‘The High Note’ is flat

“The High Note” – Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross) is a superstar!  This 11-time Grammy winner has burned up the charts and live shows for decades.  Director Nisha Ganatra showcases this woman’s voice and showwomanship during the film’s opening minutes.  With Grace’s on-stage entourage in tow, she sings her lungs out in front of sold-out audiences from Detroit, Miami, Dallas, and more. Wow! The production values soar off the charts and pop from our small screens.  Promises of bold musical numbers fill our heads, until they don’t.  It turns out…

‘The Vast of Night’ is an impressive achievement, but not a satisfying one

“The Vast of Night” –  Fay (Sierra McCormick) and Everett (Jake Horowitz) are a couple of enterprising teens.  They attend Cayuga High School but hold grownup jobs in the evenings.  Fay is a devoted switchboard operator, and Everett is a radio personality at WOTW with a Highway Hits radio show from 7 pm to 11 pm.  If Fay’s work sounds bizarrely dated, that’s because director Andrew Patterson’s “The Vast of Night” is set in the 1950s, and the kids’ hometown of Cayuga, N.M. is a blip on the radar screen…

Just Because Wednesday, Movies at Home: ’20th Century Women’

Every Wednesday, AHFW features one of our favorite movies, because….well, just because!  This week, we’re also picking director Mike Mills’ earthy, dreamy “20th Century Women” (2016), since Annette Bening – the film’s lead – turns 62 years young on Friday, May 29! Happy Early Birthday, Ms. Bening! “20 Century Women” is a film that you can catch in the 21st century, and hey, there’s no time like the present! ⭐⭐⭐1/2  out of  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Here’s our review: In 2011, writer/director Mike Mills offered a heartfelt, personal tale about his relationship with…