Vivo (2021) - Movie Review

Okay, I know that I’ve been stanning Lin-Manuel Miranda pretty hard these last few weeks, but in my defence, his isn’t the only name attached to this that made me want to see this particular film. A Sony Pictures animation, in the same year that they crushed it with The Mitchells Vs. The Machines, co-written by Quiara Alegría Hudes who also did In The Heights, production blessing from Wreck-It Ralph director Rich Moore, even a consulting credit from Roger freaking Deakins; that’s gotta equal up to something worthwhile. And yeah, it’s pretty entertaining, but just about every good quality about it comes with a massive “But” after it.

In The Heights (2021) - Movie Review

It’s kind of astounding just how much progress director Jon M. Chu has made in just a few short years. Not that long ago, he was making shit like Jem And The Holograms and adding to the increasingly diminished returns of the Step Up sequels. But then Crazy Rich Asians happened and… something must’ve just clicked in his head. I bring this up because his latest has a fair bit in common with CRA, namely in how it’s drenched in a very specific cultural aesthetic and identity; I’m guessing he’s sticking with what he now knows he can work with. But where it gets really crazy is that he has somehow managed to get past even CRA’s genuine visual splendour, and made an even greater film in the process.