High Strung

2016 "See the music. Hear the dance."
6.3| 1h36m| PG| en
Details

When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.

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Trailers & Clips

Also starring Keenan Kampa

Reviews

Karry Best movie of this year hands down!
SunnyHello Nice effects though.
Mjeteconer Just perfect...
Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Rick James This feel-good, come-from-behind movie is refreshing and the two protagonists are attractive and appealing, while their antagonist is a jerk. If you presume the outcome will be positive the twists in the story are predictable but not shocking. The retrieval of the beloved violin at the very end evokes the memory of Johnnie's deceased father, about whom nothing is ever told. Since Galitzine is from a family of Russian aristocrats who fled to England after the Russian Revolution maybe the father could be famous, but who knows? The roommate Jasmine seems to be an afterthought, and why bother to have her involved with a druggie? Likewise the scam-lawyer immigration scam seems contrived, but it moves the story along.It's a pity the film chose to perpetuate the '80s image of the New York City subway system, with graffiti-covered cars. New York MTA does not allow movies shot in the city to be depicted that way, and the subway scenes are patently not there. The illusion of New York is done pretty well, though, although the Inwood loft is not convincing because first of all those lofts do not exist in Inwood and second of all where they do exist the rents are beyond what an undocumented alien could afford. The Manhattan School of Music doubles pretty well as the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts. Shooting the music and dance scenes in Bucharest must have saved a bundle, but it should have been done with New York studio performers. Johnnie does appear actually to be playing the violin himself, without simulation.
rwbintennessee This is the ultimate music and movement movie. Ballet, Modern, Classical, Hip Hop, Irish Step Dancing, Break Dancing...this movie has it all. And if you like the violin then you will not be disappointed. This movie has an amazing violin duel. And there is romance and some physical fighting to round out the entertainment experience. Plenty of action and good character development. I love this movie. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it 5 emojis.😎😎😎😎😎
Chxface This is one of those movies that make you look at the cast & crew list to see if the actors and directors/producers are related because there is no way that his movie is actually good. At all.As another review said, these "poor" dance school kids live in ridiculous lofts in Manhattan. I mean gorgeous. And even the ones with multiple teens living in them are spotless. Seriously, they would be cramped dark and filthy if this were true to form.There's a scene with a West Side Story wannabe dance "fight". Even the subway platform that this took place on had floors so clean and shiny, there's no way anyone ever urinated on them. Smh. The acting was atrocious, the music playing was truly horrifying at time. The only reason I am giving this 4 stars and not 1 is because I think the downstairs dancers were pretty good.It was a really poor version of a compilation of Save the Last Dance, Step Up, and Stomp the Yard.Final note: this may just be an homage to the fact the the main female character, ruby, can pull her leg past her head. Because she does that gratuitously and often. Ugh.
Mariana Dineva This was a surprisingly interesting movie with beautiful dancing and music playing, which (music playing) I have been solely missing in other such movies. It is the classic underdog story but with new and fresh moments. The violin was amazing and the movie's ballet-oriented dancing delightful and strong. Of course the boy-meets-girl-and-they-fall-in-love cliché was present but no major "tragedy" between the main leads was portrayed right before 'the decisive moment', and that was both refreshing and much appreciated. Additionally, there was no big drama around joining the competition and the crew did not fight.The final dance was astonishing, so beautiful for both the eyes and the ears, I was at a loss of words!!!