House of Gucci

I am a huge fan of Adam Driver and, out of all of his movies scheduled for release this year, I was most excited for House of Gucci.  I knew before I even saw a trailer that I would love it (I read the book upon which it is based by Sara Gay Forden when production began) because there is no possible way that I wouldn't love a movie dealing with love, greed, betrayal, and revenge starring my favorite actor and Lady Gaga!  I saw it last night and, while there are quite a few issues, I found it to be wildly entertaining!  Maurizio Gucci (Driver) is a shy and unassuming law student but he is also the scion of the wealthy Gucci family known for their successful fashion label.  Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) is from much humbler beginnings and is dazzled by Maurizio's wealth after meeting him at a party.  She pursues him relentlessly and he eventually falls in love and marries her.  His father Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons), who runs Gucci with his brother Aldo (Al Pacino), disowns Maurizio for his unsuitable marriage which forces him to work for Patrizia's father.  Patrizia is ambitious and is not content with this lifestyle so she reaches out to Aldo, who thinks Maurizio has more potential than his own son Paolo (Jared Leto).  Even though he is initially not very interested in the business, Maurizio accepts a position with Aldo in New York at Patrizia's urging.  Eventually, Patrizia pushes Maurizio to betray Aldo and Paolo in order to oust them from Gucci but he soon grows tired of her interference and takes charge of the company himself.  He also makes changes in his personal life with a childhood friend (Camille Cottin) which brings tragic consequences.  The story is quite convoluted, especially the scenes dealing with the business side of Gucci, and it is much too long (I think 20 minutes could have easily been cut).  There are problems with the pacing and I sometimes found my mind wandering, particularly during scenes not featuring Patrizia or Maurizio.  There are some strange tonal shifts between camp and drama and many of the music choices seem very odd (although I actually really liked the version of "Baby Can I Hold You" by Tracy Chapman and Luciano Pavarotti used during the trial scene despite the fact that it is a bizarre song to use at this moment because Patrizia is completely unrepentant).  Having said all of that, I absolutely loved the performances even though they contribute to the problems with tone.  Leto, who is completely unrecognizable, chews up the scenery with abandon while Lady Gaga is so much fun to watch in an over-the-top portrayal of a woman scorned.  Driver, on the other hand, gives an incredibly nuanced performance filled with subtle gestures that brilliantly show Maurizio's character arc from someone easily manipulated by everyone in his life to someone who ruthlessly takes charge (I think it is one of his best).  It almost seems as if each of them are in a different movie but I blame Ridley Scott's direction for this rather than the actors.  This movie reminded me a lot of the prime time soap operas, such as Dallas, Dynasty, and Knots Landing, that I enjoyed watching for escapist fun as a teenager because it features a bombastic plot, glamorous settings, opulent production design, and gorgeous costumes.  I can not objectively say that this is a great movie but I loved it if for no other reason than I got to see Adam Driver smile while wearing one well-tailored suit after another for almost three hours!

King Richard

I do not know anything about tennis or about Venus and Serena Williams, beyond the fact that they are amazing tennis players, but I love inspirational sports movies and King Richard looked really good.  I was able to see it last night and, while I expected to like it, I was not prepared for how much I loved it!  Richard Williams (Will Smith) is determined to turn his two daughters, Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton), into champion tennis players despite his limited means.  He has a very detailed plan for their success which focuses on education, discipline, hard work, humility, and dignity.  He is relentless in his dedication to the plan and this sometimes puts him at odds with his wife Oracene "Brandi" Price (Aunjanue Ellis), and the girls' coaches Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn) and Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal).  He refuses to allow the girls to compete on the junior level because he thinks that these tournaments put too much pressure on young players, he pulls them out of practice for other pursuits because he wants them to get an education and be well-rounded, and he turns down multi-million dollar endorsement deals because he thinks they can do better.  Despite all of the naysayers, Richard's methods ultimately prove successful when Venus makes it to the final match against Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (Marcela Zacarias), the number one player in the world, at her first professional tournament.  I really loved this story because Richard stays true to himself against all odds but he isn't shown to be infallible.  I particularly enjoyed a highly charged scene between Richard and Brandi where she confronts him about not valuing her contribution and another emotional one between him and Venus where she says that she is ready to compete and that he needs to trust her.  Smith gives the performance of his career and I have no doubt that he will be nominated, and rightly so, for every Best Actor award.  I also enjoyed all of the other performances, especially those from Sidney, Ellis, and Bernthal (also one of his best).  I really liked the tennis scenes and, as someone who knows nothing about tennis, I thought they were really exciting.  This is a stand up and cheer movie (the audience literally applauded at the end in my theater) that I highly recommend!

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

It is always a lot of fun to watch a long-awaited blockbuster on a Friday night with a large crowd and I definitely had a great time watching Ghostbusters: Afterlife last night!  After Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis via archival footage and CGI) dies under mysterious circumstances, his estranged daughter Callie (Carrie Coon) and her two children, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (McKenna Grace), relocate to his creepy and isolated farmhouse near Summerville, Oklahoma.  A series of unusual earthquakes are occurring in Summerville and Phoebe eventually learns that the imminent return of Grozer is causing them and that her grandfather was preparing for it. Phoebe, who is scientifically inclined, restores all of the ghost catching equipment and Trevor, who is mechanically inclined, restores the Ecto 1.  They also enlist the help of Phoebe's science teacher Gary (Paul Rudd), Phoebe's friend Podcast (Logan Kim), and Trevor's crush Lucky (Celeste O'Connor) to fight Grozer when it finds a new Gatekeeper and Keymaster.  This reminded me a lot of The Force Awakens in that it pays homage to the original characters, the aforementioned Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stanz (Dan Aykroyd), Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts), and Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), while introducing audiences to a new generation who are taking up the mantle of catching ghosts with a story that follows the same beats as the original.  It was also a very similar viewing experience to the one I had when I saw The Force Awakens the first time because the audience cheered when each original Ghostbuster, the Ecto 1, and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man appeared on screen.  I didn't really mind all of the nostalgia because there are some great action sequences and a nice character arc for Phoebe, who finds an affinity with her grandfather after feeling like a misfit all of her life.  If nothing else, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is certainly entertaining and fans of the franchise are sure to enjoy it.

Note:  There is a mid-credits scene and a post-credits scene setting up a possible sequel.

tick, tick...Boom!

Before Jonathan Larson wrote the masterpiece RENT, one of my favorite musicals of all time, he wrote tick, tick...Boom!, an autobiographical show about the fear of running out of time before achieving success.  Even though I wasn't very familiar with this musical I was really excited for the movie adaptation because it is directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda!  I was able to see it last night and my reaction was a bit mixed.  Jonathan Larson (Andrew Garfield) has been working on a musical called Superbia for the past eight years but he can't seem to finish a song needed for a key moment in the second act.  To pay the bills he works as a waiter at the Moondance Cafe on the weekends while he writes during the week but he is starting to feel discouraged because he hasn't achieved success before his 30th birthday, which is imminent, like his idol Stephen Sondheim (Bradley Whitford).  His best friend Michael (Robin de Jesus) has already given up on his dream to become an actor by taking a job in advertising and has moved into an apartment in a high-rise building with a doorman.  His girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp) is thinking about giving up her dream of being a dancer to take a job in the Berkshires.  Freddy (Ben Ross), another waiter at the diner, is dying of AIDS. He wonders if he is just wasting his time trying to achieve his dream. However, despite fact that his agent Rosa (Judith Light) hasn't returned his calls for the past year, his mentor Ira (Jonathan Marc Sherman) has arranged a workshop of Superbia for prospective producers.  When it isn't the success he hoped it would be, Rosa tells him to write what he knows and tick, tick...Boom! is the result.  Interspersed between Jonathan's story is a concert of tick, tick...Boom! that he performs with his friends Roger (Joshua Henry) and Karessa (Vanessa Hudgens).  I loved so many things about this movie (but I didn't love it as a whole).  Garfield gives an absolutely brilliant performance, definitely the best of his career, and I was so impressed with his singing and dancing.  He should definitely be in the mix come awards season. As a theatre nerd I loved all of the cameos by Broadway stars past and present.  I won't spoil them because they are so much fun to spot but I have to mention that I just about lost my mind when I saw Adam Pascal (I love him).  Even though this movie is not about RENT, I loved seeing its genesis in many of the characters and songs, particularly "Boho Days."  Unfortunately, I didn't love some of Miranda's artistic choices because the narrative is very frenetic and messy.  Most scenes are performed at such a fever pitch that when the action finally slows down for an emotional reckoning it feels really hollow.  The story jumps back and forth between the development of the musical and the performance of it very haphazardly and this is sometimes confusing, especially since musical numbers take place in both timelines (big production numbers in the former and simple concert performances in the latter).  It actually took me a while to figure out what was going on whenever there was a scene of Larsen performing on stage.  I liked this movie, and would definitely recommend it to musical theatre fans, but I am a bit disappointed because I wanted to love it.

Belfast

I have been looking forward to Belfast, Kenneth Branagh's lovely and wistful ode to community and family, for months and I finally had the opportunity to see it last night.  The movie takes place in the titular city in 1969 and opens with nine-year-old Buddy (Jude Hill) fighting imaginary dragons with a wooden sword and the lid of a trash can as a shield.  His Ma (Caitriona Balfe) calls him home to dinner and everyone on his street knows him and calls out to him as he passes by but soon the street is the scene of a riot as a mob of Protestants target the houses of Catholics.  Buddy's shield is now used by his Ma to protect them from the falling debris from the bombs in an incredibly powerful scene.  His Pa (Jamie Dornan) refuses to get drawn into "the Troubles" but worries for his family because he is forced to leave them for weeks at a time to work in England while his Ma worries about paying their back taxes.  Amidst these worries, Buddy's days are taken up with visiting the local cinema, spending time with his Pop (Ciaran Hinds) and Granny (Judi Dench), and trying to get the girl (Olive Tennant) he likes at school to notice him.  As the violence escalates, Pa is offered a permanent job in England and the family must decide whether to leave the only home they have ever known and their family and friends to start a new life.  I loved this movie so much!  The hazy black and white cinematography, the camera angles that mimic the viewpoint of a child, and the use of vignettes to tell the story are brilliant because sometimes childhood memories can be fleeting and fractured.  I loved the references to the movie High Noon, particularly the scene where Buddy views his Pa as the lone hero fighting to keep him safe because children often idealize the adults in their lives.  I also really loved all of the music by Van Morrison (who, like Branagh, hails from Belfast) because it really evokes the mood of that time and place.  The entire cast is wonderful (it was so nice to see Dench in a good movie after a few recent duds and the scene where Granny reminisces about her favorite film is another one of my favorites) but Hill is especially endearing and he portrays the wide-eyed innocence of a child trying to understand what is going on around him so well.  Finally, the narrative really resonated with me because my immediate family moved away from our extended family and friends in Canada to come to the United States when I was close to the same age as Buddy.  I was trying to keep my emotions in check (I did not want a repeat of this embarrassing situation) as the inevitable conclusion drew near but I completely lost it when Buddy says goodbye to his friend from school.  I said goodbye to my best friend Scott in a very similar way (I wonder what he is doing now) and this scene brought the memory back to me.  In my opinion, this movie is a must-see for everyone who has nostalgia for the place they are from and I highly recommend it!