Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="8893, post: 4226042, member: 93"] Finally saw [I][B]Belfast [/B][/I]last night. I agree with you that it's the best of the 2021 movies I've seen, but I still think it was a pretty weak year for movies; and I still think that Garfield's performance in [I]tick, tick...BOOM[/I] is the best performance of the year, although I also thought Will Smith did a great job in [I]King Richard[/I], which we watched earlier this week. As you know, I am a longtime Vanatic and I knew all the songs in [I]Belfast [/I]very well. But I have noticed something of a trend this past year that I am still trying to figure out why it doesn't always strike the right chord with me, and that is the use of music in movies. In particular, [I]Tender Bar[/I], [I]Licorice Pizza[/I] and [I]Belfast [/I]all had great songs throughout, but I felt like they were a bit overused in each, almost like a crutch to conjure nostalgia and essentially make a music video. As you note, the Van songs in [I]Belfast [/I]almost seemed made for the scenes in which they were used, but because I had such a bond with those songs already, I knew otherwise and it somehow affected the impact on me in a way that seemed a bit cloying or saccharine, especially in a movie that really didn't otherwise need to rely on gimmicks. And sadly, I will admit that Van's Covid "hoax" activities have still left me a bit soured on him and have made his music less impactful for me, but damn that man can sing. Anyway, [I]Belfast [/I]was by far the best of the bunch and told a compelling human story in a very effective, charming and bittersweet way. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach