Bohemian Rhapsody the Movie and FREDDIE MERCURY

So there's a long hyperbolic entry here coming, given I finally did see the long awaited Freddie Mercury/Queen Biopic that came out initially in November.

Won the Golden Globe and Rami Malek won for best actor.

Okay, a year ago, 3 years ago, even 10 or more years ago, I was not too excited about this given I felt Sascha Baron Cohen would not be a good choice to play Freddie.

And then a few years ago with the news about the dude from Mr.Robot playing him, I was still very skeptical.

And then the information and eventual reviews talking about how inaccurate the timelines were about events and when music was written. When Freddie was diagnosed with AIDS, etc.

I still had low expectations, even after initially being impressed by the Trailers.

So I saw it on Saturday/Sunday per Redbox, and while knowing those things would factor in, I actually really liked it.

Rami, while his performance and way of speaking/tone/personality at times was a little subdued and subtle, I think it worked really well.

I now have no problem with it winning Best Picture at the Globes and Rami getting Best Actor.

And the Academy Awards nominations and if it wins, also I will have no problem with.

I was actually in tears, really fighting them back after watching the end of it on Sunday morning, especially seeing the Live AID Wembley recreation.

So I should also add something about Freddie Mercury.

I have felt, and seeing this film and then habitually watching interviews on YouTube about the guy, I am magnetically drawn to him for some almost unexplainable reason.

There is something intrinsically unique about his personality, his way of speaking.

His humor
His god-given voice and songwriting
His imagination
His warmth


I think it even goes beyond his ability as a musician.

He's like Michael J Fox as among others, Alex P Keaton or Marty McFly. He's inherently LIKE-ABLE and enjoyable to hear speak.

And it's impossible to not get wrapped-up in loving him and appreciating his story.

His struggle is very sympathetic.

He's like a puppy dog I can't avoid being drawn to.

So naturally seeing this movie and Rami's performance brings tears out.

And it may already kind of have changed my feeling about Malek as well, maybe in sort of a Nicholas Cage or Renee Zelwegger kind of way. I may have to start watching Mr.Robot now, or at least look for movies he does in the future. At this point, I am cheering for him this weekend at the Oscars.

oh, 1 other point I suppose is with Queen. My NOSTALGIA with them is in the early 90's and Wayne's World their Greatest Hits cds did. I of course didn't know much classic rock other than The Beatles a few other groups until I was 14. But Bohemian Rhapsody the song and KQRS kind of got me into that.

And then really about 2000, 2001, 2002 I dove into their albums, although I don't know them religiously, I might want to revisit and visit for the 1st time some of them, especially after seeing this, I kind of have a renewed/new sense of love for them and Freddie.

Maybe I'll do a Top 10+ Queen songs too before/during or after that reviewing of their albums (the 80's and 90's especially).

I'm not sure I get the sense about him with many others just from seeing footage.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" Film casts Rami Malek (per November 2016)

I know this is kind of old news as I alluded to from the copied/pasted forum post I made a bit ago.

But this guy, Rami Malek is going to play Freddie? I guess if it got the Queen guys approval...I mean they are having Adam Lambert as well (and Paul Rodgers a few years back), so I guess a skeptical casting can't be shocking.

And I imagine it can't be any worse than Penn Badgley playing Jeff Buckley.

But, it goes back to, if you're going to do it, get the right person for the role. And they obviously waited for many years here given how long Sacha Baron Cohen was attached to this thing. 10 years maybe or more.

Blech.

I suppose I don't want to fully judge a book by its cover. I may not care for him in Mr.Robot (which honestly, has become more popular than Psych probably, which is baffling. At least from an Awards standpoint. Probably because it's a drama. But it has Christian Slater even, a guy who seemed cursed with tv shows for many years. They always got canceled. Emmy/Globe? lol..never. But only since Tony Shaloub and Monk, has a  USA Network show/actor received so much attention, whereas year after year it seemed Psych and Roday deserved recognition and NEVER did.).

And he has a somewhat prolific career that goes back to Glmore Girls in 2004, so maybe this will surprise me.

But on the surface, I still wonder if there was someone else who would make more sense.

Maybe they won't fuck up the Syd Barrett and Keith Moon biopics that are also long overdue.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1727824/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1

just saw Rami Malek,  the lead actor from USA Network's show "Mr. Robot" on Stephen Colbert. And I know it's kind of old news (November), but they talked about him starring as Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody" the Freddie biopic; the one that Sacha Baron Cohen was attached-to for a long time, but ultimately dismissed.

I honestly am not all that crazy about this casting, really, not any more than Sacha Baron Cohen. I suppose his height might be closer to Freddie's (SBC was WAY too tall), but he doesn't look all that much like Freddie (loosely, his dimples and facial expressions I guess I can see); I guess once they show some production pics, maybe that could help. 

But I'm still skeptical as I don't find Rami Malek all that amazing in the clips I've seen from Mr.Robot and some of his other work (Short Term 12, I honestly didn't find his character all that memorable in just revisiting some clips online).