In The Heights

[jjkrkwood]

Lin-Manuel Miranda's love story to New York Citys latino community of Washington Heights danced its way to the big screen, and was everything it was hyped to be.

It was a singing, dancing extravaganza celebrating latino culture, and the power of friends, family and community..

Was it Perfect ?   NO, but it was perfect enough.  Made much in the rap style of Hamilton, it showcased the heart, dreams and aspirations of the community, and the love and bonds that kept most of them there...

Clocking in at 2.5 hrs, a bit too long, its ends on an uplifting note of hope.

Also, cant forget mentioning the Hot papi's and beautiful latinas that sang and danced their hearts out with all their sass and machismo.

Enjoyable, if you have 2.5 hrs to spare.

 

[Prime38]

Nice, seeing it tonight and I do have 2.5 spare, lol.

[MikeBiDude]

Watched it last night on HBOMax, really enjoyed it. Yes, many hot Latino/Latinas (hint I find freckles attractive) and also a loving wonderful abuela.

[Geriatric Otter]

Saw the show on Broadway the month it opened. A friend bought the tickets and I feared I wouldn't make it past the rap.  It was incredibly engaging.  We were in the 4th row, so we saw plenty of hot guys

 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

The film is excellent.  Director Jon Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) really knows how to marry movement, color and music on-screen.

I haven't seen the final cut, but was fortunate to see a studio screening nearly a year ago.  A lot of the 'effects' weren't there, but you could easily tell that it was going to be a blockbuster.  It's got this overwhelming joy about it.

It's really the perfect film for the world just coming out of hibernation.

[leeper]

I saw the show on Broadway and watched the movie today.  Thought it was an excellent translation to the screen.  The character, Abuela Claudia, is played in the movie by the same actress as in the original Broadway cast, a role for which she received a TONY nomination.

[Jakeenct]

Saw it on Broadway twice, was so good, the Latin choreography was outstanding.  Hope to see the movie version soon, they shelved it a few times an its finally released.

Edited June 13, 2021 by Jakeenct

[+ g56whiz]

And if you stream it from HBOMAX you can avail yourself of the closed captioning. At my age . . .

[MikeBiDude]

2 hours ago, g56whiz said:

And if you stream it from HBOMAX you can avail yourself of the closed captioning. At my age . . .

And I did use closed captioning!

[jjkrkwood]

14 hours ago, Benjamin_Nicholas said:

The film is excellent.  Director Jon Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) really knows how to marry movement, color and music on-screen.

I haven't seen the final cut, but was fortunate to see a studio screening nearly a year ago.  A lot of the 'effects' weren't there, but you could easily tell that it was going to be a blockbuster.  It's got this overwhelming joy about it.

It's really the perfect film for the world just coming out of hibernation.

Absolutely, what you said.  I especially enjoyed the scene shot at the public pool.... Very Busby Berkely-esque....  However, I would have enjoyed it a lot more IF the boys were in skimpy speedos showing their hefty "chorizos"....   BUT that would have been more Chi Chi LaRue than Busby Berkely....😏

[+ E.T.Bass]

I liked the dance scene with the George Washington Bridge in the background.   Beautiful.

For fun I tried to Google Map the area to figure out where they were dancing, a building with that perspective of the bridge.

There are buildings within that area on 178th street that look similar with the façade and the fire escapes of that dance number, but then I found an article that confirmed Benny and Nina  stand on a fire escape at Nina’s apartment building on 176th Street and Haven Avenue.

[+ sync]

Anthony Ramos had me from the time I saw him the the Crown Royal commercials.

I really like this one:

 

[jjkrkwood]

 

Suprisingly, the film isnt getting the box-office that was expected....  Its falling short.

[dcguy20]

I saw the Broadway production several times, and loved it from the get go. I streamed the movie on HBO Max twice. I will definitely see it in a movie theater. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm obsessed with the choreography during the last portion of the title number. 

I'm surprised by the low box office numbers as I thought for certain this would be a hit. 

[tchm]

19 hours ago, jjkrkwood said:

 

Suprisingly, the film isnt getting the box-office that was expected....  Its falling short.

 

6 hours ago, dcguy20 said:

I saw the Broadway production several times, and loved it from the get go. I streamed the movie on HBO Max twice. I will definitely see it in a movie theater. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm obsessed with the choreography during the last portion of the title number. 

I'm surprised by the low box office numbers as I thought for certain this would be a hit. 

I had a bad feeling about this movie’s box office prospects even before it opened when I kept hearing from some non-Latinos comments such as “Oh it’s about Latinos. I bet it will be shoving IMMIGRATION down our throats again.” Sure enough …

[+ Cash4Trash]

20 hours ago, jjkrkwood said:

 

Suprisingly, the film isnt getting the box-office that was expected....  Its falling short.

It's been suggested that business might improve because of good reviews and word of mouth. The Greatest Showman only did 8 million on it's opening weekend and went on to great success because of word of mouth. Time will tell...

[+ sync]

3 hours ago, tchm said:

 

I had a bad feeling about this movie’s box office prospects even before it opened when I kept hearing from some non-Latinos comments such as “Oh it’s about Latinos. I bet it will be shoving IMMIGRATION down our throats again.” Sure enough …

I doubt a musical was necessary to inspire such comments from some non-Latinos.

[Kippy]

Remember...there can only be one minority!

[jjkrkwood]

 

Not sure why Everything these days has to become political ?      While there is a back story of immigration and an undertone of politics, I watched a film about commitment, strength, resilience and achievement.  Maybe it was just meant to be a nice movie paying homage to a specific neighborhood and its culture  ?

Maybe it was just meant to be entertainment ?    

Problem is that we NOW live in a VERY fucked up world !

Edited June 16, 2021 by jjkrkwood

[BuffaloKyle]

11 hours ago, dcguy20 said:

I saw the Broadway production several times, and loved it from the get go. I streamed the movie on HBO Max twice. I will definitely see it in a movie theater. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm obsessed with the choreography during the last portion of the title number. 

I'm surprised by the low box office numbers as I thought for certain this would be a hit. 

One possible reason would have been HBO Max as how you viewed it. Why go to a theater when you can watch it at home. I just stayed home to watch Wonder Woman, Mortal Kombat, and will do that as well with Space Jam 2 next month. But the streaming numbers came out and no one streamed it either!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2021/06/14/in-the-heights-hbo-max-smaller-than-loki-godzilla-v-kong-mortal-kombat-angelina-jolie-wonder-woman/?sh=322ae41790dd

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

6 minutes ago, BuffaloKyle said:

Why go to a theater when you can watch it at home.

 

No one who truly appreciates movie musicals wants to see them on a small screen.

We've never had movie houses with better visuals and audio.  Dolby Atmos makes this musical shine.

[jjkrkwood]

2 hours ago, BuffaloKyle said:

One possible reason would have been HBO Max as how you viewed it. Why go to a theater when you can watch it at home. I just stayed home to watch Wonder Woman, Mortal Kombat, and will do that as well with Space Jam 2 next month. But the streaming numbers came out and no one streamed it either!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2021/06/14/in-the-heights-hbo-max-smaller-than-loki-godzilla-v-kong-mortal-kombat-angelina-jolie-wonder-woman/?sh=322ae41790dd

While people feel Covid free right now and dont want to spend any more time in the house, they also may not feel safe enough to be confined to a theater with strangers that are "on the honor system" about vaccines ?   😏

[tchm]

A thought came into my mind after watching In The Heights. The director Jon M. Chu, who also made Crazy Rich Asians, has perpetuated and reinforced in his movies two  popular and notorious stereotypes of two  minority groups in American culture:  Asian rich, Latinos poor.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

11 hours ago, tchm said:

A thought came into my mind after watching In The Heights. The director Jon M. Chu, who also made Crazy Rich Asians, has perpetuated and reinforced in his movies two  popular and notorious stereotypes of two  minority groups in American culture:  Asian rich, Latinos poor.

Everyone reinforces stereotypes about everything.  This is the norm.  Part of being an adult is learning to sift through the bullshit to find the gold flake.

Let's not start on how directors and writers treat the LGBT community regarding stereotypes.  Even within our own.

I don't let it ruin the greater good for me.

 

[jjkrkwood]

22 hours ago, tchm said:

A thought came into my mind after watching In The Heights. The director Jon M. Chu, who also made Crazy Rich Asians, has perpetuated and reinforced in his movies two  popular and notorious stereotypes of two  minority groups in American culture:  Asian rich, Latinos poor.

Try to remember, the director is "telling a story", and is taking creative license doing so to make it entertaining.  These are not documentaries, they are most often works of fiction.  You as the viewer are putting it into a box based on your beliefs.   Dont do that !