Bohemian Rhapsody

Hi Film Fans:

Here's another winner for you!

Do you like stories about bands that hit it big?  I do! This flick takes us into the hearts and minds of a group of musicians who literally start with nothing and end up being one of the most significant bands of all time.  It is the story of Queen, the rock band that was the sensation of the 70s and 80s.

Never the spoiler, I would like to take my own look at the film.

Rami Malek knocks it out of the park with his acting.  He is brilliant as Queen's lead singer, Freddie Mercury.  Known for his amazing work in Mr. Robot, for which he won an Emmy in 2016, Malek came to the set after Sacha Baron Cohen bowed out.

Malek deftly plays the Indian Parsi refugee from Zanzibar who begins as a baggage handler at the airport.  He stumbles on a small group of struggling musicians, proves his worth to them with his extraordinary voice, and propels them all to stardom.

I was thrilled to see him win an Oscar for best lead actor.

As the lead singer who grows from a simple dreamer into a superstar, Malek conveys all the joy, pain, and sorrow of a man destined to push the envelope in the music world.  His style is simply one of a kind!

Lucy Boynton plays his love interest with equal skill.  She is a well-shaded character as the pretty blond who comes to understand Freddie Mercury.  In the early years, she is his girlfriend, and the love of his love, but as Freddie becomes more troubled, she must strive to love him as a best friend.

Let's talk music.

I'm personally not a fan of the music that Queen produced. What?  I may sound like a heathen to the millions of fans who adore Queen, but truth to tell, I still find the music heavy, ponderous, and loud.  I do admire the stage presence of the band and how they "rocked" the house at big arena events.  But if I can choose between any of a hundred other bands, they would not compete in my book.

Which is not to say that I don't love their best work:  "We will, we will, rock you!"  What a mesmerizing chant that we have all heard or recited!  Of course the words are typical Queen: not really logical.  Think of the lyrics: "You got mud on your face, you big disgrace, kicking your can all over the place."  Hmmmm....

So while I would not spend time in the evening listening to Queen in my living room, I would nevertheless laud this film.  It tells a story that you can't forget.

I give the film A+.

It's not easy to watch, because Freddie Mercury was so tormented.  But it's worth every minute you spend with Queen...and Rami Malek.

A Star is Born

Hi film fans!

Want to see a GREAT movie?

Get out to the theater and catch Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga light up the big screen!

Before getting down to why this film is so good, we might note that the Cooper/Gaga version is the fourth iteration of the story.  The original came out in 1937 and starred Janet Gaynor and Frederick March.  The second arrived in 1954 and featured Judy Garland and James Mason.  Then in 1976, in the middle of the disco sound, a remake was done with Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand.

Which is the best?  The latest by far!

The story is familiar:  Famous male rock star is on his way down, hitting the bottle and trying to hang on.  He meets the young, pretty starlet with the wonderful voice and big dreams.  A romance ensues, and needless to say, the couple goes through some tough times.

Let's look at Brad.  The entire film was apparently his vision.  He directed it.  He wrote songs for it.  He sang.  He acted.  He was brilliant as the charming, sometimes loving, sometimes obnoxious, alcohol-bathed star, with a big troubled heart.

If you've seen some of Bradley Cooper's other films, you can easily understand why he is so good in A Star is Born.  He was fantastic opposite Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Lining Playbook.  He was even better as the tormented soldier in American Sniper.  He was perfect in American Hustle.  He garnered Academy Award nominations for all three movies.

Then we have Lady Gaga.  Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, the young singer rose to stardom about ten years ago.  I remember her when she sang on American Idol.  Did you see her perform at last year's Super Bowl halftime show?

Lady Gaga has an angelic voice.  She does over-the-top performances.  She dresses in audacious, in-your-face outfits.  She is Madonna times ten when it comes to outlandish.  Beneath the glitter and spectacle lies an extraordinarily talented singer.

OK, we know we have two brilliant performers.  But the big question is, how do they do together?

The answer: Perfectly!

The chemistry between these two is electric.  The story is all about the vibes between the two.  With Brad and Lady Gaga, it seems so real.  I never felt that way about Kris and Barbra.

The songs are magic.  The scenes are dramatic.  The love story is so moving it is palpable.

Oh, don't forget about the great supporting actor Sam Elliott.  To me, Sam's best work is in westerns.  If you don't know him well, watch him play one of the Earp brothers in Tombstone.  He is dynamite opposite Kurt Russell.

In A Star is Born, he plays the rock star's older brother.  He does so with dignity and panache.  No wonder he has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Supporting Role category.

As long as we're talking Oscars, both Brad Cooper and Lady Gaga are up for Best Actor/Actress.

I won't go into further details, for fear of giving away some plot twists.  Suffice it to say that the movie is a winner!

I give it A+!

 If you enjoy fantastic music, visual spectacles, and love stories, you will experience real film magic.

It's Oscar Time!

The nominations are in! Tell David and Valerie who gets your vote for what!!

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/oscar-nominations-2019-academy-awards_us_5c467505e4b0bfa693c65d3e

Vice

Well, I promised my blog buddy, David, that I would post on Vice, and since we are meeting for lunch in a few hours, I'd better be able to report that I did! 

Anyway, I love a good pun title, and this one does it. Vice chronicles the political career of a Mr. Dick Cheney (you may have heard of him?), who served as vice president for not one, but TWO presidents named George Bush! Morphing himself into arguably the most powerful person to hold that office, he easily plays as a Shakespearean character. His vice? Greed, power... 

But I will keep this brief and focused on the film. It is written and directed by Adam McKay, who also did The Big Short. In both films, he manages to break down a complicated subject in both instructional and entertaining ways. The topic and message he takes seriously, the film, not so much. Delightful pacing and fun departures from conventional film limitations. 

Performances are astounding. Geeze, just look at the above image. The right is Christian Bale (WHAA?????) in an incredible transformation. He can play anything and anyone. (Just the day before seeing this, I had revisited a very young CB in Little Women.) Every tic, nuance, gesture and walk IS Dick Cheney. 

Playing his wife, Lynn, is Amy Adams, and it's fun to see them paired again (American Hustle). Sam Rockwell (I'm a big fan) is flawless as George W., with Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld. 

Cheney has always been a polarizing figure, and at last week's Golden Globe Awards, as the out-spoken Bale accepted the Best Actor Award, he thanked "Satan for his inspiration." Ouch. That brought out claws from daughter Liz Cheney the next day! Hahaha

Excellent film which manages to draw in today's national issues.

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Hi movie fans!

There's a film out there getting quite a bit of buzz.  Let's take a quick look at it.

First, the title:  It's misleading, in a way.  At first glance, I thought of someone doing something terrible to someone else and seeking forgiveness.  Sadly, the film is not that profound.

What's it about?  Without being a spoiler, I can say the plot is hardly complex.  A writer with former success struggles to publish, needs money, and forges literary letters.  Hmmm...what is so interesting about this?  Not much, I would argue.

Yes, film fans, I'm not one, a fan that is, of this flick.  I found the subject matter worthy of potential.  There could have been some serious character development and major messages.  Alas, both are lacking.

In any story, I seek to learn from the plight of the characters.  To do so, the characters themselves need to take us on a journey of discovery.  My problem with this film is that I did not perceive much growth in the two main characters from start to finish.  Both are dishonest and inconsiderate of others at the outset of their relationship.  They end up the same way.

Any positives?  Yes. Solid acting.  Melissa McCarthy has been wowing us for years with offbeat, varied roles.  She was truly funny in Bridesmaids.  She was a riot in Spy.  She began her comedy career in nightclubs in NYC, and her skills as a comedian are evident.

Is she as effective in a serious role?  Hard to say.  The role was not that challenging.  She just had to look miserable and downbeat, as she does in the photo above.  Sure, she was convincing, sure, she had her dramatic moments.  But I was not blown away by her work.

Folks must disagree with me.  She has been nominated for a Best Actress award for the Golden Globes.

I was far more impressed by the acting of her co-star, Richard E Grant.  I looked him up on Google and did not find much.  He has some experience, but not the kind that would warrant putting him in a major role in a big release.  He nevertheless nailed the character of the best "friend" to the down and out Lee Israel, the main character played by McCarthy upon whom the story is based.

Perhaps another positive:  If you like New York city, you might relate to this film.  There's a lot of the Big Apple here:  References to high rents, scenes with a literary agent, and a sense of desperation that unsuccessful people feel in the dog-eat-dog city.

I have to laud Hollywood for offering a film where the main female character is unhappy and unkind.  If you're looking for a glimpse of life as it truly is, you have the real deal here.

If you want to see a film about a forgery expert that is fun and more profound, go back and view the now classic Catch Me If you Can.  An evening watching Tom Hanks chasing Leo DiCaprio will be far more entertaining and informative.

I have a hunch that with all the positive reviews out there, you may see Can You Ever Forgive Me and disagree with my appraisal of the film.  If so, please write and let me know where I've missed the boat.

Until someone convinces me that I've greatly misinterpreted this film, I must offer a grade of C at best.

The Green Book

Hi Film Fans!

It's the holiday season and the movies beckon!  Let's talk a bit about an excellent film, The Green Book.

What is the Green Book, you ask?  Check out the picture above.

Back in the segregated 40s', southern states published a list of hotels and restaurants for African-Americans only.  Or, to put it differently, people of color traveling to the south could not stay in a hotel or eat at a restaurant of their choice.

Yeah, hard to believe!  This is the land of the free?  What a shameful and disgusting chapter in American history.

Anyway, this is the setting for the film.  We are taken on a painful and daunting voyage to the south, back in the days of "separate but equal," as the southerners used to say.

The plot involves a master pianist, an African-American, who is so famous he has played in the White House.  He purposely books gigs in the South, where he hopes to enlighten the bigoted.

For the trip, he knows he will need protection, so he hires a driver who is a man of character, tough, street-smart, but woefully uneducated and simple.

No more details, but just imagine what will happen!

Acting:  Wow!  Viggo Mortensen is SO fantastic as the driver.  He has proven his mettle in many films.  My favorite, by the way, is a western, Appaloosa, where he plays the serious and quiet lawman opposite Ed Harris.

Viggo is the perfect Italian driver/protector, whose basic sense of right and wrong are beautifully juxtaposed to a system of evil inequity.

Then there's Mahershala Ali.  Known for some great acting in Moonlight, The Hunger Games, and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, he nails the role of the distinguished, driven, brilliant pianist. Watch how he evolves from a stick figure to a full-fledged, troubled genius throughout the film.

The friendship that evolves between the two is touching and real.

Just to further pique your curiosity about the film, think of Driving Miss Daisy (with black and white roles reversed) combined with Goodfellas.

Huh?  You'll find out when you see the film!

Bottom line:  a MUST see.

Roma

Every so often a film comes along that sears our minds.  We come away from the viewing recalling poignant, troubling, powerful scenes that we cannot easily forget.

Roma is an arthouse wonder.  Don't expect amazing action scenes or extreme plot twists.  Don't expect to be hit over the head with messages, Hollywood-style.

Expect instead amazing black and white cinematography that pulls you completely into a very dark world.

Expect a shaded, nuanced, measured portrait of the rich and the poor.

As in Downton Abbey or Upstairs Downstairs, there's trouble brewing among the upper crust and the disadvantaged.  In this film, we are concerned for both.

Without giving away the details, the plot basically involves a young, poor helper, pictured above, who works in the service of a well-to-do family. You can see that she has a sweet smile.  She is naive and pure of heart.

The story shows us a family:  We see a mother with four fairly unruly kids, who lives in a nice home with multiple rooms.  In this part of Mexico, where many folks don't live in such luxury, the family enjoys a very nice life.

With the family are two or more caretakers, who cook the meals and tend to the kids.  Cleo, pictured above, is the main protagonist, the nanny and housekeeper who has been with the family for a while.

We come to care about both the comfortable family and working class helper, because the problems they face are so very human.  The mother of four struggles to do her best in a crumbling marriage.  The helper struggles to do her best in a superficial romantic relationship.

Dialog is sparse.  Most of the tension is brilliantly conveyed through silence.  On this note, the New Yorker panned the movie, claiming that the protagonist, Cleo, says so little.  I would have to disagree.  It's Cleo's lack of verbal expression that so brilliantly captures her angst.

What does the title Roma mean?  On the surface, it refers to a very poor district in Mexico City. But I would suggest that the filmmaker also wanted us to think of ancient Rome.  The society was advanced, but beneath the surface lurked a lack of morals that eventually led to its decline.

So it is with this movie.  Check out the driveway in the family's home, always littered with dog excrement.  Check out the water images, that suggest an effort to cleanse the decay that pervades both social classes.  Check out the street riots and wanton death.  Check out the party scene where guests randomly shoot pistols.  There is decadence everywhere.

We feel the pain of the women in the film.  We loathe the behavior of the men.  We're never hit over the head with feminism, however.  We find that life is just that way in this part of the world.

Roma is a masterpiece.  But it requires work.  If you want a very different movie experience, a film  with real messages that are masterfully and subtly conveyed, be sure not to miss this one.

It's a winner!