Movie Review: Get Out & Beauty and the Beast

Seejin Kim and Emily Mertink

Want a cold chill running down your spine? Watch the latest Hollywood hit “Get Out!”

Produced and directed by comedian, actor and filmmaker Jordan Peele, “Get Out” features a young interracial couple who goes to the woman’s parents’ home for a visit. Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) unexpectedly finds himself caught in a mysterious situation, where his girlfriend’s father seems incredulously nice to him, her mother performs hypnosis for the “needy,” her brother always seems to be bothered about something and the two strange house workers, who act like they literally don’t have souls.

This horror/comedy movie centers around the main idea of the unfair reality of racism, and how far some people can go to derogate freedom from others. Peele has mentioned in numerous interviews that he wants this movie to bring out the horrors of racial problems into the light. Sure, this movie can be a bit of a hyperbole from actual history, but it’s still enough to shake the audience and make them realise just how serious and nerve-racking the situations were.

I give this movie a 8/10. The whole theme was captured very well through the actors and actresses, and there were a lot of scenes that made me cover my eyes in fright. With occasional sprinkles of humor here and there, Peele managed to create a horrific masterpiece with deep meaning but also appeals to the audience’s taste. One thing that kind of threw me off was the ending, because I don’t think it felt nearly completed. Chris didn’t seem like a hero in any sense, and the story just cut off, making me extremely unsatisfied. But other than that, I really enjoyed the movie and I definitely recommend it.

 

The tale as old as time comes back to life in a revamped version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Belle, played by Emma Watson, is a misunderstood dreamer living in a town of normals. She hopes to find “something more than this provincial life.” Maurice, Kevin Kline, is Belle’s father, an inventor, and constantly called crazy by the townspeople. Belle and her father are an eccentric pair. Gaston, Luke Evans, wants Belle to become his wife. He is convinced that he will win her heart by impressing her and continually asking. She refuses over and over, but Gaston won’t take “no” for an answer. Meanwhile, Belle’s father is planning to go to the market in another town. As he leaves, he promises to be home the next day with a rose especially for Belle. He gets into trouble on his stormy journey and finds himself trapped in the castle of a Beast who has been cursed by an enchantress because of his vain and conceited personality.

The only way to break the spell is to have someone fall in love with him. Belle eventually finds her father locked up in the Beast’s tower and takes his place as prisoner. Belle spends many days in the castle with the Beast and eventually falls in love with him. When the townspeople hear Maurice’s story about the Beast, they see his story as fiction, but leave in attempt to find and kill the Beast. Gaston leads the mob to the castle, where he finds Belle and the Beast. After the townspeople storm the castle, and the Beast faces off with Gaston, Belle and the beast end up living “Happily Ever After.” We all know how fairytales end.

I would give the film a 7/10. While the set and costume design was very well done, the amount of auto-tune used to “fix” Emma’s voice was unnecessary. I would have preferred they cast someone who was a natural singer and actress instead of just an actress. Some of the special effects were a little on the cheesy side and some of the acting was overdone. Overall, a very well put together film, and I recommended watching it at least one time, but I will probably not see it again.

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