‘West Side Story’ (2021)
Though there’s never really a bad time to watch Steven Spielberg’s masterful film adaptation of West Side Story, now is an especially good time, since it stars newly-minted Internet Boyfriend Mike Faist as Jets leader Riff (yes, he sings and dances!) — his take on the character is the best I’ve seen, and one of the major reasons this movie just works despite some flaws. In addition to Faist’s spot-on casting, Ariana DeBose‘s Oscar-winning turn, and the introduction of rising star Rachel Zegler as María, what sets this West Side Story apart from other recent movie musicals and remakes is that the dance sequences are shot in such a fluid manner; it’s often tricky to capture dance on screen in a way that compliments the choreography, but this movie treats dance like action (maybe because dance is action, at least during the rumble) and the camera moves with the dancers, rather than staying static on a scene.