I Saw The Light (2015), Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams
One thing is clear; the fact that the name Hank Williams is one I only know of vaguely is going to change in 2016. Marc Abraham is the director of upcoming Hank Williams biopic, I Saw The Light; with Tom Hiddleston as Williams.
Hiddleston has one of those faces that seems to possess an infinitely intriguing quality. This should be interesting.
Elizabeth Olsen, Cherry Jones, Bradley Whitford and David Krumholtz are among the supporting cast.
We Are Your Friends (2015), Zac Efron, Wes Bentley
Directed by Max Joseph; We Are Your Friends (WAYF) is a film you might watch for one of the following reasons:
1. You’re curious about making it as a DJ in electronic music and welcome the idea of a movie that shows what the journey might be like. Especially if you come from ‘the wrong side of the tracks‘ – in the case of Zac Efron’s character, the wrong side of the Hollywood sign.
2. You really, REALLY ‘like’ Efron
3. You more than like Emily Ratajkowski
I watched WAYF because firstly, I don’t mind Zac Efron, second, I’ll always kind of like Wes Bentley – thanks to American Beauty (1999), and finally, I haven’t really seen Ratajkowski in much, so I was curious.
We Are Your Friends (2015), Emily Ratajkowski
Overall, I’d say that WAYF is not the absolute worst. However, it did feel like a certain je ne sais quoi was missing.
Unfortunately, at no point while the film played did I get close to the ‘this is a good movie. Wow!’ feeling. Especially regarding the story, structure, rhythm, etc. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the theme of chasing your dreams, visualising your future – what you want it to be like and moving in that direction while blocking out the doubters.
There’s also a rather good ‘This is exactly my dream and it’s about to happen‘ moment in the film. That’s my favourite part because I really felt it, thanks to some movie making magic/music, camerawork, atmosphere, etc.
Straight Otta Compton (2015), O’Shea Jackson Jr., N.W.A
Directed by F. Gary Gray and starring O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell and Paul Giamatti; Straight Outta Compton is the story of rap group N.W.A (Niggaz Wit Attitudes). It is also one of 2015’s best films.
Already confirmed as the highest grossing musical biopic of all time, this fact alone should be reason enough to cause any film fans yet to see the movie to pay attention.
I’m an N.W.A. fan so I was always going to watch – and as I did so, I couldn’t help feeling like a V.I.P. with an ‘access all areas’ pass. A pass to the story of how one of the seminal groups in rap music’s history came to be.
I absolutely threw my hands up in the air when my favourite tracks played, and had a great time because of the music but also because Straight Outta Compton is a well executed film in terms of the story, the style in which it’s shot, editing and everything else in between.
The film represents the universal struggle of young people working hard to make their dreams come true against great odds. Odds that in this case include hailing from Compton, LA; a place rife with gun violence and racial tensions between police and the black community.
I became emotional when the unavoidable truth of discrimination was presented. A truth that felt even more real because of the fact that it’s still all happening today, decades after the events in the movie.
By the end of F Gary Gray’s film, I felt gratitude, both for the people out there working hard for change and the fact that my personal reality is fortunately quite different.
Sitting through Asif Kapadia’s Amy Winehouse documentary, Amy wasn’t easy, though it was absolutely worth it. The film tells the story of hugely successful jazz singer Winehouse’s unfortunately short life and career.
Her story is told in her own words and through previously unseen/unheard footage and tracks. Interviews with the people that were closest to her are also featured.
As I watched this heartbreaking story, I was reminded of the truth of just how easily many parents seem to embrace denial. In particular, when it comes to seriously considering the long term effects of their behaviour and actions on their offspring.
Amy is a very well-executed documentary and serves as food for thought for everyone. But especially those thinking of life in the music industry. Having a good grasp of the priorities of the people you choose to surround yourself with is just one key takeaway.
Most of us could only and are glad to merely imagine what it must have been like to live the nightmare that had become the life of Amy Winehouse. With Kapadia’s documentary, we all have a better idea. I wonder whether the people who appeared to have been part of the problem recognised their role in her downfall, and are remorseful. One can only hope.
Watch it for all the reasons above as well as insight into the life and works of a gifted artist.
Before knowing any of her music, Janis Joplin is a name I’m familiar with for being one of those truly gifted and simultaneously tortured musical artists.
Jop, like Curt Cobain, Jimmy Hendrix and most recently Amy Winehouse, all passed away at just 27.
Janis, Little Girl Blue is directed by Amy Berg and will delve into what it was that made Joplin great, as well as all that eventually resulted in her untimely demise.
Until this trailer, I had no idea that Joplin is partly responsible for the Mercedes Benz song. I guess it might be time to get a little schooled on the First Lady of rock n’ roll.
The Movie My Life 