'Spellbound' Fails to Enchant Critics

         On November 22, 2024, Netflix released 'Spellbound', which has earned a mixed reception from critics, earning a score of 57% on Rotten Tomatoes. "Spellbound follows the adventures of Ellian, the tenacious young daughter of the rulers of Lumbria who must go on a daring quest to save her family and kingdom after a mysterious spell transforms her parents into monsters." The ensemble cast includes Miguel Bernardeau, Jenifer Lewis, Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman, John Lithgow, Nathan Lane, and Dee Bradley Baker. Read the full review round-up below.

        Isabella Soares of Collider praises the film, stating, "With a star-studded cast voicing these characters/creatures and a creative team that brings originality to this material, Spellbound wraps 2024 like a bow." Adding, "When Zegler breaks into song for the first time, there is an immediate sense of relief. Musicals aren't just about singing in tune. It is about the emotions you convey, how the lyrics become a vessel for self-expression, and whether you would like to listen to a track beyond the film's runtime. All of these elements are present in this animation's musical imprint, which couldn't have been more masterfully handled. After all, the project's music was crafted by a duo that understands what it takes to make an instant classic soundtrack. With Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast) and Glenn Slater's (Tangled) compositions, Spellbound's lyricism and soothing melody feel reminiscent of Disney's iconic repertoire, without it ever feeling like a do-over. Menken and Slater have vast experience when it comes to songs for princesses and fairy tale adaptations for the screen, and this is noticeable here through Ellian."

Photo by Karim Ghantous on Unsplash

       Mark Dujsik of Mark Reviews Movies says, "Eventually and thankfully, the monsters start talking, and we realize how much the story's central gimmick has kept any sense of these characters at bay. Solon, the King, is voiced by Javier Bardem, and Nicole Kidman voices Queen Ellsmere. They're thrilled to find their voices and realize who they are in relation to Ellian, but soon enough, the two are bickering over what to do next, who's the better protector, and which of them the daughter loves more. As a vortex of dark lines (A striking element amidst the movie's solid computer animation) keeps appearing whenever the arguing and other dark thoughts escalate, where all of this goes here is surprisingly mature. That's especially so, considering how broadly playful and jokey so much of the material is. It's a bit wise, too, with Ellian gradually realizing that the happy memories she's trying to bring to life again might not have been so happy in the first place." Adding, "With the emergence of the monsters as characters instead of a running gag, Spellbound does find its own voice and sense of purpose, too, serving as a fable about the strains of family and how a tenuous marriage can affect a child caught in the middle of it. There's a pretty good story here, in other words, once the filmmakers decide it's finally time to tell it."

       Cody Dericks of Next Best Picture writes, "Everybody wants to be Disney. In 1997, Don Bluth, the ostensible anti-Walt Disney, gave in and made “Anastasia,” a film very much in the vein of the animated musicals of the then-current Disney Renaissance. And the prize cow of DreamWorks Animation – the “Shrek” franchise – is basically a repudiation of all that Disney stands for in a very obvious retaliatory move from former Walt Disney Studios chairman turned DreamWorks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg. “Spellbound,” the new film from Skydance Animation and Netflix, is no different (I know what you’re thinking, and no, this is not a remake of the Alfred Hitchcock-Salvador Dalí collaboration of the same name). Its tone, subject matter, themes, and characterizations are all clearly pulled from the classics of The Mouse House. Heck, they even got Alan Menken of “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast” fame to compose the music. This is all well and good – aping such a successful film model is an admirable way to assure your audience that they’re in safe, well-established hands. And yet, “Spellbound” pales in comparison to even the least impressive of Disney’s offerings. Although it features an unexpected twist previously unseen in major animated films, it’s otherwise unoriginal, bland, and likely too slow-paced and unexciting to hold the attention of younger viewers."

'The Perfect Couple' Reviews: "With a great ensemble cast, the series does a great job of twisting and turning these relationships in and around each other"

         On September 5, 2024, Netflix released 'The Perfect Couple', which has received a mixed reception  from critics, currently holding at 62% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the miniseries, "When a lavish wedding ends in disaster before it can even begin - with a body discovered just hours before the ceremony - everyone in the wedding party is a suspect." The ensemble cast includes Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning, Meghann Fahy, Eve Hewson, Billy Howie, and Jack Reynor. But what did the critics say?

        Lucy Mangan of Guardian praises the series, stating, "If there is anyone who can resist bingeing all six episodes once they have started, I will eat a fruit basket." Concluding, "Once the police investigation starts, it becomes clear who the star of the show is – neither Kidman nor the mansion, nor even the knits, but Donna Lynne Champlin as Det Nikki Henry. What a performance. Every thought the detective is having about these awful people plays fleetingly across her face, although never for long enough to jeopardise the case, however much she hauls the local police chief, Dan (Michael Beach), over the coals for cosying up to the family that funds so much activity in the community."

Photo by Viktor Hanacek on picjumbo

        Elijah Gonzalez of Paste Magazine was less impressed, stating, "As The Perfect Couple reaches its lukewarm conclusion, it’s hard not to draw a comparison between this show and that line of thinking. Because, while this miniseries has great performances from its A-listers and a few deliciously dysfunctional family moments, it ultimately feels like the streaming equivalent of an airport novel, just entertaining enough to keep your divided attention but already fading out of memory as airplane wheels hit the tarmac. It’s another imperfect addition to Netflix’s catalog that’s neither bad nor good enough to stand out. Perhaps that’s its greatest crime."

        Archi Sengupta of LeisureByte.com says, "This Netflix series is neither ingenious nor is it particularly new but it’s the characters that are really fun and entertaining. You might be able to figure out who the killer is but the path to the end is engaging in a very dramatic way." Adding, "With a great ensemble cast, the series does a great job of twisting and turning these relationships in and around each other. Of course, there are a ton of overlapping “relationships” that give everyone the motive, but it’s always the ones that we least expect who end up subverting our expectations. The 6 episodes explore these relationships thoroughly, both with each other and with our victim, giving us an in-depth look at familial relationships and how even those who look the cleanest from the outside can be dirty and complicated."

       Kristen Baldwin of Entertainment Weekly notes, "Based on Elin Hilderbrand’s bestseller and adapted for the screen by Jenna Lamia, this arch and at times outlandish miniseries delivers the cheap and tasty thrills of a beach read on a lavish, prestige-streamer budget." Continuing, "In her recent TV roles, Kidman has been tormented, aggrieved, angry, sure — but just plain mean? Never. It’s a hoot to watch her embrace Greer’s underlying nastiness, which naturally stems from a Deep Dark Secret not even her family knows. Fanning has a ball as the snooty and condescending Abby, who cloaks all her insults with a sing-song lilt and a sunny smile. Reynor brings the tragicomic relief as Benji’s bullying, insecure brother Tom, and Champlin strikes just the right tone of unflappable bemusement as Detective Henry."

'Baby Girl' Impresses at the Venice Film Festival

         On December 25, 2024, but premiering this week at the Venice Film Festival, A24 releases 'Baby Girl', has earned positive reviews from critics, currently holding fresh at 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the film, "A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much younger intern." The ensemble cast includes Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, Antonio Bandaras, Sophie Wilde, and Esther McGregor. Read the full review round-up below.

       Nicholas Barber of BBC.com writes, "Reijn's raw, jagged, indie-style film has all the scenes you would expect if Babygirl were a standard Hollywood neo-noir thriller but each time Reijn explores the undignified reality behind the glamour." Adding, "Meanwhile, Dickinson's character, Samuel, is neither a suave seducer nor a naive youngster, but a hard-to-pin-down combination of the two. Sometimes he's almost psychotically confident and commanding, and sometimes he's gauche and tongue-tied, often within the same scene. Once these two lost souls shuffle awkwardly into an affair, there is no smoky saxophone on the soundtrack and there are no lingering shots of smooth, shiny skin."

       Luis Martínez of El Mundo says, "Halina Reijn completes a very measured, very calculated and very entertaining scandal." Continuing, "If there is one thing that can be blamed on the film, it is the multiple safety nets that it deploys throughout the script. Strategically, it makes the characters verbalize from the theory of consent to the certainty that those supposed poetic and liberating myths such as the femme fatale or the masochistic woman are nothing more than creations of (you guessed it) men. In other words, be careful with the tools of domination for the pleasure of some and not of others. And in its didacticism, which is prevention, it loses strength. Nor is that conciliatory ending that, without saying which one, neutralizes a good part of the bombs placed previously, entirely convincing. But, despite everything, the knot remains firm. It is not so much a scandal as another way of looking at a war against dogmatisms. Let's leave it as a false scandal. And whoever shouted, was surely paid."

Photo by Viktor Hanacek on Picjumbo

        Damon Wise of Deadline Hollywood Daily notes, "Kidman really goes the distance, imbuing Romy with a psychological vulnerability that is missing from the film it most obvious sounds like (50 Shades of Grey) and presenting a unique reversal of the film it most obviously looks like (Secretary). Dickinson, too, is an inspired piece of casting, manifesting like a monster from the id with his dorky, knife-and-fork haircut and clothes that he appears to have put on with a shovel. The chalk-and-cheese appeal is never really resolved, which Reijn uses to the film’s benefit: she leaves so much up in the air that Babygirl lasts longer in the mind than you think it might, opening up a slipstream for female artists who are ready and willing to take such hot-button issues — women, sexuality and power — and take them to even wilder extremes."

       Martin Tsai of Collider was less impressed, stating, "Halina Reijn's Babygirl attempts to create a provocative portrait of power that only ends up being noxious." Continuing, "If a woman gets off on degradation, is it sexist to comply? This is a provocative thought, if not also regressive, noxious, and unthinkable even for this male reviewer. Since the writer-director is a cishet woman, does that make it inoffensive? This is certainly a question worth asking, but perhaps not by a filmmaker who has somehow managed to exploit and humiliate Kidman more than Lars von Trier did with Dogville."