Musical biopic with a mystical edge. Could have been a little longer? It is the mid-1970s, and Jamaica is in turmoil since gaining its independence from the United Kingdom. Musical sensation and icon of the country, Bob Marley, plans to put on a show to lessen hostilities. But is his chilled demeanour more naiveté than…
Tag: biopic
Review: Ferrari
Director Michael Mann can be hit or miss, but Ferrari is definitely a hit. Enzo Ferrari, owner of the most prestigious brand of race cars in Italy after the end of the war, is faced with bankruptcy if he cannot get more interest in his cars. Compounding this, his business partner and estranged wife, and…
Review: Tolkien
An over-edited experience addressing the direct inspirations behind J.R.R Tolkien’s classic fantasy stories. A young boy returns to England with his mother and brother and begins to study for a scholarship. Meanwhile, fantastical thoughts of otherworldy places and languages infatuate him. With the huge success of New Line Cinema’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and…
Review: Rocketman
Rocketman, like Elton’s flashy clothing, is a colourful mix of storytelling, reality, and daydreams. Reginald Kenneth Dwight is just a kid of the working classes in 1970s Britain, but when he sits himself down in front of a piano and immediately mimics what he can hear on the radio, his journey to become the sensational…
Review: Stan & Ollie
A very simple yet sentimental movie, about growing old and still enjoying what you do. Set between the 1930s and 1950s, the film follows the famous comedy double act as they enter their winter years. Coping with their incredible fame shrinking as the world moves on, and manage the complexities of career and personal lives….
Review: Bohemian Rhapsody
If you aren’t stomping your foot, and maybe even welling up a little while watching Bohemian Rhapsody… then you are doing it wrong. A powerful dramatisation following the formation of the band Queen and the inspirational but troubled life of its lead singer Freddie Mercury. Upon its production, some onlookers questioned the casting of lead…
Review: Loving Vincent
What a gorgeous, mesmerizing and sad experience. Depicting the last months of Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh’s life in France, the story follows a post master’s son and his attempts to deliver the artist’s final letter to his brother. How can you write a review of Loving Vincent without immediately talking about the animation…
Review: The Disaster Artist
More of a celebration of what the cult phenomenon now is rather than an honest telling of the disaster it had been. Two words stood out to me while watching this: Guerrero Street. The Disaster Artist is a biopic comedy based off of the novel by Greg Sestero, a young actor who in the late…
Review: Capote
Finally got around to watching this, possibly the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s greatest performance. One of the greatest writers in 1950s America decides that his best novel would be a biography following the hideous murder of an entire family by two men, and the trial that came after. What he doesn’t expect, in his overconfidence,…
Review: Black Mass
Johnny Depp headlines this Boston crime lord biopic with a transformative performance, but excellence isn’t only reserved for him. Between 1975 and 1986, James Bulger started out as a low level criminal, but with a friend from the school yard now in the FBI and a senator for a younger brother, Bulger gained immunity for…