January Favorites

Phantom Thread: Much like its female lead, Phantom Thread is beguiling. It starts out slowly and then takes a turn for the odd, but it manages to be completely captivating. Vicky Krieps is more than a match for Daniel Day-Lewis. Her performance is masterful and magnetic. It is evident that her mind is always working behind her alert eyes, even though its impossible to tell what her character is thinking at any given moment. While the ending of the film is rather strange, it is not unsatisfying. That satisfaction, in part, comes from the sumptuous visuals and music throughout the film that lend a timeless quality to the story, rendering the 1950s setting seemingly arbitrary. Every single aspect of the film is executed with intention and creates a whole that comes extremely close to perfection, which is fitting since perfection is constantly demanded by the film's protagonist.

In Between: This Arab-Israeli film is a highly engaging and compelling story about three 20-something Palestinian women living in Tel Aviv who are striving to live their own lives and embrace modern, Western-style womanhood while faced with the constraints of their culture's patriarchal society and men who are not nearly as enlightened as they are. All three lead performances are excellent and emotionally charged. I came away impressed by the strength of these women and the compassion and support which they showed to each other. It's a film made all the more powerful and relevant by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, and an important reminder that issues of sexual harassment affect women all around the world.  In Between presents a fascinating look into a culture that I knew very little about and reminded me why seeking out independent and foreign films is a worthwhile endeavor.

The Greatest Showman Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: One of my friends remarked that all of the songs in this film kind of sounded the same. But as I listened to the soundtrack on repeat, and even as I heard the songs mixed up alongside others on my shuffle, I realized that what The Greatest Showman has is a very strong audio brand signature – one that is denoted by rhythm. The strongest and catchiest tracks on the album – "The Greatest Show", "Come Alive", "The Other Side", "This Is Me", and even "Rewrite the Stars" – all have extremely strong, simple rhythmic underpinnings driven by hand claps, chanting, or the delivery of the lyrics. While this comes in handy in the film itself from a choreography standpoint, it also makes the songs easy to learn and sing along with. Like P.T. Barnum's circus, the songs of The Greatest Showman were designed to be accessible to the masses without pandering to them.

Chapter One EP, Keala: One of the stand-out vocalists (aside from Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron, that is) in The Greatest Showman is Broadway veteran Keala Settle. Riding the wave of the movie-musical's success, she has released a solo EP of covers bursting with strong 90s R&B vibes. "Neither One of Us" and "Can't Run Away" are particularly soulful, "Til I Get To You" is deliciously funked up, and she puts her own smooth spin on "Tennessee Whiskey". While I'm bummed that I didn't catch Keala in Waitress on Broadway, I look forward to seeing and hearing more from her now that she's had her breakout moment.

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, Peter Turner: This is one of the rare cases in which I'm glad I saw the movie first. The book and film versions of Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool complement each other very well. The film is quite true to the book, and since I wasn't all that familiar with Gloria Grahame before learning about this story, it was wonderful to see Annette Bening bring her to life before reading Turner's account of their relationship. Turner's writing style is likeable and has a soothing quality to it. This was a very pleasant and poignant book to read, almost as if Turner were a good friend recounting this story to me directly. The book is heartfelt and filled with emotion. I think the film does a wonderful job bringing the book to life, and I hope Turner feels the same.

Paddington 2: I didn't see the first Paddington movie, nor I have ever read any of the books, but Paddington 2 was getting such good reviews and apparently featured Hugh Grant being campy, so I had to check it out. This is a rare film that lives up to its hype and is indeed utterly delightful. The whole cast is fantastic, since it is chock full of British cinema stalwarts, though the Hughs – Bonneville and Grant (also excellent together in Notting Hill) – are particularly outstanding and both manage to steal their fair share of scenes. It seems like everyone involved had a blast making the movie, and thus it was also a joy to watch. In addition to the crackerjack cast, Paddington 2 also boasts a terrific script with laughter and delight in plentiful supply. It's the perfect film to brighten up this dreary time of year.

What's Inside: Songs from Waitress, Sara Bareilles: After seeing Waitress a second time so that I could catch it with Sara Bareilles and Jason Mraz heading up the cast, my affection for these two artists was rekindled, and I had to buy Bareilles's solo album with her take on the songs from the musical. As with most albums of Broadway songs, this album really allows the lyrics to shine in ways that they can't amid the spectacle of a stage production. Since Bareilles wrote all the songs, she's able to deliver a unique take on them, no matter which characters in the show they are intended for. With one voice behind all the songs (with assists from Mraz on the duets "Bad Idea" and "You Matter to Me"), the album holds together beautifully and almost demands to be listened to only in full – though I do have a bit of soft spot for the super-catchy and uplifting "I Didn't Plan It".

Every Day, David Levithan: I know that this book really got to me because I had two or three nights of really weird dreams that were clearly influenced by it. Like all great SciFi, Every Day doesn't seem all that far-fetched, presents thought-provoking moral dilemmas, and is deeply human at its core. The characters are excellent company and I enjoyed spending time with them. While Every Day is a YA novel and Levithan's writing style is deceptively simple and straightforward, the protagonist and narrator of the story is much more profound and deeper that any 16 year-old protagonist has a right to be. Like any great book, Every Day left me wanting to spend more time in its world and with its narrator.

"Don't Make Me Wait", Sting & Shaggy: Sting's music has long incorporated influences from the music of other cultures, with Caribbean influences being especially prominent from the earliest days of The Police. Thus, it's not all that surprising that he would find a fitting collaborator in Jamaican singer Shaggy. "Don't Make Me Wait", the debut single in advance of their album coming out in the spring, does a wonderful job showcasing the voices and craft of these two unique talents. The song is a mellow jam that evokes the slow pace and upbeat warmth of the Caribbean; it's a Spring Break song for the Adult-Contemporary audience.