Tag: Musicals

Judy is a Great Movie About a Sad Time

The review:

Rupert Goold directs Judy, a tenderly sad movie—because what other kind of Judy Garland movie can there be?—with a masterful performance by Renee Zellweger. This movie got me thinking about what we expect of our performers—is it not enough to have the amazing singing voice?*—and how hard it is to reconcile those expectations with real life. This is also a film that captures the 60’s quite nicely, and not with the usual cliches.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $6.00
Where watched: Laurelhurst Theater

Consider also watching:

A star is Born (’18)
A star is Born (’54)
The Runaways
Love and Mercy

Further sentences:

*The answer was no when Judy Garland was a girl, and is still no today.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Renée Zellweger was born the same year that Judy Garland died: 1969.

Questions:

  • What’s your favorite Judy Garland performance?
  • What’s your favorite Renee Zellwiger performance?
  • What does a performer owe the audience, aside from the performance?

Yesterday Won Me Over Completely

The review:

I’d forgotten what a romantic Danny Boyle is, and his love of the absurd,* and those two things, combined with an interesting premise, elevated Yesterday far beyond my expectations. Himesh Patel’s varying levels of despair—even as he was gaining fame by “writing” songs by the Beatles—was fun to watch, as was Kate McKinnon as Debra Hammer—a money hungry manager. I also found myself surprised by the turns in the story, which always makes for a good film; as does good music, which the Beatles produced in quantity.**

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $4.00
Where watched: Academy Theater—nearly a full house.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*The movie Millions has a special place in my heart
**There’s a moving turn near the end I didn’t see coming, which was also delightful.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Though it was not in the original script, director Danny Boyle was so taken with the discovery of a recording studio by a railway track that he had the text altered to incorporate the trains and utilize the location as Gavin’s studio.

Blinded by the Light is a Perfectly Fine Film

(which is not to be confused with a “fine film”)

The review:

Gurinder Chadha creates a perfectly pleasant and predictable* Sunday Afternoon Movie* with Blinded by the Light. Springsteen’s music is ably used to further the plot—especially when Viveik Kalra’s character Javed is first introduced to the Boss during a terrible storm.** I had a lot of problems with this film, but enjoyed the lead performances, the depiction 80s-era discrimination, and period details.***

The verdict: Good

(just barely)

Cost: $11.00
Where watched: Baghdad Theater with an audience of Bruce fans who clapped at the end.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Literally every scene played out in a way that was not at all surprising.
**A movie watched as the last pleasant gasp of weekend before the unpleasant chores to gear up for the week begin.
**That said, with the depth of the Springsteen catalog, I would have liked them to not have used “Born to Run” in two different parts of the film.
***Though it did the thing I hate: deploy outdated technology for no purpose except to make the audience laugh. In this movie there was a scene with an early mobile phone. The phone had no reason to be in that scene.

Favorite IMDB Trivia Item:

The movie is inspired by the life of journalist Sarfraz Manzoor and his love of the works of Bruce Springsteen. It is based on Manzoor’s memoir Greetings from Bury Park

On the Town: Good Dancing, Great Costumes

On the Town movie review 3SMReviews

The review:

Since they don’t make movies like Stanley Donen/Gene Kelly’s On the Town anymore, this movie gets a pass on a lot of things.* But it does have great musical numbers*** and that great color saturation that comes with movies from the (almost) 1950s. There are musicals where the story, song and dance meld together into a cohesive wholes and then there is this type where the story is something to pass the time while waiting for the next musical number.

The verdict:

Good, though only because I gave it a pass on a lot of things

Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home as part of Filmspotting’s Stanley Donen marathon.

Consider also watching:

  • Singing in the Rain
  • Seven Brides for Seven Brothers****
  • Chicago
  • The Sound of Music

Further sentences:

*Outmoded social norms,** a bit too long, a lack of even one very good song.
**Although the character of Brunhilde Esterhazy reminded me a lot of Melissa McCarthy’s character in Bridesmaids.
***I cringed through “Primitive Man” but did enjoy Ann Miller’s awesome green dress with the plaid lining.
****Also a cringe-y plot, but with amazing dancing, great songs and a cohesive story.

Favorite IMDB Trivia Item:

There was a real-life version of the “Miss Turnstiles” contest in New York City. “Miss Subways” was a beauty contest run by the New York Subways Advertising Company from 1941 to 1976. Subway cars featured posters of pretty young women who lived and worked in New York. Link is here.

On the Town movie review 3SMReviews

Her Smell: an Uncomfortable Character Study

Her Smell movie review 3SMReviews.com

The Review:

Alex Ross Perry’s Her Smell is uncomfortable, sprawling,* and at times puzzling, but it was an immensely enjoyable movie with a Cracker Jack performance by Elisabeth Moss.** This movie in four parts uses a framing device to set each section and sound design to amp up the swirling amounts of crazy as Moss’s Becky Something spirals out of control. It makes for good discussion about what we owe the people who create music we love when the combination of fame, money, drugs and their own psyche send them on a downward spiral.

The verdict: Good

Cost: $4.00
Where watched: Academy Theater with S. North

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*I would have been fine if they had nipped and tucked away twenty or so minutes
**Everyone was very good. Props to an unrecognizable Dan Stevens (Matthew in Downton Abbey). Cara Delevigne who captures the innocence of young punk rock, but I also really liked Agyness Deyn and Gayle Rankin as the poor band mates dealing with the increasing craziness.

Her Smell movie review 3SMReviews.com

Favorite IMDB Trivia Item:

During a Q&A at the 2018 New York Film Festival, Alex Ross Perry cited Axl Rose as the main inspiration for the character of Becky. Perry also cited the screenplay structure for Steve Jobs (2015), with its lengthy scenes that span over time, as an influence.

Vox Lux: Very Displeasing

Vox Lux movie review 3SMReviews.com

The review:

I’d seen a preview for Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux and I thought I knew what it was about, so I was utterly confused when the movie opened with a brutal school shooting* and the main character was not Natalie Portman, but Raffey Cassidy. It’s a story told in two parts, the first as 13-year-old Celeste is on the precipice of fame, the second as 31-year-old Celeste is preparing for an important hometown concert. I can see Natalie Portman giving it her all,** but it comes off as scenery-chewing, plus the pacing is off and the movie ends with an endless concert performance that adds nothing.***

The verdict:

Skip unless you are super into Natalie Portman, or are looking for reasons you don’t want to be famous.

Cost: $5.99 (a lot for a not-good movie) via Google Play
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*And also, some end credits that ran backwards. They were very confusingly art-y and subtracted more than they added to the film.
**Raffy Cassidy is also quite good. Plus Willem Dafoe was the narrator and that worked.
***It’s great those backup dancers got some work, I guess, but after about five minutes, it’s like “I get it, I get it, move on.” Unfortunately, there is no resolution. Those end credits return. But rolling in the normal direction.

Vox Lux movie review 3SMReviews.com

3SMReviews: Hearts Beat Loud

3SMReviews: Hearts Beat Loud

In director Brett Haley’s Hearts Beat Loud we get the story of a daughter and father in transition.* They write a song during a family jam session, and it gets some play on Spotify, which catapults one-half of the duo into fantasies of this band being the one makes it. This is one of those making music movies and it’s also a family transition movie and I’m a sucker for both of kinds of films.**

Verdict: Recommended

Cost: free via Kanopy Streaming Service (Multnomah County Library for the win!)
Where watched: at home

*The father, played by Nick Offerman, is closing his Brooklyn record store after 17 years, the daughter, Kiersey Clemons (so good in Dope and Neighbors 2,) is headed off to UCLA to start her pre-med journey to become a doctor.
**Plus, there’s a very sweet beginning of a romance with Sasha Lane (who I just really liked in The Miseducation of Cameron Post). Plus, Toni Collette is in it, and all movies are made better by Ms. Collette’s presence.

3SMReviews: Mary Poppins Returns

3SMReviews: Mary Poppins Returns

Director Rob Marshall provides a worthy sequel in Mary Poppins Returns, gathering both actors worthy of the weight that is continuing a beloved story and also by sprinkling in cameos that do not feel forced. The songs were good, if not spectacular, though the full-cast dance sequences were spectacular and carried the music.* Overall this was a good way to spend an afternoon.**

Verdict: Recommended

Cost: $9.00
Where watched: Living Room Theaters with my friend MM and an audience that included children (who got somewhat squirrely near the end.)

*I think Rob Marshall excels in capturing this aspect of the movie musical. With a stage production, the audience gets to choose where to set their eyes on the 20+ performers onstage. Marshall is very good at still letting us do this while not feeling like the camera is static. I still can visualize some of the ensemble scenes in Chicago. Contrast that with Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! with so many quick cuts that it’s hard to focus on anything.
**I didn’t love it like I love the original, but the original is the original and from my childhood. Recreating that sense of wonder in my 40s is a pretty impossible task.

3SMReviews: Bohemian Rhapsody

3SMReviews: Bohemian Rhapsody
poser from: http://www.impawards.com/2018/bohemian_rhapsody.html

Like all biopics, Bryan Singer’s Bohemian Rhapsody is a little draggy and lingers too long on the bacchanalian debauchery period of Mr. Mercury’s life. Despite that, it was a delightful feast for they eye (clothing! interiors! concert scenes!) and ear (Queen’s music!*). Rami Malek’s performance was so very good and I liked the performances of the rest of the actors playing Queen band members.

Verdict: Good

Cost: $6.00
Where watched: Laurelhurst Theater with a ton of people with white hair (who were probably Queen fans in real time).

*I am a casual follower of Queen’s music, only owning Queen’s Greatest Hits volume I and II and only really listening to volume I.