What to Watch This Weekend: Shang-Chi, Cinderella, Ted Lasso, Only Murders in the Building, No Man of God, Spirit Untamed, House of Hummingbird, Cruella

For An Asian Avenger Adventure: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Theaters)

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings kung fu kicks MCU Phase 4 into high gear, with a great Asian cast and focus on Asian culture, high flying action, and plenty of humor.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Fresh Take On A Classic Tale: Cinderella (2021) (Theaters and Amazon Prime)
Cinderella is a fresh take on the classic tale, with a wonderful remixed soundtrack, more independent leading lady, and plenty of smart updates to bring the classic tale to life.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Comedy Show With Extra Drama: Ted Lasso S2E7 (Apple TV+)

With things turning around for Richmond, it’s time for everyone to work on their issues—like Ted’s discomfort, Nate’s confidence, and Roy’s attention.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Hilarious True Crime Comedy: Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Only Murders in the Building is an enjoyable series that will appeal to comedy and true crime fans, with a wonderful dynamic between the leads, great cameos, and a story with plenty of twists and turns.  For more information, check out the review! 

For A Compelling True Crime Drama: No Man of God (Theaters and Digital)

No Man of God is an unexpectedly deep exploration of Ted Bundy and FBI profiler Bill Hagmaier, with compelling and chilling performances and a wonderfully rich conversation focused story.  For more information, check out the review!

For The Kids: Spirit Untamed (Redbox)

Spirit Untamed rides into Redbox with a fun, rebellious cast of characters and a story for equestrian and adventure lovers to enjoy.  For more information, check out the review!

Emotional Korean Slice of Life Drama: House of Hummingbird (Amazon Prime)

House of Hummingbird is like life.  It is a complicated, layered film but at the same time a simple exploration of a family in the midst of cultural change.  Like life, there is so much going on but Kim's amazing shot choice lets you just stop and appreciate what is happening in the now.  It is like family: messy, rough, emotional, but also beautiful.  For more information, check out our review!

For A Stylish Origin Story: Cruella (Disney+)
Cruella is a stylish, bold origin story and an unexpected surprise from Disney, with a marvelously wicked performance from Stone and a darker, more fashionable film from the House of Mouse.  For more information, check out the review!

Cinderella (2021) Review: A Fresh Musical Take On The Classic Story

Release date: September 3, 2021
Running time: 111 minutes
Starring: Camila Cabello, Idina Menzel, Minnie Driver, Nicholas Galitzine with Billy Porter and Pierce Brosnan.
Written and Directed By: Kay Cannon

Cinderella is a musically-driven bold new take on the traditional story you grew up with. Our heroine (Camila Cabello) is an ambitious young woman whose dreams are bigger than the world will allow, but with the help of her Fab G (Billy Porter), she is able to persevere and make her dreams come true. 

Cinderella is a fresh take on the old story, with plenty of small updates to make the story more modern and more appealing.  The most dramatic change that you will notice is the music of the film.  Cinderella has an updated soundtrack that should appeal to young and old alike.  Like Baz Luhrmann's amazing (and still one of my favorite movies of all time) Moulin Rouge, Cinderella uses some renditions and remixes of modern songs to tell the story.  You will instantly smile when you hear a song you recognize reused in a novel way, and the remixed songs add so much to the enjoyable film. 

Additionally, the story of Cinderella has been reworked.  It's not a huge shift, but little touches are updated here and there to make the film deal with more modern topics.  Cinderella is much more independent, the Fairy Godmother is now the Fabulous Godmother (played by an extremely entertaining Billy Porter), and the prince has a brilliant sister who is hoping to rule.  And the stepsisters are less cruel to Ella (Cinderella's name in this rendition) despite her pretty horrible living conditions.  The stepmother is still mean to her (with some fairly painful scenes to watch now that you have live actors) and the stepsisters don't exactly treat her equally, but overall they are a less toxic bunch.

The film also has jokes that will appeal to young and old.  Some are a little on the edge (a word of warning to those with young kids, some of the jokes a little more mature than I expected from a PG movie, but I don't think my kids understood the context in any event), but overall this is an entertaining revision of the classic story.  It's not perfect, but I do love that the classic tale was taken on and given a fresh, musical update for a more modern time.  The renditions are fun and the fresh take on the story should make for an enjoyable fairytale. 

Cinderella is a fresh take on the classic tale, with a wonderful remixed soundtrack, more independent leading lady, and plenty of smart updates to bring the classic tale to life.

Watch it.

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Cinderella (2021) is in theaters and on Amazon Prime on September 3, 2021.  For showtimes, click here.

Deal: Even More Disney 4K Steelbooks from $4.99 at Best Buy

Everyone is staying home more now, so movies at home are the new normal.  Get some gorgeous Disney steelbooks from Best Buy from $4.99.  Although most of these are on Disney+, many prefer the steelbooks for the beautiful art and the higher quality you get from a 4K disc.  Plus, they come with the digital codes and are Movies Anywhere compatible, so they will port to your linked accounts so you can watch them on the go.  Major highlight is Frozen for $4.99!

Check out the entire collection here.

Some of the highlights include:

• Brave - $14.99
• Cars - $7.99
• Cars 2 - $9.99
• Cinderella - $7.99
• Cinderella (2015) - $9.99
• Finding Nemo - $9.99
• Finding Dory - $7.99
• Frozen - $4.99
• The Good Dinosaur - $9.99
• The Lion King (2019) - $9.99
• The Nutcracker and the Four Realms - $6.99
• The Princess and the Frog - $9.99
• Ralph Breaks the Internet - $9.99
• Toy Story - $9.99
• Toy Story 2 - $9.99
• Toy Story 3 - $7.99
• Wreck It Ralph - $9.99
• Zootopia - $9.99

Marvel Steelbooks:

• Captain America - $14.99
• Captain America: Civil War - $14.99
• Captain Marvel - $7.99
• Iron Man - $12.99
• Iron Man 2 - $7.99
• Iron Man 3 - $9.99

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Deal: Disney 4K Steelbooks at Best Buy from $9.99

Everyone is staying home more now, so movies at home are the new normal.  Get some gorgeous Disney steelbooks from Best Buy from $9.99.  Although most of these are on Disney+, many prefer the steelbooks for the beautiful art and the higher quality you get from a 4K disc.  Plus, they come with the digital codes and are Movies Anywhere compatible, so they will port to your linked accounts so you can watch them on the go.

Check out the entire collection here.

Some of the highlights include:

• Captain Marvel - $9.99
• Cinderella - $9.99
• Finding Nemo - $9.99
• Finding Dory - $9.99
• The Princess and the Frog - $9.99
• Ralph Breaks the Internet - $9.99
• Toy Story - $9.99
• Toy Story 2 - $9.99
• Toy Story 3 - $9.99
• Wreck It Ralph - $14.99