Bohemian Rhapsody

Queen has always been my second favorite rock band, so when I saw that they were making a film about them I was excited, but nervous that it wouldn’t be any good. Well I am here to tell you that the film, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, is well quite good. Basically, it’s the story of Queen’s lead singer, Freddie Mercury, and how he transformed a band that played second rate clubs into a phenomenon. Besides his incredible voice, he had a vision that pushed the limits of rock and roll. Rami Malek plays Mercury and this is a performance that ranks with Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles and Marion Collitard as Edith Piaf. He is epic! Loved the music, loved the movie. It’s one of those films that I didn’t want to end and I want to see it again.

Green Book

“Green Book” is one of the best films of the year. Starring Viggo Mortensen and Marershala Ali as an odd couple touring the Deep South in the early 1960’s it is funny, interesting and very entertaining. Mortensen plays an Italian from Brooklyn who acts as driver for Ali, a professional pianist. The latter is very educated, while the former is from the streets. They teach each other about life. Directed by Peter Farrelly of “Something About Mary” fame, this is a different kind of film for him. Beautifully done, with a great soundtrack, this is one film not to miss.

Widows

Steve McQueen, the director not the actor, has come out with a new movie. The director of “12 Years a Slave” gives us “Widows”, a heist movie that has a lot of twists. A gang of thieves is killed by the police and their wives have to pay off a drug lord trying to break into politics. Led by Viola Davis these women are bad ass. Daniel Kayuula from “Get Out” is one of the villains and he is very scary. It takes a while to set up the plot, but once it gets going hang on! A good thriller.

The Grinch

In the 1960’s we had the classic television cartoon, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, narrated by Boris Karloff. In 2000 Jim Carrey starred in a live action version of the story. Now we have a CG animation version. My opinion is that they should have left well enough alone after the original. The latest version adds some clever scenes, but by making the tale feature length the filmmakers are stretching it. Children will enjoy it, but adults who remember the original will be less than impressed.

Boy Erased

“Boy Erased” is the story of a young man who is sent to a facility to change his sexual orientation. The parents, who are religious, believe he can be converted. The film stars Lucas Hedges, as the conflicted boy, and Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe as the parents. Hedges gives a harrowing, realistic performance and Kidman once again exudes motherly love as she did in “Lion”. She transforms from an obedient wife and mother to a strong woman taking care of her child. Some of the scenes at the conversion facility are difficult to watch, but this is definitely a worthwhile film.

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

“Can you Ever Forgive Me?” features Melissa McCarthy in a dramatic role and she knocks the ball out of the park. She plays a curmudgeon writer who is not very successful. The only one she is nice to is her sick cat. She comes up with the idea of typing letters from famous people and selling them and she’s good at it. Based on a true story, the film is interesting. McCarthy is quite good and almost unrecognizable. She builds a friendship with a gay drifter, played by Richard E. Grant.

Hunter Killer

I had no idea what this “Hunter Killer” was about, but I saw that Gerard Butler was in it and it was an action film. I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be a suspenseful submarine film pitting the U.S. Navy against a Russian general who stages a coup. There are some interesting plot twists and lots of suspense. In other times this would be labeled a ‘B” picture, but it is well done and keeps you guessing. If you like action films with a plot, go see this one.

Bad Times at the El Royale

“Bad Times at the El Royale” can be categorized as Tarintino-lite. Drew Goddard wrote and directed this strange, episodic film about a once posh resort and the people who are staying there. Each has their own weird story. Like a Quentin Tarintino movie, these characters intertwine and there is plenty of violence. The cast is pretty stellar, led by Jeff Bridges as an old bank robber masquerading as a priest. One of the standouts is newcomer Lewis Pullman as the bellman.The plot twists are interesting and keep you guessing. If you like mysteries with lots of twists and turns see this film.

Night School

Since I saw “Girls’ Trip” last year I have been a fan of Tiffany Haddish. She is truly an original. So I was looking forward to seeing her with Kevin Hart in “Night School”. Unfortunately the film is pretty standard, with a few funny scenes. Most of those scenes are with Haddish, but her character wasn’t nearly outrageous enough. It’s about Hart’s character going back to night school and Haddish is the teacher who doesn’t put up with anything. There is a subplot about the principal and Hart having a rivalry since high school. This is one of those movies that you can wait for cable or a streaming service to watch. Disappointing.

The Old Man & the Gun

Robert Redford has said that “The Old Man & the Gun” will be the last movie he acts in and it is a fitting finale to his career. Based on a real person, Redford plays a polite, well mannered, charming bank robber who performs his job because he loves doing it. His victims have nothing but nice things to say about him. While escaping from a robbery he meets a widow, played by Sissy Spacek, and they strike up a relationship. Casey Afleck plays the detective who tries to catch him, especially since Redford’s character performs a robbery while he’s in a bank. Along the way we learn how he has escaped from prison numerous times. As usual, Redford does a nice job and his easy rapport with Spacek is nice. This is not the type of performance that wins awards, but it’s vintage Robert Redford. The movie meanders along with not very much action other than a few car chases, but it’s an enjoyable character study.