Tim joined Paul Douglas and Jordana Green Tuesday to review the new series “Dead to Me” Season 2 (Netflix), and “Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian” and “Prop Culture” (Disney+) with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on the “Paul and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM. Click to listen below. The segment is brought to you by Michael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” on KQRS-FM, “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
The cinematic circle of life is now complete with the updated version of “The Lion King,” director Jon Favreau’s visually stunning live action rendering of the 1994 Disney animated classic. Faced with a no-win situation of either changing up the story and certainly facing fan ire or staying faithful to the 25-year-old original, director Jon Favreau took the path of least resistance and went with a virtual shot-by-shot remake of the film, which still felt energized by the photorealistic setting and characters, a winning voice cast and of course, stirring songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, as well as the iconic score by Hans Zimmer.
For the uninitiated few who’ve never seen the film on the big screen or video, “The Lion King” tells the story of Mufasa (voice of James Earl Jones – the only 1994 cast member to reprise his role), a majestic lion king who is blessed with the birth of his first cub, Simba (JD McCrary). The young lion immediately earns his birthright to become heir of the throne, which a fate Mufasa’s brother, Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor), refuses to accept. Staging the cruel death of Mufasa and leading Simba to believe he’s at fault for it, Scar rules the pride with a villainous pack of hyenas by his side, destroying the morale of Mufasa’s queen, Sarabi (Alfre Woodard) and her loved ones and decimating the environment around them.
AUDIO: Hear Tim review “The Lion King” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. Segment brought to you by Mike Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Meanwhile, Simba, thought dead by Scar, escaped and grew into adulthood thanks to the comical meerkat and warthog duo of Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen), and once a full grown lion, Simba (Donald Glover) happens upon his childhood friend Nala (Beyonce Knowles-Carter) to learn of the devastation Scar has caused. Returning home to the pride to confess to accident that killed his father, Simba learns who was really responsible for Mufasa’s death, setting up a fight for the throne and a last-ditch effort to save his home.
Despite the fact that “The Lion King” is as much a remake as a remake gets, Favreau and his visual effects crew still have to be credited for creating a canvas that’s even more stunning than the director’s wondrous live-action adaptation of “The Jungle Book” in 2016. Granted, those familiar with the tale of “The Lion King” will likely hold the memories of the original film dear, and the story won’t seem nearly as fresh as when they first saw it; but that likely won’t be the case for younger viewers, and there’s no question that the new film will become a classic for a new generation.
As familiar as the new “Lion King” feels, the story does give Nala a bigger role (if you get Beyonce in your movie, you have to make it worth her while), including a new song, “Spirit,” which is destined for a Best Original Song Oscar nomination (John and Rice, who won an Oscar for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” also penned a pair of new songs ). The film’s photorealistic effects also make some of the characters feel more daunting, particularly the hyenas, which are much more frightening than they were in animated form (the original film was rated G).
Favreau no doubt added more subtle moments to the film, which is nearly a half-hour longer than the original. Fans will no doubt be able to discover the differences between the new “Lion King” and the original with multiple viewings, which will no doubt happen when this film reaches video after what is guaranteed a very successful theatrical run. After 25 years, “The Lion King’s” roar is as loud as ever.
Lammometer: 8 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
Tom Holland is back in his second webslinger solo film in “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” a very entertaining follow-up to “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and first chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe post-“Avengers: End Game.” Fans will almost instantly feel that the new “Spider-Man” movie is considerably lighter feels more comic book than the momentous “Avengers: Endgame” and its predecessor “Avengers: Infinity War.”
While “Endgame” bid farewell to some pivotal team members including Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), those team members, “Far From Home” reminds us that while they are gone, they’re definitely not forgotten. “Far From Home” picks up, naturally, after the events of “Endgame,” where “the blip,” as everyone is deeming it, brought back the half of humanity that Thanos destroyed with a snap of the fingers at the end of “Avengers: Infinity War.” Among those returning after five years in cosmic limbo is Peter (Holland), who came back in time to help defeat Thanos, but saw Tony sacrifice himself to destroy the omnipotent enemy and his dark forces.
AUDIO: Listen to Tim’s review of “Spider-Man: Far From Home” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on “The Paul and Jordana Show” on WCCO-AM. Segment brought to you by Mike Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Still struggling with the loss of Tony in “Far From Home,” Spider-Man learns that there are still threats in the world that need superheroes like him to defend. Peter, for the time being, though, would rather ignore those threats and enjoy a simpler life, and take a class trip to Europe instead so he can tell MJ (Zendaya) how he really feels about her. He even wants to leave his Spider-Man suit behind, but Aunt May (the always wonderful Marisa Tomei) makes sure that doesn’t happen and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), also feeling a huge hole left in his life by Tony, is just a phone call away.
Also reminding Peter that he has obligations is Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who purposefully interferes in the teen superhero’s plan to take on the destructive villains the Elementals, which appear to take shape of the natural elements to wreak havoc in different parts of the world. Fury has already joined forces with Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), a mysterious, crimson caped crusader from another dimension on Earth, who no doubt possesses strong capabilities, yet could use someone the caliber of Spider-Man to end the Elementals threats for good. While he reluctantly takes part with Mysterio in the battle against the Elementals’ Molten Man, Spider-Man realizes that he shouldn’t have been so lax in upholding the justice around the world the way he should have, especially since Tony willed him a powerful tech weapon that could spell disaster if it falls into the wrong hands.
If you’re steeped in the “Spider-Man” comic book lore, it shouldn’t surprise you that not everything is as it seems in “Spider-Man: Far From Home” – and to that end, the more familiar you are with the comic book franchise, the quicker you’ll catch on to which direction the film will go. On the flip side, if you’re a casual fan of the series not necessarily versed in the webslinger’s stable of characters, mostly what you see in “Far From Home” will seem status quo until some big reveals in the third act which catch you by surprise. Either way, serious and casual fans should be entertained just the same when all is said and done, it’s just that diehards have a slight advantage with their knowledge of the material going in.
“Spider-Man: Far From Home” is strong on all fronts, and while Holland is charming, Gyllenhaal is impressive as usual and Jackson is his usual, entertaining badass self, director Jon Watts can’t help but put the trio in the middle of explosive third act that’s loaded with all the CGI that the film can muster. That’s not to say the visuals aren’t incredible (they’re in fact, refreshingly trippy at some points as Spidey enters different dimensions), it just feels par for the course for a genre movie. There is a huge payoff, though, as a mid-credits scene already lays out Peter’s path for the next “Spider-Man” movie with a pair of huge surprises, to boot. After the credits, too, is another revealing scene that, while not as eventful as the mid-credits scene, gives us an inkling what other MCU characters are up to post-“Avengers: Endgame.”
Speaking of “Endgame,” while “Spider-Man: Far From Home” doesn’t come close to matching the greatness of its MCU predecessors (not that any solo MCU film could have – “Endgame” and “Infinity War” was a massive undertaking), it definitely has a life on its own and suggests that the franchise as a whole has healthy legs sans Downey moving forward. “Far From Home” reminds us that there’s still a home for Marvel superhero movies on the big screen, even though the direction of where exactly the franchise is going isn’t mapped out yet.
Lammometer: 8 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
