Crisp Criticism - "Zootopia", "London Has Fallen", "Miracles from Heaven"

by

Julien Faddoul

Zootopia **

In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.

Clever anthropomorphism film from Disney that uses its immeasurable world to dichotomize current social problems, including bigotry, diversity and law corruption. But its themes only travel so far in execution, opting instead for the more traditional Disney approach of gags mixed with preachments. Though it remains, for the most, fairly absorbing.

d – Byron Howard, Rich Moore

co-d – Jared Bush

w – Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush, Jim Reardon, Josie Trinidad, Phil Johnston, Jennifer Lee

ph – Nathan Detroit Warner, Brian Leach

pd – David Goetz

m – Michael Giacchino

ed – Fabienne Rawley, Jeremy Milton

p – Clark Spencer

Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrance, Don Lake, Bonnie Hunt, JK Simmons, Octavia Spencer, Alan Tudyk, Tommy Chong, Shakira

London Has Fallen

In London for the Prime Minister's funeral, Mike Banning discovers a plot to assassinate all the attending world leaders.

Awful: Sadistic, racist and generally vile, with an air of outright contempt towards its audience. It’s that rare film that actually feels morally irresponsible.

d – Babak Najafi

w – Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt, Christian Gudegast, Chad St. John   (Based on the Characters Created by Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt)

ph – Ed Wild

pd – Joel Collins

m – Trevor Morris

ed – Michael J. Duthie, Paul Martin Smith

cos – Stephanie Collie

p – Gerard Butler, Mark Gill, Danny Lerner, Matthew O'Toole, Alan Siegel, Les Weldon

Cast: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Jackie Earle Haley, Charlotte Riley, Radha Mitchell

Miracles form Heaven

A young girl suffering from a rare digestive disorder finds herself miraculously cured after surviving a terrible accident.

Despite a committed performance from Garner, this never shakes off the sweat of repugnant evangelism that so many faith-based movies can’t help but revel in.

d – Patricia Riggen

w –Randy Brown   (Based on the Book by Christy Beam)

ph – Checco Varese

pd – David Sandefur 

m – Carlo Siliotto

ed – Emma E. Hickox

cos – Mary Jane Fort

p – DeVon Franklin, T.D. Jakes, Joe Roth

Cast: Jennifer Garner, Martin Henderson, Courtney Fansler, Queen Latifah, Brighton Sharbino, John Carroll Lynch, Hannah Alligood, Kylie Rogers, Rhoda Griffis