My two films this weekend were both enjoyable:
Rotten Tomatoes Box Office My Rating
Reviewers Audiences
Bohemian Rhapsody 62 93 2 B+
Can You Ever Forgive Me? 98 88 12 B
BR was a production mess, first announced in 2010 with Sacha Baron Cohen set to be Freddie Mercury, Queen lead singer. Cohen wanted the film to be adult-oriented, with the band desiring a family-friendly approach. He was replaced by Rami Malek in 2016, and Bryan Singer became director. Two weeks before filming ended Singer was fired and replaced by Dexter Fletcher. Singer remained on film credits as the director only by some legal requirement, with Fletcher being executive producer. While Malek sang some parts, Queen songs were generously used, with Marc Martel also filling in where necessary.
Freddie Mercury was born in 1946 as Farrokh Bulsara from a Parsi family in Zanziber (now part of Tanzania), moved to India and finally Middlesex, England in his late teens. At the age of 12 he had a Mumbai school band playing Little Richard. Although with an art degree, he was a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport when he helped form Queen in 1970 and wrote most of the big hits (Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and We are the Champions).
The story could have been told better, but the audiences and I thought well of the film. The climax was how in 1985 Queen came together again and into Live Aid. Mercury died of AIDS at the age of 45 in 1991. Here is their full 24 minute 36 second set. The movie performance was, actually, even better, with Malek striking as Freddie Mercury. From Wikipedia:
Live Aid, a fundraiser for African poverty assistance put on by Bob Geldoff (left) and Midge Ure (right), mostly for Ethiopia, occurred on 13 July 1985 in both Wembley Stadium (72,000) in London and JFK Stadium (100,000) in Philadelphia, plus other sites throughout the world, drew a satellite audience of 1.9 billion across 150 nations, and ended with We are the World in Philadelphia, written and organized by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie.
Live Aid raised $127 million and We are the World another $63 million, today worth closer to half a billion dollars. All that occurred a third of a century ago.
One final matter about BR, Harry Styles of One Direction has been mentioned to play the Mick Jagger role in a Rolling Stones biopic. I would not be surprised if Rami Malek (right) takes on that role. He has the looks, style, chemistry and, now, notoriety.
McCarthy shows she has another side to her acting talents. A surprise was Richard Grant, like Malek, an English actor born in Africa. You've seen him before, but never knew it. I'm exaggerating, but he's been in a hundred films and you'll see him again in Star Wars: Episode IX.
You'll accept CYEFM if you like scotch on rocks, a comeback, cats, good acting and squalid lives. BR I liked a bit more. The two highest films opening this weekend are Widows and Green Book.
Rotten Tomatoes Box Office My Rating
Reviewers Audiences
Bohemian Rhapsody 62 93 2 B+
Can You Ever Forgive Me? 98 88 12 B
Box Office Mojo had The Grinch at #1 by a large margin, but they couldn't pay me enough to go see that production. Reviewers did not particularly like Queen (about this rock band, with the life-focus on Freddy Mercury), but audiences loved Bohemian Rhapsody. Yes, Lee Israel (she was the real-life subject matter, a rave hit for reviewers) was #12, but in week #4 theaters are only now picking up Can You Ever Forgive Me?.
BR was a production mess, first announced in 2010 with Sacha Baron Cohen set to be Freddie Mercury, Queen lead singer. Cohen wanted the film to be adult-oriented, with the band desiring a family-friendly approach. He was replaced by Rami Malek in 2016, and Bryan Singer became director. Two weeks before filming ended Singer was fired and replaced by Dexter Fletcher. Singer remained on film credits as the director only by some legal requirement, with Fletcher being executive producer. While Malek sang some parts, Queen songs were generously used, with Marc Martel also filling in where necessary.
The matter of Mercury's sexual orientation was an issue, with his first girlfriend, who became a life-long acquaintance, mostly right. Bisexual or gay, and probably the latter, the timing and matter of AIDS and partners were criticized.
Freddie Mercury was born in 1946 as Farrokh Bulsara from a Parsi family in Zanziber (now part of Tanzania), moved to India and finally Middlesex, England in his late teens. At the age of 12 he had a Mumbai school band playing Little Richard. Although with an art degree, he was a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport when he helped form Queen in 1970 and wrote most of the big hits (Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and We are the Champions).
The story could have been told better, but the audiences and I thought well of the film. The climax was how in 1985 Queen came together again and into Live Aid. Mercury died of AIDS at the age of 45 in 1991. Here is their full 24 minute 36 second set. The movie performance was, actually, even better, with Malek striking as Freddie Mercury. From Wikipedia:
Queen's twenty-one minute performance, which began at 6:41 pm, was voted the greatest live performance in the history of rock, in a 2005 industry poll of more than 60 artists, journalists and music industry executives.[18][19] Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury at times led the crowd in unison refrains,[20] and his sustained note during the a cappella section came to be known as "The Note Heard Round the World".[19] The band's six song set opened with a shortened version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and closed with "We Are the Champions".[2][21][22] Mercury and fellow band member Brian May later sang the first song of the three-part Wembley event finale, "Is This the World We Created...?"[22]
Live Aid, a fundraiser for African poverty assistance put on by Bob Geldoff (left) and Midge Ure (right), mostly for Ethiopia, occurred on 13 July 1985 in both Wembley Stadium (72,000) in London and JFK Stadium (100,000) in Philadelphia, plus other sites throughout the world, drew a satellite audience of 1.9 billion across 150 nations, and ended with We are the World in Philadelphia, written and organized by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie. 
Live Aid raised $127 million and We are the World another $63 million, today worth closer to half a billion dollars. All that occurred a third of a century ago.
One final matter about BR, Harry Styles of One Direction has been mentioned to play the Mick Jagger role in a Rolling Stones biopic. I would not be surprised if Rami Malek (right) takes on that role. He has the looks, style, chemistry and, now, notoriety.
After all that, how can I possibly say anything meaningful of Can You Ever Forgive Me? Well, let me start with Melissa McCarthy, comedian, film star and best thing to happen to Sean Spicer, former White House Press Secretary. Surely you've seen her Saturday Night Live performance?
Anyway, the movie was about a nasty biographer who became obsolete. T'was a mostly stressful, depressing and uncomfortable setting for a film about a forger of deceased authors who got caught and convicted. However, this story became another real-life book, returning her to prominence, leading to this movie.
McCarthy shows she has another side to her acting talents. A surprise was Richard Grant, like Malek, an English actor born in Africa. You've seen him before, but never knew it. I'm exaggerating, but he's been in a hundred films and you'll see him again in Star Wars: Episode IX.
You'll accept CYEFM if you like scotch on rocks, a comeback, cats, good acting and squalid lives. BR I liked a bit more. The two highest films opening this weekend are Widows and Green Book.
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