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Overlord Movie Review

November 9, 2018 (updated November 8, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

“Overlord” contains a World War II D-Day setting for a strange bunch of German Nazis. Just before the Allied forces are set to land on the Normandy beaches, the movie swerves into “Saving Private Zombie”. Yes, the nasty Nazis are conducting experiments to change German youth, and French citizens, into undead zombie super-warriors. And the re is anAmerican paratrooper squad sent in to take out a German radio tower get a first hand view of the horror of war. But also the horror of zombies. Did I mention this movie also features Nazi zombies? Yes, as if the actual horrors of war are not enough, let’s throw into the mix some zombies…

Just before the D-Day landing is to occur, an Allied plane is sent over into France to send American paratroopers behind enemy lines. They have a mission to find a German radio tower in a church building in a small French town. They must destroy that jamming signal from the tower to help the Allied forces start the invasion. On the plane are some new soldiers, plus some long-timers. Pvt. Boyce (Jovan Adepo) was a civilian just a few months ago. Tibbet (John Magaro), Rosenfeld (Dominic Applewhite) and Chase (Iain De Caestecker) are also low-level grunts waiting for the drop zone. They will be joined by Cpl. Ford (Wyatt Russell), who is an explosive expert. But they are led by Sgt. Eldson (Bokeem Woodbine) and he is a hard-nosed sergeant.

But when the plane comes under attack, many are killed before the jump. Boyce gets out, and he meets up with Ford, Chase, Tibbit. But where is Rosenfeld? Sgt. Eldson makes it to the ground, but he is taken by the Nazis and is killed. The rest of them head to the small French village. On the way, they meet Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier). Chloe and her young brother and her aunt live in the village, very close to the church that holds the radio tower. The village streets are patrolled by Nazi soldiers, but they make it into Chloe’s house. They make a plan to attack and take out the tower, so that the Allied troops will have a safe landing. But the group is surprised when Chloe is visited by a cruel Nazi SS commander, named Wafner (Pilou Asbaek). The take him prisoner, and things get stranger from there.

Boyce finds his way into the church/bunker. But there he sees every manner of disturbing things. He also locates Rosenfeld who has been captured. Boyce frees Rosenfeld to take him back. But he also takes a syringe of some strange serum that a Nazi doctor was using for his terrible experiments. Wafner, the evil Nazi soldier, escapes and kills Chase, but Boyce tries out the Nazi serum on Chase. There are many unusual things that this serum can do, especially to a dead body.

Now it is Allied troops against the Nazi troops, when there is an assault on the church. Ford and Boyce rig up the explosives ready to make the tower fall. But there are unspeakable horrors on the loose in the Nazi camp. Could it be? Could it possibly be… Zombies? Why, yes. Yes, there are zombies. What tipped you off about the zombies?

“Overlord” is a unique mix of B-movie war time action taken to a new level of creepy monster scares. It is sometimes bloody and gross, yet parts of the movie seem stuck in the 1950’s mentality. The Nazis are more than evil, and the American soldiers can always come through with a gung-ho attitude. Of course, even when they are France and it is occupied by Germans; everyone has enough common sense to speak English. Except for the zombies. They just growl…

The Girl in the Spider’s Web Movie Review

November 9, 2018 (updated November 8, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

“The Girl in the Spider’s Web” is a movie adaptation of the novel of the same name. The main characters are from the “Dragon Tattoo” franchise. This relates to the book series, and then turned into movies, written by Stieg Larsson. Since he passed away, his creation has continued to grow. The main ‘girl’ is Lisbeth Salander, and now she is played by a different actress and tells a different story. But she still keeps her cool and curt attitude, and her special computer hacking skills. This story goes into the past, and it plays with the current time in Sweden.

Lisbeth Salander (Claire Foy) is a stealth protector of women in need, and the champion of small children in distress. Her methods of vengeance are swift and very costly, if you are a man who abuses a woman. She helps a wife of a famous businessman who has just been released from a trial after roughing up some prostitutes. He takes out his anger on his wife’s face. But Salander is an avenging angel to give this bad dude some rough treatment of his own. There is a new person who asks Salander for help. It is Frans Balder (Stephen Merchant), a computer scientist from America, who has created a special program that can take over any military nuclear computer system. He hires Salander to hack into the NSA, and move the program her own laptop.

Edwin Neeham (LaKeith Stanfield) who is an NSA employee discovers the program is missing, and it was transferred to Sweden. He goes to Sweden to track it down, and he learns of Salander. Salander has also been targeted by a shadowy group, called the Spiders, has also targeted Salander. They steal her laptop and destroy her apartment, and she barely survives. But between Needham and the Spider thugs, Salander is being chased from all sides. Plus the National Swedish Security group is after her. Balder, the computer scientist is killed, and Salander gets his young son to take care of him. Salander will need some help, so she contacts an old friend Mikael Blomkvist (Sverrir Gudnason), the journalist who had helped her in previous adventures.

Salander’s past catches up with her – because her difficulties with the Spiders takes a weird turn. The group is led by someone that she thought was long dead. Camilla Salander (Sylvia Hoeks) is Lisbeth’s sister, but Lizbeth had fled the family home when she was just a young girl. Camilla was trapped with her pervert father, and she grew up with his sick demands. But she learned his devious ways to take over his criminal syndicate and then called it the ‘Spiders’. Needham and Blomkvist team up with Salander to fight against her sister, and her sinister group. They now hold the special program on Salander’s laptop, and they have taken Balder’s son, who is the key to gaining access to the Military hacking program.

This movie has a quick pace and some tense moments of intense action. However, there are sequences that show how far ahead Salander has planned out every potential activity – that it begins to be absurd. Salander has become an indestructible computer genius that can program and hack her way into and out of every situation. She is an emotionless automated fighting and thinking machine, sort of a “Salander Bourne”. Claire Foy does a very precise job making Salander an enigma wrapped in a MMA fighter. LaKeith Stanfield does a very entertaining job as the NSA agent ready to take out anyone in his way. Sverrir Gudnason does not have as much to hold to for his role.

They various locations and setting around Sweden are used to great advantage. They are beautiful to see, and they are used to portray the coldness of the country. The story line gets a bit stretched out, so that people are doing things that would be close to impossible. Salander becomes a martial-art trained fighter, and Needham becomes a high-powered sniper, and so on. However, if you get past that, the story is delivered in a quickly paced manner that gets your pulse racing in some spots.

The Outlaw King (Netflix) Movie Review

November 9, 2018 (updated November 8, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

“The Outlaw King” is an historical look at what happened in Scotland after the end of the movie “Braveheart”. After William Wallace failed to lead the people of Scotland in a rebellion to gain freedom from England, another person took over. That person was from the family of Bruce, who once had an actual claim to the royal leadership of the Scots. When England took over and held the land for generations, finally a true rebellion grew from the mistreatment. English kings held Scotland like golden goose, always taking the golden eggs. They are leaving only the shells for the Scottish people.

When the failed Rebellion put William Wallace on the run, the Scottish nobles were forced to declare loyalty to King Edward I (Stephen Dillane) The King’s son was Edward, Prince of Wales (Billy Howle). He was put in charge of keeping the Scots in line and paying taxes. One Scotsman was ready to break against the brutal leadership of England. That was Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine). His father was the one to give up the fight and swear the oath to the King. But Robert was not willing. Robert had agreed to be a marriage to an English nobleman’s daughter named Elizabeth de Burgh (Florence Pugh). Robert still had a daughter from his first marriage, but his wife had passed away.

But when William Wallace is found and killed by the English crown, Robert says that the King went back on his word. There is not way to serve a King who is not worthy of trust. So Robert gathers his brothers and talks about a new Scottich rebellion. But his one will be led by a Scottish King. That King would be him, of course. Robert the Bruce meets with his main rival, John Comyn (Callan Mulvey). But he does not get Comyn’s agreement to make Robert the new King of Scotland. So, he kills him. But there are enough clans of Scotland who believe in the royal line of Bruce, that Robert is crowed King of Scotland.

The King of England and Prince of Wales begin a military campaign to destroy Robert the Bruce and all of his followers. They will fight without civility or chivalry, so that any action is acceptable. Just before the first battle, the English troops attack the nighttime camp of the Scottish army. Robert’s troops are unprepared, and many are slaughtered. They are declared ‘Outlaws’ by the English crow, and anyone helping them will be arrested or killed. Robert is on the run, an ‘Outlaw King’. His wife Elizabeth and his daughter are taken by the English and held prisoner. Robert the Bruce has few loyal warriors who are still with him.

Some of his fellow freedom fighters are Angus Macdonald (Tony Curran) and James Douglas (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Robert, along with his brother Neil (Lorne MacFadyen), run into other clans which are against him. There are clashes between the clans. Robert loses many more warriors, but he comes up with ways to fight the English intruders. The English are staying in Scottish castles and Robert needs to fight dirty. They all attack with surprise and take back, then burn, each castle.

When the new King of Scotland cannot be captured by the English, he become more famous and he attracts more fighters. Then will be a final battle of the rag-tag Scottish forces, against the fully equipped and much larger English army. With English soldiers on horseback and with ‘modern’ weapons – the Price of Wales plans to crush the Scots. But The Scots have a few deadly tricks up their kilts, er, I mean sleeves…

“The Outlaw King” is very beautifully photographed look at the period after William Wallace. This movie would make a great double-feature with “Braveheart”. There is a good many brutal battle scenes that are tough to watch. The ‘Mud and Blood’ view of the fighting is close-up and is raw and wild. The acting is good from all the main characters, and the Scottish accents are fairly on target. Chris Pine is stoic and sullen, as the flawed leader of the Scots. The sense of “Ye Olde” England and Scottish countryside is very convincing. The movie drags a slight bit in the middle section, but the final battle between the two armies is a stirring, yet very disturbing, masterfully-filmed sequence.

“The Outlaw King” will have a limited release in the theaters. Then on November 9, it will be released for streaming on Netflix.

Lez Bomb Movie Review

November 9, 2018 (updated November 16, 2018) Published by Shari K. Green

Coming out films are often stories filled with struggle and pain. The writers and directors generally fill the hearts and minds of their audiences with some of the trauma that a person who’s in love with the same sex oftentimes goes through. This isn’t the case with ‘Lez Bomb.’ This is a comedic take on how Lauren, played by the writer/director herself, Jenna Laurenzo, marches up that hill with a family who simply won’t listen. She’s nervous. She’s scared. However, she also feels confident enough in their acceptance that she chooses Thanksgiving to tell them the big news. Maybe she figures the tryptophan will relax them enough. If that doesn’t work, there’s plenty of wine.

On Thanksgiving morning, before other arrivals, Lauren finds a moment alone with her mother, Rose (O’Connell), to tell her who she really is. Rose, playing a caring mother with naïve tendencies, doesn’t really give Rose any reason to fear telling her but she’s simply too busy to give her daughter any of her attention. She’s running around the kitchen like a chicken with its head cut off. Very much like a television sitcom, this scene along with many others following, felt contrived. Lauren finds out that her parents have been looking at her social media accounts and have short-sightedly mistaken a friendship with her male roommate, Austin (Brandon Micheal Hall), as the relationship she’s trying to hide. They also believe she’s pregnant. Even though Lauren is an adult and they like Austin, this suddenly becomes a problem, one of which her father, George (Pollak), threatens Austin’s life unless he officially brings the relationship to light. As the movie continues, what is revealed isn’t what poor Lauren is trying so desperately to shed light on, but instead how insane her family is. They stumble over one another, refusing to hear the other and throughout the film, and sabotage what Lauren wants to accomplish.

There are funny moments; you’ll laugh and you can thank Bruce Dern, who plays Lauren’s grandpa, and Cloris Leachman, who plays Josephine, for a lot of that. However, for the most part, the comedy feels less instinctive than forced and strained rather than composed. In ‘Lez Bomb,’ we have a comedy but often a comedy of errors. A woman is desperately trying to come out to her parents and is stopped at every turn. She tries over and over to inform them that the friend she has with her means much more to her than they realize and as she quietly takes it, you want to be her voice. It’s frustrating to watch. I wanted to like it more but I thought the characters were weak and some of the situations they were put in too sophomoric to accept.

*Opens Friday, November 9 In Theatres and on VOD

In Phoenix at AMC Arizona Center 24

Burning Movie Review

November 8, 2018 (updated November 16, 2018) Published by Shari K. Green

In ‘Burning,’ director Chang-dong Lee brings us a mystery centered around a secret love triangle of sorts. It’s based on the short story called ‘Barn Burning’ by William Faulkner which is about conflict, control and honor. It’s about the decision to do what’s right in the name of justice or to be loyal to family. The book is narrated by an unnamed third person and in the film, also about justice, the audience feels as if they’re an unnamed witness to something sinister. The story unravels rather gradually, even lethargically, but you’re compelled to stay with it simply by the look on the main characters face. In fact, it’s already being considered for an Oscar at the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film this year. Not new to him and not bad for a man who only has six directing credits.

South Korean actor, Yoo Ah-in, makes a wise choice in playing Jong-su, the protagonist of the story who bumps into old chum from school named Shin Hae-mi (Jong-seo Jeon) and ends up falling in love. He’s stunned with her beauty and by the fact that she’d even look at him with him only being a farmer’s son. He tries to impress her by telling her that he went to college for creative writing and plans on being a novelist. He listens as she tells him the difference between the ‘Little Hunger’ and the ‘Great Hunger’ and how desperately she has the Great Hunger; so much so that it’s calling her to Africa. The Little Hunger is merely a person who’s hungry. The Great Hunger is someone wishing to know why we live, who genuinely wants to know what the meaning of life is. He goes to her place to have sex and meet her cat who he’s agreed to feed while she’s on her trip. The cat respectfully declines an invitation to meet him but he agrees to feed it because at least he gets to be in her room and among her things. Her room is a mess but it’s not as bad as his. She finally returns from Africa without his ever meeting her cat. When he goes to pick her up, she has a new friend with her by the name of Ben. Playing Ben, our antagonist is Steven Yeun from ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘Sorry to Bother You,’ who’s actually making his debut in Korean cinema with the role.

Ben is wealthy and cultured and immediately a threat to Jong-su. They all get to know one another better and Ben confesses to Jong-su that he likes to burn down people’s greenhouses for no other reason than to rid the world of them so they can be replaced with something better. When Haemi disappears, Jong-su starts an investigation where all roads lead to Ben. What unravels next is an engaging riddle about who Ben really is and where has Haemi gone. Jong-su may have to get his hands dirty but he’s prepared to find out the answers to both of those questions.

I really liked the characters, the performances, I liked the movie in total but not the length. We meet some characters that are hardly worth knowing which unquestionable slows the process down. Jong-su’s father is in jail and Jong-su has an insignificant conversation with his lawyer, played with perfect timbre and measure by Seong-kun Mun, about the stubbornness of his father and about Jong-su’s writing. This doesn’t help the narrative one bit. There are other characters that float in for reasons that take up time when what they’re telling us would and could have been taken care of through different, and shorter means. It wasn’t necessary to tell this story in the two and a half hours that it took to watch. I enjoyed the film but had it been cut to expedite its development, it would have been that much more provocative. Regardless, ‘Burning’ pays off if you stick with it so see it this weekend at a theatre near you.

*OPENING HARKINS CAMELVIEW

The Long Dumb Road Movie Review

November 7, 2018 (updated November 16, 2018) Published by Shari K. Green

‘The Long Dumb Road,’ a buddy comedy, has poor Nathan or ‘Nat’ (Revolori) in a pickle from the very beginning. Nat is a young naïve photographer on his way to give it a go in L.A. via art school. He doesn’t know how to say the word no, which gets him into trouble when he meets Richard (Mantzoukas) who wouldn’t take no for an answer in the first place.

Nat’s car breaks down right at the same moment this trashy, grungy, unkempt, mess of a mechanic is losing his job. This is the perfect set up for your typical on the road indie-comedy and though common-place, at least its stars aren’t. Luckily, the pair both need what the other has in that Nat needs his car to get going and Richard needs to be driven somewhere. Where it is Richard needs to go becomes less and less clear as the road grows further behind them. He tells Nat he only needs a ride forty-five miles up the road. That forty-five miles turns into his being Nat’s buddy on this trip across the country. Though often frustrated with being taken advantage of, Nat gets what he needs from Richard, too. Without him, he’d never get the fatherly advice about sex Richard freely gives or get to experiment with drugs for the first time. Of course, he’d probably not get into the trouble Richard seems to draw to him either.

Nat has lived a very sheltered existence and finds it easy to blossom shadowing his new extremely extroverted companion. Nat has, up until now, been capturing life through his camera lens and is happy to be finally getting into the action yet is still very timid. Richard wants to crack the foundation Nat has built for himself by ‘ripping the condom off’ his mind. Revealing very little about who he really is, Richard doesn’t want to be put under the microscope but gives enough away to show that he does have a softer side. He’s critical of himself, worried he’s aging and that he’s ugly. He also admits that there’s a girl from high school that he’s never gotten over. This little sidetrack becomes one of the biggest mistakes in the film. Quite frankly the aforementioned revelations make you look at Richard’s character differently. As it grows from loser to invaluable trailblazer with crucial guidance, his very essence no longer makes sense. This is especially the case if he’s suddenly a simple-minded dolt. Some of the more outrageous parts of the script are based on the Richard we first meet and does not gel with the Richard we see toward the end. The comedy is intact but the loyalty to the part is lost. While Richard becomes more of a buffoon, the role turns the audience off from what they liked about him in the first place. However, the real Richard does show up again at the very end making you almost forgive the error.

The generation gap between the two is the most developed and most impressively explored part of the journey. They’re both student and scholar on the road to wherever life takes them at this point. It’s sometimes entertaining, sometimes implausible like when they decide to, out of nowhere, visit the woman Richard never got over. She, not even remembering him, lets him into her house? Not likely to happen, nor is this necessary. ‘The Long Dumb Road’ has some fabulous cameos, amusing dialogue and some lively characters that move in and out but nothing good stays for very long. There just isn’t enough gas in the tank to get you from point A to point B without you wanting to get up and wander off on occasion. It’s a bit too absurd to be believed at times but the jokes that hit their target and the performances do save it from a don’t see to a watch at home.

Viper Club Movie Review

November 2, 2018 (updated November 16, 2018) Published by Shari K. Green

‘Viper Club’ is dedicated to the ‘many international conflict journalists and human aid workers who put themselves in harm’s way, as well as their families back home.’ Right away, we jump into E.R. nurse Helen’s (Sarandon) story. Her journalist son Andy was in Syria when he was kidnapped by terrorists looking to make millions for his safe return. She has already been in contact with the FBI and Homeland Security who promise her that it’s their ‘top priority’ to get him back safe and sound. They also tell her not to talk to anyone as they rifle through her emails to make sure she’s not making any sort of contact with the terrorists in an attempt to pay them for his release. They want to control every step of the operation with no money exchanging hands. Paying ransom is against the law and she would be jailed if she does. Getting nowhere, she’s frustrated, heartbroken and disappointed with the lack of progress. She explains that a jail sentence would be welcomed to living life without Andy. She’s told to keep Andy’s kidnapping to herself but is unable to and has already contacted the people she and Andy trust most.

Andy’s friends get her in touch with Charlotte (Falco), whose son Leo was returned after she collected donations from sources willing to help her with her predicament. Helen is told about the ‘Viper Club,’ an unofficial organization of international journalists and some gracious, incredibly wealthy people who might be willing to help. The journalists in the network speak of who they had met while in captivity and are able to give everyone some insight on what the prisoners go through. This usually helps when the richest of the rich decide it’s time to open up their wallets but isn’t easy on the mother’s to hear. Helen, strong through it all, is constantly assaulted by memories of when they argued or of Andy as a child while at the same time reads to a child who’s laying in a hospital bed in a coma. There’s a fascinating juxtaposition going on as the two mothers fight for the same thing; one able to provide comfort to the other while one is left screaming inside.

Helen is told the terrorists want 20 million dollars for Andy’s return. Without this money, Andy will surely be killed so with some urging, she decides to make a video about what has happened to her son and pleads to the terrorists not to hurt him. She looks into the camera lens and informs his captors that she will scrape together every penny that she has and get them what she can. The video is picked up by cable news and spreads like wildfire. Luckily, through Charlotte’s connections, money starts pouring in.

The film is entertaining and measured. The score is simple and elegant and appropriately touching in moments when the audience needs to be reminded of this mother’s struggle. As I mentioned earlier, Helen is strong but Sarandon might have played her too apprehensively, too withdrawn because you don’t feel for Helen the way you should when someone is experiencing this much agony.

‘Viper Club’ is conceptually full of good intentions but its execution lacks a self-reliant appeal needed to make it the must-see it could have been. What happens at the end is emotional and an incredibly effective way to end a film like this which is exactly the same way it started, palpable and bold. Not much explanation needed. In these trying times we’re in, the storyline it covers is reason enough to watch.

Suspiria Movie Review

November 2, 2018 (updated November 16, 2018) Published by Shari K. Green

‘Suspiria,’ a remake of the 1977 cult classic of the same name, is a psychological thriller more than it is a horror. After watching, you’ll have an uneasy feeling in your gut for what it is you witnessed so the film does handle the responsibility of manipulating your state of mind quite well. However, it’s too long for no other reason than ego and indulgence on the part of the director, Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name). The performances were strong but even they can’t keep you interested for two and a half hours when the director constantly takes you in different directions, asking more effort on the part of the viewer to keep up than he may have originally bargained for. Movies are meant to be entertainment AFTER a long hard day of work, not be an addition to the workload. That said, if you can handle the length and get through an ostensibly uninteresting German psychiatrist character who doesn’t quite belong, there is a lot here. This being the case, I’d like to note that ‘Suspiria’ isn’t for those without an imagination. With its plot points perhaps incorrectly framed leading occasionally to boredom, it may take a lot out of you but what you’ll get in return if you’re willing to commit, is worth consideration. It does attack your faculties at first, but you’ll appreciate it more and more once you leave the theatre and it hits you as to exactly what it is you just observed. It’s unnerving, chilling and rather grotesque… but in a good way.

The story is, on the surface, about the experiences of Susie Bannion (Johnson) a dancer from America who goes to Berlin to dance with the famous Helena Markos Dance Company. When we finally get to the dancing in the film, you’ll be mesmerized by the power of it, the choreography and the performances. This is also when the true reason for the company to exist is revealed.

Susie comes at a time when a girl named Patricia (Chloë Grace Moretz) leaves the troop and Madame Blanc (Swinton), the woman who wrote and is directing the piece, is looking for her replacement. Susie is just that person. At this point in the film, you’re becoming aware of what the women who run the dance company are. They’re witches and once taken into the coven, you’re needed for a purpose and you’re not to leave. As Susie dances, we’re made blissfully aware of what happens if you try. This scene hooks you because with every step she performs, she jerks and manipulates the body of someone attempting to escape and it’s not a pretty sight.

Since we already know that the witches in this school of dance are more concerned with finetuning their witchcraft rather than churning out gifted students to graduate and live happy lives, you feel cheated out of the reason for staying but the dance sequence toward and the climatic ending itself will more than atone for Guadagnino’s mistake in revealing too much too soon. Artistically, the film is beautiful. The images are frightening. The cinematography is outstanding. What plays in your mind as you toy with whether or not the film is a nightmare someone can’t escape or a fight between good and evil is a direct result of how well it’s shot.

At times it’s tedious but other times it’s brutal and worth the dark halls you must meander through. Regardless, it’s satisfyingly imaginative so saddle up if you’re pleased more by artistry than by instantaneous indulgences. On the big screen is the way to see ‘Suspiria’ but might I suggest a matinee if you wouldn’t be happy when it lags.

Bohemian Rhapsody Movie Review

November 2, 2018 (updated November 16, 2018) Published by Shari K. Green

Bryan Singer, known for Superman Returns, X-Men and The Usual Suspects was the perfect choice to make a movie about Queen. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who could have caught and ceremonious displayed the man Freddie Mercury was, with such concentrated effort on Queen’s stunning and charismatic music at the same time, as Bryan Singer. They were outstanding performers with phenomenal talent but what you never knew about the band off stage, most especially their inventive and creative lead singer, is gloriously shown here. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is a must-see. Rami Malek, who plays him, embodies Freddie so well it’s almost eerie to see. Singer bookends the film with Queen’s epic performance at Live Aid and watching Malek’s Mercury brings both joy and sorrow… for what we had and what we lost.

The film establishes for us the timeline that took Queen to rise to the top of the charts around the globe. They start out as a common club band who were headed nowhere. Freddie, a man desperately searching for a way to escape who he is and become who he knows he can be, reaches out to them when they lose their lead singer. They look him over and aren’t interested until he opens his mouth and blows them away with his surprisingly extraordinary set of pipes. On stage, the audience looks at him the same way the band did and weren’t inclined to give him a chance either until he impresses them with his stage presence, versatility and his ability to hit the high notes and hold it.

While this is a biopic about Queen, and it does include their brilliant songs throughout the entire film, Singer gets more deeply involved in Freddie than the other individual members. Singer knew, as Freddie knew, there was no Queen without him.

Since it examines what brought Freddie to this point and where it leads him just as much as it covers the group entirely, it might feel as if you’re invading his personal space but it only tackles what he would have allowed… only what you may have already known. It’s very respectful of who he was, while at the same time, removing the thinnest of veils for us to see who he loved, what he was able to give and how little he needed in return.

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is an absolute delight. This is a fantastic tribute to Freddie, it’s a good night out at the movies and practically an opera on its own. If you’re not a Queen fan when you walk into the theatre to find your seat you will be by the time you stand up and walk out. The cast gives this dramatic script life while at the same Rami Malek brings Freddie Mercury back to life for just a moment. It’s not a stretch to assume he’ll be up for an Academy Award for his performance. You’ll love Mike Myers as Ray Foster, the man whose shortsightedness let them get away. Also, when you get home, watch Queen at Live Aid. It’s uncanny how very well the actors and filmmakers were at reproducing that moment for you.

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The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Movie Review

November 2, 2018 (updated October 31, 2018) Published by JMcNaughton

“The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” is a new Disney movie based on a (very old) story from 1816 called “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”. So the ‘House of Mouse’ finally gets to work on the ‘Mouse King’. The famous music by Tchaikovsky is based on this story, and some of his memorable themes are also in here. The story has evolved over these years, and now it has the main character Clara going into the realm of a fantasy world to fight evil and make things right. Similar story patterns are found in “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “Alice in Wonderland, as well as finding adventure like ‘Indiana Jones’. So call it — “Indiana Clara and the Realm of Naria in Wonderland”…

In 18th century London, Clara Stahlbaum (Mackenzie Foy) is missing her dead mother, and her father, Mr. Stahlbaum (Matthew Macfadyen), does not know how to deal with it. On Christmas Eve, the family goes to visit Clara’s godfather, named Drosselmeyer (Morgan Freeman). He is an inventor, like Clara, and he sends her out to solve a mystery. But she goes straight into a new fantasy dimension, a land of Four Realms. She meets the rulers of three of the Realms: Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers, and Land of Sweets. The Sugar Plum Fairy (Keira Knightley) acts as her guide to the new world. But the Fourth Realm is off-limits. It ruled by Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren). But the Sugar Plum Fairy says Ginger is nothing but an evil tyrant, bent on the destruction of all four Realms.

Clara gets some help from a friendly border guard, and some mice who seem at first to be evil, but then come around to being her best ally. Clara finds out that she was the first one to come to this magical place. Her deceased mother had also come to the land as a child, and she became the Queen. So Clara is officially named the returned Princess. But there is deception afoot. When one of the current rulers becomes obsessed with being the Ruler of all the Realms, she plots against the other rulers, and against Clara. But Clara proves that she is a clever girl after all. Using her scientific knowledge and her skills at design, she makes an alliance with the other Realm rulers, including the Mouse King. They all work in unison to stop the destructive power of the Tin Soldier Army – led by.. Well you will just have to see the movie to find out who that is…

This movie adaptation is just one in a string of versions and revisions to the original story. This one downplays the excellent music of Tchaikovsky to instead rely on a serviceable soundtrack from James Newton Howard. But the basic issue is the lack of originality and the failure to add anything new or fresh to the story. So many themes and plot devices, up to and including some of the screen imagery, have all been done before. This version has two directors and two writers, so there must have been some conflict in the overall concept and execution.

Mackenzie Foy is a perfect Clara, with her wonderful expressions and knowing glances. But Keira Knightley really takes a shine to the Sugar Plum Fairy and gives the role a deliciously off-kilter performance. She starts off so sweet and kind, and before you know it, she is ready to take no prisoners. She has a crazed range between overly too-sweet BFF and turns into a loony power-obsessed Fairy. Helen Mirren does okay in a limited role, and Morgan Freeman only has an extended cameo appearance.

This one would be a pleasant time to spend with the kids or grandkids. There is just enough of the classical ballet and music that the older fans will remember how wonderful the original really was. Of course, the real test is whether this movie can stand up to the best Nutcracker adaptation ever – “Care Bears Nutcracker Suite”!

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