College a cappella competitions supply a stage for nerd-and-raunch bits with a fetching indifference to formula: no one here really cares about the outcome of the final number at the national finals. Jason Moore (“Avenue Q”) directs a comic screenplay by Kay Cannon (“New Girl,” “30 Rock”), working from Mickey Rapkin’s book “Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory.” Beca (Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”) gets free tuition at a liberal arts school because her dad is Comparative Lit prof there, but this pouty freshman with the mean Asian dorm mate would really rather be out in L.A. getting a start in the music industry. Her dad makes her join a campus organization. Beca picks the Bellas, an a cappella group stocked with sitcom-style characters. But Rebel Wilson (“Bridesmaids,” “Bachelorette”), as Fat Amy from Tasmania, should steal far more scenes. Lilly (Hana Mae Lee) has a tiny voice to deliver nearly inaudible one-liners like “I set fires to feel joy” and “I ate my twin in the womb.” Other oral issues include bouts of projectile vomit triggered by stage jitters. “Pitch Perfect” admittedly has its laughs but its shelf life as a backstage comedy may be as brief as the canceled NBC series “Sing-Off.” With Ben Platt, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins. 112m. (Bill Stamets)
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
Seeing The Elephant: A Review Of Babylon The boisterous, brawling yet melancholy "Babylon," is a variation on film history, but more drawing for drama. It's gaudy and mean, celebratory and sorrowful.
Heart: A Review of Soul The real world is soulful, too, in Pixar's bountiful life of the mind.
Spawn Sacrifice: A Review Of The Creator "The Creator" is richly detailed, punchy, pulpy, punkish entertainment that still has highly serious subjects in mind, without growing didactic and with substantial heart.
Fine Line: A Review Of Shortcomings It's a season for the comeuppance of a curmudgeon in Randall Park's smart, biting "Shortcomings," adapted by Adrian Tomine from his graphic novel of the same name.
Heart of Darkness: A Review of The Batman The three-hour film noir unfolds briskly, an intensive study in the pervasive interplay of power, money and corruption in what seems like perpetual rainy night.
College a cappella competitions supply a stage for nerd-and-raunch bits with a fetching indifference to formula: no one here really cares about the outcome of the final number at the national finals. Jason Moore (“Avenue Q”) directs a comic screenplay by Kay Cannon (“New Girl,” “30 Rock”), working from Mickey Rapkin’s book “Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory.” Beca (Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”) gets free tuition at a liberal arts school because her dad is Comparative Lit prof there, but this pouty freshman with the mean Asian dorm mate would really rather be out in L.A. getting a start in the music industry. Her dad makes her join a campus organization. Beca picks the Bellas, an a cappella group stocked with sitcom-style characters. But Rebel Wilson (“Bridesmaids,” “Bachelorette”), as Fat Amy from Tasmania, should steal far more scenes. Lilly (Hana Mae Lee) has a tiny voice to deliver nearly inaudible one-liners like “I set fires to feel joy” and “I ate my twin in the womb.” Other oral issues include bouts of projectile vomit triggered by stage jitters. “Pitch Perfect” admittedly has its laughs but its shelf life as a backstage comedy may be as brief as the canceled NBC series “Sing-Off.” With Ben Platt, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins. 112m. (Bill Stamets)
