Watch Online Cinderella (2015) - MovieTimeUs

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Synopsis:

Kenneth Branagh directs Disney's 2015, live-action take on the classic fairy tale Cinderella, which stars Lily James as the put-upon young women forced to endure a life of labor at the hands of her stepmother (Cate Blanchett) after her father dies unexpectedly. Forced to do every menial chore imaginable, Ella maintains her good spirits and eventually strikes up a friendship with a stranger in the woods who turns out to be the prince. When the royal court holds a gala ball, Cinderella wants nothing more to attend, and although her stepmother won't allow it, she gets help from a surprising source.

Review: 

Think of Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella as Disney's own response to its hit live-action adaptation Maleficent. Whereas the Angelina Jolie film tried to find a new take on an overly familiar story, Branagh and company whip up a handsome slice of old-fashioned family entertainment.

The opening scenes find the young Ella (Eloise Webb) living an idyllic life with her mother (Hayley Atwell) and father (Ben Chaplin). As in every Disney film, her mother dies, but not before imparting to her the lesson of the movie with her final words -- be kind and have courage. Years later, Ella (now played by Lily James) must exemplify that kindness as she accommodates her new stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and her selfish stepsisters after her father remarries. When her father passes away during a trip abroad, she relies on her inner courage as her cruel new family force her to be their servant. She must persevere through this ordeal in order to fulfill her father's final wish -- that she care for the house he and her mother loved so dearly.

Dubbed Cinderella by her stepfamily for her oft-dirty appearance, she meets a handsome young man (Richard Madden) in the forest one day, and he claims to be an apprentice who lives in the royal court. They form a quick bond, but she leaves without learning that he's actually the prince of the kingdom. Meanwhile, the prince's father (Derek Jacobi) is in ill health and wants his son to marry before he dies. In the hope of finding an acceptable future queen, a royal gala is held to size up all of the potential marriage material -- think of it as regal speed dating.

Cinderella, denied access to the ball by her stepmother, gets some unexpected assistance from a fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) and wows everybody at the event. However, she must leave before midnight, and in her haste she leaves behind a glass slipper -- which the prince uses to locate the woman he loves.

Branagh, his generation's most renowned director of Shakespeare adaptations, shows a respect for this well-known tale that's quite welcoming. He doesn't feel that this material, or its likely audience, is beneath him. He receives able support from Oscar-winning production designer Dante Ferretti, whose stellar sets find the perfect balance between Masterpiece Theatre ornateness and dreamlike, fairy-tale lushness; and Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell, whose playful work includes not only Cinderella's spectacular blue gown, but a number of chilly monstrosities worn by the stepsisters and the wicked stepmother.

It should come as no surprise that the performances are all solid, but first among equals is the great Cate Blanchett. She could have hammed it up, but instead she finds the emotional truth at the center of her character; her wickedness comes not from a joy of being wicked, but from her desire to protect herself and her daughters. She's frighteningly cold and thoroughly believable, with just enough outsized cruelty to remind us that she's a mythic figure. She finds the perfect tone and never wavers from it. The same is true of the entire cast, as well as the production as a whole.

This version of Cinderella works so well because everyone involved has lived up to the story's moral. They are kind to the story and the material, and are courageous enough to make something with great craft and complete earnestness.

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Watch Online Pan (2015) - MovieTimeUs

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Synopsis:

An orphan boy (Levi Miller) discovers his destiny as Peter Pan in this vividly realized fantasy, and is whisked away to an enchanted land to battle the fearsome pirate Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman) with the help of the warrior woman Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara). Directed by Joe Wright (Hanna) and Atonement). Cast includes Garrett Hedlund, Amanda Seyfried, Adeel Akhtar, Nonso Anozie and Kathy Burke.

Review: 

A viewer's reaction to Pan, the Joe Wright-directed origin story of how an orphan in WWII-era London became the legendary Peter Pan, will likely depend on his or her age. Kids -- and those who are kids at heart -- will probably relish the truly bizarre phantasmagoria on display, while more discerning moviegoers will be appalled by its lack of originality, unsettling tonal shifts, mysterious musical choices, and scenery-chewing acting. In other words, there's something here for everyone to praise or pick apart.

Pan begins with a distraught woman (Amanda Seyfried) leaving her baby Peter in a basket outside of a London orphanage. We then flash forward a dozen years: The Nazis are relentlessly bombing the city, and the mischievous lad (played by wonderful newcomer Levi Miller) is investigating why some boys in the orphanage suddenly go missing during the night, and whether the disappearances are linked to a bevy of gold coins being hoarded by cruel caretaker Mother Barnabas (Kathy Burke), who runs the Dickensian institution with an iron fist and a steely heart. He soon finds out. Mother raises the Jolly Roger and pirates swoop down on bungee-like ropes to snatch him and several other boys out of their beds; they are whisked away in a floating buccaneer ship to Neverland, where they join hundreds of other boys and men in digging for fairy dust in a mining camp at the behest of Blackbeard (a hammy but effective Hugh Jackman). The notorious pirate, it turns out, inhales the stuff in order to retain his youthful appearance.

"Here we are now, entertain us," Blackbeard sings, along with his fellow pirates, when he makes his first appearance hoisted high above the enslaved assemblage on his airship. (It remains a mystery why the characters in a 1940s-era nonmusical story are singing Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" -- or later, the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop" -- and that's only one of many jarring and questionable choices by the filmmakers.) Peter is soon brought before Blackbeard for a minor offense, and is forced to walk the plank into a rocky abyss. But when he steps off, he begins to fly instead of falling to his death. Blackbeard immediately realizes that Peter is the chosen one of prophecy, a messiah-like figure who can fly, was born of a fairy prince and a human mother, and who will one day rise up and defeat him. Peter is imprisoned, but he eventually escapes with the help of wisecracking fellow miner James Hook (Garrett Hedlund, desperately trying -- and failing -- to channel Harrison Ford as both Indiana Jones and Han Solo) and bumbling buddy Smee (Adeel Akhtar). The trio hijack one of Blackbeard's ships and quickly crash-land in a wooded area occupied by Neverland natives, who are enemies of Blackbeard and are also awaiting the arrival of the chosen one. The ethnically diverse community (their multicultural vibe might have been a way to justify having the Caucasian Rooney Mara play the originally Native American Tiger Lily) take in the escapees, and together they work to bring down Blackbeard.

Curiously for an origin story, there isn't an original idea anywhere to be found on Pan's bloated canvas. Screenwriter Jason Fuchs steals liberally from Dickens, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Avatar, and utilizes tired themes (a hero who doesn't realize his true destiny, to name just one example) to spin a new tale out of recycled parts. Wright does generate some arresting action sequences, especially in the film's final showdown with Blackbeard, but they aren't enough to lift the movie out of its sullen state. Younger viewers, however, will likely be absolutely delighted by all of the onscreen derring-do and impressive CGI work, which includes a massive crocodile out to consume our heroes. Pan is never boring and families who flock to it will be entertained, but it's still a shipwreck of jumbled ideas that never quite pan out.

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Watch Online The Last Witch Hunter (2015) - MovieTimeUs

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"How do you know when there is magic in the vicinity?" a baby-faced priest (Elijah Wood) asks Vin Diesel's witch hunter early on in this would-be supernatural thriller, as the two search an apartment for signs of sorcery. Seeing none, the priest says, "No magic here." One assumes he's referring to the lack of witchcraft evidence found in the room, but he could just as easily be expressing his thoughts about the insipid movie he's stuck in.

Diesel stars as Kaulder, a valiant 14th-century warrior who is cursed with immortality by the Witch Queen (a maggot-encrusted Julie Engelbrecht) just before he slays her in a cryptic underground lair. Kaulder intended to perish with the merciless queen so he could be reunited in the afterlife with his late wife and daughter, who died from the Black Plague that the queen unleashed upon Europe. Now, he's condemned to be forever separated from his loved ones and dwell in eternal loneliness. What to do? Become the Catholic Church's go-to guy to track down the world's most wicked witches and put them under lock and key in the "witch prison," of course.

Jettison ahead to present-day New York City, where Kaulder lives in an ultra-plush apartment with a killer view of Central Park, drives a newly minted Aston Martin, collects a horde of deadly weaponry, and beds the occasional stewardess. Kaulder receives his witch-hunting assignments from his longtime mentor Dolan the 36th (an always welcome Michael Caine), the latest in a succession of priests charged with aiding Kaulder with his missions. Unfortunately, an ancient Nordic warlock named Belial (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) murders Dolan, plots to resurrect the Witch Queen and unleash a new global pandemic. Kaulder teams up with Dolan the 37th, the aforementioned baby-faced priest, and Chloe (Game of Thrones' Rose Leslie), a sexy white witch, to combat Belial. Naturally, the fate of the world depends on them.

A movie titled The Last Witch Hunter should provide plenty of thrills and chills, and raise the level of a viewer's pulse, but instead the Breck Eisner-directed film continually flatlines with uninspired overdoses of CGI mayhem and convoluted witchy mumbo jumbo that come at us so fast and furious they create fatigue instead of intrigue. It doesn't help that Diesel delivers his usual one-note, guttural performance without a trace of humor, and on the whole is given very little to do, other than look gravely concerned and lethargically react to all of the weird stuff happening around him. The fact that Kaulder can't be killed and that any injuries he suffers heal almost instantly also sap the story of energy. It's a dull superhero who doesn't have a weakness. Fortunately, Caine, excellent as always, lends the tale a necessary touch of believability, while Leslie enlivens every scene she's in with a heartfelt and often comic sensibility that lifts the film occasionally out of its doldrums. But not even she can work enough magic to prevent the movie from casting a spell of absolute boredom over its audience.

The Last Witch Hunter is Vin Diesel's attempt to launch a new action franchise and it just might work. Teen boys and Diesel diehards will flock to the film, but repeat visits will likely be few. Here's hoping The Last Witch Hunter lives up to its name and is indeed the last we see of Diesel's dreary hag hunter.

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Watch Online The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) - MovieTimeUs

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Peter Jackson's equally exhilarating and exhausting Hobbit trilogy comes to a rousing, if not totally satisfying, conclusion with The Battle of the Five Armies, a war-ravaged adventure that is by turns breathtaking, beautiful, brutal, and boring.

The movie gets off to a great start with a pre-title sequence that picks up where The Desolation of Smaug ended, as the malevolent dragon Smaug (voiced with great menace by Benedict Cumberbatch) descends upon Lake-town and sets it ablaze. As the residents attempt to flee the burning carnage, Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) confronts the swooping dragon, who now has his sights set on incinerating Bard's young son. Thankfully, he finds the dragon's weak spot and brings him down. With the village in ruins, Bard leads the townspeople to find shelter at Erebor, the Lonely Mountain.

Unfortunately, the mountain is now controlled by the greedy Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), the dwarf prince who is the presumed heir to Erebor's throne. Thorin is obsessed with keeping its treasure trove of gold and the power it brings, even if it means going to war. Of course, everyone else wants his or her share of the riches as well, including the dwarfs, Dark Lord Sauron and his battle-ready orcs, the woodland elves, and General Dain Ironfoot's contingent of Iron Hills dwarves. The story bogs down a bit as we wait for the armies to descend upon the mountain for the climactic battle, and then it's all-out war for the last hour.

No one does CGI warfare quite like Peter Jackson, but one gets a sense of déjà vu watching the action unfold in The Battle of the Five Armies. Jackson's craftsmanship is undeniable, yet it feels like a rehash of the fiercer combat in The Return of the King. Also, the orcs and most of the other warriors, while terrifying to look at, collapse like building blocks if struck but once with a sword or a mighty blow. One never gets a sense that these monsters will ever be a match for our heroes, which saps the action of any real suspense. The highlight of this clash comes when Thorin decides to "cut off the head of the snake" by facing the merciless orc commander. Their duel, fought on an ice-covered river, is thrilling, unpredictable, and emotionally jarring. If only Jackson could have brought the immediacy of their small-scale fight to his larger canvas.

And what of Bilbo Baggins? He's reduced here to a supporting player, spending most of his time secretly guarding the precious Arkenstone and making sure Thorin doesn't get it. But, as always, Martin Freeman is superb as the "master thief" who provides the movie's heart and soul. Another standout is Armitage, who plays Thorin with Shakespearean majesty. Blinded by the lure of great wealth and power, Thorin is a raging king willing to sacrifice his own honor and the friendship of his closest allies to gain the throne. He's the only fully developed character on display, and Armitage takes full advantage of his screen time to make Thorin both repulsive and relatable. Whenever he's offscreen, the movie suffers.

Appearing once again, in reduced but still rich roles, are Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Lee Pace as Thranduil, Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, and Christopher Lee as Saruman. Also returning are composer Howard Shore, whose ever-present but never intrusive score proves to be timeless and energizing, and cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, whose darker-than-normal lensing fills the screen with frightening and majestic images that are truly awe-inspiring.

All in all, The Battle of the Five Armies delivers enough bone-crunching action to please devoted fans, and like its two predecessors, it looks to reap huge profits for Jackson and company. But as his monumental but bloated vision finally comes to an end, even die-hard fanatics will likely be glad that Jackson's unexpected journey is over. 

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Watch Online Thor: The Dark World (2013) - MovieTimeUs

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Tony Stark may be brilliant, but Thor of Asgard earns his rightful status as Marvel's mightiest Avenger by smashing through the Shakespearean stuffiness of Kenneth Branagh's misguided origin story to deliver a genuinely satisfying sequel. Sweeping, smartly paced, and frequently laugh-out-loud funny, Thor: The Dark World feels much more in tune with the playful tone of The Avengers than its own predecessor, thanks in large part to dedicated performances by a supremely talented cast and director Alan Taylor's talent for seamlessly blending awe-inspiring action with lighthearted comedy.

Having recently defended Earth from a massive interdimensional threat as part of the Avengers, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns home to restore the balance of peace to the Nine Realms as his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is sentenced to an eternity in an Asgard prison. Meanwhile in London, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is doing her best to move on when her eager assistant Darcy (Kat Dennings) discovers an anomaly that defies the laws of physics. Upon further investigation, Jane is transported to the place where Odin's father Bor had once hidden a powerful, formless weapon -- known as the Aether -- after defeating the Dark Elves and preventing their malevolent leader Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) from using it to spread darkness throughout the universe.

Now infected with the Aether, Jane soon reunites with Thor, who transports her back to Asgard in the hope of healing her. But he's already too late, because Malekith has awoken from his centuries-long slumber and knows that Jane is the key to his plot.

With an important cosmic event known as the Convergence drawing near, Malekith wants to use the Aether to accomplish what Bor had once prevented. Using his evil assistant Algrim (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) to gain access to Asgard, Malekith launches an all-out invasion of the kingdom in a determined bid to recover his weapon. But Thor has other plans, and with the help of his allies on Asgard and Earth, he must destroy the Aether and make sure that Malekith is defeated once and for all.

In 2011's Thor, Kenneth Branagh endeavored to instill an air of nobility in a film genre typically known for featuring chiseled heroes in spandex suits. But despite his best efforts, the movie suffered from lackluster action, a muddled script, and awkward attempts at comic relief. Two short years and one wildly popular blockbuster (The Avengers) later, however, prolific television director Alan Taylor (Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men, The Sopranos, Deadwood) and screenwriters Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely prove that you can teach an old god new tricks with a crowd-pleaser that succeeds at widening the scope of the first film while simultaneously giving the sibling-rivalry subplot real gravity. Somewhat unexpectedly, the massive melee that kicks off Thor: The Dark World feels more like Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy than anything out of the Marvel universe. It's a smart move that not only plunges the audience right into the action, but also offers Taylor the chance to immediately display his comfort working on a larger canvas. And as the movie returns to Asgard, the writers shift their focus to the seismic tensions between Thor and his renegade sibling Loki, allowing the charismatic Hiddleston to once again steal virtually every scene he appears in.

If the writers can be accused of making any misstep, it's the fact that they once again fall back on the tiresome world-destroying-weapon-and-the-villain-who-covets-it scenario. Although, to be fair, Eccleston is genuinely chilling in the role of Malekith, and Taylor keeps the action moving at a satisfying pace that distracts from the comic-book clichés of the plot. His efforts are perfectly complimented by top-notch costume design by Wendy Partridge (Blade II, Hellboy), who outfits the Dark Elves in some eerily unsettling armor, and a rousing score by Brian Tyler, whose compositions summon an appropriate sense of majesty without ever growing overbearing.

From Anthony Hopkins to Zachary Levi, the cast of Thor: The Dark World all perform admirably in their roles, nailing the jokes and heroics with equal conviction (special mention goes to Stellan Skarsgård and his tighty whiteys for providing the film with some of its best comic beats). It all adds up to one of the rare sequels that surpasses the original in just about every way imaginable. 

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