Company: A Musical Comedy (2007) - 8 stars out of 10

Company: A Musical Comedy (2007) - 8 stars out of 10

“Company” is a great musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.  The story is presented as a series of vignettes that focus on different couples, all connected by the mutual and lonely friend Robert.  I love the music.  The film offers a lot of contrasting musical moments, from the impressionist chords at the end of the vocal Overture to the wordy Gilbert-and-Sullivan-like “Getting Married Today” and the emotional aria “Being Alive.”  Sondheim established a signature sound that is completely unique to this show and I could listen to the music all day.  The plot, however, gets a bit darker than I was prepared for.  I suppose that the steady theme of marriage discontent should have clued me in but I felt a slight disconnect between the upbeat songs and the progressively depressing subject matter.  Still, the show has some great moments and the 2006 Broadway revival emphasizes them.  The construction of the show is very cool, putting the pit instruments onstage in the hands of the actors.  The choreography often features the instruments, almost as a piece of the character’s personality (mellow trumpet, jazzy saxophone).  The acting is superb, particularly Raúl Exparza as Bobby.  His character begins so nonchalant that builds into an emotional crescendo at the end of “Being Alive.”  I was also blown away by Heather Laws as Amy, frantically spitting out all of her lyrics with perfect diction, and Barbara Walsh as Joanne during her emotive “The Ladies Who Lunch.”  Her voice got on my nerves a bit during her final scene, but I suppose that it perfectly embodied her drunken state.  It is no surprise that this production won a Tony for Best Revival and we are so lucky to be able to experience this performance of “Company” far into the future!

Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) - 5 stars out of 10

Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) - 5 stars out of 10

“Where the Red Fern Grows” is so… seventies.  The story is a classic, but the 70’s music montages are a little much.  This is definitely a great G-rated telling of this story to show to middle schoolers who have just completed their reading assignment.  It is heartwarming, the dogs are cute, and will have you guessing until the very end if it has been years since reading the book.  Unfortunately, the acting quality is lacking and it is reminiscent of a 1950’s sitcom.  If you don’t know this story, I highly recommend reading the book instead of watching the movie but this film version makes a good addendum to the impressive literary work.

P.S. The ending will have you in tears and earned this film an extra star.

Searching for Sugar Man - 10 stars out of 10

Searching for Sugar Man - 10 stars out of 10

“Searching for Sugar Man” is simply one of the best documentaries out there.  You can’t script drama like what unfolds throughout this film!  The topic is approached from several different directions, just presenting a biopic of the musician’s career, then exploring the mystery revolving around his fate, following two of his biggest fans on an adventure across the world to discover the truth, and finally with a heartwarming celebration of the musician’s life.  The theme of the film is simple but leaves an impression: nobody has ever heard of Sixto Rodriguez, but his music is incredible!  Consequently, everybody becomes a Rodriguez fan once this documentary has made them aware of his existence.  It is easy to see why this film won the Oscar for Best Documentary.  I love the mysterious angle from which this documentary approaches the musician.  We are as clueless as the documentarians as to Rodriguez’s fate, which creates an emotional investment that makes us anxious to eventually learn the truth.  This documentary is so good that I will not give any spoilers.  If this review has piqued your interest, you will not be disappointed with the journey that you’ll experience with “Searching for Sugar Man.”

Star Trek Into Darkness - 9 stars out of 10

Star Trek Into Darkness - 9 stars out of 10

The new Star Trek series has brought the old characters into the mainstream and made them cool.  Many people see the old Star Trek as “nerdy” but this new interpretation makes the characters gritty and deep.  J.J. Abrams has used a combination of incredible special effects, witty dialogue, and pure action to bring Star Trek to “the next generation” (couldn’t resist the pun).  This story picks up where the first one left off, developing the relationship between Kirk and Spock and again throwing Kirk into the center of controversy.  With the character origins established in the first installment, this film gets right into the action and allows for the introduction of Khan.  He is one of the most intriguing characters in the franchise and Benedict Cumberbatch is the perfect actor to deliver this sophisticated dialogue.   The plot twists back and forth, keeping you on your heels and trying to figure out if Khan is helpful or dangerous.  The greatest part of the film is the heroism and sacrifice displayed at the end.  It really gets to the heart of science fiction and superhero movies of days past.  Whoever dreamed up this script should be commended for successfully bringing Khan back to life (pun intended), building chemistry between Spock and Kirk, echoing the themes set forth in the opening of the film, resolving the seemingly impossible plot twist, and setting up the next film with the “Space: the final frontier” speech.  This greatly exceeds the expectations of most action movies.  All of the acting is spot on and I love how they found a way to feature Simon Pegg as Scotty, even though he wasn’t critical to the themes being developed throughout the film.  Space has come to life with “Star Trek: Into Darkness.”  Not only am I anxious for the next installment, but I may even have to go back and watch the original films.

Defiant Requiem - 7 stars out of 10

Defiant Requiem - 7 stars out of 10

“This room became the protective walls of something good, something meaningful, something healing, and something that showed everyone who was really listening that Raffi had put all of us, the singers and the audience, into another world.  This was NOT the world of the Nazis.  This was OUR world.”
“Defiant Requiem” is the chilling story of Raphael Schächter: a musician, Jew, prisoner at the Terezin concentration camp, and the leader of a performance of Verdi’s Requiem.  His statement was bold, using the Latin funeral text as a means to tell the Nazis that their own day of judgment would come.  This film tells his story through a modern conductor, Murry Sidlin.  This conductor has organized a concert as a tribute to the brave rebels who worked all day in the camp and rehearsed all night to make a beautiful and powerful statement against their captors.  It also reveals the obstacles that Schächter had to overcome as he taught every note and piece of Latin text by rote while many of his choir members were deported to Auschwitz throughout the concert preparation.  The interesting twist in this film is that the learning of the piece evolved from a rebellious statement to a necessary routine for these Jews to keep their humanity.  “Defiant Requiem” is a multifaceted documentary that explores an untold piece of Holocaust lore, the dark setting of the Requiem by Verdi, and the power of music to unite a people.

The Bridges of Madison County - 6 stars out of 10

The Bridges of Madison County - 6 stars out of 10

“The Bridges of Madison County” is an excellent story that moves at a slow pace.  I do believe that the pacing is necessary to cover the details of a 4-day affair and allow the necessary time for the characters’ feelings to properly develop; unfortunately, the film completely lacks momentum and has several boring stretches of quiet contemplation that can make the story tiresome.  Story and pacing aside, Meryl Streep is incredible.  How can one actress be so on-point for so long?  Her Italian accent is brilliant and her subtle emotional transformation is amazing.  Clint Eastwood is also great, bringing his raw character-type to this story.  These two do not seem like a likely pair but their chemistry works beautifully.  Even though things progress slower than I’d like it, it is all worth it for the payoff moment when they make eye contact in the rain.  Pure movie magic.  As asset to this film is its departure from the standard equation.  While there are certain inevitabilities, Streep’s character is far too deep and complex to allow the story to evolve as you expect.  I also found myself being very proud of her character for her final decisions.  The plot device of telling the story through diaries and flashbacks is effective, though I didn’t care for the acting of the modern-day characters.  I wouldn’t put “The Bridges of Madison County” on my favorites list but it was worth watching just for Streep and that moment in the rain.

Grand Piano - 6 stars out of 10

Grand Piano - 6 stars out of 10

Lovers of classical music will really latch on to “Grand Piano,” not because of its incredibly far-fetched plot, but because of the sheer power of the musical score that drives the film from start to finish.  From the opening notes of the concert, this worst-nightmare story unfolds in real time.  As a musician, I can appreciate the portrayal of stress that performers endure and this film captures that blend of stress and adrenaline… while adding in the factor of a sniper rifle focused on your hands.  Elijah Wood expertly fakes the piano playing.  As a pianist, I am hypercritical of on-screen pianists accurately hitting the keys (even Bugs Bunny), and there were only a few times that I disagreed with the editing (which is amazing in a film with so many extensive piano playing sequences).  While Wood is not a professional pianist, he is musical enough to make his performance convincing.  John Cusack’s voice adds to this film’s feast for the ears.  The story is a well-developed equation, strategically interjecting dialogue and action into this real-time concert.  This complex equation is strung together by a carefully constructed musical score composed by Victor Reyes.  While the score drives the storyline, it also creates the emotions of fear, calm, and desperation at strategic moments of the plot while sustaining the integrity of the music.  This may be one of the most effective film scores I’ve experienced due to its absolute importance throughout this thriller.  While the plot is over the top and there is some excess cheesiness toward the ending, “Grand Piano” has a Hitchcockian pulse that turns us into thelpless pianist who must unravel this mystery amidst the most important performance of our lives.