flicklover

Amadeus is the type of film that is not really made these days. A costume drama that is leaving, thrilling, funny and dramatic. It is based on.tbe Broadway musical of the same name written by Peter Shaffer. It was directed by Milos Forman from a script written Peter Shaffer. The film imagines a rivalry between two of Vienna composers of the 18th century. The composers are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. Mozart was a musical prodigy since childhood. Salieri is not nearly as well known. The film focuses mostly on Salieri's professional envy of Mozart's genius. Mozart is played by Tom Hulce. He is great as Mozart. He is funny exentric and troubled as the musical genius. But as great as Hulce is the film belongs to F. Murray Abraham as Salieri. His Salieri is presented as an old man, narrating the film from an insane asylum where he was committed after trying to kill himself. He tells his story to a priest who offers to hear his confession. He tells the story of how much he loved to write music but he felts inferior to Mozart. He's a jealous man..Even though Salieri has a certain amount of professional success he seems to be the only person who can see Mozart's genius. The film is a costume framldrana but, as with many of these types of films it's never boring. The music, the costumes and set design and especially the cinematography in this film are spectacular.

It is one of the best films about how music is created.

A masterpiece....

Grade: A.

When I first saw the trailer for Better Man I had no real desire to see it. It was about the life of Robbie Williams, a pop artist I know but have never really liked. So it wasn't a film I was going to actively seek out to see. But after seeing some pretty good initial reviews I decided to give it a chance.

Of course from the trailer Robbie Williams is played by a CGI animated chimpanzee. It seemed really weird to me but I thought that this would either work or completely crash and burn. The musical biography sub genre has been very popular lately and they are pretty similar in structure but this film's premise of showing Robbie as a chimp is definitely a strange choice. But as Robbie says in his narration, he felt he was less evolved than others so his being a chimp is really just how he sees himself. No one in the film says a thing about his appearance so the choice really works as a state of mind choice for Robbie.

The film deals with his early life with his family. Especially his desire to be and please his father which has dreams of being an entertainer. Most of the film deals with Robbie's desire fur stardom. Really his desire to be acknowledged by his father left his family. He is hurt by his father's absence but as he grows up he is obsessed with being famous. The film shows his joining a boy band and their popularity. Then he goes off to try to succeed as a solo artist. It has many of the beats in other biopics. The russ, the partying and drug use. The fall and eventual rehabilitation. What makes Better Man different that other of this type of film other than Robbie appearing as a chimp is the humor and energy the film has. It is partly a musical. There are multiple musical scenes that are really well done and entertaining. The film is directed with great energy by Michael Gracey. The director of The Greatest Showman. A very entertaining musical. I can see why he was chosen to direct this film.

Overall I was surprised how much I liked this film. It is a little long but moves quickly so it's never boring. And even though it covers ground that other films of this kind have done it does it in a fresh way.

Grade: B+

Angel Studios has had a pretty good run for the last couple of years. They've made some solid films that do not get enough respect because they are dismissed or mocked by movie reviewers and the media because the studio makes faith based films. That is unfair.

This film deals with the aftermath of a nuclear attack on Los Angeles and people are in the streets panicking and fighting for survival. Neal McDonough plays Ian Ross. A well to do preppee who has what looks like a fortress in the mountains. He has trained people to protect his home but hires some security experts to help. The film takes.place mostly in the "homestead". People come to the gate and ask that Ian and his family let them in because they are looking to survive. The film supposedly deals with the dilens of protecting your family or having a sense of community. . But it is so so superficial that there is no true tension or drama. The performances range from average to horrible. There is a message The films wants to put forward but the execution of the drama is so bad that I didn't really care. The film looks ok but the F/X and action scenes look painfully cheap. This film belonged on TV. Not in a movie theater. I understand that Angel doesn't make huge budgeted films but this the first one where I felt it looked cheap at times. All of the hood intentions of whatever message the film wanted to present is lost in horrible execution.

The worst part of this film is that it's actually a pilot for a series that will stream on Angel Studio's streaming service!!! I hated that the film ends with a trailer for the series. I felt like Angel nated and switched the audience!!! I know that ties ins are the norm today but this isn't an existing IP with legions of fans to make do this. I have no interest in watching the series.

The run of solid films ends with Homestead. I had decent hopes for this film but I would say it's their worst film they've released. And the fact that it was marketing for the streaming series made me dislike it even more....

Grade: D-