Beautiful Boy, Bohemian Rhapsody, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

As the Oscar season goes into full swing, I decided to finally lend my attention to some of the potential heavyweights and contenders that’ll come into play this season. Thanks to my AMC Stubs A-List subscription (no, this isn’t sponsored),  I was able to take three of the acting hopefuls out in one feel swoop. All of them offered something of value, some more than others, but all of them making great use of their onscreen talent. Let’s have a look…

The Grinch movie review.

My apologies. I originally had something longer in mind for this review, but having lost all of my original text, I’ve decided to offer my thoughts in truncated form.

Since it’s publication in 1957, How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss has been an enduring holiday classic. Finding appeal both in adults and children, the book’s enormous popularity was solidified further in 1966, with the Chuck Jones directed animated special with Boris Karloff. Then in 2000, Ron Howard would make a live action take starring Jim Carrey in the title role. Feeling like an amalgamation of both prior versions before it, this third take from Illumination Entertainment, the creators of The Secret Life of Pets and Despicable Me, attempts to add new to the story, only barely scraping that goal with a 39 and a half foot pole.

First Man movie review.

Given our many differences and political walls, especially in the modern age we live in, it's easy for us as a people to become cynical and get lost in the shuffle of constant bickering and political biases. But if there's one thing any of us can come together for, it's when witnessing history in the making, of a truly spectacular and transcendental event forever changing the world we know, and that hopefully this change will inspire and unite us for ages to come.

Such was an extraordinary event when the crew of Apollo 11, captained by astronaut Neil Armstrong, successfully landed on the moon and returned safely to earth. Punctuated by Armstrong's powerful declaration "it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," the image of Armstrong's first step on the moon's surface has become ingrained not only in American culture, but in world history, becoming an iconic and inspirational staple of the wonder man can achieve. In his follow-up to La La Land, director Damien Chazelle reteams with actor Ryan Gosling to bring Armstrong's great achievement to life, in the fittingly excellent First Man.

A Star is Born movie review.

"Remake" is seen as something of a dirty word, often in the context of thoroughly unnecessary cash-ins that only clog the continually unoriginal Hollywood system even more, putting their effort into an idea that most likely has its definitive representation, and in that case what can you really hope to top. And to be fair, remakes like Point Break certainly validate this apathy towards them, but it can also yield better efforts like The Fly. And even if those the likes of A Star is Born, itself a product of three remakes, doesn't necessarily top its earliest predecessor, the template of what that film deals with is still versatile enough to justify different interpretations.

So coming into this new version of A Star is Born, marking Bradley Cooper's directorial debut, I found myself in an interesting position. I have to admit I've not seen prior interpretations to this story. I came into it fresh, so in essence, this new version was tailor made for people like me. And I think this film proves that not only can such a story still hold relevance from decades ago, but detached from its source, it can stand and endure superbly on its own. A Star is Born is fantastic!

Brief thoughts on Crazy Rich Asians.

Figured I'd go ahead and pen something down for this movie. I actually intended to review it a long time ago, but other things kept me from seeing it. Thankfully for me, Crazy Rich Asians is still quite a popular and relevant film even a month after its release, a popular audience favorite and critical darling, most often noted for its extensively Asian and Chinese cast. Adapted from the book by Kevin Kwan, there's very little that the film actually does to innovate outside of its progressive casting. But it's still a film that works. Really well.

Brief thoughts on Christopher Robin.

Oh, stuff and fluff. Even Winnie the Pooh has gotten his own live action reimagining in the latest family offering from Disney. As one of Disney's more timeless icons, the cartoons based on A.A. Milne's classic story books (who got his own film with Domhnall Gleeson's similarly named biopic), Pooh bear has always been the definition of innocence. I find it hard for anyone to be able to hate Pooh, even if they hate Mickey Mouse. So, I was always somewhat hopeful that this new offering would be able to capture the affectionate nostalgia that made his animations so endearing. But Christopher Robin half succeeds. In doing nothing, something wonderful does come along, but it's when it actually does *something* that it gets nothing.

Brief thoughts on Mission: Impossible - Fallout.

My mission - now I choose to accept it - is to dissect and lay out the fabric of my thoughts on Fallout, the sixth entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise. After starting very badly with two films, the series made a significant recovery under J.J. Abrams and the Bad Robot label, with Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation becoming standout action flicks. Both prior films were very successful in balancing out lean characterization, tightly staged action set-pieces, and amazing feats of daredevilry accomplished by star Tom Cruise. Following Rogue Nation, we now get its direct follow-up, helmed again by writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, to deliver what many are now calling one of the best action films ever made...

...Is it really?