Hot on the Oscars nominees

As usual, I am hot on the trail of Oscar-nominated films, especially those nominated for best picture, best actor, best actress and best director.  We’ve seen several (Drive My Car, Licorice Pizza, Spencer, Belfast, Being the Ricardos, King Richard, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, The Mitchells vs. the Machines,  The Lost Daughter, CODA) and will see more, but Tick, Tick, BOOM was the biggest (pleasant) surprise.  I liked it much better than I liked Rent when I saw it on stage (written by Jonathon Larson who is the writer and lyricist of the original musical Tick, Tick, BOOM, and the protagonist in the film for which he has won the Oscar nomination), and know I will watch it again.  It is an ode to musical theBater, and a sign that Manuel Lin-Miranda is as brilliant an actor as he is director, writer, lyricist himself.  If you have ever seen a Broadway (or off-Broadway) musical and loved it, I think you’ll love this film as well.