A Not Great Beat Beneath My Feet

The Beat Beneath My Feet

The Beat Beneath My Feet

Directed by John Williams
Written by Michael Müller

The review:

Only because of Luke Perry did I watch this and though there is ample Luke Perry,* I was not blessed with a good movie, though it does stop well shy of being terrible.** It’s the kind of movie where things happen because plot requires*** rather than unfolding organically. The music was fine.****

The verdict: Skip

Cost: free via Kanopy
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*And god bless Luke Perry for imprinting on me in the 90s, but can we talk about his range? I feel like he does what he does well: attentive stares, sad eyes, thoughtful performances. But I don’t know if I’ve seen him step outside those things. Please weigh in with your input.
**Sometimes boring movies are worse.
***How exactly did this famous singer with an American accent get away with living on the dole in London under an assumed name? Do they have unemployment benefits for non-citizens there? Perhaps they do and I’m thinking of the USA’s attitude toward welfare. But really, no one recognized him? Also, was there no other sympathetic sort at school than the hot girl?
****Though if you are looking for a sad people musician story, might I recommend Song One?

Questions:

  • What would you have done to spruce this movie up?
  • Who’s your favorite sad musician in real life?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Luke Perry is left handed and his character writes left handed in the film, but plays guitar right handed.

Other reviews of The Beat Beneath My Feet:

The Beat Beneath My Feet

Song One: Music and Emoting

Song One

Song One

Written and directed by Kate Barker-Froyland

The review:

This film is a must-see for people who like to watch Anne Hathaway emote, like quiet films with lots of time for thinking, or perhaps would like a tour through concerts of indie musicians playing in NYC/Brooklyn circa 2015.* It’s a great film for twining pain (a brother in a coma) with the pleasure of connecting through music. It also had me reflecting about the sounds around us and how they often go unnoticed.**

The verdict: Good

Cost: $1.99 via Redbox On Demand. Arrrgh! Have just discovered it’s on Hoopla and I could have watched it for free!
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Essentially, this is the perfect “me” movie.
**Plus, after watching this, Emma. and the TV series Love Sick I’ve concluded that Johnny Flynn plays essentially the same character every time. But he’s picked a good character to play.

Questions:

  • Which was the most interesting relationship in this film: Franny and her mother, Franny and her brother, Franny and James Forester
  • How did Franny’s anthropologist training influence her attempts to bring her brother out of the coma?
  • Why is this called Song One?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The steel guitar that Johnny Flynn’s character James Forester is often seen with is his own guitar and is featured in many of his music videos.

Other reviews of Song One:

Song One

Last Christmas is Good Holiday Movie

Last Christmas

Last Christmas

Directed by Paul Feig
Written by Emma Thompson and Bryony Kimmings

The review:

Gosh darn if Emilia Clarke* isn’t the reason to watch this perfectly fine entry into the holiday movie glut.** It’s best to wander along with the movie, rather than to try to figure things out.*** This is a film that checks its boxes, doesn’t aspire to be more, and might be something to add to your regular holiday viewing.

The verdict: Good

Cost: $1.80 from Redbox****
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*She’s so darn charismatic! And she sings!
**Which I watched in June because in December and January I was too busy doing Oscar movie prep/catchup.
***Indeed, this is basically the same plot as a movie that also uses a pop song for its title. I will not reveal the name of said movie here, as people watching this film will have probably already seen that film.
****My Redbox DVD came with a TON of extras, all introduced by director Paul Feig, who seems to have inherited Garry Marshall’s nice-guy mantle.

Questions:

  • Should films centered around the winter holidays break from their pleasant nature?
  • What was your favorite placement of a George Michael song in this film?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Filmed on location in London. In order to avoid crowds interrupting filming, many scenes started filming around 2 a.m.

Other reviews of Last Christmas:

Last Christmas

Zoe Deutch Sparkles in Buffaloed

Buffaloed

Buffaloed

Directed by Tanya Wexler
Written by Brian Sacca

The review:

Zoey Deutch flexes her I’m-a-legit-actress-not-just-an-offspring-hack muscles* using not only tons of charisma to make us like a tough-gal character, but also also employing a Buffalo-style accent.** While Deutch is engaging, the story swings and misses a few times,*** though does a great job at illustrating the problems with regulation in the American debt collection system. Overall, this was a solid film with a lot of engaging performances**** and a reminder of why it’s best to avoid debt whenever possible.*****

The verdict: Good

Cost: $1.80 via Redbox
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*She’s the daughter of director Howard Deutch and actress-director Lea Thompson. Once I learned who her mother is, I had a moment of “well of course she looks familiar!” I’ve enjoyed her in a bit role in Everybody Wants Some! and as a the lead in Before I Fall, which was a movie I enjoyed quite a bit and I feel like not many people watched. She was also the assistant in Set it Up, which was one of a bevy of solid Netflix rom-coms I watched in the summer of 2018.
**I will leave it to the residents of Buffalo to determine how well she did at said accent.
***That Deutch’s Peg Dahl becomes part of the problem is where the story lost me. I can only cheer on a debt collector for so long, despite how very likable she is.
****Judy Greer! Plus, Jermaine Fowler was of interest.
*****I mean, universal healthcare would help, for one. No one should be harassed by debt collectors for trying to maintain their health.

Questions:

  • At what point did Peg Dahl make the wrong move?
  • What parts of this movie did you find believable? Unbelievable?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Most of the suits Peg wears were purchased at Goodwill.

Other reviews of Buffaloed:

Buffaloed

A Few Missing Flags

Do you notice that there is one flag to the left of the plaque and six flags to the right of it?

I did not notice this either. That is until I noticed a car stop and take one of the flags from the left side of the plaque.

From there I surmised that perhaps at the beginning of the weekend there were more flags on display, but they were spirited away to adorn other graves.

The things we encounter on Dead Relatives Tour.

SKS Dreams Plus a Postcard From Texas

My nitpicky nature has me immediately saying, “but what if you need a person to achieve your dream?????”

Sara says, “These were a few ‘I can’t send that to my students’ duds in this set of postcards I gave Jeff Bezos money for. You get to enjoy their just-off sentiment. I mean, do you feel encouraged by this? What does it even mean really?”

Clearly we are in agreement.

Rachel sent me this postcard so she could show me where she lives. It appears “Austin” has a lot of extra named towns that are part of it.

I think my favorite on this map is Pflugerville.

Becoming Captures a Time

Becoming

Becoming

  • Directed by Nadia Hallgren

The review

Nadia Hallgren takes us along on Michelle Obama’s book tour in Becoming, a movie that is both a nostalgic trip back to 2008–2016 and an illustration of why so many people admire the former first lady.* For a ninety-minute film it packs in a lot: the planning of and excerpts from her tour, behind-the-scenes footage of her daily life on tour,** discussion of her life before politics, her role as a politician’s wife, and even short bios on a few of the teenagers who participated in chats with Obama while on tour. The pacing drags near the end, but for anyone interested in Obama’s life, or how intelligent and graceful women live their lives, this is a must-see film.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Further sentences:

*There was a lot to like in this film, but I think my favorite parts were watching the audience reactions as she talked.
**Favorite scene: when her brother asked about the placement of her belt. It was a great illustration of what fashion means for men vs. for women. Also: funny.

Questions:

  • Did seeing this film change how you thought of Michelle Obama?
  • What was the most interesting behind-the-scenes moment?

Other reviews of Becoming:

Becoming

The Lovebirds is Packed with Laughs

The Lovebirds

The Lovebirds

  • Directed by: Michael Showalter
  • Written by: Aaron Abram, Brendan Gall

The review:

The Lovebirds pairs Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani in a hilarious movie that pushes all the comedic buttons. I think the key to this film is that Rae and Nanjiani play a couple that isn’t in sync any longer, but hasn’t moved to full-on hatred.* There are a lot of amusing fish-out-of-water setups, and the two really shine when they are improving how to be tough guys, rather than the advertising exec and documentary filmmaker that they are.**

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences

*This is important. Tuning in for 90 minutes of angry people snapping at each other, no thanks. But 90 minutes of two people who disagree about a variety of things yet still respect each other leaves room for a lot of laughter.
**I laughed so very hard at this film from the first disagreement (We would win the Amazing Race) to the last one. I laughed all alone in my house the first night, and then all over again the next night when the boyfriend and I watched it together.

Questions:

  • Which of the outfits Rae and Nanjiani wore do you think provided the most humor per scene?
  • What’s another out-of-sync-couple captured on film that you enjoy?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

(also the only IMDB trivia item)
Paramount had originally planned to released the film theatrically on April 3, 2020, but decided to release it on Netflix due to the Coronavirus pandemic and widespread theater closings.

Other reviews of The Lovebirds:

The Lovebirds