At the Cinema - November 2018

Bohemian Rhapsody– 9

Rock and Roll movies are at their best when they tell you how the music got made, and this movie slides into that enough to entertain most.  The group is Queen and the lead singer is Freddie Mercury, whom many have said was the best frontman of all time.  They were by no means conventional, but their stadium rock has stood the test of time. 

The framing device for the film is the famous Queen performance at Live Aid in 1987.  According to many critical articles that have been written, the film takes a lot of liberties with the timelines, but unless you are a Queen expert, you won’t know that and won’t care.  The movie has also been chastised for not making a bigger statement about Mercury’s sexuality.  So, while the movie takes liberties with the story, don't let that deter you if you like rock n roll.  Rami Malek gives one of the best performances of the year as Mercury.  The movie is a little long, but it’s inevitable end at Live Aid is genuinely moving.  I’ve seen the actual concert footage several times, but the movie’s emotional buildup still got me.

This movie has been a big hit, and it’s been interesting to watch the marketing effort, which seems to have centered around marketing during football games.  The commercials have been inescapable during NFL games.  I’d like to know what their marketing budget was, because it has successfully powered the box office.  It lives up to the hype.  Powerful stuff and a nice tribute to the music of Queen.

The Girl in the Spider’s Web – 8

This is another critically panned movie that I nevertheless enjoyed.  Is Sweden really this gray?  The scenery is the star of this movie, in that you'll feel the need to get a blanket it looks so cold.  I’m assuming it was filmed on location, as there are nothing but Volvos on the roads.  Claire Foy takes over as hacker Lisbeth Salander, and as you might expect she is not quite Rooney Mara.

Lisbeth starts the movie as the avenging angel of abused women.  Why is she so vengeful?  Could it be that she and her sister were abused growing up by their rich father?  That’s part of the story, as she is asked to hack and steal a very dangerous program that is in the hands of the US government.

This is a controversial film that was ghost-written as a continuation of the Lisbeth’s stories after the authors death.   The dropoff is slight, but this is still a very entertaining movie, with the usual hard-to-believe action sequences.  The hacking parts are the best.

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Widows - 8

Director Steve McQueen has fashioned a pretty ambitious story, taking on everything from class warfare, to election nepotism, and he’s mostly successful.  He telegraphs the ending a little too early for my taste, but with actors like Robert Duvall, Viola Davis, Colin Farrell, and Liam Neeson, you’re not losing attention. 

Liam Neeson is legendary Chicago criminal Harry Rawlings.  When his heist goes wrong, and he’s robbed the wrong people, it’s left to his wife, played by the terrific Viola Davis to make things right for the gang he stole from.  She enlists two of Harry’s gang's widows to help steal replacement money.  Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth Debicki play those ladies, and wouldn’t you know that it’s Debicki who is a breakout star by the end of the movie.  Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) continues to grow his resume as a star, playing a sociopathic gang member who is putting the heat on. This guy blows up the screen with his intensity.

There is so much going on here, with an election backdrop, that I think they miss the opportunity to show more about the planning of the big final robbery, but there are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.  All in all, very well done.

Scanning the Satellite

Game Night – 9
Missed this in theaters earlier this year, and that’s unfortunate as it is surely one of the best comedies of the year.  A group of friends take their occasional game nights pretty seriously, until Jason Bateman’s competitive brother, played by Kyle Chandler, turns one of those nights into a life or death contest.  Rachel McAdams is a superb match for Bateman and this one kept me guessing with its ingenious plot.

Miss Sloane – 8

Despite being a huge Jessica Chastain fan, I missed this when it was in theaters in 2016.  She plays a frenetic lobbyist up against the gun lobby.  Jessica is up to the fast dialogue, and it’s a poignant look at how this battle plays out on K street.  The subject matter seems a little outdated in just two years, but still worth watching to get a glimpse of how lobbying works in the nation’s capital. Or, hopefully this is not how it works. 

The Good Place – 10

Three years late, but I’m hooked.  Top notch sitcom with an incredible cast that is destined to be a classic in the Cheers vein. I’ve watched the first 2 seasons on Netflix and this is hilarious.  Haven’t watched many sitcoms in recent years, but this one is unique and laugh out loud funny..Don't know how long they can keep this up, but I'm all in.

Bodyguard – 9

An English action import to Netflix that I binged.  High wire, high tension, with some nice twists and turns.  Only downside is that sometimes I have a hard time hearing through the thick English accent.  Maybe it’s just me.