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Thursday, August 9, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
In any other year, “Christopher
Robin” might’ve swooped into
theaters and stolen our hearts
with its whimsy and all around
pleasant spirit. After all, who
doesn’t love Winnie the Pooh? No
one, that’s who.
In increasingly divided times,
the enduring awesomeness of
the silly old bear might be the
one thing we can still agree on.
Unfortunately, in 2018, Pooh has
to contend with the feature film
vehicles of another eminently
likeable bear, Paddington, whose
latest release stands as one of the
best of the year.
Clearly, Pooh Bear was going
to have to up his game for
“Christopher Robin,” his first
foray into live-action. He’d have
to be more wholesome, more
aloof
and
more
dangerously
addicted to honey. He’d have to
practice his adorable pratfalls
into the long hours of the night.
Even Heffalumps and Woozles
would find themselves captivated
by his endless good nature.
It was either that, or coast on
doing what the character had
always
done
without
adding
anything new in the way of story
or
style,
completely
banking
on the public’s love of the
inhabitants of Hundred Acre
Woods.
You can take your guess which
option the creative team chose.
“Christopher
Robin”
is
a
perfectly fine movie. It’s funny
and cute in all the ways you’d
expect: Pooh remains an absolute
delight of a character and, if you
grew up on Disney’s “Winnie the
Pooh” movies, seeing characters
like Piglet, Rabbit and Eeyore
again feels like reuniting with
old friends (for the short time
they’re on screen, at least).
Unfortunately, the story all
too often leaves those old friends
behind to focus on scenes of the
title character’s generic family
drama and work struggles. Like
last year’s “Goodbye Christopher
Robin,” it settles for being just
likeable when it could and should
have been so much more.
Robin
(Ewan
McGregor,
“Beauty and the Beast”) leaves
behind the Hundred Acre Woods
and decades later spends so much
time working that he doesn’t
have any leftover time for his
wife, Evelyn (Hayley Atwell,
“Marvel’s Agent Carter”), and
young daughter. It’s only after his
family leaves for a vacation in the
countryside without him that he
is reunited with Pooh Bear, who
needs his help to find his missing
friends and maybe, just maybe,
teach Robin a lesson about what’s
really important in life.
Given the title of the movie, the
increased focus on Christopher
Robin was unavoidable, but was
Christopher Robin ever anyone’s
favorite part of the Winnie-the-
Pooh movies? Is Christopher
Robin the reason anyone will be
seeing this movie?
In the animated Disney films,
he was usually the audience
proxy, the character put in the
story so the kids watching at
home could pretend that they
were playing and learning lessons
in the Hundred Acre Woods.
The script banks on childhood
nostalgia in the same way as “Toy
Story 3,” presuming many of
those who grew up with Winnie-
the-Pooh have gone on to have
lives and children of their own,
so when they see Robin’s struggle
in the trailers, they’ll relate and
take their kids to see it.
“Toy Story 3” didn’t focus on
Andy, though. The story wasn’t
as much about him moving on
from his old toys as it was his
old toys moving on from him.
The same lesson was imparted
and we all still cried, but the
focus remained on the parts we’d
always loved.
“Christopher Robin” is like
if “Toy Story 3” just followed
Andy around as he prepared for
college.
Having
director
Marc
Forster (“World War Z”)behind
the camera doesn’t help. The
director’s resume speaks for
itself, but he all too often trends
toward muted colors and shallow
focus close-ups that don’t mesh
well visually with Pooh’s bright
world, rendering it downright
dull at times. Even childhood
scenes
meant
to
be
happy
dampen the charm of the film.
The Hundred Acre Woods have
never looked so bland.
‘Christopher Robin’ lacks
the charm of its comfy roots
JEREMIAH VANDERHELM
Daily Arts Writer
FILM REVIEW
WALT DISNEY STUDIO MOTION PICTURES
“Christopher
Robin”
Ann Arbor 20+ IMAX,
Goodrich Quality 16
Walt Disney Studio
Motion Pictures
ARTS
You reach above your head and
pull the lap bar down tightly over
your thighs, which have morphed
into the concave shape of the hard
seat that took some getting used to.
Per usual, a park employee comes
around to test your work by jostling
the lap bar. Tight enough, she
decides. You do your best to shove
your neck out past the “padded”
beams on either side of your head
to see if your friend to your right is
as excited as you are. He’s shoving
his neck out too. Suddenly, but
not surprisingly, the floor your
feet were softly planted on drops
and
your
legs
dangle. Some guy
on the platform
presses a button,
a weird hissing
noise pierces your
ears and you jolt
forward. The roller coaster has
begun; you’re now at the mercy of
the powerful machine.
If
you’ve
ridden
a
roller
coaster
before,
Travis
Scott’s
ASTROWORLD — an album title
derived from a shuttered Houston
amusement park of the same name
— should be easy to understand. If
you’re a scaredycatlame-o who’s
never been on a roller coaster, well,
that’s your loss, but ASTROWORLD
is a near-perfect encapsualtion of
that experience. What makes for
a thrilling amusement park ride?
Thrashing twists and turns, high
highs that drop to low lows that
shoot to higher highs, a surprising
loop,
behind-the-curtains
mechanical perfection that makes
for a comfortable and safe ride
and a smooth ending that allows
you to catch your breath and crave
another round of the excitement
you just experienced.
Scott’s
third
major
label
release boasts all of the above.
The album’s first three tracks
(“STARGAZING,” “CAROUSEL”
and “SICKO MODE”) singe you
with modern trap heat packed
with perfectly placed beat switch-
ups that spin your head around
without breaking your shoved-out
neck. However, the pace changes
suddenly but smoothly with “R.I.P.
SCREW” and “STOP TRYING TO
BE GOD,” two contemporary hip
hop ballads soaked in beautiful
bass. Then, just as a roller coaster
shoots you from a low to a high
in the blink of an eye, Scott dials
the hype back up to a fever bitch
with “NO BYSTANDERS,” a track
featuring Scott’s most skilled
rapping to date and a hook that
will
have
you
shouting “fuck the
club up, bitch!” —
something you’ve
always wanted to
say but never had
the chance to.
Travis
takes
advantage
of the trend of hiding artist
features on a track list to make
for chills-inducing moments of
collaboration. Frank Ocean slides
in to deliver a sultry hook on
“CAROUSEL,” Drake drops catchy
bars on “SICKO MODE,” Stevie
Wonder and James Blake grace
“STOP TRYING TO BE GOD”
with harmonica and haunting
vocals respectively, Tame Impala
sprinkles
psychedelia
over
“SKELETONS,”
The
Weeknd
adds
soprano
sweetness
to
“WAKE UP,” John Mayer and
Thundercat
funkify
the
hazy
“ASTROTHUNDER,” 21 Savage
does 21 Savage on “NC-17” and
Quavo and Takeoff enhance the
southern-trap sound of “WHO?
WHAT!”
‘Astroworld’ hits
with moxie, force
MIKE WATKINS
Daily Arts Writer
MUSIC REVIEW
EPIC RECORDS
ASTROWORLD
Travis Scott
Epic Records
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com