Other film critics have been remarkably kind to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the biopic about Freddie Mercury, frontman for Queen, for whom the word legendary would have had to be invented if it didn’t exist already. Why the Bryan Singer film hardly deserves praise: 1. It’s a by-the-book biopic, hitting all the predictable spots, erasing any point of contention or lingering on possible painful or ... more >
ARCHIVES
Stale and formulaic “Bohemian Rhapsody” fails to engage
Produced by Bryan Singer, Robert De Niro and Graham King
Rami Malek, Ben Hardy and Mike Myers
Directed by Bryan Singer
TRIBECA FESTIVAL | Noshing with Bob and Jane
It's breakfast-time at the Tribeca Festival
[In keeping with tradition the Tribeca Festival begins with a breakfast organized for journalists, programmers and founders] On the morning of April 18th I showed up at the festival's 92Y building for the launch event. There were about a hundred other reporters and photographers being ushered into a conference room where muffins, danish, various juices and bloody marys (perhaps to help sober up ... more >
Machete
A Pissed Off Mexican Out to Settle a Score
Danny Trejo, Robert DeNiro and Lindsay Lohan
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Every now and then, you just want to watch a ridiculous movie. Not an art-house film, not a huge blockbuster, nothing that involves too much emotion or any mind-bending plot twists. As long as you’re not averse to lots of violence and explosions, Machete is just the film for you. Directed by Robert Rodriguez, a frequent Tarantino collaborator, and newcomer Ethan Maniquis, the film follows ... more >
Tarantino, DeNiro and Vin Diesel
The good, the bad and the ugly
The Good: Martin Scorsese is continuing to make headlines at the Berlin Film Festival while promoting “Shutter Island” and this may actually be bigger than his announcement that he and Robert DeNiro are working on another film together. There is a rumor of a possible “Taxi Driver” reboot or sequel coming and that Lars Von Trier (Dogville, Breaking the Waves) is looking to get in on the action as ... more >