MOVIE REVIEW: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. Freddie defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound. They reach unparalleled success, but in an unexpected turn Freddie, surrounded by darker influences, shuns Queen in pursuit of his solo career. Having suffered greatly without the collaboration of Queen, Freddie manages to reunite with his bandmates just in time for Live Aid. While bravely facing a recent AIDS diagnosis, Freddie leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. Queen cements a legacy that continues to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day

Director: Bryan Singer

Cast: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander, Allen Leech, Mike Myers

Release Date: November 2, 2018

Genres: Biography, Drama , Music

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, suggestive material, drug content and language

Runtime: 2h 12 min

Review:

Bohemian Rhapsody is a serviceable if sanitized rock biopic that’s helped greatly by great performances.  Bryan Singer’s film bears some of his style but there is a sense that after he was let go there was a bit of committee thinking going on resulting in some generic decisions.  Even though the film plays out in a predictable paint by the number pattern, there’s plenty to love about it.  Rami Malek makes the film by delivering a star making performance.  Malek transforms into Mercury and he’s always the most interesting person on screen.  He captures the look and feel of Mercury especially during the musical portions that it makes it easy to overlook some of the film’s short comings.  Helping matters is the supporting cast which delivers equally impressive work as the rest of the band mates.  The music itself is irresistible and through some impressive blending of actual singing and lip syncing you really feel the performances which drive the film ending with the iconic Live Aid show. 

B

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Alice Through the Looking Glass & X-Men: Apocalypse

 

 

 

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for the maligned pair of Alice Through the Looking Glass and X-Men: Apocalypse. Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers. 

 

Well, dear Reader(s), I was prepared to tell you neither of these pictures is as bad as you've probably heard, but last night I spent good money to watch How to Be Single, so, by comparison, now I guess I'm prepared to call them both Oscar worthy. 

 

First on the docket: Alice Through the Looking Glass. The further adventures of Ms. Kingsleigh and her whimsical Wonderland friends. It's probably fair to say that Through the Looking Glass is the sequel nobody who isn't collecting a paycheck from it ever wanted, but I'm pleased to report it's really not all that bad. 

 

On the positive side, the movie boasts enjoyable performances from Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, and Helena Bonham Carter. Colleen Atwood's costumes are glorious, and Danny Elfman provides a magical score. 

 

The film kicks off with an exciting high-seas action sequence, sets and cinematography are beautiful throughout, and there's some nice CGI work. On the downside, there won't be much middle ground on Depp's Mad Hatter; if you don't love it, you're likely to hate it, as I did with that weird, fluttery thing Anne Hathaway kept doing with her hands. 

 

In one of his final roles, Alan Rickman has barely three lines. Finally, though the movie mostly keeps a good pace and isn't overlong, the final act slows to a snail's pace. Alice Through the Looking Glass runs 113 minutes and is rated PG for "fantasy action/peril and some language." 

 

It's hardly special, especially from a company that inspires the devotion that Disney does, but Alice Through the Looking Glass provides a couple hours of enjoyable escapism. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Alice Through the Looking Glass gets five. Fangirl points: Richard Armitage and Andrew Scott. 

 

Next on my agenda: X-Men: Apocalypse. When a godlike mutant threatens to destroy the world, the X-Men must band together to save it. X-Men: Apocalypse isn't a perfect film, but it's good fun and hardly deserves the critical beating it's taking. The movie has a fantastic cast and does a fine job of fairly distributing screen time, though, once again, its Evan Peters' Quicksilver who manages to steal the show. 

 

If a brief, crowd-pleasing appearance by a certain someone isn't precisely a surprise in this Internet age, it definitely retains its impact on the audience, if not really on the plot. Apocalypse runs overlong and is a bit convoluted, but the action is terrific and keeps things moving at a good pace. Some great effects and huge set pieces make the movie well worth seeing on a big screen. 

 

X-Men: Apocalypse clocks in at 144 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of violence, action, and destruction, brief strong language, and some suggestive images." The weakest link in a pretty strong trilogy, X-Men: Apocalypse is still worth your movie dollar. Of a possible nine Weasleys, X-Men: Apocalypse gets six. Fangirl points: Zeljko Ivanek and a Duran Duran "Rio" poster on the wall! 

 

Until next time... 

 

 

MOVIE REVIEW: X-MEN: APOCALYPSE

Director: Bryan Singer 

Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult

Release Date: May 27, 2016

Rated: PG-13 for brief Strong Language, Action and Destruction, Sequences of Violence and Some Suggestive Images.

Runtime: 2 hr. 23 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Review:

X-Men: Apocalypse isn’t the rousing success that Days of Future Past but it’s a fairly enjoyable X-Men adventure.  That’s not to say there aren’t issues.  The most glaring of which is the general waste of talent.   The cast is made up of excellent actors but none of them are really given anything substantial to do.  Oscar Isaac’s turn as the titular villain is decidedly underwhelming.  The character isn’t particularly interesting and his four horseman, three of which seem utterly useless, sound like a better idea than it actually is.  Michael Fassbender’s Magneto is still the most interesting character in the redux series but even his story feels a tad bit tacked on and inorganic.  Thankfully it’s a swift movie with it rarely muddling down or lingering too much on minutia.  The action is impressive all around especially Evan Peters rescue sequence which is more elaborate and impressive than the one in the Days of Future Past.  As a whole, the film has plenty to like but I can help but feel like it’s a missed opportunity.

B-

[Full Trailer] X-Men: Days of Future Past

The full trailer of the upcoming X-men: Days of Future Past really gives a peek at the scale of the spectacle that’s going to be on full display.  The trailer is quite impressive since it gives us a better look at the story and sentinels both past and future models along with plenty of hero shots. 

My expectations are pretty high, hopefully it delivers….