(CIFF Coverage) La La Land Movie Review

The Trailer:

The Good:
Right off the bat you can tell that the cinematography for La La  Land is off the charts. It's simply a visually stunning film. The dance and choreography was definitely a highlight of the film as they were all executed perfectly. Given the fact that this film feels like a Broadway play in some instances, it was nice to see the camera rarely pull away during many of the song and dance routines. That essentially helps you really appreciate the excellent performances from the main characters.

Speaking of which, Ryan Gosling gets a lot of kudos from me for being able to really deliver with his piano skills. From what I could research, he spent three months learning how to play the piano, but in the movie he comes off as a life long pianist. Despite being the co-star, it goes without saying that Emma Stone ran away with this film. She had every opportunity through this role to display a full range of emotions that easily elevates her performance to new highs. (Wouldn't be surprised if she won an award for it.) Both Stone and Gosling's on screen chemistry is undeniable and carries the movie from beginning to end.

I also thought that the plot itself was a positive for La La Land. This movie will definitely speak to the dreamers and lovers alike. The ending of the film really helped to ground the film and drive home some great life lessons.

The Bad:

While this isn't true for all of them, just a few of the musical/dance segments really didn't seem to fit or flow naturally in the film. (Opening scene would be an example.) There were just a couple of times when it felt like some songs were placed into the film just for the sake of being a musical, rather than allowing the song/dance(s) to organically drive the plot. It wasn't often, but I do think that there were probably one or two sequences that could've been left out of the film, and simply help tighten up the pacing a bit.

The Reason:
I think it's worth admitting that I'm not the biggest fan of musicals. That doesn't mean that I hate them, or that I'm cynical about them. I just don't go out of my way to seek them out. However, I do believe that I can appreciate a good one when I see one, and La La Land was definitely one of the good ones. This film was like watching a dream on the big screen.

I think that fans of musicals will undoubtedly enjoy this film. My only concern is whether this will appeal to more casual movie fans. If you're in doubt, then I'd probably recommend checking out these Five Films To Watch Before La La Land by one of my fellow film critics, Don Shanahan from EveryMovieHasALesson.com. Otherwise, I'd recommend checking out La La Land in theaters whenever you get the chance.

The Rating: 9/10
    

My [Loosely based] Ratings scale
10-9 = A Must watch at any cost. 
8.5- 7.5 = Theater worthy 
7-6.5 = Matinee/rental worthy at best
6 = Watchable (If it's free)
5 - below = Avoid at all costs

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Collateral Beauty Movie Review

The Trailer:

The Good:
It goes without saying that you're in store for a classic, teary-eyed Will Smith performance. At this point it's kind of difficult to determine if he can get any better than he already is. While Smith is portrayed as the main character, this film was more so an ensemble. Kate Winslet, Ed Norton and Michael Peña were all at their best.

One of the main highlights of this film is the dramatic and philosophical ideas about love, time, and death. The film does give a unique perspective to the grieving process that most people may not be familiar with. Beyond that, depending on how much you paid attention to the trailer, there is an interesting twist or two that is a welcomed surprise.

While it's not really necessary, one interesting thing to consider would be to actually watch the film for a second time. There were some key details that contribute to the mystery and twist of the film that may only be noticed upon a second viewing.

The Bad:
As I alluded to earlier, the trailers for this film may be a little misleading. Obviously I won't give it away, but the trailer had me thinking that this was going to go a certain direction. Then 20 mins into the film, it goes in another. Then it just felt like other twists were just randomly thrown into the movie unnecessarily. Again, this was the expectation shaped by the marketing of the film more so than the film itself being at fault.

The Reason:
I think the best way to go into this film is to go in as cold as possible. Don't read or watch anything about it. At least that way you won't be thrown in various directions the way I was. I'd probably say that this would also be a decent film to watch with a friend (or date?) only because there will be a number of conversation pieces to discuss. (That is, if you're into having deep, thoughtful conversations.) I think this may be a matinee film at best.

I got a chance to rewatch this movie and I must say that it's actually a lot better the second time around. You get a chance to appreciate more things that were missed and setup throughout the movie. If you're like me, you may even pay more attention to the interactions of the characters and whether certain things really did appear as they initially seemed or not.

The Rating: 6.5/10
   

My [Loosely based] Ratings scale
10-9 = A Must watch at any cost. 
8.5- 7.5 = Theater worthy 
7-6.5 = Matinee/rental worthy at best
6 = Watchable (If it's free)
5 - below = Avoid at all costs

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Sing Movie Review (52nd Chicago International Film Festival Coverage)

The Trailer:

The Good:
One of the most obvious highlights of this film will be the many musical performances. There were a number of popular hits that will be relatively familiar. One thing that helped this film was the fact that it did play off of the American Idol audition angle. It was enjoyable to see the characters that were bad to really outstanding. Similar to the movie Zootopia, Sing does a nice job of blending a variety of animals to evoke most of its jokes and humor. While it strives to be funny, there were actually a few touching moments. (The Father/Son Gorilla moment kinda got to me.)

To my surprise, there was a bit of an unexpected twist in the middle of the film. The film did a nice job of emphasizing the notion of following your dreams, and I do believe that the ending finale does salvage the movie in terms of a slight pay off.

The Bad:
Unfortunately there are lot of issues surrounding the music of this film. The first issue was the lack of original songs throughout the movie. That's usually the main highlight for many song-based films, and Sing really didn't capitalize on that opportunity. Instead it felt more like a series of karaoke songs.

The other musical issue was that if you're not familiar with those songs, it'll be a little hard to connect with the film. There seemed to be both a lack of variety in the song arrangements and a noticeable gap in the type of music. For instance, it felt as though if you weren't a fan of Taylor Swift, Katy Perry or Frank Sinatra then there just wasn't necessarily a song you'd connect with.

Besides the musical issues, I think one of the biggest disconnects with Sing is that the movie didn't really appear to connect with kids. There were adult related issues (ie: being a stay at home mom with a lot of kids) that I don't think children will resonate with. So it's not going to be much of a surprise if some of the jokes go way over their heads.

The Reason:
Sing gets some things right, but also misses a lot of opportunities to really hit a home run with children. I think it tried too hard to appeal to different demographics and in the process feels a bit lost. As I said, if you're not familiar with some of the musicians I mentioned earlier, then this movie may not be up your alley. It may still be worth watching if you have children, but I'd double check their iPods to make sure the music from the trailer is something they'd actually appreciate.
If you do decide to check it out, it will be playing at the Chicago Film Festival!

The Rating: 6/10
   

My [Loosely based] Ratings scale
10-9 = A Must watch at any cost. 
8.5- 7.5 = Theater worthy 
7-6.5 = Matinee/rental worthy at best
6 = Watchable (If it's free)
5 - below = Avoid at all costs

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Hidden Figures Movie Review

The Trailer:

The Good:
I think we can start off with the wonderful performances starting with Taraji P. Henson. She perfectly captured the incredible juggling act that African American single mothers had to endure to this very day. Most times she didn't even really have to speak for you to feel the tension she experienced between raising her children, going to work, and dealing with the common everyday racism during the 1960s. Octavia Spencer was her usual phenomenal self. Probably the biggest surprise was Janelle Monáe. She was humorous and held her own as if she had been acting for years.

What I really appreciated about this film is that it treated the moments of racism with a nice sense of a balance. It wasn't overtly, in your face racism, but it wasn't watered down either. The film constantly reminds us of the social tensions during this pre-civil rights era, without allowing the themes to be a crutch to evoke emotional responses. It also communicates the message that there were plenty of contributions to American history by minorities that go overlooked.


Moreover, Hidden Figures does a nice job of highlighting not only the racial barriers for minorities, but also the gender barriers as well. Often times the film would almost make you feel the literal barrier that the characters felt. Whether it was racial or gender based, one thing that was well executed was that the fact that minorities (especially the women) had to consistently go above and beyond to simply prove to society that they were worthy of anything at all.

The Bad:
N/A

The Reason:
The moment this film ended, the only thing that came to mind was that Hidden Figures has #BlackGirlMagic written all over it! This was an amazing film that I think many people, especially within the African American community, have been waiting for. Almost every year, if there's a movie with a black leading cast it's either a slave film, comedy, or some sort of sex drama. It was just so refreshing to have an uplifting and historically accurate film with a positive vibe to match. Not to mention, as a father of three daughters, I was so proud to have my little girls have ideal role models on the big screen to look up to. As you can tell, I really enjoyed Hidden Figures, and I think you will too. It's more than worth the watch in theaters, and be sure to bring the family while you're at it.

The Rating: 10/10




   

My [Loosely based] Ratings scale

10-9 = A Must watch at any cost. 
8.5- 7.5 = Theater worthy 
7-6.5 = Matinee/rental worthy at best
6 = Watchable (If it's free)
5 - below = Avoid at all costs

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Star Wars Rogue One Movie Review

  The Trailer:

The Good:

One of the biggest strengths of this film is probably the connections that are built with the individual characters. Felicity Jones naturally stands out as the heroine female lead. My personal favorite was Donnie Yen's character, "Chirrut Imwe". His character was the only remnant of the spiritual side that acknowledges the Force, and he's probably the closest you'll get to a Jedi. (Trust me, that's not saying much though.) However, the real scene-stealer belongs to K-2SO, the android robot. Just like in the past Star Wars films the androids continue to provide comic relief throughout the film. K-2SO's pettiness and witty banter was easily one of the best aspects of the movie.

Darth Vader!!!!! While I was initially disappointed that they revealed he was going to be shown in the movie, it clearly didn't matter when he's actually shown. Granted it would've been a major surprise had they kept him a secret, he was still displayed enough to make up for it. He has one particular scene that simple legitimizes his already huge stature as one of the most famous characters in cinema pop culture. You'll know it when you see it. His major scene alone may make you literally feel the powers of the dark side.

In terms of action, Rogue One doesn't hold back either. From the ground fights, to spaceship battles, it surely encompasses all of the hard fought action that the Star Wars films brought to the table in the late 70s and early 80s. Despite probably knowing the eventual outcome of the film, there were still some great moments of suspense that will keep you engaged to the very end.

The Bad:

There were some rather slow moving parts in the middle of the film. There is a lot of dialogue that will probably play more so to the dedicated Star Wars fans more so than casual movie fans. One of the biggest appeals to the film is that it is a prequel to Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). However, given that fact, if you're unfamiliar with Star Wars (1977) then there will be a lot of references and call backs that can be missed.

The Reason:

If Stars Wars were to be completely erased, and rebooted, Rogue One would be the exact movie to do it. It encapsulated everything that fans loved from the original Star Wars (1977) film, except modernized it for today's audiences.

 I do think that in order to truly appreciate this film, it's practically a requirement to watch Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) before watching Rogue One. Without watching Star Wars: A New Hope, I don't think that this movie will cater to casual or even new incoming movie fans the way Star Wars: The Force Awakens did. Rogue One serves a major purpose in emphasizing a lot of backbone to the story of Star Wars A New Hope. We get to see why getting the plans was just so important and just what it took to accomplish the mission.

I didn't get a chance to see this in 3-D and I was perfectly content with that. Though 3-D may have helped with some of the big star ship battles, the movie still was very enjoyable to watch without it. I would definitely recommend watching this, but as I said, be sure to watch the original Star Wars (1977) film first. If you have seen it before, it wouldn't hurt to refresh your memory and see it again prior to seeing Rogue One.

The Rating: 8/10

My [Loosely based] Ratings scale
10-9 = A Must watch at any cost. 
8.5- 7.5 = Theater worthy 
7-6.5 = Matinee/rental worthy at best
6 = Watchable (If it's free)
5 - below = Avoid at all costs

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