Songbird

There was some potential here, and if anything, it should have allowed viewers to perfectly relate to what the characters in this movie are going through. Sadly, this movie largely falls flat.

With the Covid pandemic as its backdrop, and a dystopian near future as its setting, 'Songbird' had all the ingredients for at least a solid thriller. The movie has trouble finding its own identity however, following several different plotlines, none of which are thoroughly worked out.

The two main romantic leads, played by KJ Apa and Sofia Carson, get the majority of the screen time, and their arc is the one that's arguably best worked out. However, their story feels bland, and very derivative of a load of other doomed romance stories. The two bad guys, Peter Stormare and Bradley Whitford, are uninspired and boring, with neither getting to do anything particularly memorable. Add some other one-off characters played by Demi Moore, Craig Robinson and Alexandra Daddario, and you have a reasonably talented cast who are not given that much to work with.

The movie's plot furthermore would have allowed the filmmaker to add some biting social critiques and maybe even some satire, but this is nowhere to be seen. The movie is a basic romance on one end, and a bland action thriller on the other. Really, aside from being a quarantine movie coming out during a quarantine, there isn't that much special about this movie.

Furthermore, I have to mention my dislike of the movie's camerawork and editing. The shaky-cam aesthetic and rapid editing can work very well for certain movies, but it feels totally superfluous and unnecessary here.

Overall, the actors' performances were solid enough, but the story and execution lacked in quality.

Ok so it's not Oscar material but that being said it was really good! It was thrilling and it kept my attention. In this age of Covid this movie is a must see. I'm glad I didn't listen to the reviews. I also liked the love story plot...and the character relationships that show how the virus can either bring people together or tear them apart. It can bring out the best in some people or the worst.

It wasn't great but it is a solid 6. I'd lean towards a 7. Wish that I could give it a 6-1/2. The main line is pretty predictable. There are a few interesting twists and the acting is actually pretty good. This is definitely worth a watch. It captures the sense of 2020 into 2021 well. I honestly can't imagine what the world would look like after 3+ years of isolation but this could be a pretty good guess.

It's a love story in times of quarantine, with little to no action, a couple that in all their three conversations on camera was about "the safety of their daughter", an don Juan trying to make more money but his actions does the opposite of doing the job, an annoying Demi Moore in a character with a weird sense of morality and, again, a good performance of Peter Stormare. If the movie tried to send a message, it just went past me.

This movie was not bad. It's not Oscar material, but it's watchable. It's like one critic ripped it, then others followed suit trying to one-up each other to see who could rip it harder. It's on Hulu for free so just watch it. After I watched it I read an LA Times article about how it was made which makes me appreciate it a little more.