Tini: The New Life of Violetta

This movie is dreadful. Dubbing into English is inept -- lips flap while no words are uttered and words pour out from still mouths. This is a vehicle designed by Disney Channel Latin America to keep making money on its a popular South American TV series by transitioning the tween child star character to an adult hit-maker for the vast Disney empire. Martina Stoessel is pop star Violetta Castillo/Tini. She is pert and smiley and sings nicely but the plot is breathtakingly stupid, revolving around Violetta's inability to reach her boyfriend, in this era of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, texting, voicemail, and email overconnectedness. Nope, they just can't reach each other. Oh, but Violetta has no trouble hearing and believing TV gossip speculating that Leon is already dating someone else. And that, plus a little pressure to meet some professional deadlines, is enough to suck Violetta into the vortex of crisis, resulting in her impulsive declaration that she is retiring from show biz. After announcing she's through with music, why would she be interested in heading to an island retreat for young artists? Nothing in Tini: The New Life of Violetta makes sense. Violetta tells all who ask that she is in Italy "to find herself." Of all the problems a wealthy and famous young girl might have, this is certainly a good one.

Equally mystifying, she leads on a handsome young boat captain but when he tries to kiss her she turns him down. Script and direction are simply awful, and not for lack of funding. The sets, the boats, the lovely Italian village -- they could not have been cheap. But no one bothered to pay for a script that had a single original idea in it. So, here's the dark secret that Violetta's dad and Isabella finally agree to reveal to her: she has a nickname! Don't tell anyone.