--In the Heights
Movie version of the Broadway musical. For the most part I thought the film was decent. The characters are appealing and I was entertained enough, though after awhile the music (songs) seemed all the same to me, so it's not a film I'd probably want to watch again.
The dance direction, a g a i n , doesn't let you watch the dancers much. Isn't that the point of having dancers dance? That we can see what they're doing and not always being cut away from them? You don't see completed dance moves and you can't even look at a face to SEE a dancer. I've had this complaint for so long that I know you've heard it before, but if they keep directing and editing dance sequences like they're put in a blender, I will keep complaining about it. There's a reason that Fosse became famous for choreographing dance in movies. People SAW what he was doing. Who knows any of the choreographers of the past 20-30 years that have done movies?
KIND OF A SPOILER, NOT PLOT THOUGH, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW: There was one scene where two lead characters have a gravity defying dance on the side of a building and that was directed very nicely. Except...they had the sun setting in the background and it was shining into the camera and was so annoying, I thought who would intentionally do this and why? It was like trying to watch something outside in direct sunlight and you'd have to keep shading your face. For a second when it started I thought it would go away and when it didn't I actually said out loud "okay this is getting annoying." It ruined, or at least lessened, the entire number, I thought, which was one of the best in the film, too. WTF?
And because I thought the music started sounding all the same it made the movie start seeming like it was way too long. It's about 2 hrs. 25 minutes if i recall.