Tag Archives: Musician

Song to Song (2017) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Moment to Moment

Terrence Malick’s latest work “Song to Song” will surely confound many of you for good reasons. Like any other films by Malick, it reaches for something sublime and transcendent as gliding along a series of beautiful stream-of-consciousness moments, but it … Continue reading

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La La Land (2016) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Lively, Colorful, and Sweet

Lively, colorful, and sweet, “La La Land” tries old and new things together to entertain us. While clearly influenced by numerous classic musical films such as “An American in Paris” (1951) and “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952), the movie is … Continue reading

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Justin Timberlake + the Tennessee Kids (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): The final tour evening

Let me get this straight to you first. While I have heard about Justin Timberlake or NSYNC a few times since his first solo album “Justified” was released in 2002, I have been rather more familiar with his acting career … Continue reading

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The Triplets Of Belleville (2003) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Meet Sylvain Chomet

While I was aware of its presence as it came out in 2003 and then was nominated for Best Animation Feature Film Oscar in the next year, I only came to watch Sylvain Chomet’s first animation feature film “The Triplets … Continue reading

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Miles Ahead (2015) ☆☆1/2(2.5/4): Miles before moving ahead

Shortly after the screening of “Miles Ahead” during this Saturday afternoon, I happened to have a brief conversation with one of the audiences. He pointed out how the movie was not so different from another recent jazz musician biography film … Continue reading

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Born to Be Blue (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): Improvised from Chet Baker’s bluesy bottom

As a music drama loosely inspired by Chet Baker’s life, “Born to be Blue” tries a little different thing. While mainly focusing on a melancholic late period of this legendary American jazz musician’s life, it freely mixes reality and fiction … Continue reading

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Sing Street (2016) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : First Music – and First Love

“Sing Street” is a small but sweet musical movie with lots of charm and energy. While its musical period background is not that familiar to me, I was amused and entertained by its superlative soundtrack consisting of old and new … Continue reading

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Seymour: An Introduction (2014) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): On his duet of life and art

The first minutes of documentary film “Seymour: An Introduction” was more than enough for me to become interested in its remarkable human subject. As a man who has happily maintained his own balance between life and art for many years, … Continue reading

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What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): What happened in her life and career

Oscar-nominated documentary film “What Happened, Miss Simone?” gives us close, intimate glimpses into Nina Simone, a legendary American singer who was called “the High Priestess of Soul”. Even if you are unfamiliar with her career like me (full confession: I … Continue reading

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Youth (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): An idiosyncratic musing around youth and aging

“Youth” is amusing, baffling, and mesmerizing in its odd beautiful moments. It often feels uneven and random as juggling many various elements around its leisurely background, but then we are gripped by its fabulous moments, and its idiosyncratic musing around … Continue reading

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