The Olive Opinion

Michael Jackson was and sometimes even still is a cultural phenomenon, and there has been a lot of chatter around this biopic on the King of Pop, from legal issues, to reshoots and delays, all have finally culminated in what we would hope to consider to be the first blockbuster of the summer movie season. Out of the gate, from the trailers, this seemed promising, but we weren't sure how much of Michael's life, struggles, and success would be featured on screen and how audiences would react to celebrating as well as negating certain things that occurred within the Jackson family.  Overall, I would say this biopic was a good time at the theater. It does not let up from emotional punches to its musical sequences. It was very refreshing to watch this with an active crowd who were true fans of Michael Jackson; it was almost endearing to see them celebrate, laughing, crying, and singing along to the movie. I do think that the movie does manage to do a good job in creating that atmos...

  'NO! Brendan Fraser is not in Lee Cronin's The Mummy' was Lee Cronin's response to the audiences coming out of advance screenings expecting it to be a continuation of that franchise. Yes, they are in development on that project, but it just got announced, and no official confirmation has happened yet. Somehow, a bunch of people going to watch this have no comprehension of how much time it takes to make a movie before putting it on the big screen. This is also a New Line/Warner Bros. feature, with no connection to the Universal monsters of it all, so they can do whatever they want with a concept, idea, or character because it's in the public domain.  With that said, this version of the mummy is directed by Lee Cronin, which is very much part of this movie's marketing. For those wondering who this director is, he is best known for directing the most recent Evil Dead Rise movie, which I have not seen. After watching this and learning that Sam Raimi is returni...

  There had been a lot of discourse about the photos from Zendaya and Robert Pattinson filming in New York last year that ended up becoming The Drama, a new A24 feature that became April's most curious choice amid a bloated lead-up to the summer movie season. Some of us are concerned this may be an award push for Zendaya. Much of the film carries a lot of weight, aside from what looks like a budding romance between Emma and Charlie, but it is indeed a dark comedy; the comedy is debatable, in my opinion, with two specific messages muddled together.  What I think was unexpected, which can come across as jarring for some viewers, is that The Drama very much relies on the fact that conflicting views on a controversial opinion can affect relationships. I think that mentioning that in this review will already change the perception of this film in general (if you haven't seen it and are here to read my take on it), but it is very hard to review this film without at least acknowl...