Movie Review: Cruella (2021) *Spoiler Free*

Movie Review: Cruella (2021) Spoiler Free

I must admit, the main reason I wanted to see Cruella was I really liked the visuals of the the trailers. It definitely looked liked an interesting approach to a character that's never really been on my radar beyond the original, Disney, animated feature (which I'm not entirely sure I've ever seen but I did read the novelization as a child).

I have heard some reviewers criticise the director, Craig Gillespie, for not really doing anything interesting with the visuals in this film, and I can see there were definitely opportunities missed. I kind of feel in the hands of someone like Tim Burton, Cruella could've been far more visually stunning.

However, I still found it a very visually interesting film, largely thanks to some amazing costume and set design, and I really liked the magazine typography combined with live action effects used through various montages.

I also appreciated the heavy use of popular music over a more cinematic score to help capture the mid 1970's period of the film. Something else I've seen some reviewers be critical of.

The film itself is a prequel to the familiar story seen in the 1961, Disney, animated feature, The 101 Dalmatians, focusing on that movie's villain, Cruella De Vil. It's essentially her origin story of how she became an extremely successful fashion icon.

Story wise I really didn't have any expectations going in. It's a character I barely have any interest in (until now), but, as I said, the trailers made it look interesting and, with Emma Stone in the title role, and Emma Thompson playing an equally fierce fashion icon (within the realms of this tale), there was every chance the film would be fun.

It didn't disappoint.

Cruella's backstory is much more interesting than I expected. Almost to the point where, young Cruella is the Cruella I'd rather see more of going forward. There's a good chunk of her teen years told though montages, as well as a big time jump early in the movie that's all ripe for some fun adventures that could be expanded upon in a future sequel.

That aside, Emma Stone is fantastic as Cruella, turning her into something of an edgy, punk rock, anti establishment, fashion anti hero. If Emma can maintain that edge as fully realized Cruella going forward this could be that start of a great franchise.

Emma Thompson is equally fantastic as the Baroness but, given she's something of a mentor to Cruella in this film, it feels a little like Thompson is playing what Cruella becomes later in life. Which is still a lot of fun to watch, but a little removed from the 'boots on the ground' character that Emma Stone's Cruella is for this film. I'm not sure I want to see Emma play that version of Cruella.

While you generally know this film is going to end with Cruella becoming the Cruella we're kind of familiar with, I do give it props for crafting a story that generally wasn't predictable in the detail. Again, I also give it props from making her early life/backstory far more interesting than I expected - I'm deliberately not saying much about it because it's fun to discover how she spent her early years as the film progresses.

Overall I enjoyed this film for the characters, the supporting cast is pretty great, including the various four legged variety (some of which I'm sure were CGI but done so well it was definitely hard to tell whether they were full CGI or augmented CGI over the live action performances).

I'd definitely love to see a sequel. I'm just not sure it would be as interesting with Cruella having established herself by the end of this film. Could she still keep her edge?

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

Are Ion Thrusters the Future of Flying Cars? Spoiler - Probably Not But... Hover Boards... Maybe?

Undefined Technologies Ion Propulsion Drone prototype 3D concept image. You may have heard of Ion engines or, more likely, Ion thrusters. NASA uses them on their spacecraft to help maintain a craft's position or to propel them through space. Upon hearing that you might think they're big, powerful engines, but actually they are not. They work well in the vacuum of space but, once any kind of atmosphere and gravity is involved they'd be hard pressed to launch you off the ground if you strapped four of them to your lawn chair and yelled "up, up, and away!" I am no expert on Ion thrusters - they're basically magic that science has an explanation for. If you want to know the details, The Space Techie website has a layman's explanation . Build Your Own Ion Thruster Earth based Ion Thrusters work a bit different to their space based cousins by Ionizing the same air that we breathe to create thrust (an effect known as Ionic-wind ). While they sound highly soph

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Robot Uprising Update: Robot Waiter, Fasta Pasta, South Terrace, Adelaide CBD, South Australia

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a

Guest Post: NEW NOVEL ALIAS JEANNIE DELANEY - BOOK 1 - GO WEST, GIRL!

Today's guest post is by returning Artist, Writer, and Mental Health Advocate, Jo B Creative who writes for her blog, Creating My Oddessey . Jo's previous 2019 post, MY SOOPER DOOPER NEW CONSERVATORY/ART STUDIO! for a long time was one of this blog's most read pages. Jo returns under a new alias, author Kit Mackenzie , and with word of her new novel, ALIAS JEANNIE DELANEY - BOOK 1 - GO WEST, GIRL! which is now available on Amazon. T he first book of this epic western trilogy, Alias Jeannie Delaney - Book 1 - Go West, Girl! is the life story of a devastating and charismatic pants-wearing cowgirl who's the fastest gun in the west and bisexual. A crack shot story that blazes across the wild west! Jeannie Morgan, a devastatingly tomboy-beautiful, pants-wearing maverick who flicks a finger of contempt at society in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Her speed with a gun is faster than the strike of a rattler, outshooting every man she meets. Love, hate and jealo

Nobody move, I've dropped my brain!

I'm probably one of the last Pirates of the Caribbean fans to see At World's End which is still playing at a few cinemas as it nears the end of its run. The title of this post, which is a quote from the movie, aptly describes the difficulties of trying to get your head around the plot. Although it does continue from the previous film in the series (all the characters are there) it doesn't seem critical to know the back story. The main plot is established right at the start. The East India Trading Company is out to wipe out pirates and anyone that so much as glances at a pirate. Our motley crew, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swan and Captain Barbossa join forces to bring together the Brethren of Nine pieces of eight (nine pirate lords who can unite all pirates) and stop the massacre of their kind. Slight problem. Captain Jack Sparrow is one of the nine and he died in the last film. Since Captain Barbossa died in the film before that, we know that coming back from the dead isn'

Review: FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes

FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes I first saw FP's FINO skate shoes in a video by YouTube channel, Braille Skateboarding, titled, THE FIRST EVER NON NEWTONIAN FLUID SKATE SHOES!? As someone whose feet hurt and bruise relatively easily just from the basic tricks of skateboarding (Ollies, Pop Shuv-its etc.) the 90% absorption of impact energy selling point seemed like an ideal solution for minimizing my injuries. A day later I placed an order through FP's website . Ordinarily I wouldn't mention Customer Service but I can't let the lack of communication on my order slide. FP's website says to expect delivery within 7-14 days of your order. After close to two weeks, my order was still marked as being processed. I sent an email asking for any kind of update, to no response. A day or two later my order was marked as completed but still no signs of shoes in my mail? About two weeks later (just over a full month of placing my order) the shoes arrived. I'm sur

TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

Search This Blog