Cinderella? More like Seen-it-derella!

This weekend, we welcome the latest in a long series of Cinderella movies: Disney's Cinderella, a live-action adaptation of the 1950 Disney film of the same name. Like most film adaptations of this classic tale, this newest Cinderella boasts an impressive cast and a substantial budget. Also, like most adaptations, it exists for no reason.

The tale of Cinderella has been told and retold countless times through generations, passing through oral tradition and written word for centuries. The story shifts and changes depending on who is telling it (and what message they want to impart), with the Brothers Grimm favoring a three three-day ball, a magical tree, and feet mutilation and Perrault favoring a glass slipper and fairy godmother. The core of the story is about a young girl being misunderstood, abused, and unwanted despite her many attempts to be anything but, and the prince who finally sees her for who she really is. It's a pretty simple tale, which makes it easy to adapt. Need to make it a morality play about the joys of being dutiful and subservient? Cinderella's got you covered. Want it to be a story about making your own decisions and self-empowerment? Cinderella's your gal. 

So many movies have been made with Cinderella at the center, but which adaptation is the best?  Let's take a look. For this incredibly scientific study, I'll be focusing on Disney's Cinderella (1950), Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997), Ever After (1998), A Cinderella Story (2004), Ella Enchanted (2004), and Sondheim's Into the Woods (2014), because they're the ones I like. Sorry, CinderFella.

Film Review: 50/50

When I first saw the trailer for 50/50, the new comedic drama starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, I instantly thought of another great cancer memoir: Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person, by Miriam Engelberg. In it, Engelberg talks about the awkwardness of cancer, the humiliating situations, and the anger that she felt. Of course, it’s all very funny, but it’s also strange that people rarely talk about cancer in so harsh a light. For every Laura Linney on The Big C, there are countless people becoming better people and rising above the illness on television and in film. It’s a powerful redemption/conquering adversity story, so understandably it’s told all the time.

Male cancer is even less often portrayed (by my count, there is Brian’s Song and, um, that’s pretty much it). That is why 50/50, a by-the-numbers yet refreshingly honest film, is so