Biopic

Napoleon

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Napoleon
  • IMDb: link

Napoleon

Napoleon is certainly goofier than expected, especially for a film coming from director Ridley Scott. Screenwriter David Scarpa‘s script paints the French soldier, and later emperor, who dominated Europe for the better part of two decades as an uncouth petulant cuck forever stuck between his grand ambitious destiny and his love for Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby). The unexpected version of Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix) gives the film its unique feel but also obscures the military strategy of a man who conquered half of Europe by really only delving into the plans for his failed campaigns in Russia and at Waterloo.

…

NapoleonRead More »

Napoleon Read More »

Priscilla

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Priscilla
  • IMDb: link

Priscilla

A far cry from the overindulgent train wreck of 2022’s Elvis, writer/director Sofia Coppola‘s latest film casts the spotlight not on Elvis Pressley (Jacob Elordi) but on Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) and how Elvis’ fascination with her changed her life in both positive and disturbing ways. Those who place Elvis on a pedestal may take issue with Coppola’s screenplay, as did Lisa Marie Pressley. However, the film is adapted from Priscilla’s own 1985 biography, notably toning down some of the more shocking moments of their lives together, and Priscilla served and as an executive producer to the film.

…

PriscillaRead More »

Priscilla Read More »

Oppenheimer

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Oppenheimer
  • IMDb: link

It’s been 13 years since Inception, a film which showed off director Christopher Nolan‘s innovation, technical skill, and storytelling at its peak. Since that point, Nolan’s track record has been spotty at best. While the technical skill in Oppenheimer is expected, the joy from the film is Nolan abandoning some of his trademarks, such as the overbearing booming score which at this point had become a caricature of itself,  in order to focus more squarely on a character-driven story based on a complicated man standing at the crossroads of history. The fact that it isn’t immediately in contention for best movie of the year has more to do with the troubled circumstances of its presentation rather than any failures of the film itself. More on that later.

…

OppenheimerRead More »

Oppenheimer Read More »

The Ghosts of Mississippi

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Ghosts of Mississippi
  • IMDb: link

Throwback Tuesday takes us back to 1991 and director Rob Reiner‘s biographical courtroom drama The Ghosts of Mississippi concerning the prosecution of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith (James Woods) 30 years after he murdered civil rights activist Medgar Evers (James Pickens Jr.). With most of the movie set in the early 1990s, Alec Baldwin stars as Assistant District Attorney Bobby DeLaughter who picks up the threads of the case after meeting the victim’s widow Myrlie (Whoopi Goldberg) and attempts to get justice for the Evers family despite the trouble it stirs up around town and within his own family.

…

The Ghosts of MississippiRead More »

The Ghosts of Mississippi Read More »

Judas and the Black Messiah

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Judas and the Black Messiah
  • IMDb: link

Released in early 2021 to critical acclaim, Judas and the Black Messiah explored 1960s tensions between police, and the Federal Government, and the African-American community. Inspired by true events, thief and con man “Wild” Bill O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) is turned into FBI informant by the agency desperate to quell the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party and the popularity and influence of its chairman Fred Hampton (Best Supporting Actor Daniel Kaluuya) in the late 1960s.

…

Judas and the Black MessiahRead More »

Judas and the Black Messiah Read More »