Category: biopic
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Selma [2014]
“Selma” mesmerized me from start to finish. It is everything a film about a towering figure like Martin Luther King ought to be: majestic and emotional, respectful but not worshipful. It manages to humanize a historical figure without diminishing him in any way, thanks to director Ava DuVernay’s sure hand, a superior screenplay by Paul Webb, and an…
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The Imitation Game [2014] ★★★½
Everything adds up- just like a perfectly solved mathematical equation- in “The Imitation Game”, a fantastic movie about the life of Alan Turing, the man who helped crack the notorious German enigma code during World War II (and ultimately won the war). This is one of the best biographies I’ve seen in a long time; It puts…
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Unbroken [2014] ★★½
Solidly crafted, impeccably acted and self-important in the way that Oscar loves, Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken” is also incredibly close to exploitation. That’ll happen I guess, when your driving plot depicts the incredibly true story of Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini, from a crash landing of his plane at sea during WWII to 47 agonizing days in a life…
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Exodus: Gods And Kings [2014] ★★½
Christian Bale starring as Moses in an epic movie directed by the great Ridley Scott (“Gladiator”) sounds like Oscar bait. Truth is: it isn’t. And the sooner you realize that, the more fun you’ll have at this enjoyable (if overlong) slice of history. It may not be a perfect film, or even a great one, but…
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The Theory Of Everything [2014] ★★★½
Eddie Redmayne has emerged as a fine actor over the past few years, in films like “My Week With Marilyn” and “Les Miserables“. With his performance in “The Theory Of Everything”, he reaches a new plateau, transforming himself into the brilliant Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed with motor-neuron disease at just 21 and was given only 2 years…
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Life Itself [2014] ★★★½
Everything you need to know about Roger Ebert, the legendary film critic who passed away in 2013, is in Steve James’ fantastic documentary. Cancer destroyed Ebert’s body and robbed him of his voice, but he kept reviewing films on his blog till the day he died. In his final days, director Steve James followed him…
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Jersey Boys [2014] ★★½
Every Clint Eastwood picture brings its great expectations, and rightly so. Which is why I was a bit disappointed with his latest effort “Jersey Boys”, a big screen adaption of the Broadway show of the same name, about the rise and fall of the popular 60’s band “The Four Seasons”. I give Eastwood and the…
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Grace Of Monaco [2014] ★½
Shush. Do you hear that? That’s Grace Kelly turning in her grave. Kelly, a former actress turned Princess, is one of the most iconic women of the 20th Century, if not the greatest. But telling her story is no easy achievement. Enter French director Olivier Dahan, who brought visionary zest to Edith Piaf in 2007’s…
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Noah [2014] ★★½
On the surface, Russell Crowe starring in a biblical tale directed by Darren Aronofosky (“Requiem for a Dream”, “Black Swan”) sounds like Oscar bait. It isn’t. And the sooner you accept it, the more fun you’ll have at this satisfying disaster movie (that’s what I’m calling it). Hearing Noah’s Australian accent (lol) is jarring at…
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The Armstrong Lie [2013] ★★★
You won’t know what hit you after watching “The Armstrong Lie”. This power punch to the gut is one of the best documentaries you’ll ever see about the controversial cyclist. Armstrong has been duking it out all of his 43-year-old life with labels: Cancer survivor, Tour de France winner, liar, cheater, dope addict…you name it.…
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Son Of God [2014] ★½
It’s difficult to review a movie like “Son Of God”. Some people may question my intentions, but I’m not here to start a religious debate. I’m here to review a film, and as a film “Son Of God” can only be described as a misfire. Writer/director Christopher Spencer creates a beautiful mess, an embarrassment of…
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The Invisible Woman [2013] ★★★
Charles Dickens was an English writer and one of the most famous novelists of the Victorian period. But what you probably didn’t know is that he was deeply unhappy in his home life, which lead to a love affair with a much younger woman. The film itself, energetically directed by the amazing Ralph Fiennes (who…
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Kill Your Darlings [2013] ★★½
“Fuck you! You’re a phony”.That trash talk is aimed at Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) by Daniel Radcliffe, in fierce, flamboyant form as the young poet Allen Ginsberg, a Columbia freshman in 1944. Ginsberg falls under the spell of the charismatic Carr and along with Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster), kicks…
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Saving Mr. Banks [2013] ★★★
If you love movies, “Saving Mr. Banks” is hard to resist. It paints an evocative picture of Hollywood and the methodology of filmmaking, circa 1961, while offering juicy roles to Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks, two of the finest actors of their generation. It has a different flavor from most movies I’ve seen in 2013,…
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The Butler [2013] ★★½
I have great regards for director Lee Daniels (“Precious”), which pains me to say that I found “The Butler” incredibly uneven. It has many good attributes, including a superior performance by Oscar winner Forest Whitaker as the title role, but the movie itself seems to run out of gas at some point. The story was…
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Diana [2013] ★★
Naomi Watts is not the first name that springs to mind as the embodiment of Lady Diana, the late princess of Wales, unlike, for instance, the role of Betty Elms in David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive”. I give the actress credit for her commitment to this assignment, but she’s still not quite right, especially if you’ve seen…
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Lovelace [2013] ★★
The story of Linda Lovelace, the 1970’s porn star who achieved worldwide fame for her performance in “Deep Throat” may not be as familiar to the present generation as it was for the people who lived during that era. That places a great deal of pressure on the people behind this film to engage us and illuminate key…
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Jobs [2013] ★★½
Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs? Really? That was my first reaction when I first heard about “Jobs”, the latest biopic from director Joshua Michael Stern. But against all odds, Kutcher nails it. And his performance is the best, and possibly the main reason to see this uneven biopic. It isn’t bad (far from it actually),…
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The Iceman [2013] ★★★
Michael Shannon is on a roll: “Revolutionary Road”, “The Runaways”, “Take Shelter”, “Man Of Steel”. He’s a movie star with real acting talents, on full display in “The Iceman”. He deserves major recognition for playing notorious contract killer Richard Kuklinski, who murdered 100 men before his arrest in 1986. “I dub cartoons for Disney” he tells…
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Searching For Sugar Man [2012] ★★★½
This year’s Oscar winner for Best Documentary is the incredible story of a Mexican- American songwriter called Rodriguez, who failed miserably in America in the early 70’s but became a pop culture icon in South Africa where he found a huge audience. The sad thing is that Rodriguez had no idea he was a legend…
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