A music-laden dramedy, Sing Street follows an Irish teenager in the 80's who forms a garage band with his school mates in order to win the heart of an aspiring model. Initially terrible, the band improves, over time, and they even create music videos while the romance between the two develops. It's a simple story that works as a love letter not only to the period itself but also to its trademark synthy, pop/rock music. The soundtrack is about 50% original tracks and is further proof that John Carney is single-handedly carrying the torch for successful movie musicals. As with his earlier entries: Once and Begin Again, the story feels natural and avoids the camp and/or goofy dialogue that often accompanies this genre. Easy to watch; easy to listen to; easy to enjoy.
8/10
An often silly comedy, Popstar: NSNS follows a narcissistic ex-boy-band member named Conner as he launches his individual music career. Filled with an impressive number of faux-doco style cameos by musicians such as Seal, Mariah Carey, Adam Levine and Usher, the film manages to hit a few touching notes amongst all the heavy-handed satire. Most of the successful jokes come from the lyrics of Conner's new songs and fans of The Lonely Island's On a Boat will be right at home here. The soundtrack is hip-hop-esque but, unfortunately, none of the tunes are meant to be taken seriously. Thankfully, themes of friendship and forgiveness help to elevate the film and most people should find a few laughs along the way. Would watch it again but not too soon.
7/10
Based on the video game, Warcraft is an epic story about the war between humans and orcs - both of whom are manipulated by cunning mages. It's a dazzling light-show filled with magic and fantasy elements and backed with a swathe of characters that are familiar for fans of the video game series. The soundtrack is orchestral but unfortunately forgettable as it does not use the original game music (although it does try to emulate it). The plot is adequate and the film moves along well yet there's nothing particularly deep going on here. But that's not the point. While the story would hold up for newcomers to the series, this is meant for fans of its two decades worth of gaming lore. Guilty as charged and worth a repeat viewing or two even if only for the brilliant Blizzard production values that are second to none.
8/10
