MOVIES: "GET ON UP" (THE JAMES BROWN STORY)
Although “Get On Up” (the James Brown story) is a 2014 film, and I generally review only recent films, I must pause during this year from hell (2020) and honor the film, the man, the music and the actor, Chadwick Boseman. I wanted to see “Get On Up” when it first came out, but I didn’t make it to the cinema in time. Then it wasn’t available for streaming on Netflix (and I no longer have a Netflix DVD subscription). I finally just borrowed it from a Boston Public Library and am so glad I did. The filmmaking is pretty superb. I’m convinced that filmmaking about musicmaking is an extremely challenging genre all its own, and GOU nails it. The film reminded me very much of “Bohemian Rhapsody” (the story of Queen) in several ways. First of all, the performers’ lifestyle shenanigans are sanitized, making it a truly PG-13 film. For younger music lovers, I tell parents: go ahead and let your 13+yo’s watch both films. The history of popular music is woven into history in general, and in ...
