Tim joined Tom Barnard, Tevin Pittman and A.J. Fredrickson on “The Tom Barnard Show,” and Adam Carter and Jordana Green on the “Adam and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM Friday to review the new theatrical release “Argylle” and the new streaming series “Griselda” (Netflix). Click to listen to below. All of Tim’s segments are brought to you by Michael Bryant, and Bradshaw and Bryant.
Tim reviews movies weekly for the “Adam and Jordana” with Adam Carter and Jordana Green on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Adam and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on NBC affiliate KARE on the news program “KARE 11 News at 11.” On radio, Tim made hundreds of appearances on “The KQ Morning Show” with Tom Barnard on KQRS-FM.
Tim joined Tom Barnard and the morning show crew on the “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM to review the new theatrical release “Jurassic World: Dominion.” Tim also reviewed the films with guest host John Hines on the “Paul and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM on Friday, as well as Kelly Cordes on “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM and KLZZ-FM. Click to listen to below. All of Tim’s segments are brought to you by Michael Bryant, and Bradshaw and Bryant.
ABOVE: Tim reviews “Jurassic World: Dominion” with Kelly Cordes
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show” with Tom Barnard on KQRS-FM, “Paul and Jordana” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Paul and Jordana” as well. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on NBC affiliate KARE on the news program “KARE 11 News at 11”.
All systems are go for “Rocketman,” a creatively staged look at the wondrous life and music career of rock legend Elton John. Naturally the film comes with a lot of pressure attached because of the blistering worldwide box office success of the “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but from the very beginning “Rocketman” lets you know that it’s talking a much different trajectory than the Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic.
Instead, while “Bohemian Rhapsody” is about the creation and live performances of the Queen’s music, “Rocketman” uses the music of Elton John and lyrics of Bernie Taupin to tell the story of singer-pianist’s (Taron Egerton) tumultuous upbringing and the inner demons that nearly destroyed his life until he became sober and found the personal life and love he so desperately longed for.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Rocketman” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM.
As such, “Rocketman” is far from your standard music biopic. Obviously, it covers key moments in Elton’s life and career, but it is essentially presented as movie musical (which is already screaming for a Broadway adaptation) with fantasy elements woven throughout. Perhaps the best film to compare “Rocketman” to is director Julie Taymor’s ingenious 2007 movie musical “Across the Universe,” which created characters and a immersive love story based on the classic songs of The Beatles.
Here, the characters are all based on real people, naturally, who take turns with Egerton singing such Elton standards as “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” and “Goodbye Yellowbrick Road” as the story unfolds from his early childhood as a musical prodigy throughout his career highs and personal lows, to his eventual recovery in the 1980s.
“Rocketman” continues the music/movie winning streak for director Dexter Fletcher, who rescued “Bohemian Rhapsody” from ruins after he was hired to finish the film after original helmer Bryan Singer was fired. Clearly “Bohemian Rhapsody” demonstrated that Fletcher had the goods when it comes to telling stories of classic rockers, and “Rocketman” gives him the creative freedom to play out the life of a legend on a much bigger stage. Smartly, Fletcher hired Egerton (of the “Kingsman” movies) after their work together on the under-appreciated sports biopic “Eddie the Eagle”; and the actor, whose singing voice is used throughout the film, impresses in a risky turn that could have turned out to be a disaster if the performances were at all underwhelming.
So does Egerton sound like Elton John? Yes and no. Elton’s voice is so unique that no actor could have truly matched it, but since “Rocketman” is essentially a movie musical, sounding close enough to singer suffices. Thanks to Taupin’s lyrics, Elton’s songs seem to have mini-movie plots of their own, where people like musician’s fans can play out the scenarios in their minds. As such, Egerton finds himself in the best of both worlds, being in the unique position to play the singer and act out his life in a fantastical way at the same time.
The performances in “Rocketman” are spectacular all around. Egerton, like “Bohemian Rhapsody’s Rami Malek, is Oscar nomination-bound, as could be Jamie Bell, who brings heart to the film in the pivotal role of Bernie Taupin. Just as strong in their supporting turns are Richard Madden as Elton’s sleazy business manager/lover John Reid (who appeared much more sympathetic in his portrayal by Aiden Gillen in “Bohemian Rhapsody”) and Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton’s unpredictable mother, Sheila. Tate Donovan is also terrific in a small but memorable role as Doug Weston, the owner of LA’s Troubadour nightclub, which effectively launched Elton’s career in America in August 1970.
While “Bohemian Rhapsody” earned more than $900 million worldwide, critics largely criticized the film, claiming the PG-13 film went too light on Mercury’s raucous antics and bad behavior, and glossed over his life as a gay man and his eventual struggle with AIDS. Also criticized was how the film took liberties with the band’s musical timeline and the timing of Mercury’s AIDS diagnosis in order to fit the film’s narrative.
“Rocketman,” on the flip side, truly gives an R-rated look at Elton’s life warts and all, which was a deliberate decision on behalf of the singer (his husband, David Furnish, is one of the film’s producers), who wanted his story told as truthfully as possible. While critics will be hard-pressed to find fault with the frank presentation of Elton’s life, it will be interesting to see if they take issue with how screenwriter Lee Hall, like “Bohemian Rhapsody” scribe Anthony McCarten, loosely played with Elton’s musical timeline of big events in his life to again, help craft a sensible narrative. Honestly, people should have no gripes with either the Freddie or Elton film, especially considering how difficult to cram a storied artist’s life into 2 hours.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Rocketman” with Paul Douglas and Jordana Green on “Paul and Jordan” on WCCO-AM.
For as much as “Rocketman” has going for it, the film has its share of flaws. First, the omission of “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” from the songs in the film seems like a missed opportunity, given how it chronicled such a dark chapter in Elton’s life. In addition, die hard fans of Elton’s music will likely be upset that his longtime band members don’t even get a mention.
After all, if Kiki Dee (in a glorious scene recreating the recording of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”), why couldn’t guitarist Davey Johnstone, drummer Nigel Olsson and late bassist Dee Murray get a shout-out? The band members, after all, played key roles in the creation of Elton’s classic albums, so to be reduced to background players in the film is somewhat a slap in the face to their collective legacy. Thankfully, it’s a small dose of heartbreak in an otherwise glorious film.
Lammometer: 8 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen with “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” the hotly anticipated sequel to the 2015 mega blockbuster “Jurassic World” and fourth installment in the “Jurassic Park” series. Dark and bleak with no real fun to be had, “Fallen Kingdom” isn’t a bad film, at least from the technical standpoint, where the dinosaurs are as big and loud and scary as ever. Instead, the burden falls on the creatives, who clearly found out that the once-inspired story line of bringing dinosaurs back to life through the wonders of DNA is close to running its course.
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” is set three years after the last film, and it appears theme park on the (fictional) Isla Nubar off Costa Rica is doomed by erupting volcanos. And while the island is unoccupied by humans, the government is faced with the excruciating decision of trying to save all the cloned dinosaur species or simply let the monolithic creatures become extinct once again, perhaps forever.
Tim reviews “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” with Adrienne Broaddus on KARE 11.
Despite the havoc wreaked by the dinosaurs in the first film, Jurassic World operator Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) is intent on preserving the creatures, and she seems to have found a viable solution when the partner to late Jurassic Park founder John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) funds a mission to transport about a dozen dinosaur species to an island sanctuary where they will be free to roam the way nature intended. The mission can’t be completed, however, without the help of Claire and dinosaur wrangler Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), who soon enough learn they are pawns in a plan to use the dinosaurs for sinister purposes.
AUDIO: Listen to Tim’s review of “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” on “The KQ Morning Show” with Tom Barnard.
Admittedly, director J.A. Boyona and co-screenwriters Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow (who directed the first “Jurassic World”) are in a tough spot when it comes to expanding the already limited “Jurassic” saga storyline with “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.” Let’s say they move the dinosaurs to a sanctuary where they live in peace and nobody sees or interacts with them, then you have a boring movie. If another park is created, then it’s a rip-off of the previous movies.
All that’s left, at least as far as this film is concerned, is having the dinosaurs fall into the wrong hands of people with (what else?) deadly intentions. Worse yet, the story is predictable almost from the get-go, from the time Claire and Owen meet the operation’s commander (Ted Levine) who is saddled with all the classic traits of ne’er do-well up to no good.
Despite its predictability, “Jurassic World” still manages to be entertaining, especially when its dinosaurs (in particular the genetically altered ones) go on the rampage against their weak human counterparts. No matter how many times you’ve seen it happen, whether in the original “Jurassic Park” trilogy or “Jurassic World,” there’s nothing that gets stale about an effective CG dinosaur relentlessly pursuing their human prey. In fact, like the first film, the sequences are so jarring that it makes you wonder just how the studio got away with a PG-13 rating, when the violence clearly merits an R.
While the first “Jurassic World” felt fresh, fun and inventive, “Fallen Kingdom” is doomed by taking itself too seriously. To begin with, while Pratt played his role fairly straight-up the first time around but was still amusing, he’s only afforded a few times to lighten the mood in “Fallen Kingdom.” Howard seems to be given less to work with in the film, too, including those pesky high heels which were swapped out for boots this time around. The biggest waste of talent, though, comes with the bait-and-switch move Universal pulled with original “Jurassic Park” star Jeff Goldblum, who reprises his Ian Malcolm for a pair of brief scenes where he shows none of his trademark, wry sense of humor whatsoever.
With any luck, Trevorrow, who is on board to helm the third film, will bring Goldblum back and give him some meaningful screen time if “Jurassic World” has any chance of being restored to its former glory.
Lammometer: 6 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
