I have seen not one but two new releases this week, and because I don't have a lot of time on my hands or too much to say about either, I thought I'd discuss the pair of them in one go.
First of all, In the Heights, the film adaptation of the stage musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the man behind Hamilton. I have no connection to this musical whatsoever, I purely went to see this because I'm a fan of musical films, and also a fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda's work, especially Hamilton and Moana. Additionally, it did look pretty amazing anyway. The story centres on the Latin American community in the New York neighbourhood of Washington Heights, including Usnavi, who owns a shop and is debating whether he should return to the Dominican Republic and fulfil his father's dream, Nina, who has been struggling at college and wishes to dropout to her father's dismay, Vanessa, who works at a salon but dreams to be a fashion designer, and Benny, who may be losing his job, all of which raise concerns that the community as they know it may be changing forever.
Despite my lack of connection to the film's origins, I really really really enjoyed it. The best part for me was definitely the musical numbers, and they were truly excellent. While the songs are obviously the product of the source material, with all the energy and lyrical genius we've come to expect from Miranda, they were brilliantly executed in such lively and upbeat ways, with some great choreography and cinematography, as well as some wonderful visuals. Even the weaker ones of the bunch were still really solid, and the best of them were simply amazing. My favourites were the opening, 96,000, Blackout, and Carnaval Del Barrio, with Blackout probably being my favourite as it's the one that's been stuck in my head the most since seeing the film.
But, beyond that, I think the story is also really engaging, and the characters are so loveable, portrayed by some great actors and actresses. There is some social commentary in the story and some very grounded aspects amid the fantastical nature of the musical numbers, but what's so good about this is the fact that the film doesn't feel preachy, but just genuine. The characters feel like genuine people going through genuine struggles, and that is what conveys the social ideas so effectively. On top of that, it isn't drab as a result of its grounded themes, as the fact that it's such an upbeat musical makes the film feel like a celebration of the culture and community at the heart of it, which only strengthens what it's trying to say and also makes it far more enjoyable. I can safely say that, after watching this film, I've fallen in love with this community and all the people within.
As far as negatives go, I really don't have too many. I'm usually one to complain about a long runtime, but I didn't take issue with this film being 143 minutes as I was so wrapped up in what was happening that it just kinda flew by, similar to La La Land. In fact, when it finished, I was kind of sad as I could've easily continued watching it for a bit longer! I suppose some scenes could've been shortened and, as I somewhat hinted at earlier, not every musical number worked for me. I also got the sense that the plot was often repeating itself and going in circles at points, which made some parts a little uninteresting. But, other than that, I can't really pinpoint much that didn't work for me. Because of my distance from the source material, I obviously can't comment on any changes made and how they might weaken the story / musical numbers, which is where a lot of criticism tends to come from with adaptations, so I might be more positive in my outlook than fans of the original show. That being said, the general reception seems to be very positive, so maybe there isn't any negative discussion to be had in terms of changes made. Again, I wouldn't know.
Overall, I was very satisfied with In the Heights. It has a great story with some great characters as well as a delightfully celebratory tone that is elevated by some spectacular musical numbers. I'd absolutely love to see this again as I just had such a good time with it, and I'd also like to familiarise myself with the source material at some point to see if the film improved or weakened anything. But, until then, know that I thought this was splendid.
I'm going to give In the Heights an 8.5/10
Now, let's move onto Luca, the latest offering from Pixar. As of late, I've kind of given up hoping for Pixar to make another film on par with the amazing stuff they put out during the late 90s and 2000s. I don't really think they have much left to prove as a studio, and unlike studios such as Laika, Cartoon Saloon, and Netflix, I'm not really eager to see what they do next anymore. So, I'm more open to the idea of them just continuing to make films that don't aim particularly high. So, Luca seemed like a very fitting place for them to go next, as it looked like something that would just be plainly good instead of anything special. The story follows a sea monster named Luca, who is told by his parents to never go to the surface. But, after meeting a fellow sea monster named Alberto, who is obsessed with the surface, he begins to learn more and more about the world beyond his own.
As I'm sure you can probably tell from that brief summary, Luca has many plot beats that we've seen time and time again, even from Pixar themselves. The central idea of an initial reluctance to become acquainted with the human world being overcome is straight out of Ratatouille, the underwater aesthetic is very reminiscent of Finding Nemo, and the plot also goes to places that seem derivative of films such as Coco, Cars, and Monsters University. This made the film kind of predictable and it often felt like it was going through the motions which made it a little tiring.
However, Luca still has enough going for it. One of the best things about it in my eyes is the animation. This is something we often take for granted in a Pixar production, but what I really admired about the animation in this film was how perfectly it aligned with the tone of the film. I usually complain about animated movies being cartoony and more comedic as it adds to the idea that it's just a medium to appeal to children, but because the film is very light-hearted, it was all very appropriate and not ill-fitting, unlike some other recent animated films *cough* Raya and the Last Dragon *cough*. I also very much like how nicely stylised it was, giving it a very unique appearance compared to other animated films. Additionally, it's quite difficult to dislike as the film definitely has its heart in the right place. Luca and Alberto are both very amiable, and the other characters they encounter are also very fun. Plus, the story and themes of the film are very sweet, even if they are kind of unremarkable.
As a whole, this absolutely falls short of many other Pixar films, but on its own, Luca is very charming. It's visually and tonally sound with some endearing ideas at its core. Even if it isn't anything special it's still a pleasant watch and an adequate outing for this studio.
I'm going to give Luca a 7.5/10
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