VIVO MOVIE REVIEW

Welcome to Cuba where the music is so hoppin’, even the kinkajous will sing you a song on occasion. Meet Vivo, one of the aforementioned musical honey bears. Along with his owner, Andrés, the two live a comfortable life making money and music in the town square. However, their happy routine is put into a tailspin when Andrés receives a letter from his old partner, famous Latin singer, Marta Sandoval (Gloria Estefan), asking him to be a part of her farewell concert. Despite Vivo’s objections, Andrés is determined to finally reunite and sing her the song of his unspoken love for her. So why does the film jump to an unrelated little girl in Florida, and why exactly are we travelling to the Everglades? “Vivo” is based on a pitch by jack-of-all-trades, Lin-Manuel Miranda who produces, writes the songs for, and stars as the titular character in this Sony animated musical. Our reviewers, Mindy, Robert, and Adrian dance to the beat of their own drummers as they decide whether this film makes it to the top of the charts, or is stuck on the B-side. And, yes, there is rapping involved.

**This review is available in a longer, uncut, video version for TIME LORD subscribers RIGHT HERE**

WATCH HERE

DIRECTED BY: Kirk DeMicco

STARRING: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ynairaly Simo, Zoe Saldana, Juan de Marcos González, Brian Tyree Henry, Nicole Byer, Aneesa Folds, Michael Rooker, Gloria Estefan, Katie Lowes, Christian Ochoa, Brandon Jeffords, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Leslie David Baker, Aaron LaPlante, Rich Moore, Tessie Santiago

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Mindy Rast-Keenan (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews)

Having grown up in Nairobi, Kenya, and being very disappointed at the lack of riding elephants her cartoons had promised her, Mindy spends the majority of her time as a film, theater, and voice over actress in the Austin, Texas area. They still give her money for being on HBO that one time, with her name in the credits spelled wrong. A nerdy geek, this award-winning actress joined One of Us figuring she’d put her summa cum laude BFA acting degree to good use…by judging other people’s acting. In the few seconds she gets to herself, Mindy bakes for charity, knits eccentric plushies, plays original RPG’s with her gamemaster husband, and spends time with her soulmate, Batman.

 

 

Robert Garza (Screener Squad)

If it weren’t for sad music and scary stories I wouldn’t be as well-adjusted and cheerful as I am today. Moonlighting as a musician off and on since adolescence, I am as big a fan of scores and needle drops as I am of slow zooms, production design, and third act exposition. Just about all of my screen time is spent on international horror, drama, and hour long episodic. Big fan of genre, and the biggest fan of supernatural horror and dark sci-fi with meaningful representation and narratives that use trauma, grief, and grace as more than surface-level content. Also, I read a ton of modern horror novels/comics and stan Matt Berry. In the before times I worked music and film festivals across the US and will hopefully return to that sometime in the future.

 

 

Adrian El Critico (Screener Squad)

Though born and raised in Chicago, this film critic is Mexican to the bone. Adrian has been watching movies since he was a child, many of which might not have been age appropriate. Still, he couldn’t get enough. All throughout his life, friends and family would look to him for his recommendations and reviews on whatever films had come their way. Inspired earlier in life by the likes of Ebert and Roper at The Movies and then later Spill.com, Adrian decided film criticism and analysis provided a great outlet to further his love of film....