Free Guy

Last night I had the chance to see Free Guy in IMAX and I had an absolute blast with this movie!  Guy (Ryan Reynolds) in an NPC (Non-Player Character) in an open-world video game called Free City.  Every morning he wakes up at the same time, wears the same blue shirt and tie, gets the same coffee, and follows the same route to his job as a bank teller with his best friend Buddy (Lil Rel Howery).  There is violence and mayhem all around him and his day usually culminates in a bank heist but it doesn't matter to him because he just wants to find someone special.  One day everything changes when he sees Molotov Girl (Jodie Comer) and decides to break his routine and follow her.  Molotov Girl is the avatar for a programmer named Millie (Comer) who plays Free City looking for evidence that Antwan (Taika Waititi), the publisher of the game, stole the code that she wrote with her partner Keys (Joe Keery) for a much more ambitious game.  Guy borrows a pair of sunglasses (which allows him to see the real gaming environment) and starts playing to impress Molotov Girl but he refuses to use violence and eventually becomes a hero to players around the world.  Millie enlists his help to find the evidence she needs and also starts to develop feelings for him but, when Antwan figures out what is happening, it becomes a race to save Free City before it is shut down.  This movie is just so much fun and Guy is the perfect role for the charismatic and goofy Reynolds.  He is really hit-or-miss with me but I laughed out loud multiple times at his antics because he is absolutely hilarious as the naive and optimistic Guy.  Comer is also really good as the kick-ass Molotov Girl but I also enjoyed her as the nerdy Millie, especially when she watches herself interacting with Guy on her computer screen.  Keery is quite endearing as Keys (I usually pay more attention to his hair than his performance) and Waititi is completely over-the-top as the egomaniacal CEO (but the shtick does get old after awhile).  There are lots of fun cameos (including real gamers who I didn't recognize) but my favorite is Channing Tatum as an avatar for a nerdy player (Matty Cardarople) living in his mother's basement.  The world-building in Free City seems really authentic to me (a non-gamer) and I liked all of the action sequences.  I also liked the commentary on the ease with which violence and collateral damage happen to background characters in video games and the resolution showing that the real world is ultimately more appealing than the gaming world.  I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would and I highly recommend it (and a big tub of popcorn) for a fun night out.

Note:  I did find it a bit cheesy that two of Disney's biggest IPs are thrown into the mix during the final act.

Respect

Last night I went to see a Thursday preview of Respect and, even though I thought it was a bit conventional and formulaic, I enjoyed this portrait of Aretha Franklin.  Young Aretha (Skye Dakota Turner) is devastated by the untimely death of her mother (Audra McDonald) which causes her to withdraw from her family and refuse to speak.  Her father (Forest Whitaker), a Baptist minister of a large church in Detroit, forces her to sing in front of his congregation to help her deal with her grief and she learns that music is the way to cope with her demons.  Several years later Aretha (now played by Jennifer Hudson) becomes an international star but she must overcome her controlling father, industry executives (Tate Donovan and Marc Maron) who think they know what is best for her career, an abusive husband (Marlon Wayons), and an addiction to alcohol before she finds her voice and returns to her roots with a triumphant gospel album and concert.  This is a fairly standard biopic that follows the familiar rise, fall, and redemption arc of its subject and, despite the fact that it has what feels like an overly long runtime, there are so many aspects of Franklin's life that are either not covered (there is a long list of bulleted items about her life before the credits roll) or covered very superficially (such as the implication that she was sexually abused as a child and that this abuse led to a pregnancy at a very young age).  However, this movie is elevated by a phenomenal performance by Hudson who absolutely dazzles when singing Franklin's greatest hits in concert, especially "Respect" and "Think."  The supporting performances are also fantastic, particularly those of Whitaker and Wayans.  Finally, I really enjoyed seeing the process of recording "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," "Respect," and "Ain't No Way" because it is so interesting to see how a song comes together.  This is not quite as great as I was hoping it would be but it is definitely worth seeing, especially for fans of Aretha Franklin (and Jennifer Hudson).

Sister Act at CPT

Last night I went to see Sister Act, the musical based on the 1992 movie of the same name starring Whoopi Goldberg, at CenterPoint Theatre and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! The story is informed by the movie but the setting has been changed to Philadelphia in the 1970s (which allows for some great period costumes and choreography) and the songs are all original. A nightclub singer named Deloris Van Cartier (McKenna Kay Jensen) accidentally sees her gangster boyfriend Curtis (Dan Frederickson) kill someone so she is placed in the Queen of Angels Convent by a love-struck policeman named Eddie (Craig Williams) to keep her safe until she can testify against him. She wreaks havoc on their orderly way of life until the Mother Superior (Hazel Rowe) puts her in charge of the choir to keep her out of trouble. The new and improved choir's unorthodox performances bring people back to church but all of the attention puts the convent in danger when Curtis and his henchmen see Deloris on TV. This is such a fun and energetic show and I found myself laughing out loud multiple times! Jensen, who has an incredible voice that just about blows the roof off the theater, gives a really flamboyant performance as Deloris and I especially enjoyed her antics while she tries to teach the nuns to dance and all of the sass she gives to the Mother Superior. Frederickson, Christian Lackman (as T.J.), Oran Marc de Baritault (as Joey), and Jeremy Botelho (as Pablo) almost steal the show in the songs "When I Find My Baby" and "Lady in the Long Black Dress" with their hilarious disco moves (and their leisure suits). The same could be said of Williams in his song "I Could Be That Guy," which features back-up singers, who emerge from piles of garbage in shopping carts, and a dead cat! Dan Call, as the Monsignor, made me laugh every time he was on stage, especially when he acts as an emcee (with a bedazzled microphone) during the choir's performances and when he periodically reveals the total amount of money raised for the church improvement fund on a tote board. The choreography is a lot of fun in the songs "Raise Your Voice," "Take Me To Heaven," and "Spread the Love Around," which are sung by the choir, and I especially enjoyed it whenever Sister Mary Theresa (Chris Brown), an older nun, was a step behind everyone else. The costumes are completely over the top. The Monsignor's vestments get more and more elaborate as the show goes on and the purple and gold sequins on the nuns' habits are fabulous, baby! The orange and black plaid jumpsuits worn by Deloris' back-up singers are also quite spectacular. I really enjoyed the sets and the projections, particularly all of the stained glass windows because they are also projected on the ceiling.  I highly recommend this entertaining show for a fun night out. It runs through Sept. 4 on the Barlow Main Stage and tickets may be purchased here.

Nine Days

Not only was Nine Days my favorite selection at the Sundance Film Festival last year, it was my favorite movie of 2020.  I absolutely loved this beautiful exploration of what it means to be alive the first time I saw it and I think I loved it even more when I saw it again yesterday!  On an alternate plane of existence, Will (Winston Duke), a man who was once alive but had a difficult life experience, is tasked with choosing which souls will get the privilege of being born and then monitoring and recording the details of their life experience.  He is assisted by Kyo (Benedict Wong), a soul who is in limbo, and the two of them watch video footage from the POV of each person Will selected on vintage TV screens.  He is worried about a young man who is being bullied by his classmates and a veteran who has suffered a disabling injury but he takes great pride in a violin prodigy named Amanda.  On the day that she is about to perform a concert, she has a fatal car crash that is presumed to be a suicide.  Will is devastated by this loss and obsessively searches through his video archives to look for a sign as to what went wrong.  In the meantime, he must select a soul to replace her and several candidates arrive at his door to be interviewed over a period of nine days: Maria (Arianna Ortiz), Mike (David Rysdahl), Alexander (Tony Hale), Kane (Bill Skarsgard), and Emma (Zazie Beetz).  Afraid of making another mistake, Will tries to determine which candidate will be tough enough to handle all of the hardships and miseries of life.  When a candidate is dismissed, Will creates elaborate simulations of a life experience chosen by each one before he or she disappears from existence.  The final candidate to be dismissed asks for the experience that made Will feel the most alive which, ultimately, teaches him that life is also filled with joy.  Once again, the final scene brought me to tears because it is such a thought-provoking and poignant moment.  I loved the message that happiness can be found in the simplest of moments and that we shouldn't take any of our time on Earth for granted.  I also enjoyed all of the philosophical discussions that Will has with all of the candidates about the nature of humanity, particularly the question about the Holocaust.  Duke gives a phenomenal performance as a man afraid of life who eventually learns to live.  I cannot recommend this movie enough and it is definitely worth seeking out.

Annette

I saw an interview with Adam Driver, back when he was doing press for The Rise of Skywalker, during which he mentioned that he had recently finished filming a musical. I was immediately intrigued by the idea of Driver singing through an entire movie (even though he sings briefly in Hungry Hearts and Marriage Story) and it seems like I have been anticipating the release of Annette ever since!  My anticipation hit a fever pitch when his performance was universally lauded at the Cannes Film Festival (Annette was the opening film) and I have literally been counting down the days until I could see it!  I finally had the chance last night and, even though I thought I knew what to expect, I was completely blown away because it is a masterpiece!  Henry McHenry (Driver) is a provocative comedian who regularly kills his audiences, in his words, during his stage shows.  Ann Defrasnoux (Marion Cotillard) is a world-renowned opera singer who dramatically dies on stage every night.  At first glance they seem to inhabit different worlds but they both have one thing in common: they crave, and even need, the attention and adulation they get from their audiences.  They fall passionately in love, get engaged, get married, have a daughter named Annette, and then experience trouble in their marriage when Ann's fame eclipses Henry's.  All of this is reported in TMZ-like news breaks which function as a Greek chorus during their relationship.  Henry is full of self-loathing and eventually destroys his marriage, alienates his audience, exploits his gifted daughter, then kills a possible rival (Simon Helberg).  He is tormented by his guilt (which manifests itself with a birthmark on his cheek that gets bigger and bigger as he comes undone) until he is confronted by Annette (Devyn McDowell) who vows that she will never be like her parents.  Annette is surreal and operatic in scale as the lines between performance and reality are continually blurred.  In fact, the film opens with Ron and Russell Mael (who wrote the music and lyrics for the film) singing the song "So May We Start" in a recording studio and then continuing to sing while walking outside to the streets of L.A. where they are joined by the cast as themselves before they are transformed into their characters.  It is brilliant!  I also love that Annette is portrayed by a puppet and that she becomes a real little girl only after she refuses to perform ever again (in a scene that left me absolutely gutted) and that Ann haunts Henry like a vengeful character from an opera.  Driver, who is one of my favorite actors, gives a tour-de-force performance that is, in my opinion, the best of his considerable career.  I was really impressed by his physicality in an expletive-laden and rage-fueled rant during a comedy routine and by his singing ability, especially in the emotionally charged "Stepping Back in Time" and "Sympathy for the Abyss."  Annette is not the kind of film that usually gets attention from the Academy but Driver definitely deserves an Oscar nomination!  This will not be for everyone, although I was surprised to see so many people at my screening, but it is a major contender for my favorite movie of the year!

Note:  I already have tickets to see it again!