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.

2017, 4 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanMarch 15, 2017AMC Navy Pier IMAX2017, 2017 Spring Movies, Beauty and the Beast, La Belle et la Bete, Christophe Gans, Bill Condon, Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellan, Guga Mbatha-Raw, Emma Thompson, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Oscar nominee, Best Picture, Disney classics, Disney, animated films, live-action, remakes, Reimagining, Jeanne-Marie Leprine de Beaumont, Hattie Morahan, Kevin Kline Moustache Principle, Audra McDonald, Sarah Underwood, Katie Spencer, Atonement, Sherlock Holmes, Jacqueline Durran, Tobia A. Schliessler, Peter Berg, IMAX, IMAX 3D, Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Evan Spiliotopoulos, Hercules, Tim Rice, Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Evermore, Josh Groban, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Beast, Hugh Jackman, Controversy, La La Land, Screen Junkies, Honest Trailers, YouTube, Gaston, life lessons from film, life lessons, life lessons from films, life lessons from movies, Life lessons, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, review, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW: Logan

With stunning brush strokes soaked in pathos and blood, "Logan" taps into a cask of comic book scotch that been reserved to reach maturity. This is, by a country mile, not only the best film of the “X-Men” franchise, but the best of 20th Century Fox’s entire catalog of Marvel Films. Presented as an analogy, “Logan” is to comic book films what “Unforgiven” was to westerns.

2017, 5 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanFebruary 20, 2017Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON X2017, 2017 Winter Movies, Logan, Wolverine, The Wolverine, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men franchise, X-Men, Marvel Films, Marvel, Marvel Comics, Fox Marvel Universe, Hugh Jackman, James Howlett, Patrick Stewart, Professor X, Charles Xavier, Unforgiven, Old Man Logan, X-23, X-23: Innocence Lost, Stephen Merchant, Caliban, Dafne Keen, Laura Kinney, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Marco Beltrami, Deadpool, James Mangold, Cop Land, Girl Interrupted, 3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line, Shane, Alan Ladd, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, comic book films, comic book movie, western themes, life lessons, life lessons from movies, life lessons from film, Life lessons from movies, Life lessons, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW: Pan

Like all of the failed live-action fairy tale remakes, the two largest missing components are restraint and charm. The timeless stories being attempted by films like "Pan" have no idea how to let a good narrative flow build or a poignant moment breathe before stepping to the next unrelenting set piece. The original written sources of these films have that restraint and quality. Blasts of action and sound have replaced subtle imagery and brevity. "Pan" lacks any and all charm to enamor the audience into what made Barrie's tale lovable and enchanting. Charm is replaced by dissonance and pandering.

1 STAR, 2015, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 5, 2015ShowPlace ICON X at Roosevelt CollectionsPan, Joe Wright, Atonement, Anna Karenina, Hugh Jackman, Levi Miller, John Powell, Dario Marianelli, Nirvana, The Ramones, Garret Hedlund, Cara Delevingne, Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Adeel Akhtar, Tinker Bell, Peter Pan, Neverland, Finding Neverland, Hook, Amanda Seyfried, Jason Fuchs, Oz the Great and Powerful, Jack the Giant Slayer, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, Cinderella, Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace, Steampunk, film review, movie review, film commentary, movie commentary, 2015, 2015 Fall Movies, pixie dust, life lessons from film, life lessons from films, life lessons from movies, Steven Spielberg, A Knight's Tale, Crispin Glover, Spider-Man, Green Lantern, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Donald Shanahan, Don ShanahanComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Chappie

The title robot at the center of "Chappie," the latest science fiction film from Neill Blomkamp ("District 9" and "Elysium") lacks the qualities to become anywhere close to one of the best movie robots of all time. Both the film and the robot lack impact, presence, purpose, distinction, and, worst of all, uniqueness. It's a shame too because there were some intriguing "big ideas" floating around in "Chappie" that could have developed into something that had the chance to be impactful, purposeful, distinct, unique, and resonating.

MOVIE REVIEW: X-Men: Days of Future Past

The successful revitalization brought by “X-Men: First Class” and the unfaded star power of Hugh Jackman have brought us to “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” Original series director Bryan Singer, fresh from “Jack the Giant Slayer,” and “X-Men: The Last Stand” screenwriter Simon Kinberg have returned to correct old mistakes, untangle the knots, and realign this previously failed franchise for a healthy new lease on cinematic life and relevance.