The High Note

My View: The High Note (2020) PG   Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross) is a superstar singer who is resting on the popularity of her past hits. Maggie (Dakota Johnson) is Grace’s overworked and under-appreciated assistant. When Grace’s push for a new album is shot down by her manager (Ice Cube), Maggie pushes Grace to record songs on her own, but is Maggie overstepping her bounds? I used to not be a big fan of Dakota Johnson, but after her role in The Peanut Butter Falcon and this film, I am warming up to her. Johnson has a pleasant screen presence and is enjoyable as the lovable assistant who dreams of being a music producer. Tracee Ellis Ross plays the diva that is still a big star but thinks her days as a hitmaker are over. Ross is sizzling in the role, and boy, can she sing, making her performance the highlight of the film. The film is predictable, and the big reveal near the end is something that you will see from about a third of the film in. The film revolves around the love story between Maggie and a singer, played by Kelvin Harrison, Jr., she discovers at a grocery store. Maggie convinces the singer that he has the talent to make it, and she is just the producer who can make his dreams come true. Harrison, Jr. has a great singing voice, and I enjoyed several of his songs, but Ross gives us the reason to see this film, with a stage presence that makes us believe she is that legendary singer. While not a great movie, it's still a fun film to watch, and you might sing along with some of the classic songs that Maggie loves.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee    The High Note Website   Available for rent on participating on-demand services.

Indiefest: The Vast of Night (2019) PG-13   Set in a small New Mexico town in the 1950s, a young switchboard operator, Fay (Sierra McCormick), and a local radio DJ, Everett (Jake Horowitz) discover a strange audio frequency that a caller claims has origins of a mysterious past. This isn’t your typical Sci-Fi film as it starts with credits like it is a 60s sci-fi television show. That open gives you a clue that this film will be pushing a few boundaries, but that makes the film feel very rich and exciting. The film starts with us following Everett, a quick talking young man who, as the local DJ, is the small-town celebrity. He encounters Fay, who wants to know how to work her new purchase, a portable tape recorder. Fay gets a mysterious phone call about the time she hears an unusual series of sounds coming from Everett’s radio broadcast, and the film takes off from there. Like the opening credits, this film feels like those old Sci-Fi TV shows like The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits, where there isn’t a bunch of significant action sequences, but the tension is built on what the characters experience and find out. There is some inventive camera work in the film, and the two leads are fascinating to watch on the screen. It’s a film that doesn’t need the action sequences to make you feel on the edge of your seat; it just needs a few key scenes and some knockout performances to do that.   My Rating: Full Price     The Vast of Night Info    Available for rent on participating on-demand services.

Indiefest: Funny Pains (2017)  Documentary featuring the life and times of comedian Wendi Starling, as she navigates the harsh world of a stand-up comic. The film gives us an up-close and personal look at the life of a comic struggling to make her mark. Starling isn’t afraid of discussing her life, whether on the stand-up stage or in her apartment talking to the camera. The film gives us a bunch of conversations that Starling and other comics, including Nikki Glaser, Jim Norton, and Bonnie McFarlane. The film never quite finds its footing, though I think there is a good film in there somewhere. Starling admits to having some problems, but the film never presses Starling into going in-depth into those personal problems, which was desperately needed to keep the movie from feeling so slight. I must admit that I didn’t ever truly enjoy Starling’s stand up routine, and we never see her with an audience that is eating up her material. The film feels flat, much like much of Starling’s material.   My Rating: Cable     Funny Pains Website     Available for rent on participating on-demand services.

My View: Olympic Dreams (2019) PG-13  In the Olympic Athlete Village, a young cross-country skier (Alexi Pappas) meets a volunteer dentist (Nick Kroll), and these two lonely people strike up a friendship as the world gets together to compete in the Olympic games. The film is a must for any fan of the Olympics as almost the whole film was shot in the actual Olympic Village during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. That being said, the film fails to completely overcome the novelty of shooting everything on the site. I liked the initial chemistry between the two, but as the film develops, I just never saw the sparks we needed for us to believe the couple was falling-in-love. The film can’t shake the feeling that most of the scenes are improved, making it seem more like a selection of skits than a fleshed-out film. I did like Alexi Pappas, who, as a former 10K Olympic runner, brings a bit of realism to her role. I wish that the film had a little more substance to it, but still, it is fun to go behind the scenes of the world’s biggest athletic event.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee     Olympic Dreams Website     Available for rent on participating on-demand services.

Indiefest: Banana Split (2018) R   Over the summer, right before everyone is about to take off for college, April (Hannah Marks) and Clara (Liana Liberato) become best friends. One big problem; Clara is dating April’s ex, Nick (Dylan Sprouse). Almost from the start of the film, I fell in love with April, played by the fantastic Hannah Marks. Marks reminds me of a very young Sandra Bullock with a touch of Rachael Leigh Cook thrown in. Marks has incredible comic timing, and like Bullock, anytime she is on the screen, she dominates the scene. Liana Liberato holds her own on the screen as the girl that anyone would be jealous of, and the time the two spend on the screen is magical. I enjoyed the dinner scenes that April has with her single, put upon mom (Jessica Hecht) and her younger sister (Addison Riecke), who sees her sister as competition for the attention of Nick. The film has fun with the unusual friendship (they keep it a secret from Nick), and while a bit predictable, I think you will enjoy it as much as I did.   My Rating; Full Price     Banana Split Info    Available for rent on participating on-demand services.

Forgotten Film:  Bell Book and Candle (1958)   Gillian (Kim Novak) likes her neighbor, Shepherd (Jimmy Stewart), but feels that his fiancée (Janice Rule) isn’t the one for him. How to win him over? Why, with an enchantment, because she is a witch. Only Gillian plays it a little too real and falls in love with him. This isn’t a great film, but Novak is just mesmerizing, the supporting cast with Jack Lemmon, Elsa Lanchester, and Ernie Kovacs are a scream and Stewart is Stewart at his best. Oh, and I’m not a cat person, but you will love the cat in this film.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Bell Book and Candle Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of The High Note: Biscuit Tech

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: Spelling the Dream (2020)   An Indian-American has won the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the past 12 years. This documentary explores this trend, which is one of the longest in sports history, highlighting four students as they compete to win the tournament. I am a horrible speller, so this event always fascinates me every year.    Spelling the Dream Website

Until Next Time!

Becoming

My View:  Becoming (2020) PG   After serving as First Lady for eight years, Michelle Obama goes on a book tour in 2019 for her book ‘Becoming.’ The documentary offers a rare and up-close look at her life, taking viewers behind the scenes of her 34 city book tour. The film gives us plenty of behind-the-scenes footage of Michelle Obama’s massive, area filling book tour. What I enjoyed about the film is that this is about the First Lady giving us insight into her life, as it drastically changed from one of a working woman whose husband wanted to serve the public, to suddenly being thrust into the spotlight of being the wife of the most powerful leader of the free world. We get to see her humor, especially in those behind the scene shots like her kidding her security detail or listening to music with her staff while waiting to go on stage. Becoming is a must-watch for anyone who is a fan of Michelle and her family; you won’t be disappointed visiting a world that we so briefly get to see.   My Rating: Full Price     Becoming Website   The film is currently available on Netflix.

Indiefest:  How to Build a Girl (2019)   Johanna (Beanie Feldstein) is a sixteen-year-old girl who desperately wants to escape her humdrum life in Wolverhampton. She decides to reinvent herself as Dolly Wilde, a music critic who takes the rock world of the 90s by storm. If you haven’t fallen in love with Beanie Feldstein from her appearances in Booksmart and Lady Bird, well, you will now. Feldstein is a blast to watch as she transforms from the nerdy, book smart girl to a critic that took the London music world by storm. Feldstein is one of those rare actors who can be silly and funny in one moment, and heartbreakingly real in another. Director Coky Giedronyc and writer Caitlin Moran (Dolly Wilde/Johanna in real life) give us a film that is a quirky (Johanna’s wall of heroes pictures continuously talk to her with advice) and amusing look at a girl whose dreams come true but at a price. The film is aided by some stellar supporting roles, including Paddy Considine as Johanna’s father, who still has dreams of being a rock star, and Alfie Allen as a rock star who becomes a good friend to Johanna early in her rock critic career. The film slows down a little when Johanna lets success go to her head, but I loved the ending of the film, and Feldstein is a talent to keep your eye on in both this film and in the future.   My Rating: Full Price     How to Build a Girl Website     Available for rent on participating on-demand services.

Indiefest:  Clementine (2019)   After a breakup, a devastated Karen (Otmara Marrero) breaks into her ex’s lake house, where she meets and starts a complicated relationship with a younger woman named Lana (Sydney Sweeney). This film has a small and intimate feel to it as Karen works through her heartbreak with the help of Lana, a teen who is a little mysterious, and though she plays the innocence card, it is apparent that her story isn’t as simple as it seems. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of Otmara Marrero, who slowly lets Lana and us into her world. The film is understated and lets the tension fill as the couple gets to know each other. The film has a bit of menace in it, as we never quite know what to make of Lana, and there is always the specter of Karen’s ex that hangs over the house, much like the paintings her ex has created throughout the home. The film from time to time misses its mark making the movie seem a little slow, but Marrero, as the headstrong Karen, has a few very moving moments that make the film worth watching.   My Rating; Bargain Matinee    Clementine Website     Available for rent on participating on-demand services.

 

My View:  Bad Education (2019)   Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) seemingly has everything going for him; he’s superintendent of New York’s Roslyn school district, where he is loved by his employees, his students, and their parents as their kids get into the best colleges. He is aided by his confidant and second-in-command Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney). Frank and Pam are hiding a deep, dark secret that is about to be exposed by a high-school-student (Stephanie Kurtzuba) who is about to break a story on the local school paper. Jackman doesn’t disappoint as the vain and overconfident Frank, who depends a little too much on his good looks and his charm to smooth over any problem. Allison Janney, playing the smart mouth financial wizard of the school, dazzles the screen with her brash style of a woman who feels entitled because of how successful the school is. I loved the performance of Stephanie Kurtzuba, who as the student who is given a small ‘puff piece’ for the student newspaper and smells something fishy is going on at the school. Bad Education is one of those films that you start taking sides at the beginning, but you might have to change your mind as the film moves along.   My Rating: Full Price    Bad Education Website  The film is currently playing on HBO.

Indiefest:   Spaceship Earth (2020)  Documentary on a science experiment that captivated the world where a group of people spent two years quarantined inside a self-engineered replica of Earth’s ecosystem called Biosphere 2. This is a fascinating film about something that you continually wonder how this experiment ever even made it to the planning stage, much less successfully building a complex and completing the first mission. It is almost as if your high school drama teacher said ‘Hey, let's put on a play’ and the next thing you know, you are on Broadway. The film interviews most of the participants in the project, including the ‘biospherians’ that lived inside and the people that were in charge of the project on the outside, so we get a feel of what it was like during that time. We get a look into life in the biosphere from the extensive footage shot inside and by the constant news coverage that kept the experiment at the forefront of the news cycle for those 2 years. The film looks at all the controversies, including if the operation itself was part of a cult, whether the experiment was based on scientific principles and how a series of events caused the public to believe that the Biosphere 2 ultimately was a flop. And, wait until near the end of the film, when a twist you couldn’t see coming happens: it will blow you away.    My Rating: Full Price     Spaceship Earth Website     Available for rent on participating on-demand services.

Forgotten Film: Police Story (1985) PG-13   A Hong Kong police officer (Jackie Chan) is framed for murder by a drug lord. Now, against the odds, the officer must fight to clear his name all the while trying to protect a woman (Bridgett Lin) from the mob intent on killing her to stop her testimony. As with a lot of Chan films, there is a lot of funny gags and Chan doing impossible stunts that most stuntmen could only dream of doing. While not a great movie, it does have one of the most impressive and possibly the greatest stunt of all time, especially when you realize that Chan did it all on his own without tricks or CGI. After seeing this film, you will wonder how Chan is still alive at the end of the movie.   My Rating: Full Price    Police Story Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Bad Education: Hand Model

Coming Soon to a Screen Near You: The High Note (2020) PG-13   Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross) is a superstar singer who is resting on the popularity of her past hits. Maggie (Dakota Johnson) is Grace’s overworked and under-appreciated assistant. When Grace’s push for a new album is shot down by her manager (Ice Cube), Maggie pushes Grace to record songs on her own, and Grace decides that Maggie is just the one to produce them. I’m not a big fan of Dakota Johnson, though I loved her in The Peanut Butter Falcon) and I am a massive fan of Traces Ellis Ross, so I am game.    The High Note Website

Until Next Time!