A Look Into the Life of a Soulful Vocalist

Photo Credit: Tribecafilm.com 

As far as music of the twenty-first century is concerned, English singer Amy Winehouse gave us one of the most distinctive voices in the industry.  Her songs were things of beauty that provided us with a lyrical view into her life.  Sadly, on July 23, 2011, she passed away, leaving behind a musical career that should have included decades of more work.  Although we no longer have the experience of listening to any new songs from Winehouse, we now have a detailed view of her life in director Asif Kapadia’s documentary, “Amy.”

Before I saw Kapadia’s film, I never listened to Winehouse’s music that much.  When I found out that a documentary about the singer was going to be released, I was interested in catching it and decided to familiarize myself with her music before I saw the movie.  Having listened to her songs prior to viewing the film, I was able to get a much deeper appreciation for her as I was watching the movie.

The film provides considerable insight about notable events in Amy’s life, and then follows some of those scenes with her singing her songs that relate to what she has gone through.  With memorable tracks such as “You Know I’m No Good,” “Tears Dry on Their Own,” “Back to Black,” and “Rehab” sung in the film, you get the opportunity to see how those songs grew out of Amy’s personal experiences.

Throughout the film, we also get to listen to voiceovers from Amy’s family, friends, and music-industry acquaintances, all of whom offer us views of how they saw her as a person and an artist.   

One of the most moving scenes in the film comes when we see Winehouse collaborating with Tony Bennett for a 2011 recording of the famous jazz number, “Body and Soul.”  When Winehouse worked with Bennett, you see how much respect she had for her idols, and it shows that she wasn’t the type of artist who had a bloated ego, but was someone who truly revered her influences.

Asif Kapadia shows tremendous respect for his subject.  By focusing on Amy’s ups and downs, Kapadia does a thorough job chronicling the singer’s life and gives moviegoers a heartfelt and tragic portrait of an artist whose life ended much too soon.  Although Winehouse is greatly missed, we’re able to remember her by revisiting her music, as well as by viewing this film that offers us a thorough understanding of Winehouse’s life, a life that presented the world with a gifted voice, even if it was, unfortunately, only for a short while.

Final grade: A

For a Husband and Wife, the Past Comes Back with a Bow on Top

Jason Bateman in "The Gift"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

Joel Edgerton is the latest actor to step from behind the camera to in front of it.  Actors such as Clint Eastwood, Ben Affleck, and George Clooney, to name a few, have all displayed much competence in directing films, and Edgerton is the next to do so.  In his directorial debut, he brings us the psychological thriller, “The Gift,” in which he delivers something that doesn’t play out as we would expect, which makes it a lot better than it could have been.

Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are a young couple that moves to California from Chicago.  One day, when they are running errands together, Simon and Robyn bump into Gordon Moseley (Edgerton), a socially awkward acquaintance of Simon’s from high school.  The three of them spend some time together, but after Gordon becomes clingy and intrusive, Simon decides to sever ties with him.  Afterwards, Gordon begins to terrorize the couple, and Robyn soon realizes that Simon has more of a history with Gordon than he’s letting on.

Jason Bateman is an actor who usually plays your average guy in several comedy roles.  However, by having him use this persona for a dramatic role, it’s much more effective than it usually is because Bateman’s character is thrown into a much more serious situation, and the everyman role makes it seem like this scenario can happen to anybody.  Bateman’s character evolves from the typical everyman as the film goes on, particularly in the second half, as he becomes a difficult protagonist to side with, which you’ll see for yourself once you view the film.

Rebecca Hall is wonderful as Simon’s wife and acts as the one kindhearted main character in the film.  Throughout the movie, the terror brought upon her house by Gordon slowly chips away at her sense of security, and the toll that this has on her mental state is something that Hall exhibits very convincingly.

Edgerton is effectively creepy as Gordon, but what’s interesting about his approach to the character is that he doesn’t have Gordon act like an outright psycho, but instead presents the character as a fairly composed individual and lets his facial expressions and calm voice show fleeting glimpses of the anger that’s boiling inside of him.

One of the most notable factors about Edgerton’s screenplay is that it dodges our expectations as to where it will take us.  Not to spoil anything, but it avoids the usual cat-and-mouse finale between the villain and his victims, and instead replaces it with a rather disturbing and twisted ending.  

His screenplay also doesn’t waste anytime in getting the story started.  Within the first five minutes, the couple moves into a new house and meets Gordon right after.  From there, the story takes its time with setting up the characters, all the while increasing the tension as the film goes on.

The face-to-face interaction between the couple and Gordon is actually limited for some significant portions of the movie, particularly in the second act.  During this time, we know that Gordon is around, but is mostly lurking around unseen.  This places the viewer in the uncomfortable positions of Simon and Robyn as we feel the anxiety of being watched, just as they do.

Edgerton proves to be considerably talented as a director, masterfully creating a sense of uneasiness with the use of camera movements, framing, and the design of the couple’s house.  Thankfully, the film doesn’t feel the need to raise tension by relying on cheap jump shocks.  Although the film has a couple of decent scares, it mainly relies on establishing a sense of anxiety and acts more as a slow-burner that has us guess how far Gordon will go in tormenting Simon and Robyn.

“The Gift” is a thriller that’s as entertaining as it is unsettling, making it a welcome surprise at the cinema this summer.  This is a film that will have you wanting to tear off the wrapping paper to see what’s inside.

Final grade: A-

Amy Schumer Brings an Abundance of Laughs to the Big Screen

Amy Schumer and Bill Hader in "Trainwreck"
Photo Credit: Ledger Gazette

While some of director Judd Apatow’s films are better than others, you can’t deny that he has a knack for showing the comedy in situations that have a true-to-life feel, such as a man trying to lose his virginity in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” an unplanned pregnancy in “Knocked Up,” a standup comedian dealing with a cancer diagnosis in “Funny People,” and a couple going through a midlife crisis in “This Is 40.”

Apatow now teams up with rising star Amy Schumer to bring us his hilarious romantic-comedy, “Trainwreck,” a story about a young woman trying to get her life in order.

When she was a young girl, Amy Townsend (Schumer) and her sister were taught by their father that monogamy isn’t realistic.  23 years later, Amy is working as a magazine writer in New York City and living a life of fleeting romances.  When she is given an assignment to interview sports doctor Aaron Connors (Bill Hader), he begins to express feelings for her.  While Amy isn’t quite receptive to this at first, she soon starts to realize that she might have feelings for him as well.

Schumer certainly has what it takes to be one of the next top actresses in comedic cinema.  She exhibits the talent that’s needed for starring in a movie and has wonderful on-screen chemistry with the other cast members, especially Hader, and this is a bond that makes him and Schumer into a terrifically comical couple.  Besides the humor that’s in the film, there are also some unexpected emotional moments that provide Schumer’s character with more depth and allow her to show another side of her acting abilities.

The supporting cast includes two surprisingly funny performances from basketball legend LeBron James and wrestler John Cena, which is something I never imagined I would say.  Usually, hiring professional athletes to act can be very risky, but the risk certainly pays off for the film.  Tilda Swinton also appears in a very humorous role as Amy’s boss.

One for the best aspects of the screenplay, which Schumer wrote, is that it adds some changes to the romantic-comedy formula.  Although the final outcome is predictable, the situations that Amy finds herself in, whether they be hilarious or emotional, are what separate this from many other films of the genre that we have seen in the past.  

What’s also commendable about her screenplay is that it doesn’t just focus on the main character’s dating life, but also her family life, such as her relationships with her father and sister.  Schumer uses the subplot involving Amy’s family as a way to help create a steady and rewarding development of her character as we see her trying to figure out where her life is going.

Just as Apatow has shown in his previous movies, he has the ability to make his cast members really connect on screen, and that’s essential when he depicts his films’ humorous situations, each having a certain degree of realism.  He has skills in bringing forth the wit and emotions of his films’ scenarios and displaying his characters trying to sort out the problems in their day-to-day lives.

Before “Trainwreck,” Schumer found success on television with her sketch-comedy show, “Inside Amy Schumer.”  Now, after trying her hand at cinema, she shows a lot of potential for expanding her career into movies.  If this film is anything to go by, I’m positive that Schumer will be given many more opportunities to impress moviegoers with her sharp humor.

Final grade: A-