But we were never going to get anything but a watered-down version anyway when Sacha Baron Cohen left the project and Brian May and Roger Taylor insisted on protecting a part of Freddie Mercury’s past/legacy/aura (choose one). Biopics are controversial in nature because people are polarizing, and so much of what is considered fact is unfortunately determined by the court of public opinion.
Read MoreHowever, while parts of the movie don’t really work, Shyamalan’s ultimate goal is to make the audience doubt the truth of the characters’ abilities. In a climactic scene outside the facility, Shyamalan uses extreme wide shots, fish-eye close-ups, and clumsy staging to strip a fight between Dunn and The Horde of the thrilling, Marvel-style grandeur we might expect from the subject matter.
Read MoreIt’s fascinating to listen to Ted’s boss accuse Ted of letting his family distract from his job, a scene eerily reminiscent of the language used today to keep women from receiving pay equity or positions of power. The film proves how much of a mind warp gender politics can be; an argument that advances work over family is twisted and re-used to harm people regardless of gender, across whole generations.
Read MoreBut because Aquaman mostly steps around the broader story that occupied the previous film, it becomes more fun as a result. It’s an often ridiculous experience, but charmingly so. We get space-opera-style battles between undersea navies, kaiju-like monsters, and some fleeting examples of chemistry between the cast members.
Read MoreThe bafflement that the character’s family feels about his actions – first as an absentee father and then as a drug mule – will feel familiar to anyone with a family member with a penchant for frustrating behaviour. Stone wants to be a provider, but doesn’t fit into the traditional model for one, and he doesn’t understand why others don’t recognize what he’s trying to do.
Read MoreAnd then there’s the visual treatment in Spider-Verse. It grabs you by the eyeballs and doesn’t let go for two hours, making me want a whole cinematic universe of Marvel movies in this style of animation. Other than perhaps Zack Snyder’s panel-for-panel recreation of Watchmen, it’s the rare film that gives you the true sensation of a moving comic book.
Read MoreThe newest film from the Harry Potter universe - or the Wizarding World, as a title card helpfully identifies it – is a scattershot, info-dump of a film, a series of trailer-like scenes glued into a movie. It seems shrewdly designed to download random bits of wizarding mythology to its fans, stringing along plot revelations to compel viewers to see the next three planned sequels in a five-film series.
Read MoreIt’s hard to intuit much of a thought process behind any of this, and Claire’s opponents are no better organized in their attacks. Claire claims this is all intentional, an effort to obscure her true plan, but instead it just reads like the writers losing track of things.
Read MoreThe size and skill of Widows’ cast is enough to mesmerize on its own, but once you get a grasp of the various threads, it’s fascinating to watch how McQueen tightens each one in turn, until he can yank one and let the whole thing unspool.
Read MoreI appreciate the fact that Venom isn’t bogged down by melodrama like in Infinity War, and makes no real attempt to address any politics like Black Panther, bringing the superhero (anti-hero?) genre back to its all fun, no-frills roots.
Read MoreGoddard brings vestiges of this approach to his newest film, Bad Times at the El Royale. He even carries over the theme of the characters being constantly watched by unknown forces. But though Goddard captures some strong performances in the process, Bad Times doesn’t have the subversion, shocks or flat-out hilarity of the filmmaker’s previous film. Instead, we get an overlong exercise in brilliant setup, with no follow-through.
Read MoreOf course, there’s the usual palace intrigue – secret things are done and said in darkly lit corners, and the usual extravagance of the rich, including a candlelit ball and a duck race, are all present – but it’s presented in such a Lanthimosian manner it’s equal parts funny and somewhat disturbing.
Read MoreThe word “family” is used loosely here, and without giving away any key plot points, many of the common terms of familial endearment – father, wife, aunt, son, sister and grandma – are merely titles, and it’s clear that love, friendship and companionship are more apt ways to describe the Shibata clan.
Read MoreWhatever the motivation, there’s no doubt that the new movie, from David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon, A Ghost Story) is a fine way for Redford to make his exit (if that is indeed the case). The Old Man and the Gun is a smooth, lively, and warm experience; it doesn’t break new ground, but proves that even in 2018, you don’t need a lot of flash or a lame gimmick to hold an audience’s attention. All it takes is some confident filmmaking, some chemistry between the stars, and a “so crazy it must be true” story.
Read MoreThe noteworthy detail about Border, however, is that it transcends the high-level logline and manages to be about more than a misunderstood female troll living in modern-day Sweden. It folds in commentary about forced cultural assimilation, racism, romantic relationships, and even child abuse. And while some of the imagery can make the work difficult to take completely seriously, there’s no denying that the film was made with a lot of commitment and heart, which is more than you can say for some fantasy/monster movies.
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