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 In the Heights 

Rate this film:
A 20%  20%  [ 1 ]
B 80%  80%  [ 4 ]
C 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 5

 In the Heights 
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KJ's Leading Idiot

Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:15 pm
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Post In the Heights
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In the Heights is a 2021 American musical drama film directed by Jon M. Chu from a screenplay by Quiara Alegría Hudes. It is based on the stage musical of the same name by Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film stars Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gregory Diaz IV, and Jimmy Smits. The film follows the same plot as the musical, telling the story of a New York City bodega owner who saves his money in hopes of a better life.

In the Heights had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival on June 4, 2021, and is set to be released in theaters in the United States on June 10; it will also be available on the HBO Max streaming service for a month. It received critical acclaim, with praise directed at its story, performances, and musical scenes.


Sun Jun 06, 2021 8:01 pm
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Hold the door!

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Post Re: In the Heights
That’s the musical poster and blurb, not the film one


Sun Jun 06, 2021 8:35 pm
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KJ's Leading Idiot

Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:15 pm
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Post Re: In the Heights
Ah yes. Updated now :sweat:


Sun Jun 06, 2021 11:49 pm
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The Kramer
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Post Re: In the Heights
In The Heights is mostly good as a follow-up/precursor to Hamilton. I like all the main characters. They are beautiful people who can also sing decently well. They have quirks, they have dreams and you want them to succeed. Especially Vanessa who is a gorgeous person inside and out. She (and her middriff) is the highlight of the film. Main guy (whose name I forgot) is a solid protagnist, even if his naevity is frustrating at times, and the other two are cute enough. The songs are mostly fine, though none reach the heights of Hamilton's bangers.

I do have some issues though. Admittedly, some are somewhat irrational, like wanting all the dialogue to be in song form like Hamilton. And there is entirely too much dancing. However, some are fair criticisms. The biggest being that this movie feels Very Long. It is a two and a half hour movie that is trying to say 'sometimes staying in place isn't such a bad thing.' This causes the story progression and momentum to be very very slow. It realllly drags in the middle when the old lady dies. I think this was meant to be balanced out by Nina's story going the other direction, where she felt like she could make the biggest difference by leaving and then returning. Yet I never saw her as the co-lead, both she and Benny were always on adorable side quests. Vanessa is the female lead, and her story is pretty similar to main dudes. Also, while I get why they wanted to find a place for LMM, having him as the snow cone guy was distracting. I couldn't help but see him as a god overseeing the production of his creation. Though I did laugh at the stink faces he and the ice cream man gave each other.

It does come around in the end. Though I said that Vanessa was my highlight, the overall best scene was when Benny and Nina danced on the side of the building. Very cool effects that help touch the soul. And yeah, even though I thought the storytime with the kids was unnecessary, and the movie forgets all about the side characters, the ending is cute and appropriate.

I'd give In The Heights a soft B+. It could have been better (like the one about Al), but still liked it more than most musicals I've seen.


Fri Jun 11, 2021 1:18 pm
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Hold the door!

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Post Re: In the Heights
I liked it but I definitely need to watch again with subtitles, lyrics were hard to follow. The women in the film were very Talented and gorgeous. Nina and Vanessa were definitely the best characters. Liked a lot of the songs but I wouldn’t say they were very catchy. Score was rich in it’s entirety moreso than in individual songs


Fri Jun 11, 2021 10:56 pm
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Extraordinary
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Post Re: In the Heights
Really enjoyed this, loved the energy.


Sat Jun 12, 2021 12:27 am
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Post Re: In the Heights
This is definitely a hugely cinematic experience and I'm glad I saw it in IMAX because certain sequences were really stunning. But as a whole this movie is just fine and has a slew of issues, which could be related to the source material (I never saw the play so not familiar with it). First off, it's entirely too long and could have done with about 30 minutes on the cutting room floor. Most notably anything with Lin Manuel Miranda doesn't work at all and feels superfluous and distracting, as does the grandmother's solo number. The characters are also thinly drawn for the most part, though this is no fault of the actors who do give it their all (Melissa Barrera tries her best but her character essentially could be described as "fashion girl," which is crazy considering she's the romantic lead). That being said, the cast is uniformly excellent. I thought the standout was Leslie Grace, who reminded me so much of a young Jennifer Lopez at points during this movie. The film soars when she's on screen. Other standouts are Anthony Ramos, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Corey Hawkins and Stephanie Beatriz. It's a fun summer movie for the most part though and always a fan of a movie musical breaking into the mainstream. B


Sun Jun 13, 2021 11:30 pm
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KJ's Leading Idiot

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Post Re: In the Heights
Its great when the songs are on display but just stalls when the actors are allowed to do their thing. I also didn't love acting in this movie, it felt like a TV level acting instead of a grand musical movie. The story is also too slight and cliched, its one of the movies which you will love to see/sing when its on but will completely forget about once its done. Thankfully the songs light up the screen throughout and visuals are great as well in the few songs it is used. The middle batch of songs were the strongest for me as they were dependant on vocals, lyrics and energy from the music. Start and end numbers depends too heavily on visuals and/or sequence energy.

I give it a solid B


Sun Jun 13, 2021 11:33 pm
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Rachel McAdams Fan
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Post Re: In the Heights
I really didn't mind the acting here at all, there wasn't a bad performance - it was the script that was really the rough point for me.


Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:01 am
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KJ's Leading Idiot

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Post Re: In the Heights
There are poor scripts and screenplays that at times can be elevated by performances I didn't feel that any of the actors did that, possibly because the focus was too much on dance sequences. Its not like the acting is bad overall but none of them elevate the weak script around them.


Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:50 am
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Devil's Advocate
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Post Re: In the Heights
This is hard to get through all 2.5 hours honestly. The girl who plays Vanessa is hotter than the 100 degree temperature in this movie though.

After reading the synopsis it looks like they changed a lot from the play like Jimmy Smits character being more of an antagonist and not approving of his daughter's relationship cause he's not spanish enough. They obviously had to cut stuff from the play but that seems like removing a huge part story/conflict wise and it shows.

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Fri Jun 18, 2021 9:42 pm
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Post Re: In the Heights
It's fine. It's well-made but way too long. The two lead actresses were really enjoyable though. Not something I'd watch again but I'm glad I saw it in a theater.

6/10


Sun Jun 20, 2021 4:15 pm
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