Author Topic: Sandy Faces the Music  (Read 44497 times)

Sandy

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #220 on: May 03, 2018, 11:06:35 AM »
« Last Edit: June 04, 2018, 03:13:43 PM by Sandy »

Sandy

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #221 on: June 05, 2019, 02:23:19 AM »
Rocketman



Quick Takes: I left the theatre nauseous, because it was such a visceral kick to the gut. There is no subtlety here; not in the characters, not in the messages. It's an all out, unashamed spectacle of a larger than life life. The flat out talent in song and dance vindicates my hate for La La Land. This is what it means to perform, and to earn its right as a high caliber musical. The fantasy/musical elements couldn't have been chosen for a more fitting artist. It's a perfect expression for Elton John's biopic. Everyone should have at least one Bernie Taupin in their lives. The dismantling of Elton's costume during his session throughout the film is a beautiful metaphor... Oh! And gay sex is hot! :))
« Last Edit: June 06, 2019, 07:27:46 AM by Sandy »

1SO

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #222 on: June 05, 2019, 09:50:28 AM »
As the conclusion of my Dexter Fletcher Marathon this was a letdown. The magically natural transition of Sunshine on Leith are now more conventional "my songbook is my life" interruptions. Elton John's life belongs in the fantasy, but the songs are too pop and often nonsensical to work as one-to-one equals. Some of it is really good, but overall it's more like Bohemian Rhapsody than it is different.

I also wanted the scene where he decides to rework his tribute to Marilyn into a tribute to Lady Diana.
« Last Edit: June 06, 2019, 09:54:16 AM by 1SO »

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #223 on: June 06, 2019, 04:57:47 AM »
I can understand wanting either version of the song in the film, but skipping the Lady Di bit was fine. It would have done little to develop the story of Elton, it does seem like it would have been a strong positive moment in the film (in that from the outside it is Elton expressing his grief). However I am happy they kept it to his rise and his battles with himself.

I will also say that either the cinematographer or the person who did the colour in the initially scenes of the movie did a fantastic job. The scenes in particular are when he is in the street in front of his family home with the orange costume on and it really looked like they had dropped the levels of all the colours except for Elton and his costume. Then in the early scenes in at rehab, the lighting which darkened out the others in the room with Elton.

Sandy

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #224 on: June 06, 2019, 08:28:33 AM »
The thought of "Candle in the Wind" never even crossed my mind! He has so many songs. :) I too didn't see a lot of poignancy in the songs themselves, as a reflection of his life. The poignancy came in Egerton's acting. The music itself and the way it was placed created great emotional buoyancy though.

1SO, when you say it's more like Bohemian Rhapsody than it is different, are you saying you didn't like Bohemian Rhapsody, or that Rocketman didn't bring anything new? I really loved Bohemian Rhapsody. They're basically the same story - the rise, fall and rise of a musical prodigy, so I was happy the two movies came at it differently, style wise.

You mention somewhere about wondering if Egerton would be too "cool" for the role. This is the first time I've seen him, so I didn't have that concern. To me, he came across as rather adorkable. Was he able to pull off the role, in your opinion? (Thanks for the pic! I've been having difficulty with either Imgur or my new-to-me Mac laptop. There's a big learning curve ahead!)

Dave, I too loved the color choices! I picked this particular screen shot, because of how the red costume eclipsed those session scenes. Glad it wowed you too. :)

Junior

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #225 on: June 06, 2019, 08:44:08 AM »
Going into the movie I was wondering if/how that would handle the 4 songs of his that have had huge cultural impacts, particularly in movies. Tiny Dancer probably couldn't have been shipped, even though it instantly conjures memories of Almost Famous for me. It makes sense to set it in the film's scene that evokes that movie most strongly. I thought that the whirling around EJ playing the piano during Pinball Wizard was a fun night to the zaniness of that scene from Tommy. But I was sad to see that Candle In the Wind and Can You Feel the Love Tonight were excluded (even though they fall outside of the time period covered in the movie and I can't think of a way to put them in anyways). I think those two are the most detached from Elton John as a figure and more connected to Princess Di and The Lion King respectively than they are too him, so including them might have felt a little out of place, but I was still sad to see them absent.
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1SO

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #226 on: June 06, 2019, 09:55:17 AM »
1SO, when you say it's more like Bohemian Rhapsody than it is different, are you saying you didn't like Bohemian Rhapsody, or that Rocketman didn't bring anything new? I really loved Bohemian Rhapsody. They're basically the same story - the rise, fall and rise of a musical prodigy, so I was happy the two movies came at it differently, style wise.
I'm mixed on Bohmeian Rhapsody. Beyond Rami Malek and the Live Aid scene, I liked the behind the scenes conflict during the creation of the songs. Rhapsody's biggest problem isn't the editing - which is as good during "Another One Bites the Dust" as it is bad during the much ado cafe scene the internet pounced on - but the bland domestic scenens, which never divert from the musical biopic template. Rocketman does that as well, to where I started to feel bad for Bryce Dallas Howard having to play the mother with less dimension as the film goes on. Also, the scenes with Record Producer Dick James (Stephen Graham) look like outtakes from the scenes with Mike Meyers in Bohemian. Could've been shot in the same set, just bring the back wall in closer.


You mention somewhere about wondering if Egerton would be too "cool" for the role. This is the first time I've seen him, so I didn't have that concern. To me, he came across as rather adorkable. Was he able to pull off the role, in your opinion?
Nope. I should find some interviews where he's a nice lad because his Kingsmen persona is something I cannot shake.

1SO

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #227 on: June 06, 2019, 10:01:23 AM »
I will also say that either the cinematographer or the person who did the colour in the initially scenes of the movie did a fantastic job. The scenes in particular are when he is in the street in front of his family home with the orange costume on and it really looked like they had dropped the levels of all the colours except for Elton and his costume.
That was a great early choice. I was most impressed with the way they staged "I'm Still Standing". At first I thought they were recreating the video, which I've seen hundreds of times. Then i noticed they used special effects to replace Elton with Egerton, leaving everything else exactly the same.


Also what Junior said. I knew you couldn't exclude "Tiny Dancer" but my mind went to Almost Famous. The "Rocketman" scene made me think of Booksmart, because I just saw that two weeks ago. I tried to find a list of films where people hit bottom in a pool. My mind thinks there's another example from this year.

I was surprised how low-key they went with "Your Song".

Sandy

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #228 on: June 10, 2019, 12:02:15 AM »
1SO, when you say it's more like Bohemian Rhapsody than it is different, are you saying you didn't like Bohemian Rhapsody, or that Rocketman didn't bring anything new? I really loved Bohemian Rhapsody. They're basically the same story - the rise, fall and rise of a musical prodigy, so I was happy the two movies came at it differently, style wise.
I'm mixed on Bohmeian Rhapsody. Beyond Rami Malek and the Live Aid scene, I liked the behind the scenes conflict during the creation of the songs. Rhapsody's biggest problem isn't the editing - which is as good during "Another One Bites the Dust" as it is bad during the much ado cafe scene the internet pounced on - but the bland domestic scenes, which never divert from the musical biopic template. Rocketman does that as well, to where I started to feel bad for Bryce Dallas Howard having to play the mother with less dimension as the film goes on. Also, the scenes with Record Producer Dick James (Stephen Graham) look like outtakes from the scenes with Mike Meyers in Bohemian. Could've been shot in the same set, just bring the back wall in closer.

:)

granted!

Yeah, Producer without vision.

As soon as Howard stood at the door with martini in hand, I knew she was going to be a cut-out character. Not a lot of dimensions on any of them, except for Egerton. And that's not because of the writing. I'm going to give credit to him and the director.

The two dimensional characterizations feel like they were created directly from Elton John's personal opinion about the people in his life. Either they were out to get him, or they were the salt of the earth. He isn't very nuanced with his memory.


Quote
You mention somewhere about wondering if Egerton would be too "cool" for the role. This is the first time I've seen him, so I didn't have that concern. To me, he came across as rather adorkable. Was he able to pull off the role, in your opinion?
Nope. I should find some interviews where he's a nice lad because his Kingsmen persona is something I cannot shake.

Ha! I understand! I'm fortunate to not have seen Kingsmen prior.

Sandy

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Re: Sandy Faces the Music
« Reply #229 on: May 14, 2020, 11:39:39 PM »
« Last Edit: July 02, 2021, 10:14:24 PM by Sandy »

 

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