Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

West Side Story

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“West Side Story” won 10 Academy Awards in 1961 and two Tonys in 1957.  It was such a smash success that no one thought that it could ever be redone.  That didn’t stop Steven Spielberg though. He had big shoes to fill and boy did he fill them!  The story is essentially the same as that of Romeo and Juliet.  If you are a fan of Shakespeare (and I definitely am), you will appreciate how closely the two stories parallel each other.  Juliet in this case is Maria played flawlessly by newcomer Rachel Zegler.  Romeo’s role goes to  Ansel Elgort who plays the love sick Tony.  Tony used to belong to the Jets, a local gang he started with his friend Riff.  But he is on parole, and has been keeping his distance from the gangs.  They are poor, disadvantaged and angered by the demographic changes in the neighborhood they grew up in.  The immediate object of their hatred, and the perceived reason for all their problems, is the Puerto Rican gang headed by Maria’s brother, Bernardo – the Sharks.  As the rivalry between the two gangs come to a boil, Maria and Tony briefly meet at a community dance, and fall in love.  This forbidden love sparks a full blown rumble that has the expected dire consequences.  Every actor in this movie is ideally suited to their part and they perform perfectly.  Some of the standouts are David Alvarez as Bernardo, Mike Fist as Riff, but especially Ariana DeBose as Anita.  She had a hard row to hoe trying to take on Rita Moreno’s Academy Award winning role as the fiery girlfriend of Bernardo, who loves America.  I was especially heartened to see that Rita Moreno was given a role in this film and she even gets to sing a solo!!  Everything about this is top-notch.  Remember, the great Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein wrote the lyrics and score so you know the songs will be spectacular.   The emotional punch caused by a great director, terrific actors, timeless songs and beautiful cinematography had me in tears at the end.  If you see only one movie this year in a theatre, please let it be this one.  Also, don’t forget the Kleenex.

In the Heights

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When I saw the play about five or six years ago, I had never heard of Lin-Manuel Miranda. It didn’t matter because my husband and I loved “In the Heights.” Then Miranda exploded on the scene with “Hamilton,” and “In the Heights” was kind of forgotten. They’ve made up for that oversight with the release of this enthusiastic and exciting movie. Even though it sometimes strays from the play, all in all this was a very enjoyable movie. The music and lyrics are top-notch and the cinematography and choreography are eye-popping and vibrant. Anthony Ramos plays Usnavi (great story about the origin of his name), who dreams of returning to his native Dominican Republic to reopen his late father’s bar. The entire story takes place in the Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights in Upper Manhatten. The movie is full of the flavors and sounds of various cultures coming together during a three day blackout as the temperatures soar to over 100 degrees and everything and everyone seems to be coming apart. Like Usnavi, everyone has high hopes and there are many stories and dreams to explore. They are dreaming of winning the big lottery jackpot and getting out of the Heights for good. Who will win it, who will end up with who, and who will fullfill their dreams and most importantly, what will happen to the Heights, makes for an interesting plot. I enjoyed all the performances, big and small. Some notable standouts were Jimmy Smits as the sacrificing father and Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn 99) one of the beauticians in the neighborhood salon. Miranda also has a role as a street vendor who sells shaved ice from his cart. I am sorry that this movie was released on HBO Max at the same time it came out in theatres, because it is the kind of movie that is meant to be seen on the big screen, in a theatre! If you’re thinking of watching it at home, I suggest you venture outside and go to your local movie theatre…and don’t forget the popcorn!!

Mary Poppins Returns

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Mary Poppins returns!  I think we were all looking forward to this movie!  And while I may have a few concerns, I still found it quite enjoyable. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Emily Blunt put in a great effort; they have great energy and voices and are very endearing. The special effects  and costumes were dazzling.  I even enjoyed the opening song.  So how could a movie with all of this going for it, end up not quite getting there?  “Mary Poppins Returns” really had several strikes against it before it even started.  First of all, the orginal Mary Poppins was so well-loved and has been a classic ever since it first came out.  So this movie had to live up to some pretty lofty expectations, and that’s a very high bar to reach. Next, the original movie had toe-tapping songs that you sang as you left the theatre.  Who can forget the catchy earworm “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?”  Or the joy of “Let’s Go Fly a Kite?” Or the sweet sadness of “Feed the Birds?”  Third, Julie Anderews sparkled as Mary Poppins and had the singing range to hit those high, operatic notes.  Last of all, the movie had heart.  The newest reincarnation would probably find a more apprecative audience if we had never seen the original.  But we did, and so we can’t help but judge this new one by comparing it to the older one.  Sorry, but the newer one comes up short.  I would say one of the biggest disappointments is the songs.  I can’t remember one, even the one at the beginning that I liked.  Yes, there was one about a book and another about going up with a balloon, but I don’t remember any of the lyrics or melodies.  I found the grown up Michael Banks to be rather dim-witted and ineffective, you didn’t end up ‘rooting’ for Ben Whishaw like you did for David Tomlinson. The plot was not involving or even mildly tense.  I love Meryl Streep, but she was utterly wasted as a cousin of Mary Poppins named Topsy whose presence was suppose to be a hommage, I suppose, to Ed Wynn’s “I Love to Laugh” in the original.  I am not saying this is a bad movie, I think kids who haven’t seen the original will love it, and I did enjoy the performances of the two leads.  There are also cameos by Dick Van Dyke and Angela Landsbury that I found delightful.  I just wish I found the rest of the movie as charming.

LaLa Land

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Do you enjoy watching those big, splashy musicals that Hollywood made in the ’40s and ’50s?  Movies like “The Harvey Girls” “An American in Paris” or “Singing in the Rain”?  If so, La La Land is going to put a song in your heart and some boogie in your feet.  This is one wonderful movie.  Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling seem at first to be two unlikely actors to pull off an old-fashioned musical.  And yet they do!  The songs are modern and the lyrics are a delight.  La La Land tells the story of Mia and Sebastian, who have both come to “The Land of Broken Dreams” to make it big.   Mia wants to be an actress while Sebastian is a dedicated jazz musician who dreams of owning his own jazz club.  The movie shows the ups and downs and highs and lows of their pursuits with music and dance enhancing that journey.  John Legend is also featured and helps to move the plot along rather nicely.  This is a wonderful movie, and if  you love music, you will not be disappointed.