★★★★★ 2021 has been an exceedingly perfect year for modern musicals. We have already been gifted with the vibrant In the Heights and the emotionally rousing Dear Evan Hansen, and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story is right around the corner! To my surprise, tick, tick…Boom! may be the cream of the crop. Featuring an awards … Continue reading Film Review: tick, tick…Boom!
Film Review: Diana: The Musical
★★★★ Diana: The Musical transports the viewer straight to the Broadway stage. It brings with it that nostalgic feeling of seeing a great show for the very first time. I may not have discovered many bangers, but the soundtrack here is delightful, as is the attention to detail in depicting Princess Diana’s tale. At the … Continue reading Film Review: Diana: The Musical
TIFF 2021: Dear Evan Hansen
★★★ (Written by Alllison Brown) The film adaptation of extremely successful Broadway musical, Dear Evan Hansen, was highly anticipated on my list. I saw the musical in February of 2019, after winning the ticket lottery, and had the luxury of watching from the very first row with a friend. Despite my caveats with its unethical … Continue reading TIFF 2021: Dear Evan Hansen
TIFF 2021: Dug Dug
★★★ Judging by the TIFF description, which promised a “striking and musically infectious satire,” as well as my expectation for extravagant Bollywood musicals, I certainly had an inkling what Dug Dug would deliver well before starting the film. The reality is that Dug Dug is void of characterization and narrative, focusing its multi-colored laser-pointer instead … Continue reading TIFF 2021: Dug Dug
Film Review: Vivo
★★★★★ Despite a noticeable lack of advertising push, Sony Animation’s Vivo is a colorful, emotional, and utterly profound family film. When I started watching on Netflix, I figured I was essentially in store for an animated In the Heights—instead, Vivo feels much more Coco. I did not realize just how deeply I needed a feel-good … Continue reading Film Review: Vivo
Cannes 2021: Annette
★★★ The award for weirdest musical of the year goes to… Annette! Opening with a message imploring the audience to “keep silent and hold your breath till the end of the show”, Annette then busts out into a full-on throwback musical number entitled “May We Start.” That this sequence is the high point of the … Continue reading Cannes 2021: Annette
Provincetown International Film Festival 2021 Wrap-Up
For this year's Provincetown International Film Festival, I caught a couple of great gems, with my favorite of the bunch being the absolutely phenomenal drama, CODA. A full listing of all the films covered, including recently-reviewed ones from previous festivals, is included below... Films BEANS Full review at the link. BEING BEBE Full review at … Continue reading Provincetown International Film Festival 2021 Wrap-Up
Film Review: In the Heights
★★★★ It’s been a long while since we’ve had a properly outrageous musical come to the big screen. Racking my brain, 2019’s excellent Aladdin redux was the most recent one that came to mind. In the Heights is here to scratch that itch, while embracing modernity and culture with a tender hand. Only Lin-Manuel Miranda, … Continue reading Film Review: In the Heights
OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2021 Wrap-Up
The 2021 OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival highlighted a wide range of fascinating indies of varying qualities. I really enjoyed taking the time to watch so many of these under-the-radar movies, many of which would've probably flown under my radar otherwise. For the movies I've already covered previously, or those awarded full coverage elsewhere, I have … Continue reading OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2021 Wrap-Up
CIFF 2021 Festival Wrap-Up
I managed to catch a few movies at the virtual 45th Cleveland International Film Festival, and thought it best to do a little roundup of everything I watched. This acts as a sampling of my thoughts, especially on the films I cannot cover yet in full. I have also linked to films I already viewed … Continue reading CIFF 2021 Festival Wrap-Up