Tag: Biopic

REVIEW: ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ is a lackluster biopic

Bob Marley was a cultural icon with a great influence on music, and he deserves a much better biopic.

“One Love” is set during the mid-to-late 70s during a time of upheaval in Jamaica as the 1976 election approaches. With tensions high in the nation, musician Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir) plans a concert to promote peace in the country. However, before he can do so, an assassination attempt is made on his life.

The film then follows Marley as he and his band relocate to England to record new albums, including the hit record “Exodus.” As he continues to create music, Marley is also eager to get his message out and desires to return to Jamaica for another concert attempt.

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REVIEW: Despite strong filmmaking, ‘Ferrari’ is largely unfocused

Sometimes even the most meticulously-made movies fall short.

That’s the case with director Michael Mann’s new biographical film centered on Italian car-maker Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver). The movie is set in 1957, with Ferrari gearing up for the annual Mile Miglia, or Thousand Miles. The Italian race event is another opportunity to show off his brand.

While this is happening, Ferrari’s company is  is in a difficult situation financially. To turn things around, a suggestion is made to merge  with another company, but it’s complicated because Ferrari’s estranged wife Laura (Penelope Cruz) owns half the shares. Their relationship has been strained since their son’s death and is even more so lately as Ferrari is having an affair.

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REVIEW: ‘Nyad’ sinks more than it swims

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin are known for their documentaries chronicling individuals who do incredible physical feats. Maybe they should have just done a documentary with this subject, too.

The duo’s latest film is a narrative feature centered on distance swimmer Diana Nyad. In the late 70s, Nyad (Annette Bening) participated in several open water attempts, swimming around the island of Manhattan and from the Bahamas to Florida.

What she wasn’t able to do at that time, though, was conquer a swim from Cuba to Florida. The film picks up with Nyad in the early 2010s, now in her 60s, with a fiery desire to try the swim again. The movie chronicles her attempts with help from her coach and friend Bonnie (Jodie Foster).

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REVIEW: Story of ‘Rustin’ is important, but told without cinematic flair

Sometimes a film comes along that does something positive by shining a light on a hidden figure, but doesn’t do so in extraordinary fashion.

This movie is an example. It tells the story of Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo), who was the lead organizer for the March on Washington in 1963. The event is now most well known for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and a subsequent meeting with President John F. Kennedy.

Getting to those historic moments took an immense amount of planning and mobilization, though, and Rustin was at the center of it all. The film dramatizes this, as well as Rustin’s experience as a gay man during a time where he had to keep his relationships hidden.

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REVIEW: ‘Iron Claw’ is mostly effective in showing family drama and trauma

Wrestling may be theatrical and scripted, but the physical and mental toll is very real, as this film shows.

“The Iron Claw” tells the story of the Von Erich family, which has produced multiple generations of professional wrestlers. The origins of wrestling in the family go back to its patriarch, Fritz (Holt McCallany), who was a professional in the 50s and 60s. In addition to his career, Fritz became the father to several sons.

Once his time in the ring was done, he decided to push wrestling on his kids, Kevin (Zac Efron), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White), David (Harris Dickinson) and Mike (Stanley Simons). Fritz doesn’t just stop at tough physical training, though, as he also uses manipulation and pushes his sons too far, leading to tragic consequences.

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REVIEW: While not a masterpiece, ‘Maestro’ remains a strong biopic

Bradley Cooper has returned to the directing chair and once again put together a film revolving around a musician.

Unlike “A Star is Born,” though, his latest picture is about a real person. “Maestro” is a biographical film about Leonard Bernstein, who Cooper also portrays. Bernstein had an illustrious career as a composer and conductor in various capacities, including film and orchestras.

While the movie covers his professional background, though, the movie is much more centered on his relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre Bernstein (Carey Mulligan). The film shows how they became a couple and how their marriage was strained by Leonard’s work and his affairs.

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REVIEW: ‘Napoleon’ is a considerable, but incomplete portrait of French ruler

Ambition is something leaders of nations should have. However, when that ambition is only self-serving, it can end in disaster, as Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” shows.

The film picks up right in the midst of the French Revolution, with Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix), then an army officer, in attendance for the beheading of Queen Marie Antoinette. From there, the film follows how he built popularity with military accomplishments and used political maneuvers to gain power in France.

The film then explores his military campaigns as Emperor of France while also dramatizing his relationship with his wife Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).

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REVIEW: Coppola’s ‘Priscilla’ is a poignant, eloquently made film

Similar movies have come out close to each other before, à la “Armageddon” and “Deep Impact.” Usually they aren’t two award contending dramas, though. But here we are with “Elvis” in 2022 and “Priscilla” in 2023.

In the titular role is Cailee Spaeny, who portrays Priscilla from her teenage years living in Germany to when she ended her marriage to Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi). The movie dramatizes how the two met, Priscilla moving to the Graceland mansion, the extended courtship and eventual deterioration of the relationship.

In addition to exploring the relationship, director and writer Sofia Coppola follows Priscilla’s personal journey of having to go through high school and enter adulthood in such a situation.

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REVIEW: ‘Elvis’ is an exuberant, exhausting experience

Elvis Presley has been portrayed on the large and small screen many times before. However, none of them featured the flair of filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, until now.

The story of Elvis (Austin Butler) in this biopic is told from the perspective of the performer’s infamous manager, Col. Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). The movie begins with Parker on his deathbed and from there, the former manager recounts the events of his time with the singer, from when he discovered him to the performers final days in Las Vegas.

The movie showcases how Elvis’ popularity surged, his inspiration from African American musicians, his controversial stage movements and his attempt at a comeback after some down years. It also features the decline of his health during his time doing several shows in Vegas.

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REVIEW: ‘The Phantom of the Open’ is a below average biopic

Some sports biopics inspire, others make you laugh, and there are those that do both.

“Phantom of the Open,” unfortunately, isn’t such a film.

The movie tells the true story of Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance) a middle class shipping worker in an English port town. Upon hearing that the company he works for may be downsizing in the years to come, he begins considering what else he can do in life.

After a night of watching golf on TV, he decides to try his luck at the sport, entering the 1976 Open Championship. The only problem is Flitcroft is a complete amateur entering a professional competition. Despite this, he goes forward with support from his family.

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