Penelope VanBuren
I am a sucker for a good dance movie, and in my opinion, this falls into that category. Is it cheesy and predictable? Yes, but not quite as cheesy and predictable as some. The acting was decent, but the violin playing and dancing was fantastic! The last dance movie I enjoyed this much was Center Stage back in 2000. If you liked Center Stage, you'll like High Strung!
Kristina Maria
I don't know why this movie was not advertised and obviously only shown in a few theaters. We never heard of it and stumbled across it on Netflix and had to buy it online. The music in this movie excellent. It is beautiful composed and Johnnie really looses himself in the music. Johnnie plays the violin with a passion that is breathtaking. Ruby's dance is wonderful and she has that innocent Femme Fatale down pat. The dance off in the subway between two rivaling dance teams was unexpected, but I found them to be better dancers than the main dance team living below Johnnie. The final dance sequence is emotionally charged and one of the best I have ever seen. This movie can easily hold its own with any other dance movie our there. A must watch!
Yogi
What a gem of a film. I wasn't expecting much when I hit the 'Play' button, but as I kept watching, I was surprised at how good it turned out to be. It was predictable at times and yet I found myself still rooting for the main characters. Have you ever started watching a movie and during the opening credits, you start scrolling through your cell phone? That's what I did in the beginning. After hearing the music, I looked up, put my cell phone down and stared enjoying the scenery in the 1st few minutes. I was hooked after that. If you have seen a lot of dance movies (Step-up, Save the Last Dance, Stomp the Yard) I suggest you give this film a chance. It might surprise you, like it did me.
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!!!
AD
