My weekly movie reviews. You can also read these on letterboxd.
This week focuses on two very different musical “biopics”.
8 MILE (2002)
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
I never saw this quasi-biopic back in the day but with Curtis Hanson’s name on it, I couldn’t stay away forever.
The Eminem story is a gritty, grounded look at a rising rap star thanks to the late, great Hanson. Coming right off his masterpiece L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, Hanson takes a somewhat cliche-ridden script and injects honesty, humanity, and a hell of a lot of raw energy. Surrounded by a supporting cast who feel like they were picked right off the streets, the rap star also shines, playing himself with cold intensity. He’s incredibly watchable on screen and I wonder if he could have continued more seriously in movies if he wanted to. Kim Basinger might be the one weak link in the cast. She’s good but her presence is distract. She’s too Hollywood in the neorealistic atmosphere Hanson is trying to create. Brittany Murphy, on the other hand, feels like the real deal (perhaps for all the wrong reasons) and their sex scene is one of the most memorable I can think of.
It’s a solid, sometimes powerful film only weakened by the ROKCY-like cliches and repetitive physical abuse that eventually gets mind-numbing and loses its effect.
Watched on Tubi
WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
I never saw this quasi-biopic back in the day but with Curtis Hanson’s name on it, I couldn’t stay away forever.
The Eminem story is a gritty, grounded look at a rising rap star thanks to the late, great Hanson. Coming right off his masterpiece L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, Hanson takes a somewhat cliche-ridden script and injects honesty, humanity, and a hell of a lot of raw energy. Surrounded by a supporting cast who feel like they were picked right off the streets, the rap star also shines, playing himself with cold intensity. He’s incredibly watchable on screen and I wonder if he could have continued more seriously in movies if he wanted to. Kim Basinger might be the one weak link in the cast. She’s good but her presence is distract. She’s too Hollywood in the neorealistic atmosphere Hanson is trying to create. Brittany Murphy, on the other hand, feels like the real deal (perhaps for all the wrong reasons) and their sex scene is one of the most memorable I can think of.
It’s a solid, sometimes powerful film only weakened by the ROKCY-like cliches and repetitive physical abuse that eventually gets mind-numbing and loses its effect.
Watched on Tubi
