Category: Drama

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Quentin Tarantino is without a doubt one of the most acclaimed and influential filmmakers still working in the industry today. He first came onto the scene with the release of 1992’s Reservoir Dogs, which was an instant critical hit. This was followed by 1994’s Pulp Fiction, which was both a critical and commercial hit, earning him an Academy Award. His next film, 1997’s Jackie Brown, though a hit with critics, wasn’t as financially successful, so he took a break. He came back with the release of Kill Bill: Volume 1 in 2003 and Kill Bill: Volume 2 in 2004. Though 2007’s Grindhouse was a disappointment, he rebounded with 2009’s Inglorious Basterds and 2012’s Django Unchained, both winning Oscars. After the release of 2015’s The Hateful Eight, Tarantino cut ties to The Weinstein Company after the sexual abuse accusations. Cut to 2019, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is released.

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Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an aging actor known mostly for being in TV Westerns who’s struggling to remain relevant. His stuntman/best friend Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) does his best to help him along and give him encouraging words. At the same time, actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) has just moved in with her husband Roman Polanski (Rafał Zawierucha). While Rick gets a job playing a villain on a new TV Western, Booth meets hippie chick Pussycat (Margaret Qualley). After giving her a ride to Spahn Movie Ranch, she asks him to stay, but Booth has his suspicions. Turns out this hippie commune is led by one Charles “Charlie” Manson (Damon Herriman), and they’ve been squatting there. Eventually, Rick gets an offer to shoot films in Italy, which he reluctantly agrees to despite their poor reputation. Eventually, these various subplots comes together in one insane climax of violence and death.

Like many of Tarantino’s previous films, this is certainly one of the most well-made and well-crafted films in recent years. First off, the performances are phenomenal, especially DiCaprio, Pitt, and Robbie, the scenes between DiCaprio and Pitt a major highlight. Their scenes together feel like two people who’ve been lifelong friends, and they share some great banter between them. Other cast highlights include Al Pacino, Kurt Russell, Timothy Olyphant, Bruce Dern, Zoe Bell, Dakota Fanning, and Luke Perry. Though many of these are nothing more than cameos, each one is given their moment to shine and they’re fantastic. Along with the cast, Tarantino’s writing is outstanding, once again feeling like natural conversations rather than written dialogue. Even in scenes where not much happens, the dialogue keeps you engaged and the actors deliver it pitch perfectly. Filmmaking-wise, the direction is on-point and perfectly captures a late 60s vibe.

Admittedly, though there’s plenty to love here, there are some issues with the film, though mostly in the pacing. The first act starts off strong, but then much of the second act tends to drag things to a halt. While there’s still some entertaining scenes of DiCaprio struggling as an actor and Pitt cruising along, not much plotwise happens. Also, though Robbie delivers a great performance, she’s not given much to do and doesn’t factor into the plot much. Granted, many of Tarantino’s movies are known for having multiple subplots that eventually intersect into one another towards the end. Plus, it’s somewhat refreshing to have a movie that’s much slower and chill amongst the many bombastic blockbusters released today. Some may be put off by the slow pace and lack of a straightforward narrative, but others will enjoy it. Overall, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is another Tarantino gem.

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John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, aka J.R.R. Tolkien, is one of the most famous and acclaimed authors of the 20th century. Tolkien is probably best known for his high fantasy novels, namely The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Even though fantasy novels weren’t unknown back then, Tolkien’s work led to a massive resurgence in the genre. His works have gone on to inspire numerous artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers, Tolkien considered the “father” of high fantasy. In 1978, animator Ralph Bakshi brought Lord of the Rings to the big screen, followed by Rankin-Bass in 1980. Between 2001 and 2003, a series of live-action films directed by Peter Jackson were released to critical and commercial success. This was followed by a series of films between 2012-2014 based on Tolkien’s The Hobbit novel. Flash forward to 2019, where we now have a biopic of the man behind the novels himself, Tolkien.

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Synopsis

After their mother dies of an illness, brothers J.R.R. and Hilary Tolkien are taken in by Father Francis (Colm Meaney). He enrolls the two into King Edward’s School, where J.R.R. soon forms a group of friends called the T.C.B.S. In addition to Tolkien (Nicholas Hoult), there’s Geoffrey Smith (Anthony Boyle), Robert Gilson (Patrick Gibson), and Christopher Wiseman (Tom Glynn-Carney). The four dream of changing the world, hanging out at the Barrows Store for tea, and sharing their artistic talents. Soon, Tolkien meets Edith Bratt (Lilly Collins), a young and independent woman who plays piano, and they fall in love. Tolkien takes an interest in the history of languages, and he studies etymology while attending Oxford University. Overtime, he starts drawing and writing stories based on the fantasy tales his mother told him as a child. Eventually, he and his friends go off to fight in WWI, changing their lives forever.

Review

While I’m not exactly a huge Lord of the Rings fan, I certainly acknowledge and respect their influence and legacy. Going into this, I knew next to nothing about Tolkien, so I thought going into this would be interesting. Unfortunately, while this movie isn’t terrible, it’s a pretty standard biopic whose subject deserves much more, making this a disappointment. I don’t want to say too much negatives about this film since there’s clearly a lot of effort put in. The cast does a serviceable job, Nicholas Hoult and Lilly Collins are good together, and the three friends are enjoyable. Colm Meaney is fine if underused, though Derek Jacobi has some fun moments as a professor at Oxford. Dome Karukoski’s direction is good, though the visual style is on par with any other period piece. The movie cuts back and forth to Tolkien in WWI, and those scenes are competently done.

I’m sorry if this review is somewhat disappointing since there hasn’t been much discussed about the movie. Honestly, that’s the biggest problem with this film: it’s so ho-hum and average that it’s hardly worth talking about. There were actually times while I was watching this in the theater that I started to doze off. I feel like a really interesting movie could have been made about Tolkien’s life, but this was just meandering. This feels less like an in-depth biopic and more like the cliff notes version of Tolkien’s life. Obviously, a biopic isn’t going to be 100% accurate to real life, but this just hits on the main points. If you’re a huge Lord of the Rings fanatic, you’ll probably get something out of this film. Despite its intentions, Tolkien is a fairly dull biopic with some good performances and a competent if uninteresting visual style.

Buy Tolkien from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3K1MRGN.

Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at no additional cost, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and make a purchase.

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Where to watch Tolkien (2019)

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In the 90s, filmmakers Peter and Bobby Farrelly were best known for their quirky and often low-brow comedies. Their first big hit was 1994’s Dumb and Dumber, which also helped launch Jim Carrey’s career into superstardom. They followed that up with Kingpin and There’s Something About Mary, the latter of which helped solidify Cameron Diaz’s career. The 2000s had its ups-and-downs for the brothers, with hits like Me, Myself, & Irene and bombs like Osmosis Jones. Unfortunately, the 2010s were not as kind to the brothers, ultimately leading to what many consider their worst, Movie 43. The two made somewhat of a comeback with the sequel Dumb and Dumber To, but clearly comedy wasn’t working anymore. Now, Peter has gone off on his own to direct a film that, while somewhat comedic, is surprisingly a drama. That film is the biographical comedy/drama, Green Book.

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In 1962 New York, Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) has unfortunately lost his job as a bouncer. While looking for work, he gets an invitation to meet a Don Shirley at Carnegie Hall. Turns out Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) is a black pianist who is very well-spoken, classically-trained, and highly intelligent. He wants Tony Lip to be his driver as he goes on tour through the Midwest and the Deep South. Naturally, Tony has reservations about driving a black man through the Deep South, but he decides to take the job. This leads to a road trip where Tony and Shirley get to know one another and grow as people. Shirley even helps Tony with writing letters to his wife Dolores (Linda Cardellini). Along the way, they have to contend with racism, prejudice, and class issues. Their journey will change them for the rest of their lives.

What makes the film work as well as it does is the two leads, Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. Both have phenomenal chemistry with each other and play their roles as if they were the real people. It’s interesting seeing the contrast between Ali’s more soft-spoken eloquent personality and Mortensen’s more wise-guy street-wise attitude. Also, unlike most films of its kind, this is a film where both characters learn to change as people. Tony learns to maintain his dignity in the face of opposition, and Shirley learns to appreciate his race’s culture. This movie tackles several issues, whether it’s racism, prejudice, homophobia, cultural stereotypes, breaking down barriers, and being more accepting. While Mortensen and Ali certainly dominate the film, the supporting cast all do a good job with their given roles. Leaving aside the issues it deals with, this is just a really fun and heartfelt road movie.

If I do have any issues with the film, they’re very few and minor considering how spectacular this movie is. The only major issue I have is more of a tonal issue, namely how it goes between comedy and drama. At times, the movie doesn’t seem to know whether it wants to be serious or be funny. Granted, both the comedic and dramatic scenes work really well, and the actors help make it work. Also, while the film tackles some pretty heavy issues, it never seems to go deep enough into those issues. There are scenes where an issue is addressed, only for it to be tossed aside and never mentioned again. I would go into the liberties taken with the story, but that’s the nature of true story movies. Overall, Green Book is fantastic film with a great story and two solid lead performances.

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Given how successful Creed was, even getting Stallone an Oscar nomination, naturally a sequel was to soon follow. However, both Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan went on to make the highly successful Black Panther, delaying the sequel. While Jordan was able to reprise his role, Coogler stepped down as director and was replaced by Steven Caple Jr. Caple got some attention with his feature film debut, 2016’s The Land, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It seems like they wanted to hire an indie director similar to how Coogler got to direct the first film. Anyway, most of the cast from the original film returns, with Dolph Lundgren returning as Ivan Drago from Rocky IV. This film would be about the son of Apollo Creed going up against the son of Ivan Drago. So how does this sequel compare to the original film that helped revive the franchise?

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After losing the big fight against “Pretty” Ricky Conlon three years ago, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) is rising up. He manages to accumulate several victories under his belt, and even beats the current World Heavyweight Champion. Meanwhile, former Soviet fighter Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) is living in exile after being defeated by Rocky several decades ago. He’s been training his son Viktor (Florian Munteanu) in the hopes that he can become champion and redeem their name. When an opportunity arises for Viktor to fight Adonis for the World Heavyweight Championship, Adonis agrees much to Rocky’s disapproval. Feeling betrayed, Adonis goes on to fight Viktor and subsequently gets pounded into oblivion, though Viktor is ultimately disqualified. Now broken physically and emotionally, Adonis must pick himself back up and realize what’s most important in his life. Eventually, Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) decides to help Adonis retrain to take down Viktor for good.

Given how great the previous film was and how it reinvigorated the franchise, this had some big shoes to fill. First thing to mention is the performances, once again, are phenomenal, especially from returning actors Jordan, Stallone, Rashad, and Thompson. In addition, it’s great to see Dolph Lundgren return to the role that made him a star in 1985. Speaking of, while not as intimidating as Lundgren was, Florian Munteanu is still an imposing figure that dominates his scenes. Much like before, what really makes this film work are the more human elements and the hard-hitting drama. Given the circumstances behind the fight between Adonis and Viktor, there’s much more at stake than simply the championship title. It’s interesting to see how these characters from a very cartoonish entry like Rocky IV have evolved and grown. You really feel for why the Dragos are as vengeful as they are.

If there’s any negatives to the film, they’re few and far between and very minor compared to the positives. For one, the movie can be somewhat formulaic and copies some elements from the previous films, especially II and III. Still, even if it does borrow from the other films, it still does it well to stand on its own. Also, while the first Creed had a very real urban quality to it, this one is sorely lacking in that. Despite those negatives, this is still a fantastic film and a great continuation of what the first film established. Like before, there’s a great father-son relationship between Rocky and Adonis that’s also paralleled with Ivan and Viktor’s relationship. While there most likely will be a third film, it’s going to be tough to follow up the previous films. Overall, Creed II is somewhat formulaic but still succeeds as a follow-up.

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After the success of Rocky in 1976, Sylvester Stallone went from a nobody to becoming a household name. The success of the first film led to a series of sequels that ranged from good to cartoonish to dull. While some were better than others, none of them managed to recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle feeling of the first film. Stallone eventually returned to the franchise’s roots with Rocky Balboa in 2006, but for him, that was the end. That is, until a newcomer named Ryan Coogler emerged on the scene with his feature film debut, 2013’s Fruitvale Station. After that film became a critical darling, Coogler approached Stallone with continuing the franchise with a spinoff film. While initially reluctant, Stallone agreed to reprise his role, but as more of a mentor figure than a fighter. With Coogler’s actor friend Michael B. Jordan in the lead role, that spinoff would become Creed.

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In 1998, young Adonis “Donnie” Johnson (Alex Henderson) is serving time in a youth detention center for his violent nature. One day, he’s visited by Mary Anne Creed (Phylicia Rashad), who reveals that he’s the son of boxer Apollo Creed. She takes him in, despite not being his true mother, and we soon cut to 15 years later. Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) quits his job at a financial company to pursue a career in boxing like his father. After being turned down by the Delphi Boxing Academy, Adonis goes to Philadelphia in search of Rocky Balboa. While initially reluctant because of past experiences, Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) finally agrees to train him and get him some fights. While Adonis finds a girlfriend in singer/songwriter Bianca (Tessa Thompson), he feels like he’s living in his father’s shadow. Despite some setbacks, Adonis works to make a name and a legacy for himself.

Like most audiences at the time, I was initially skeptical about the idea of a Rocky spin-off about Apollo’s son. With how Rocky Balboa perfectly finished off the series, I didn’t think there was any story left to tell. However, after seeing Creed, I can definitely say that I was proven wrong and amazingly surprised by what I saw. Not only does this work as a standalone film, but it also honors what came before it, good and bad. Not only does Rocky training Creed’s son bring everything full circle, but it helps continue Rocky’s story well after retirement. It helps that this movie has some fantastic performances, especially from veteran Sylvester Stallone and newcomer Michael B. Jordan. The two have fantastic chemistry and have a great relationship that transcends just a simple trainer-trainee relationship. Rocky is almost like the father figure Adonis never had before.

Also, Ryan Coogler’s direction is fantastic, as he gives the film a real gritty and urban vibe to it. When it comes to the boxing scenes, they are shot as if they were done by a seasoned veteran. You feel all the blows, punches, and hits that the fighters take, and you’re constantly on edge all throughout. Of course, a Rocky movie wouldn’t be complete without the more human element, and that’s where Creed shines. Adonis and Bianca’s relationship is really sweet, almost parallel to Rocky and Adrian’s relationship in the first film. This is a true underdog story, through and through, as you really feel for Adonis and want him to succeed. Admittedly, the movie does borrow perhaps a bit too much from the original film, but they still do it well. Overall, while not fully capturing the magic of the first film, Creed is still a worthy successor.

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In the late 1960s, British students Brian May, Tim Staffell, and Roger Taylor formed a small band called Smile. Unfortunately, in 1970, Staffell ended up leaving the group to join the band Humpy Bong. Luckily, a plucky young art student named Farrokh Bulsara was a fan of their music and soon joined the group. Farrokh, preferring to be called Freddy, encouraged them to change their name to Queen and brought on bassist John Deacon. Soon, Farrokh changed his full name to Freddy Mercury, and Queen slowly but surely started to find success. The band released several albums that became major hits, and many of their songs are regarded as the best ever. Even after Freddy Mercury’s death in 1991 from AIDS, Queen is still considered one of the all-time greatest rock bands. Now in 2018, a new Queen biopic has been released named after their most famous song, Bohemian Rhapsody.

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Synopsis

The movie more or less tells the story of Queen’s formation, but mostly focuses on Freddy Mercury (Rami Malek). It goes into how the band got started, Freddy’s relationship with Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), and the band’s struggles. The band has their first major success with Bohemian Rhapsody despite objections from EMI executive Ray Foster (Mike Myers). Eventually, Freddy ends up breaking up with Mary once he comes to terms with his homosexuality. As the band continues finding success, tensions start to mount between Freddy and the other band members. Driven largely by ego, Freddy leaves the band to start a solo career only to realize the mistakes he’s made. He also learns that he has contracted AIDS, which leads him to wanting to rejoin Queen and go out strong. Everything ultimately culminates in the band’s iconic performance at Live Aid in 1985.

Review

Ever since I first heard a Queen biopic was being made, I was excited considering my love of classic rock. I was skeptical going in given how movies based on true stories tend to stretch the truth. That being said, I walked out of this movie fairly entertained and impressed at what they were able to do. The first thing I have to talk about is Rami Malek’s amazing performance as Freddy Mercury. He really dives deep into the role and you can tell that he did his homework in capturing Mercury’s mannerisms. The cast overall does a great job and they really looked like the real-life people they were portraying. Given the subject matter, the music is amazing, using songs recorded by Queen as well as the actors. And in terms of historical accuracy, they got a lot of details right, with a few exceptions.

Now, anyone who’s been following this knows of its many production problems, and that ties into some problems it has. First, there’s the fact that original director Bryan Singer was fired after some disagreements on set and extended absences. This led to a new director being hired, who did reshoots and additional post-production, which you can tell in. Throughout the first act especially, much of the story is condensed into montages that conveniently advance time over several years. Also, there was concern that the movie would focus more on Freddy Mercury than on Queen as a whole. While Mercury certainly has a major role, the other bandmates are given ample screen time and contribute quite a lot. Lastly, with this being a PG-13, it feels somewhat watered down, and this could’ve benefitted from an R-rating. Problems aside, Bohemian Rhapsody should please fans and even non-fans of Queen.

Buy Bohemian Rhapsody from Amazon: https://amzn.to/49s47zr.

Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at no additional cost, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and make a purchase.

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Where to watch Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

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While not a household name, writer Lee Israel had a very interesting life, to say the least. She started as a freelance writer for The New York Times and Soap Opera Digest in the 1960s. Her first taste of success came in the 70s and 80s when she became famous for writing biographies. She wrote biographies on people like Tallulah Bankhead and Dorothy Kilgallen, the latter of which becoming a bestseller. Unfortunately, as time went along, her career started to decline and she was struggling to make ends meet. However, after selling a stolen letter from Fanny Brice, she decided to forge and sell letters from prominent writers. She made enough to pay the bills, but she was eventually caught by the FBI. She wrote a memoir about her criminal activities before passing away in 2014. In 2018, the memoir was adapted into the biopic Can You Ever Forgive Me?

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After having a successful career writing biographies, writer Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) has fallen on hard times. No one’s interested in her work anymore, and she’s more or less gone broke, barely able to make ends meet. She soon decides to start writing a biography on Fanny Brice when she stumbles across one of her letters. Lee steals the letter and sells it, but not before adding content to the letter to make it more interesting. This begins her cycle of forging letters, posing as famous literary figures, and selling them for large sums of money. Along with her gay friend Jack Hock (Richard E. Grant), they go to various dealers to sell her forged letters. While things promising at first, it soon starts crashing down when the FBI starts investigating her for forgery and impersonation. As the threat of the FBI starts looming, everything in Lee’s life starts crumbling.

I was pretty excited to see this film despite the fact that I had only seen one trailer for it. Once I saw the amazing critical reception it was getting, it made me curious and definitely interested in seeing it. While I’m not necessarily a fan of Melissa McCarthy, I’ve never disliked her either, having not seen her in much. She’s mostly known for being in comedies, so it was pretty remarkable to see her giving a dramatic performance. That said, she does inject some dry humor in her performance, and it really works for her character. She and Richard E. Grant are fantastic together, and it’s fun to see them play off each other. Another highlight here is Jane Curtin as Lee’s agent Marjorie, who clearly is sad to see how far she’s fallen. For McCarthy, this is definitely a career-defining performance.

The film was directed by Marielle Heller, who also directed 2015’s The Diary of a Teenage Girl. While I haven’t seen that movie, I am curious to see it if it’s as good as this film was. In many ways, I related to this movie in its depiction of someone who wants to do what they love. It’s easy to root for her since she’s fallen on hard times and is struggling to get by. Even though she is committing fraud and clearly lying to people, Lee is still a character you can get behind. I’m not sure how historically accurate this is, but regardless, this is still a fantastic movie. The actors are superb, it’s well-filmed, the writing is great, and it feels almost uplifting at points. Given its title, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a film that doesn’t need forgiveness because it’s so good.

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