|
|
zzzzzzzzz
Maestro
 |
CHRIS MIKSANEK - THE MED CITY
MOVIE GUY
Cooper transforms himself into an onscreen maestro
and a behind the camera virtuoso in this celebration
of the life and relationships of composer Leonard
Bernstein.
With an epic
supporting cast that includes Carey Mulligan and a
score that begs to be heard in a theater, this one is
destined for more accolades than you can shake a
stick at… see what I did there… shake a stick
because, uhhh, Bernstein was a … oh, nevermind!
I talked about this one in detail on
KROC. |
 
|
Priscilla
 |
CHRIS MIKSANEK - THE MED CITY
MOVIE GUY
Director Sofia Coppola and actress
Cailee Spaeny magnificently bring to
life Priscilla Presley’s 1986 memoir, Elvis and
Me, though on screen her life comes across more
“caught in a trap” than the book’s “money business.”
Her’s and the king’s relationship, of course, was
as legendary as it was controversial beginning when
she was first introduced to him in German during his
Army service there — she 14, him 24.
A perfect complement to last year’s Baz Luhrmann
epic Elvis though somberly
reminiscent of 2021’s Princess Di piece
Spencer.
I talked about this one in detail on
KROC. |
|
Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy
|
CHRIS MIKSANEK - THE MED CITY
MOVIE GUY
I always thought the 1969 film was overrated but I
admired Dustin Hoffman’s Rizzo as a street hustler (a
role Terrence Howard essentially recreated in the
2009 film Fighting with
Channing Tatum).
Interestingly,
Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend
of Midnight Cowboy is less a
documentary of the making of that landmark film than
an attempt to “contextualize” it.
Everybody’ll be talking about it? (See what
I did there?) I don’t know, but I talked about this one in detail on
KROC.
|
  |
T]
The Beanie Bubble
|
CHRIS MIKSANEK - THE MED CITY
MOVIE GUY
So determined were filmmakers to focus on
manufacturer Ty Warner’s
Hidden Figures, three women
evidently instrumental in the firm’s breakout
success, that they betrayed the premise: the furry
equivalent of the 17th century Tulip, the mania
around which drove the price of a single flower bulb
to as much as $150,000 before the market collapsed
back to sanity. The bust here is relegated to the
last five minutes with no mention of the early
Ponzi-like profits and ultimate collateral damage to
speculators.
In the model of, but
not as satisfying as, other 2023 docu-dramas
Air and
BlackBerry.
I talked about this one in detail on
KROC.
|
 
|
Sound of Freedom
|
CHRIS MIKSANEK - THE MED CITY
MOVIE GUY
An unsettling but powerful film, based on the true
story of Homeland Security’s Tim Ballard (Jim
Caviezel) who faces off against child trafficking — a
subject “too ugly for polite conversation” —
cinematically equal parts Taken,
Man on Fire, and the
remarkable Mexican film Backyard.
Unnecessarily controversial.
I talked about this one in detail on
KROC.
|
 
The Atomic Cafe
|
CHRIS MIKSANEK - THE MED CITY
MOVIE GUY
The new 4k restoration of the classic 1982
documentary The Atomic Cafe
makes for an exquisite pairing with Christopher
Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Comprised entirely of vintage footage, mostly
government, its sometimes cavalier, and others
times accidentally comical, approach to the atomic
dawn is remarkable. Sample dialog, “This explosion is
one of the most beautiful sights even seen by man.”
|
|
|
Oppenheimer
CHRIS MIKSANEK - THE MED CITY
MOVIE GUY
Follows the development of the atomic bomb at Los
Alamos, intercut with both public cabinet hearings
for Robert Downey Jr.’s Lewis
Strauss and private pillorying of Oppenheimer (Cillian
Murphy) as he defends his security clearance
jeopardized as a consequence of being on the wrong
side of Strauss who is the Salieri to Oppenheimer’s
Mozart.
Oscar bait,
but also intelligent and important.
I talked about this one in detail on
KROC.
|
|
Titanic (3D re-release)
 |
CHRIS MIKSANEK - THE MED CITY
MOVIE GUY
This month, Titanic has been
re-released for the 25th anniversary of the film. But
back in 2012, it was re-released for the 100th
anniversary of the legendary ship’s sinking. Here is
my 2012 review:
Apparently, 11 Oscars and $1.8 billion were not
enough for James Cameron. The director took his 1997
Titanic back to the lab,
digitally upgraded it to 3-D, and re-released it just
in time for Sunday’s 100th anniversary of the ship’s
sinking.
James Cameron was the first celebrity I ever
met. He had a soft spot for Minnesota: it’s
where he first screened Titanic. |
The story is familiar to all. The Titanic, the
largest and most grandly appointed vessel of her time
and carrying the crèmest of the crème, pushes beyond
prudence through iceberg-dotted waters, with Captain
Smith apparently texting at the time. The rest, as
they say, is history.
Woven in
the tragedy are two tales more significant of which
is the unlikely romance between a rich girl (Kate
Winslet) trapped in a loveless engagement and a poor
artist (Leonardo DiCaprio) who works his way up from
steerage to free her.
The plot
alternates between that storyline and a modern
salvage expedition attempting to recover from the
wreckage the priceless necklace Winslet’s betrothed
gave her.
I’m unapologetic saying
Titanic is one of the best films ever
made. It’s a mistake to dismiss it as a mere love
story.
It is that, but it’s
also a monumental narrative of an event that claimed
more than 1,500 lives en route to New York City. Well
told, this is a story of affluence and arrogance set
in a genteel, practically fabled, time of dressing in
one’s finest and putting women and children first.
That said, the real treat here
is not 3-D at all — which adds little — but the
opportunity to see this one as it needs to be seen,
in crisp digital projection on the big screen.
Whether it’s the lively Irish party in third
class, a somber scan of a boot on the ocean floor, or
a sea of flailing victims bobbing on the icy waters
12,500 feet above, Cameron leverages the technology
and his incredible attention to detail to paint a
vivid picture and an engaging story.
Titanic is a brilliant
period piece masterfully executed, and Cameron gets
it all right: the addictive love story, the
historical accuracy and the epic scale. This is our
generation’s Gone with the Wind.
I talked about this one in detail on
KROC.
|
|
Jesus Revolution
 |
CHRIS MIKSANEK - THE MED CITY
MOVIE GUY
The popular crowd-funded show
The Chosen set records for its
special-event type theater showing of the first and
last episodes of the current season. The show stars
Jonathan Roumie as the bible’s #1 Son.
Roumie also stars in the new Jesus
Revolution, named for a 1971
Time magazine cover story running
an unheard of 13-pages highlighting the breakthrough
hippie religious movement, a trend that saw wayward
teens clumsily navigating one of the most turbulent
times in modern history to ultimately make and find
peace.
The film does an adapt job
meshing a pastor (Kelsey Grammar) beset with empty
pews who befriends real-life evangelist Lonnie
Frisbee (Roumie) whose contemporaries help them
overflow! Dismissed by some as a theological hula
hoop the era managed to add to our popular culture
legendary musicals Jesus Christ Superstar
and Godspell, as well as
pop songs like Put Your Hand in the Hand,
My Sweet Lord,
Spirit in the Sky, Turn!
Turn! Turn!, The Lord’s
Prayer, and my personal favorite from
the Doobie Brothers Jesus is
Just Alright.
Faith
is mainstream again.
I talked about this one in detail on
KROC.
|
|
|
© 2008,
2023 Chris
Miksanek, The Med City Movie Guy
Last updated:
2023 May 2
Contact: chris @ miksanek.com
|
|
|
