Living Legend Viola Davis (Fences, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) captivates every scene she’s in, regardless of the movie. With as much range as anyone in Hollywood, Davis has earned her share of accolades, amassing four Academy Award nominations in the last 13 years. But she’s never had the opportunity to headline a big-budget movie on her name alone. In Gina Prince-Bythewood’s (Love & Basketball, Beyond the Lights) The Woman King, Davis gets the opportunity to do just that. Davis’s performance could earn her a sixth Oscar nomination (in a very competitive year). The film, filled with epic battle scenes, told an important true story. Ultimately, though, The Woman King failed to live up to my expectations.
Category Archives: 2022
Don’t Worry Darling (2022)
Don’t Worry Darling, Olivia Wilde’s (Booksmart), may have been the most talked-about movie of the year. While the film garnered much buzz, it was the much-publicized dysfunction between some cast members (most notably Wilde and Florence Pugh) and different versions of why Shia LaBeouf exited from his role (a he-said/she-said story from him and Wilde) and how it played out in reputable news outlets, as well as the tabloids and social media. There was much worry that Wilde’s second directorial effort would be known for the hoopla surrounding it rather than the film itself. With a production budget of $35 million (compared to just $6 million for Booksmart), I’m sure Wilde felt considerable pressure for her film to succeed. Despite lukewarm ratings from critics (39% on Rotten Tomatoes), it has resonated with audiences (82%). While not a perfect movie, I was thoroughly engrossed in the setting, the characters, and the story’s direction.
Barbarian (2022)
The most important advice from the various reviews I read about Barbarian, Zach Cregger’s (Miss March) first stab (pun intended) in the horror genre, was to know as little about the film as possible before watching it. As many of the reviewers I respect mention this in the early parts of their reviews, I will do the same. If you need some assurances before making a decision, watch the first part of the trailer. If you have enough data to make a decision, cut off the trailer.
Elvis (2022)
Ray, it is not. Walk the Line, it is not. Straight Out of Compton, it is not. Bohemian Rhapsody it is not. Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis (Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby) is slightly better than the disappointing Rocketman. The highly anticipated Austin Butler-led (Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, The Bling Ring) biopic had lofty expectations, as it was the one the Presley family agreed was the true reckoning of Elvis’s life and legacy. While engaging for its lengthy 159-minute run-time, the film often felt disjointed and needed direction. With its shifting narrative, viewers often wondered if this movie was about Elvis Presley or more about Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks –Captain Phillips, Sully), his deceitful, longtime manager.
Breaking (2022)
Abi Damaris Corbin’s quiet feature debut, Breaking, is a movie that does everything Nick Cassavetes’s disaster John Q failed to do, making $71 million domestically in 2002. Of all the things Denzel Washington has saved in his movies (subways, jets, submarines, locomotive trains), holding up a hospital and forcing a doctor to perform life-saving surgery on his son was, by far, his worst. Unfortunately, Washington’s always-solid performance couldn’t save an absurd script based on a ridiculous premise. The based-on-a-true-story Breaking offers breakout performances by Corbin and the film’s lead, John Boyega (Detroit, The Woman King), most notably recognized for his role as Finn in the latest Star Wars movies.