better man- We failed this movie. this is a great musical. Michael Gracey took the road less traveled in telling the story of Robbie Williams, the British pop icon, who seemingly has no footprint in America. Instead of casting a human like Taron Edgerton to star, he relied on the visual effects team to create a chimpanzee in place of a motion capture actor. It’s a bold move from The Greatest Showman director that I thought paid off. Paramount was one of the few studios to submit screeners with audio description tracks, so I was instantly charmed. i didn’t need a second viewing. While working at a movie theatre, one of my managers was obsessed with Robbie Williams, so I was aware of him. But, getting a chance to hear his story, and see the biopic genre get put on its head a bit was bloody fantastic. Better Man landed on my Top 28 films of 2024, and Michael Gracey landed on my list of the Best Directors of the year. it resides on Paramount Plus where I’m convinced that word of mouth will find it a new block of fans. the audio description is really good. from a very particular way Robbie signs his name, to a tremendous car crash sequence that feels like something from a dream, it brought out the best in one of the best films of 2024.
Fresh: Final Grade: A, Audio Description: A
Bird- Andrea Arnold’s “magical realism” continues through bird, a bleak film about a girl growing up in a poor area of England. I initially saw this without audio description, as my screener didn’t provide it, and I thought maybe some of the film was working and I just needed accessibility to link it together. then, I got a second viewing with audio description, and my opinion dropped. There were times when I just couldn’t latch onto Arnold’s bleak reality, and I can’t help but think the similar Scrapper from a year earlier is a better film. Plus, i really do not understand what people are seeing in Franz Rogowski as an actor. he has yet to impress me, despite seemingly impressing other actors. I find him unintelligible at times and emotionally disconnected from the material. Barry Keoghan is fun in a wild child role, but he’s underutilized. Interestingly, franz and Barry don’t share any scenes, and are just connected by the young lead, Nykya Adam’s, who keeps the movie interesting. I think Arnold has made better films before, and will make more down the road. I’d recommend audio description, so you can have the awkward scene of Bird just standing naked on a roof for no apparent reason whatsoever.
Fresh: Final Grade: B-, Audio Description: B+
Elton John: Never Too Late- I always feel like documentaries that are controlled by the celebrity at the center are puff pieces, and never are meant to hit any major topics. in this time period, we keep getting documentaries like this as content creation for streamers. Elton John’s new documentary is a bit different, because he really does seem to open up a bit more about his bad boy behavior, sexual exploits, and the joy he has in being a father. instead of painting him as a victim of fame, or circumstance, or alternatively as a flamboyant but never flawed icon, john actually opens up. it is his willingness to share a bit of reality with his fans that makes this stand a little bit above the rest of the pack. there’s a bit of music in this, a little bit of song, and for an artist that now identifies as blind, it seems like representation for our community, even if he doesn’t focus on that issue. As a fan of Elton’s, and his biopic Rocketman, this already seemed catered to me, and it moved a little above my expectations.
Fresh: Final Grade: A-, Audio Description: B+
