This week’s recommendations include “Set It Up” and “The Get Down.” I watched both of these while I was on vacation, and I must say they are quite enjoyable. “The Get Down” is a good addition to your rotation, meaning that you can easily watch it while watching any of your favorite TV shows.
Description: Two young assistants in New York City realize they can make their lives easier by setting up their workaholic bosses to date. While trying to perpetuate this romantic ruse between their nightmare bosses, the assistants realize they might be right for each other.
Duration: 1 hr 45 min
Reaction:
Before- I was worried it was just going to be another romantic comedy.
After- I was right, but it wasn’t incredibly melodramatic like always.
Analysis:
- Shot variation elevate the film’s production value
- Costumes, hair and makeup are used to distinguish the characters and their positions
- Diegetic lighting
Breakdown:
- Comedy
- Romance
- TV-14
- Netflix
- Harper in “Set It Up” is Zoey Deutch (“Why Him?”)
- Charlie in “Set It Up” is Glen Powell (“Hidden Figures”)
- Kirsten in “Set It Up” is Lucy Liu (“Charlie’s Angels”)
- Rick in “Set It Up” is Taye Diggs (“Chicago”)
- Creepy Tim in “Set It Up” is Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)
- Keywords: overworked, personal assistants, demanding bosses
Description: “The Get Down” focuses on 1970s New York City. Consigned to rubble, a rag-tag crew of South Bronx teenagers are nobodies with no one to shelter them except each other, armed only with verbal games, improvised dance steps, some magic markers and spray cans. From Bronx tenements, to the SoHo art scene, from CBGBs to Studio 54 and even the glass towers of the just-built World Trade Center, “The Get Down” is a mythic saga of how New York at the brink of bankruptcy gave birth to hip-hop, punk and disco, told through the lives and music of the South Bronx kids who changed the city and the world forever.
Average duration: ~ 52 min
Reaction:
Before- I knew I would be fond of “The Get Down” because I’ve always enjoyed musical dramas like “Nashville” and “Empire.”
After- I was very impressed with the end result.
Analysis:
- Varying contrast
- Centered or on the rule of thirds grid
- Different shot types utilized
- Original video weaved within reimagined video of the ‘70s
- Broad range of camera movements
- Time period props, costumes, hair and makeup
- The color palette includes a lot of browns and reds.
Breakdown:
- Drama
- Music
- Musical
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- Ezekiel in “The Get Down” is Justice Smith (“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”)
- Cadillac in “The Get Down” is Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (“The Greatest Showman”)
- Papa Fuerte in “The Get Down” is Jimmy Smits (“How to Get Away with Murder”)
- Dizzee in “The Get Down” is Jaden Smith (“The Karate Kid”)
- Adult Ezekiel in “The Get Down” is Daveed Diggs (“Black-ish”)
- Jackie in “The Get Down” is Kevin Corrigan (“Pineapple Express”)
- Pastor Cruz in “The Get Down” is Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”)
- Keywords: disco, hip-hop, drugs, punk, graffiti
I hope that you enjoy these as much as I did. I also suggest to watch “The Twilight Zone,” “Polka King” and “Masterminds” in your free time.
