New movies to stream this week: ‘tick, tick . . . BOOM!,’ ‘Prisoners of the Ghostland’ and more
Based on a work by the late Jonathan Larson, the writer and composer of “Rent,” “Tick, Tick . . . Boom!” debuted in 1991 as a strippeddown “rock monologue” starring Larson (after a 1990 workshop performance under the name “Boho Days”). The play was later retooled into a more expansive musical theater piece after Larson’s 1996 death, and has now been further refined by writer Steven Levenson (“Dear Evan Hansen”) into its current film form, directed by LinManuel Miranda, making his feature debut. (Miranda also starred in a 2016 revival of the play.) On screen, Andrew Garfield plays a character called Jonathan Larson, who is struggling to finish a musical based on “1984” called “Superbia” - which Larson actually wrote but was never produced. It’s all less complicated than it sounds. At its heart, the film is an origin story about “Superbia,” but also a tale about the creative cauldron of Bohemian Soho that led Larson to write “Boom!” and, eventually, “Rent.” Garfield delivers a winning performance, in a movie that jumps between a staged performance of “Boom!,” featuring Vanessa Hudgens and Joshua Henry as supplemental singers, and flashbacks to the events depicted in that show. Robin de Jesus plays Jonathan’s former roommate, and Alexandra Shipp is Jonathan’s girlfriend. Ultimately, it’s a meditation on the pressures and rewards of the creative process, one that is both toe-tapping and poignant. PG13. Available on Netflix; also available in theaters. Contains some strong language, some suggestive material and drug references. 115 minutes. --Jon Lovitz provides the voice of the titular talking horse in “Ace and the Christmas Miracle,” a holiday-themed comedy about a con man (Steven Chase) whose sudden ability to communicate with a racehorse gives him an idea: Talk Ace into helping him fix the results of the upcoming New Year’s Day derby. PG. Available on demand. Contains some strong language, mature thematic elements and brief smoking. 93 minutes.
- - The documentary “Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road” features the former Beach Boy reminiscing with longtime friend and Rolling Stone editor Jason Fine as they cruise around Los Angeles, interspersed with interviews with Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Nick Jonas, Linda Perry, Al Jardine and others. Variety calls it “part musical exploration, part ‘Carpool Karaoke.’ “Unrated. Available on demand. 93 minutes.
Sunday, November 21, 2021