Bob Marley: One Love Movie Review︱Movie
Critics Be Quiet! Bob Marley: One Love Is Good
By JackOnReality
Bob Marley: One Love is pretty much the first big movie of the year (no, Madame Web is not a big movie). Naturally, it received a lot of attention. Unfortunately, most of that attention was negative thanks to fussy critics. The film has a 43% Rotten Tomatoes Critics score, a 6.6/10 IMDb score, and a 43% Metacritic score. This contrasts the reactions of audiences, who love the film. One Love has a 93% audience score. So, enough of the well-tailored introduction, the question on everyone's minds is, "What does Mr. Reality think about the film?" Well, I side with audiences on this one. Bob Marley: One Love is a great film.
First of all, I need to praise the cast. Kingsley Ben-Adir got as close to capturing Marley's character as humanly possible. That's no easy feat considering the fact that Marley's persona is one of the most well-known ever. But Ben-Adir did an excellent job of encapsulating Marley's energy and charisma. There were several times when I felt I was watching the real Bob Marley. The rest of the cast was pretty much perfect. Lashana Lynch seemed a little shaky at first as Rita Marley, but she quickly grew into the role. She was absolutely brilliant, and her character was very well-used by the writers. Rita brought Bob back down to Earth right when he needed it most.
That brings me to the writers themselves. This is one of the few movies of this time period that I can confidently say had great writing. The dialogue was smart and concise, and there were rarely any cheesy, long speeches or anything similar. The storytelling was very well done. I loved how the writers did not try to tell Marley's entire life story, but focused on one pivotal point in his career. The film used several flashbacks to explain Marley's life until then. In one, Marley was chased by his angry father through a flaming field. The adult Marley could never shake this harrowing memory and the frustration that came with it. But by the end of the film, Marley re-created the memory. He placed the Ethiopian crown prince in the place of his dad, a sign that he had overcome the burdens of his past. That is simply a beautiful and intelligent way to represent Marley's character arc. This film truly does Marley justice.
One thing I've heard most critics say about this film is that it isn't original enough. That's actually a fair point to make. This film has the same feel of a lot of other biopics. But I think Marley's unique character, and the movie's accurate reflection of it, is enough to separate this film from others of the same genre. If this movie is successful at the box office, I think it might change what's hot in Hollywood. An Amy Winehouse biopic is coming later this year, and Sony has announced four Beatles films-one about each member-to be released in 2027. Perhaps we are witnessing the rise of the musician biopic. And if Bob Marley: One Love is anything to go by, I don't have a problem with that.
American Fiction Movie Review︱Movie
American Fiction Is Just What We Need Right Now
By JackOnReality
The world has been consumed by ridiculous censorship and new stereotypes that have risen from a battle against old stereotypes. You can't do anything that goes against what certain people-executives, activists, etc.- think is right. But there will always be rebels. American Fiction is an example of those rebels coming together to criticize what, according to our self-appointed intellectual rulers, shall not be criticized. Directed by Cord Jefferson and starring Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction is a brilliant, hilarious satirical film.
American Fiction tells the story of Thelonious "Monk" Ellison, a struggling Black author and professor. He writes all sorts of innovative stories, but no one buys his books. Instead, readers flock towards books that use all the old "Black stories": Black person gets shot by police, Black person becomes drug dealer, Black person finds his real father, etc. When Ellison sees Sintara Golden (played by Issa Rae), a fellow African American author, become extremely successful by writing one of those "Black stories," he decides to test the entertainment industry's silliness. He writes his own "Black story" under the pseudonym of Stagg R. Leigh. Monk is horrified to discover that people adore his book.
This film is incredibly well-written. It seems writers have forgotten how to write films that let viewers decide how they feel about the movie. Instead of telling us how to feel, American Fiction provides several different viewpoints, and lets us, the viewers, decide what we think. That's a beautiful thing in itself. American Fiction is so smart, too. It sounds like a boring praise, but it's true. This film is an intellectual masterpiece. I will never forget the scene when Monk confronts Golden, and asks her how her book is different to Leigh's. Monk says, "I see so much more potential in African Americans," to which Golden replies, "Potential is what you say when you don't like what's in front of you." This little interaction is genius.
This film isn't all serious and businesslike, though. Its commentary on today's society is hilarious. The film is also extremely emotional. Monk's family life is very sad, and to see Monk attempt to balance a mother with Alzheimer's, a rebellious brother, a new girlfriend, and his book's fame is heart-rending at times. Jeffrey Wright is great as Thelonious Monk. He perfectly captures every element of the character; the frustration, the surprise, everything. Sterling Brown deserves a shout-out as Clifford Ellison, Monk's brother. Clifford only recently announced that he was gay, and struggles with the death of his beloved sister. Brown reveals the sense that Clifford is masking his devastation and sadness under silliness. It's wonderful to watch. All in all, American Fiction is a brilliant film. And it's just what we need right now.
Pinocchio︱Movie
The Real Boy and the Real World
The Psalmist
⚠️| Warning - Spoilers Ahead!!!
You wouldn’t expect a beloved kid’s story such as Pinocchio to be tied to a time in history. But Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio depicts a much darker and relatively realistic version of the story. Del Toro’s Pinocchio includes more “biblically accurate” angels and creatures, and Guillermo del Toro bases this whole remake on the Italian experience of the Second World War.
The movie starts off with Geppetto hanging out with his son, and they work on a wooden sculpture of Jesus Christ for the local church. They are finishing off the project late at night, and enemy pilots bomb the little rural Italian town. Geppetto has already left the building when he notices the projectile. He hurries his son Carlos but it is too late, and the building is blown to ashes. Geppetto is grief stricken, gets drunk and sour, and this kicks off the movie.
Geppetto builds Pinocchio, and a fantastical blue fairy gives Pinocchio life. After Pinocchio is given life, he gets in a load of trouble with a circus, just like in the old version, and is shortly after killed by a moving truck. Here is where we learn that Pinocchio is immortal, and that every time he dies, he stays dead for an hour longer. When learning this, the general of the Italian army wanted to put him in the youth division of the army, seeing his great potential. Throughout the movie, he even has a short encounter with Benito Mussolini.
This film won an Oscar for best Animated Feature. This is not only a family movie, but contains various messages and lessons, and is packed with historical content. This remake did not simply aim to make the old movie look better with our new tools and technology, but Guillermo re-imagines the story, and projects it with a new light.
