Just Keep Going: June Movie Reviews

Hello my readers! I've been making some changes to my daily routines here and figuring out how to best navigate this topsy-turvy world. I am welcoming June with fresh gratitude and new insights. I'm journaling through many continued unknowns, but appreciate all the continued support.

Let's move onto the movies now!

Tick, Tick, Boom! Andrew Garfield stars as "Rent" creator Jonathan Larson in this musical directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda.  Before the world ever got a peak at the sensational musical, Rent, we’re going back to New York City, during the 90’s, where the theatre kids like to play. In the movie, we meet Jon, who has put immense pressure on himself to finish his musical “Suburbia” before his 30th birthday, which comes at a price, risking love and friendship along the way.

Andrew Garfield is outstanding. His singing chops are unreal and I don’t think I ever knew he could even sing before seeing this movie.  The songs are wonderful and reminiscent of the hustle culture that existed to just get your foot in the Broadway door. You’ll be bopping to the beat of Boho Days, an ode to friendship and connection in its purest form.  

With a pedal to the medal feel, every second of the film is a rush. It’s uplifting and highly emotional. We watch the heartbreak of Jon losing his dearest friends to the growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS, yet still pushing through all the sadness to make his dream come true.  Robin de Jesus who plays his best friend, Michael  (who is in the throws of dealing with life-changing news and uncertainty) also gives an incredible performance.

Honouring the life of Larson, Tick, Tick Boom! is the beating heart of what musical theatre lovers will cherish forever.    

                           

Swish after swish, Michael Jordan has dominated the court, leading his team to victory.  Air is directed by Ben Affleck and written by Alex Convery Air is the story of Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), a basketball guru and a major promoter who spear-headed the deal to sign Michael Jordan to a multi-million dollar contract with a shoe that would eventually be on everyone’s wishlist; the infamous “Air” Jordan’s.

Although the movie starts out a bit slow, it picks up speed to highlight the intensity of signing Michael, while beating out their competition. Part of that was having to persuade Jordan’s mother in the movie, Delores (played by Viola Davis) who gives a great performance, and won’t settle for just any contract and knows what her son is worth. 

It’s an enjoyable film, and as formulaic as it is, you don’t need to jump thru hoops to get to the heart of it. 

                  

Billy Elliot The Musical was based on the hit film Billy Elliot directed by Stephen Daldry and is an absolute delight.  Ready to hang up his boxing gloves in exchange for ballet shoes, Billy (played by Jamie Bell) starts to secretly take lessons from his ballet teacher with much disdain from his father and brother. Escaping his mundane life, dancing takes all the sadness away and Billy’s really good at it, not at first of course. He does have a natural raw talent and with the mentorship and motherly love (although tough love) all the practicing is paying off and Billy could be headed for a scholarship. 

This coming of age movie is uplifting and sweet. It’s emotionally satisfying with a terrific soundtrack and beautiful choreography with every step. It challenges gender stereotypes and allows us to feel the excitement for Billy as he gets the chance to breakaway and not feel afraid anymore.

 

Directed by Jalmari Helander, Sisu is one hell of a wild ride.  We follow Aatami (Jorma Tommila)  a gold prospector and fearless ex-solider who is left to his own devices after experiencing tragic losses of his family. Finally striking gold, the inevitable happens and the Nazi’s find him and try to steal it all away. To their surprise, Aatami is not going down without a fight.

The film has a strong narrative, showcasing the power of the Finnish word - Sisu – also the titled film. It is a concept of being brave, resilient and unstoppable, all of which are characteristics that Jorma is able to showcase skillfully in his performance. Although Aatami barely speaks, as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. 

Limbs are flying left and right and the amount of gore can be overwhelming - but if you're okay with that, then carry on  watching. Aatami is a blast to watch and some of the battle scenes are just ridiculously out of this world. It has some visual cinematic style of a John Wick film with high energy and incredible effects, yet with the unique touchings of European flare. 

Overall, it’s a bloody good time. 

A Loud Roar: RRR Movie Review

RRR (Rise, Roar, Revolt) is a deeply moving Telugu film, directed by S. S. Rajamouli and is exactly what the world of cinema needed.  This is coined as a historical fantasy based loosely on two real-life Indian rebels, Alluri Sitarama Raju (played by Ram Charan Teja) and Komaram Bheem (played by N.T. Rama Rao Jr.)

The story revolves around two men who befriend each other under British rule in India during the 1920’s not realizing until much later that they have been fighting on opposite sides.  There are so many layers to this film which shake up thought-provoking ideas, including cultural loyalty and family legacy, and although you might groan at the thought of sitting through a 3 hour movie, personally, I didn’t feel any part dragging along or wish it was shorter.  

Whether you want to call them freedom fighters, revolutionaries, or something different, they are the heart of the film and we get to be enthralled separately and collectively with Raju and Bheem. They are two of the most complex and passionate characters, finding strength in themselves and each other. We also get to experience life through their eyes growing up and into adulthood as the war rages on.  As well, an epic “bromance” evolves and will likely set the bar high to any future cinematic friendships.

I couldn’t take my eyes of the screen as there are so many scenes of just pure awe with the stunt work and cinematic joy that the movie brought. I don’t want to spoil much but take my word that although we do have to suspend disbelief (throwing tigers or picking up a motorcycle to toss it like it weighs less than a feather, is not likely to happen – right?)  the action is on a scale of unlike anything I’ve seen in a very long time. Due note that there are some moments that are pretty brutally violent.

The musical choices flow so well and give even more context and emotion to the film. It is also interesting to follow, the English translation of the song lyrics and how they relate it to the present situations they were in. In true Bollywood inspired-style, we do get an uplifting and powerful dance number called Naatu Naatu, composed by music director MM Keeravaani and written by Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj. It is choreographed to perfection and worthy of the award for “Best Original Song – Motion Picture" at the Golden Globes.

💜RRR Trailer

Last Minute Movie Watches of 2022

A few extra movie reviews to share that you might want to check out before we head into 2023. 

I love a good whodunnit movie, and so the first Knives Out was a total blast to watch with intriguing characters and a great story.  Rian Johnson is back again in the director’s chair to present us with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

We welcome back to the screen, world-famous detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) as he travels to Greece this time to solve a new case, involving tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) and his privileged bunch of has-been socialites. 

This sequel had its moments of enjoyment, mainly thanks to Daniel Craig and Edward Norton’s performances, with a few laughs from others, like alpha-male, Duke Cody (Dave Bautista). Mirroring a lot of narcissism qualities that are abundantly obvious in many leaders and trendy gurus, if you haven’t kept up with the kombucha craze or have any familiarity with cancel culture, you may not laugh as hard as others would.  Despite some twists, the casting fell short for me though, as there wasn’t as many layers to peel back as I would have hoped.

When you mix Home Alone, The Ref, and Die Hard together, you’ll get just a taste of  Violent Night directed by Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola.

No one expects to get a taste of their own medicine on Christmas eve, but one wealthy family is held hostage by a team of mercenaries who are not interested in spreading any holiday cheer. What could have been a total train wreck in this film, turns into a sleigh ride of insanity,  but in the best possible way. 

Without spoiling much, let’s just say Santa (played by David Harbour) deserves all the milk and cookies he wants for his performance. Although the amount of brutal kills were pretty intense and graphic, there’s more to the film than just horror. There’s a beautiful bond between Santa and Trudy (Leah Brady) that might be expected, but still brings a sense of spirit and magic to the screen.

Love Birds is an uplifting New Zealand film that has the right amount of comedy and romance. It’s light-hearted and rather predictable of what we’d witness in a rom-com, but it’s still joyful. When failing at love and floundering through life, it doesn’t seem so bad when a shelduck comes to the rescue.  Doug (Rhys Darby) and Holly (Sally Hawkins) are lovely on-screen together.  With the epic soundtrack of Queen, in the end, we all just need somebody to love. 

Troll is a Norwegian film directed by Roar Uthaug that in some ways could be a template for many mythical creatures who are awakened after years in captivity or due to humans tampering with nature. 

This time we are set-up looking at deep into the beautiful mountain of Dovre, where folklore tales about creatures made of earth and stone (trolls) are shared between father, Tobias (Gard B. Eidsvold) and his daughter Nora (Ine Marie Wilmann).  Fast-forward to 20 years later, estranged from her father, Nora is a leading paleontologist and a sudden explosion awakens a massive troll who is ready to destroy everything in its path.

The movie is action-packed, with some comedic relief added in from Andreas, (Kim Falck) and awesome cinematography to keep the entertainment level high.  Gard is great at story-telling in a way that we can really feel like we’re transported in time, where imagination and the wonder of childhood never gets curtailed by growing up. 

Nora’s rekindled bond with her father is endearing and holds a special place in the film. We watch as she wrestles with conflicting emotions, yet still holding echoing words of her father to “look with your heart, not with your eyes.”

💜Special mention:  Ms. Marvel, created by Bisha K. Ali

My husband binge-watched all 6 episodes and told me that I really need to watch this. 

Episode 1 just grabbed me. "Let's go to Episode 2, then leave the rest for the next day," I said. Well, this mini series was so exceptionally good that I got hooked into all of them in a single evening.

The characters are so layered and expressive in their roles. What a wonderful casting overall, especially Kamala - Ms Marvel (Iman Vellani) and her mother, Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff).  I loved their connection so much.  

I could really appreciate the cultural aspects too, the humour that went along with it, and the emotional scenes that just weaved so effortlessly throughout.   

Every episode is filled with such great dialogue and a lot of self-reflective moments that are very relatable at various stages of life. I don't think this is just inspiring for the younger generations, but also the older ones too. 

Of course, there are some great action-packed battles and superhero moments of awe, as well as a head-bopping soundtrack too.  

We are reminded from a beautiful quote by Sheikh Abdullah in the show that "good is not something you are, It is something you do."

💜Have you seen any of these?  Drop me a note in the comments, or send me an email using my webform on the side and also let me know what you've been watching!