Hendrix, Morrison, Joplin, and Cobain are linked in the “27 club,” famous musicians who all died at that age. Another member is Amy Winehouse, who tragically died in 2011. Back to Black is her story, with Marisa Abela taking on the iconic singer. The film charts Amy’s life from 19-ish year old up through 2008. In the beginning, she’s singing at clubs and has recorded a demo, which garners attention from a local talent manager. This leads to Amy signing with Island Records in the UK, and releasing her first album, Frank. Frank is heavily jazz influenced and gets a lot of play in England, and the record company starts thinking ahead about how to broaden Amy’s appeal in the USA. Unfortunately she only writes very personal songs, and not much has happened to her lately to get the creative juices flowing. That changes when she meets Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O’Connell), a bad boy who instantly grabs Amy’s attention. Until then, she’d been a heavy smoker and drinker, but Blake introduces her to heavy drugs, and while their on-and-off-again relationship leads to some of Amy’s biggest songs on her second album, Back to Black, released in 2006, it is also the beginning of the end. The movie does end on a somewhat hopeful time in Amy’s life, having just won a bunch of Grammy’s and having successfully completed rehab (she supposedly stayed off drugs from then on), but knowing her story, we know she dies 3 years later of alcohol poisoning. Very sad for anyone in my generation who was a fan. Great film, done very well, and doesn’t shy away from the good and the bad that was Amy. ★★★★
Scrambled is an excellent comedy/drama from first time director Leah McKendrick, who also stars in the lead role. Nellie is 34, and being 34, every weekend she is attending either a wedding (usually as a bridesmaid) or a baby shower among her large circle of friends. At one wedding, she’s talking to a friend who confesses her struggles with fertility. This makes Nellie realize she’s no spring chicken herself, and she heads straight to a gynecologist. He gives her the diagnosis that no would-be mother wants to hear: diminished ovarian reserve. Nellie sleeps around but the one time she had a steady boyfriend in the last few years, it didn’t work out, and she has no prospects on the horizon (something that is hilariously driven home when she starts contacting past hookups). Nellie doesn’t know if she ever wants to be a mom, but she doesn’t know that she doesn’t want to be a mom either (read that twice if you need to…), so she makes the decision to freeze her eggs. First, she needs eggs to freeze, so she has to go through the whole daily injections business (something that anyone who has dealt with fertility issues will be well aware of) and all that that entails. Meanwhile, she’s dealing with guilt over not giving her parents a grandchild, arguing with family, traversing the life of a mid-30’s single woman who is trying “grow up” a little past her party girl days, and trying to find her path in this crazy world. Very funny, but also very emotional in all the right ways. ★★★★
I didn’t really know much about Challengers, other than lead star Zendaya was promoting the snot out of it a little while back in tennis-inspired outfits during the film’s press tour. She plays Tashi, center of a decade-long love triangle between best friends Patrick and Art. At the beginning of the film, in present day, the two men are facing off in a tennis tournament with Tashi looking on from the stands, and in flashbacks, we learn their story. The two guys have been childhood friends, growing up with their love of tennis. Patrick was the better player then, but in present day, he’s relegated to amateur tournaments and occasionally qualifying for something better, whereas Art is one major win short of a career grand slam. Back then, Tashi was a rising star, but a bad injury in college put her in the stands. At first, she dated Patrick, but after high school, he turned pro immediately whereas Art and Tashi went to Stanford, where Art insinuated that Patrick had moved on without her. Thus, Tashi ends up with Art and the two eventually marry, and she becomes his coach when her playing career is over. The love triangle never stopped though, with Patrick continuing to lust after Tashi. Lately, Art’s play has been in the toilet, and Tashi, always one for the limelight, may be willing to jump ship. If it sounds childish and convoluted, it is. This feels like such an amateur movie. The dialogue seems to have been written by a teenager, which works (a little) when the characters are teens, but not so much when they are older. There’s also gratuitous sexual references to get the young crowd excited, but does nothing for the plot. Also, has a soundtrack that is night club ready for all the bro’s out there, which surprises me because it was done by Trent Reznor; does not seem to be up to his standard. That techno beat plays non-stop, under- (or over-?) lying everything. Story bounces around, which is fine, but when you see things like “The Day Before….” all you can do is roll your eyes. Now, all that being said, there are some good ideas here. Art and Patrick’s rivalry for the attentions of Tashi, even years later after Art and Tashi are married, has deeper undertones about worth and ambition, but those ideas are often covered up by all the minutiae. ★★
The American (released internationally as Joika) is based on a true story, about a 15-year-old ballerina, Joy, who moves to Moscow to pursue her dream of making the famed Bolshoi Company. She is one of the few Americans ever accepted to the academy there, but when she arrives, she finds she will need to do more than just dance well to advance. She is bullied by the other girls for not being Russian, and her teacher, Volkova, seems to have it out for her. For awhile, you think this is just another film about a lead character overcoming adversary to become a star, especially when a possible love interest is introduced, but the film takes a dark turn halfway through and I realized there’s more to Joy’s story. Even after Joy has earned Volkova’s respect and done all that she can to make the ballet company, she learns that she will be passed over because she is not Russian. To rectify that, she quickly marries a young man who she barely knows, in order to game Russian citizenship. And that will not be the last drastic step she’ll take to see her dreams come true. I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying Joy does indeed become a famous dancer by the end (though not in the way she may have hoped), but you have to ask yourself if it was all worth it. The story is based on Joy Womack’s life and much of it seems to be true (at least, according to her; the Bolshoi Company denies a lot of it) and it’s a pretty stark picture of the high stakes pressure boiler that is ballet at the highest levels. Not stellar acting, but the story is definitely engaging. ★★½
Still not exactly sure how I feel about Love Lies Bleeding. Taking place in the 80s (lots of mullets!) it follows a gym manager named Lou (“Louise,” played by Kristen Stewart). She becomes smitten by newcomer Jackie (real-world bodybuilder Katy O’Brian) and the two start a relationship. Whereas Lou is a lesbian, Jackie is bisexual, and just before she started dating Lou, she slept with JJ (Dave Franco) as a way to land a job at JJ’s father-in-law’s business, a gun range. Jackie is broke but looking to raise money to attend an upcoming bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas. To help Jackie out in her pursuit, Lou offers her steroids from the gym, and Jackie accepts. From there, it’s a spiral down, as Jackie becomes hooked, injecting to the point of developing hallucinations and steroid-fueled anger and volatility. In a twist of fate, JJ is also Lou’s brother-in-law, and gun range owner is Lou’s estranged father Lou Sr (Ed Harris). Ol’ Lou Sr is involved in some shady stuff, and before the end, we’re going to see more than one murder and some crazy double-crossing with lots of action. What should be a stellar thriller loses a bunch of stars for me for a couple reasons. One, way too much sex. I have no problem with sex scenes that add something to the movie, but sometimes lower budget indie filmmakers feel the need to throw them in “just because” and it advances the movie nothing at all. Secondly, there’s some weird moments at the end that make the film spin off the wheels (what track there was…) and it’s just strange. However, really great acting from Stewart in particular, so maybe worth watching for her alone? ★★
- TV series recently watched: Star Trek (season 3), Fallout (season 1), Batman Beyond (season 1)
- Book currently reading: Dragons of a Vanished Moon by Weis & Hickman
Jons Movie Takes 