Tag: Music
Bob Marley: One Love Does Little to Rise Above Typical Biopic Fare
Following the overwhelming box office success of 2018’s Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, films detailing the lives of musical legends were greenlit across Hollywood studio lots. The newest one, Bob Marley: One Love tells the story of reggae icon Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir) and his…
Read More »Maestro is a Technical Marvel Paired with an Emotional Story of Marriage’s Complexity (Middleburg Film Festival)
Bradley Cooper returns to directing with a biopic about a famous musician, this time focusing on a famous, real life figure. Maestro chronicles the rise of famous composer Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) as he builds his musical legend alongside…
Read More »Oppenheimer Explores Guilt, Crisis of Conscience in Fusion of Biopic and Tense Procedural Drama
A three-hour biographical drama shot partially in black-and-white does not usually sound like a recipe for a mid-summer theatrical release, but the formula for blockbuster success changes when director Christopher Nolan is involved. His latest film seeks to…
Read More »Chevalier is a By-The-Numbers Biopic Saved By Its Cast
Chevalier sets out to tell the true tale of Joseph Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), the illegitimate son of an African slave named Nanon (Ronke Adekoluejo) and French plantation owner George Bologne (Jim High). After his father recognizes his…
Read More »Babylon is a Bit Too Ambitious For Its Own Good
Babylon spans the pivotal era of American filmmaking in Hollywood from 1926-1952 as a host of changes were taking place both behind the camera, in the boardrooms of movie studios, and throughout American culture at large. We follow…
Read More »Cate Blanchett is Mesmerizing in Tár, a Tale of the Cost of Ego and Hubris (Middleburg Film Festival)
At points following the exposé of Harvey Weinstein and the rise of the Me Too movement, it seemed like someone powerful and/or famous was being exposed for misdeeds every other day. Some of these misdeeds were years old,…
Read More »Elvis’ Compelling Story Gets Lost in the Recreation of His Flashy Style
There is a lot of responsibility when telling the story of a beloved historical figure. Director Baz Luhrmann has accepted this challenge in depicting the life of perhaps one of the two most famous and celebrated musicians in…
Read More »Licorice Pizza is an Ode to Young Love That Teaches Universal Lessons For Any Age
Coming of age stories can teach us a lot about human behavior and the latest film from Paul Thomas Anderson is no exception. Licorice Pizza takes us to the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s as Gary Valentine (Cooper…
Read More »Cyrano’s Performances and Dynamic Score Create a Treat for Fans of Musicals (Middleburg Film Festival)
In late 2019, Erica Schmidt wrote and directed an Off Broadway adaptation of Cyrano that starred her husband, Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage. After its successful run, the musical has been brought to the big screen by…
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The Color Purple is a Visual and Musical Marvel
Following up an iconic story with a new retelling is always a daunting task and adapting a story as beloved as this one can be even more challenging. The Color Purple follows the same story many are familiar…
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