"Respect" and Some Movies You Might Not Know About

[I review the Aretha Franklin biopic "Respect" as well as "tick, tick...BOOM!," "Old," "The Guilty," "Val (a documentary about Val Kilmer)," and "Yellow Rose," a little indie film about a Filipina girl who wants to be a country singer]

Shoulder surgery recovery is coming along and 2021 will soon be behind me, so thank you for listening to me whine, but now I don't feel the need to go on about it any more.  Let's get back to what I do best - reviewing some good films (and warning you about some films you should avoid)!

Rosy the Reviewer is back!

Respect (2021)

Aretha Franklin gets some respect with this biopic starring Jennifer Hudson, who as a singer and actress is worthy of bringing Aretha back to life.

But that's kind of the problem here.  A little too much respect and not enough life.

Divas come and go but some live forever and Aretha is one of those - she lives forever in this respectful biopic that reveals aspects of her life most people might not have known about, that she stopped speaking after her mother died and later in life she had a drinking problem that almost sidelined her career. Sadly, this film skirts another issue you might not know about - that she had two children before the age of 15, her first pregnancy at the age of 12 after sexual abuse by a family friend. How does someone get over something like that and become one of the greatest singers of all time?  Yes, the film implies the first early pregnancy but then leaves it out there. It doesn't dig deep into that aspect of her life and how it affected her. In fact, at one point in the film, she says "I'm going to say goodbye to my children," and I said, "What?  She has more than one?"   

As I said, as the title implies, this film written by Tracey Scott Wilson and directed by Tommy Liesl, is very respectful of Franklin, so it's not surprising that the film did not dwell on those early pregnances since she did not like to discuss what happened to her as a young girl.

One can't help but compare this film to the eight-part TV mini-series "Genius:Aretha" starring Cynthia Erivo as Aretha that played on the National Geographic Channel earlier in the year and, in my opinion, did a better job of revealing all of the personal details of Franklin's life. Certainly, eight 50-minute episodes have plenty of room to give all of those details, but at two-and-a-half hours, this feature film could have done better, especially since it only covers her life up to 1972.  However, I have to say, in both cases, they were too long and failed to capture the heart and soul that was Aretha Franklin.

Here the first hour kind of drags and it's only when Aretha gets rid of her Dad (Forest Whitaker) and sets off on her own that the film takes off, though "takes off" is high praise.  In fact, the film doesn't really leave the runway. This is a traditional biopic that mechanically checks off the main points of Franklin's life up to the release of her gospel album, "Amazing Grace."  Raised in Detroit by her minister father who had divorced her mother, Franklin was a gospel star in her church from a young age.  Her father would wake her up at night to sing for party guests so it's no surprise that a gospel album would turn out to be her biggest-selling album ever.

Franklin hand-picked Hudson to play her and she does a good job dramatically and vocally and almost saves the film. I say almost. She is joined by some acting stalwarts but sadly the film lacked heart.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are a big Aretha or Jennifer Hudson fan, you might enjoy this but as for me, it was a missed opportunity to really shed light on an American icon and instead found it to be a kind of a soap opera snooze fest. (On DVD and for rent on most sites)

 tick, tick...BOOM! (2021)

A young man tries for years to make it on Broadway.

What a cruel irony that composer/ playwright Jonathan Larson, who tried for years to get his plays produced on Broadway and who faced rejection after rejection, should die suddenly at age 36 the morning that his play “Rent” was to preview on Broadway, a play that would go on to great success and change the face of Broadway musicals. But it’s a happy irony that this play by and about Larson was directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, another composer/playwright whose play “Hamilton” also changed the face of Broadway musicals almost 20 years later. And it’s a film you do not want to miss.

“Tick Tick Boom” was a solo work that Larson performed off-off Broadway during the early 1990’s before “Rent” and was made into a three-actor musical play after his death. It’s an autobiographical piece about “Jon” and his trials and tribulations as he tries to make it on Broadway. As his 30th birthday approaches, he laments that time is ticking away and that he will never make it.

Andrew Garfield, as you have never seen him, stars in this film version of Larson’s play making his singing debut. Vanessa Hudgens and Alexandra Shipp also star along with others you will recognize. Garfield is quite wonderful. He can not only sing, he can dance! Lin even makes a cameo appearance as do many Broadway greats in a song about Sunday brunch (see if you can spot them).

The film (screenplay by Steven Levenson) is a musical about making a musical and it does a good job of integrating parts of Larson’s original play into this film version of his life as he not only tries to make it on Broadway with his scifi musical "Superbia," but is also dealing with his best friend and roommate moving out, losing his girlfriend and a friend in the hospital dying of AIDS. As he turns 30, Jon's life really does seem like a ticking time bomb.

The music is wonderfully original and the songs all have the hallmarks of those in “Rent.” In fact, this film reminds us of just how groundbreaking Larson’s work was, creating a modern day “La Boheme,” but adding themes that were happening in real life, embracing difficult subjects like HIV/Aids, homophobia, poverty and drug addiction.

“Rent” didn’t open until 1996 and Larson never would know what a success it would become and how it would change musical theatre forever, but nevertheless, his play “Tick Tick Boom” and this film version end on a note of hope.

Rosy the Reviewer says…sadly, when Larson wrote and starred in “Tick Tick Boom,” he didn’t know that his life was also ticking away and that he didn’t have long to live but his talent and creativity lives on in “Rent” and this wonderfully charming musical film that made me cry. I cried partly because of Larson but also because this was such a wonderful film. If you love musicals, this is a must, and even if you think you don’t love musicals, this is still a must!

(Now streaming on Netflix)

Old (2021)

You are on the vacation of a lifetime - a deal you found on the Internet - only to discover that you could die of old age on the beautiful beach you are sunning yourself on. What?

Nothing like some good, old-fashioned horror from the likes of director M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense,” “Signs,” “Split”) to get over the horror of hanging out with family members over the holidays.

The film starts out in classic horror mode – unsuspecting family of four - Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal), Prisca (Vicky Krieps) and their two children Maddox (Alexa Swinton) and Trent (Nolan River) - heads to a tropical resort for the vacation of a lifetime and everything seems fine. Yes, they have some personal issues – medical and marital – but the couple decide to put those issues aside, compartmentalize and give the kids a great vacation. And as Prisca, the wife, says, “Can you believe I found this place online?”

BUT…yes, well, everything seems fine, but there is this little thing…a special beach that they and others are invited to by the resort manager. They are taken there on a bus (note the driver is Shyamalan himself) along with a doctor named Charles (Rufus Sewell), his wife Chrystal (Abbey Lee) and the doctor's mother, Agnes (Kathleen Chalfant), and their daughter Kara (Mikaya Fisher). There is also married couple Jarin (Ken Leung) and Patricia (Nikki Amuka-Bird). When they all arrive they meet a rapper named Mid-Sized Sedan (Aaron Pierre). His nose is bleeding and... is that a dead body on the beach? Special beach, indeed.

Turns out, this special beach is a place where cells age at an accelerated rate and one could die of old age in a matter of hours. The cells in the kids are particularly susceptible. Let’s just say that a little girl manages to go through puberty and adolescence and not only get pregnant but give birth within hours of arriving on the beach and then for the older folks, there is dementia, hearing loss, blindness and death, all developed by some of our unlucky heroes, all in the course of one day. Oh, and did I say that no one is able to get off the beach?

We all fear getting old and not being able to escape the passage of time is a great topic for a horror film and the ensemble cast does a good job with what they have to work with, but at times, the dialogue is over-dramatic and quite laughable. Adapted for the screen by Pierre-Oscar Levy (from his graphic novel "Sandcastle" with Frederik Peeters), this is one of those films destined to become a cult classic, because it’s so bad it’s good. At certain points, I thought I was watching a comedy. But that’s not a bad thing. I thought the whole thing was great fun, in a horror sort of way. I love all of Shyamalan's films because even when they shouldn't work, they do!

Rosy the Reviewer says…If you fear getting old, this might not be for you, but if you are already old, it’s a hoot. If you liked the series, “Nine Perfect Strangers,” you might like this one, because it’s kind of like that. And the moral of the story? Beware of online deals!

(Available on DVD and to rent through the usual sites)

The Guilty (2021)

A police officer who has been assigned 911 dispatcher duty is in a race against time to save a kidnapped woman.

I had a negative attitude about this film since it is a remake (you know I hate remakes) of a 2018 Danish film that I loved.  My feelings about most remakes is why try to improve on something that is already wonderful.  In the case of the Danish film, it and its star, Gustav Moller, had won 40+ awards.  But I know...Americans don't like reading subtitles so "foreign" films are ripe for poaching, and though I'm not a fan of remakes, surprisingly this remake directed by Antoine Fuqua with a screenplay by Nic Pizzolatto is faithful to the original and actually good. And if making an English version of this film will get viewers, then I am all for it because this film needs to be seen.  It's that good.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays LAPD officer Joe Baylor who has had some issues and been demoted to the night shift at a 911 call center while he awaits a court hearing for an incident that occurred on duty eight months prior. He's not a happy man and has no problem telling people off who should not be calling 911. But when he answers a call from a woman named Emily Lighton (voice of Riley Keough, Lisa Marie Presley's daughter) who reveals she has been abducted, Joe realizes he is in a race against time. Joe learns that she and her abductor are traveling in a white van, but Emily is forced to hang up before she can provide more details. Joe relays the information to the CHP but they are unable to locate the van without a license plate number.

Joe calls Emily's home phone and speaks with her six-year-old daughter Abby, who tells Joe that her mom left the house with her dad and she is alone with her baby brother, Oliver. Joe then calls his former partner Rick (Eli Goree), who is off-duty, and asks him to visit Henry's house. When the officers arrive at Emily's house, they find baby Oliver gravely injured in his crib. And then Joe and we realize that nothing is as it appears.

Jake Gyllenhaal has always been a good actor but here he excels in pretty much a one-man-show as we watch Joe play out this emergency in real time on the phone. It's a white knuckle experience for us and for Joe.

Rosy the Reviewer says...here's an idea.  See this one and then see the original Danish film and compare.  Then get back to me!

Val (2021)

A documentary about actor Val Kilmer - you know, the "I'm your huckleberry" guy.

Val Kilmer has said that he may look like a leading man but he's really a character actor. You would never know he was once a leading man in this documentary that follows him now as he attends fan conventions and lives his life after suffering from disfiguring throat cancer and the loss of his voice (though he can speak through a voice box).

The film spans 40 years with never-before-seen footage - Kilmer's own videos taken over the years - of Kilmer as a young man to the height of his career and now. Kilmer is probably most famous for his stints in "Top Gun" and "Tombstone" and playing Jim Morrison in "The Doors" and Batman in "Batman Forever."  He was married to actress Joanne Whalley and had a reputation as being "difficult" to work with. He was a dichotomy - a successful Hollywood actor who also resented his own success when faced with doing films he didn't approve of. However, before his cancer diagnosis, Kilmer was traveling the country with his pet project, a one-man-show portraying Mark Twain. In 2015, Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer and several operations later, his face is now disfigured and his voice has been reduced to a rasp (his son, Jack, plays his Dad in a voice-over narration).  Sadly, Val is no longer a leading man but makes his way attending fan conventions and helping young artists.

Now you might think that this would be a depressing film and that Kilmer would be angry about how his life has turned out, but it's not and he is not.  He attends the conventions and signs autographs because he wants to thank his fans and he realizes he has much to live for and be thankful for.

Leo Scott and Ting Poo are credited as directors but this is a family affair and all Val as he shares his home movies and videos that he compulsively shot over the years. Was he difficult? You decide. At any rate, this is a fascinating look at a fascinating life from the man who lived it.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a poignant portrait of Val Kilmer as you have never seen him. (Available on Amazon Prime)

Yellow Rose (2019)

A Filipina teen living in Texas wants to be a country singer. 

Seventeen-year-old Filipina Rose Garcia (Eva Noblezada) lives in a motel in Austin, Texas with her mother, Priscilla (Princess Punzalan), who supports them by running the front desk and cleaning the rooms.  Rose dreams of becoming a country singer, a hill difficult to climb as Rose is not perceived as your classic country singer, though she certainly has the chops. But it doesn't help that Rose and her mother are undocumented and when ICE comes calling and Priscilla is taken away, this story becomes much more than a young girl trying to make it as a country singer. Rose is taken in by her estranged aunt (Lea Salonga) who took a different path, one of assimilation, and is living a middle class life with her wealthy American husband and regretting giving up her Filipino family. Rose is also befriended by country singer Dale Watson (playing himself) who takes her under his wing.

Written by Diane Paragas, Annie J. Howell and Celena Cipriaso and directed by Paragas, this is not just a coming-of-age story, but a story of racial discrimination and our broken immigration system played out as Rose faces roadblock after roadblock trying to find work and find her mother. But there is also some great music too!

Noblezada is a Broadway baby who made her Broadway debut as Kim in a 2017 revival of "Miss Saigon," for which she received a Tony nomination.  She was only 21, becoming one of the youngest nominees.  She received a second Tony nomination in 2019 for originating the role of Eurydice in "Hadestown" on Broadway. She carries this film

Rosy the Reviewer says...a charming coming-of-age story that brings a personal side to the immigration issue.

(Available on STARZ, on DVD or from Direct TV)

Thanks for reading!

See you again soon!

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And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critic Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!