Photo © Paramount Pictures
Bob Marley: One Love
Kingsley Ben-Adir in ‘Bob Marley: One Love’
Bob Marley: One Love
(In Theaters Feb. 14)
Jamaican superstar Bob Marley made message music aimed at bringing peace to his homeland. Focused on 1976-78 (and incorporating flashbacks), Marley and his band, The Wailers, spent this period in London where they wrote and recorded Exodus. Portrayed by Kingsley Ben-Adir, the actor transforms into Marley, capturing his movements, cadence and attitude. Unfortunately, the film mainly fails to unveil the intensely private musician, or to adequately explain his Rastafarian beliefs. Appearing as Marley’s wife Rita, who consulted on this production, Lashana Lynch is a grounding figure serving as Marley’s most trusted advisor, despite his numerous extramarital dalliances. The son of a white British father who abandoned him, Marley was complicated. Despite having survived an assassination attempt, the world lost him all too soon. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, who also co-wrote the screenplay, the film reenacts several Marley concerts, using the musician’s own recordings. Though the film gets low Rotten Tomatoes approval ratings, nearly 50 years on, Marley’s uplifting reggae remains a tonic for the soul. (Lisa Miller)
Madame Web
(In Theaters Feb. 14)
By emphasizing its thriller components, this production puts a different spin on the superhero genre. After nearly dying in an accident, Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson) can see the future. She learns that Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), wearing a black Spider-Man suit, is determined to kill three young women (Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor and Isabela Merced) to prevent them from using their web-slinging abilities. With much difficulty, Webb persuades the women to cooperate to thwart Sims numerous execution attempts. Tense action sequences first occur in Webb’s mind, giving her the “where, when and how” of Sims’s killer plans. Next, she and the others use her vision to stop him from succeeding. Drawing from the Spider-Man universe licensed to Sony, director S.J. Clarkson secured the all-important PG-13 rating for the teen audience. Nevertheless, since Webb is a lesser-known female superhero, the $80-miillion-dollar effort is expected to generate a mere fraction of the typical Marvel superhero movie. (Lisa Miller)
The Sea Shall Not Have Them poster
The Sea Shall Not Have Them / Albert R.N.
(Cohen Film Blu-ray)
Fans of World War II Hollywood will find much to appreciate in the early work of British director Lewis Gilbert. His The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954) dives deep into three wartime military units: an air-sea rescue PT boat; the downed bomber crew bobbing on a life raft; and headquarters, concerned with recovering the bomber’s vital, hand-held cargo. Like the best Hollywood war movies of that era, the distinct personalities of each unit member add interest. (In American films the individuals were distinguished by ethnicity, in the U.K. by class). The screenplay reveals many realistic moments of cold and exhaustion. The new Blu-ray pairs The Sea with another Gilbert film Albert R.N. (1953), about British POWs who suspect a spy in their midst. (David Luhrssen)
