Kelly Knows (95 KP) rated The House of Doors in Books
Jun 28, 2019
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Boss Baby (2017) in Movies
Jul 12, 2019
Mom and Dad no longer have time for Tim’s bedtime rituals. No more books, story time and most of all…no Tim’s special song! At least, not for him. The Boss Baby (Voiced by Alec Baldwin) has taken over the house and everyone’s lives. This baby is getting all of the attention. When it seems that Mom and Dad have a moment, they are asleep.
As Mom and Dad snooze, Tim discovers that the baby can talk. This is not an ordinary baby, his brother is The Boss Baby, a secret agent sent to infiltrate Puppy Co to find out how to stop the top secret project. At first Tim and Boss Baby are at odds.
They realize, in order to get what they want (Tim, to be an only child again and The Boss Baby wants the promotion to the top spot), they need to work together. The competitive nature of the sibling dynamic is hilarious and the development of their relationship as they learn to like each other has some sweet moments.
Dreamworks based this film on the 2010 children’s book from Marla Frazee of the same title. The adaptation fleshes out the story, introducing us to the family dynamic. We also learn that the Boss Baby is there to stop the nefarious Francis Francis (voiced by Steve Buscemi) and his evil plot. Boss Baby, with his baby crew and Tim, plan to save the day.
The Actors voice the characters so well, I was immersed in the story and characters. There were more than a few laughs and one snort laugh. It is an animated feature I would definitely recommend as a go see.
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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Positives:
I really wanted to put down all of the ‘Oscar buzz’ about the late Chadwick Boseman to a mawkish sentimentality about the actor’s tragic passing (which sounds disrespectful, but is not intended to). But having seen the performance as Levee, I take it all back. He’s stunning in the role and thoroughly deserves not only the Oscar nomination, but potentially also the win. A monologue about a traumatic childhood experience is Oscar-clip gold. What a way to ‘go out on a high’.
Viola Davis has a miraculous transformation as the historical singer in the twilight of her career. When you see her doing interviews (there is a very good 30 minute “Making of” documentary on Netflix), it’s almost impossible to believe that she is the same actress.
There are some great supporting performances as well: Glynn Turman as Toledo is great; and Taylour Paige is memorably sexy as the love interest (surprisingly) of two of the leads.
Both the production design and the costume/hair design are exquisite: no more so than in the gorgeous opening scene of the performance in the tent. Again, very deserving of their Oscar nominations.
There are some great directorial flourishes by Wolfe. One of my favourite scenes has Boseman finally breaking down a mystery door to find…. well, no spoilers, but it is a metaphor for Levee’s own struggles against life.
Negatives:
Just as in another August Wilson adaptation, “Fences” (and indeed in the recent “One Night in Miami”), the production feels like a filmed stage play. The forward motion of the movie keeps stopping for monologues by some of the characters (albeit brilliant ones in many cases).


