Tag: Music

REVIEW: Energized ‘Wicked’ sequel largely enthralls

Broadway buzz is back on the big screen with a second round of “Wicked,” and the experience in the sequel surpasses that of the first.

“For Good” picks up a short while after the events of “Wicked.” Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is working to disrupt the actions of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), who she’s found out has no magic at his disposal. In response, He and his associate, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) are slamming her with propaganda, labeling her the Wicked Witch of the West.

Glinda (Ariana Grande), meanwhile, has been put forward as Glinda the Good, with Oz presenting her as a positive witch to rally around against Elphaba’s efforts. While the two are pitted against each other, though, their friendship remains. Yet its strained as the situation in the realm grow more dire under the leadership of Oz and Morrible.

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REVIEW: Superb cast lifts ‘A Complete Unknown’

Hey, they finally made a movie about the guy teased at the end of “Inside Llewyn Davis!”

That guy, of course, is Bob Dylan (Timothee Chalamet), who gets the big screen biopic treatment thanks to director James Mangold. While not showing the entire decade, “A Complete Unknown” follows Dylan’s life through most of the 60s, showing his musical evolution in a changing world.

The film picks up in 1961 with the Minnesota musician arriving in New York City. Dylan made the trip to the Big Apple to visit a musical hero of his, Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy), who’s suffering from Huntington’s disease. While meeting Guthrie at a hospital, he also runs into fellow folk singer Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), who helps Dylan launch his career.

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REVIEW: Much of ‘Wicked’ soars thanks to musical sequences

The stage is out and the screen is in with another adaptation of a Broadway musical hitting the screen. This time around, it’s the Wicked Witch’s turn.

As the title implies, this film is about the Wicked Witch of the West, though the audience gets to see her before she earned that title. In the movie, she is known by her name Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a young woman shunned by much of society because of her green skin, which has only made her closed off.

Because of her apparent magical abilities, though, she’s invited to the same mystical university her sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) is attending. There she meets the popular but ditzy Galinda (Arian Grande-Butera). After a poor first meeting, the two aren’t fans of each other, but end up becoming roommates.

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REVIEW: ‘Piece by Piece’ is a fun, though standard, hip hop journey

Ten years ago, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller introduced the world to the concept of a narrative LEGO movie. Now, Morgan Neville has come along to show he can make a documentary with the animated blocks, too.

“Piece by Piece” uses the same animation style that was seen in previous LEGO films, to tell the story of musician Pharrell Williams. The picture tells his story with the format of a biographical documentary, taking the viewer through his life with recreations of concerts and talking head interviews.

Through this, the audience gets to see how he grew up in Virginia, fell in love with music, started making his own songs and became a sensation.

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REVIEW: ‘TÁR’ is a terrific portrayal of a downfall

Just like the music featured in the film, “Tár” is beautiful, gripping and epic.

The film is about Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), a superstar composer and conductor who accomplished an EGOT and now leads the distinguished Berlin Philharmonic orchestra. The film opens with her on a tight schedule, conducting an interview in New York City, teaching a class at Juilliard School and then flying back to Berlin to prepare for a new concert.

Despite her busy lifestyle, Tár’s career seems well on track for continued success and she also appears to be in a loving relationship with her wife, Sharon (Nina Hoss). However, actions in her past and present begin to damage her life and legacy.

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REVIEW: ‘Elvis’ is an exuberant, exhausting experience

Elvis Presley has been portrayed on the large and small screen many times before. However, none of them featured the flair of filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, until now.

The story of Elvis (Austin Butler) in this biopic is told from the perspective of the performer’s infamous manager, Col. Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). The movie begins with Parker on his deathbed and from there, the former manager recounts the events of his time with the singer, from when he discovered him to the performers final days in Las Vegas.

The movie showcases how Elvis’ popularity surged, his inspiration from African American musicians, his controversial stage movements and his attempt at a comeback after some down years. It also features the decline of his health during his time doing several shows in Vegas.

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REVIEW: ‘Cyrano’ is a sensational musical

Peter Dinklage should’ve been an Oscar contender.

Based on a 2018 stage musical, which itself was based on the 1897 play “Cyrano de Bergerac,” the film “Cyrano” tells the story of the titular character portrayed by Dinklage. Cyrano is a writer, poet, performer and even a cunning swordsman. Despite his talents, though, he can’t bring himself to confess his love for his friend from childhood, Roxanne (Haley Bennett). This is because of his own self doubt related to his appearance.

His complicated romantic situation is only compounded when Roxanne, who’s expected to marry the duke De Guiche (Ben Mendelsohn), announces her love for a soldier named Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Wanting to make his love happy, Cyrano decides to help Christian write letters to Roxanne, as the solider is also in love with her.

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REVIEW: Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ doesn’t sizzle like its 60s counterpart

Tonight… Tonight… I’m rather disappointed tonight.

Because I didn’t enjoy this “West Side Story” adaptation as much as I hoped I would.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, this marks the second time the 1957 musical was adapted for the screen, the first released in 1961. In the film, there are two gangs in New York City the film revolves around, the Jets and the Sharks, the latter made up of Puerto Rican immigrants. Tensions have already been high between the two, but their battles appear ready to reach an even higher level of violence.

Before that takes place, though, both gangs end up at a dance. There, a former member of the Jets, Tony (Ansel Elgort), meets Maria (Rachel Zegler), the younger sister of the Sharks leader. While the two fall in love, their relationship only complicates the situation between the two groups.

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REVIEW: ‘Tick, Tick… Boom’ is an enjoyable, touching tribute

The legacy of late composer Jonathan Larson is honored in this new Netflix feature, based on his own autobiographical musical, “Tick, Tick… Boom.”

Andrew Garfield stars as Larson in the movie, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film has a framing device of Larson of performing “Tick, Tick… Boom” as a one man show, where he tells the story of himself in 1990, struggling to get a new production off the ground.

That production is “Superbia,” and the story Larson tells includes details about how he worked at a small diner, his strained relationships because of his focus on his work and how he grieved for friends he lost to the AIDS epidemic.

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REVIEW: ‘CODA’ delivers with humor and plenty of heart

Sometimes a movie comes along and reinvigerates a person’s appreciation for a genre.

That’s what “CODA” has done for coming of age/teen drama films.

The title of the movie is an acryonym, meaning Child of Deaf Adults. The main character is Ruby (Emilia Jones), a teenager whose parents Frank (Troy Kotsur) Jackie (Marlee Matlin), as well as her brother Leo (Daniel Durant) are all deaf. On top of attending school, Ruby helps in the family fishing business, working on the boat and acting as a sign language interpretor for sales.

During her time at home, Ruby is a music lover and she expresses this on the boat with her singing. This inspires her to take up choir in her senior year of high school, where the film picks up. The movie then follows how she has to balance her job and her singing lessons, as well as her family’s reaction to her doing something they can’t enjoy or enage with.

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