Written by: Kevin Berge
While I'm still not convinced of how it ranks among the last decade, 2018 has been a great year for films. While its outright successes have been fairly limited, the sheer amount of strong films for any fan have been staggering. Just keeping up can be exhausting.
In order to review them all in a reasonable amount of time, I have to lump together even some of the year's best films. This next crop of reviews focus on four movies that I enjoyed quite a bit but were not quite made for lengthy analysis.
This time around, I will be reviewing the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, the bizarre gory horror flick Suspiria, the dramatic biopic about Lee Israel Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and the family comedy celebrating adoption Instant Family.
In order to review them all in a reasonable amount of time, I have to lump together even some of the year's best films. This next crop of reviews focus on four movies that I enjoyed quite a bit but were not quite made for lengthy analysis.
This time around, I will be reviewing the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, the bizarre gory horror flick Suspiria, the dramatic biopic about Lee Israel Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and the family comedy celebrating adoption Instant Family.
Here we see Rami Malek keeping Bryan Singer's filmmaking career alive, unfortunately. (Image Courtesy of: rogerebert.com)
Bohemian Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody felt like a doomed project from the moment it was announced. Directed by notoriously problematic and largely bland filmmaker Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects) and including both Brian May and Roger Taylor as creative consultants on the film, it never felt like this biography could genuinely dive into Queen's history.
To its credit, this movie is far better than it had any right to be. It is a well written and directed movie experience that is palatable to a large audience. Rami Malek (Mr. Robot) also leads the film with such impressive abandon as Freddie Mercury that the movie might even be in award contention next year at least for his performance.
Unfortunately, the movie does clearly take shortcuts and manipulate the truth of history to make the film simpler to experience. This is not really a movie about Freddie Mercury. It is a movie about Queen making music that is occasionally diverted by exploring Mercury's life.
Despite being first and foremost about the music, it is also weird just how much the film relies on lip syncing. Malek may be great as Mercury in the dramatic scenes and able to mimic his movements down to the smallest detail on the stage, but he was never going to be able to cover the music.
This is understandable, but it does lead to long sequences that feel slightly disconnected as it is clear that the music being played is not what is happening on screen. This especially lets down the climax which spends far too long on Malek, Gwilym Lee (The Tourist), Ben Hardy (EastEnders), and Joe Mazzello (Jurassic Park) air guitaring over Queen.
This movie doesn't completely ignore Mercury's complicated history. It goes heavily into his sexuality at times, but it never feels like the movie wants to commit to that far more interesting side of this tale. It takes the safe approach, leading to a forgettable ride that wastes Malek.
As someone who grew up on Queen though, I did enjoy the experience for what it was.
To its credit, this movie is far better than it had any right to be. It is a well written and directed movie experience that is palatable to a large audience. Rami Malek (Mr. Robot) also leads the film with such impressive abandon as Freddie Mercury that the movie might even be in award contention next year at least for his performance.
Unfortunately, the movie does clearly take shortcuts and manipulate the truth of history to make the film simpler to experience. This is not really a movie about Freddie Mercury. It is a movie about Queen making music that is occasionally diverted by exploring Mercury's life.
Despite being first and foremost about the music, it is also weird just how much the film relies on lip syncing. Malek may be great as Mercury in the dramatic scenes and able to mimic his movements down to the smallest detail on the stage, but he was never going to be able to cover the music.
This is understandable, but it does lead to long sequences that feel slightly disconnected as it is clear that the music being played is not what is happening on screen. This especially lets down the climax which spends far too long on Malek, Gwilym Lee (The Tourist), Ben Hardy (EastEnders), and Joe Mazzello (Jurassic Park) air guitaring over Queen.
This movie doesn't completely ignore Mercury's complicated history. It goes heavily into his sexuality at times, but it never feels like the movie wants to commit to that far more interesting side of this tale. It takes the safe approach, leading to a forgettable ride that wastes Malek.
As someone who grew up on Queen though, I did enjoy the experience for what it was.
Grade: C+
This mass of bodies is actually a deep reflection on the inevitability of death. You just have to really think about it. (Image Courtesy of: rogerebert.com)
Suspiria
I don't know how to review Suspiria. It's bizarre and intoxicating and completely impossible to recommend to a normal audience member. It is billed as a horror film, and it has elements of that genre. However, it is more of a trip unto itself, a dark brooding journey into an impossible to comprehend unknown.
Technically a remake of the 1977 movie of the same name, this is a completely original experience. It utilizes elements of Dario Argento's bloody and influential horror film, but it takes it in a completely different direction, tangential in its connections.
Not to sound pretentious, but watching Suspiria is like staring at a complicated abstract painting. On the surface, it's fine to look at, maybe beautiful, but you have to keep looking to begin to understand it.
Even now, I'm not fully convinced I know all of what director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) and writer David Kavganich (A Bigger Splash) were attempting to say. However, I am certain I was mesmerized in its aggressive depiction of female empowerment.
This is far from a film for everyone. It is garish and bleak. Its climax is so intensely strange that most may just walk out on it. The movie is also far from perfect. In particular, it relies on a whole subplot over the course of the film that is vaguely important to the experience but a bore to push through.
Still, I have hardly watched a movie this bold that affected me this readily. Suspiria is a parable about gender roles wrapped up in a gory tale of magic and paganism that will one day be masterfully dissected in a far too long film thesis paper.
Technically a remake of the 1977 movie of the same name, this is a completely original experience. It utilizes elements of Dario Argento's bloody and influential horror film, but it takes it in a completely different direction, tangential in its connections.
Not to sound pretentious, but watching Suspiria is like staring at a complicated abstract painting. On the surface, it's fine to look at, maybe beautiful, but you have to keep looking to begin to understand it.
Even now, I'm not fully convinced I know all of what director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) and writer David Kavganich (A Bigger Splash) were attempting to say. However, I am certain I was mesmerized in its aggressive depiction of female empowerment.
This is far from a film for everyone. It is garish and bleak. Its climax is so intensely strange that most may just walk out on it. The movie is also far from perfect. In particular, it relies on a whole subplot over the course of the film that is vaguely important to the experience but a bore to push through.
Still, I have hardly watched a movie this bold that affected me this readily. Suspiria is a parable about gender roles wrapped up in a gory tale of magic and paganism that will one day be masterfully dissected in a far too long film thesis paper.
Grade: B+
Rarely has drunkness felt less glamorous. (Image Courtesy of: theatlantic.com)
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) movies have almost become their own comedy subgenre, doing a disservice to McCarthy as an actress. That's why it is so refreshing to see her go completely outside her wheelhouse and show off her dramatic jobs.
Can You Ever Forgive Me? has its funny moments, but it is mostly a biographical drama that tells the ridiculous but relatable story of the fall of author Lee Israel. This is a tale of how social anxiety and a lack of control can push people past the edge.
It is a delightfully simple film. McCarthy dominates the screen throughout in a subtle performance alongside a completely game Richard E. Grant. The two make for an enticing pair of criminals whose friendship is always a little unsteady but never feels false.
Director Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) does not rely on many current filmmaking techniques, making this feel old school in its construction. The color palate of this film is decidedly muted with a yellow edge. Most every story is subtly built with surprising tact.
While it is not all that exciting a film, it is nonetheless rewarding to stick with it. The movie has a lot to say over the course of its run time, and there's few shortcuts used to get to those dominant points of emphasis.
I'm not all that excited about this movie. I expect it will fall to the back of my memory by the time the year is up, but I would not be surprised if it got heavy award recognition when the time comes. Few films this year have made me stop and reflect on how wrong I was about them going in by the time the credits rolled.
Can You Ever Forgive Me? has its funny moments, but it is mostly a biographical drama that tells the ridiculous but relatable story of the fall of author Lee Israel. This is a tale of how social anxiety and a lack of control can push people past the edge.
It is a delightfully simple film. McCarthy dominates the screen throughout in a subtle performance alongside a completely game Richard E. Grant. The two make for an enticing pair of criminals whose friendship is always a little unsteady but never feels false.
Director Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) does not rely on many current filmmaking techniques, making this feel old school in its construction. The color palate of this film is decidedly muted with a yellow edge. Most every story is subtly built with surprising tact.
While it is not all that exciting a film, it is nonetheless rewarding to stick with it. The movie has a lot to say over the course of its run time, and there's few shortcuts used to get to those dominant points of emphasis.
I'm not all that excited about this movie. I expect it will fall to the back of my memory by the time the year is up, but I would not be surprised if it got heavy award recognition when the time comes. Few films this year have made me stop and reflect on how wrong I was about them going in by the time the credits rolled.
Grade: B
How do fans of Mark Wahlberg even keep up with all his films? The guy goes from stopping terrorist attacks to trying to play a good dad for troubled kids within every few months. (Image Courtesy of: ign.com)
Instant Family
Propaganda is not strictly a negative term. It is often used to describe biased or misleading information, but that is not the sole definition for the term. Propoganda is merely subjectively focused publicity to promote an issue.
Instant Family is absolutely propoganda filmmaking. It is built to convince audiences that adopting children from foster care is a noble and important act. It is not educating but persuading, but it is doing so for a good cause.
Few movies this year are as emotionally affecting as Instant Family. While it is questionably successful with its comedy, it is consistently engaging as a family drama even with a fairly limited and simplistic story.
Rose Byrne (Spy) and Mark Wahlberg (The Departed) carry both sides of the film while the director and co-screenwriter Sean Anders (That's My Boy) gives the movie its weight. This is a tightly constructed film perhaps too tight as it skips a few steps along the way in its plot.
I can't think of many if any jokes in this film that landed. It's surprising given Anders has mostly worked on (largely poorly received) comedies to this point. Perhaps the reason is simply that he's far better suited for dramatic storytelling. I'll admit this movie had me welling up with tears near its climax.
As a complete movie, Instant Family does not wholly work, but it absolutely gets its point across. This movie has one goal, and it delivers. It makes raising a child who was in the foster care system look difficult but rewarding. It makes it hard not to think about going out and doing it yourself.
Instant Family is absolutely propoganda filmmaking. It is built to convince audiences that adopting children from foster care is a noble and important act. It is not educating but persuading, but it is doing so for a good cause.
Few movies this year are as emotionally affecting as Instant Family. While it is questionably successful with its comedy, it is consistently engaging as a family drama even with a fairly limited and simplistic story.
Rose Byrne (Spy) and Mark Wahlberg (The Departed) carry both sides of the film while the director and co-screenwriter Sean Anders (That's My Boy) gives the movie its weight. This is a tightly constructed film perhaps too tight as it skips a few steps along the way in its plot.
I can't think of many if any jokes in this film that landed. It's surprising given Anders has mostly worked on (largely poorly received) comedies to this point. Perhaps the reason is simply that he's far better suited for dramatic storytelling. I'll admit this movie had me welling up with tears near its climax.
As a complete movie, Instant Family does not wholly work, but it absolutely gets its point across. This movie has one goal, and it delivers. It makes raising a child who was in the foster care system look difficult but rewarding. It makes it hard not to think about going out and doing it yourself.