Bill Condon’s “Beauty and the Beast” stands firmly on its own merit. True to Disney’s recent trajectory, its goal is to “reimagine” a previous animated classic into the live-action medium for a new era and audience. Unlike the recent treatments of "Cinderella" and "Malificent," this "Beauty and the Beast" stays a full-blown musical. Imitation, emulation, and homage are all part of that process, but so is reappraisal and reinterpretation. Those later two actions are what drive this new fantasy film to soaring and successful heights.

MOVIE REVIEW: Moana

She may wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, but don’t you dare call Moana a “princess.” The enterprising titular “chieftain’s daughter” is a breezy breath of warm Pacific air surging through a Mouse House built on castles, corsets, and crowns. Promoting powerhouse diversity and pushing away the trappings of romance, “Moana” is a progressive step from Walt Disney Animation Studios carrying wonderful messages for young girls in a Millennial day-and-age that is too often obsessed with body image and glamour.

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the "Kicking the Seat" podcast talking "Moana"

After attending a last-minute press screening of "Moana" for a plus-one Date Night with my wife and "Pillow Rankings" cohort Thanh Shanahan, I was cordially invited by "Kicking the Seat" film critic and friend-of-the-page Ian Simmons to once again be a guest on his stellar podcast. This 173rd episode was my first solo flight with Ian and we shared a highly enjoyable back-and-forth at the Golden Nugget Pancake House about strong female characters, Candyland conundrums, the appetizing animated short "Inner Workings," the ever-present Dwayne Johnson bump, mythology comparisons, Katherine Helmond tributes, and much more.

MOVIE REVIEW: Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bete)

All eyes are on the hotly anticipated live-action "re-imagining" of Walt Disney Pictures' enormously successful "Beauty and the Beast" from 1991. That March 2017 sure-fire blockbuster will garner tremendous attention in its attempt to honor the animated Best Picture Oscar nominee and double Academy Award winner. In the meantime, the fairy tale's home country of France throws down its own gauntlet to give Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's 1740 original story and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's abridged 1756 standard the grand, epic big-screen treatment it warrants. Let's just say the French sure know what they are doing.

EDITORIAL: The 10 best movies set in Hawaii

Let's look at the best films set in and about Hawaii, its people, citizens, and history. To make this list, the film has to actually be about and predominantly set in Hawaii. Any movies that start or end somewhere else, where Hawaii is purely a side trip or vacation, are not good enough. Here are the top ten as they stand before the arrival of "Aloha" this weekend. Can that film crack this list? We shall see.

GUEST CRITIC #11: Cinderella

As busy I get from time to time, I find that I can't see every movie under the sun, leaving my friends and colleagues to fill in the blanks for me. As poetically as I think I wax about movies on this website as a wannabe critic, sometimes a simple sentence or two from a friend says it all. Sometimes, it inspires me to see the movie too and get back to being my circle's go-to movie guy. Sometimes, they save me $9 and you 800+ words of blathering. In a new review series, I'm opening my site to friend submissions for quick-hit movie reviews. Here's Natalie's take on "Cinderella."

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

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