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Review by Camden Ferrell  The Munich massacre was a terrorist threat that occurred during the 1972 Olympics in Germany, their first time hosting since the fall of the Nazi Party, and it was an event that shocked the world. September 5 is a new movie from director Tim Fehlbaum that aims to relay the events of that day from the perspective of the broadcasting team in charge of reporting on this event. Having its premiere at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, this is a historical drama that is gripping more times than not despite feeling overly conventional in its execution. The crew for ABC Sports went to work that day expecting another day of Olympics activities and festivities. However, nothing could prepare them for the terrorist attack and subsequent hostage situation that occurred in the same city, a situation they had the obligation of reporting on. It’s such a memorable global event, especially from a media perspective, so it’s an interesting prospect to get a glimpse into how these events were handled by this broadcasting team. Despite being written by Fehlbaum, Moritz Binder, and Alex David, a team that has a relatively limited body of work in feature film writing, this script is tightly paced and serves as a great driving force behind the narrative. The dialogue was well-written, the narrative beats were steady and earned, and it gave the actors plenty of material to work with in their own unique ways. It was accessible enough for younger audiences who might not be aware of these events, but it also prevented itself from becoming overly expositional.  While the writing is solid throughout, one must also acknowledge the wonderful efforts of the cast who brought it to life. Led by Peter Sarsgaard and John Magaro, they’re able to take the material and make it engaging to watch on screen. They seem to understand the stakes and convey that to the audience in tangible ways. Leonie Benesch was also a delight to see in a supporting role especially after first being exposed to her in last year’s The Teachers’ Lounge.
Even though I have a lot of positive things to say about this movie, I do admit it feels super safe in its execution throughout. It doesn’t take any ballsy narrative swings or any kind of artistic risks. It plays out just as one would expect which makes this feel like an exceptional cable TV movie more than a possible awards contender this year. September 5 will be a gripping watch regardless of the level of knowledge about the Munich massacres. Even knowing how it all ends, audiences will still feel engrossed by the engaging script and extremely talented actors. It gives you exactly what you expect, nothing more, nothing less. Whether or not that’s a good thing is up to you. September 5 is in theaters January 17. Rating: 4/5
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Review by Adam Donato  One Of Them Days is one of the first releases of the new year and starts us off with a laugh. This is Keke Palmer’s first leading role on screen since her success in Nope. She is coupled with popular artist SZA as two best friends who need to regain their rent money by the end of the day. Helmed by first time director Lawrence Lamont and first time writer Syreeta Singleton, can this comedy survive on the chemistry of these two popular leading ladies? Keke Palmer has more personality in her pinky than most actresses have in their whole body. That includes SZA, who is not bad in the movie, but the writing for the character isn’t doing her any favors. She’s majorly unlikable and annoyingly foolish. For someone who doesn’t regularly act, this was not a failure of a performance though. She has good enough chemistry with Keke Palmer to keep this buddy comedy afloat. Palmer doesn’t need much help. There’s so many laughs gotten from her just messing around. The way she delivers her lines and the energy she brings to every scene is magnetic. It helps that most of the central characters are very attractive and this movie loves to take every opportunity to capitalize on that. This is a horned up comedy to the bone.  The narrative of the film gives a clear timeline and is fraught with comedic opportunities. All their attempts to acquire more money and to stay out of trouble are very funny. The film often relies on cheap, over the top slapstick comedy. Character getting hurt in some outlandish and fake looking way. These aren’t as funny as the banter between the characters, but it’s enough to make this day seem like a wild ride. The story threads are wrapped up in similarly unconvincing ways and leaves off feeling too convenient. The film lives and dies on the backs of the bond between these two best friends. The quality of the film does not inspire me to watch more from the first time writer and director, unless they are coupled with inspiring talent.
Turns out the pairing of Palmer and SZA is enough to satisfy audiences. The whole screening was hooting and hollering throughout. One Of Them Days certainly accomplishes its goal of being a fun, crazy and raunchy comedy. Palmer should continue to thrive when it comes to landing more lead roles. Hopefully SZA can garner some more box office attention with her music stans. Check this one out in theaters this January for some lighter laughs. One of Them Days will be in theaters on January 17. Rating: 3/5 Review by Jonathan Berk  (from left) Charlotte (Julia Garner), Blake (Christopher Abbott) and Ginger (Matilda Firth) in Wolf Man, directed by Leigh Whannell. There are plenty of werewolf movies at this point, and the lore behind the creature has shifted in multiple ways. Universal brought us the monster in the 1941 film The Wolf Man, which has since become a major element of its stable of monsters. After several failed attempts at rebooting the Universal Monsters – which concluded with The Mummy – Blumhouse and writer-director Leigh Whannell's Invisible Man finally found a formula that worked. Thus, the second entry, Wolf Man, had a lot of hype around it. While it is by no means the trash that Blumhouse is known to drop in January, it doesn't live up to the quality of The Invisible Man or many of the werewolf movies that came before it. Blake (Christopher Abbott) finally gets closure when a letter confirms that his estranged father has been declared dead after going missing in the Oregon woods. In an effort to fix his marital problems and tighten his family bonds, Blake suggests that Charlotte (Julia Garner) and their daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) travel to his childhood farmhouse in rural Oregon. What begins as a potentially relaxing getaway from the big city quickly sours as the family is attacked by an unseen animal, and is forced to barricade themselves in the home for what could be the last night of their lives. The script by Whannell and Corbett Tuck is admirable for attempting to craft a character-centered story. Abbott and Garner give tremendous performances that help carry the emotional weight of the narrative. The problem is that the script is a little weak in terms of logic and dialogue. There is a lot of expository dialogue that almost feels like the characters are simply reading stage directions, as it is so blunt in its messaging. Even the idea that their marriage is on the rocks is simply told to us in an awkward scene before their trip to the farmhouse. It would have been fairly easy to suggest that their relationship was in jeopardy without having an awkward conversation. There is no visible evidence of it other than this kind of generic argument followed by his suggestion that they leave town. Their relationship status also doesn't feel necessary. The payoff of this setup element never quite hits in a way that makes sense of its inclusion in the story.  (from left) Ginger (Matilda Firth) and Blake (Christopher Abbott) in Wolf Man, directed by Leigh Whannell. Firth and Abbott also have great chemistry. You believe their father-daughter connection, and that helps make many of the scenes pay off. Unfortunately, the film also features one of the clunkiest line deliveries one could imagine, punching audiences in the face with the theme so it would be impossible to miss. Other than that line feeling so painfully on the nose, it also raises the issue of the choice to have it in a werewolf tale.
The lore of werewolves varies from film to film and story to story. However, the reason the story has existed so long is the visceral nature of our inner beasts breaking out and running amok. The metaphor behind that transformation has taken on a variety of forms — from puberty, as in Teen Wolf and Ginger Snaps, to the emergence of the id, as in An American Werewolf in London or Wolf. In this instance, the transformation component of the tale doesn't feel as focused as many others. There is a reason, but it feels underdeveloped in comparison to other versions. Much of the movie feels like a series of brainstorming concepts that never quite got worked through to their conclusion. Everything that is set up gets some kind of payoff, but it often feels like it takes major leaps to get there. The pacing of the film helps cover up some of these gaps as it rushes you to the next beat — but looking back, it is easy to notice how rushed certain elements feel. Despite those story hiccups, the tension and overall feel of the film manage to help it limp to an overall satisfying experience. The cast and the world they inhabit are compelling. Some innovative POV shifts play on the werewolf mythology in interesting ways which also help set it apart from previous iterations of the story. Rarely do we get to experience the world through the perspective of the werewolf, and it is used to great effect here. It doesn't do a great job of handling the specific rules for this version, but the ones that are established are at least maintained. Wolf Man is a mostly entertaining and watchable film for a January release. Yet, it doesn't deliver the same impressive quality as Invisible Man. Thus, it's hard not to feel a little disappointed. For every original element in this film, there are a few generic horror tropes that ultimately hurt the overall experience. If the actors weren't capable of carrying the weak script with their performances, the film would likely not work at all. Wolf Man is in theaters on January 17. Rating: 3/5 Review by Daniel Lima  For forty years, Donnie Yen has been one of the brightest action movie stars, shining in period wuxia martial arts epics and especially in hard boiled contemporary crime thrillers. In recent years, he has parlayed that into making Hong Kong action films the likes of which rarely see the light of day post-handover. Though his latest directorial effort The Prosecutor does feel limited by the constraints imposed by mainland China, it is still an effective thriller that boasts all the impressive action you’d hope for. Yen plays a police officer who, frustrated by seeing his work stymied by ineffective prosecutors, decides to become one himself. His very first case involves a young man coerced into taking part of a drug smuggling ring, and as he strives to punish the true culprits, he finds himself up against powerful forces willing to exploit every loophole and blind spot in the glorious criminal justice system of the People’s Republic of China. Will these institutions prove themselves capable of withstanding these subversive elements? Can our heroic representative of CCP authority make right what went wrong? Might he get into a lot of big, intricate gunfights and brawls in order to do it? Let’s get it out of the way: the Hong Kong film industry is now the Chinese film industry, and that means paying lip service to the values that the Chinese Communist Party want reflected in the media they produce. That means the heroes must lack any flaws beyond “works too hard”, and the villains lack any redeeming qualities… or interesting qualities. Admitting that the courts are fallible can only go so far, with blame being laid not at the institution’s basic structure, but on nefarious, evil individuals outside of it. And people who use drugs? Utter filth, of course (sexual harassment accusations seem okay however, considering Bey Logan is credited as a post-production supervisor). Perhaps toeing the party line would be less aggravating if they were promoting land reform; here, it’s almost indistinguishable from mainstream Western copaganda like Law & Order.  There are plenty of action movies with disagreeable politics that at least express those in such a dynamic, snappy way that even the scenes without any fighting are engaging. The Prosecutor is not one of them. The film drags throughout its two-hour runtime, filling most of it with exposition and practically none with either character work or procedural detail. The case itself is hardly riveting in its own right, but actually caring about the people involved or getting into the details of how the modern Hong Kong legal system works might liven things up. The cast is decent, particularly the industry vets like Kent Cheng and Lau Kong, but they have little to work with in a story that moves like molasses. Unfortunately, this is one of those action movies where you’re only here for the fights.
Fortunately, the Donnie Yen Action Team is at this point a well-oiled machine; I don’t know that Kenji Tanagaki and Takahito Ôuchi could deliver a bad set piece if they wanted to. Donnie and his crew pioneered the use of mixed martial arts in action choreography decades ago with Flash Point, and the fights here switch between striking and grappling with characteristic fluidity. Each one feels wholly distinct in both setting and challenge: a high-octane police raid, a rooftop club standoff with dozens of foes, a showdown in the close confines of a metro train. Each scene tells a story of its own, incorporating the environment and a changing landscape to keep things from getting stale. While this may lack for the more fanciful flavor of Tanagaki’s work on Twilight of the Warriors or the Rurouni Kenshin films, there is a polish and scale to the action that grants the fisticuffs a weight that evades smaller productions. With that said, does this rank among the best of Yen’s oeuvre? Hardly. Time comes for us all, and a life spent undergoing tremendous amounts of physical punishment for the sake of our entertainment means Donnie isn’t quite as capable as he once was. Hard to begrudge him going a bit easier in his 60’s, and the choreography and camera work go a long way in making a legible, exciting action scene that allows his stunt and (what seems to be) digital doubles to take some of the burden. Even so, the use of far-off drone and crane shots, POV oners, off-camera beatdowns, and other ways to visually obscure the action — however artfully done — does create a degree of remove, a break in continuity and flow that creates a ceiling for how enjoyable the fighting is. That, and the fact there’s only four proper action scenes in the entire movie. In spite of all the obvious flaws of The Prosecutor, however, it still offers something that has become exceedingly rare: a big-budget martial arts action thriller made by a team that knows how to deliver solid martial arts action. This would hardly be the first of those that asks the audience to bear through some tedious, shallow drama, and given the alternative, I hope that this is not the last. The fact remains that even in it emaciated state, no one makes an action movie like Hong Kong. The Prosecutor arrives in theaters January 10. Rating: 3.5/5 Review by Adam Donato  Hollywood has a poor history of how it treats women, especially as they get older. Pamela Anderson has gone from the star of Baywatch and Playboy magazine to animal rights activist and award nominee. The Last Showgirl is a tale about an aged dancer who is struggling with her long standing show cancelling and her estranged daughter reentering her life. A role that Pamela almost didn’t have because her agent immediately threw out the script. Luckily, the script got back to Pamela who took the role and subsequently fired her agent. This story gives her a unique opportunity to express herself and say something about a problem in Hollywood that many struggle with. Many probably wrote Pamela Anderson off as a talentless bimbo, but hopefully those people check out her performance here. Anderson is fantastic and the extent that she goes to show her vulnerability is admirable. The role is one that’s both tragic and likable. She’s so proactive as she tries to move forward and make things right. Her performance feels like the opposite of what Demi Moore was able to accomplish in The Substance. Now those are two entirely different movies that are trying to accomplish different things, but they both explore similar themes. While that film explores the subject at large, The Last Showgirl tells a more personal story that’s easier to sympathize with. All of these feelings are on the shoulders of Pamela’s performance as she is well deserving of all the acclaim she’s received.  The supporting cast is stellar all around. One of the biggest complaints of the film would be that it’s not longer to allow time to further flesh out some of these supporting characters. Dave Bautista and Jamie Lee Curtis in particular are nominee worthy. Curtis completely transforms here and it’s clear she was passionate about the project because she signed on the moment she found out Pamela Anderson was leading. Bautista is the most prestigious example of a professional wrestler turned actor. It’s excellent casting as both Curtis and Bautista can certainly draw from experience when it comes to performers who have been chewed up by the system when they pass their physical prime, but have succeeded despite it. Brenda Song and Kiernan Shipka also stand out in their supporting roles as fellow dancers.
It’s a good problem that The Last Showgirl leaves you wanting something more. The film is a very crushing representation of how our society uses women up and spots them out. Anderson’s honest portrayal of this character is deeply affecting and powerful. She’s well deserved of her opportunity to be back in the spotlight. The Last Showgirl will be in theaters on January 10. Rating: 4/5 WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL -- Another Classic Adventure for the Iconic Animated Duo1/2/2025 Review by Camden Ferrell  Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl marks the return of the iconic animated duo in their second feature film ever. Almost 20 years after their last feature, these two lovable characters are back with director Nick Park at the helm once again, this time joined by co-director Merlin Crossingham. Even if this movie can’t live up to the heights of its previous entries, this is still a fun and classic adventure that audiences everywhere are going to love. As with most of their adventures, this movie follows Wallace as he creates an intelligent robotic garden gnome with capabilities to assist with a myriad of household tasks. However, things go awry when an old villain finds a way to use this technology for their own nefarious purposes. The narrative structure is classic for this duo, and it sees them fulfilling their respective niches as characters and makes for a simple and fun adventure. This is the first installment not to be written by Park even though he is credited for the story. Mark Burton’s script stands as one of the best of his career in animation, and it retains a lot of the signature Wallace & Gromit charm that makes their endeavors so endearing. It has great comedy, great action, and great heart which is nothing short of what’s expected of this franchise.  Despite voicing Wallace for the last decade and change, this is the first major installment to feature Ben Whitehead as the titular inventor. He does an amazing job carrying on the legacy of Peter Sallis who helped shape the character with his talented voice work.
One would be remiss if they didn’t commend the dying art of stop-motion animation on display, and as always, this franchise does a phenomenal job with its animation. It’s full of undeniable personality that elevates this film to be a brilliant piece of animated storytelling that will hopefully last for years to come. While there’s so much to love about this movie, I will concede that the one thing that feels odd about this entry is that it feels the slightest bit like a product of its time. One of the core features I love about this franchise is how timeless its stories feel, but I’m not sure if it’s the state of technology we currently live in, but I have hard time believing this will be as timeless as its predecessors. However, this is a minor gripe in a movie that does so much right. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a glorious feature-length return for two animated icons. It may not be mind-blowing or world-ending, it delivers reliable enjoyment and jubilee as expected. It’s a heartfelt and hilarious journey that reminds us of how valuable the medium of stop-motion animation is, and one can only hope we get more of these characters sooner rather than later. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is streaming on Netflix January 3. Rating: 4/5 By Borja Izuzquiza  A title card solely featuring movies centered around boxing would more than likely go into the next day. Each of these would provide the typical jabs, uppercuts, and hooks with the hope that one of the moves will land a much-anticipated knockout. As it were, boxing movies ultimately rely on decisions to be determined a winner. The latest to climb into the quadrilateral, The Fire Inside, delivers a bout worthy of a unanimous decision. After having been the first woman to receive an Academy Award nomination for best cinematography on Mudbound, Rachel Morrison assumes new challenges by stepping into the director’s chair for the boxing film. The trailblazing narrative between her achievements and that of the film’s subject Claressa Shields (Ryan Destiny), run parallel, as both find success in typically male dominated worlds. For Shields, the challenges of “making it” in the sport of boxing where misogyny runs rampant not just within the sport, but also exist because of external expectations, is exacerbated by a difficult comeuppance in Flint, Michigan. With the tutelage of her coach and former boxer Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry), Shields faces the whirlwind of obstacles stacked against her. Additionally, the commentary surrounding the role and expectation for women in sports is loud and resounding. Shields is expected to act nice, dress sexy, and take less money than her male counterparts for equally if not more substantial and successful work. Halfway through, Shields accomplishes what she believes is her ultimate purpose, expecting her fortunes and those of her family to change for the better. At first, the anticipated results do not materialize for Shields, leading her to reassess her position. With this introspection, the film uses these moments to tack on added layers concerning the meaning of success not just in life, but in sport where supposed greatness is measured and recognized by accolades and achievements. Therefore, this perspective makes The Fire Inside one of the few “sports” movies that offers views on the politics and purpose of sport as it relates to female participation.  Morrison’s vision for exploring Shield’s rise is clear. Visually, her cinematography background manifests as her experience undoubtedly influences the already unique work of cinematographer Rina Yang. Shields worldly experiences are exemplified in moments where the gritty Flint surroundings are juxtaposed with the bright and sprawling Beijing skyline. Furthermore, the grittiness is reflected in the boxing matches as well, as they avoid feeling excessively choreographed in favor of an in-your-face brutal approach.
In her direction, Morrison makes the most of Barry Jenkins’ tightly composed script to elevate Shield’s plight. The director adeptly grounds Shield’s experience throughout, helping the struggle resonate deeply. Ryan Destiny also delivers an exceptional portrayal of the athlete as she balances the unrelenting will of a boxer with a firm grasp of her destiny against the helplessness of a teenage girl when faced with the truths of her harsh reality back home. Destiny along with Henry also succeeds in developing a heartfelt and fiery relationship that borders on father/daughter dynamics to drive home the story’s emotional crux. Having found her voice as a cinematographer, Morrison exhibits an already expert directorial output even for a debut. As the bout nears its conclusion it becomes evident that the judge’s decision will ultimately be rendered unnecessary, as The Fire Inside delivers a total knockout. The Fire Inside is in theaters now. Rating: 4/5 Review by Camden Ferrell  Ever since his first feature, The Witch, came out in 2015, writer and director Robert Eggers has carved himself a definitive place in contemporary cinema. His fourth feature, Nosferatu, is his attempt to adapt and reimagine a cinematic classic. Even if it isn’t as strong as his previous works, this movie boasts performances and impressive craft that confirm that Eggers is a modern auteur through and through. Thomas is a man working in real estate when he finds himself tasked with working for enigmatic Count Orlok. Little does he know that his new client is a vampire obsessed with Ellen, Thomas’s wife who is suffering intense and concerning episodes of horror. This is a story that many are familiar with, but Eggers adds more narrative and character depth that makes this quite engaging. In my opinion, Eggers excels more as a director than a writer, and this is no exception. His script is well-written as always, but I find that there are moments where his style usually compensates for a script that might not be the most well-paced. His dialogue is strong as usual, but he continues to suffer from an extremely subtle and forgivable tendency to bloat his script.  It’s no surprise that he continues to get good performances from his actors, but the acting exceeded expectations. Hoult plays Thomas very well, serving as a frightened yet relatable audience surrogate. Bill Skarsgård delivers a transformative performance as Count Orlok that is extremely compelling without being too campy. However, the real star of the show is Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen. She surpassed all expectations with a haunted and extremely physically demanding performance that steals almost every scene she is in. It’s one of the best performances you’ll see this year, and it is a showcase for the potential she has as an actress.
It wouldn’t be a Robert Eggers movie without gorgeous visuals, and this movie delivers. He collaborates with cinematographer Jarin Blaschke yet again to capture this Gothic world with stunning brilliance. Grim but never dull, the visuals elevate the movie to overcome its few shortcomings. Fans of horror and vampires will absolutely love Nosferatu. General audiences might also find much to love about this movie as well. It’s creepy, well-acted, beautiful shot, and incredibly eerie. While it’s my least favorite of Eggers’ movies, it’s hard to deny it’s extremely well-made even if slightly bloated. Nosferatu is in theaters December 25. Rating: 4/5 By Borja Izuzquiza  After almost two hours, The Six Triple Eight concludes with an inspiring coda it wishes the rest of the movie could have lived up to. During these final 10 minutes, archival footage and interviews with the surviving members of the 6888 battalion help the movie reach its goal; shining a light on the remarkable story of 855 black women tasked with an impossible challenge during World War II. Morale for American soldiers was low in 1943. Over 17 million pieces of mail remained undelivered due to changing strategies, yet the importance of making sure these were delivered was essential to provide comfort during difficult times. As such, the six triple eight battalion, composed of black women are assigned the task of sorting and delivering the letters: all 17 million of them in three months. The enormity of the task was designed to have the battalion fail. Led by Major Adams (Kerry Washington) the soldiers had repeatedly asked to be assigned meaningful work in service of the war effort. Rampant racism and misogyny across the armed forces prevented them from doing so. Finally, the 6888 battalion were given the mail sorting task, but not without the challenges of discrimination.  Directed by Tyler Perry, The Six Triple Eight is a well-intentioned if not poorly executed effort. Perry begins his project with a less than enthralling battle scene and continues with a disjointed and uneven focus. The biopic beats are familiar even though the film’s subject merits its own distinct rhythm. Every element vies for generic supremacy over the next, while the accompanying score is saccharine in its intentions to be rousing. Odd lens choices are sporadically used for no obvious purpose as well, ultimately distracting from what are supposed to be meaningful moments. Furthermore, several characters are introduced to the mix filling in stereotypical roles, with most remaining underdeveloped.
Freeing herself from the inconspicuous blend, Lena Derricotte King (Ebony Obsidian) is an exception. Her storyline composes the films’ emotional arc, although the efforts to retrace these are also subpar. Undoubtedly King’s contributions are nothing short of heroic, yet as an example of Perry’s uneven vision, he decides to focus more on her personal struggles and motivations while employing problematic thematic elements to boot. Poor justice is afforded not only to Derricotte, but to the entire battalion, resulting in the belittling of an extraordinary accomplishment. Despite all its missteps, the film ultimately will fulfill its intended purpose. With heavy hitting names like Perry involved and with a streaming home on Netflix, viewers will undoubtedly tune in to The Six Triple Eight and learn about these overlooked and remarkable women. The 6888 battalion was tasked with an almost impossible feat, yet thanks to their unbreakable resolve, these women served their country despite their country not showing the same commitment to them. Ultimately, a good movie is bound to be made concerning their historical accomplishments; they deserve as much. The Six Triple Eight is streaming now on Netflix. Rating: 2/5 Review by Adam Donato  The musical biopic sub genre continues to thrive and will never go extinct. With so many coming out all the time, it’s imperative to make your film stand out. Better Man does nothing but stand out. The film is about a British pop star named Robbie Williams. Never heard of him? Neither have most Americans. The decision to portray Robbie Williams as a computer generated monkey man will definitely catch some people’s attention. There will be people who will only watch the movie because he’s a computer generated monkey. If that’s what it takes to expose people to the music and life of Robbie Williams, then whatever works. Unfortunately, the whole computer generated monkey man shtick doesn’t feel like an essential aspect of adapting this artist. It never fully connects in the narrative or about the person to justify the decision. Then it just feels reduced to relying on a gimmick. A fun gimmick, but a gimmick nonetheless. The narrative of the film is just like any other musical biopic complete with all of the cliches. It’s the type of story that Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is parodying. The monkey man of it all is a welcome distraction from the mundanity. The quality of the computer animation looks very good too. They pulled it off, but some heavier moments are hard to take seriously when it’s happening to a monkey man.  The musical sequences are quite dazzling and absolutely nuts. Michael Gracey had previously directed The Greatest Showman, which was an absolute hit at the box office and the songs still persist on the radio to this day. It’s clear how much Gracey has improved as the musical numbers are so full of life. Two that distinctly stand out are when they’re dancing in the street and the concert fight. You don’t even need to previously be a fan of the artist to enjoy his music. The songs range from fun to soulful and are sure to be new additions to your playlist. The clips of the musical numbers have already been making the rounds on social media and hopefully attract more open minded people to give the film a chance.
Most musical biopics follow the same type of structure, but Better Man does everything it can to differentiate itself from the crowd. It should be encouraged when filmmakers take big swings, even when they don’t fully work out. Similarly to Gracey’s past work, the musical sequences serve better as music videos than part of a movie with a compelling narrative. Robbie Williams’s story may not be remembered, but his personality is sure to shine through. American audiences should give this artist a chance in theaters this holiday season. Better Man will is in select theaters on December 25 before going wide on January 17. Rating: 3/5 |