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[George Oscar Bluth II]

(Cross posting from the Movie GAF thread)

Beauty and the Beast was decent. Music was great and the sets and costumes were beautiful. However, I wasn't a fan of the added

Spoiler

mother

subplot; it felt entirely unnecessary and messed with the already jarring editing. Made the film feel bloated.

The camera work was mostly very boring. Lots of static shots that at times it almost felt like some BTS footage with special effects. The sequences like Be Our Guest were different because they were entirely CGI and just felt so much more cinematic. Actually, The Mob Song was actually pretty good in that regard now that I think about it.

Emma Watson can't sing well... or act very well either. Maybe it's just me but I never could buy her as Belle outside of few fleeting moments. Luke Evans killed it as Gaston and I liked Dan Stevens as the Beast, despite the mostly iffy CGI work. Kevin Kline as Maurice felt a little hokey and the secondary characters (Lumière, Cogsworth, Potts) didn't have anywhere near as much presence as their animated counterparts.

Also, I wasn't a fan of Evermore when I first heard it on YouTube but I really like it now. Just wish that whole sequence was more dynamic in its camera work.

Edit: Oh yeah, I was very annoyed the Overture wasn't used once, not even in the credits. It's amazing.

 

[Zepp Twofist]

Right from the moment when I met her, saw her
I said she's gorgeous and I fell
Here in town there's only she
Who is beautiful as me
So I'm making plans to woo and marry Belle

This movie is flawed in so many ways. But I do think that the casting of Gaston and LeFou were perfect and also it got me to return to the original and appreciate how great it was. I get why people dislike the 2017 version, but for me it prompted me to rediscover a great film.