Entertaining, engrossing, and educational, it’s hard not to leave James Mangold’s (3:10 to Yuma, Ford v Ferrari) A Complete Unknown disappointed. While many will call it a paint-by-numbers musical biopic (which is completely justified), it does three things that recent films, such as Bob Marley: One Love, Rocketman (Elton John), Back to Black (Amy Winehouse), Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, and Elvis couldn’t do. It held my interest throughout its 140-minute runtime. It implored me to read Bob Dylan’s Wikipedia page. It led to an interest in looking up the songs performed in the film that I had not heard before. The musical biopic genre has been bad for nearly 20 years (Bohemian Rhapsody and Straight Outta Compton are outliers). A Complete Unknown feels like a companion piece to two fabulous turn-of-the-century musical biopics with terrific lead performances in 2004’s Ray (Jaime Foxx as Ray Charles) and Walk the Line (Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash). Each film landed the lead performer an Oscar nomination, including a win for Foxx.
Category Archives: Year of Release
Sommersby (1993)
My first viewing of Jon Amiel’s (Entrapment, Copycat) Sommersby was when I was 17. I liked the story, was intrigued by the slow unraveling mystery, and ate up the sentimentality created by Richard Gere (Pretty Woman, The Mothman Prophecies) and Jodie Foster (Panic Room, The Silence of the Lambs). Had I reviewed the film in 1993, I likely would have given it an A-. As I watched the movie most recently, some 30 years later, I was impressed by how well it once again grabbed and held my interest. Much of that was trying to spot each clue that connected the start and end, which rewatches allow. However, as simple as the story was, I fell victim to Jack Summerset’s (Gere) six-year return to Laurel (Foster) following the U.S. Civil War.
Juror #2 (2024)
While viewing Clint Eastwood’s (Sully, American Sniper) thrilling court drama Juror #2, my mind kept wandering back to an unnerving thought. There was a good chance that many would go without ever knowing about this film, let alone watching it. Juror #2 had a minimal theatrical run before going straight to streaming. The reason for having a theatrical run at all was so that it could be eligible for any end-of-year awards. Eastwood is one of the greatest directors of all time. There is something about a critically and audience-acclaimed film such an esteemed director not receiving a wide release that doesn’t sit right.
Woman of the Hour (2023)
In her directorial debut, Anna Kendrick (Alice, Darling, Up in the Air) displays a knack for her work behind the camera, rivaling her ability to perform in front of it. Her insights into the powerful, disturbing, and thought-provoking film Woman of the Hour, a film about the murders committed by Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto – Lady Bird, Don’t Breathe), a serial killer who appeared on a 1978 episode of “The Dating Game” in the middle of his killing spree years.
The Substance (2024)
Stimulating, combustible, nauseating, and repulsive are all perfect adjectives to describe director, writer, co-producer, and co-editor Coralie Fargeat’s (Revenge) explorative and provocative The Substance. This film doesn’t just knock on the door of critiques of the societal obsession with youth and beauty but blows off its shutters. The Substance offers no subtlety in its themes. This film is designed to make its audiences feel as squeamish as the entertainment industry’s treatment of women, particularly older women. The impossible beauty standards and society’s preoccupation with youth (particularly young, attractive women) are nothing new. Fargeat meticulously brings this to the forefront and apologizes for nothing. Nor should she.