her shows.
If I was generous, I could argue that Pitch Perfect 3 wanted to introduce a theme of life after college not being easy. The Bellas are stuck in jobs they are overqualified for, while Emily is stressed because of her heavy college workload. Millennials could easily relate to this situation where finding suitable employment and housing keeps getting tougher. The character of Chloe is someone who can be described as having peaked at college: she was scared to graduate in the previous film and in this one she longs to relive the glory days.
The musical numbers are okay if you like your autotune, overly produced pop. The best number involved the new Barden Bellas performing at the Brooklyn Aquarium. The final performance was touching for fans as a send off to the characters they know and love.
The Pitch Perfect series has devolved from a reasonably believable story about an eclectic group of young women becoming friends through music to a globe-trotting adventure about stopping criminal masterminds. Fans of the Bellas will properly enjoy their last adventure together, but for everyone else, it’s a miss.
Mr. Robot is a show that has never backed away from asking the big questions: What is the nature of identity? How much, if any, control do we have over our lives? Do we see reality as it is? It is in this spirit of philosophical inquiry that we take a look at some of the unanswered questions from season 3.
What is Whiterose’s Project?
Online speculation has run rampant on this one since the season premiere. A lot of people say it’s a Large Hadron Collider (more accurately, it would be a particle accelerator, since the Large Hadron Collider is one specific example, not a category). Particle colliders are used to examine the way particles interact with each other in an attempt to understand the physical nature of the universe and what things were like in the time directly after the Big Bang. In the context of the show, could Whiterose be using this technology to create another universe, one over which she would somehow have control? A related possibility is that all these different universes already exist and Whiterose’s project is a way to travel to whichever one she wants. After all, before Grant kills himself, she told him she would “find” him when the project is over.
A time machine is another possibility, given the show’s references to Back to the Future and Superman, as well as Angela’s belief that Whiterose’s project can undo the damage caused by the bombings and even reunite her and Elliot with their deceased parents. This one feels like a red herring to me, but could still be Whiterose’s endgame.
Probably the most “realistic” theory is that the power plant is just a power plant and will be used for Bitcoin and/or E-Coin mining. Running the computers required for massive-scale mining of this sort would take an immense amount of energy. This theory would require Whiterose to have had the foresight to see all those years ago that these cryptocurrencies would exist and be relevant in the present, which seems unlikely, though not impossible, given her ability to see and control events at a global scale.
What theory I believe changes from day to day (more than that, I’ve flip-flopped a few times while writing this), but currently my favorite theory is that Whiterose is constructing a massive Matrix-esque simulation. This would allow her to “resurrect” Angela’s mom, Elliot’s dad, and the Dark Army soldiers (like Grant) that have given their lives so freely to the cause.
What is the Nature of Elliot/Mr. Robot?
Sure, they’ve already shown us that Mr. Robot is a manifestation in Elliot’s mind of his dead father, but what if there’s more to it? When I was first told about Mr. Robot, I was reluctant to watch it because it has ‘robot’ right in the title, but doesn’t have any robots on the show. But what if it does? Maybe Elliot (and some or all of the other characters) are actually sentient computer programs or androids/replicants and they really do hack each other? Mr. Robot (and us, friend), could be malware or just bugs intruding on Elliot’s mind/programming. Under this theory, the more easily manipulated a person is (I’m looking at you, Bill from Steel Mountain), the earlier the generation. The master manipulator (Whiterose) might be the most advanced program, or the person doing the actual programming. This might be going a little too off-the-deep-end for the show, but I’m still holding out hope that there are robots of some kind.
What’s In the Bag?
This like a large, but forgotten, plot point to me. After Angela clones the hardware security modules for the Dark Army in episode five, she is handed a mysterious white paper bag by a Dark Army operative. Whatever it is, seeing it rattles Angela, and (unless I completely missed something in the intervening episodes), it hasn’t been seen or mentioned since. So, what could it be?
A lot of folks online seem to think it’s a gun, for either her or Elliot (who was supposed to be the one working on the HSMs) to kill themselves after the task was done. I don’t really buy this theory, since 1.) Neither Angela nor Elliot shot themselves, and 2.) guns are heavy. In the scenes, the paper bag doesn’t seem to have much weight. Angela is holding it by two fingers, and the bag doesn’t appear to be stretching at all.
So, what else could it be? I did some brainstorming with my brother, technical consultant, and Mr. Robot fan, Andrew, and these are some of the possibilities we came up with:
a memento related to her mom/his dad
a photo of her mom/his dad now, because they’re not dead, but hidden away in a secure Dark Army facility somewhere with the little girl who may or may not be Angela from the past.
a photo of her dad or ex-boyfriend Ollie, held hostage by the Dark Army
information revealing that there were actually 71 target buildings, not just one
A fantastic new Red Wheelbarrow side dish that the world is not ready for yet. A taste sensation that would make the best curly fries seem like the most bland cole slaw by comparison. Some culinary creation so tasty it could warp the fabric of time and space.
Bart Simpson’s soul – I know, I know, USA isn’t even owned by the same corporation as Fox (yet), but is it just a coincidence that both Mr. Robot and this classic episode of The Simpsons both feature Alf (in a dream sequence in one, in pog-form in the other)? Surely Whiterose wouldn’t think so.
What do you think? I’m sure you’ve got some wonderful theories I missed out on. Let’s discuss in the comments section!
Life is peculiar. One moment you’re challenging Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle to be a better film, and the next moment you’re praising Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Showman. What strange twists life takes during the holiday season.
The Greatest Showman is the first time I watched a film and felt like I was actually watching a Broadway show. From the sound to the way the musical scenes were shot, first-time director Michael Gracey made you felt like you were part of the show, and that is the magic of the stage.
Hugh Jackman carries the film as P.T. Barnum, Zac Efron compliments Jackman, and Zendaya is an emerging star. Jackman’s personality as Barnum is intoxicating. No matter what the world throws at him, Barnum is an industry disruptor. It is this element that gives the film a fast pace, as Barnum is like water, and keeps moving forward. The writers of the film (Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon), capture the spirit, Gracey sets up the cast for success, and Jackman unleashes his musical fury.
With all the praise mentioned above, it is the freak show that Barnum puts together that gives the film heart. Sam Humphrey as Tom Thumb owns his screen time, but Keala Settle as the bearded woman demands hers. Ripped from Netflix’s’ House of Cards, Paul Sparks has found his niche as a smug writer/journalist. Sparks plays the theater critic, and the scenes between Jackman and Sparks are riveting, with two actors doing what they do best.
In the world of CGI, the set design in the film is beautiful. The movie boasts an $80+ million budget, and you can see all the work that went into the sets. There is a painted backdrop at the beginning of the film that looked better than 90% of the CGI out there. It also just felt better and wasn’t as jarring as CGI combined with green screen can be at times.
The Greatest Showman is a perfect holiday film as it has something for everyone and family friendly; music, freaks, story, and charisma.
