{"id":8632,"date":"2021-01-05T11:29:49","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T16:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=8632"},"modified":"2021-01-05T11:29:51","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T16:29:51","slug":"review-songbird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=8632","title":{"rendered":"Review: SONGBIRD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Pandemic production is exploitive and bland<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"192\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Man-and-Camera-NO-FIX-4-10-192x300.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Man-and-Camera-NO-FIX-4-10-192x300.png 192w, https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Man-and-Camera-NO-FIX-4-10-656x1024.png 656w, https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Man-and-Camera-NO-FIX-4-10-768x1198.png 768w, https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Man-and-Camera-NO-FIX-4-10-400x624.png 400w, https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Man-and-Camera-NO-FIX-4-10-433x675.png 433w, https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Man-and-Camera-NO-FIX-4-10-692x1080.png 692w, https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Man-and-Camera-NO-FIX-4-10.png 861w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 192px) 100vw, 192px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"184\" height=\"273\" src=\"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/songbird1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8633\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>The process of making \u201cSongbird\u201d has to be more entertaining than the film itself. Jumping at the chance to roll cameras and grab headlines, \u201cTransformers\u201d producer Michael Bay touted this project as the first production to shoot in Los Angeles after the pandemic shutdown. And the rushed nature of his effort is crushingly evident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSongbird\u201d takes place in 2024. COVID-19 has mutated, leaving a large portion of the world\u2019s population at grave risk. Martial law reigns supreme as those infected are taken to quarantine camps known as \u201cQ-Zones,\u201d where, presumably, they die. We never see the inside of this walled-off, heavily policed encampment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not everyone is susceptible to the constantly changing virus. Nico (\u201cRiverdale\u2019s\u201d K.J. Apa) is an immune, young bike courier who rides the streets delivering packages to folks barricaded in their homes. His immunity gives him freedom but also leaves him alone. The once-great Western metropolis is mostly empty. We get shots that remind us of 2007\u2019s \u201cI Am Legend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luckily for Nico, one of his clients is a beautiful artist named Sara (Sofia Carson), and the two strike up an awkward romance. Because Sara cannot leave her apartment, the potential lovers can\u2019t physically meet one another. But when Sara\u2019s grandma becomes infected and shady government forces threaten to take her to a Q-Zone, Nico has to save her. I suppose neither cares about potentially spreading the virus by breaking quarantine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSongbird\u201d is a graceless, sensationalized projection of current real-world events. Some viewers may find that it cheapens and exploits the present, disheartening coronavirus pandemic. The narrative\u2019s overly sanctimonious, thin gloss delivers no weight, and the action elements are bland and straight out of the Bay handbook (there\u2019s even a patented 360-shot at a critical moment).<br><br>Read the rest of Jonathan&#8217;s review online and in print in the Times-Herald: <a href=\"https:\/\/times-herald.com\/news\/2020\/12\/songbird-pandemic-production-is-exploitive-and-bland\">https:\/\/times-herald.com\/news\/2020\/12\/songbird-pandemic-production-is-exploitive-and-bland<\/a><br><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Bay pandemic feature is empty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[2014,2013,2012],"class_list":["post-8632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-disaster","tag-michael-bay","tag-pandemic","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8632"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8635,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8632\/revisions\/8635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}