The most dramatic sequences of 2018’s Best Picture, “Green Book,” involved the piano playing of Doctor Don Shirley. In another recent awards winner, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the recreations of Freddy Mercury’s performances proved to be a high point. These sequences, well-rendered by directors Peter Farrelly and Bryan Singer, respectively, are put into the shade of the…
Few documentary subjects are more enigmatic than the life and careers of The Beatles. Few subjects have been spotlighted and discussed to the extent of the band’s effect on world culture, with no shortage of films from 1964’s “A Hard Day’s Night” until the present day. Ben Lewis returns to a well-worn director’s chair to…
There are so many routes that Sidemen: Long Road to Glory could have taken, many of which, indeed, are taken, yet so they are without any one specific focus — other than its characters. Unlike the documentary, the three main characters of this story, the enigmatic Pinetop Perkins, the lively Hubert Sumlin, or the ever-glowing…
For Iranian-born Swiss director Barbet Schroeder, venturing into the picturesque Mediterranean paradise that is Ibiza is something he is familiar with, shooting his 1969 debut film “More” in the country, now famed for its exuberant party life and strong love dedication to the hypnotic epidemic of electronic dance music. It is in this unsuspected concept…
For more than a decade, Edgar Wright has risen to become one the world’s more interesting filmmakers by innovating the action-comedy genre through homage and sharp satire with films like “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz” and “The World’s End.” Now Wright returns to bring his unique spin on the action-thriller genre. His foray, Baby…
It’s hard to believe that Road to Hell is Albert Pyun’s 50th movie, and even harder to believe that he still can’t make a decent film. Originally shot in 2008, it’s surely a labor of love for the micro-budget auteur, although I’m not sure how much love it’s likely to receive beyond the initiated. Heavily…
There are good musical biopics (“Love and Mercy,” “Walk the Line,” “La Bamba,” “Straight Outta Compton”) and there are bad ones (“Jolson Sings Again,” “The Doors,” “Great Balls of Fire!,” “Notorious”), and there are solid, but mediocre presentations like the latest, All Eyez On Me. Directed by Benny Boom (“Next Day Air”), All Eyez On…
