I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres and streaming including the music biopic “Bob Marley: One Love,” the superhero flick “Madame Web,” the survival story “Land of Bad” and the sublime “Perfect Days.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
“Bob Marley: One Love,” a new biopic starring “Peaky Blinders” actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, and now playing in theatres, places the iconic reggae musician’s songs in the personal and political context in which they were written.
By and large the story takes place in the two years after the 1976 assassination attempt on reggae icon Bob Marley (Ben-Adir) at his home compound in Kingston, Jamaica. A decade-and-a-half after the island country declared independence from Great Britain, civil war looms.
After agreeing to perform at Smile Jamaica, a concert intended to counter political violence, Marley found himself caught in the conflict between supporters of Prime Minister Michael Manley’s left-wing People’s National Party (PNP) and the pro-US opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). Two days before the concert, armed gunmen broke into Marley’s home, shooting the musician, wife Rita (Lashana Lynch) and manager Don Taylor (Anthony Welsh).
To ensure the safety of his family, Rita and their children are sent to stay with relatives in America, while Marley and his band, The Wailers, decamp to London. While there, work begins on his career defining “Exodus” album.
Add to that, flashbacks to Marley’s childhood, burgeoning relationship with Rita and a truly wonderful recollection of The Wailing Wailers audition for the Studio One label.
Produced by Marley’s widow Rita, daughter Cedella and son Ziggy, “Bob Marley: One Love” documents how Bob Marley became more than a music star, it’s about how he became a symbol of peace and unity.
“King Richard” director Reinaldo Marcus Green falls prey the usual music bio traps as Marley grapples with his meteoric rise to fame, the expectations of a record company looking for hits and the personal toll from the heat of the increased spotlight, but it is buoyed by the performances and, most of all, the music.
The movie is wall-to-wall with classic Marley tunes, but two performances stand out. The first, a nervous audition at a record label, sees Marley and The Wailing Wailers rip it up with an enthusiastic version of “Simmer Down.” It’s filled with youthful energy, swagger and raw talent.
Later, in London, the adult Marley is struck with the inspiration for one of his best-known songs when he overhears a band mate listening to Ernest Gold and the Sinfonia of London’s soundtrack for the 1960 film “Exodus.” It’s a typical music bio struck-by-inspiration scene, but the experience of watching the song come together, beat by beat, note by note, in the unassuming living room of a London flat is exhilarating.
“Bob Marley: One Love” may not be the in-depth, definitive story of the reggae icon’s life and impact, but it is an entertaining reminder of the mark made by the incredible music Marley left behind.
Richard speaks to “CTV News at Six” anchor Andria Case about the best movies to watch this weekend including the inspired-by-true-events drama “One Night In Miami” (Amazon Prime Video), the Netflix action flick “Outside the Wire” (Netflix) and the young adult drama “Words On Bathroom Walls” (EST, VOD, DVD, Blu-ray).
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 38:10)
Richard sits in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres, VOD and streaming services including the inspired-by-true-events drama “One Night In Miami” (Amazon Prime Video), the Netflix action flick “Outside the Wire” (Netflix) and the young adult drama “Words On Bathroom Walls” (EST, VOD, DVD, Blu-ray).
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
We’ll never know exactly what was said between Cassius Clay, Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X, soul singer Sam Cooke, and football superstar Jim Brown behind closed doors in a Miami hotel room on February 25, 1964, but a new film by Oscar winner Regina King in her directorial debut, offers up a fascinating what-if scenario.
Going into the boxing ring on that night against heavy weight champion Sonny Liston, Cassius Clay (Halifax-born Eli Goree), who had not yet officially changed his name to Muhammad Ali, was a 7-to-1 underdog. When the fight was over Clay was the youngest boxer to ever grab a title from a reigning heavyweight champion.
Helping him celebrate the landmark win are his three closest friends, mentor Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), hit maker Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) and athlete Brown (Aldis Hodge). Convened at their Miami hotel on the warm February night, the foursome, all at turning points in their lives, share their thoughts, get heated, debate about how to end segregation, all with an eye toward the future.
That two of them would be murdered within the next year adds poignancy to an already charged conversation.
Cooke and Brown mull over career choices. A discussion of Cooke’s slick but conventional pop songs led to the writing and recording of “A Change Is Gonna Come,” one of the greatest anthems of the Civil Rights Movement. Brown, already a superstar on the football field, comes under fire for appearing in a movie Western called “Rio Conchos,” as a minor character, killed off early in the action.
Clay is celebratory, but plotting his next moves, both professionally and personally as he decides when to announce his conversion to Islam and his name change to Muhammad Ali.
The firestarter is X, the public figure under surveillance by the FBI, who encourages his friends to take a more militant stand, to use their celebrity and standing in a more meaningful way. He is the discontent, an activist who predicts hard times ahead.
“One Night in Miami” began life as a stage play by “Star Trek: Discovery” staff writer Kemp Powers, who also penned the movie’s script. As such, there’s a theatrical feel to King’s staging of the scenes, most of which take place in the hotel room. She has opened up the play, adding new locations and a series of vignettes at the beginning of the film, but this isn’t about action, it’s about the verbal fireworks of Powers’ script and authoritative performances.
It’s a snapshot of the cultural importance of this quartet; a history lesson made even more potent in the era of Black Lives Matter. “Power,” says Clay, “is a world where it’s safe to be ourselves.”
