It takes a long, long time to land on the moon. So much can be said for the research, development, and execution of the Apollo 11 spacecraft on the lunar surface on July 21, 1969. You can also say as much as Damien Chazelle’s (La La Land, Whiplash) lackluster First Man. Maybe Chazelle should go back to writing his screenplays. After earning Oscar nominations (adapted for Whiplash, original for La La Land) for his first two directed movies, Chazelle picked up Josh Singer’s (Spotlight, The Post) for his third directorial effort. Unfortunately, the culmination likely didn’t do either man any favors. First Man lacked energy and originality and frequently veered into disinterest in its characters and outright boredom. While the film has resonated with critics (88%), there is a sharp dropoff in the audience score (66%). While the accomplishment in First Man is an important story that needed to be told in this medium (particularly to those who weren’t even born when this achievement happened, I think it should have been spearheaded by a director who is more seasoned in the biopic genre or at least had directed a film outside of the music drama genre which has thus far defined his career.
Category Archives: Based on a True Story
White Boy Rick (2018)
White Boy Rick, the most hyped movie of September 2018, Yann Demange (’71), is one of the most disappointing movies of the year. The narrative could be better. The character development is almost non-existent. Matthew McConaughey (Mud, Free State of Jones) seemed as interested in attempting to earn a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination as he was trying to advance the story (I don’t blame him, as much as I do the script and the director). Newcomer Richie Merritt, who stars as the story’s lead, does his job, but the story is so askew that it leaves the audience not caring about what happens to him. The movie tries to make you feel sympathetic for its lead, but it just doesn’t work. It’s not Merritt’s fault. It wouldn’t have worked with anybody with Demange as the director. Not even the super-talented McConaughey could rescue this movie from mediocrity.
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Papillon (2018)
Had I truly known the plot of the 1973 original, I don’t think there is any way I would have gone my entire adult life without seeing Franklin J. Schaffner’s cult classic Papillon. With that information stated, I am glad I never saw the original before watching Michael Noer’s (Nordvest (Northwest) remake of the same title. I went into the film fresh, with no expectations. Nor did I know anything about the story other than it was a prison movie. But after watching just 30 seconds of the trailer and understanding that prison backdrops are often the set of some of my favorite movies, I knew I would see the film and that I would see it in the theatres.
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Over seven years into my movie review website and BlacKkKlansman, this is the first Spike Lee-directed movie I’m reviewing. I realized this when I checked his category and saw that he wasn’t on my list. It certainly isn’t because I don’t enjoy a good Spike Lee movie. It’s more than one of my first 370+ reviews; more than 300 have been since 2010. And while Lee has certainly directed many films since 2010, I haven’t heard of nearly any of them. I did see (and enjoy) 2013’s Oldboy and am pretty surprised I did not write a review on it. It is a movie that I will go back and watch again and review. However, Lee is better known for the movies he directed over a 15-20-year period, starting with 1989’s Do the Right Thing and ending with 2006’s Inside Man. Shockingly, he does not have a Best Director Academy Award nomination to his credit and only has one actual nomination (as a screenwriter for Do The Right Thing). While Lee isn’t a Steven Spielberg, he has directed many memorable movies that people can immediately roll out of their mouths.
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (2018)
What a year for Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line, Her) will have. With four movies set for release in 2018, Phoenix is an early favorite for a Best Actor Academy Award for the critically acclaimed and still under-appreciated You Were Never Really Here. Say what you want about that movie if you’ve seen it, but you can’t knock on his amazingly even performance. The highly anticipated The Sisters Brothers (fall release) has also received some early Oscar buzz. As good as he was in You Were Never Really Here and as good as he probably will be in The Sisters Brothers, his performance of the year will be as John Callahan, the quadriplegic cartoon artist in the biopic Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, a movie that many moviegoers will forget because of its title, but not because of its story or the performances of its lead. I was skeptical of the title and the trailer because you never know if a Phoenix movie will be great or terrible. But I trust director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester). I felt invested in the story and the characters. It reminded me a lot of The End of the Tour, a movie which, admittedly, I enjoyed slightly more than Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. But it had that same sort of vibe with me.
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