Film Review: Roma (2018)

This autobiographical drama is definitely one of Alfonso Cuarón’s best. We are taken into a part of Mexico’s history that not many people know about while getting a poignant look into its class divisions. 

Yup. That’s it. Writing this on my iPad so keeping it short and sweet. Check it out. 

Film Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse (2018)

In my lifetime I have seen six different Spider-Man films brought to life. I have seen brought to life on the big screen by three different actors (Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland). Never have I enjoyed a Spider-Man movie as much as I enjoyed this one.

The animation brilliantly moves and feels like a comic book brought to life. It visually brilliant and incredibly cool to look at. The filmmakers who brought this adaptation of Spider-Man to life are the ones who have made "The Lego Movie" (which I have not seen) and "22 Jump Street" (which I have and also enjoyed immensely).

"Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse" brings different spider men and women from different alternate universes into the particular universe in which Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) an Afro-Latino (!) becomes Spider-Man.

This is an original Spider-Man story and while some things are re-treads of the old films (Miles gaining his powers, learning how to use them, losing someone close to him) they are presented in a new and fresh way. As you're watching Miles go through these things it feels like you are watching Spider-Man go through these things for the first time.

Miles is plunged into the world of superheroes after he watches the classic Peter Parker (Chris Pine) die under the hands of Kingpin (Liev Schrieber). Kingpin has commissioned a team to create a machine that will open up any alternate universes in existence. Things go awry and the different spideys are taken into Miles's world including an older Peter Parker (Jake Johnson). The new Peter unwillingly begins teaching Miles all there is to know about being Spider-Man.

Joining Peter and Miles is Spider-Gwen (teenage Gwen Stacy voiced by Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-Man Noir (a spider-man straight out the noir genre voiced by Nicolas Cage), Peni Parker (a girl from the future with a futuristic robot voiced Kimiko Glenn ), and Spider-Ham (a pig voiced by John Mulaney). It is especially cool to see all the ways in which they make these characters unique to their worlds. Spider-Ham can be straight out of a Looney Toons cartoon, Peni can be straight out of an anime, and Spider-Man noir has wind to billow out his coat anywhere he goes.

It is fun to see all these characters working together and clashing with one another. The entire voice cast in phenomenal as well. They inhabit these characters perfectly so you never feel as though you are hearing a celebrity simply lending their voice to a film.

Miles, Peter and the all the rest team up to bring Kingpin down and send everyone to their respective dimensions. Miles learns how to be Spider-Man and how to embrace the daunting responsibility now in his hands. All of this is done in a funny and dynamic way. Everyone knows I'm not a fan of superhero films. They are formulaic and action packed which was fun... before the world was saturated with Marvel and DC films at every turn. This was new and exciting. This had me rooting for Miles in a way I hadn't rooted for a hero in a long time. If more superhero films were like this, maybe I would be more excited to watch them.

Broadway Review: Pretty Woman: The Musical

I have personally never seen "Pretty Woman" the film. If it's anything like the musical I'm not sure I want to. "Pretty Woman" stars Samantha Barks and Andy Karl and has music written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. There's nothing else of importance worth mentioning.

It seems to follow the film almost exactly based on audience reactions. Multimillionaire Edward Lewis (Karl) gets lost on his way to his Beverly Hills Hotel and encounters prostitute Vivian Banks (Barks) and decides to take her with him. It's only supposed to be a one night deal, but Edwards pays her for a whole week's companionship teaching her in the process of a better life she could be living and she teaches him how to live in the moment.

Banks's Vivian is spunky and intelligent and it makes you wonder why she has never gotten herself out of this situation she clearly despises. There is also nothing romantic about how the two characters end up together. Still, the film is a classic and fans of the film were clearly enjoying a film they liked being brought to the stage.

The scenes between Vivian and her best friend Kit (Orfeh) are the best. Barks brings an immense likability to Vivian and it is fun to watch her. The awkward moments (besides in the way she is treated) come from the moments in which Vivian and Edward engage in sexual acts. The production team seems really intent on hammering in what they are engaging in while keeping it as PG as possible. There was no need for these moments other than to prove she's doing what she's getting paid to do I guess.

There were also moments that were completely glossed over. I guess their inclusion came from being in the film, but they are mentioned, and then quickly forgotten. There is a prostitute found dead early in action. Nothing comes of this. There is simply a dead prostitute. Being a prostitute can be a dangerous profession, but the other prostitutes are concerned for her death for a hot second and then they move on. I guess things became not so dangerous in a span of ten seconds.

The famous scene in which Edward closes the jewelry box on Vivian as she reaches for the diamond necklace is included, but so choreographed it loses all meaning. Clearly this is here simply for fans of the film who would be upset if it wasn't included. Vivian is strong and optimistic and she truly does not need a man in this adaptation. She ends up with Edward I suppose because she has to.

Karl does well in the role of Lewis, but there isn't much to him. He is money hungry in the beginning and almost instantly after meeting Vivian he is not. He is incredibly one dimensional that there is no place for him to truly develop as a character.

The entire cast though is fantastic. Barks and Karl sound great throughout. Orfeh steals the show anytime she is on stage. Leading us through the events of the story is the Happy Man (Eric Anderson). He doubles as the hotel manager and there is definitely a distinction between the two characters. He lights up the stage especially as the uptight hotel manager with a sense of humor.

The show isn't terrible. I have definitely seen worse productions on stage, but there is nothing memorable about it. It seemed to please fans of the film which is what matters I guess. The musical wasn't made for me or non fans of the film. Still I wish we could demand more. More emotional range and depth to the script. More opportunities to let these clearly talented actors showcase their skills. They seem to be having fun onstage, but I am sure they can do so much more.

Mike Birbiglia's The New One on Broadway at the Cort Theatre

Mike Birbiglia did not want to become a father. He states seven reasons as to why. Mainly he believed he was inadequate. He also did not want his life to change drastically.

He tells the audience all of this in "The New One". Playing for twelve weeks on Broadway's Cort Theatre, Birbiglia's experience is funny and also harsh. The first part of the show is dedicated to the reasons as to why he did not want to become a father. Interspersed are stories of his brother and nephew and his career. As someone who does not want children it was easy to relate to this, but as the show progresses even I thought some of the things he was saying were too mean.

Birbiglia is a comedian and actor who has appeared mainly with Amy Schumer. He is funny and endearing. You can't help but like him. He is relatable. That is why it is a shame that the second half of the show isn't as strong as the first half. The jokes aren't as funny especially when you stop to think about the things he is saying about his family which now includes his young daughter.

"The New One" begins with a stage bare of almost everything but a stool and a rug. Birbiglia begins his show talking about his first major purchase: a couch. This turns into a story involving his brother and nephew and after recounting this story to his wife she tells him she wants a baby. He insists that he shouldn't have one especially since upon marrying she knew how he felt about having one of his own. She reminds him that she was unsure at first whether or not she wanted one, but now it's official. She wants a baby.

He lists 6 out of the 7 reasons in detail why he should not have children. In the end he gives in to his wife's demand and she is pregnant and experiencing pregnancy hormones that double every three days.

The show is directed by Seth Barrish, and director and performer make the show funny. There are bits during his wife Jen's (he calls her Clo) pregnancy that are hilarious. It is fun to watch him relive his wife's pregnancy and all the funny moments that came with it.

When the baby arrives, the jokes keep coming. They just aren't as funny anymore.

It is possible that Birbiglia is overexaggerating how he felt after his daughter's birth for comedic effect. Even so, he is not as likable as he was before the birth of his daughter. He is upset by the fact that his life has drastically changed even though his wife promised it wouldn't and while that is understandable, he comes across as selfish and full of self pity.

There comes a moment after a particular interaction with his wife and daughter that he states "I know why dads leave". He makes a joke out of it, but it is still an incredibly harsh things to say. This is the moment in the show that got the least amount of laughs and those that did laugh did it more because they felt uncomfortable.

I am not familiar for Birbiglia's comedy. It is possible that he says things like this for shock value. I don't know. Even so it is not funny. It is a horrible thing to say and maybe he does legitimately feel this way. He hasn't left his wife and daughter, so maybe he feels this is why he can say something like this. I have no idea, but it did not sit right with me.

A lot of the jokes built around the birth of his daughter and life after her birth revolve around traditional gender roles. He is not as attached to his daughter because his wife is doing all of the work. She is raising their baby and still doing all the household chores without his help. Yes, there are people who live this way in reality and more power to them if they are both content. He is not content, though.

The show does have a happy ending. He begins to help his wife with the chores and he develops a bond with his daughter. There were beautiful moments on his way to the discovery of fatherhood, but there were also ugly moments. Those jokes might have been written in an exaggerated form of how he truly felt, and I am not knocking on his experience. He is allowed to feel how he does. The ending makes up for those moments, though.

Fireflies at Atlantic Theater Company

Donja R. Love's Fireflies opens with our protagonist Olivia (DeWanda Wise) writing a letter to a woman named Ruby. She mentions the bombs going off and hopes they end soon. She goes inside and after a few moments Olivia's husband Charles (Khris Davis) enters. From there we are thrust into Charles and Olivia's life together. Charles is a reverend who travels a lot preaching at different cities affected by violence due to the civil rights movement.

Olivia it turns out has hundreds of letters stashed under a floorboard all addressed to Ruby, but never mailed. Charles has known about the letters for three years, including the fact that they are filled with passion towards Ruby the mystery woman. The entirety of the play takes place at the couple's home with the majority of the action occurring in the kitchen. As the play progresses more and more secrets emerge. Charles has been cheating on his wife, he is an alcoholic and has beat her in the past. Olivia is pregnant, but does not want to be. She writes Charles's speeches as she is a gifted writer. This are difficult characters to portray and despite all their flaws, Wise and Davis do a remarkable job of bringing them to life fully fleshed out. It would be easy for these characters to be unlikable, but you sympathize with them and you understand their motives for everything they do.

The actors are wonderful and play off of each other well. They have great chemistry together. Olivia's final sermon is beautiful and delivered with immense passion by wise. Fireflies are God's people being called home, but they are more than that as Olivia proclaims. As she nears the ending of her sermon, the lights dim and the audience is greeted by thousands of fire flies projected on the stage. It is a powerful ending to a powerful piece of theatre.

Europa Report (2013)

There is something fascinating about "Europa Report" despite all the science fiction jargon.

Minutes into the film we discover that the crew in the film are in trouble. The rest of the film dedicates its time telling us how we reached this point, but you know the crew is in trouble from the beginning. And why wouldn't they be? They are in space after all.

The film is directed by Sebastian Cordero. In it Samantha Unger (Embeth Daviditz) sends a crew to Europa (one of Jupiter's moons) to discover whether or not there is life there as there is water on the moon.

The crew heads off to Europa. The film acts as a found footage film with the audience glimpsing into the lives of these astronauts through the cameras found on board their ship. There is nothing exciting going on at first, yet you are not bored watching them live on the ship.

As they are so far from Earth, the communications fail and the astronauts are left on their own. This is when the tension truly starts to build, as they are alone in space. This is also when things start to go wrong.

The film is simple and devoid of intense action scenes. Instead we are treated to the relationships the crew has with one another. This is a nice touch as too many films feel as though they have to do something drastic to keep the audiences' attention.

The crew consists of pilot Rosa (Anamaria Marinca), commander William (Daniel Wu), engineer Andrei (Michael Nyqvist), and science officer James (Sharlto Copley).

This is a story that has been done many times. There is nothing tremendously original about it, but it does have a scary feel to it. There is tension with everything the crew does especially since one screw up can mean the end for everybody.

They are all extremely passionate about their mission. They don't always make the smartest decisions, but neither are most people when they are on the brink of a major scientific discovery.

Reversing Roe (2018)

 The decision of Roe v. Wade is at stake as Brett Kavanaugh seems to be on his way to be nominated to the Supreme Court.

Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg's Netflix documentary comes at a critical time for many women. Currently seven states have only one operating abortion clinic. Several states have placed restrictions to make getting an abortion difficult. No matter which side of the abortion argument you stand, you know that the nomination is important. 

One of the first people we are introduced to is Colleen McNicholas, a Missouri based doctor who travels all over the country providing abortions to states with no abortion providing doctors.

The film itself provides a history of abortion beginning in the 60s before Roe v. Wade leading up to now where people continue to fight for or against the right for an abortion. 

The film interviews Republicans who oppose abortion and the reasons why they are so against it. Due to this, I was surprised to learn that many of the original pro-abortion laws were passed by Republicans. In fact, Ronald Reagan passed the first, liberal abortion law when he was serving as governor of California in the 60s.

As opponents of abortion began to rise, they began campaigning for (and advising) several Republican candidates and anti-abortion sentiments became more of right-wing views. Many Republican candidates who were pro-choice or undecided won presidential elections after saying they were staunch pro-lifers (including Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Donald Trump). 

No matter what ends up happening with the new Supreme Court Justice, it is apparent that the battle will continue. We see Wendy Davis filibustering in Texas and the what this means for the future of abortion in this country. We also see what a difference it makes to have several women serving on the Supreme Court as opposed to none or even one.

The film is biased as most documentary films are. However, to include people with differing views in the film, I think is an admirable attempt at keeping things too biased. Check out the film and hopefully learn something new. All I ask is that you make as informed decisions as you possibly can.