Yesterday
Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: Richard Curtis
Cast: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Kate McKinnon, Ed Sheeran
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Rated PG-13 | Minutes: 157
Release Date: June 28, 2019

A world where The Beatles do not exist would be a strange one. But it is one small part of the entire premise of the fantastical romantic comedy Yesterday. Directed by Danny Boyle and written by Richard Curtis, the film explores such a world where only one man remembers the music of The Beatles, and how his life will dramatically change. But underneath such a simple premise lies a sweet love story and a quandary of what would happen if you had all that knowledge yet you knew that it wasn’t truly your work.

Though it may be narratively flawed by not fully exploring an interesting concept and plays it safe at times with the rom-com aspects, Yesterday relies on the direction of Boyle and Curtis’s script – though their voices may inadvertently clash at times – along with Lily James‘ cheery performance to carry the film all the way to end. My full review below.

There isn’t any doubt that The Beatles are the source of inspiration for many music artists today. From “Hey Jude” to “Yesterday” and “Here Comes The Sun” to “Let It Be,” these are just only a few of the many hits the British band has earned throughout their career.

But Danny Boyle‘s latest film, Yesterday, written by Richard Curtis (Love Actually, About Time), asks the question: what if The Beatles didn’t exist, and you were the only person who knew about them and their songs? Would you use that knowledge responsibly or would you use it to gain fame and fortune. That is what we can expect to see in the upcoming music comedy that stars Himesh Patel, Lily James, Kate McKinnon, and Ed Sheeran. Check out the trailer below.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Director: Ol Parker
Writer: Ol Parker, Catherine Johnson, Richard Curtis
Cast: Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Dominic Cooper, Cher, Meryl Streep
Studio: Universal Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 114 Minutes
Release Date: July 20, 2018

No one ever asked for a sequel (or prequel) to Mamma Mia! and yet, here we are, with Universal Pictures releasing Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the newest installment of the musical franchise that has a penchant for breaking out in song and dance to ABBA. And here is the surprising thing about that hybrid sequel and prequel. It’s actually good. No, scratch that, it’s really good.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is the film you can’t help but tap your foot to when the music feels good, and cry to when there’s a ballad to be sung. Though the story may be some white noise, the cast has fun with the material they are given. But the true standout is Lily James, who shines with a spirited energy that is so infectious, you can’t help but join in on the fun. Check out the full review below.

Baby Driver
Director: Edgar Wright
Screenwriters: Edgar Wright
Cast: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jon Bernthal, Eiza González, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx
Distributor: TriStar Pictures
Rated PG| 113 Minutes
Release Date: June 28, 2017

Edgar Wright‘s Baby Driver can be best described as a musically charged gangster film full of colorful zany characters all looking to make a big score. If Wright could write music – and he probably could – they would look, sound, and feel like this movie.

While recent car chasing heist flicks have been focusing on the big action set-piece spectacle that may look spectacular but lacks spirit and heart, Baby Driver proves that you don’t need to jump out of planes (be it exploding or not) to be hip and cool. You just need a driver, the girl of your dreams, music, and the road to travel to some unknown destination.

We’ve known for a long time, a very long time, that music plays a big part in Edgar Wright‘s Baby Driver. Ansel Elgort plays Baby, a getaway driver who suffers a constant ringing in his ears, and uses the music from the cars he steals to drown it out. But it is how Wright incorporates the music into every scene that has made it one of the best-reviewed films of the year.

Earlier last week, the tracklist for the soundtrack revealed an eclectic mix of genres and eras, but we’ve only heard a few songs in trailers and TV spots. Now a new featurette shows just how music works in Baby Driver. Check out the featurette, below.