Dearest Blog, yesterday it was off to the pictures for the strange-bedfellows double bill of Edge of Tomorrow and Jersey Boys.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers or, you know, if you lived through the 60s.
After weeks of missing out due to my Winter Soldier obsession, yesterday's opener was Edge of Tomorrow.
In
the midst of an alien invasion, a US military officer finds himself
reliving the same day over and over again. As synopses go, that one's a
bit over-simplified, but, dear reader(s) you gotta give me some credit
for not saying "Groundhog Day."
Edge of Tomorrow is a clever
sci-fi pic that is surprisingly fun. I say "surprisingly" only because I
think comparisons to Tom Cruise's last outing, Oblivion, are
unavoidable, and though Oblivion was a good movie, it was also pretty
joyless. Edge of Tomorrow is anything but.
Cruise is fantastic in
the lead, an action hero's action hero who can also be a little bit
scared or confused or funny or (*gasp*) not afraid to let a chick to the
heavy lifting sometimes. Said "chick" is Emily Blunt, who...um...well,
it's fair to say wouldn't have been the first person I'd think of for a
role like this, but who does a mighty fine job of it nonetheless. I'm
embarrassed to confess I didn't even recognize Jonas Armstrong, despite
the fact that I own (and religiously watch) the box set of the BBC's
Robin Hood. What's become of me?? Edge of Tomorrow boasts solid effects
and scary aliens.
If it bogged down ever-so-slightly a couple times, I
can't complain since it clocks in under the two-hour mark...AND they tie
it up without getting contrived or being a buzzkill.
Edge of
Tomorrow runs 113 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of
sci-fi action and violence, language, and brief suggestive material."
It's a smart, fun shoulda-been-a-blockbuster that deserves your
attention.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, Edge of Tomorrow gets seven and a half.
Next on my agenda was the big-screen rendering of the 2006 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Jersey Boys.
Four
kids from the wrong side of the tracks form a band that goes on to make
some of the world's best-loved and most enduring music.
In the
interest of full and fair disclosure, I admit this movie ticked all the
boxes for me before I ever saw a single second of a single trailer. A
movie musical about a group I love, that stars actual stage vets rather
than big Hollywood names? Yes, please. Of course, the downside is such
high expectations could have led to disappointment, but I'm happy to
report that's not even close to the case.
I've been to IMDB and
Rotten Tomatoes this morning. I've seen that Jersey Boys is carrying
middling ratings and has been trounced at the box office by Think Like a
Man 2. (Really?) I am confounded by this state of affairs.
Jersey
Boys runs slightly longer than two hours, but it never feels slow or
boring. A couple numbers from the stage show were eliminated, and a
couple more songs relegated to the background; I certainly wouldn't have
cut another thing. Telling the story from several points of view means
it never patronizes by painting any one person strictly the bad guy or
strictly the good guy. John Lloyd Young, who won a Tony Award as Best
Leading Actor in a Musical for originating the role of Frankie Valli on
Broadway, embodies his part like few actors ever do. He is mesmerizing.
Other than Boardwalk Empire's Vincent Piazza, all members of the band
are portrayed by actors who have performed in one or more stage versions
of the show. This is a good thing, Hollywood! And the songs...OH! The
songs!!
If you weren't a fan of the Four Seasons before seeing the
movie, you certainly will be after. At both my screening and the one
before it, everyone exiting the theatre was smiling and singing, and the
movie earned TWO big rounds of applause at the end of my show. I can't
speak for the people who rate movies at IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes (nor
for those who saw Think Like a Man 2 instead), but, if I'm making
movies, that right there is the reaction I'm going for. If there's one
tiny negative, I thought there were an awful lot of f-words for a movie
whose median audience member easily qualifies for the AARP discount.
Jersey Boys runs 134 minutes and is rated R for "language throughout."
Jersey
Boys is a well written, well acted story that is filled with great,
iconic music. For my money, it's easily as good as or even better than
the screen version of Chicago that won the 2003 Best Picture Oscar.
Of a possible nine Weasleys, I am pleased to award Jersey Boys 2014's first perfect nine.
Until next time..
