Quick takes on 5 films

Rocketman is the recent, highly rated biopic about the life of Elton John. It follows his rise to stardom but doesn’t shy away from his shortcomings, even if it does try to place the blame for all of them on his terrible parents. Taron Egerton is fantastic as the man himself, and will probably get an Oscar nomination for the work. He portrays Elton as a boisterous public figure with a shy and unconfident private life. The film plays out as a biography/musical, with many of his big hits making appearances, even if in just short piano form here and there. Elton John’s fans will certainly find plenty to love, but even the casual moviegoer will root for John to find success in his personal life to match that of his professional career by the end. Brilliantly acted and directed, with colorful music and scenes, it’s a great flick.

Birds of Passage is one of those deep, emotionally involved films that I’d probably really dig on another day, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t appreciate it much on this first viewing. It follows a Wayuu (Native American ethnic group) village in northern Colombia from the 60’s until the early 80’s, as they become involved in the drug trade. Rapayet initially just gets into it as a way to make money quickly to pay the dowry for a woman he wants to marry, but when Rapayet’s friends and family fall in love with the inflow of cash, greed becomes more powerful than family ties. The filmmakers used professional actors in the leads, but filled out the families with real Wayuu people and the film has a life-like, documentary kind of feel to it. This is a film I’ll probably visit again in the future, when I’m in the mood for deeper contemplation and true art as film.

Dragged Across Concrete, from writer/director S Craig Zahler (whose other credits include films I love including Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99), is a quietly intense crime thriller. Two cops (Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn) play loosely with the rules and are suspended for roughing up a suspect. To pay the bills, they hatch a plan to rob the crooks, so to speak. Following a tip, they trail a team who are obviously planning something, but no one knows what. When that something becomes a bank robbery, and one that goes south with dead bodies, the disgraced cops end up in a shoot out with the robbers, with the winners taking home the stolen gold. Like Bone Tomahawk, this is a slow burn and some of the “action” almost seems like an afterthought to the story of the film. It takes great actors to pull off a movie like that, and Gibson, Vaughn, and the others here are up to the task. I really enjoyed this one.

The Kid Who Would Be King is a modern re-telling of the classic sword in the stone tale. Alexander is a chubby, picked-on, 11 year old when he finds Excalibur buried in stone on a construction sight. He pulls it and, aided by a quirky teenager Merlin the wizard, makes knights of his classmates, to face a coming evil intent on taking over the world. The film is very well done and has humor and action a-plenty, however the story has been done a time too many and felt stale. It is geared towards kids, but I’m not even sure a younger generation would appreciate this one. Not a bad film, and I enjoyed putting the story in modern times, but overall just a little too ho-hum for me, even if the final, glorious battle is certainly exhilarating.

Finishing out this set with the Disney re-imagining of Aladdin. I went it to this one expecting what I got from the live version of Beauty and the Beast, which was I thought a good movie, but not quite as good as the cartoon that was one of my childhood favorites. I was pleasantly surprised by the new Aladdin. While it doesn’t have the spectacular Robin Williams, is still a thoroughly enjoyable film. The story is much the same, though it does have a modern twist with Jasmine not seeking a man to be her sultan, but instead wishes to go against the rules and lead as a female sultan. The sets and costumes are as colorful as their cartoon origins, the songs are equally as fun, and Will Smith as the genie brings his own style of humor which is good enough. The role of Naomi Scott in particular as Jasmine is perfect. A fun family film which, while not replacing the original, acts as a worthy companion piece.