Day: August 1, 2020

High School Musical Meets Its Goal

Picture of Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel in High School Musical

High School Musical

Directed by Kenny Ortega
Written by Peter Barsocchini

The review:

This movie is very good at what it sets out to do which is entertaining children.* As such, it features some perfectly serviceable performances done by a variety of attractive actors playing teenagers, some fun dance sequences, very forgettable songs** and a clear message.*** I found myself wondering if Zac Efron’s one-foot-on-wall lean**** was something he came up with, or was directed to do.

The verdict: Good (at what it sets out to do)

Cost: Disney+ Hulu monthly fee ($12.99)
Where watched: at home. I also sampled the Suite Life Movie to catch Cole Sprouse when he was an actual teenager and Right on Track to see Brie Larson when she was a teenager. I didn’t make it past the fifteen-minute mark for either of those films.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*As I’ve revisited some live-action Disney films I loved in my childhood, I have discovered that they also were very good at entertaining children, and are not the quality film experience I’ve grown to appreciate as an adult.
**Mediocre forgettable is always better than mediocre and catchy.
***We can all work together!
****Which makes me think of 70’s catalog fashion modeled by men.

Questions:

  • How would you evaluate Zac Ephron’s career since High School Musical?
  • What’s your favorite not-really-good-yet-fun movie?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The movie was filmed at East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Students still use Sharpay’s pink locker.

Also this:
Zac Efron’s singing voice was that of Drew Seeley, who tested for the role of Troy. Seeley sang the entirety of “Get’cha Head in the Game” and the reprise of “What I’ve Been Looking For.” Efron only sings the first four lines of “Start of Something New,” the first sentence of “Breaking Free,” and during the scene on the balcony. The reason for this is because Efron’s natural voice was too low for that of a tenor and the producers wanted a tenor to match the role. Efron did, however, do all of his own singing in the sequels, as all the music in those films had been tailored specifically for his voice.

Other reviews of High School Musical:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: Look, you're a hoops dude. Not a musical singer person. Have you ever seen Michael Crawford on a cereal box?--High School Musical. Read the three sentence movie reivew: 3SMReviews.com

Bad Spellers Shirt for T-Quilt

While waiting for my embroidery supplies to ship, I finished this square in the long-delayed t-quilt. I like how this turned out. I just wish I could do sashiko without hurting my thumbs. Perhaps there is a YouTube tutorial?

In another 15–20 years, I’ll get this t-quilt done.

p.s. I’ve just noticed that the top row has stitches between each hexagon and I did not add them in for the bottom row. Perhaps I will go back and do that. Someday.

Catfish: Untangling What’s True and What’s False

Picture of Nev Shulman next to a portrait of Nev Shulman.

Catfish

Directed by Henry Joost, Ariel Shulman

Pre-review note: some people have questioned if this is a documentary or a pseudo-documentary. I’m in the camp of: Really Happened But Also Footage Recreated.

The review:

It’s quite handy when your good-looking brother provides you with the setup for an interesting documentary; in this case the brother, Nev, received a painting by an eight-year-old of a photo he’d taken. Back before the internet, perhaps a written correspondence might have developed, but in 2010* Nev connected with the girl’s mother on Facebook, and subsequently became online friends with the entire family. The strength of this documentary is not just that it coined a now-common term,** but the humanity in which all parties are portrayed.***

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Further sentences:

*When watching it’s important to transport yourself back to 2010, when we were just starting to talk about how accurate the online profiles of people are.
**Seemingly accidentally, as it’s an ancillary character telling a story that introduces the term.
***The confrontation scene in this movie could have been handled a number of ways: anger, villification, outrage. Instead it was done with compassion and resulted in an honest story that was the selling point of this film for me.

Questions:

  • What was your favorite scene in this film? (I enjoyed the reading aloud of text messages.)
  • Do you think anything good came of this incident?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

As of August 2011, the film has been hit with two lawsuits and, according to Catfish distributor Relativity Media, the film has an unrecouped balance of more than $8.5 million and will not likely ever become profitable. Both of these lawsuits have to do with songs used within the movie not being attributed to their creators.

(It’s important to do your due diligence with permissions.)

Other reviews of Catfish:

Orange background with black text: And there are those people who are catfish in life. And they keep you on your toes. They keep you guessing, they keep you thinking, they keep you fresh. And I thank god for the catfish because we would be droll, boring and dull if we didn't have somebody nipping at our fin. —Catfish. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

Fast Color: Focusing on Relationships Not Super Powers

Photo: Lorraine Toussaint and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the film Fast Color

Fast Color

Directed by Julia Hart
Written by Julia Hart, Jordan Horowitz

The review:

The Venn diagram of this movie includes circles for dystopian* and super powers, but also includes a circle for created by a woman** and in these overlapping circles things don’t play out as one would expect.*** While there is some cat and mouse going on, plus some mystery, this is mostly a family drama, which makes for a nice superhero change. While I wasn’t convinced by a character’s choice at the end of the movie, there was a lot to like about this film.****

The verdict: Good

Cost: monthly Hulu charge ($12.99 with Disney+)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*No rain for eight years.
**Directed and co-written.
***It would be interesting to do a breakdown of the difference between movies with superheros and movies with characters with superpowers. Where does the power cross over into the hero category?
****Gugu Mbatha-Raw, for one. I’ve yet to see a bad movie with her in it.

Questions:

  • Would you be interested in a sequel, or a series set in this world?
  • What would be the advantage of having such an ability?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

They wanted to feature the women between the camera and their abilities as often as possible. Director Julia Hart says superhero movies, films with big effects beats, frequently put the FX first and leave characters off to the side of the screen. They instead chose to acknowledge that the characters are “extra ordinary”—a description Horowitz stole from Toussaint—and that they deserved to be front and center.

Other reviews of Fast Color:

Black text on an orange background. It's gotten harder for us to stay in hiding. —Fast Color. Read the three-sentence movie review 3SMReviews.com