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In the Heights (2021)
Incredibly stylistic, banger soundtrack, but lacking a story
As is the case with even the stage play, In The Heights is not the most compelling narrative. As I expected, the story in the movie was just as insubstantial. However, I can say for sure that I was happily surprised by this movie. The movie absolutely oozes style, from the camera movement to the way that diegetic sound is integrated with the music and sound effects in the song. The choreography is fun to watch and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The editing is sort of hit or miss with this movie. It goes back and forth between stretches of good editing, then to these sections of super jumpy editing (especially in the songs), where you would be hard pressed to find a single shot longer than 3 seconds. This works to the movie's advantage at times, there's a few very satisfying jump-cut sequences that are in time with the music, but there were also some really jarring cuts when there didn't need to be. If you saw the trailer, the huge dance choreography on the street looks cool, but in the movie it cuts like 5 times during a push-in on that dance scene and it makes it harder to appreciate the choreo. That being said, aside from a few sequences, the editing didn't bother me too much.
Anthony Ramos killed it as Usnavi, and he somehow drove home somewhat emotional narrative beats even more so than when I saw it on stage. Seeing Lin and Marc Antony was cool. Melissa Barrera and Leslie Grace were also pretty good, but the character who I think stole every scene he was in was Corey Hawkins as Benny. He had such an infectious energy, and a singing voice to match it.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, while not a great singer, is a killer composer, especially with his trademark blend of showtunes and hip-hop, and In the Heights has always been one of his greatest achievements. The songs flow really well, and while they're not all incredible (as is the case with Hamilton), the stand out ones do certainly stand out and leave you wanting to download the soundtrack. I already mentioned this, but I can't stress how incredibly stylistic this movie is when it comes to choreographing the non-dance elements of the songs. The blend of music with the diegetic interactions between the characters and the real world, as well as sound effects timed with the music make every song a blast to watch, and I would argue make the movie better than even the Hamilton 'movie' (although it's not entirely fair to compare them).
This movie isn't perfect, but the weak narrative and sometimes odd editing choices are easily balanced out, if not outweighed by the style, flair, acting, and music. 8/10.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
Weaker entry in the trilogy, needs Wan's touch
This is a solid movie. Scares are OK, fairly by the book for a horror film. Michael Chaves has really stepped up from The Curse of La Llorona. The directing is good at time, there are a few really well crafted scares. The biggest drawback of this movie is the plot. While the story is constrained somewhat by the actual Devil Made Me Do It case, it drags a lot. James Wan had a way of taking "real" case files and doing something interesting with them, while Michael Chaves isn't quite there yet.
Performances are fine, nothing to write home about, but no one really breaks immersion. The directing isn't bad per se, there are some really cool sequences (although some of the better ones are spoiled by the trailer). This movie is just decent. It doesn't entirely feel like a Conjuring movie without James Wan taking the lead. I rate it a 6/10, not because it's a terrible movie, but because it just doesn't stand up to the first two, and missed my expectations.
Cruella (2021)
Gives me hope as a writer.
If Disney, a multi-billion dollar corporation, can release a script this bad, it gives me hope that maybe I can write a script one day. This movie has incredible effects, acting, even editing, all of which is completely brought down by a script worthy of a kindergartener. Let's go over the good stuff.
Emma Stone, as always, is a treasure. She just doesn't miss. Nicholas Britell's score was good, if a bit understated at times. When you have as much money as Disney, good effects come as an expectation, but it's still nice to see a movie that looks well done. I'll say that the cinematography is nothing unique, but the color palette and lighting were good, and makes it look better than average.
But like I said, the script tears down any success this movie had in my mind. The script wildly goes back and forth between literally nonsensical and cliched to the point that I literally laughed out loud in the theatre (on the emotional parts, keep in mind). I will say that this movie was a far cry from 'easy to write'. How do you justify Cruella de Vil? How do you make an audience connect to a character who's goal in the original movie is 'skin puppies'? Unfortunately, this movie addresses none of that. In order to set up her hatred of Dalmatians, they use literally the cheapest tactics known to screenwriting, and it's just annoying at this point. Without getting into spoilers, just know that this movie uses 5 of the most cliched and overused tropes in Disney movies. And this is not a movie about Cruella de Vil. By the end of the movie, Cruella is nowhere near where she is in 101 Dalmatians, and it bothers me.
I don't like it when movies fail, even when I have literally no expectations for them. I want and love to be surprised by movies, but when there's a problem so glaringly obvious, especially with a company as big as Disney, it's hard to look past. Watching Cruella reminds me of watching Wonder Woman 1984. Patty Jenkins is an extremely competent writer/director, so it was shocking to see a script as bad and disjointed as WW84. Disney has had so much success, and they can afford quality control on their films, so it's always a surprise that they let this kind of stuff get past.
TL;DR: This movie is well executed, but the script is terrible. The writing is cliched beyond belief, and at times just doesn't make sense.
A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
First big surprise of 2021
I'm glad to say that this movie surprised me. Horror sequels tend to be infamously bad, and never live up to the first one. A quiet place has, however, surpassed the first movie. When they announced A Quiet Place part ii, I rolled my eyes. A Quiet Place was made as a solo film, and generally, making a sequel just because the first made money is a recipe for disaster. However, this may be an exception to prove the rule.
John Krasinski's directing is undoubtedly growing, and shouldn't be questioned. The use of an anamorphic lens with 35mm film was expected, but still satisfying to see. In almost every case, Krasinski focuses on characters in both blocking and narrative. The character driven story adds to the suspense, and really makes you feel for the family. Some shots in this movie are breathtaking, especially the juxtaposition shots, like Evelyn on the bridge that represents the family's past, cross cut with Regan and Emmet on a bridge to the family's future, as well as both sequences where there are 2 or 3 different subplots coming together.
Performances are incredible, and while Cillian Murphy doesn't quite match Krasinski's performance in the first movie, he gives a convincing performance for a man who has lost all hope in humanity, and it shows on his face when he learns that Regan was right. Emily Blunt kills it, although her character takes a backseat in this movie, while the kids take on more leading roles. And the kids are absolutely the stars of this movie. Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds, both taking on more "leading" roles in this movie, absolutely destroy it. Simmonds' quiet bravery as Regan in this movie is inspiring, and I honestly buy that she was able to convince Emmet to join her. Jupe's performance as Marcus may be my favorite role in the movie, as he finally faces his fear in the last few moments of the movie is a beautifully constructed and executed character arc.
Once again, the film perfectly captures the terror of its high concept, and executes it well. Some of the same cheap jumpscares exist like in the last movie, but a lot of the scares are a lot better. Some of my favorites are when Regan is on the train, and every time it cuts back to her face, you can see the open train door in the background. Since there's no sound for her, you're always expecting the creature to be in the doorway when it cuts back, and it stretches the tension a perfect amount before the monster actually appears in the doorway.
Marco Beltrami's score is once again fantastic, and is one of the only places in the movie that I was able to relax and get off the edge of my seat. That's a testament to both the quality of the score, and the fact that Krasinski keeps the movie tense the entire way through the movie, with next to no breaks, and it doesn't seem like it drags.
The movie isn't perfect, though. The largest problem for me is the logic that the kids have. Horror movies always have the "character does this stupid thing which calls the monster over" cliche, but this movie takes it to the extreme. Regan leaving alone to go to the island is one of the worst character decisions in a horror movie ever, and she's way too smart for that. She knows she can't hear the monsters, and more importantly can't hear when she accidentally makes noise. I have no idea why she wouldn't at least try to convince someone else is beyond me. Same goes for when Marcus goes upstairs alone, and then falls backwards loudly. Both of these decisions lead to some incredible moments and the most tense parts of the movies, but in the theatre I couldn't stop thinking "ahhh jesus why would they do that".
There's a huge hole to fill, with Krasinski's Lee dead, and Emmet doesn't quite fill it, although not for lack of trying. He has some good pseudo-father moments to Regan, however this franchise will never top Lee's death in the first movie. The opening sequence (although mostly spoiled by the trailer) is fantastic and one of the best I've seen, but it only reminds me how much better Krasinski was in the first movie, even the Murphy does a decent job.
And yes, there are some world-building problems now that we know that the monsters can't swim. It also seems to me like the hearing of the monsters isn't as good as in the first movie. In the first movie, monsters would be on any scream in seconds, but in this movie, Marcus screams for a few minutes before one shows its face, and the monster is on the ceiling? For some reason?
Regardless, this is the first surprise success of 2021, and John Krasinski continues to solidify himself as a serious actor/director. Fans of the first film will love this one, maybe even more than the first.