They are Young VOYAGERS

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from writer/director Neil Burger and Lionsgate is the story of being raised in isolation and being sent into space being the next VOYAGERS.

It is time to look for other places to live in the universe and Richard (Colin Farrell) is part of a space program that is creating children in isolation for a journey across space. The idea is to raise the children into young men and women who will take the ship across the vastness of space to a specified distant planet.

Richard decides that he must go with them in order to monitor them. He has come to care for the young people being sent up and is given permission to go. Christopher (Tye Sheridan) and friend Zac (Fionn Whitehead) are curious about everything and spend their time getting into harmless mischief. That is until they uncover information that had only been known to Richard and they are not happy.

This is the time where the two young men make a decision to either follow the plan or rebel in a way that could be dangerous for them all. Christopher tells Sela (Lily-Rose Depp) what is happening and begins to see a change in Zac who is collecting others to his side. When an accident on the ship makes it clear that it is time to choose a leader, two that were once friends become rivals for good and evil.

If any of them are to survive, each person will have to decide for themselves how they want their confined world to be – working together or total destruction.

Sheridan as Christopher has a grasp on what their mission is and even when he discovers that not everything is as he believed, even then he understood there were serious implications for the entire crew. He could have easily chosen the road of narcissism but instead, when the truth comes slowly forward, it gives him options of survival. Sheridan does a fantastic job playing Christopher and if there were ever such a voyage, I would hope there were many Christopher’s on the ship. Sheridan gives his character a sharpness that kept me silently cheering every move his character makes.

Whitehead as Zac has a friendship with Christopher that one would expect since they were raised together. As their trip gets deeper into space, it is Zac that gets deeper into a place that is dangerous for everyone. There is a rage that just lies underneath the surface and Whitehead’s performance lets you know that every moment his character is on screen is scary because there is no place to run! Whitehead has the unique ability to give a frightening stare that can fill the viewer with anxiety beyond belief.

Depp as Sela of course has the look of her very famous father. In her role as Sela, she is a straightforward ‘we have a job to do’ ship mate. When Christopher fills her in on everything that has been happening and his suspicions, Sela wants to do everything possible to stop the chaos just waiting around every corner. Constantly feeling the very stalker-like behavior of Zac, she is not a young woman to be trifled with either. Depp gives us a look at a strong, intelligent and capable space traveler who knows what it is going to take to survive.

Farrell as Richard decides to take this one-way trip with the young crew to keep an eye on their progress and how they handle space. He is also there to dole out advice should his young wards need it. As Richard, Farrell gives his character a soft spoken but stern leader model yet there is one of the crew that does not take to kindly to anyone telling him what to do. Farrell has given us so many unique characters (one of my latest favorites is from the film THE GENTLEMEN) in films so I expect nothing less from any film he does.

Other cast include Chante Adams as Phoebe, Quintessa Swindell as Julie, Archie Madekwe as Kai, Isaac Wright as Edward, Viveik Kalra as Peter, Madison Hu as Anda, Archie Renaux as Alex, Wern Lee as Tayo, Veronica Falcon as Marianne and April Grace as the Mission Director.

Lionsgate is a global leader in motion picture production and distribution for theatres, television, home entertainment and more. Theatre franchises include THE HUNGER GAMES, and DIVERGENT along with JOHN WICK.

Writer/director Burger says of his film about the 80-year voyage, “It’s about human nature in a vacuum – who we are at our core and about a group of extraordinary young people waking up to sensual desires, to freedom, to power, and the thrilling euphoria that goes with that experience.” He also explains that he wanted everything in the film based in reality, “VOYAGERS is not a fantasy. The spacecraft is purely utilitarian and functional based on actual proposals within NANA studying space travel outside our solar system.”

Because of that, the viewer will feel totally drawn into what is happening knowing full well there is no where to go. These individuals are confined to a place where they either work out their problems or fall but if they fall, they fall totally. The ship is very practical and is very much like those aboard – to frilled and very plain to look at. I believe that is what makes these characters stand out as there is nothing else to distract the viewer.

When there is division among the young voyagers, again, there is no place to hide the rage and emotional turmoil which is frightening in the sense that one wrong move….  Buckle up because this is going to be a bumpy ride into space!

In the end – what does it feel like?

 

THE HIGH NOTE Sings on Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray/DVD and Digital from director Nisha Ganatra and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is the mix of music that leads to THE HIGH NOTE.

Maggie Sherwoode (Dakota Johnson) is the personal assistant for the iconic singer Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross) but her dream is to be a music producer. Taking some of Graces’ music and tweaking it to give it a greater sound, manager Jack Robertson (Ice Cube) is furious about it. So much so that he tells Maggie is she wants to be a producer, go find someone not Grace to produce.

That is when she finds David Cliff (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), a singer/songwriter who she believes has something special in his music. Finding time in between her duties to Grace and hanging out with roommate Katie (Zoe Chao), Maggie works with Cliff and they make plans to record. But Maggie isn’t being quite honest with Grace or Cliff and it starting to cause a strain.

But she isn’t the only one holding a bit of the truth back and when everything comes crashing down, it’s time for everyone to come clean so that the music can go on!

Johnson as Maggie gets a chance to move onto a commercial role and does it well. This isn’t a huge stretch in character, but Johnson makes it interesting, fun and reinforcing the push toward one’s biggest goal. For Maggie it is a chance to have the dream job that she is good at but can’t shake the “assistant” tag stuck to her. Johnson also gets a chance to step up to the mic in a very STAR IS BORN moment.

Ross as Grace Davis is a diva to the last. Outwardly she is stylish and gets the job done on stage, inwardly she is being pushed in several directions thinking that perhaps her performing has reached its end point. Ross is funny and at the same time if she is upset, trust you will know it. Ice Cube as manager Robertson is enjoying the good life that being Grace’s manager provides and also doesn’t have a problem voicing his opinion. The problem is that his opinion clashes with what Grace wants and he doesn’t seem to see that.

Harrison Jr. as Cliff plays in small venues but Maggie sees and hears something bigger in his voice. Being convinced he is good enough seems to be Cliff’s biggest worry and trusting that he has a chance to make it big is something he doesn’t see – until Maggie. He starts to discover that what he loves to do is in Maggie’s hands. Harrison Jr. gives his character heart and a voice to mesh with the story so well.

Chao as Katie is a doctor who supports Maggie in her own unique way with a self-proclaimed job to keep her friend centered. Shout out to June Raphael as Gail because she is one whacky character who sees the world in a unique way mixed with a little air headedness and a love for leftovers. She made me laugh a lot.

Other cast include Eugene Cordero as Seth, Marc Jackson as Alec, Eddie Izzard as Dan Deakins, Jonathan Freeman as Martin, Kenwood Anderson as Hanky, Sonal Shah as Sunshine, Diplo as Richie Williams, Uttera Singh as Theresa, Ross Partridge as Bennett, Rupak Ginn as Ryan Deniz Akdeniz as Spencer, Ben Lewis as Chad, Jeffery Self as Josh and Bill Pullman as Max.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us to all experience and re-experience in our own home theaters. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.com.

The Special Features include Deleted Scenes, The Dream Team: Inside the Creation of THE HIGH NOTE – a behind-the-scenes story of how the film came to life-including screenwriter Flora Greeson’s story and experience as a real Hollywood assistant; how filmmakers created the look of the film; the musical team behind the original tracks; and some of the iconic Los Angeles locations.

Also included are Making a Legend: The Grace Davis Story – Tracee Ellis Ross embodies the character Grace Davis, a superstar struggling to stay relevant in the ever-changing music industry, Featuring behind-the-scenes footage of Tracee as she ‘becomes’ Grace – in a recording studio, on stage, and at home – we’ll learn what it takes to become a musical legend, and LIKE I DO: Original Song Music Video.

THE HIGH NOTE is a story of what we want to do, what we think we can do and the emotions that can sometimes get in the way. All of the characters, well, maybe with the exception of Ice Cube’s Robertson, are insecure about their own abilities. Throughout the film it is clear that when those insecurities get cornered, the go-to emotion is destructive.

When the music flows it is so lovely and the mention of so many greats that have made music what it is today was amazing. As a true Nina Simone fan, hearing her name thrown out there brought a big smile to my face.

Since we all can’t go to a concert or see music live, what better substitute for now then a film that talks music, acts music and brings music into our homes with THE HIGH NOTE.

In the end – you’ve got to start at the bottom to take it to the top!