The first time viewing, I expected a film I might enjoy with an average portrayal of a musician that I find extraordinarily talented. I was so very wrong. Every cast member was spot on. The cinematography grand, locations top notch, the sets for auditions & recording studios & club scenes & band chatter & more are all ace! The L.A. Street scenes very well done. There's so much nuance, spark & yep, realism, in this, it's stunning. I had grace to work in 'the industry' '90s. > '00s. Doug Weston was pleasant & kind to this novice first time we met. I looked forward to seeing him even if it was a quick hello/goodbye. A fount of knowledge ~ not only of music but much much more ~ had an opinion of most everything &, whether agreed or disagreed, logical reason to support it. Jovial, daft sweetie who often treated me as a friend. I witnessed his bad side, & man, he was really good at that too. I can't compliment the writers or Tate Donovan enough as I think they got Doug right. I imagine Elton Johns input a great part of that. Viewing the film again just now reminds me how sad it is Doug's gone. I'm glad more folks have a wee idea how much of a resource he was, how Doug Weston & his Troubadour really were the start of finally having a larger audience, the US beginning for so many artists & how it was THE place that artists went to to hear other artists. Still is, though Rocketman definitely is during the hottest time. Absolutely a film for anyone who loves Elton, rock music history as many artists ~ even now ~ can relate to much here even if as a dream to come with some things to avoid, a musical where all cast & the numerous other singers & dancers are bright. Absolutely 10+ Stars.
Reviews
4 Reviews
BlacKkKlansman
(2018)
Absolute entertainment. & so much mire.
22 April 2019
There are films that live in truth. That own breath & thought & all the physicality possible in life. This film brought so much visceral pain, survivalist humor, desperately unrealistic hope ~ as the world, especially US, has regressed from human advancements since January 20 2017. I thank Spike Lee & all others for bringing Ron book to the screen, along with their choosing to have the wondrous choices of John David Washington & Adam Driver &, surprising to me but so very perfect, where I should apologize as I'd underestimated him, Topher Grace, along with all the other sport on cast & crew. Truth in film that entertains & also actually requires one to see life as it was &, so very sadly, still is, a rare rare thing. Thank you to all involved.
Rent: Live
(2019 TV Movie)
Could've been, should've been...
28 January 2019
I've seen Rent on stage numerous times. I've had grace to see Rent on Broadway, off Broadway, in many small and large theaters, with both small and large budgets. I've watched the film version & prior TV presentation. Rent is, obviously, a favorite of mine. This 'Live' presentation has a cast with much proven talent. Some of the crew are familiar for their ace work. I had high hopes. This was such a disappointment & waste of amazing material & many fine efforts. It was hard to follow the staging, seemingly due to combination of jerky flow of sets to lack of cohesive direction of camera work. The quality of the choreography varied from professional to grammar school rehearsal. The greatest issue were the absurd cuts for commercial. That may be the root cause of why so much else, the staging, camera work, choreography, was choppy. Would seem possible Fox placed focus on commercials. Yes, with commercial TV one does expect breaks, but some rational scheduling of them should have been done. As it was, the flow of the music, dance and vocals was repeatedly lost. The powerful human emotion inherent in Rent kept on being broken time and again. A shame. For the performers and crew who did their all, I'd give a 8/10. For how Fox chose to mismanage and cheapen those efforts and, truly, disrespect Jonathan Larson's Rent, I'd give 2/10. A shame.
Save the Last Dance
(2001)
I was & am still happily surprised
1 January 2019
The first time I'd seen this film was at a theatre in Los Angeles. Went with friends who were looking to see dance or Sean Patrick Thomas or Julia Stiles or both. The audience was mix of fans of the main actors & others who were fans of of hip hop or ballet or the joy of dance or romance or curious folks like me. The whole audience fell in love with the wonderful dancing, the relationships, the visceral fight of friends to be friends. We humans too often don't bother to fight to treasure & preserve the gift of true friends. The dance, the mix of classic ballet & hiphop was joyous. The bigotry against certain economic & interracial friendships are still inherent in our all too often class & bigoted based culture. True then & now. There is a lot of truth in this film. Of hardship due to personal loss, of economic & racial divide, of the lack of acceptance & freedom to live your gifted talent for all to see. Young people who aren't the desired shade or grade, that aren't given a free ride or those that do have that free ride but don't conform to the separatism our divided culture seems to demand, have a more difficult struggle. I adore this film. You may not. I do know that it should be seen.
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