Review: "Hamilton"

by Eric Blume

Disney+ made a shrewd and smart move by releasing the filmed-stage movie musical Hamilton over the July 4 weekend, at a time when the country really needs it.  The themes and ideas of this Pulitzer Prize-winning theater phenomenon from five years ago seem even more relevant and powerful than they did upon arrival, and the movie version, which debuted this weekend, is a stage capture of the principal original Broadway cast, edited together from three live performances filmed in June 2016.  

Filmed versions of staged material always have their limitations:  one can never capture the visceral pump of energy that’s happening in the Richard Rodgers Theater before and during a performance of this show in particular.  As such, the Hamilton movie ultimately succeeds best in preserving an unbeatable group of actors in the biggest show of this century, exactly as the original creators intended it to play...

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Streaming Roulette, July: Angels, Witches, Hamilton, and the Czech New Wave

If you're new to the site this is how we share new streaming offerings for the month. We select a handful or two of titles and just randomly hit a place on the scroll bar to see what the film looks like - no cheating.  Ready? Let's play...

[Eavesdropping]
Mum: Look at the lovely sunshine all the other boys are out their playing in the water.
Dad: Pick up your knife.
Mum: You're just like your father.

The Witches (1990) on Netflix
The Grand High Witch watches a young child eating. She hates children! Has any actor had as genius a double feature as Anjelica Huston did in 1990 with The Witches and The Grifters? (Besides Kidman in 2001, of course!) Good lord she was on fire in the late 80s and early 90s. If you've never seen this you should watch it before the remake with Anne Hathaway starts filming. 

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The Gesture: Merrit Wever in "Unbelievable"

Having long been fascinated by gestural movements in acting, we thought we'd try a series on it.  - Ed. 

by Nathaniel R

There is no one working like Merrit Wever. She's so real, so in the moment onscreen, that you can sometimes flash to one of her scenes like its pulled from you own very human memory. No matter how outlandish (Run) or specific (Unbelievable) her situation, you're in the space with her, living it, no cameras in sight. Queen of naturalism!

Take this diner sequence from Unbelievable...

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What did you see this week?

I miss going to the movie theater so much that I ache sometimes. This week inbetween work and stress and social-distanced social activities (sigh), I finished Normal People and Love Victor. Then I made time for Hannah Gadsby's Douglas which was brilliant. Somehow she nailed the very tough follow-up expectations set by Nanette -- I'm still giggling hours later about "Karen's handful" and women's hobbies during the Renaissance.

Finally we screened Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Regarding the latter, my best friend and I had heard great things but save Rachel McAdam's usual magnetism and Dan "I've got range!" Stevens' pompous hilarity as a seductive Russian pop star, it was dreadful. About 40 minutes too long (no really), predictable at every turn, with death rattle pacing, and Will Ferrell continuing to be the least funny of the successful comic film stars.

What did you see this week? 

Loving "Love, Victor"

by Nathaniel R

Is this what good fan-fiction is like? In the first awkward episode of Love, Victor... and, again in the eighth "very special" cringe-worthy episode, and, fiiine, in scattered bits inbetween in virtually all episodes, the new Hulu series perpetually draws attention to the fact that it's inspired by the motion picture Love, Simon (2018). That said it wisely positions itself as a sequel, rather than a remake.

Instead of writing to a mysterious gay schoolmate online as Simon did in the first mainstream wide release gay romcom, Victor writes to Simon himself, inspired by his story and perpetually sliding into his DMs asking for advice...

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