Talk to Me (2007), 6-

R | 1h 58min | Biography, Drama, History | 3 August 2007
The story of Washington D.C. radio personality Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s.
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Stars: Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Taraji P. Henson,Martin Sheen.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796368/

Couldn't find it online at the time; found a cheap dvd.

Lots of songs in the Soundtracks, but music is very tangential here, with the possible exception of the partial song re-enacted from a James Brown concert shortly after MLK was killed. But this is tagged with genre Music.

DC plays an early shock jock, although he doesn't shock by being outlandish, but by telling "the truth" as he sees it, which is apparently unusual in the platter-spinning days of the late 60s.

Didn't really learn anything interesting, didn't notice the music, and the story left me cold. Coulda been my mood, but don't think so.

Rated 7.4 (9,010)

indie, dir. Lemmons; 6-

London Town (2016), 5

R | 1h 32min | Drama, Music | 7 October 2016
In '70s London, a 14 year-old boy is introduced to the Clash by his estranged mother. It changes his life forever.
Director: Derrick Borte
Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Daniel Huttlestone, Dougray Scott.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1724597/
Watched online, ok print.

No songs in the Soundtracks, several onscreen.

This is very Brit, but had some US funding (per IMDb), so it landed on my list.

This teen comes of age the hard way, because his father lands in hospital, and his mum left home long ago. His gf teaches him how to drive so he can earn $$ with dad's taxi at night, and he tries to manage the music store during the day. (Is it summer?) When little sister gets sick, he takes her to find their mum (he'd already done a prior run, didn't locate her, but confirmed where she might be.) Mum is a wannabe singer and established drugee, but has a friend or two who can help watch the sis.  The cab gets repossessed, and the kid changes the nature of the music shop (switches from pianos to electric guitars), and invites The Clash to perform at the re-opening of the store. Dad arrives on crutches, a fairly large unhappy crowd are demanding The Clash (not yet arrived), and things look ugly. But the singer arrives and performs. The End.

The kid takes on a lot, and it's rather unbelievable. The film's not trying to be a fairy tale; the only singing is actual entertainment for the inhabitants.

Didn't do a thing for me.

Rated 6.4 (1,709)

distr. IFC Films, dir. Borte; 5

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), 6

PG-13 | 1h 51min | Biography, Comedy, Drama | 12 August 2016
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who dreamed of becoming an opera singer, despite having a terrible singing voice.
Director: Stephen Frears
Stars: Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4136084/

22 songs in the Soundtracks, 9 Performed by Meryl Streep, 8 with Simon Helberg, 1 Performed by Florence Foster Jenkins.

I'm afraid that I don't see the value in this story. She's rich, sings badly, has had syphilis for 50 years (and taken mercury and arsenic as curatives), and is in love with her husband, but they can't be intimate (no penicillin to kill the disease yet; she dies in '44). Since she does a lot to support music, some highly skilled people give her singing lessons (with ambiguous encouragement), or otherwise support her efforts. But she can't sing, and some interpret her performance as planned comedy. When she discovers the bad review of her Carnegie Hall performance (she bought the house and donated the tickets) by a dominant music critic, the combined exhaustion of the performance followed by her reaction to the review lead to her collapse.

I kept waiting to care about anyone, but it never happened.

We did get to hear MS sing fairly well in a fantasy/hallucination at the end of the film. Otherwise it was a lot of ear-itation.

Rated 6.8 (44,143)

distr. Paramount, dir. Frears; 6

Teen Beach Movie (2013), 7+

Not Rated | 1h 50min | Family, Fantasy, Musical | TV Movie 19 July 2013

Two surfing lovers, whose doomed relationship is nearing to a close, find themselves swept into a dimension-traversing wave that sends them into a beach movie musical in the 60's.

Director: Jeffrey Hornaday

Stars: Ross Lynch, Maia Mitchell, Gracie Gillam, Garrett Clayton, Barry Bostwick.

Jeffrey Hornaday ... choreographer

Christopher Scott ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2325989/

Just passed when I couldn't find this at the time. Then the sequel came around and I watched this trailer, and went for both.

13 songs in the Soundtracks, most performed onscreen by the cast, with lots of good stars+ensemble dancing.

This is clearly spoofing all the Frankie and Annette films of the early 60s, all of which I gave 5/10 (but now I wonder if I'd be so harsh after all that I've seen since. Oh, the IMDb ratings are all in the 4-5 zone for them too.)

These kids all look much closer to being actual teens than did Frankie (b. '39) & Annette (b. '42) in '63-'65. And they are all much more triple-threat super-skilled singer/dancers than were F&A. 

The extra plot device of being transported into a movie gives the perfect excuse for why they are singing and dancing, despite the lead girl disparaging the movie that her bf and grandfather love so much: Wet Side Story, which pits bikers against surfers (ala every F&A film), and has a megalomaniac trying to take over the world by controlling the weather. But the version we get has 2 modern kids trying to get back home, away from being in the film and altering its plot.. 

Songs performed (from menu, with 16 chapters):

• ch1. Oxygen
• ch4. Surf Crazy*
• ch5. Cruisin' for a Bruisin'*
• ch6. Falling For Ya*
• ch8. Meant to Be
• ch15. Surf's Up*

The bonus features consist of rehearsal footage of the *'d numbers and these 3:

• Like Me
• Can't Stop Singing
• Coolest Cats in Town

Next time look for where these are in the film; the last may not be, as it's labeled "Never-Before-Seen" in the extras.

The credits include footage where some of the characters from the film-within-the-film appear on a modern-day beach and confront an iPhone from a mohawked surfer. Was this a foreshadowing? The same director helms TB2 ('15). 81 people (cast & crew) are in common between TBM and TB2, including all 4 teen principals. (TBM has 184 c&c; TB2 has 186.)

Great fluffy fun.

Rated 5.9 (7,978)

Disney, dir. Hornaday; 7+

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), 5

R | 1h 27min | Comedy, Music | 3 June 2016
When it becomes clear that his solo album is a failure, a former boy band member does everything in his power to maintain his celebrity status.
Writers/Directors: Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone
Stars: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer Sarah Silverman, Tim Meadows.
Danielle Flora ... choreographer

Tian Wang ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3960412/

Watched online, ok print.

34 songs in the Soundtracks, 24 Written by Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone and at least 1 other.

One of the songs, Bin Laden, I remember seeing on SNL as a short film with AS singing, as he does here. Perhaps they were promoting this film.

Feels like a lengthy SNL sketch, although L.Michaels is not among the crew. Many of the cameos are SNL alumni or people who might have done cameos/guest appearances on SNL.

Not amusing to me, and seems like the joke goes on much too long with insufficient variation in the story to be amusing to anyone. But the IMDb rating says otherwise.

Rated 6.7 (46,059)

Universal & more, dir. Schaffer & Taccone; 5

Miles Ahead (2015), 6

R | 1h 40min | Biography, Drama, Music | 10 October 2015
An exploration of the life and music of Miles Davis.
Co-writer/Director: Don Cheadle
Stars: Don Cheadle, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Ewan McGregor.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790770/

25 songs in the Soundtracks, 16 Performed by Miles Davis.

I'm a fan of Miles Davis music, and there's a lot here, although the biggest "hits" are only sampled.

The film focuses on some ugly aspects of his life, and time-splices to compare 2 similar events. Violence is here, guns included. The music would make this a 7, but the violence drops it back down again.

We don't get "an exploration of the life" except for the 2 compared times. No chronology of his progression or any traditional biopic territory. I wouldn't mind the narrow scope if the ideas presented were enlightening. But I didn't appreciate what this covered.

Rated 6.4 (8,352)

Sony & more, dir. Cheadle; 6

Ordinary World (2016), 5

Not Rated | 1h 26min | Comedy, Drama, Music | 23 April 2016
An aging punk rocker copes with life after rock. Writer/Director: Lee Kirk Stars: Billie Joe Armstrong, Fred Armisen, Judy Greer.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4189494/
Watched on AmazonPrime.

16 songs in the Soundtracks, 4 Performed and/or Written by Billie Joe Armstrong.

Dreadful little film about a (depressed?) never-was who creates a lot of havoc because he doesn't check the calendar when he thinks it's his 40th birthday, and it's not. Plus his slacker ways are coming home to roost at the family business where the ambitious brother wants to buy him out.

Not fun/funny; no point to watching it at all.

AVOID.

Rated 5.5 (2,443)

distr. Universal, dir. Kirk; 5

High Strung (2016), 7

PG | 1h 36min | Drama, Music, Romance | 8 April 2016
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
Co-writer/Director: Michael Damian
Stars: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Sonoya Mizuno.
Dave Scott ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3451230/

Watched on AmazonPrime.

18 songs in the Soundtracks.

Sampling of various dance styles: street/hip-hop, ballet, Irish clog. Then the finale (string and dance competition) is a wonderful fusion of ballet and hip-hop to a modern classical string composition. Very reminiscent of Centre Stage.

There's a story too, and a follow-up film Free Dance that's only listed as released 2018 in Italy so far.

Dir. MD appeared on Y&R ('84-'13) as Danny Romalotti.

Rated 6.5 (7,303)

indie, dir. Damian; 7

Chi-Raq (2015), 8

R | 2h 7min | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Musical | 4 Dec 2015
A modern day adaptation of the ancient Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, set against the backdrop of gang violence in Chicago, Illinois.
Co-writer/Director: Spike Lee
Stars: Nick Cannon, Teyonah Parris, Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cusack, Jennifer Hudson.
Maija Garcia ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4594834/
Watched on AmazonPrime.

17 songs in the Soundtracks, some performed by the cast onscreen.

This tagged with the Musical genre. It has musical numbers, but I'd have to go back and count them to see if I'd fight for the label. I'm glad to have it on the list.

I like this film. It has a great blend of tough, funny, tragic, optimistic and preachy as h*ll. SL ends it with "Wake Up" again, and he's right.

A lot of the spoken dialog rhymes.

Rated 5.7 (7,944)

Amazon Studios & more, dir. Lee; 8

The Wiz Live! (2015), 7

TV-G | 1h 51min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy | TV Movie 3 December 2015

A live production of the 1975 Broadway musical, "The Wiz," which put a modern spin on the classic "Wizard of Oz" tale with a cast of African-American actors.

Directors: Matthew Diamond, Kenny Leon

Stars: Shanice Williams, Queen Latifah, Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, David Alan Grier, Stephanie Mills.

Tre Holloway ... assistant choreographer

Charmaine Jordan ... associate choreographer

Fatima Robinson ... choreographer

Eric Sanchez ... assistant choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4718770/

1 song in the Soundtrack, but plenty onscreen; there's a new song for this production, sung by Dorothy.

The original B'way (The Wiz) Dorothy, SM, is Auntie Em here, and gets a big song before the storm.

I'm not a big fan of this show; here are my notes for the film The Wiz (1978), 7-. And I'm not watching this live, so I don't get any sense of how quickly they transitioned between sets/scenes.

I was impressed by the dancing and singing of the Scarecrow EK. I liked the idea and execution of the tornado dancers. DAG, the Lion, can really sing! So can everyone cast to sing.

I forwarded through it again to see the dancing. I could NOT find the Cirque du Soleil silk work.

A visual treat with lots of primary colors. 

Rated 7.1 (2,017)

NBC, dir. Diamond & Leon; 7

Coyote Ugly (2000), 6

PG-13 | 1h 40min | Comedy, Drama, Music | 4 August 2000
Aspiring songwriter Violet Sanford, after getting a job at a women-run NYC bar that teases its male patrons, comes out of her shell.
Director: David McNally
Stars: Piper Perabo, Adam Garcia, John Goodman, Maria Bello, Bridget Moynahan.
Udee McGeoy ... assistant choreographer
Travis Payne ... choreographer
LaVelle Smith Jr. ... additional choreographer
Stacy Walker ... assistant choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200550/

B.Evigan (Step Up All In ('14)) said she was obsessed with this as a kid. I couldn't find it online during 2000; IMDb rating discouraged me from buying it then.

35 songs in the Soundtracks.

Cute film. Decent character development. All the fancy bottle-handling reminds me of Cocktail ('88). Very strange to go back to a "modern" time without cell phones.

BM really only dances and tends bar, but her face is familiar from Blue Bloods (2010-).

Rated 5.7 (100,064)

Touchstone & more, dir. McNally; 6

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015), 6 {nm}

PG | 2h 2min | Comedy, Drama | 6 March 2015
As the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has only a single remaining vacancy - posing a rooming predicament for two fresh arrivals - Sonny pursues his expansionist dream of opening a second hotel.
Director: John Madden
Stars: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Richard Gere, Dev Patel, Tina Desai.
Sumeet Goradia ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2555736/

The trailer showed a B'wood-esque wedding celebration, and with this cast, I plunged. Didn't realize this was a sequel, since the "second" in the title refers to a second hotel (not second-best). The dance in the finale is fun and well-synchronized, but no acrobatics; it's just a wedding party. Very colorful.

Good fluff. Nice to see an elder cast. And RG smiling and dancing a bit is very welcome.

Rated  6.6 (28,530)

distr. Fox, dir. Madden; 6

Ricki and the Flash (2015), 6

PG-13 | 1h 41min | Comedy, Drama, Music | 7 August 2015
A musician who gave up everything for her dream of rock-and-roll stardom returns home, looking to make things right with her family.
Director: Jonathan Demme
Stars: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Mamie Gummer.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3623726/

38 songs in the Soundtracks, 10 Performed by Meryl Streep (as Ricki And The Flash). Per the featurette, they're performed live; MS learned to play rhythm guitar for the film.

Family drama with lots of music covered by MS's dive-bar band onscreen. They're competent, but really only play covers of others. She made 1 album long ago (vinyl), but it never went anywhere.

So she gave up 3 kids, a husband and a comfortable life to pursue the dream that didn't pan out. But she must love the music, because she's still at it, while holding down a day job as a checker at a grocery store.

2 of her 3 kids resent it a lot, the 3rd is more forgiving. And the stepmother is amazing. MG plays her daughter, and is her daughter in real life.

OK story, well played, but lots of pain and failure. Happy-ish ending.

Rated 5.9 (20,654)

TriStar & more, dir. Demme; 6

Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me (2019), 7 {nm}

American Masters (1985– )
TV-PG | 1h 55min | Documentary, Biography | Episode aired 19 February 2019

A star-studded roster of interviewees (including Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal) pay tribute to the legendary, multi-talented song-and-dance man.

Director: Samuel D. Pollard

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7897214/

and the earlier, non-AM listing

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7215006/

which lists runtime as 1h 40min 

The AM broadcast added extended versions of some clips in the show.

As thorough as a such a short program can be. Covers his career, various talents, activism and some marriages. Not exhaustive by any means, but representative of the breadth and depth of his 64 years.

I'm a fan of his talent and career, and appalled by the prejudice he had to fight. Very glad to see this.

Rated 8.4 (15) for AM episode, 7.6 (91) for the 2017 movie running 1:40.

distr. PBS, dir. Pollard; 7

Rock the Kasbah (2015), 6-

R | 1h 46min | Comedy, Music, War | 23 October 2015
A down-on-his-luck music manager discovers a teenage girl with an extraordinary voice while on a music tour in Afghanistan and takes her to Kabul to compete on the popular television show, Afghan Star.
Director: Barry Levinson
Stars: Bill Murray, Leem Lubany, Zooey Deschanel, Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3164256/
Watched online, ok print.

27 songs in the Soundtracks.

Really didn't see it all the way through: got distracted then fell asleep a couple of times and restarted. I suspect it's a 5, but I'll be generous. It doesn't seem like the gun-running, mercenaries and warlords are fodder for humor in a real country, actually named in the film. But it also has showbiz elements: American wannabe goes there under protest with her manager BM to perform in "USO" show, then escapes the country without him; Afghan Star contestant intersects with BM somehow. Because of the unpleasant landscape and activities, I don't want to try again today.

IMDb trivia: "The story is loosely based on Setara Hussainzada, the first woman to compete on Afghanistan's popular talent show Afghan Star (2009), a television show similar in concept to American Idol (2002)." This is mentioned in an endtitle of the film.

KH did not remind me of her mother here, and I didn't understand the point of her character, other than to give BM another bad experience on this trip.

Rated 5.5 (9,351)

indie, dir. Levinson; 6-

Jem and the Holograms (2015), 5

PG | 1h 58min | Adventure, Drama, Family | 23 October 2015
As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden.
Director: Jon M. Chu
Stars: Aubrey Peeples, Stefanie Scott, Aurora Perrineau.
Christopher Scott ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3614530/

Watched online, ok print.

15 songs in the Soundtracks.

Although dir. JC has a lot of dance movies in his background, this is nearly a dance-free zone. The full list of Genres: Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Music | Romance | Sci-Fi.

Apparently this comes from an animated TV show named Jem ('85-8) with IMDb rating 7.6 (2.1k). Perhaps that explains the low rating here: expectations were too high for the audience that watched this one.

It's MUCH too long, and too ordinary when the sci-fi is not onscreen. DULL DULL DULL and 2 full hours of DULL.

AVOID.

Rated 4.1 (6,561)

Universal & more, dir. Chu; 5

The Fits (2015), 6-

Not Rated | 1h 12min | Drama, Music | 4 September 2015
While training at the gym 11-year-old tomboy Toni becomes entranced with a dance troupe. As she struggles to fit in she finds herself caught up in danger as the group begins to suffer from fainting spells and other violent fits.
Co-writer/Director: Anna Rose Holmer
Stars: Royalty Hightower, Alexis Neblett, Da'Sean Minor.
Chariah Jones ... choreographer
Mariah Jones ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4238858/

Watched on AmazonPrime.

No songs in the Soundtracks, and not much onscreen either.

This does not bear repeating, but it was interesting in a quiet way. Very little dialog, yet engaging.

The best explanation for what actually happened in this vague film is that the first girl who had a fit was pregnant. Because she was a leader of the dance group, others "wanted" to follow her, and did. One of the smallest girls (age 7?) asked "is this a boyfriend disease?", but the theory that it was serial hysteria is better. (Officials tested the water, and found nothing; the majority of the girls had no problem, and none of the boys got it.)

The only thing that saves this from being a 5 is it being so different from the norm in an engaging way. But it never really explains its mystery, and even leaves room for it all to have been a dream.

Rated 6.7 (3,953)

indie, dir. Holmer; 6-

Spotlight (2015), 9 {nm}

R | 2h 9min | Crime, Drama, History | 3 September 2015
The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
Co-writer/Director: Tom McCarthy
Stars: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1895587/
Watched online, ok print.

If I'm over-rating this, it's not because I saw it in cinema. The moment it went from an 8 to a 9 was when they showed 2 or 3 children in ST's conference room, waiting to be interviewed for their case... before the story hit the papers. Then the phones ringing non-stop the morning of publication cemented the deal. The final number of priests (epilogue title card) was a lot more than projected.

MK was much better than expected in a completely non-wise-cracking role.

Won Best Picture and Best Writing, 4 other noms that year.

Rated 8.1 (356,053)

indie, dir. McCarthy; 9

Bravetown (2015), ,7-

R | 1h 52min | Drama, Music | 8 May 2015
Josh a talented DJ, comes to a small town, where he finds love, and a friend. A place he never would have thought he'd belong.
Director: Daniel Duran
Stars: Maria Bello, Laura Dern, Josh Duhamel, Lucas Till.
(no choreographer credits on IMDb)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2950052/
Watched on AmazonPrime.

24 songs in the Soundtracks.

This is an unusual theme for a teen dance film: grief over family members lost to war service. But it built slowly, mimicking how slowly such people would open up about such things. I found it effective, and the dancing was ok.

Weird poster; the teens were more important than the adults, and they're barely visible. I'd say 60/40 at least.

Rated 6.2 (3,268)

indie, dir. Duran; 7-

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), 6

PG-13 | 1h 55min | Comedy, Music | 15 May 2015
After a humiliating commando performance at The Kennedy Center, the Barden Bellas enter an international competition that no American group has ever won in order to regain their status and right to perform.
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Stars: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld.
Amy Allen ... assistant choreographer

Aakomon Jones ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2848292/

~72 songs in the Soundtracks, some duplicated. A lot were only partial onscreen.

Good singing, good rival group, ok story. I'd prefer they'd done a little more with the alumna.

Too many extras on the disc. C.track is ok.

For the curious: Pitch Perfect (2012), 6, IMDb 7.2 (252,433). I commented then about sequel ratings being much lower. I don't feel enough difference to downvote this one, but I didn't "love" the 1st.

Rated 6.4 (128,427)

Universal & more, dir. Banks; 6

Tumbledown (2015), 6

R | 1h 45min | Comedy, Music, Romance | 18 April 2015
A young woman struggles to move on with her life after the death of her husband, an acclaimed folk singer, when a brash New York writer forces her to confront her loss and the ambiguous circumstances of his death.
Co-writer/Director: Sean Mewshaw
Stars: Rebecca Hall, Jason Sudeikis, Blythe Danner.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2338424/
Watched online, ok print.

13 songs in the Soundtracks, 8 Written by Damien Jurado and performed by him with/without others.

OK film. Very little comedy, usually just wisecracks by JS, which are welcome. Not as heavy with grief as you might expect, but respectful.

Rated 6.2 (5,692)

distr. Starz, dir. Mewshaw; 6

Danny Collins (2015), 7

R | 1h 46min | Biography, Comedy, Drama | 19 March 2015
An aging rock star decides to change his life when he discovers a 40-year-old letter written to him by John Lennon.
Writer/Director: Dan Fogelman
Stars: Al Pacino, Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Bobby Cannavale, Christopher Plummer.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1772288/

Watched online, ok print.

21 songs in the Soundtracks, 10 Written and Performed by John Lennon.

IMDb trivia: "Inspired by the story of singer Steve Tilston, who learned of the existence of a letter that John Lennon had written to him 34 years after the letter was written."

I liked this film. None of the conflicts were traumatic, none of the resolutions were easy or pat. Obviously good cast, and they performed well.

1st (of 2 so far) directing efforts for this writer of Tangled ('10), other kid-flicks and a variety of genres (13 released so far).

Rated 7.0 (27,076)

indie, dir. Fogelman; 7

Into the Woods (2014), 8-

PG | 2h 5min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | 25 December 2014
A witch tasks a childless baker and his wife with procuring magical items from classic fairy tales to reverse the curse put on their family tree.
Director: Rob Marshall
Stars: Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine, James Corden, Emily Blunt, Christine Baranski, Tracey Ullman, Johnny Depp.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2180411/

23 songs in the Soundtracks, all Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

I'm a big fan of this show, and especially the film of the stage production: Into the Woods (1991), 8+.

Saw this 2014 film in the cinema the week it was released, and rated it 7. I know I was unbelievably disappointed in the darkness of the scenes: night is just too <censored> realistically lit, ala the poster. On the big screen, that's overpoweringly true. Today I watched during the day, so the room was not totally dark.

The performances are excellent. I still adore the '91 performances, but these also have merit. My favorite song is probably Agony, and in '91 we get 2 princes with very stagey voices, and I love that. Here we get a more physical confrontation with princes who are even more handsome, but whose voices don't give the extra ferrous flavor of irony from '91.

MS is not B.Peters, but she does a great job, which I would also say about every other major character in comparison with '91.

I was smiling during most of the film today, so I'm bumping it up to 8-. I still want to wag a finger at RM for choosing the realistic lighting for this fairy tale, or maybe worse. Come to think of it, Chicago ('02) and Nine ('09) were also very darkly lit.

Rated 6.0 (122,141)

Disney & more, dir. Marshall; 8-

Drumline: A New Beat (2014), 6

Not Rated | 1h 41min | Comedy, Drama, Music | TV Movie 27Oct2014
Danielle (Dani) Bolton, an upper class Brooklyn girl, defies her parents in order to attend a college in Georgia so she can join - and revitalize - their once-prominent drumline.
Director: Bille Woodruff
Stars: Alexandra Shipp, Leonard Roberts, Jordan Calloway.
Jacques Anthony Bell ... choreographer

Kiki Ely ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3520698/

Watched online, ok print.

1 song in the Soundtracks, more onscreen.

This shares a few cast members with antecedent Drumline (2002), 6, including a small role for Nick Cannon, who plays the same character, grown up to be a star. His drumline rival is a PhD who's brought in to lead the drumline to competitive dominance so more funds can be raised from alumni during tight economic times.

In addition to the sexism thrown at the female frosh by older drumliners, we also have the son of a superstar (former; now he's drug-addicted). Both are perceived as privileged brats. Although they gravitate toward each other, they have plenty of issues too.

The drumming is good. A lot of insert shots where the hands are shown without faces. The marching band footage seems like they did not get champion bands to play the parts: lots of errors and cuts likely to cover worse errors.

Just ok.

Rated 5.1 (1,018)

VH1 & more, dir. Woodruff; 6

Dance-Off (2014), 5

Not Rated | 1h 35min | Comedy, Music, Romance | 7 Oct 2014
Two cross-town rival dance teams go head to head for the National Nationals Championship.
Director: Alex Di Marco
Stars: Shane Harper, Kathryn McCormick, Finola Hughes.
Stacey Tookey ... choreography

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3024964/

Watched on AmazonPrime.

No songs in the Soundtracks; plenty onscreen.

Deeply mediocre dancing/choreography. Small-time dance contest, nowhere near National scope. The naming of the competition "National Nationals" is an accurate indication of the creativity employed to create this film. 

The plot might be ok if the acting were. The 2 adult leads, FH and another, are playing this as camp; the rest are more sincere. It's a tacky mix.

I fell asleep at least 3 times and had to restart, so I saw the final dances thrice. They are so bad that they were filmed in 2 settings: the competition stage, and some imagined location. Yeah, that distracted me from the quality.

SH (b. '93) is a generalist dancer: tries to be G.Kelly and Twitch, succeeds at neither. He has no tricks of his own, no precision at anything, no particular style or grace. Don't know if that's the character he's playing or his own limitations. I suspect it's the choreography and/or lack of rehearsal, because he has a lot of dance credits in his C.V, including "principal dancer" in HS Musical 2 ('07).

KM was the lead in Step Up Revolution ('12), where I commented "KM has something different in the way she moves, perhaps because all the choreographers were male. By different, I don't necessarily mean better." Looks like she was a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance ('09-'10), was on the "Top 3 Perform" episode but not the next one, and was brought back in subsequent years as an All-Star.

No need to revisit this one.

Rated 4.8 (705)

indie, dir. Di Marco; 5

Like Sunday, Like Rain (2014), 7+

R | 1h 44min | Drama, Music | 6 October 2014
Surrounded by wealth and living with abundant resources in Manhattan, 12-year-old cello prodigy Reggie, lives a solitary life lacking only frequently absent parents and friends. Estranged from family, having slacker boyfriend troubles, and fired from her waitressing job, sometimes musician 23-year-old Eleanor needs a new place to live and a new job.
Writer/Director: Frank Whaley
Stars: Julian Shatkin, Leighton Meester, Debra Messing.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3104818/
Watched online, ok print.

No songs in the Soundtracks, but at least 1 classical piece for string quartet (& piano) was played frequently by the prodigy and his group; the title of the piece is the title of the film.

The kid JS is not only a cello prodigy. He's 12, just finished taking physics and calculus in H.S. We see him mesmerize his English teacher reading a poem (his own?) aloud in class, and he cooks too. He is generous without being extravagant, very calm, considerate of others, and charming.

DM is the mother, but she's just around long enough to demonstrate her non-existent mothering skills (she wants him to eat, and to ride back and forth to school with the chauffeur). When the nanny gets deported, she hastily hires LM, and leaves the country, but JS & LM are at home with the cook/maid and the chauffeur. 

LM was available for the gig b/c her bf finally did her wrong once too often, and then made a scene at her work, so she was both homeless and jobless. This temporary nanny job was a good fit.

The beauty of the film is the growth of a relationship between JS & LM. The poster is absurd, because it makes the bf look like the central character, which he is not. He should have been absent, or in a corner in miniature.

Writer/director FW is a familiar actor; he was the cripple in Swing Kids ('93) among 50 other films. This is his 4th writer/director credit, with another in pre-production.

Rated 6.9 (3,948)

indie, dir. Whaley; 7+

The Song (2014), 5-

PG-13 | 1h 56min | Drama, Music, Romance | 26 September 2014
An aspiring singer-songwriter's life and marriage suffer when the song he writes for his wife propels him to stardom.
Writer/Director: Richard Ramsey
Stars: Alan Powell, Ali Faulkner, Caitlin Nicol-Thomas.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2517044/
Watched on AmazonPrime.

No songs on the Soundtracks; plenty onscreen.

Dreadfully dull rom-dram with preachy (scripture) voice-over. Music is country-pop-ish. Handsome leading man covers his suave with huge horrid beard, so they can streak it with grey to show aging.

He falls for sweet/pure girl not interested in music, woos her, they marry. He goes on the road, has a flashy female opening act with designs on him. His trips home are tense. Wife is withholding. Eventually the other woman beds him, and wife finds out. They split up for a while, but he sees the error of his ways and woos her back. <yawn^2>

Avoid.

Rated 6.0 (1,904)

distr. Goldwyn, dir. Ramsey; 5-

Boychoir (2014), 6

1h 43min | Drama, Music | 5 September 2014
After his single mother dies, a young boy with an excellent voice is sent to a prestigious choir school, and has trouble adapting to the culture of the school.
Director: François Girard
Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Eddie Izzard, Garrett Wareing.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3302706/
Watched online, ok print.

No songs in the Soundtracks, plenty onscreen, primarily classical choir.

OK film, very much what you would expect from the synopsis and cast. The wrinkle not mentioned: the boy's father was a fling, and had supported the mother financially, but was married with a family and plenty of cash. So he buys the boy a space in the school to park him somewhere out of sight. That wrinkle gets resolved by film's end.

EI is nearly despicable. When the established soloist in the choir gets sick and our "orphan" boy is given his part, the star steals his sheet music to sabotage him. EI, one of the choir teachers, catches him with the pages, confiscates them, looks down his nose at the boy and says "If you're going to cheat, cheat better." So the next time the boy does something sneakier and more destructive.

DH is the gruff, flawed choir master with a better sense of fair play than EI.

The "orphan" perpetrates as much as he's victimized, although most of his actions are reactions to what the other boys do/say to him.

Voice change is also a plot point.

The film's ok, not great.

Rated 6.7 (5,597)

indie, dir. Girard; 6

Freedom (2014), 6

R | 1h 34min | Drama, Music | 21 August 2014
Two men separated by 100 years are united in their search for freedom. In 1856 a slave, Samuel Woodward and his family, escape from the Monroe Plantation near Richmond, Virginia. 100 years earlier in 1748, John Newton the Captain of a slave trader sails from Africa with a cargo of slaves, bound for America. 
Director: Peter Cousens
Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Sharon Leal, David Rasche.
Jeffrey Page ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2584018/

Watched on AmazonPrime.

14 songs in the Soundtracks, including Amazing Grace, credited to John Newton. Lots of spirituals.

The connection between the 2 stories was not at all clear to me until near the end when I recognized the Bible in both tracks.

OK story of the fear that runaway slaves must have felt, and of the horrors of the slave ships. But nothing really in depth.

Rated 6.2 (1,358)

indie, dir. Cousens; 6

Step Up All In (2014), 6+

PG-13 | 1h 52min | Drama, Music, Romance | 8 August 2014
All-stars from the previous Step Up installments come together in glittering Las Vegas, battling for a victory that could define their dreams and their careers.
Director: Trish Sie
Stars: Ryan Guzman, Briana Evigan, Adam Sevani.
Dondraico Johnson ... choreographer

Christopher Scott ... choreographer

Jamal Sims ... choreographer
Associate Choreographers (onscreen):
Phillip Chbeeb
Parris Goebel
David "Kid David" Shreibman
Nolan Padilla
Brandon Shaw
Cyrus "Glitch" Spencer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2626350/

42 songs in the Soundtracks.

Another competition story, and a lot of good dancing, all street styles. Great to see so many prior dancers. BE had only been in #2; RG in #4; AS in 2, 3, 4; and lots more.

I think this was better about holding shots longer and let us watch the dancing. The director talks about that in the c.track.

2nd one directed by a woman, who also directs Pitch Perfect 3 ('17), and has various non-feature-director credits.

This is the last one with Step Up in the name...so far. But they were doing these every 2 years:

Step Up Revolution (2012), 6+, dir. Scott Speer

Step Up 3D (2010), 6+, dir. Jon Chu

Step Up 2: The Streets (2008), 6, dir. Jon Chu

Step Up (2006), 7, dir. Anne Fletcher

Rated 6.0 (30,035)

distr. Lionsgate, dir. Sie; 6+

Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014), 5- {nm}

Not Rated | 2h 3min | Comedy, Romance, Thriller | 22 June 2014
Dr. Hess Green becomes cursed by a mysterious ancient African artifact and is overwhelmed with a newfound thirst for blood. He however is not a vampire. Soon after his transformation he enters into a dangerous romance with Ganja Hightower that questions the very nature of love, addiction, sex, and status.
Co-writer/Director: Spike Lee
Stars: Stephen Tyrone Williams, Zaraah Abrahams, Rami Malek.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3104930/
Watched on AmazonPrime.

I have no idea why this would get the tag Comedy.

The idea that this film "questions the very nature of love, addiction, sex, and status" is beyond me. I got absolutely nothing out of it. And since I don't care for this sort of subject, I should have passed.

This is a remake of Ganja & Hess (1973), by black filmmaker Bill Gunn ('29-'89).

As I pointed out in my notes for Clockers (1995), 6- {nm}, this poster is similar to the one for Otto Preminger's The Man With the Golden Arm ('55). Clockers and Da Blood both use images designed by Saul Bass for Otto Preminger films.

Rated 4.1 (1,170)

indie, dir. Lee; 5-

Walking on Sunshine (2014), 6+

Not Rated | 1h 37min | Comedy, Drama, Musical | 27 June 2014
Set to the music of popular hit songs from the 1980s. A beautiful coastal village, present day Italy. After a whirlwind romance, Maddie is preparing to marry gorgeous Italian Raf.
Directors: Max Giwa, Dania Pasquini
Stars: Annabel Scholey, Greg Wise, Hannah Arterton.
Litza Bixler ... choreographer
Adrian Gas ... assistant choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2107861/

Watched on AmazonPrime. The disc is at least $16 unless I'm willing to settle for Region 2.

14 songs in the Soundtracks, almost all performed with ensemble dancing. The dancing is not terribly athletic, but fun anyway.

Definitely a (delayed) imitation of Mamma Mia! ('08), with familiar pop songs providing the musical numbers in a Mediterranean setting. These songs are from various artists.

The plot is about a pending marriage, with 2 sisters falling for the same guy in Italy 3 years apart.

I liked it because it's a full-out musical with songs I like. I don't know any of the performers, but they were competent and (mostly) good to look at. I definitely want a copy for my collection.

Rated 5.4 (4,433)

(British), dir. Giwa & Pasquini; 6+

As You Like It (2006), 6 {nm}

PG | 2h 7min | Drama, Comedy, Romance | 1 September 2006
A daughter of the powerful Duke must show her courage and inventiveness to be with the man she loves.
Co-writer/Director: Kenneth Branagh

Stars: Bryce Dallas Howard, Adrian Lester, David Oyelowo.

Stuart Hopps ... choreographer

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450972/

damaged disc: early ch 7 of 14 has at least a dozen freeze points, but they all recover quickly, which is why my ffwd test did not catch them. Sure enough, this was a 9'07 release. HBO must have used the same factory that did all the Warner wrecks. (There is a '13 dvd, upc 0883316769959, but it costs more than $14 today.)

I really didn't like this: too many characters, too much going on, and too sudden changes. It would be a 5, but I read Sparknotes afterward, and appreciate what KB brought (how much worse it could have been). I'll watch the '78 BBC version in a couple of days.

At least 3 couples are formed by love at first sight; only 1 doesn't persist to the altar, but she marries the boy who loved her before. Ugh to all of it.

We have 2 pair of fraternal animosity, with amazingly quick resolutions of the enmity. <sigh>

We have a jester and a wannabe, but neither contribute much to the proceedings. (One of them delivers the "All the world's a stage" line, but little else that I got.)

What Branagh brought that helped me: he set the play in Japan, with both British and Japanese characters, and cast the de Bois brothers with black actors. So it was easy to distinguish who was who. And the makeup department helped a lot with the dukes, who were played by the same actor which I didn't realize it until I saw that in the cast list afterward.

In the Sparknotes, they talked about Duke S's band killing a deer, but in the film they made a point of NOT having a deer, showing us a pot of mushrooms & roots cooking. Can't imagine why that change was made.

KB added a non-speaking scene to begin the play, showing the coup with ninjas attacking Duke Senior's party watching a geisha perform and Duke Frederick taking power. I don't remember any exposition explaining things, which would be necessary in a play that does not show the attack.

The BBC '78 version is 2.5 hours, so other material must also be cut. (Thankfully, Helen Mirren is in that one, so I have something to look forward to.)

Rated 6.3 (2,823)

HBO, BBC & more. dir. Branagh; 6

The Identical (2014), 6-

PG | 1h 47min | Drama, Music | 17 April 2014
Twin brothers are unknowingly separated at birth; one of them becomes an iconic rock 'n' roll star, while the other struggles to balance his love for music and pleasing his father.
Director: Dustin Marcellino
Stars: Blake Rayne, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2326574/
Watched on AmazonPrime.

~35 songs in the Soundtracks, none from the E.Presley hit list. In fact, EP was mentioned next to the name of the star brother, to legally separate fiction from reality.

The infants are separated when the parents give one to a traveling preacher RL and his wife AJ; it's the Depression, and the bio parents are unemployed. Not really clear why they kept 1 child, but they "buried" the now-missing twin in an empty shoebox.

We follow the twin whose parents have familiar faces, with the bio-parented twin in the news. Our twin also has excellent singing talent, but the preacher wants the son to become a preacher, and certainly not pursue rock 'n' roll. But when impersonating the star becomes an industry, our twin becomes The Identical.

Because this film is not worth watching a second time: the premise doesn't really go anywhere interesting. Our twin wants to add some songs of his own to the act, but his manager forbids it. So instead of trying it anyway, our twin quits the business. The star dies in a private plane crash, and our twin finds the letter his bio-father wrote to explain his "adoption". Our twin goes to the star's gravesite and meets his bio-dad, and later we see him with adopted dad. He never reveals he's the actual twin, and keeps doing the impersonation career.

AJ gets very little to do here.

The music is very EP-esque, but not close enough to tempt attorneys to sue. The actor has only 1 other film credit, in the awful film Hounddog ('07), 5, playing guess who. His career is apparently to impersonate EP, with a reference to a concert in '19 on his website. He really looks the part, and I suspect he dialed back his EP-ness for this film. This is not a 5 because he has charisma.

Rated 5.1 (2,322)

Cinedigm, dir. Marcellino; 6-

Rio 2 (2014), 7

G | 1h 41min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy | 11 April 2014
It's a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids after they're hurtled from Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets his father-in-law.
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jemaine Clement, Andy Garcia.
(no choreography credit)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2357291/

24 songs in the Soundtracks.

I like the animation, the colors, the music, the rhythms. Unfortunately, this has a lot of plot, and only ~3 production numbers (opening, ch14, closing). The BD has a nice jukebox feature that plays 11 songs performed.

The Blu/Jewel family is not "hurtled" into the Amazon rainforest. They choose to go when our original human couple discover another blue macaw. Turns out to be a huge flock of them, including Jewel's father AG.

Their habitat is being denuded by illegal logging, so the birds and the 2 ornithologists fight them off.

I wish they made more of these films, especially with lots of big production numbers (lots of birds dancing). For now, I'll have to settle for going backward to the non-musial Ice Age films, also by this director.

Rated 6.3 (70,930)

Fox & more, dir. Saldanha; 7

Always Woodstock (2014), 5--

TV-14 | 1h 37min | Comedy, Music, Romance | 19 March 2014
When Neurotic, struggling songwriter, Catherine Brown's life in New York City falls apart, she is forced to confront her past when she spends the summer at her childhood home in Woodstock.
Writer/Director: Rita Merson
Stars: Allison Miller, James Wolk, Rumer Willis, Katey Sagal.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1995477/
Watched on AmazonPrime.

36 songs in the Soundtracks; very few performed by cast. Katey Sagal only sings twice: one partial and one duet.

Very close to a 4: irritating. Not enough music, and it's folk-like.

Plot is horrid, with AM getting fired, coming home to infidelity, running off to the empty disheveled house she inherited in Woodstock. She gets local help with her music from KS and almost loses the new love JW she finds there. But it's all tedious and narcissistic, and annoying.

Rated 5.4 (651)

indie, dir. Merson; 5--

Girltrash: All Night Long (2014), 6

Not Rated | 1h 26min | Comedy, Crime, Drama | 1Feb2014
The story of five girls and one epic night. The girls will find love, lust, girl-fights, rock and roll, and a whole lot of stoned sorority girls.
Director: Alexandra Kondracke (as Alex Martinez Kondracke)
Stars: Lisa Rieffel, Erin Kelly, Michelle Lombardo.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1555440/
Watched on AmazonPrime.

No songs in the Soundtracks, but plenty in the film, pop-rock style.

This is an actual musical, where cast members break into song to describe what they're feeling/thinking. No dancing, unfortunately.

This is almost a male-free zone. The villain is a woman, but the one man whose name we learn steals the wad of cash the band scored to pay back the villain. So instead they need to win the band contest.

OK. The poster is unfortunate, because the vibe is not so vulgar. But it's not Disney either.

Rated 6.4 (1,065)

indie, dir. Kondracke; 6

Song One (2014), 5-

PG-13 | 1h 26min | Drama, Music | 20 January 2014
A young woman strikes up a relationship with her ailing brother's favorite musician.
Writer/Director: Kate Barker-Froyland
Stars: Anne Hathaway, Johnny Flynn, Mary Steenburgen.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2182972/
Watched on AmazonPrime.

1 song in the Soundtracks, but plenty more in the film. I don't know what the genre is called, but it's modern folk music to me.

Musician wannabe gets hit by a taxi while jaywalking, sustaining serious injuries, now in a coma. Mom MS calls sister AH to come home from her fieldwork for PhD thesis. Last interaction AH had with brother was many months earlier: she was angry he had dropped out of college.

AH finds a lot of JFs music in brother's possession, plus a song of his own. She goes to where JF is performing and gives him the brother's song, explains the situation. He shows up at bro's hospital room, and AH/JF begin relationship. 

AH spends lots of time at bro's bedside, bringing sounds and smells to try rousing him. Eventually he does recover. I think AH & JF are still a couple at the end of the film.

My summary sounds better than the film is. Avoid.

Rated 5.8 (8,464)

Cinedigm, dir. Barker-Froyland; 5-

Low Down (2014), 5-

R | 1h 54min | Biography, Drama, Music | 19 January 2014
A look at the life of pianist Joe Albany from the perspective of his young daughter, as she watches him contend with his drug addiction during the 1970s jazz scene.
Director: Jeff Preiss
Stars: John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1864405/
Watched on AmazonPrime.

30 songs in the Soundtracks.

Unfortunately, this music was as unpleasant as the druggy lifestyle. I suppose the daughter isn't in foster care because his mother was willing to keep her, but really, she's at risk when the father is home and using. The last scenes show her flirting with the drug paraphernalia. After all, she's now saddled with some extra pain just by growing up with these parents.

The author of the screenplay and the book upon which this was based has the same name as the daughter in this film, and her father really was a jazz pianist.

I probably dislike it because it's well done, effectively conveying a very unpleasant situation. I grimaced throughout.

AVOID.

Rated 6.1 (1,617)

indie, dir. Preiss; 5-

Whiplash (2014), 8-

R | 1h 46min | Drama, Music | 16 January 2014
A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.
Writer/Director: Damien Chazelle
Stars: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, Melissa Benoist.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582802/

Watched online, ok print.

18 songs in the Soundtracks. The title track is Written by Hank Levy. Most familiar tune: Caravan.

This has an unbelievably high rating for IMDb, with a lot of votes, and it matches the extra restrictions to be on their Top 250 list at #44. Wow. Never knew this was about jazz.

A powerful tale, kept me engaged the whole time. It helps that the music is in my favorites zone, but it's the psychological suspense that is so gripping. I doubt that a second viewing would be as rich if you remember the outcome. So no spoilers here.

IMDb Trivia: "Although a visual double was used, all of Andrew's drumming was performed by Miles Teller himself to pre-recorded tracks. About 40% of Teller's drumming was used in the soundtrack." I definitely detected a different pair of arms in one drumming sequence, but have been unable to find the name of the drummer, only that "Nate Lang (Carl) is an accomplished drummer and trained Miles Teller and Austin Stowell for their roles." Spoiler alert: read this good article about the playing in the film only after watching.

This writer/director wrote Grand Piano ('13), and goes on to create La La Land ('16).

Rated 8.5 (598,022)

distr. Sony, dir. Chazelle; 8-

Frozen (2013), 6--

PG | 1h 42min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy | 27 Nov 2013

When the newly-crowned Queen Elsa accidentally uses her power to turn things into ice to curse her home in infinite winter, her sister Anna teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to change the weather condition.

Co-writers/Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee

Stars: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294629/

borrowed dvd

13 songs in the Soundtracks, 10 Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.

After the princesses had grown up, I was immediately annoyed by the first 2 songs, and the fact that we were dealing with princesses and romance again. Granted, the Midas touch problem was slightly more interesting, but I'm immediately wondering why the cursed princess, too dangerous to allow even her sister to see her, is the one who is coronated. Seems logical she should be trained to abdicate and allow the "normal" sister ascend the throne. Whatever.

IMDb credits say this was inspired by Hans C. Anderson's The Snow Queen. I'm not an expert on that tale, but "inspired by" is a fairly loose connection.

2 love interests for the normal sister, plus a reindeer sidekick for one guy, and a sentient snowman round out the cast, with a giant snow monster and a nation of trolls along for the ride. Supposedly "true love's kiss" was going to solve the problem, but it was "true love" in a non-romantic sense that saved the day.

Maybe it was my mood, but I don't think so. I'll give it a "6" in case mood is the problem.

Rated 7.5 (508,175)

Disney, dir. Buck & Lee; 6--

CBGB (2013), 5

R | 1h 42min | Drama, Music | 11 October 2013
A look at the New York City punk-rock scene and the venerable nightclub, CBGB.
Co-writer/Director: Randall Miller
Stars: Alan Rickman, Malin Akerman, Justin Bartha.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1786751/
Watched on AmazonPrime.

50 songs in the Soundtracks, often "performed" by actors impersonating vintage bands, including some I'd heard of (Talking Heads, The Police) and even like (Blondie).

Although AR's idea was to have a Country BlueGrass Blues club, the first band that wants to play is punk, and they do original music (no ASCAP fees), and since AR has had 2 failed clubs already, this is appealing. A journalist says the band has good stuff, and the club becomes popular, with lots of punk bands wanting to play, and fans and record producers. Plus a cartoon-drawing magazine (called Punk) chronicling the progress. Film ends with real bands at Grammy awards thanking the real (AR) character for creating a place for them to perform.

OK, but not something I enjoyed seeing, and certainly don't need a revisit.

Rated 6.6 (7,766)

indie, dir. Miller; 5

Grace Unplugged (2013), 5

PG | 1h 42min | Drama, Music | 4 October 2013
Grace Trey is a phenomenal singer. But at the tender age of eighteen, after she gets the music break of a lifetime and is thrust into the "real world" - her faith is put to the test.
Co-writer/Director: Brad J. Silverman
Stars: AJ Michalka, Kelly Thiebaud, James Denton.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2349460/
watched on AmazonPrime

20 songs in the Soundtracks, most performed by cast.

Keyword in synopsis: faith. This is about a Christian rocker (the dad) who doesn't allow his daughter enough creativity in the family band, so she seizes an oppty to remake one of his pre-Christian hits, and makes it big. But she can generate a follow-up original single, so the record company hires writers, and she's offended by the sexual nature of the songs. So, despite being selected as the opening act for her idol, she goes back home. In the future, we see the Christian boy she met at the record company is about to be her husband, she and her dad are making a big hit from their faith-rock band, and they've started a faith-based branch of the record company. See all the good that happens whether or not you have faith. I'm sure she'll never disagree with her father again.

Ugh. Avoid.

Rated 6.2 (2,960)

distr. Orion & LionsGate, dir. Silverman; 5

Grand Piano (2013), 6-

R | 1h 30min | Music, Mystery, Thriller | 25 October 2013
A pianist with stage fright endures a performance under the eyes of a mysterious sniper, who will shoot and kill him if a wrong note is played.
Director: Eugenio Mira
Stars: Elijah Wood, John Cusack, Kerry Bishé.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2039345/
Watched online, ok visually, but extremely out of sync aurally.

3 songs in the Soundtracks, but I believe others were played onstage by EW's character.

The piano, custom-built by a deceased composer/pianist, who built a lock into the keyboard. Inside is supposed to be something worth a lot of $$, or the key to it. The music that unlocks it can only be played by EW (and the dead guy) because the tempo is so fast. This is the first time the piano has been onstage. The sniper (JC, only a voice for most of the film) tries to get EW to play the combination precisely to open the piano's secret chamber.  EW deliberately misses a note, and the sniper balks on his threats. EW gets his wife to sing from her boxseat while he goes backstage toward her. The sniper meets him in the hallway and they fight. The fight progresses to the catwalk above the stage, and they fall, with JC doing a hard landing on the piano. Later, when the mangled piano is on the moving van, EW plays the notes again, and we hear the mechanism unlock the chamber, and EW bends down toward it, but the film ends. MacGuffin avoided.

Sorta suspenseful for a single viewing, but I'm spoiling it to avoid a repeat.

Rated 5.9 (16,059)

indie, dir. Mira; 6-

Plush (2013), 5

R | 1h 39min | Drama, Music, Thriller | 15 October 2013
A young singer/songwriter, despite being married, becomes involved with her new guitarist, who she soon discovers has a dark past and may be a danger to her and those close to her.
Co-writer/Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Stars: Emily Browning, Xavier Samuel, Cam Gigandet.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2226519/
Watched on AmazonPrime.

20 songs in the Soundtracks, a couple played by a band in/of the cast.

Thriller bordering on Horror, this begins with a murder by gravel and ends with a murder (in self defense) by garden hose, with some others in between.

Avoid.

Rated  5.4 (3,427)

indie, dir. Hardwicke; 5

BlacKkKlansman (2018), 7 {nm}

R | 2h 15min | Biography, Crime, Drama | 10 August 2018
Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events.
Director: Spike Lee
Stars: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7349662/
the Oscars are tomorrow. This has 6 noms.

JDW (b. '84) is son of Denzel. I did not guess that; I read it in the IMDb trivia. But knowing this, his voice does have a familiar tone.

Although this is based on real events, I still find it implausible that they used one cop to interact with the Klan on the phone, and another in person. I'd think you'd transfer all interactions to the in-person cop.

Early on, when AD is chosen to be the in-person operative, a colleague spots his Star of David necklace. But later he talks about not being a practicing Jew. Seems inconsistent.

The story is just as jaw-dropping as it sounds. But it doesn't connect with me emotionally as much as couple of other Best Picture noms. I did like SL adding the footage of the 2017 Charlottesville events as the epilogue.

Rated 7.5 (111,730)

Focus Features (Universal) & more, dir. Lee; 7

One Chance (2013), 7-

PG-13 | 1h 43min | Biography, Comedy, Drama | 9 Sep 2013

The true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night who became a phenomenon after being chosen for -- and ultimately winning -- Britain's Got Talent (2007).

Director: David Frankel

Stars: James Corden, Alexandra Roach, Julie Walters, Colm Meaney.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1196956/

Watched online, ok print.

28 songs in the Soundtracks, 6 performed by Paul Potts.

An incredible story; too much went wrong in this guy's life, but then it went right. Well acted & presented. Good music, although PP doesn't have a typical tenor (lacks power.) Can't tell from his bio page if he's actually performed opera roles.

Rated 6.8 (10,462)

distr. Weinstein, dir. Frankel; 7-