20s Movie Review - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Director: George C. Wolfe
Genre: Drama/ Music
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Jeremy Shamos, Jonny Coyne, Taylour Paige, Dusan Brown, Joshua Harto, Quinn VanAntwerp, Chloe Davis, Mayte Natalio, Johanna Elmina Moise, Onyxx Noel, LaWanda Hopkins, Sierra Stewart, Malaiyka Reid, Catherine Foster

Description: During a recording session, tensions rise between Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), her ambitious horn player (Chadwick Boseman) and the white management determined to control the uncontrollable ‘Mother of the Blues’.

Review: Levee Green things he’s quite a star. The record producer for Ma Rainey, the great frontwoman of his band, has picked his swinging version of her most famous song to record. He also wants to put a few of Green’s own songs on record. But when Ma herself shows up at the studio, she quickly puts an end to Levee’s arrogant illusions that “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” will be played in any way other than she wants. Certainly Levee’s splashy intro is going to be on the upswing, because that’s where he nephew gets to do some speaking. Only problem: he stutters like crazy.
These circumstances mainly set the stage for the subcutaneous tension between the old guard in 1927 blues music and the wave of swinging newcomers, as well as those between black musicians and the bosses who control the music world. At the center of it all is the fictional Levee, the very last film character that actor Chadwick Boseman played, who died in 2020. We see how he easily bends scenes his way, even though he is surrounded by numerous talented actors. Boseman charms the camera. A shot where you can only see him listening is already a feast for the eyes. He absolutely steals every scene and was the highlight of the film.
Ma Rainey is anything but fictional. However, this is a film adaptation of a play of the same name centered around the historic blues singer. She was one of the very first black performers of significance, an exception in the US of the 1920s. Levee is a creation of writer August Wilson, symbolizing the black artist on the margins, with all the talent and ambition in him. As a swinging trumpeter with the sound of the future, he is well ahead of his time. And what does that mean for a black man at this juncture.
Viola Davis doesn’t have to show a whole lot of acting range for her title role, but she does o deep in intensity. One look from Ma Rainey pulverizes. And under the thick layer of makeup, the actress is made almost unrecognizable.
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is a movie not a lot of people would turn to, but with Chadwick Boseman’s death, a lot more eyes are on this film than id he had lived. This film is good because of his fantastic, flawless performance.

Rating: 4/ 5

20s Movie Review - Soul

Director: Pete Doctor, Kemp Powers
Genre: Family/ Adventure/ Animation
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Graham Norton, Rachel House, Alice Braga, Richard Ayoade, Phylicia Rashad, Donnell Rawlings, Questlove, Angela Bassett

Description: After landing the gig of a lifetime, A New York jazz pianist (Jamie Foxx) suddenly finds himself trapped in a strange land between Earth and the afterlife.

Review: The Disney Pixar animation film “Soul” became the ‘victim’ of the Covid pandemic. Because due to the closure of cinemas, the release schedule was turned upside down. “Soul” was released directly on the streaming platform Disney+. And you didn’t have to pay a ridiculous additional price to gain early access.
Joe is a music teacher who has dreamed of performing as a jazz musician for years. But disaster strikes when his joy at finally getting his chance on stage causes him to fall into a well. Joe ends up in a place, somewhere between Earth and the afterlife, where he manages to escape the final end just in the nick of time. He ends up in the Big One. Here he is given the task of preparing the old soul 22 to go to Earth. But Joe also sets out frantically to return to his body himself.
“Soul” deals with a heavy theme. It deals with death or rather life. Important questions that humans have wondered about for years are addressed. What is out purpose and what is the purpose of life? And what is there after death? The animators of “Soul” manage to create an excellent picture of the afterlife and the world before the final end. that something more abstract than Earthly life is animated. With colorful characters who guide Joe’s soul in his new task as mentor of the ancient soul 22.
Despite its fraught theme, “Soul” is also tremendously funny. Especially when Joe and 22 return to Earth and have a wacky adventure together. With that, “Soul” offers us a lot. There is humor and drama. One moment there are tears of laughter and the other moment it’s of sadness. This makes “Soul” not only a beautiful film, but also one of the Disney Pixar film of recent years. Not only because of the beautiful story, but also the animation and voice performances are stunning. A film that entertains and moves. But above all brings the message that life is short and you should enjoy every minute of it.

Rating: 4/ 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 51

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Rambo: First Blood (1982)
A veteran Green Beret (Sylvester Stallone) is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
 

Drama: Concrete Cowboy (2021)
Sent to live with his estranged father for the summer, a rebellious teen finds kinship in a tight-knit Philadelphia community of Black Cowboys.
 

Comedy: Liar Liar (1997)
A fast-track lawyer (Jim Carrey) can’t lie for 24 hours due to his son’s birthday wish after he disappoints his son for the last time.
 

Animation: Monsters Vs. Aliëns (2009)
A woman (Reese Witherspoon) transformed into a giant after she is struck by a meteorite on her wedding day becomes part of a team of monsters sent in by the U.S. government to defeat an alien mastermind trying to take over Earth.
 

Romance: The Half of It (2020)
When smart but cash-strapped teen Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) agrees to write a love letter for a jock (Daniel Diemer), she doesn’t expect to become his friend, or fall for his crush (Alexxis Lemire)
 

Horror: Child’s Play 3 (1991)
Chucky returns for revenge against Andy, the young boy who defeated him, and now a teenager living in a military academy.
 

Science Fiction: Stowaway (2021)
A stowaway on a mission to Mars sets off a series of unintended consequences.
 

Crime: The Big Lebowski (1998)
Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies (John Goodman, Steve Buscemi) to help get.
 

Thriller: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)
Jack Ryan (Chris Pine), as a young covert C.I.A. analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.
 

Documentary: Life in Color (2021)
Exploring the many ways animals use color throughout their lives.
 

Family: The Karate Kid (1984)
A martial arts master (Pat Morita) agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager (Ralph Macchio)

Movie Review - Wonder Woman 1984

Director: Patty jenkins
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ science Fiction
Runtime: 151 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen

Description: Diana (Gal Gadot) must contend with a work colleague (Kristen Wiig) and businessman (Pedro Pascal), whose desire for extreme wealth sends the world down a path of destruction, after an ancient artifact that grants wishes goes missing.

Review: Compared to the first theatrical adventure revolving around superheroine Wonder Woman, the sequel offers mostly repetition. Despite the generous running time, the filmmakers never make it clear why the film had to be set in the year 1984. Where the first “Wonder Woman” film had us all applauding DC again, “Wonder Woman 1984” sadly doesn’t.
“Wonder Woman 1984” revolves around Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman. This superheroine lives an anonymous life, trying to forget her late love Steve Trevor. When she hears about the Dreamstone, a relic that allows dreams to come true, she wishes her great love would come alive. The financially troubled Maxwell Lord also covets this stone. Meanwhile, Diana’s shy and geeky co-worker Barbara Ann Minerva also makes use of the magical object and transforms into the monstrous Cheetah. However, the Dreamstone has a dangerous side and takes its toll on all its users.
Director Patty Jenkins unfortunately failed to meet the success of the 2017’s “Wonder Woman”. This is due to several factors. First, the story. “Wonder Woman 1984” tries to be more light-hearted and comedic, and in that Jenkins fails quite a bit. The choice was made to set the story in 1980’s, but I believe the sole purpose is just the fashion and neon colors. Chris Pine is a great example, as he is mainly used to walk around dressed in strange clothes. He is supposed to be the comedic note and has little depth, whereas his return is supposed to be emotional.
Cheetah’s origins is also a negative. The caricatured Barbara, stereotypical geeky girl with glasses and frizzy hair. She wishes to be as strong and confident as Diana, and after losing the glasses and changing her outfits, all of a sudden all heads turn and she is smoking hot. Jenkins doesn’t manage to avoid clichés here. And when Barbara eventually turns into Cheetah, it doesn’t look great either.
“Wonder Woman 1984” lacks heart. But Gal Gadot is still a perfect Diana Prince. Her charm, charisma and warmth are what somewhat save the film from being a total fail. She makes Diana sympathetic. However, this isn’t enough to captivate for the full runtime.

Rating: 2,5 / 5

Movie Review - Pieces of a Woman

Director: Kornél Mundruczó
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 126 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Vanessa Kirby, Shia LeBeouf, Ellen Burstyn, Iliza Shlesinger, Bennie Safdie, Sarah Snook, Molly Parker

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 15: A NETFLIX ORIGINAL MOVIE

Description: When Martha (Vanessa Kirby) delivers her baby during a home bith, it ends up in an unfathomable tragedy. She beings a year-long odyssey of mourning that fractures relationships with loved ones.

Review: The spark can suddenly be gone because of something that doesn’t even last a beat. The realization that something traumatic has become a reality. One moment Martha and Sean share their full lives, their hopes and plans for a bright future. The next, they don’t know each other anymore. “Pieces of a Woman” begins impressively, with a tragic event depicted in half an hour with an unprecedented piece of intimate cinema. The rest of the film consists of snippets of time, in which we see the trail of destruction that has swept through two lives.
Of course, Marth and Sean’s happiness is imperfect from the start, but there is a lot of love between the two characters. You believe Vanessa Kirby when she acts like she’s laughing at Shia LaBeouf’s character’s agonizingly lame puns, and how sweet he can be to her when she needs the greatest support. But we also sympathize once their happiness is torn to pieces and they muddle along for a long time before they actually articulate that something is gone.
You have to be able to feel the pain of these two characters. Sean’s behavior derails in multiple ways and even becomes agonizing to watch as the story drags on, which is very important. With an actor other than LaBeouf, it might have been harder to accept that this man had such extremes in him. Kirby plays her pain so overwhelmingly that it makes her immobile. We almost never see a character like that in a movie. To make that compelling and dramatic, you really have to gave what it takes. And Vanessa Kirby is definitely the star of the film.  
The stylistic Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó goes for raw realism. He pulls it off. It’s not necessarily a film that is broadly appealing, because this is not the story for a broad audience. The average viewer will probably not chose it while scrolling through all the Netflix films. However, it is a movie that I believe is one of the best of the year so far. Because “Pieces of a Woman” offers things you won’t see anywhere else.

Rating: 4,5 / 5

90s Movie Review - Sleepers

Director: Barry Levinson
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Crime
Runtime: 147 minutes
Year: 1996
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Billy Crudup, Ron Eldard, Robert De Niro, Minnie Driver, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Renfro, Bruno Kirby, Joseph Perrino, Geoffrey Wigdor

Description: After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.  

Review: With the director of “Rain Man”, an all-star cast and a heavy subject, “Sleepers” looks like a successful film on paper. I don’t think it was successful, but it’s definitely a film that should get more credit.
We meet four kids from ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, a neighborhood in New York. One day the four boys decide to pull a prank, but it goes horribly wrong and they end up in a youth prison. And life isn’t easy for them, because they are abused, sexually, physically and mentally. After they are released, the lose touch. Until two of the friends, John and Tommy, run into one of the guards and kill him. It’s up to the two other friends, Michael and Shakes, to keep them out of prison.
Even though the ending is a bit flat and the characters don’t all get the depth they need, the overall film is pretty strong and I believe it’s very much overlooked and underrated.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 50

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Atomic Blonde (2017)
An undercover MI6 agent (Charlize Theron) is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.
 

Drama: Pieces of a Woman (2020)
When a young mother’s home birth ends in unfathomable tragedy, she (Vanessa Kirby) begins a year-long odyssey of mourning that fractures relationships with loved ones in this deeply personal story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss.
 

Comedy: We’re the Millers (2013)
A veteran pot dealer (Jason Sudeikis) creates a fake family as part of his plan to move a huge shipment of weed into the U.S. from Mexico.
 

Animation: Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
 

Romance: Notting Hill (1999)
The life of a simple bookshop owner (Hugh Grant) changes when he meets the most famous film star (Julia Roberts) in the world.
 

Horror: Child’s Play 2 (1990)
While Andy’s mother is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, the young boy is placed in foster care, and Chucky, determined to claim Andy’s soul, is not far behind.
 

Science Fiction: I Am Legend (2007)
Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor (Will Smith) in New York City struggles to find a cure.
 

Crime: Sleepers (1996)
After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.
 

Thriller: The Shallows (2016)
A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
 

Documentary: Dolly Parton: Here I Am (2019)
In this documentary, the life, career and music of Dolly Parton are reflected in interviews with friends and companions and the artist herself, interlaced with clips of Parton’s performances.
 

Family: A Cinderella Story (2004)
Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Samantha Montgomery (Hilary Duff) is excited about the prospect of meeting her Inter beau (Chad Michael Murray) at the school’s Halloween dance.