Tag Archives: Justin Timberlake

Piece By Piece

Hey, gang, here’s a way to spice up a tired storytelling format: Go Lego!

The new film Piece By Piece has those familiar elements seen time after time in documentary biopics: archival footage plus soundbites from associates/family/observers, tied together with narration and/or onscreen text. But this story of musical polymath Pharrell Williams has that big difference. It is told… via Legos!

The movie is colorful, musical, kinetic and full of cool images that would not be seen had the story been told in the traditional way.

Does the Lego innovation/gimmick work? Yes, to an extent. But after a while, it gets a bit tedious. And it is a bit dishonest. Do the projects in Virginia Beach where Pharrell grew up look like they’re presented in this film? Is his high school where he met many of his first musical chums similar to its cartoon representation here? 

Among the people who contribute soundbites to Piece By Piece are Pharrell’s parents. After about their third appearance onscreen—as Legos—I wanted to see what his folks really look like, not just their cartoon images. Also, I wonder if all the musical folk who contributed comments are pleased with their Lego depictions? 

Interestingly, when Pharrell’s story gets to 2013, one of the three gigantic hit songs he was involved in that year gets just a brief mention. Blurred Lines, performed with Robin Thicke and rapper T.I., has since been cancelled in popular culture because of its lyrical content. To have ignored the song, a monster hit, would’ve left fans wondering WTF. But acknowledgement of the tune, set between more screen time for the two others, is appropriate.

Pharrell’s part in Daft Punk’s Get Lucky was his first 2013 mega hit. Then, in summer, as Blurred Lines was ruling the charts, his song Happy was heard as the closing theme of the film Despicable Me 2. Toward the end of the year, the song began ascending the charts and in early 2014 the song and its video were making people everywhere… happy! Positive responses from the song’s fans get good play in this new movie.

For those who know Pharrell Williams mainly for his time as a judge on The Voice or from his song Happy, Piece By Piece delivers a good opportunity to learn more about the man. His love of music from childhood when he was a Stevie Wonder fan. His involvement with many of music’s giants including Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Jay-Z. His family life including not just his parents but also his wife and his grandmother. 

The Lego innovation/gimmick offers parents a reason to bring their kids along to the theater. Even if they don’t care for the story, the Lego images and the creative animation should keep them amused. Or even, as the song title says, happy.

Piece By Piece runs just over 90 minutes. Rated PG.

Leave a comment

Inside Llewyn Davis

Is Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) a good guy, a jerk or just a victim of circumstances? He’s a folk singer in NYC’s Greenwich Village in the early 60’s. Life keeps punching him in the face but he keeps getting up and chasing his dream.

Inside Llewyn Davis is a movie about a particular character in a particular setting. The film’s story is almost superfluous.

Music is the fuel that powers ILD and its characters. Most of the performances are top notch; all are, at the very least, passable. Oscar Issac can sing and he can act.

Llewyn has left the merchant marine to sing. He was part of a duo, now he’s a solo act. He’s good but not great. His world includes club owners, record company execs and fellow musicians. Chums Jim and Jean (Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan) are a couple who occasionally vocalize with Llewyn.

They’re among the many who give Llewyn a place to crash. Jean has also been intimate with Llewyn who, on learning of her pregnancy, arranges a then illegal abortion (which she wants). At one home where he sleeps, the cat follows him out as the door locks and he takes care of the kitty (sort of).

The Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, share writing and directing on Inside Llewyn Davis. As with many of their lead characters, Llewyn is conflicted. Does he stick with music or go back to the merchant marine? Does he stay in New York or hitch a ride to Chicago to pursue his dream? Can he tolerate his family or is a clean break necessary? Does he want to perform the songs he sang with his former partner or leave them behind?

John Goodman appears in his 6th Coen brothers film as Roland Parker, an obese, sickly, eccentric musician who gives Llewyn a ride to Chicago. The roadtrip provides a change of scenery and provides Llewyn with a frank appraisal of his potential.

I’ve seen the music biz (performance venues and record labels) chew artists up and spit them out. I’ve seen artists who may have found the path to success rocky and gave up too soon. I’ve also seen artists who refuse to give up, despite clear signs that they should move on. Llewyn has the desire and the tenacity. Which may or may not be a good thing.

As referenced above, don’t go to see Inside Lllewyn Davis for its story. Go for the setting—the time, the place, the mood. And go for the characters, especially Llewyn.

Leave a comment

Trouble with the Curve

“Trouble with The Curve” is the ANTI-“Moneyball.” TWTC slams the stats-happy computer geek baseball personnel people and gives a nod to the old school cigar-chomping scouts.

The heart of this movie is the relationship between Gus, played by Clint Eastwood, and his daughter Mickey, played by Amy Adams. Despite all that has caused their estrangement, the glue that holds them together is baseball.

Once the basic plot is set up, you can pretty much guess how it will conclude. But getting there is a fun trip, with a surprise or two along the way.

Gus, a veteran scout for the Braves, is sent to the Carolinas to check out a high school phenom. But Gus is having vision problems and, stubborn old geezer that he is, he won’t see a specialist to have the situation addressed. A Braves team exec, played by John Goodman, asks Mickey to go to the Carolinas and make sure her dad is okay. She is a rising star Atlanta attorney who is about to make partner if she can pull off a certain deal.

Among the old scouts is a young Red Sox scout, Johnny, a washed-out pitcher, played by Justin Timberlake. He, like Gus, is there to see the phenom, but he also has his eyes on Mickey. She’s standoffish, so their relationship moves slowly but predictably.

Eastwood’s character is not far removed from the codger he played in “Gran Torino” a few years back. In TWTC, he also drives a classic Ford, a 60’s Mustang. The Mustang gets banged up when Gus has trouble with the curve on a highway and pulls in front of a vehicle he didn’t see coming.

As with last year’s “Moneyball,” you don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this movie. TWTC is a movie that will, I think, appeal equally to men and women. Yes, it’s a movie about baseball. But it’s more about relationships.

Leave a comment