Day: May 13, 2020

Teen Spirit Teaches You to Relax Your Jaw

(and other handy things to know about singing)

Max Minghella’s Teen Spirit is so very blah that if not for the electrifying performance at the end, it would not at all be worth watching.* Elle Fanning’s Violet is so tamped down in her emotions that even as her star started rising, I didn’t feel much of anything. This is the kind of film that doesn’t even inspire me to write three sentences.

The verdict: Skip

Cost: Free via Kanopy
Where watched: at home

Further sentences:

*As is, it’s still not worth watching, but that end performance was a good payoff for my boredom.

Consider watching instead:

Questions:

  • What would have perked this film up?
  • What did you think of Elle Fanning’s accent work?
  • Can you name the Beatle’s song that mentions the Isle of Wight?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

In an interview with Hollywood XYZ, Director Max Minghella confirmed that all of Elle Fanning’s singing in Teen Spirit in the film is real and in fact recorded live, not in post-production.

Other reviews of Teen Spirit:

The Prestige: When Two Men Just Can’t Quit

The Prestige

The review:

Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige is an engrossing battle of wills between two magicians who never say never.* During this grim battle between Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman the movie has many time jumps, a lot of schemes, tricks, and maneuvering. The final reveal, once arrived at, had me marveling that I remembered a part with a dead bird for fourteen years,** but forgot the bigger tragedy.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $2.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*It also contains two-and-a-half roles for women! (Piper Perabo, Rebecca Hall, and Scarlett Johansson). It’s always a joy to come across Rebecca Hall in a movie. She brings such careful feelings.
**The dead bird is the only thing I remembered about this film. This might be because Matt and I rented both this and The Illusionist (2006) and watched them the same night. I remember nothing about the other film, except that I liked this one better.

Questions:

  • In the end, which magician do you think did the most damage?
  • Which of the women in the film had it the worst?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Alfred Borden’s infant was played by one of Christopher Nolan’s children.

Other reviews:

The Prestige