Begin Again and a Silkworm update

Last week, my husband and I went to see the movie “Begin Again” with Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo. It’s by the same director who made the 2006 movie “Once” that’s about a pair in Dublin who collaborate on some songs and end up falling in love. Like “Once,” “Begin Again” is about an unlikely pair who end up working together to create a music album, although this time it’s set in New York City. Mark Ruffalo plays the down-and-out music producer who teams with a stage-shy songwriter (played by Keira Knightley) whom he happens to hear perform at a bar’s open mic night.

As it so happens, I almost skipped this movie because of rough reviews in various newspapers, but luckily I was steered back by the positive review on Nose in a Book’s blog and my husband’s apparent preference for films with Ms. Knightley. And come on, it’s a movie about the magic of music — listening, playing, creating music — with a few bankable actors set against a backdrop of the streets of the Big Apple by the same writer and director who did “Once.” Why wouldn’t I see it? Adam Levine is in it, too; the frontman for Maroon 5 plays Knightley’s rockstar boyfriend, so I was curious and thought it might be good.

Luckily it is. “Begin Again” turns out to be quite an enjoyable film, clearly better than the regular summer schlock out nowadays. Its message about how music can transform people’s lives comes across in an engaging, creative way, set against scenes in New York that bring the city vibrantly to life. I had trouble believing the singing was actually Knightley’s own voice in the movie, but impressively it is. Somehow she manages to pull it off, and it helps that Levine lends his considerable singing talents as well.

In the movie, both the music producer and the songwriter’s lives become transformed by the album they’re working on. Ruffalo’s character finds his purpose again and tries to win back his estranged wife and daughter, while Knightley’s character gains more confidence as a singer-songwriter and comes to realize her rockstar boyfriend and her are heading in different directions.

It’s a bittersweet story — one sparked by the music and performances. Although some critics say “Begin Again’s” music and songs are too weak and that it pales in comparison to the film “Once,” I didn’t get that feeling at all. Similar to “Once,” I thought the music had a transcendent effect. And while “Once” might be considered a more artful, off-the-cuff film, “Begin Again” felt more enjoyable and uplifting. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out for yourself.

And let me know what you think. Have you seen either “Once” or “Begin Again”?

Meanwhile in book news, I’m half way through the mystery “The Silkworm” by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling) and like it quite a bit. Admittedly, I started “The Silkworm” before reading Galbraith’s first mystery with the same detective “The Cuckoo’s Calling,” but I plan to go back and read that one later. I can already imagine these books will make good movies, so I’m sure the bidding war is intense. I’m just trying to figure out which actor I would pick to be the private investigator Cormoran Strike from Cornwall. From the book, he’s very tall, a bit heavy and has slightly curly hair. He’s also a war vet who has a prosthetic right leg. For some reason, I want to say he’s in his mid-30s, but I’m not sure she really says. So who’s a tall British actor that could play him? Any guesses ??? I sort of want to say Benedict Cumberbatch from the show “Sherlock Holmes” but I’m sure he’s too typecast as Sherlock by now, so I’ll have to pick another.