MOVIE REVIEW: BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

 

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is a 2020 American mockumentary comedy film directed by Jason Woliner in his feature directorial debut.

Director: Jason Woliner

Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Maria Bakalova

Release Date: October 23, 2020

Genre: Comedy

Rated R for raw language, nudity and general filthiness.

Runtime: 1 h 35 min

Review:

In Borat Subsequent Moviefilm pulls off the same magic trick he did in the original film with such an audacious fearlessness that once you stop laughing you’ll be left wondering how he pulled it all off.  The story itself is the thinnest grating that holds the whole thing together.  Its biggest gift is adding a new character to proceeding in the form of his daughter played by Maria Bakalova.  Going into this you’d expect Cohen to go all in with the performance like he’s done his whole career but Bakalova is just as impressive here.  She’s just as committed as Cohen and they make for a hilarious pair as they traverse the underbelly of Trump’s America much in the way the original held a mirror to the Bush era.  It’s consistently hilarious and rather terrifying when you step back from it for a minute especially since much of what is presented is happening now.  The situations are incredibly outlandish and dangerous with the much talked about Rudy Giuliani sequence is even more gross in live action than described.  If there is a minor drawback its that the character and tropes have been done by Cohen as recently as his own 2018 Showtime’s Who is America.  This sequel feels more like that show than the original movie because the American landscape has changed from the Bush era and not in a good way but you might as well laugh at it exposed.

B

MOVIE REVIEW: LES MISERABLES

The King's Speech's Tom Hooper directs this adaptation of Cameron Mackintosh's successful musical version of Victor Hugo's classic novel. The drama surrounds the obsessive quest of Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe) as he spends years in an effort to capture escaped convict Jean Valjean. Hugh Jackman co-stars in the Universal Pictures production. Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, and Sacha Baron Cohen also star. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Release Date: Dec 25, 2012

Rated PG-13 for suggestive and sexual material, violence and thematic elements

Runtime: 2 hr. 38 min.

Genres: Drama, Music/Performing Arts

Director: Tom Hooper

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen,
Helena Bonham Carter

Review:

The cinematic version of Les Misérables will give you goose bumps one moment then have readjusting in your chair as the barrage of bombastic yet bold musical numbers beat you into submission. It’s all wonderfully staged by a dedicated Tom Hooper. He treats this beloved musical with a tenderness and love throughout. Everything is wonderful to look at and listen to. Hooper just lets you dive right in and never really lets you take a breath. His A+ cast belts out tune after tune with impassioned veracity and emotional heft. At its center is Hugh Jackman who anchors the entire production with his impressive vocals and performance. Jackman’s stage talent and experience is readily apparent, making his casting a real win for film. Anne Hathaway has garnered plenty of attention because of her turn as Fantine and its well deserved. Her screen time is incredibly limited but she leaves a strong emotional impression. Less impressive is a miscast Russell Crowe. I’ve been a fan of Crowe for years and while he looks the part, his vocal chops are just all wrong for this type of film and character. It’s a major misstep, one that detracts from the film’s quality as a whole which is a real shame. An angelic Amanda Seyfried is strong if limited as the older Cosette. She’s outshined by her character’s counterpart played by Samantha Barks. Barks oozes melancholy as she belts out her songs about unrequited love. Hooper moves his film at a methodical pace but the story does leave you feeling a bit disjointed as it changes from intimate to global back to intimate. Flaws aside, it’s an opulent piece of musical filmmaking which keeps your eyes glued to each actor’s soulful eyes as they sing about dreams lost and found.

B+

Movie Reviews: BRUNO

Sunday, July 12, 2009
Movie Reviews: BRUNO
IN THEATERS

BRUNO

Bruno, who has no known surname, is a homosexual Austrian fashionista claiming to be a reporter from an Austrian television station. Sacha Baron Cohen who plays Bruno interviews unsuspecting guests about topics such as fashion, entertainment , celebrities and homosexuality, with an emphasis on the latter as each interview progresses.

Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten

Director: Larry Charles

Opened July 10, 2009

Runtime: 1 hr. 28 min.

Rated R for pervasive strong and crude sexual content, graphic nudity and language

Genres: Satire, Mockumentary, Comedy


Review:




Sacha Baron Cohen has pretty much set the bar incredibly high in terms of shocking audiences if he ever decides to do another mockumentary style film. Bruno is shocking and filled with so many cringe inducing moments that it makes 2006’s Borat look tame by comparison. The opening scene, showing us what Bruno and his pigmy boy toy do in their bedroom, pretty much set s up your going to be in for and if you’re offended by that, you should probably just get up and leave. During its short runtime you’ll see singing penises, a modified stationary bicycle and other visual assault that’s make you fairly uncomfortable and laugh like mad. It’s an interesting tight rope to walk and along the way Cohen manages to destroy as many imaginary lines of what’s considered good taste along the way. As to whether or not Cohen succeeds in exposing gay bigotry or does more harm than good is really up to the eye of the beholder. He plays up the biggest gay stereotypes with his character gets some very strong responses from the unwitting public but it’s really hard to determine if it’s because he exposing the issue or because his character is so outrageous that it’d be nearly impossible to not illicit a major response to him. Regardless of whether he achieves what he intended is, again, up to the viewer but you have to respect Cohen’s willingness to throw himself out there and even put himself in truly dangerous situation at times. It’s all fairly entertaining and hilarious but there are a few dead spots, mainly due to the fact that we have a more formal structure to this mockumentary. Cohen and director Larry Charles give this film a strong narrative structure than Borat meaning that there more sections of the film that just deal with telling the story. It gives Bruno a more traditional feel but the segments are hit or miss. As a whole there are plenty more high points than low points and if you didn’t walk out in the beginning, you’d have gone through a strange trip through celebrity, swinger’s parties and a drunken redneck riot. A strange trip indeed but a pretty damn funny one too.




B