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Film Reviews and Previews for November 3, 2018

Bohemian Rhapsody, Beautiful Boy, Nobody's Fool, Suspira and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms open this weekend in Western New York theatres.

I can’t quite wax rhapsodic about Bohemian Rhapsody.

But I can say I found it to be thoroughly entertaining.

First of all, Rami Malek, with the help of some dental prosthetics, absolutely nails it as the mercurial Freddy Mercury. His performance alone is worth the price of admission. The rest of the cast also really good. Bohemian Rhapsody is rated PG-13 for thematic elements, suggestive material, drug content and language. There’s not much bad news about this film, but, frankly it’s a bit bulky, with some scenes here and there that could have been a bit more economical, maybe shaving 15 minutes or so off it’s 2 and a quarter hour runtime. Here and there it also plays a little fast and loose with the truth, but you get that in this kind of film. Still, Bohemian Rhapsody fandangoes it’s way to 4 and a half out of five boxes of popcorn. Oh, and Michael Meyers…ya know – Wayne’s World? -- has a small role…of course…and if you can spot him, you’ve a sharper eye than I do.

Disney is at it this weekend.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms seems to be visually stunning, and it has the stunning Keira Knightly.

Yep, that’s Knightly as the Sugar Plum Fairy and those look like some outrageous costumes. Well, you’ll want that in a fantasy. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is Rated PG for some mild peril. It may be a fantasy, but some critics are saying it’s not a fantastic one, with one calling it visually spectacular but soulless. Eh, I’ll probably go see it anyway.

After all, even if it’s a disappointment, it won’t be any more disappointing than our next film.

So, given the marketing campaign, I figured Nobody’s Fool was gonna be a comedy about catfishing guaranteed to be funny…directed by Tyler Perry and starring the funny Tiffany Haddish. Boy was I ever wrong. They try to sneak up on you with a rom com, and most of the characters in the film are utterly dislikable. It’s rated R for sexual content and language throughout, and for drug material. I can’t rate it any better than 2 out of 5 boxes of popcorn. Nobody’s Fool sure made a fool out of me for getting my comedic hopes up.

Now, I’m willing to bet the price of a movie ticket that Beautiful Boy won’t disappoint.

Beautiful Boy is a story of meth addiction and recovery. It’s Rated R for drug content throughout, language, and brief sexual material. It’s getting a good amount of critical love, especially for Timothy Chalumet and Steve Carell.

And horror fans will be interested to know that the remake of Suspira has made it to Western New York. Being a horror film fan, I’m gonna go see it this weekend. Critics are polarized. Some love it, some hate it. It’s Rated R for disturbing content involving ritualistic violence, bloody images and graphic nudity, and for some language including sexual references. It’s got Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton and it’s got my curiosity going.

So, some clear cinematic choices this weekend.

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