Emma. (2020)

"With who will you dance?"

"With you, if you will ask me."

Emma Woodhouse (Taylor-Joy) looks for excitement in her life.  Her family has wealth and status, and they hold a prominent place in the town.  She is beautiful, smart, and bored by her surroundings, until she discovers the joy of matchmaking.  She successfully pairs her companion, Miss Taylor, (Whelan) with a wealthy neighbor, Mr. Weston (Graves), and wants to continue the efforts.  She befriends Harriet Smith (Goth), a young woman with no family, but a good education, and vows to find her a good husband.

Her evenings are spent trading barbs with her neighbor Mr. George Knightley (Flynn), while her hypochondriac father (Nighy) worries about every possible health issue.  They are excited about the upcoming visit of Mr. Weston's song Frank Churchill (Turner).  Emma vows she will never marry, but as she manipulates the people in her life, will love find her?

An adaptation of Jane Austen's 1816 novel "Emma".

The Good:

The cinematography and costumes are beautiful.  The film plays up the humor of the story.  Miranda Hart is excellent as Miss Bates.  The character is normally annoying, but in this film, she is the funniest part.  Bill Nighy is also a joy as Mr. Woodhouse: he does so much with a simple look.  Johnny Flynn is a good Mr. Knightley, and takes a different spin on the character than previous versions.

The Bad:

The music does not fit with the rest of the film.  I enjoyed the music, but it was jarring from the rest of the film.

Other Comments:

-I did not love Anya Taylor-Joy as Emma.  She wasn't bad, but she wasn't great / iconic either.

-I have been trying to read the novel for quite some time, but I find Emma grating.  I enjoy Clueless and the 1996 film with Gwyneth Paltrow, but I cannot get excited about the novel.

Emma. (2020) 124 minutes

Director: Autumn de Wilde

Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy as Emma Woodhouse

Johnny Flynn as George Knightley

Mia Goth as Harriet Smith

Miranda Hart as Miss Bates

Bill Nighy as Mr. Woodhouse

Josh O'Connor as Mr. Elton

Callum Turner as Frank Churchill

Amber Anderson as Jane Fairfax

Rupert Graves as Mr. Weston

Gemma Whelan as Mrs. Weston

Jumanji: The Next Level

"I think he went back in.  We gotta go get him."

"Are you out of your mind?"

Three years after being sucked into Jumanji, Spencer (Alex Wolff), Martha (Morgan Turner), Bethany (Madison Iseman), and Fridge (Ser'Darius Blain) have gone their separate ways for college.  They agree to meet over holiday break to catch up.  When Spencer misses the meeting, they go to his house to make sure everything is ok.  They believe Spencer went back to Jumanji, so they enter the game to rescue him.  But the game is glitchy and pulls them in without warning, along with Spencer's grandfather Eddie (Danny DeVito) and Eddie's former friend Milo (Danny Glover).

Everything in Jumanji is different: Spencer is still missing, there is a new quest, and the avatars have new abilities and weaknesses.  Eddie and Milo don't understand what is happening and refuse to listen to the teens.  Grandpa Eddie is recovering from hip surgery, but in Jumanji he is agile Dr. Bravestone (Johnson).  Long-winded Milo is zoology expert Mouse Finbar (Hart).  Athletic Fridge is middle-aged and out of shape Professor Oberon (Black).  Martha is once again Ruby Roundhouse (Gillan): Killer of Men.  As they search for Spencer in the game, Bethany turns to their former ally Alex (Colin Hanks) for help in the real world.  Can they stay alive long enough to stop new villain Jurgen the Brutal (McCann) and win the game?

This is the third Jumanji film, following Jumanji in 1995 and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle in 2017.

The Good:

The cast from the original (other than the villain) return for this film.  The teens are all older now and grew from their past experiences.  They start and end the film well.  The avatars are back, but get to do something new.  They each get to be at least 2 characters, as the players change avatars.  Each avatar varies their performance to show the change, and it works.  Awkwafina is a welcome addition to the cast, as the new avatar Ming Fleetfoot.

The Bad:

The new villain is imposing, but doesn't really leave an impact.  Danny DeVito and Danny Glover are always good, but their characters (when they enter Jumanji) are annoying.  They end well, but it takes some time to get there.

Other Comments:

-The film features another tie to the original Jumanji film: Bebe Neuwirth reprises her role as Nora.

-The film has an engaging story, action, humor, and heart.

-There is a mid-credit scene that sets up a potential sequel.  The director announced plans to continue the story in a sequel.

-I enjoyed this film and look forward to seeing what they throw at us in the next film.

Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) 123 minutes

Rating: PG-13 for adventure action, suggestive content and some language

Director: Jake Kasdan

Starring: Dwayne Johnson as Dr. Smolder Bravestone

Jack Black as Professor Sheldon Oberon

Kevin Hart as Franklin "Mouse" Finbar

Karen Gillan as Ruby Roundhouse

Nick Jonas as Jefferson "Seaplane" McDonough

Awkwafina as Ming Fleetfoot

Rory McCann as Jurgen the Brutal