Movie #2165 ........................."In the Heights" (HBO max)

 Movie #2165 "In the Heights" (HBO max)

Disclaimer:  I have seen this show 3 times, including one time on Broadway, and I have not really been emotionally pulled in to the story, so I wasn't thinking I would be crazy about the film version, and I was right.  But there are a lot of things I liked about it, in comparison to the show.  1) the choreography is stupendous and exuberant and right out in front being showcased.  On broadway, the dancing was throughout the show, but for a lot of the time it was upstage in the background, and I was never pulled into the liveliness of the dancing, like in this film.  2)  This is so much easier to follow -- you can read the subtitles and follow along so much easier.  If there's an expression that is said, and I didn't know of it, I could pause the film and google it so I could better understand what they are saying --- I actually heard every word and that helps sooooo much with pulling the audience in.  3) Cinematography-wise, it had beautiful images that were memorable -- I even made a list of them while I was watching -- (to be honest, I have no memory of any moment stage play, which  is very rare for me not to remember even one song, but like I said, I did not like this show when I saw it).   Some of these memorable moments include: an image of dancers reflected in another character's sunglasses; the opening number was a great intro to Washington Heights; George Washington vs. Alexander Hamilton with the ice cream truck war was nice comic relief; the pool dance a la Busby Berkley; Chita/Frieda small but great number; The two lovers dancing on top of the windows (sideways on the building); the ending was well executed.  All of these are memorable, and there are so many more --- it really works well as a film, and it seamlessly moves from one scene to another.  And for that alone I would recommend this to see --- the only negatives to me are the story and the songs.  For a two hour show, there are a lot of characters introduced that  we are asked to keep track of at a very quick speed, but on  the whole, they really don't propel the story too much.  And there isn't much of a story really.  And I guess this is where I will compare it to Hamilton --- just because everyone keeps asking:  is it better than Hamilton?  (first time I saw  comments on facebook, that was the question I saw!)  My answer is a resounding NO.  (There is no other show I know of as expertly done as Hamilton  in every aspect of theatre).  For example,  it soars way ahead of this one  in the story and the songs.  I'm sure Hamilton has way more songs (most every line is sung) yet, I never feel there's too much music in that show --- but this one, I do.  Too many ballads, that run together from one scene to the next --- and the two lead girls sing a lot the same,.....not a plus.  But what this show does (as did Hamilton), it showcases an immigrant story, a proud one, and most importantly a PASSIONATE one that can't help but  be contagious to the viewers.  And it's bouncy, nonstop, quick hold-on-to-your-hat dialogue/rap that most everyone will react to with sheer delight.  A+ in entertainment with this one!  I'd give it 4 out of 5.

"IN THE HEIGHTS" (HBO max)   2 hours and 23 mins      PG-13        2021

A film version of the Broadway musical in which Usnavi, a sympathetic New York bodega owner, saves every penny every day as he imagines and sings about a better life.

Director:

 Jon M. Chu

Writers:

 Quiara Alegría Hudes (screenplay by), Quiara Alegría Hudes (based on the musical stage play, book by)  Lin Manual Miranda|

Stars:

 Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace 

Movie #2164 ........................."The Underground Railroad"( t.v. series - netflix)

 Movie #2164 "The Underground Railroad" (t.v. series netflix) I had read the pulitzer prize- winning book and found it quite amazing, but reading about man's inhumanity to man is very different than seeing it --- yes, you can read that in the South while the whites attend a  garden party and chomp on all their delicacies, a black slave is being  hanged by his arms and torched to death, but seeing it was way too hard for me personally to watch.  The movie has what I would call horror moments that I just couldn't watch, but the way it was filmed was at times mesmerizing and pure beauty --- esp. when the director  tableaus  the characters/actors so they  look like they are stand out in dignity  from the awfulness of their background (our white world of privilege) .  It's hard to explain but pure beauty in film --- but the film is sooooooo slow in pacing, so grim in tone, so difficult to watch --- and I know you are thinking, well, shouldn't it be? Sure, but this is just a warning to those of you who, like me, can just see so much of man's inhumanity to man --- it's preaching to the choir for me --- I got it!  I fully agree with the  message.  Now what can we do about it?  It's those glimpses into how whites treat blacks like slaves in a subtle fashion and suggestions how we can change our thinking and our behavior that I so much liked in the book, that occur here, too.  I just wish there were more.     Each place that Cora goes to, the way the book is set up, she faces a different type of mistreatment.  For example, in the first place the train takes her to, which is  South Carolina, you don't see the beatings like you did in Part I.  In S. Carolina, Cora gets a job to wear a costume and pick cotton in a museum ----- yes, she gets paid for the job and the appearance is that this state is trying to give freedom to the newly freed blacks; however, when she goes to a doctor, he intends to sterilize her so she doesn't bring any black children into their society.  Freedom with a price?   Part III in North Carolina, she has to live in an attic, sequestered from the white world.  Parts V and VI through Tennessee she is shackled and walking by hanged blacks on trees, or blacks  lying on the ground from disease. Finally, when she gets to Indiana and there appears to be blacks in leadership positions on this plantation,  we learn that there are rules blacks need to follow to appease the whites in the community  --- rules that turn their backs on the runaway slaves who need their help and protection.  It is all of these subtle and not so subtle ways to beat the black race into submission , and they continue on today--- we see now, in our voting laws that are being recklessly changed in Republican states that  refuse to recognize a president who  was voted on BY THE PEOPLE!   So this t.v. series becomes very important right now  --- very topical.  The series is worth the watch, for sure. If you can't watch the torturing and violence, be aware they are mostly  in Parts 1, 3, 5 and 9.  The one shared thread through the literature and the t.v. seres is the underground railroad --- and it is as exciting to see it at work in the show as it was to visualize in the book --- such a fantastical symbol that never existed in reality, but in the dreams of the thousands and thousands of runaway slaves who "traveled"on it  to gain their freedom.  For that alone, it is worth seeing this well done, well-acted , well-messaged t.v. series.  I would give it 4.0 --- tough, intense  and slow to watch, but worth the time you are willing to give it.  

"THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD"    9 hours and 53 mins

A young woman named Cora makes an amazing discovery during her attempt to break free from slavery in the deep south.

Stars:

 Thuso Mbedu, Chase Dillon, Joel Edgerton 

Movie #2163 ........................."the Woman in the Window" (netflix)

 Movie #2163 "The Woman in the Window" (netflix)  I had read the book so I knew basically what was going to happen, but there were still some surprises to me.  I don't like horror films, but a good mystery is my cup of tea, and I liked this one a lot.  Yes, it's a bit bloody (at the very end), but up until that, a real easy watch --- and much like "Rear Window" with the set up --- in fact, there's a picture of Jimmy Stewart in her room (and she likes to watch TCM classics) all in homage to film noir, and esp. that film.  This is a great cast, with Amy Adams leading the way --- she is on screen the whole time and it demands skills from A to Z.  Her agoraphobia and the set up of all her drinking and pill popping isn't as well set up as in the book, just because we can be in her mind in the book most of the time, so it works better to make us doubt a lot more what she sees isn't always what we would be seeing --- in film, we are seeing what she is seeing, so there is less doubt --- does that make sense?  With the unreliable narrator in the book, you can get away with confusing the reader more easily, and that was missing here.  And I remember the cat plays even a bigger part, esp. her hurt leg, than she does in the film.  

"THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW"    1 hr and 40 mins    2021    R-rated

An agoraphobic woman living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors, only to witness a disturbing act of violence.

Director:

 Joe Wright

Writers:

 Tracy Letts (screenplay by), A.J. Finn (based upon the novel by) 

Stars:

 Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie 

Movie #2162 ........................."The Friends Reunion" (HBO max)

 Movie #2162 "The Friends Reunion" (HBO max) We are huge fans of this show, and probably as I am writing this, Dave is upstairs watching a Friends show before going to sleep -- it is that popular in our household.  And we walk around and say things like "Pivot" or "Can I BE wearing any more clothes" or "that's how they measure your pants....in prison!"  So we were very anxious to see this reunion, even though the critics were not kind to it.  And we found it quite enjoyable.  Just watching them watching the excepts they are so famous for was a treat.  We couldn't believe that they hadn't seen each other for such a long time, and were never in a room all together since they filmed the last show!  They talked about what made this show so different -- that everyone was well cast and very talented, that there wasn't an obvious lead in the show , that they were all adept with physical comedy, they all got along so well, how well written it was, how it was filmed with an audience and if a joke didn't work, they had a company of writers putting new ones in to test with the audiences..... etc.  It was wonderful to see the sets, to have James Cordon asking questions while they sit in front of the opening of the show fountain and sitting on that couch..... Lady Gaga singing smelly cat with phoebe!  I never valued the character Phoebe so much until this reunion when I realized how important of a part she actually played in comparison to the others.  There are a lot of secrets they divulge, but we wished they would have talked about how they did some moments, and just more background history on some of the moments and some of the episodes.  More secrets!  But for an hour and 1/2 you get to spend time with people you feel you know and want to revisit, and it was quite fun for us to do that.  We highly recommend  -- 4.5 out of 5.

"THE FRIENDS REUNION"      104 minutes   2021

An unscripted Friends reunion special.

It is a reunion special where the main cast reminisce about the past, we are shown some fans pov and how the show influenced their lives, some behind the scenes that maybe most people didn't know, it is a nice treat for a reunion, but not a follow-up episode after all these years.

Director:

 Ben Winston

Writers:

 David Crane (based on the TV show by), Marta Kauffman (based on the TV show by) 

Stars:

 Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow , Matt Leblan, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry

Movie #2161 ........................."Fences" (hulu, amazon, HBO/you tube)

 Movie #2161 "Fences"  -- I saw this in the movie theater, but now it is on several platforms where you can stream it.  An alum asked if I had seen it/blogged it, and I said yes, but when I looked to find it, I couldn't it.  So I am doing this from memory (uh-oh).  Anyway, I had seen the play a couple of times, the most memorable being the broadway premier with James Earl Jones as the lead that Denzel Washington takes on here.  I want to say a few things about that before I get to the movie ---I remember the play was a big deal as far as sound because the actors, in a Broadway playhouse, all decided not to wear microphones to make the show more intimate --- of course, James Earl Jones never needed one  (Darth Vader) so it was an easy choice for him.  The other thing I remember is how wonderful he and Mary Alice were in that show, and that it made me like this one of all the August Wilson shows I have ever seen.  For those who don't know, Wilson's shows included 10 plays covering the 20th century, and "Fences" is his 1950s one.  The film was well done, starting with the Denzel character establishing from the first shot that he's a hard working garbage truck driver who is unhappy with "the man" and with dreams of being an MLB baseball player snuffed out because of being of color.  Denzel is good, but I didn't think he quite got to the high point in the big monologue he has toward the end of the film.  However, to me Viola stole the movie --- she was sooooooo good she brought me to tears.  And the last moments of the film, when she takes his little girl in to the family (knowing it's still another mouth to feed and take care of) , were exquisite.  It made me thankful that Washington enabled more people to experience this show by putting on the screen. Many of us see the 50s as "Happy Days" --- but then, we were seeing that through our white privileged eyes and didn't see what was going on with others, less fortunate.  I'd give this a 4 out of 5 stars.  

"FENCES"     PG-13,  2016     2 hours and 19 minutes    

A working-class African-American father tries to raise his family in the 1950s, while coming to terms with the events of his life.

Director:

 Denzel Washington

Writers:

 August Wilson (screenplay by), August Wilson (based upon his play "Fences") 

Stars:

 Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen McKinley Henderson

Movie #2160 ........................."Moxie" (netflix)

 Movie #2160 "Moxie" (netflix)  Recommended by an ohs theatre alum, I also found this a good film about teens --- yes, it is full of teen angst, but the lead girl holds her own in a tough coming of age story.  Vivien in the opening seems like a lot of kids --- isn't popular enough to be in the "in" crowd, has one friend who is also lonely, and they depend on each other.  But when she becomes inspired by looking through her mom's school year activities or protesting, and she sees an african america girl being bullied by THE football guy in the school, she starts to perk up and take a stand.  She just doesn't know how much bravery it takes to do that.  The acting of the rest of the teens (besides her bestie, the girl  being bullied and herself) is a bit suspect --- her sensitive guy friend is right on the money and memorable, too.  The film starts pretty low key, but that's because the main character is, but as the film progresses, there's more action and emotion portrayed and it all seems worth the watch.  There are some clunky dialogue moments esp. in groups, but then they are offsetted by some good dialogue scenes between two people, like her and her mom, her and the girl being bullied, and her and her bf.  I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5.  Nice diverse cast.  (the teacher, of course, is cringe-worthy - ugh!)

"MOXIE"     PG-13              2021            1 HOUR & 51 mins.

Inspired by her mom's rebellious past and a confident new friend, a shy 16-year-old publishes an anonymous zine calling out sexism at her school.

Director:

 Amy Poehler

Writers:

 Jennifer Mathieu (based upon the novel by), Tamara Chestna (screenplay by) 

Stars:

 Hadley Robinson, Lauren Tsai, Alycia Pascual-Pena, Amy Poehler

Movie #2159 ........................."Waterloo Bridge" (TCM)

 Movie #2159 "Waterloo Bridge" (TCM)  Shown in February on TCM because it was  Oscar- nominated for cinematography and music , I didn't realize that it was quite popular for portraying a "bad girl" and as a love story.   It was also made about 10 years earlier and this was a remake --- IMDB points out that "the flower lady" on the bridge was played by the same woman in both versions.  Anyway, Vivien Leigh, famous for GWTW the year before, does another stellar performance --- she is able to be melodramatic but still believable (think:  Streetcar Named Desire, end scene she also shined in) so I expected her to run the film, but Robert Taylor, whom I never really liked in what I have seen him in, wasn't bad -- and supposedly this was his favorite film that he ever made.  So I'm glad I got a chance to see it.  It has the frame of a "citizen Kane" story --- one object that he focuses in on the bridge, and the rest of the film is a flashback that explains the meaning behind the object.  It was meant to be a tearjerker and a romantic film, and it was.  But I still prefer "Random Harvest"  was the best romantic script of all time.  One note of interest --- 1940, doing a WWI film.  hmmmmm. I wonder whose idea that was?

"WATERLOO BRIDGE"   TCM   1940       1 hour and 48 mins

During World War I, believing her fiancé to be dead, a young ballerina loses her job and is forced to turn to prostitution.

Director:

 Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

 S.N. Behrman (screen play), Hans Rameau (screen play)  |

Stars:

 Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor, Lucile Watson