By Bryson Beach
I started work on the review last week and through a number of distractions and an impeccable ability to procrastinate, my finishing deadline ended on a random Saturday morning. Unfortunately, in between the time I watched the movie and finished the review, we lost two celebrities who had an impact on my life in one way or another. First the world lost the 8th Wonder of the World, Chyna. If you happen to have the misfortunate of knowing me personally, you’ll know that I am a huge professional wrestling fan. Chyna stood out as a unique, powerful, and successful woman during the Attitude Era. While there are some complicating circumstances that may have caused WWE to fail to acknowledge her in the past few years, one can expect her to be honored, even if it’s in death.
Of course, the icon the world is more familiar with would be one Prince Rogers Nelson. My earliest memories of the man’s music started in childhood. A lot our own musical tastes are formed by our parents or older siblings. I can recall on weekends, waking up early to play with my imaginary friends, action figures, and pots & pans (I was a simple child), and the house would be filled with the sounds of Luther Vandross, Peabo Bryson, and Prince. I didn’t understand the genius or uniqueness of the individual behind the music back then, but I knew I loved his music. As I got older, the songs that were once catchy tunes to sing along with began to apply to real life experiences. I’d blast “The Beautiful Ones” when trying to win over my high school muse (Forever Alone for Life), turn up to “1999” at parties, or sing along to “When Doves Cry” during impromptu late night food runs in the car.
The man himself was inspiring in the sense that he made it more than acceptable to be comfortable in your own skin. I used to worry all the time about how I was received or where I would fit in this crazy experience called life. Using Prince’s model, I can say I’m comfortable with who I am. I can’t play any instruments, dance in high heels, or sing, but I’m extremely proud to be a young man who’s a picky eater, reads professional wrestling message boards, and is a hype beast for video games. I do other things too. I’m rambling. Rest in Power, Prince.
The Jungle Book
Despite living in Louisville now, I had ventured back to the American Saddlebred Capital of the World to watch the Jungle Book this past weekend! I think we’ve all seen the Disney animated adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale at some point in our lives. I can recall it from my childhood, but the memories of the actual movie is a bit hazy. I believe the haziness was a good thing as I had a more open mindedness in viewing this current adaptation of the adaptation of the original story!!!
This wouldn’t be a Bryson review unless I get in my shots. Playing off a quote from local radio host, Drew Deener here, but the point of having a blog is to help your friends and hurt your enemies! And I have only one enemy in this world and it rhymes with Reslie Lixman. The theatrical experience is enhanced with two things: Good company (Shout out to Morgan) and a delicious Icee. Have I ever mentioned before that this beautiful, intelligent, and compassionate woman once promised me an icee at halftime of the Packers-Cardinals game and lied? </3 </3 </3. However, it’s not too late to rectify the heartbreak when you and Baltimore Bob visit again soon…. Just sayin!
Back to business: Spoilers may be ahead, tread with caution.
Much like the recent installment of the Planet of the Apes series, this movie did a phenomenal job of telling a story with animals, even if all of them didn’t talk. Bill Murray is damn near universally loved and hailed for his body of work. I can say with assurance, his performance as the voice of Baloo will be a welcomed addition to an impressive portfolio. He was funny and caring at the same time through his dialogue and adventures with Mowgli. When he started to sing “Bear Necessities”, my five year old self wanted to get up to sing and dance right there in the dark viewing room. Luckily, for everyone’s ears, I held it together. I’m composed. I’m cooler than the other side of the pillow, barely.
While all the voice work was far beyond exceptional, I feel as if Idris Elba also knocked his role as the notorious Shera Khan. You guys remember that commercial for Jaguar that mentions that Brits make the best villains? Well they’re onto something. Maybe I was swayed by recently watching Beasts of No Nation (Netflix it!), but the inflection in his voice made Shera Khan seemed much more sinister than a large Tiger hell-bent on vengeance. The performance was done so well, I’d love to see what he could do as a voice actor without the PG restraint. Brilliant.
Speaking of the vicious Shera Kahn. It’s no secret that he is the antagonist of The Jungle Book. In this particular reimagining, he’s out to literally devour Mowgli after the Man-Cub’s father burned The Tiger in a deadly encounter. The story introduces Mowgli to a number of perils and sub-bosses like Kaa, the devious and silver tongued serpent, and King Louie, the Godfather-like Gigantopithecus! I’m not fooling anyone, I totally googled the hell out of that. He’s basically a giant orangutan. While the central thread outside of Mowgli discovering himself in a setting where humans are as welcomed as an honest immigrant looking for a chance to better their lives in Donald Trump’s dystopian hate-driven vision of America, is the threat of Shera Khan, the movie seems to forget this at times. There’s large gaps of the film where the threat is forgotten or un-mentioned. Since the climax of the film deals with Mowgli’s confrontation with the carnivorous cat, I feel there should have been even more scenes with the villain. It’s a small complaint in a shower of compliments and appreciation.
I had the misfortunate of going to the 3-D version of the film, too. For whatever the reason it was the only version available at Shelbyville’s greatest entertainment center. I’m really just bitter because my eyesight is atrocious and I’m too scared to have to deal with contacts so I have to wear the 3-D glasses over my real glasses and it’s uncomfortable and takes a good 5-10 minutes to adjust. First. World. Problems. However, 3D struggles aside, it did not detract from the gorgeous CGI of the film. I’m not an expert on the Indian terrain, but the forest, hills, and lush greenery looked spectacular. The movie set out to fully exploit the visual effects available, and they did that and then some. It didn’t hit me until after I was driving home that I wasn’t watching real animals pounce, claw, jump, roar, and growl. The setting was equally as beautiful. Today’s technology was utilized correctly and not only did I forget that I wasn’t watching real wildlife, but it had me wanting to go out in the wild and steal a wolf cub. I ain’t lyin’ to y’all when I say that the baby wolves in the movie were adorable, especially Mowgli’s grey brother.
I’d like to think I’m mostly a grown ass man and I can’t stop gushing about how magnificent this film was. Big ups to Jon Favreau (Elf, Iron Man, Iron Man 2) on orchestrating a masterpiece for all ages. I’ve started to wonder if I could ever enjoy a movie that didn’t earn at least the PG-13 rating, but that notion was swiftly and delightfully destroyed by this movie. Whether you’re 8 or 88, this film is for you. Perfecto!
4 Crabs out of 4