RRR

Did Ya Ever See that bonkers Indian movie RRR?  I did and it's my 2nd favourite movie of 2022.

Where do I even begin?  

I heard word circle of a movie.  A movie so crazy you'd have to see it to believe it.  Stories told of a man jumping a fence and beating up 1000 men, of another who went head to head with a tiger and won, of a dance number that could cause a riot in an Indian cinema.

It's true. All of it.

RRR is a three hour (ah!) historical musical action comedy romantic epic.  I watched it and was so blown away that I did some digging and it turns out that the two main characters are based on real historical characters.  But in real life they had a very different story.  They never met and became best friends, then enemies, then friends again.  Luckily this movie takes the Braveheart approach... Let's not allow factual history get in the way of a thrilling movie.

I know very little about Indian cinema, turns out Bollywood is one of about 10 different production houses and each has their own icons of the screen.  See RRR doesn't just stand for Rise Roar Revolt.  No no no.  It is also the initials of the director, S.S. Rajamouli and the two superstar leads, Jr NTR and Ram Charan.  I mean it is definitely a crazy start to a crazy movie.

It gives our leads two of the most incredible over the top introductions you will ever see.  Then they team up to save a boy, without ever saying a word to each other just nods and hand signals.  All this and then, only then does the title card come up.  Forty minutes into the movie, FORTY MINUTES!!!  That's two thirds of Bambi.  Here endeth the prologue.  

Look, I'm not going to break down everything in this movie because, one, it's very long, two, you need to see it to believe it.  I will say this though... This movie's base level is an eleven and it only goes up.   Everything is at its max here and it is banging. 

I never even mentioned Naatu Naatu.

Elvis

Did Ya Ever See Elvis?

It's a movie about Elvis, it's pretty great.  I ranked it as my 3rd favourite movie last year.

Baz Luhrmann is a wild man.  His movies are edited by someone on crack cocaine. They are crazy, luckily for us he puts down the scissors after the first  few minutes and the movie steadiest out into your usual structure of a music biopic.  Truly what the wiseman said was right, only fools rush in.

Everyone knows Elvis.  You say Elvis and I know who you mean.  He's the King.  By why?  I never really got it.  Yes he has songs I love but the fanaticism over him always seemed over the top.  I think having Baz Luhrmann direct helped this.  I mean he is over the top with his movies, have you seen The Great Gatsby?  He cuts The White Stripes into the first performance we see and it is excellent.  It really hypes up the moment.  I loved it when contemporary music played over scenes to really give a sense of the scene.  For me this makes these moments more intense.  It got your attention.  You sit up and take notice because something is different, out of place.

But we have to talk about Austin Butler.  It's the first time I've seen him in anything, let alone as a leading man.  He has a big jumpsuit to fill.  Not only the King himself but all the other actors who've played Elvis, my favourites include Bruce Campbell and Kurt Russell two incredibly entertaining actors.  He got the look, the voice and the vibe right.  I suspect a golden statue could well go his way.

And Tom Hanks basically plays the Penguin.

This is a movie that creates an atmosphere, that has an attitude and that pays proper tribute to an icon.  It is excellent.

Top Gun: Maverick

Boing!

Boing!

Kenny Loggins!

Not often does a sequel pay off.  And even less often does a legacy sequel work out. But boy, oh boy did this one work. 

My 4th favourite movie of 2022 was Top Gun: Maverick.  I think everyone liked it and, to be fair, you could blame them.

So a brief summary of the story.  Tom Cruise is back at Top Gun training the next generation to take on a mission against an unnamed and unfaced enemy.  The new kids aren't good enough so Maverick has to get it done.  It's nothing complex.  Like I said, the enemy are nameless and faceless, they are there basically for something to attack, and the mission is the trench run from Star Wars.  But it doesn't have to be complicated.  I want to see Tom Cruise do ridiculous things in jets and that's what I got.

This is a movie where the spectacle is important and they did it right.  All practical stunts, with the actors in the air, turning left and right at speed.  Planes with the actual cast doing rolls and pitches and going inverted.  At times it's clear they're not really acting but reacting to how real the situation is.  I mean how do you act the G-forces that are kicked up when a jet takes off an aircraft carrier?  Simple answer, you don't.  You just launch them at full speed towards the oceans.  Simple as that.

This movie was scheduled to be released before cinemas locked down and Tom Cruise fought to keep off streaming services and boy did it pay off.  The spectacle of real actors in real planes doing real stunts is excellent.  It is a non stop adrenaline thrill ride.  

Like I said it's a simple movie and that benefits it.  It never gets bogged down in politics, complex plot twists or pointless humour.  It is fan service done right.

Yes people, I've been to the Danger Zone.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Did Ya Ever See Weird: The Al Yankovic Story?  I have and it's my 5th Favourite movie of 2022.

Are present day comedies just not funny?  I think the last time I laughed throughout a movie was with the Jump Street movies.  Maybe I'm getting too old and too miserable to appreciate (or understand) modern day comedy.  Gone are the 90s when Adam Sandler would have home run funny movies. Or the early 2000s when Ben Stiller, Jack Black and that next wave of SNL actors would break into legit movies.  Let's not get started on the 80s with the OG SNL cast just crushing it with funnies.

Really think about it.  When was the last time you watched a movie where you laughed throughout it?

Well, we can reset the calendar.  Days without laughing at a new comedy. Zero.  Weird: The Al Yankovic Story broke the streak.

Honestly I laughed throughout the movie, each scene a great joke, ridiculous dialogue or crazy situation played straight.  That last point seems to be something lost in modern comedies.  There's always a joke about how bananas the scenario is just to make sure we, the audience, know that it is a ridiculous situation.  But this movie doesn't do that.  Some of the best examples are when the police bring Al back to his after he snuck out to a Polka party (which is treated like it's some drug riddled teenage debauchery) and his parents act like he is out joining a cult.

The ridiculousness keeps stacking.  The movie is littered with great cameos but they cast David Dastmalchain, famous for playing strange characters, often weird villains hence men or sidekicks, as John Deacon the bassist for Queen.  Last time I saw him he was the Harkonnen Mentat Piter De Vries in Denis Villeneuve's Dune, where he had no eyebrows and was dressed in a black leathery latex bin bag.  But now he is setting up the origin of  "Another One Rides the Bus".

I haven't even mentioned Daniel Radcliffe who plays the titular Weird Al.  I like that Radcliffe has chosen unusual roles since he was the boy wizard.  It somehow adds to the silliness. 

I mean the whole movie started out as a YouTube skit for Funny or Die.

Look I don't want to ruin the gags because it is such a bonkers idea for movie.  "Let's make a biopic of Al Yankovic but most of it is nonsense and we're going to play it off as if it really did happen".  "Let's have Madonna get kidnapped by Pablo Escobar."  It's a wild ride.

Honestly I ranked it as my 5th favourite move of 2022 because it is just a good time, fun, silly, ridiculous, excellent.