I felt trepidation before entering Baz Luhrmann’s epic biopic, Elvis. Luhrmann is not known for subtle filmmaking. After the first 10 minutes of a movie that is 20 minutes shy of three hours, I was already feeling bludgeoned into submission by the relentless editing, full-on visuals and deafening soundtrack. Then something happened. A moment in…
Tag: biopic
Respect
Director: Liesl Tommy Starring: Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Audra McDonald, Marlon Wayans, Tituss Burgess, Marc Maron, Kimberley Scott, Mary J. Bligh Written by: (also story) Tracey Scott Wilson and (story) Callie Khouri Running Time: 145 mins Cert: 12A Release date: 10th September 2021 Biopics of legends in music are a hard thing to pull off….
Dream Horse
Director: Euros Lyn Starring: Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, Owen Teale, Nicholas Farrell, Joanna Page, Siân Phillips, Peter Davison Written by: Neil McKay Running Time: 113 mins Cert: PG Release date: 4th June 2021 For years, British cinema was a staple for costume dramas and period pieces. But, since the late 90s, we have found that…
The Mauritanian
Director: Kevin Macdonald Starring: Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch, Shailene Woodley, Zachary Levi Written by: Rory Haines, Sohrab Noshirvani, (and screen story) M.B. Traven, (based upon the book “Guantánamo Diary”) Mohamedou Ould Slahi and Larry Siems Running Time: 129 mins Cert: 15 Release date: 2nd April 2021 Each year a theme seems to run…
The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Director: Lee Daniels Starring: Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund, Natasha Lyonne, Leslie Jordan, Miss Lawrence, Erik LaRay Harvey Written by: Suzan-Lori Parks and (based on the book “Chasing The Scream”) Johann Hari Running Time: 130 mins Cert: 15 Release date: 27th February 2021 There have been hundreds of biopics about singers. Most are depressing…
Dark Waters
Director: Todd Haynes Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Pullman, Bill Camp, Victor Garber, Mare Winningham, William Jackson Harper, Louisa Krause Written by: Mario Correa, Matthew Michael Carnahan and (based on The New York Times magazine article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” ) Nathaniel Rich Running Time: 126 mins Cert: 12A…
A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood
Director: Marielle Heller Starring: Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Chris Cooper, Susan Kelechi Watson, Maryann Plunkett. Enrico Colantoni, Christine Lahti, Wendy Makkena Written by: Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster and (inspired by: the article “Can You Say… Hero?” by [the November 1998 Esquire Magazine article]) Tom Junod Running Time: 109 mins Cert: PG Release date: 31st January…
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood Starring: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Kathy Bates, John Hamm, Nina Arianda, Ian Gomez, Charles Green, Marc Farley Written by: Billy Ray, (based on the article) Marie Brenner, (based on the book) Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen Running Time: 131 mins Cert: 15 Release date: 31st January 2020 Clint Eastwood…
Judy
Director: Rupert Goold Starring: Renee Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, Michal Gambon, Royce Pierreson, Andy Nyman, Darci Shaw Written by: Tom Edge and (based on the stage play “End of the Rainbow”) Peter Quilter Running Time: 118 mins Cert: 12A Release date: 2nd October 2019 You can tell we are heading into the…
Blinded By The Light
Director: Gurinder Chadha Starring: Viveik Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Ganatra, Aaron Phagura, Dean-Charles Chapman, Nell Williams, Nikita Mehta, Hayley Atwell, Rob Brydon Written by: Paul Mayeda Berges, Gurinder Chadha, Sarfraz Manzoor and (inspired by the words and music) Bruce Springsteen Running Time: 117 mins Cert: 12A Release date: 9th August 2019 Gurinder Chadha is one…
The Current War
Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Katherine Waterston, Tom Holland, Nicholas Hoult, Tuppence Middleton, Matthew Macfadyen, Damien Molony Written by: Michael Mitnick Running Time: 107 mins Cert: 12A Release date: 26th July 2019 The Current War is a film about electricity and not about a current war. Possibly not the most exciting subject matter…
Rocketman
Director: Dexter Fletcher Starring: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard, Gemma Jones, Stephen Graham, Steven Mackintosh, Tom Bennett, Tate Donovan Written by: Lee Hall Running Time: 121 mins Cert: 15 Release date: 22nd May 2019 Coming off the tailcoats of Bohemian Rhapsody, a film that didn’t work for me, now comes Rocketman,…
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