Current mood:

impressed

I dare you to watch this movie and not smile
Weekend Assignment #215: Review a film. Any film. Got something interesting to say about Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery (1903)? I'd love to read it. Metropolis (1927)? Why not? A Night in Casablanca (1946)? Fine. The Seventh Seal (1957)? Er, okay! Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)? You'll get away with it. Speed Racer (2008)? Go for it. From Hollywood to Ballywood to Hong Kong, from Kubrick to Kurasawa, it's all on the W.A. marquee. But there's one catch: the film should not be on your personal list of favorites; nor should it be a film you despise.

Extra Credit: Is there a film due out this summer that you plan to go see? If so, what is it?

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and I got together with my mom, dad, and grandma for brunch and a movie. The movie my mom chose was Young@Heart. She thought it was something all four of us would enjoy, and she was right. I'm a bit hesitant to write much about it because I don't want to inadvertently give away anything that should be a surprise, but my desire to get more people to see it overrules my hesitation on that count.

The movie is a documentary about a Massachusetts-based chorus called Young@Heart. The average age in this chorus is 80. Their 58-year old choir director Bob has them learn, rehearse, and perform songs by James Brown, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Talking Heads, Coldplay, The Clash, The Ramones, Sinead O' Connor, Sonic Youth, and more. The film's director, Stephen Walker, caught them while they were on a tour of Europe and liked them so much he decided to travel to America so he could follow them around with a camera.

Some comments:
* My grandma said this was the best movie she's seen in "years and years."
* There was more than one moment watching this movie when I found myself beaming
and crying at exactly the same time.
* What a wonderful, wonderful thing it is that people can sing.
* Some of the best moments in this movie are shots of audience reactions at
Young@Heart's live performances.
* Something I find greatly unfortunate in this world is that there are so many people
who think they have to spend hundreds of dollars on tickets to see a
production starring celebrities earning millions of dollars in theaters with thousands
of seats to see a great performance. Here's Exhibit A in the case against
that terrible myth. Someday soon maybe I'll share Exhibits B-Z here too. . . a list
I could compile in my sleep. But I digress. Well, no, I don't really digress -
what I mean to say is: if Young@Heart ever comes to your city, go. Go to community
and college theater. Go to open mic nights. You'll gather some of the most
enduring memories of your life.
* I have nothing bad to say about this movie.

I think I've reached the point where I'm going to stop talking about this movie. I know this is a pretty vague movie review, but that's honestly because I don't want to spoil it.

Extra credit: I already have tickets for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I feel a bit odd about being an adult at the same time an Indiana Jones movie is opening. That's just never happened before. I already saw Iron Man and thought it was OK. If not for Robert Downey Jr., I would have found it really, really boring.

I'm sure I'll see more movies this summer, too. I like movies.