This live-action rendering of the classic story manages to pull off being true to its source material as well as to Disney's animated feature. I always felt the animated film from 65 years ago was a tad boring. It was dull, albeit whimsical, and it had a couple memorable moments. This film manages to flesh out the story, telling it in a manner more like historical fiction rather than fairy tale. But at the same time it has the look of something more colorful and striking than an even an animated film. There are plenty of playful nods to the animated version, including keeping characters' color schemes intact, some of the interactions between the cat, Lucifer, and the mice that inhabit the home, and the fairy godmother even says "bibbity bobbity boo" at least once for good measure.

The film opens with a fully fleshed out first act, telling us everything that led to Ella becoming Cinderella, something from the original tale that was sorely lacking in the animated one. And the visuals in this were often times so beautiful it took me out of the story, most notably the blue gown and the incredibly perfect incarnation of the live action glass slippers. I saw the film mainly for Cate Blanchett as the wicked stepmother and she did deliver, but so did everything else, and that was a nice surprise.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)

I like this film so very much, and it is unfortunate the amount of bad press it has received. I can see how folks may be turned off by the story, the underdeveloped characters, and the somewhat gory conclusion, but for me this is a great mixed genre sci-fi film that isn't afraid to be both R-rated and cute at the same time.

Chappie the character is amazing. He's likable, well acted, and beautifully visualized with seamless special effects. The film around him, unfortunately, isn't as well developed. The movie takes cinematic shortcuts, skipping past important exposition to instead indulge in a fun montage. It gives Hugh Jackman's generic badguy character a couple of cheesy one-liners rather than a proper backstory.

Despite its flaws, I found myself caring about the main characters and sitting on the edge of my seat to see how it all was going to end. And as a futurist science-fiction nerd myself, I was pleasantly surprised by the ending, (an ending that has turned off most viewers for coming out of seemingly nowhere). This film is miles ahead of Elysium, and I suspect that if it was shot in the same documentary style as District 9, people might have been more responsive to it. In any case, I love Chappie, no matter how bad his move might be.

3.5 Stars (out of 5)