MOVIE REVIEW: RESPECT

 

Following the rise of Aretha Franklin's career -- from a child singing in her father's church choir to her international superstardom -- it's the remarkable true story of the music icon's journey to find her voice.

Director: Liesl Tommy

Cast: Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore, Skye Dakota Turner, Tate Donovan, Mary J. Blige

Release Date: August 13, 2021

Genre: Biography, Drama, Music

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content, strong language including racial epithets, violence, suggestive material, and smoking

Runtime: 2h 25min

Review:

Aretha Franklin was a seminal star whose impact on the musical world still reverberates through the musical world.  Unfortunately, Liesl Tommy’s biopic is a paint by the numbers affair that plays more like a high end Lifetime film with better actors.  The film’s structure is a painfully predictable with melodramatic moments that will make most have flashback of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.  The film’s saving grace is it’s cast with Jennifer Hudson leading the way with her spectacular voice making the musical sequences the highlight of the film.  Hudson is ready made for these types of roles which highlight her voice over her acting ability.  She’s a capable actress but the script isn’t interested in any sort of deep dive into what made Aretha tick as it only scratches the surface of her trouble upbringing and relationships with men.  Still, she’s able to shine in the moment where she belts out Franklin’s songs.  The film stages those moment with the type of loving affection that they deserve.  The supporting cast do solid work with Forest Whitaker making the biggest impression.  Whitaker is the type of performer that can take small moment and imbue them with emotions that range from menace to tenderness.  When he and Hudson share the screen the movie pops in a significant way that makes the rest off the film feel like a bit of a letdown since it never maintains that type of quality.  Respect, sadly, ends up being a run of the mill biopic that doesn’t do anything truly meaningful deserving of it’s subject.

C+

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Dolemite is My Name &The Two Popes

Yesterday I closed out my movie year with two Netflix originals: Dolemite is My Name and the Two Popes.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

First up: Dolemite is My Name.

Rudy Ray Moore, a struggling comedian, finds success with a coarse alter-ego.

Dolemite is My Name represents a comeback of sorts for Eddie Murphy, and he carries the movie with ease. I'm a big fan of Eddie Murphy, and that makes me very, very happy. (He can't have that Golden Globe, though. It's Taron's.) As for the film itself, well, that didn't make me quite so happy. Moore is a hard guy to root for. Much like The Room's Tommy Wiseau, he's a person who is determined to succeed at something he isn't very good at, and--through sheer audacity and a bit of enabling--he actually makes it. Personally, I find the Dolemite persona about as funny as a root canal. Maybe my problem is cultural or even generational (I also don't think George Carlin is very funny), but it's exacerbated by the fact that Moore essentially stole the Dolemite schtck from others in his personal orbit, people who never gained (at least as far as the movie shows) from his eventual success. Dolemite's supporting cast is nearly as great as Murphy, with Tituss Burgess, Keegan-Michael Key, and another of my personal favorites, Craig Robinson, all turning in nice performances. Wesley Snipes and Snoop Dogg are also enjoyable in smaller roles. Dolemite is My Name is actually quite funny in places (outside the Dolemite routines), though it's also a little slow or a little long or maybe a little of both; it just doesn't *quite* earn its runtime. It is also relentlessly (but expectedly) vulgar, so if boobs and f-bombs bother you, maybe take a pass on this one.

Dolemite is My Name runs 117 minutes and is rated R for "pervasive language, crude sexual content, and graphic nudity."

Dolemite is My Name is a win for Eddie Murphy and a big loss for everything else. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Dolemite is My Name gets four.

Next on my agenda: The Two Popes.

Popes Benedict and Francis try to find common ground for the good of the Catholic Church.

Well, dear reader(s), if Dolemite is My Name is a film I didn't quite get, you may rest assured that, having spent the past 33 years working for His Holiness, this one's definitely in my wheelhouse.

Most everyone knows that the Catholic Church is facing challenging times, and that its problems are largely of its own making. This behind-the-scenes look at two very different men, both of whom want only the best for the institution (and the deity) they serve, is a thoughtful exercise. Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins turn in two of the year's finest performances as Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI, respectively. Their magnificent work is infused with quiet power, carrying the deliberately-paced film effortlessly. While the Two Popes is undoubtedly more "inspired by" than "based on" actual events, its insights and political machinations are fascinating, as well as its sometimes shockingly frank mentions of the clergy sexual abuse scandal. The movie also offers some timely messages, both overtly and less so, with the importance of forgiveness and of finding common ground winding their way throughout. Though I am not a believer myself, I found the Two Popes an uplifting and hopeful film for the faithful...and maybe for the rest of us too.

The Two Popes clocks in at 125 minutes and is rated PG13 for "thematic content and some disturbing, violent images."

The Two Popes is one of the year's best surprises, a terrific film carried by two extraordinary performances.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Two Popes gets eight.

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: DOLEMITE IS MY NAME

Performer Rudy Ray Moore develops an outrageous character named Dolemite, who becomes an underground sensation and star of a kung-fu, anti-establisment film that could make or break Moore.

Director: Craig Brewer

Cast: Eddie Murphy, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Wesley Snipes

Release Date: October 25, 2019 

Genre  Biography, Comedy, Drama

Rating: R for some sexuality, full nudity and brief language

Runtime: 1 h 58 min

Review:
Craig Brewer’s Dolemite Is My Name is a fun film that could have been easily forgettable if it weren’t for his central star.  Sure, the true story of Rudy Ray Moore is a fascinating anecdote from Hollywood’s past but without Eddie Murphy’s un-containable energy and charisma it wouldn’t be nearly as watchable.  Murphy’s performance is like a throwback to his classic performances not like his slew of rinse and repeat family comedies he churned out for the better part of late 90's and 2000’s.  The film reminds you why Murphy was such a singular star in those classic films like Coming to America, Trading Spaces and even Bowfinger to a certain extent.  He’s such a magnetic performer that you can’t help but enjoy this bawdy biopic.  The story itself feels familiar but Murphy keeps you interested in this underdog tale.  His supporting cast is made up a who’s who of African American actors and comedians with each making the film better than it deserves to be with Da'Vine Joy Randolph & Wesley Snipes leaving lasting impressions.  Ultimately Dolemite Is My Name is the type of film that’s better than it deserves to be because of inspired casting.


B+