MUFASA: The Lions King

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres this Friday from director Barry Jenkins and Walt Disney Studios comes the story of two brothers and one MUFASA: The Lion King.

Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) is a young cub who, after an accident, finds himself alone in the world. He meets Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) after rescuing him and convinces his mother Eshe (Thandie Newton) to take him in. The one lion who isn’t happy is Obasi (Lennie James) who sees Mufasa as a stray that needs to be away from him son.

As Mufasa grows, so does the teachings of Eshe! He has learned to be still and reach out to the vastness of his world. He and Taka remain friends and when the pride is under attack, Obasi sees that Mufasa is a force to be reckoned with. Mufasa is put to the test again when a pride of white lions led by Kiros is destroying prides and taking everything for his own. Obasi tells Mufasa that he must take Taka and keep the bloodline.

On the road they meet Sarabi (Tiffany Boone) and her trusted bird Zazu (Preston Nyman). Agreeing to continue on, they also meet Rafiki (John Kani) who has a way about him that is intriguing to Mufasa. That doesn’t mean the white lions aren’t hot on their trail. When they arrive at their destination, Mufasa attempts to make the animals understand that they must fight Obasi together or lose their beautiful home.

Pierra as Mufasa lends his voice to the orphaned lion who is raised by Eshe after becoming lost to his own family. His voice gives us the feeling of loss, of growing up, of Mufasa finding his place in the plains of Africa and of becoming a leader he was always meant to be. Harrison Jr. lends his voice to Taka, beginning as a young cub who befriends Mufasa and sees him as a brother, to having a complicated relationship with his father. Taka is also attempting to discover where he fits in and coming to terms with his own fears.

James as Obasi believes being a leader is to parade around being judgmental and lying in the sun while everyone else does the heavy lifting. The one thing Obasi is sure of is keeping the bloodline when it all comes under attack. Newton as Eshe is a loving substitute mother for Mufasa and sees potential and encourages it when no one else in his adoptive pride does. Everything she believes about Mufasa is based on his instincts and receptiveness to learning.

Boone as Sarabi is a princess in her pride but having been chased off, she teams up with Mufasa and Taka along with her own personal winged protection in Zazu. She is strong willed and perfectly capable of handling situations as they arise. Nyman as Zazu is more confident than anyone else and has no problem saying so. He is also quite funny and charming in his own right.

Kani as Rafiki is the calmest of the new “pride” that has banded together. He knows what he knows and doesn’t get ruffled by much. Getting Mufasa, Taka, Sarabi and Zazu to Malaylay is his mission and they honestly couldn’t have made it without him. I just love the very straight forward fun Kami brings to Rafiki and its all bundle around such love.

Other cast include Billy Eichner as Timon, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Anika Noni Rose as Afia, Keith David as Masego, Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara, Tho Somolu as Taka cub, Kagiso Lediga as young Rafiki, Donald Glover as Simba.

MUFASA: The Lion King should do well at the box office because it is being released during a time when kids are out of school and families are looking for holiday fun together. The small lions are charming and it’s nice to see Pumbaa and Timon again as they are still as wild and silly as ever. The adult lions show the relationships between prides, being a stray, brotherhood, belief, and what can happen when power corrupts absolutely.

The live-action special effects give the animals the look of reality with big paws, big claws and flowing fur mixed in with emotion in their eyes and strength in their voices. All of that lends itself to telling the story of Mufasa and how he became the unexpected King of Pride Rock. Jenkins and Disney seem to have taken great pains to make sure that the original 1994 THE LION KING story meshes in with MUFASA: The Lion King and that makes all the difference.

So, gather up your own pride this holiday weekend and return to Pride Rock for the story we didn’t know about MUFASA: The Lion King.

In the end – from orphan and outsider to King!

 

 

 

He Can Only Find Her With REMINISCENCE

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently in theatres and on HBO/Max from writer/director Lisa Joy and Warner Bros. Pictures is the story of our world through REMINISCENCE.

Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman) is living in a world now surrounded by water, rebellion and the have nots. During the day it seems quiet, and the nighttime is when everything comes alive. His business is investigating but also allowing people to revisit the past using a hologram program and the help of partner Watts (Thandie Newton).

At closing time, Nick is about to be thunderstruck when the beautiful Mae (Rebecca Ferguson) walks in with a request. She can not seem to find her keys and while in the program, Nick sees into her life. Starting a relationship that is filled with everything he never thought possible, devastation follows when Mae disappears.

Devastated, he uses his own program to try and understand if there are clues to where she has gone. Watts, trying to snap him out of it, reminds him that they need to get to the local police station to help a case. In the tank is Cyrus Booth (Cliff Curtis), during questioning Nick sees Mae.

Now he must come to terms with the mystery of who Mae truly is, those that have been part of her life, the connection with the Sylvan family and following the trail of murder.

Jackman as Nick is a love-struck detective that uses the mind technology to trace where Mae would have gone. Instead, he finds the life of bad guys and bad choices realizing that the only truth lies in the end. Jackman does his usual stellar job giving us a hardy performance with intensity and a broken heart.

Ferguson as Mae is a femme fatale songstress who sends Nick on a chase of love and pain. Is she really who she seems to be? That is the question and Ferguson is not giving up any answers to the very end.

Newton as Watts has worked with Nick for years and sees the path of destruction he is going on. They butt heads over the investigation and the choices Nick is making, and Newton makes sure her character is strong and no-nonsense.

Curtis as Booth looks as dastardly as they come, and he knows more than he ever plans to share. Locked inside his mind are a good portion of what has been happening all along and he is not going to give it up easily. Curtis has the remarkable ability to play both a good guy and a bad guy in equal measure because he does it so dang well.

Other cast include Natalie Martinez as Avery Castillo, Marina de Tavira as Swati Sylvan, Daniel Wu as Saint Joe, Mojean Aria as Sebastian Sylvan, Giovannie Cruz as Cindy, Brett Cullen as Walter Sylvan, Angela Saratyan as Elsa Carine, Javier Molina as Hank, Sam Medina as Falks, Norio Nishimura as Harris, Nico Parker as Zoe and Roxton Garcia as Freddie.

Warner Brothers is home to one of the most successful collections of brands in the world and stands at the forefront of every aspect of the entertainment industry from feature film, television and home entertainments with worldwide distribution to DVD and Bluray, animation, comic books, videogames and broadcasting. For more please visit www.warnerbros.com.

Although enjoying the film, I could not help but think that the story is a mixture of other stories and genres (WATERWORLD, INCEPTION, ALTERED STATES, a tad MEMENTO and all black and white P.I. films I have ever watched etc.). The backstory of the new ‘water world’ seems to be a story all its own and gave me more questions than answers.

Jackman, Newton and Ferguson carry their part of the film very well. I enjoyed their performances as Jackman takes us on the noir mystery thriller set in a future world. Director Joy was co-creator and executive producer of the HBO series Westworld.  Also, she might have gotten a few pointers from brother-in-law Christopher Nolan but for her first project, it is all about the mystery indeed.

So enjoy in a theatre or enjoy at home – just enjoy the mystery and discover REMINISCENCE.

In the end – don’t look back!