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Film reviews

Bob Marley: One Love Review

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The songs of Bob Marley are monumental and loaded with appreciation for life. Marley’s mission was to shine with empathy and build better relationships in a harsh political era. His music and his life brightened the world with positivity, happiness and peace. The new film about him, Bob Marley: One Love, almost hits the mark, although the storyline is rushed at times and its writing sometimes heads in a misconstrued direction. The film sets out to lay the foundations of Bob Marley’s life, and the writing finds some wonderful moments but, again, the direction of the film can be hard to follow. The music shines throughout, however, and is easily the best part of the film.

The man who plays Bob Marley is Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Bob’s widow, Rita Marley, is played by LaShana Lynch. The film is a biopic of Bob Marley’s journey as a person, a musician, and as one who fought through adversity. It starts off in his hometown in Jamaica, and it then goes to his music and the connections he made in the music industry. The film also jumps back to moments showing how courageous and empathetic he could be. Marley’s music and his voice always helped people think about the positives in their lives.

The plot of Bob Marley: One Love is captivating and it will go deep into the hearts of its audience. There is a divine feeling of empathy that flows graciously and poetically through the life of Marley. The writing of the film jumps back and forth—to times of hardship, inspirational moments, and the many joyful times of the music of Bob Marley. When it comes to the relationships he has with his assistants, Chris Blackwell (played by James Norton) and Don Taylor (played by Anthony Walsh), Bob Marley: One Love encourages its audience to shift its emotions and to think of the words, “Every little thing is gonna be alright,” from one of Marley’s most well known songs, “Three Little Birds”.

The story as a whole and the music in particular are very captivating in Bob Marley: One Love. Marley fought through a lot of adversity, and the film often cycles back to the conflicts he had with his assistants, the crew members of his tour, etc. The success of his album Exodus also played a prominent role in the film. But throughout the film the musical tunes kept the positive feelings and empathy going.

I would describe the viewing experience of Bob Marley: One Love as somewhat standard. There wasn’t a strong biopic writing form in the film, and some moments felt rushed to me. But I still felt that my heart was touched by the fascinating aspects of Bob Marley’s legendary musical career, and the film keeps to its point of showing Marley as the positive force for the world that he was. And again, the film is worth it just to revisit the magical musical moments, and to help remind us to be truly grateful for life. Three out of four stars for Bob Marley: One Love.

Film reviews

Robot Dreams Review

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This is an animation film that is different than most would expect. It is a revelation of brilliance and wonders that soars truthfully and faithfully. Robot Dreams creates a sensation that thrives in all its empathetic and connecting directions as thoroughly as it can. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May of 2023, and it has been nominated for Best Animated Feature in the upcoming Academy Awards. Director and writer Pablo Berger explores the creation of drama and heartfelt laughter through his narrative eyes with Robot Dreams. The film has no spoken dialogue, as the story follows the life of a dog and his robot.

Robot Dreams uses animation that is blended to a point of surrealism at its finest. Its setting is Manhattan, New York in the 1980s. The film focuses on a character who is labeled as Dog. Dog lives a solo-life in New York. He is lonely in his apartmentand has his introverted routine of watching TV and eating junk food. He occasionally strolls the streets of New York. His loneliness gets to him until a box shipment shows up to his house, and he builds a robot. That character is labeled as Robot. Robot comes alive, and Dog and Robot form a great friendship.They watch TV together, go on excursions, and jam to music. Life is truly one where Dog feels a deep sense of connection with his friend Robot.

The brilliance of Robot Dreams just comes from the inner emotions it stirs. With no written dialogue, the facial expressions of Dog and Robot tell the story. There are no humans in the story, yet the animals in it act as if they were humans. The animals are taxi drivers, security guards, and other normal people. It is a Manhattan, New York Zoo world of surreal imagination. There are many moments that will leave the audience curious about this unique friendship. Dog and Robot do face an instance of disconnect when Robot is stuck on a beach and Dog cannot save him. Therefore, Dog leaves Robot on the beach and assumes he can help get him fixed the next day. Sadly, the fence to the beach is closed, and Dog cannot get over to help him.

The separation moment of Dog and Robot is where the film starts to find its sad moments. This is where the animation hits the audience hard. Going forward though, this is a time whenboth Dog and Robot try to find their happiness solo, as they try to grasp life at their finest moments. There is hardship and sadness all through the film’s eerie approaches, yet it still delivers bits of joyfulness and connection. Robot Dreamsprovides a non-stop empathetic experience in a world of unique animation. It is a “unique animation” because its story is told exclusively through the animation and literary directions via technical aspects—the feelings in Robot Dreams are brought forth through the portrayal of the seasons in the animated version of Manhattan, New York in the 1980s.

Robot Dreams deserves to win in the Best Animated Feature because Berger knows how to dive into his mode of directing. His writing and his storytelling are of inspiring value. Robot Dreams made me laugh, cry, and feel a form of appreciation that was irresistible. Four stars for Robot Dreams.

Film reviews

The Crime is Mine Review

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This is a film that is a farce where one may think it is going to grow into the dark comedy mode, but surprisingly, keeps finding its funny side and maintains its wittiness and its sarcastic brand of humor. Director Francois Ozon brings his audience into a world of crime scenarios in a historic era. The situation is slightly confusing, but all the moving parts are what makes it joyful. The Crime is Mine dives into moments of sanity and does not stop in its tracks. It lays its foundation of egotistical minds in the scenario of a serious crime where there is no clear answer.

The Crime is Mine takes place in Paris, France, and the year is 1935. Its character focus is on an actress, Madeleine Verdier (played by Nadia Tereskiewicz). She is accused of murdering a famous French producer. Her lawyer is also her roommate, Pauline Mauleon (played by Rebecca Marder). The judge is Gustave Rabusset (played by Fabrice Luchini) and his assistant is Leon Trapu (played by Olivier Broche). Gustave is a judge that lacks seriousness and does not look at the full picture. His assistant Leon is not very focused either. The lack of gravity is where The Crime is Mine finds its laughter more in its characters than the crime itself. Madeleine claims she is innocent; however, she believes that lying with honesty may benefit her. There is another actress, and she is Odette Chaumette (played by Isabelle Huppert). She claims she is part of the murder of the producer as well. It is clear though, that she is doing this for some type of advantage. The ratio of lies and half-truths is the clever mind game in The Crime is Mine.

This is a film where the murder case is a satire with laughs. It deals with the dynamic of a case where the minds are not so bright. The stupidity of The Crime is Mine puts its audience in an invigorating bind. It hosts a range of strange personalities trying to fulfill underlying issues. The dialogue and the writing are funny. Sadly though, the film frequently tends to bore.

To clarify, its boredom lies in the level of redundancy that flows throughout the premise of the film itself. I love how most of Ozon’s films have hidden secrets. An example would be his 2003 film Swimming Pool, which contained hidden moments that took me by surprise. I was expecting The Crime is Mine to have the same or similar idea with a broader range of creativity and a comedic side added to it. It does not though, as it just resorts to quirky conversations and thought-out scenarios for the crime of the film. Rather than solving the situation, it just goes down a rabbit hole of a misconstrued context. It comes close, but does not succeed in being clever.

Why are many characters coming over Madeleine? Why is the judge being ridiculous? Why is the film dwelling onassumptions more than finding answers to grasp its audience’s attention. The Crime is Mine has a writing style that is unique in its approach, but blurs as it moves forward. To an extent, the experience of the film felt like watching continuous episodes of Law and Order. A case compiled with multiple moments of different characterizations, stories, and opposing sides. To its credit, it is an arthouse flick with a form of classiness. It just does not make all that much sense.

A French film set in an era where murder lacked resources for investigations. A range of characters that do add quality to the film’s writing. A case that is too confusing. However, the writing is hard to follow. The Crime is Mine is not terrible, it just keeps getting stranger as the film progresses. Two-and-a-half out of four stars for The Crime is Mine.