At The Movies – Get On Top

2014 At the movies September 2014 Suzanne A. Marshall

By Suzanne A. Marshall from the September 2014 Edition

Director: Tate Taylor

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd

“A chronicle of James Brown’s rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.”

The life of James Brown was not an easy one to say the least. The fact that he managed to find an avenue for his love of music and turn that into ultimately becoming the ‘godfather of soul’ is nothing short of a miracle and a whole lot of coincidences. The movie is filled with his soul-funk rhythm and blues and I couldn’t keep my feet still while listening and watching.

This was a most interesting movie with James played by Chad Boseman whom I have never seen before. (He played Jackie Robinson in the movie 42) This role required a lot of ‘up close’ screen time and Mr. Boseman played it well with an ability to draw you into the story. The character portrayal also emphasized the unrelenting belief that fame was the true destiny of James Brown.

IMDB rates this movie at 7.3/10 based on 2359 votes. I agree with this rating

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