Film and television reviews by our resident autistic film critic Maymay.
Academy Award® nominee Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) stars as Annie, a young, happy foster kid who’s also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they’d be back for her someday, it’s been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). But everything’s about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) – advised by his brilliant VP, Grace (Rose Byrne) and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor, Guy (Bobby Cannavale) – makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he’s her guardian angel, but Annie’s self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it’s the other way around.
Although he was nothing like Daddy Warbucks, I really liked Mr. Stacks. Jamie Foxx did a really good job with his character. Hannigan was different, but still the same. She was mean but also deep down had a good heart. Deep down, but it was there. I don’t think Cameron Diaz was very good for this part. She seemed kinda awkward. Annie was great! She still had the half locket and was fun and sassy. I loved her voice and she seemed like a really cool person to know. Sandy was cuter than ever! I loved the new Sandy! I also really liked this group of foster kids. One of my favorite parts of the new story is how many people around the city cared about Annie. It was nice. I really enjoyed the modern music, and loved when Stacks said a line from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. I loved the way they updated the songs and added a fresh beat to them. The movie had a lot of funny references and moments in it. I thought it was cool when they used modern technology to find Annie after they found out those people weren’t her real parents. [reviewrocket_review]