Hoffa (1992) - Luminous performances in DeVito's great biopic

♥♥♥♥♥

 

A-list star Jack Nicholson with filmmaker/co-star Danny DeVito chewing a cigarette behind him makes up this poster for DeVito's Hoffa

Jimmy Hoffa is an untiring force, when he creates his - later very powerful and lucrative - Teamsters union for truckdrivers in post-war America. But power has a way of corrupting. Or perhaps Hoffa simply didn't shy away from any methods since the outset.

 

Hoffa is written by David Mamet (The Verdict (1982)) and co-produced and directed by the also co-starring great New Jerseyite filmmaker Danny DeVito (Throw Mommy from the Train (1987)). 

Jack Nicholson (Wolf (1994)) is resplendent as the fascinating, faceted title character, and DeVito is also outstanding as his right hand man, (a made up character that's an amalgamation of several people in Hoffa's real-life posse.) The production is splendidly handsome, and Mamet's script is excellent, keeping us engaged as audiences throughout. Hoffa is rich with narrative, and a few stylistic flourishes, of which most of them work really well in what is arguably DeVito's best film as a director.

Hoffa is a relatively open and muscular star biopic, a big time Movie.

 

Related posts:

 

Danny DeVito: Solitary Man (2009) - Forgettable, undistinguished NY egotist dramedy (co-starring)

Anything Else (2003) - Allen's perfect, underrated millennial relationship comedy (co-starring)

Hercules (1997) - Clements and Musker aim for more adult laughs in colorful musical adventure (voice performance)

Get Shorty (1995) - Sonnenfeld's Tinseltown flick is breezy fun (co-starring)

Batman Returns (1992) - Burton gives us the ultimate, Gothic spin on Gotham City and its sinister characters (co-starring) 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - Forman's 1970s gold-rimmed classic (actor)

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 35 mil. $

Box office: 29.3 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.83 times its cost)

[Hoffa was released 25 December (USA) and runs 140 minutes. Mamet was reportedly paid 1 mil. $ to write the script, and Nicholson got 10 mil. $ for his performance. DeVito forewent his own salary and became co-guarantor for the film in order to secure a 50 mil. $ budget, of which reportedly 'just' 35 mil. $ was eventually needed. Shooting took place from February - June 1992 in Pennsylvania, Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, California and in Michigan. The film opened #6 to a 6.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 24.2 mil. $ (82.6 % of the total gross). The film was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Cinematography (Stephen H. Burum (Mission to Mars (2000))), lost to Philippe Rousselot for A River Runs Through It, and Makeup, lost to Bram Stoker's Dracula. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. DeVito returned with Matilda (1996) as a filmmaker, and in Jack the Bear (1993) as an actor. Nicholson returned in Wolf (1994). Hoffa is rotten at 52 % with a 5.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hoffa?

Pollock (2000) - Harris prevails with artist portrait of highest integrity

♥♥♥♥♥

 

A particularly deep-felt bit of critical praise fills up almost half of this poster for Ed Harris' Pollock

The film follows American painter Jackson Pollock as a young artist from New York around the onset of the 2nd World War, his meeting Lee Krasner, their later marriage and his art and downfall.

 

Pollock is written by Barbara Turner and Susan Emshwiller (Ugandan Pollock (2016), both), adapting Jackson Pollock: An American Saga (1989) by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith (Gene Davis (1982), both), and directed by great New-Jerseyite filmmaker, debuting Ed Harris (Westworld (2016-22)), who also stars in the title lead.

Harris emulates Pollock impressively; his intensity, impulsivity, gloom and creativity. And Marcia Gay Harden (Pink Skies Ahead (2020)) is just as resplendent as Krasner. The two have vibrantly strong scenes in Pollock, a completely ravishing portrait of one of the most exciting artist's of the 20th century.

Jeffrey Tambor (Trolls (2016)) and Amy Madigan (Stuck (2017)) are good in supporting roles. The film has a fine score (by Jeff Beal (The Grab (2022))) and a shocking - but authentic - ending.  It is an impressive reconstruction of an artist and his art-making. 

 

Related posts:

Ed Harris: mother! (2017) - Bring a flask with you to this one! (actor)

Gravity (2013) or, Survival in Space: The Ride (voice actor) 

Game Change (2012, TV movie) - Moore and Co. shimmer in Roach's dynamite political retelling (co-star)

Man on a Ledge (2012) - Neutered stars in insipid thriller (co-star)

Virginia/What's Wrong With Virginia? (2010) or, A Woman's Struggle (co-star)

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
2008 in films - according to Film Excess

Appaloosa (2008) - Best traditional American western in 16 years (co-writer/co-producer/director/co-star) 

Cleaner (2008, video) or, Suit-Wearing Papa Cleaner-Man! (co-star) 

Gone Baby Gone (2007) - Difficult decisions await in Affleck's Lehane adaptation crime drama debut (co-star)

A History of Violence (2005) - Cronenberg's powerful rumination of our violence (co-star)  

National Treasure (2004) - Stars shine in Turteltaub's preposterous adventure baloney (actor) 

The Human Stain (2003) - Stellar cast drives Benton's Roth adaptation (actor)

The Hours (2002) - Everything gels in Daldry's phenomenal adaptation (actor) 

Absolute Power (1997) - Eastwood stumbles with low-caliber thriller (co-star)

The Firm (1993) - Pollack and Cruise scored big with 1993's lesser Grisham adaptation (actor)

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) - US theater's second-greatest salesman play fueled by magnetic performers (co-star)

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 6 mil. $

Box office: 10.9 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.81 times its cost)

[Pollock premiered 6 September (Venice Film Festival) and runs 122 minutes. Harris had been working on the idea of making the film since his father had given him the Pollock book due to the fact that he found his soon to strongly resemble the painter. Harden was paid 1 mil. $ for her performance. Shooting took place from April - August 1999 in New York, with a 6-week hiatus in the middle for Harris to gain 30 pounds and grow a beard. The film opened #37 to a 44k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #17 and in 280 theaters (different weeks), grossing 8.5 mil. $ (78 % of the total gross). The film was nominated or 2 Oscars, winning for Best Supporting Actress (Harden) and losing Best Actor (Harris) to Russell Crow in Gladiator. It was also nominated for an Independent Spirit award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Harris returned with Appaloosa (2008); and as an actor he returned in Enemy at the Gates (2001); Harden in Thin Air (2000, TV movie) and From Where I Sit (2000, TV movie) prior to her theatrical return in Gaudi Afternoon (2001). Pollock is certified fresh at 80 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Pollock?

Oppenheimer (2023) - Nolan treats aficionados of history, politics, science - and cinema

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Cillian Murphy as the titular haunted nuclear physicist before his horrific invention on this fiery poster for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer

 

J. Robert Oppenheimer studied nuclear physics in Europe before planting the new scientific discipline in America. With WWII underway and the nuclear race on to create the mightiest bomb the world had ever seen, the US government instructed him to invent and make them said weapon first.

 

Oppenheimer is written, co-produced and directed by English master filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Following (1998)), whose 12th feature it is. It is based on the real life Oppenheimer and the biography American Prometheus (2005) by Kai Bird (The Outlier (2021)) and Martin J. Sherwin (Gambling with Armageddon (2020)).

The film tells the awe-inspiring tale of the creation of the atomic bombs that ravaged Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, effectively ending the last open tangent of the war, forcing the Japanese to surrender. It is focused on the scientific race, the many strong and opinionated minds involved; in the personal costs for Oppenheimer and his family for the 'greater cause', the mammoth undertaking and the haunting and world-changing result of all their efforts. A large portion of the film is also dedicated to understanding the detrimental aftermath of the invention and specifically the way in which the overwhelmingly leftist (Socialist and Communist) scientists became chains around Oppenheimer's feet in the following Cold War era.

Cillian Murphy (The Party (2017)) does a bang-up job as Oppenheimer, appearing emaciated and troubled, apparently lost in the role. Robert Downey Jr. (Wonder Boys (2000)) gives arguably the best performance of his career SPOILER as the chameleon-like admiral Lewis Strauss, a formidable portrayal of a paradoxical, vindictive man. The cast is a very long chain of notable talents, as most every actor in the world today dreams of working with Nolan. Especially worth highlighting are Benny Safdie (Good Time (2017)), Josh Hartnett (Inherit the Viper (2019)) and Tom Conti (StreetDance 2 (2012)) in the very small but pivotal role as Albert Einstein. Excellence is all around, and the film is also a thrilling work from a production standpoint, and the 70 mm IMAX color and B/W (the latter is a first) photography (by Hoyte Van Hoytema (Spectre (2015))) is uniquely cinematic. The film is gorgeous and piercing. 

The story is told in appropriate epic length with only appropriate flourishes, and the perspectives of the bomb in 1945 as well as today reverberate clearly for all who see Oppenheimer. It is a frightful (but great) historical and biographical film.  

 

Related posts:

Christopher Nolan: 2020 in films - according to Film Excess

Tenet (2020) - Nolan blows smoke up your ass 

Top 10: Best UK movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

2017 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
2017 in films - according to Film Excess 
Dunkirk (2017) - Nolan champions cinema with masterful war movie  

Top 10: Best future-set movies
Interstellar (2014) - Nolan heads to space in opulent, exciting epic
2014 in films - according to Film Excess
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) or, Batman and the Storm, Darkness, Anarchy, Evil, Depression
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess  
Inception (2010) - Nolan's best is a grand piece of action sci-fi, perfectly awesome nonsense 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  
2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess
The Dark Knight (2008) - Nolan's best Batman 

The Prestige (2006) - Nolan's overrated magician picture 
Batman Begins (2005) or, Modern, Dark, Smooth Batman 
Memento (2000) - Nolan's overrated amnesia mindfuck   
Following (1998) - Nolan's ineffectual debut

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 100 mil. $

Box office: 400.3 mil. $ and counting

= Too early to say (but already a big hit)

[Oppenheimer premiered 11 July (Paris) and runs 180 minutes. Nolan shopped his Oppenheimer script around to the big Hollywood studios due to his split from Warner Bros. after his anger at their streaming strategy for films during the China Virus pandemic, hurting the release of his Tenet (2020). Universal Pictures gave him an extraordinary deal that he took: A 100 mil. $ budget, another 100 mil. $ for the marketing of the finished film, a 90-120 day exclusive theatrical release 'window', a three week space before and after the film with no films released from the company, and a 20 % first-dollar gross payment. The film's 3 biggest name stars Matt Damon (All the Pretty Horses (2000)), Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt (Jungle Cruise (2021)) all accepted 4 mil. $ salaries and undisclosed back-end percentage deals. Shooting took place from September 2022 - February 2023 in Zurich, Switzerland, New Mexico, California, including in Los Angeles, and in New Jersey. The film's release alongside new offering Barbie inspired a viral social media meme, 'Barbenheimer', which increased interest for both films: Oppenheimer opened #2, behind Barbie, to a 82.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it still ranks #2 in its 2nd weekend and has grossed 174 mil. $ at time of publishing. The film has yet to open in 5 markets in August, including South Korea, Italy and China. IMDb's users have rated the film in at #28 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between Life Is Beautiful (1997) and The Green Mile (1999). Nolan does not have his next film announced yet. Murphy returns in Small Things Like These. Oppenheimer is certified fresh at 94 % with a 8.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Oppenheimer? 

Bamse (2022) - Genz, Berthelsen, Hansen and Co. triumph with terrific, heartwarming biopic

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Recalling the nationally beloved late singer with a large closeup of star Anders W. Berthelsen in character, the poster for Henrik Ruben Genz's Bamse

Flemming 'Bamse' Jørgensen and his band Bamses Venner [Teddy Bear's Friends] experience wild national popularity and a real low with international defeat over the course of several decades, while Bamse comes to terms with his own heritage.

 

Bamse is written by Bo Hr. Hansen (The Art of Crying/Kunsten at Græde i Kor (2006)) and co-writer/director, great Danish filmmaker Henrik Ruben Genz (Someone Like Hodder/En Som Hodder (2003)). The Danish title translates to 'teddy bear', the stage name for real-life singer/entertainer Flemming Jørgensen.

Hansen and Genz have a great grip on the story, SPOILER which is framed as one part a portrait of the musical life with its ups and downs and creations of songs that became major hits in Denmark, (humorous, happy songs of a sensual woman (Vimmersvej [Vimmer's Way]), a married woman seeking more excitement in life (Går Louise til Bal [Does Louise Go to the Ball]), and life and freedom (I en Lille Båd der Gynger [In a Little Boat that Rocks]), and one part a personal quest for paternal recognition and enlightenment as to Jørgensen's parentage as adopted from a poor family to that of a well-to-do company-owner's home as a small boy.

The simple story is told through strong characterizations, first of all from Anders W. Berthelsen (Italian for Beginners/Italiensk for Begyndere (2000)) in a career-best turn as Bamse. The physical transformation, achieved both through Berthelsen's weight-gain and acting and top-notch wig and prosthetics jobs, is incredible. Berthelsen acts with conviction, tremendous singing and the necessary, huge humanity that characterized the lovable teddy bear himself. Johanne Louise Schmidt (DNA (2019, TV-series)) is great as his loyal and loving home backbone, wife Käte; Henrik Birch (Grand Danois (2016, TV-series)) is spot on as Jørgensen's disapproving father; Signe Egholm Olsen (Into the Wild (2007)) is strong as one of Jørgensen's biological siblings; Lars Ranthe (A Funny Man/Dirch (2011)) is wonderful and very funny as the frank manager. And Anna Kristine Kulmback Prahl and Folke Olav Schriver give esteemed performances as Jørgensen's daughter Tine and as Jørgensen as a boy.

Well-produced and very well-told, the story gleams and shines with many very amusing lines and situations and as many or more that are deeply moving, as the film essentially portrays a decent, good man with a lovely family, as he becomes a great man and overcomes difficulties in his background. Don't miss Bamse!

 

Related post:

 

Henrik Ruben Genz: Terribly Happy/Frygtelig Lykkelig (2008) or, A Fix in Southern Jutland

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown, projected 30 mil. DKK, approximately 3.92 mil. $

Box office: Projected 37.3 mil. DKK and counting, approximately 4.87 mil. $ and counting

= Uncertain bit likely a big flop (projected current return of 1.24 times its cost)

[Bamse was released 25 August (Denmark) and runs 92 minutes. The budget is regrettably not made public but is projected at 30 mil. DKK. The film opened #1 in Denmark, where it was #1 for 5 straight weeks, selling 429,496 tickets to date. As the film plays in Biografklub Denmark ['cinema club Denmark'], where the approximately 200,000 members pay only half prize, around 180,000 tickets are projected at a low 55 DKK cost prize, with the rest at 110 DKK, coming to 37.3 mil. DKK gross currently, ranking the film a big flop. The film is not set to release in other markets currently. Genz does not have his next film announced yet. Berthelsen returns in Dansegarderoben (2023, TV-series) and does not have his next theatrical role announced yet. 302 IMDb users have given Bamse a 7.7/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Bamse?

Elvis (2022) - Luhrmann rocks with sensational career-best epic

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Sparkling in gold, burning red and leathery black, Austin Butler looks confident on this poster for Baz Luhrman's Elvis

Coming from a poor upbringing in a black neighborhood in Mississippi, Elvis Presley married country and rhythm and blues into an explosive sound, - explosive also due to the (right) color of his skin, his pelvic convulsions on stage, and the help of his commercially laser-focused manager 'Colonel' Tom Parker.

Elvis is written by Sam Bromell (Hard Chic (2012, short)), Jeremy Doner (The Killing (2011-12)), Craig Pearce (Romeo + Juliet (1996)) and great Australian filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom (1992)).

Luhrmann's abilities with musicals and grandly staged, glamorous, over-the-top material are perfectly matched to the life of the King of Rock 'n Roll here in what is arguably his best film to date. The pizazz and persuasive handle on the subject gets established immediately in the dizzying first 15 minutes, and the powerful grip and magnetism of the film never lets up. Without texts or much narration (we do get an intro by the 'Colonel', who is our initial host into Elvis' life) the images are so lively and vivid in their storytelling, and the style is that of a fever-dream portrait, which only implicitly vouches to us that what is shown is more or less true, - rather a condensed version of the truth. A more sober, quiet version of events wouldn't have been proper for the life of Elvis Presley. Luhrmann has his story and the audience assuredly in his grip throughout Elvis.

Austin Butler (Yoga Hosers (2016)) impresses as the lanky, sexy musician and mama's boy, who (understandably) gets hooked on the wild and intense feelings that he creates on-stage, and Tom Hanks (Punchline (1988)) makes the creepy, deceitful Parker, a fascinating and mysterious character, more palatable than he could have been if still far from sympathetic. It is a rare villain part for Hanks. Luhrmann attracts the very best talents, and everyone in the cast lift their roles commendably. New-comer Alton Mason impresses in a scene as Little Richard. The musical side of the film is astounding, making it near-impossible to stay still in one's seat, as legs, feet, hands, and one's head invariably bops and jangles around to the irresistible rhythms and undying classics that are the delicious sound-carpet for the thrilling biopic. Luhrmann, as he has done before, pushes modern music into his period movie, including rap and hiphop, which works OK in the jungle-fever segregation themed scenes, but jars and sticks out when Kacey Musgraves sings Can't Help Falling in Love.

This is but a small aside for an appropriately epic length wonder of a film with superb cinematography by Mandy Walker (Walk the Talk (2000)) and amazing costumes, hair and makeup. Elvis is a sensational piece of visual storytelling, a brash and fabulous film that needs to be seen on the big screen.

 

Related post:

 

Baz Luhrmann: The Great Gatsby (2013) - Luhrmann exuberance and great stars create thrilling adaptation

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 85 mil. $

Box office: 234.3 mil. $ and counting

= Box office success (has returned 2.75 times its cost to date)

[Elvis premiered 25 May (Cannes Film Festival, out of competition) and runs 159 minutes. The project was announced in 2014. Shooting took place from January 2020 - March 2021 in Australia, a shoot that was prolonged due to the China Virus pandemic. Butler reportedly himself sings Elvis' songs in the early years portrayed in the film, and later the actual Elvis vocals are used. The film opened #1 to a 31.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 3 weekends in the top 5 (#3-#4-#5) and has grossed 123.1 mil. $ to date. Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets to date are the UK with 19.1 mil. $ (8.2 %) and Australia with 18.7 mil. $ (8 %). The film has one announced market yet to open in: Anguilla on 23 December. Both Elvis' ex-wife Priscilla Presley, their daugther Lisa-Marie Presley and grand-daughter, filmmaker Riley Keough have given enthusiastic statements about the film. Luhrmann doesn't have his next film gig announced yet. Butler returns in Masters of the Air (miniseries) and theatrically in Dune: Part Two (2023); Hanks in Pinocchio (2022). Elvis is certified fresh at 78 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Elvis?

Hitchcock (2012) or, When Hitchcock Made Psycho

♥♥♥♥♥

 

A formidable cast assemble on this scarlet red poster full of slanted angles and promises of fine entertainment, - for Sacha Gervasi's Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock, arguably the world's best filmmaker, feels a metal fatigue after his successful thriller North by Northwest (1959), and in an attempt to recapture the experimental freedom of youth again, he throws himself into making a film about the world's most gruesome serial killer, Wisconsinite Ed Gein. 

Hitchcock is written by John J. McLaughlin (Death Collector (1988)), adapting the non-fiction book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho (1990) by Stephen Rebello (Dolls! Dolls! Dolls! (2020)), and directed by great English filmmaker, debuting Sacha Gervasi (Anvil (2008, documentary)).

Somehow I still feel that good old Hitch deserves a more epic treatment for a biopic than this, - but I may be wrong... In any case Hitchcock is darned well-made, and it specifically concerns an inarguably important period in the master's life.

Helen Mirren (The Clearing (2004)) is excellent as Alma Reville, whom this film credits as the capable, rock-solid support at her husband's side through thick and thin, and Anthony Hopkins (A Chorus of Disapproval (1989)) has a late star turn in his remarkable career here. He is expectedly perfect, - in formidable makeup and prosthetics, - as Alfred Hitchcock. Scarlett Johansson (The Spirit (2008)) is delightful as Janet Leigh, and so is Michael Stuhlbarg (Call Me By Your Name (2017)) as Lew Wasserman. Danny Huston (Hotel (2001)) is ideal as a friendly scribe. Danny Elfman (Dumbo (2019)) has spun an appropriately cinematic score.

Hitchcock is a luxurious gift from Hollywood: Funny, sharp, moving (the portrayal of Reville and Hitchcock's marriage) and a captivating, great story. The premiere scene in the end is especially satisfying. In hindsight it feels like Hitch erected a Freudian Gobelin for the unprepared masses with Psycho (1960). Both to him and the good people behind Hitchcock; bravo!

 

Related post:

 

Top 10: Best Hollywood-set movies

Watch a short trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 15 mil. $

Box office: 27 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.8 times its cost)

[Hitchcock premiered 1 November (AFI Fest, US) and runs 98 minutes. Mirren had met Hitchcock and been offered a murder victim part in his penultimate film Frenzy (1972) but had turned it down (and later regretted it.) Development began in 2005, first as a miniseries. Shooting took place from April - June 2012 in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #22 to a 287k $ first weekend in 17 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #13 in 561 theaters and grossed 6 mil. $ (22.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Colombia with 4.9 mil. $ (18.1 %), - but this seems like it must be a mistake, since Colombia is not normally a sizable market, - and Australia with 3.7 mil. $ (13.7 %). The film was nominated for the Best Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar, lost to Les Misérables. It was also nominated for 2 BAFTAs and a Golden Globe, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Gervasi returned with November Criminals (2017). Hopkins returned in RED 2 (2013); Mirren in Phil Spector (2013, TV movie), with a voice performance in Monsters University (2013) and in the flesh in The Audience (2013); Johansson in Don Jon (2013). Hitchcock is fresh at 60 % with a 6.20/10 average rating at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hitchcock?

Gods and Monsters (1998) or, Whale

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Ian McKellen's face in a close-up before a strip of film on this regrettably fold-marked poster for Bill Condon's Gods and Monsters

Great American filmmaker Jimmy Whale's new gardener catches his interest in 1957, when the aging master is troubled by the effects of a heart attack. While he draws, he recalls episodes and highlights from his exciting life.

 

Gods and Monsters is written and directed by great New-Yorker filmmaker Bill Condon (Sister, Sister (1987)), adapting Christopher Bram's (Hold Tight (1988)) Father of Frankenstein (1995), a semi-fictional account of the life of filmmaker James Whale (Frankenstein (1931)).

Condon succeeds in getting a vivid film from this setup about Whale, which could have easily become a too passive, backwards-oriented item. This is avoided with a solid base in Ian McKellen's (Stardust (2007)) brilliant performance as Whale, with competent support from Lynn Redgrave (Shine (1996)) and Brendan Fraser (Blast from the Past (1999)), who are delightful here in each their own way. 

Gods and Monsters serves a sentimental story filled with tenderness and a defense against the very sentimentality from the collapsing master's own sense of personal record. The score by Carter Burwell (Carol (2015)) is terrific, and the film is mighty entertaining. A minor reservation is that it in fleeting moments is too film and studio-like, SPOILER including in the last shot of Fraser, in which he acts as a monster in the rain.

 

Related posts:

 

Bill Condon:  The Greatest Showman (2017) - Brace for an infectious musical show (co-writer)

Dreamgirls (2006) - Rousing star turns in unreal and sentimental musical

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 10 mil. $ 

Box office: 6.4 mil. $ - North America alone

= Uncertain - but likely a big flop

[Gods and Monsters premiered 21 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 105 minutes. Shooting took place in 24 days from June - July 1997 in California. The film opened #19 to a 75k $ first weekend in North America, where it peaked at #17 and in 149 theaters (different weeks), grossing 6.4 mil. $. Regrettably the international gross numbers are not released online. If we assume a likely 13 mil. $ total gross, the film would count as a big flop. It was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning for Best Adapted Screenplay. It lost Best Actor (McKellen) to Roberto Benigni in Life Is Beautiful and in Supporting Actress (Redgrave) to Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love. It also won 1/3 Golden Globe nominations, was nominated for a BAFTA, 3/4 Independent Spirit awards, 3 National Board of Review awards, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Condon returned with The Others (2000, TV-series) and theatrically with Kinsey (2004). McKellen returned in Apt Pupil (1998); Fraser in The Simpsons (1998, TV-series) and theatrically in The Mummy (1999); and Redgrave in White Lies (1998, TV movie) and theatrically in Strike! (1998). Gods and Monsters is certified fresh at 95 % with an 8.50/10 critical average.]

 

What do you think of Gods and Monsters?