Wicked (2024)

Loved it! Nominated for ten Oscars, dozens of wins and hundreds of other nominations, this extravaganza delivers. I don't think I have to tell you the story is about the early years of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) becoming besties with Glinda (the Good Witch of the North) in school--okay, I just did. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are delightful in those roles with their amazing vocals, supported by Jeff Goldblum as the wry Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as stern Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey as dancing Fiyero, and cameos by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth (original to the roles on Broadway). Listen for the voice of Peter Dinklage as the voice of the professor-goat, Dr. Dillamond.

My only quibble is it's overlong at 2:40. That's not a big problem for home viewers like us. The other reason I didn't want to see it in the theatre (in addition to my usual reasons) is that I heard many stories of audience members singing along or causing other disruptions.

Director Jon M. Chu keeps all the balls in the air--wait 'til you see the Dancing Through Life scene––from the script by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. Holzman also wrote the book for the Broadway musical, which as based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel and premiered in 2003. Amy, Emily, Marilyn, and I saw it in New York in 2006.

Stephen Schwartz's Broadway songs are available on on Apple Music and are supplemented by John Powell's instrumentals, also on Apple Music. Speaking of Dancing Through Life, watch this YouTube video about the making of the scene.

Also recognized by Oscar are production designer Nathan Crowley and costume designer Paul Tazewell.

Erivo was last blogged for Respect, Goldblum for Le Week-End, Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Menzel for You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, Dinklage for Cyrano, Chu for In the Heights, Fox for Cruella, Powell for Don't Worry Darling, and Tazewell for West Side Story.

Grande (birth name Grande-Butera) has done some acting, notably Penny Pingleton in the TV movie Hairspray Live! and a small part in Don't Look Up, but is best known as a pop music singer with a four octave range. Bailey has dozens of credits, but, to me, he's the sexy Lord Anthony Bridgerton in nineteen episodes of Bridgerton. Chenoweth, also with a remarkable vocal range, has nominations (including for Wicked) and wins from the Tonys and Emmys (including for Pushing Daisies and Glee).

Holzman wrote ten episodes of Thirtysomething, 19 of My So-Called Life, and 13 of Once and Again, as well as Executive Producing the latter two. Schwartz, Oscar-nominated with Powell for this score, shared two Oscar wins with Alan Menken for the score and Colors of the Wind in Pocahontas (1995), and was nominated for three songs in Enchanted, which is one of the five movies I wrote about on my very first day of blogging, September 3, 2008. This is Crowley's seventh Oscar nomination and we've seen them all, The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight, Interstellar, Dunkirk, First Man, and Tenet.

Rotten Tomatoes' audiences and critics are kind, averaging 88 and 95%.

We intended to rent it days after it dropped for streaming, but paid more to buy it on January 5 because of the extras (including a sing-along version to share with my chorus buddies), and today it's available to buy on the major streamers for what was then the rental price of $19.99. 55 trivia items give even more depth to my enjoyment. Read them if you like!

Emilia Pérez (2024)

Amy called this movie "fearlessly weird" and we both loved it, a crazy Spanish language musical about a lawyer who is hired to facilitate the disappearance and gender reassignment of a Mexican cartel leader; and then more stuff happens. It has 69 wins and 187 nominations as of this writing, including many for Zoe Saldana as the lawyer Rita, Karla Sofía Gascón as the crime boss/Emilia, Selena Gomez as the boss's wife Jessi, and director/writer Jacques Audiard. Other notable cast members are Adriana Paz as Epifania, Mark Ivanir as Wasserman, and Edgar Ramirez as Gustavo. Amy, who is fluent in Spanish, noticed that Gomez's accent and delivery are not great. Gomez admitted this and that's why it was decided to make Jessi's character American instead of Mexican.

Audiard, who is French, speaks no Spanish, and had apparently spent no time in Mexico, had originally loosely adapted Boris Razon's 2018 novel Écoute (it's French for the word listen) into an opera. For this movie he shares writing credits with Thomas Bidegain for scenario collaboration and Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi for [plain] collaboration.

Not everyone loved this by any means.. I'll quote one item of the plentiful imdb trivia: "The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) called the film a 'profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman' that 'recycles the trans stereotypes, tropes, and clichés of the not-so-distant past.' The Latino community, especially Mexicans, also expressed their discontent over the film's stereotypical portrayal of Mexico and its people and for romanticizing the cartel and disrespecting its victims." However, see above for the awards and nominations. 

The songs, including the catchy tune La Vaginoplastia, are written by Camille and/or Clément Ducol and/or Audiard.

Saldana was last blogged for Amsterdam, Gomez for A Rainy Day in New York, Audiard for Rust and Bone, and Ivanir for A Late Quartet. Before her real life transition, Gascón had an acting career from 1995-2016 under the names of Juan Carlos Gascón and Carlos Gascón. Since then she has acted in two TV series and this is her first feature as a woman. Paz has acted in many projects––I haven't seen any––but Ramirez is quite familiar because of his work on Joy and the season of American Crime Story in which he played Gianni Versace.

Bidegain has dozens of credits, including Rust and Bone, others directed by Audiard, and the movie on which CODA was based. Mysius is new to me and Livecchi collaborated with Audiard on another feature. This is Camille's sixth time scoring a feature and Ducol's ninth.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are somewhat neutral, averaging 76%, while its audiences are downright opposed at 38. We watched it on Netflix on December 29.

Anora (2024)

Amy, Jack, and I really liked this frenetic story of a New York stripper/sex worker who impulsively marries the immature son of a Russian crime family. X rated with lots of nudity, sex, drugs, and rock and roll, this Palme d'Or winner is no Pretty Woman. Mikey Madison and her luminous smile shine as the street smart title character nicknamed Ani and Mark Eydelshteyn is her hapless prince who looks younger than his age of 22. Lindsey Normington, who plays Ani's strip club nemesis Diamond, has worked as an exotic dancer and was a big help in the production.

Director/writer/editor Sean Baker keeps the energy high throughout the 139 minute run time. Amy commented that the story is good but the last scene is sad. The soundtrack consists of 59 (!) songs listed on imdb. 

The movie has earned 83 wins and 172 nominations so far, up from when I checked even yesterday, and is the first American Palme d'Or winner in thirteen years.

After I wrote about Madison in Nostalgia (when I mentioned her 52 episodes in the wonderful FX series Better Things), she was in the huge cast of Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood. Baker was last blogged for Red Rocket and this is Normington's second feature.

Because I was so eager to see this acclaimed title, we went ahead and bought it to stream on Apple TV since it can't yet be rented, to fulfill our 19 year family tradition of watching a movie on Christmas day.

Moana (2016)

Every time I commented I hadn't seen (the first) Moana, Jack said, "It's really good!" He watched it again last week with Amy and me and we agreed with him. The animated musical about a headstrong independent Polynesian island princess is beautiful, funny, creative, and has great songs. Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson lead the voice cast as the title character and the muscular tattooed demigod Maui. The hilarious Jemaine Clement has a turn as an evil crab named Tamatoa.

Many cooks didn't spoil the broth, as it was directed by Ron Clements, John Musker, Don Hall, and Chris Williams from a screenplay by Jared Bush and story by Clements, Musker, Hall, Williams, Pamela Ribon, and identical twin brothers Aaron Kandell and Jordan Kandell.

I had heard and sung along to the songs many times at the grandchildren's houses, especially How Far I'll Go and You're Welcome (both written by Lin-Manuel Miranda), the former of which was Oscar-nominated that year. The exciting score by Mark Mancina and some of those songs can be streamed on Apple Music. 

Writing this took an extra long time because I went down the rabbit hole of reading what seems like hundreds of trivia items, including that Christopher Jackson, a Hamilton alumnus, provided the singing voice for Moana's father and that almost every actor is of Polynesian or Australian descent.

Cravalho was last blogged for Mean Girls (also a musical) but this was her acting debut at age 15, Johnson for The Other Guys, Clement for The Breaker Upperers, Hall for Raya and the Last Dragon, Bush and Miranda for Encanto, and Jackson for In the Heights.

Clements and Musker directed The Little Mermaid (1989), and Aladdin (1992), among others, Williams is credited with the stories of Mulan (1998), Frozen, and more, and Mancina's dozens of credits include Bad Boys (1995), Training Day (2001), and August Rush (2008). Ribon and the Kandells are new to me.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are happily at sea, averaging 95 and 89%. We streamed it on Disney+ on December 28. Stick around for the credits or fast forward to the end for a bonus scene with Tamatoa.

Good Grief (2023)

Jack and I really liked Daniel Levy's movie (he directed, wrote, and starred) about an artist named Marc mourning his husband's death with Marc's two best friends. It sounds lugubrious (i.e. mournful–my mother liked that word) but there's plenty of comic relief, as to be expected from the Schitt's Creek creator, star, writer, producer, and showrunner. The best friends are played by Ruth Negga and Himesh Patel and the husband is Luke Evans. Celia Imrie makes an appearance as the estate lawyer and I spotted cameos by Kaitlyn Dever as the narcissistic young actress and Emma Corrin as the performance artist.

The sweet soundtrack by Rob Simonsen is available to stream on Apple Music and likely elsewhere and there are good songs, of course. I remember enjoying the production values––production designer is Alice Normington––and great location shots in London and Paris, including in the room with Monet's water lilies in the Musée de l'Orangerie. Marc's paintings are by Kris Knight, who, like Levy, is Canadian. You can see five of them them here, but it may be better to view them after watching the movie.

Levy was last blogged for acting in Happiest Season and it's his first time directing and writing a feature. Negga was most recently in these pages for Passing, Patel for Yesterday, Evans for Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, Imrie for Finding Your Feet, Dever for Ticket to Paradise, and Simonsen for The Whale.

Corrin has a slew of nominations and wins for playing young Princess Diana in season 4 of The Crown and Normington has designed over two dozen productions, including Nowhere Boy and Suffragette.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics' and audiences' handkerchiefs are dry, averaging 76 and 70%. We watched it on Netflix on December 20 after it had been on my watch list for a long time.

The Piano Lesson (2024)

Jack and I liked very much this latest iteration of August Wilson's 1987 Pulitzer-winning play about a 1936 Pittsburgh family's prized instrument. It's getting lots of love, especially for Danielle Deadwyler who stars as Berniece. Samuel L. Jackson gets top billing as Doaker, the uncle of Berniece and her brother Boy Willie, the lead character, played by John David Washington. Supporting strength comes from Ray Fisher as cousin Lymon, Corey Hawkins as Berniece's boyfriend Avery, Michael Potts as her uncle Wining Boy, and I'm always happy to see and hear Erykah Badu, this time playing Lucille.

Malcolm Washington (Denzel's son and John David's brother) makes his feature directing and co-writing debut with co-writer Virgil Williams. Denzel does not appear on screen but is one of the producers, and Malcolm's twin sister Olivia Washington has a small part as Young Mama Ola. I'm streaming Alexandre Desplat's score on Apple Music as I type.

The production design, led by David J. Bomba, of the 1930s and flashbacks, is in beautiful sepia.

Jackson was the first to play Boy Willie in the 1987 Yale Repertory Theater production, and he, John David Washington, Fisher, and Potts all starred in its Broadway production from 2022-2023. After and between the stage version, there was an award winning 1995 TV movie, too.

Jackson was last blogged for Death to 2020, John David Washington for Amsterdam, Hawkins for The Tragedy of Macbeth, Potts for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Badu for House of D, Williams for Mudbound, and Desplat for Nyad. 

Deadwyler starred in and earned nominations and wins for Till (2022), which I forgot to see, among many credits, and Fisher is new to me. Olivia Washington co-starred in the surreal series I'm a Virgo, about a 13 foot tall Oakland teenager. Bomba has several nominations and wins, including for this, Mudbound, and the series Ozark.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are in tune, with an 88% average, but its audiences are hitting clunkers at 68. We streamed it on Netflix on December 10. Stick around for a Badu song and two others at the end of the credits.

Janet Planet (2023)

This story of sensitive 11 year old Lacy living with her acupuncturist mother, the title character, in 1991 rural western Massachusetts is what I would call languid and, in one scene, Lacy learns the word languorous. I liked it and Jack didn't hate it. We both agree that young Zoe Ziegler, in her debut, is terrific and I always like Julianne Nicholson, who plays Janet. We also see Will Patton, Sophie Okonedo, Elias Koteas, and more.

Director/writer Annie Baker, a celebrated playwright, makes her film debut and was inspired by her own childhood with a single mom in the same geographical area. Baker won an Obie Award for her very first play in 2009, two more later, and a Pulitzer for one of them, among her accolades. There is a creative theatrical piece within the movie and lots of slow, thoughtful pauses.

No composer is credited––instead, we have a list of songs on the soundtrack.

Nicholson was last blogged for Blonde, Patton for Minari, and Okonedo for Catherine Called Birdy. Koteas looks familiar and his name rings a bell, but none of his dozens of roles rings a bell.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics are heading out of this world with an 85% average (it's on many top ten lists), while its audiences are earthbound at 49. We streamed it on Max on December 13 and it can be rented.