‘The Whale’ Review: Brendan Fraser is Sly and Moving as a Morbidly Obese Man, But Darren Aronofsky’s Film Is Hampered by Its Contrivances

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic It’s in the nature of cinema that when a hugely popular and beloved movie is grand enough, the sequel to it almost has to try to top it in a go-big-or-go-home way. For a long time, each new James Bond adventure was more lavishly scaled, baroque, and stunt-tastic than the last. “The Godfather Part II” was darker and longer than “The Godfather,” “The Empire Strikes Back” enlarged the awesomeness of “Star Wars,” and “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” made the first “Terminator” look like a minimalist trinket. So how does that apply to “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”? Three years ago, Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” was a seamlessly debonair retro whodunit, set in the mansion of a murdered mystery novelist, that not only evoked the edge-of-your-brain storytelling panache of Agatha Christie but expanded the Christie genre into something delectable in its meta cleverness. At a time when comic-book films, action films, and other forms of kinetic fantasy appeared to be in the final stages of killing off everything else, “Knives Out” was a cathartic reminder that a movie mode we associate with vintage Hollywood — dialogue of airy density and wit, characters who pop with all-too-human flaws and foibles, a plot that zigs and zags until you’ll follow it anywhere — could still make a righteous stand at the megaplex. Holding it all together was Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, the film’s Southern-gentleman re-imagining of a Hercule Poirot/Sherlock Holmes sleuth, whose wryly deceptive genius made him, for some of us, more super than any superhero.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic If you’re a fan of “The Trip” and its sequels, those semi-improvised road comedies in which Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play slightly exaggerated versions of their real-life selves, you’ll know that they’re about more than just two men driving through the European countryside, eating fabulous food, trying to top each other with their Al Pacino impersonations. Coogan, in particular, comes off as a fellow who, for all his larkish narcissism, is so steeped in history that it’s literally alive for him. And that’s the feeling that courses through “The Lost King,” the new movie written by Coogan and Jeff Pope and directed by Stephen Frears. They’re the team that gave us “Philomena” (2013), the sharp-tongued heart-tugger that cast Judi Dench as a real-life Irishwoman tracking down the son she’d been forced to give up for adoption 50 years before. That movie was fine (a tad too sentimental in my book), but “The Lost King” is a growth ring, a richer, stronger, and more moving piece of work, a historical detective story that carries the kick of a true-life “Da Vinci Code.”

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic In “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” the winningly daffy-droll postmodern satirical biopic about the beloved cult song parodist of the MTV era, Al (Daniel Radcliffe), weird but not yet “Weird,” is sitting around with his roommates when lightning strikes — or, at least, bologna. One of the roommates asks Al to name the thing he’d most like to do in the world. Al, speaking with a fervor bigger than mere desire — he’s talking about nothing less than a dream — replies, with stoic conviction, “Make up the words to a song that already exists.” Moments later, the Knack’s “My Sharona” is blasting away on the radio, and just after he’s taken a package of bologna out of the fridge, he has his a-ha moment. The lyrics come to him in a flash: “Oo my little hungry one! Hungry one! Open up a package of MY bologna…” An irresistible parasitical fake star is born.  

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic A good biopic invites the audience to experience, from the inside out, who the subject really was. That’s the level that “Blonde,” Andrew Dominik’s film about Marilyn Monroe, operates on for most of its 2 hours and 46 minutes. Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ 2000 novel, the movie is a hushed and floating psychodramatic Klieg-light fantasia, shot in color and black-and-white, that presents a fusion of reality and fiction. But most of it is torn from reality. In “Blonde,” we glimpse Monroe’s cataclysmic childhood, watch her shoot key scenes from her movies or stare up at them from the audience of a Hollywood premiere (where the red-carpet flashbulbs sound like guns), see her turn the incandescent Marilyn wiggle and pizzazz on and off, see her caught in a maelstrom of drugs, gossip, self-hate, and unfair studio contracts, and watch her melt into the glow of pregnancy only to lose one baby after the next. Mostly, we eavesdrop on her relationships with men (Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller, JFK) who become, for Marilyn, a dysfunctional daisy chain of honeymoon-turned-nightmares.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was once known as the "People's Champ" in the wrestling ring. In his new world as one of the most highly coveted movie stars, he's recognized for having a heart of gold.  Johnson acknowledged Brendan Fraser's pivotal role in helping launch Johnson's Hollywood career while tweeting support for "The Whale" actor after a heartwarming moment caught on video. Fraser received a six-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival following the movie's premiere Sunday.

Brendan Fraser gives a cheeky smile while arriving at JFK airport in New York City on Tuesday afternoon (September 6).

Nineties heartthrob-turned-Oscar frontrunner Brendan Fraser was grinning from ear to ear as he landed at JFK Airport in New York City on Monday.The 53-year-old SAG Award winner was dressed comfortably in head-to-toe black attire for his trans-Atlantic flight from Italy.Brendan is still beaming over his Hollywood comeback after the fanfare from the world premiere of The Whale - in which he plays Charlie, a gay 600lb English teacher, wanting to reconnect with his daughter. Comeback kid: Nineties heartthrob-turned-Oscar frontrunner Brendan Fraser was grinning from ear to ear as he landed at JFK Airport in New York City on Monday Fraser got tear-eyed upon receiving a six-minute standing ovation for his performance during the 79th Venice International Film Festival on Sunday.Darren Aronofsky's critically-acclaimed psychological drama, based on Samuel D.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic The title of Walter Hill’s “Dead for a Dollar” makes it sound like a spaghetti Western, and the picture opens with stunning vistas and a wistfully valorous neo-Morricone score that gives you the impression — maybe the hope — that it will be. It ends on a very different note: a series of titles explaining, with precise dates and details, what happened to each of the main characters, as if the film were based on a true story. It’s the “American Graffiti” gambit of treating fictional characters as though they were real, only in this case it ends up revealing something essential about the drama we’ve been watching. Namely, how it could be so avid, specific, and scrupulously carpentered…yet remote.

Brendan Fraser is back in the spotlight in a big way. Judging by the actor's reception at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, Fraser's stardom has rocketed back to its '90s and early aughts levels. The star of Darren Aronofsky's  was reportedly moved to tears during the film's standing ovation — said to last a whopping six minutes -- after its premiere on Sunday.In videos shared on social media, the 53-year-old performer was seen seated applauding his castmates before Aronofsky encouraged him to stand and accept the audience's praise.

Protect Brendan Fraser at all costs!

Zack Sharf When it comes to buzz emerging out of the 2022 Venice Film Festival, few actors dominated headlines as positively as Brendan Fraser. The actor is earning Oscar buzz and the best reviews of his career for his leading turn in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale.” The Venice audience at the film’s world premiere gave the movie a huge six-minute standing ovation. Fraser broke down in tears during the reception, a video of which shared by Variety co-editor in chief Ramin Setoodeh on Twitter has earned over 15.5 million views and counting. Dwayne Johnson, who co-starred with Fraser in 2001’s “The Mummy Returns,” celebrated “The Whale” standing ovation on social media and championed Fraser’s acting comeback.

Brendan Fraser received a six-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival for his work in The Whale.The actor was brought to tears throughout, as for the first time in over a decade he is the centre of attention in Hollywood.For a time, Brendan was everywhere, starring in the biggest blockbusters that inspired a generation through the 90s and early 2000s.However, his fame all came crashing down as he fell out of favour with the inner circle of cinema.He opened up about it all in 2018 after he claimed he was the victim of sexual assault by former movie chief Philip Berk, which he denied in an email to GQ.For millennials that enjoyed their childhood through the late 90s and early 2000s, Brendan Fraser was one of the biggest names in Hollywood.He rose to prominence through 1997’s George of the Jungle, but became a household name when he starred as Rick O’Connell in 1999’s The Mummy.The turning point came in 2008 for Brendan, as he led two films that failed commercially and critically.The first was the ill-judged Journey to the Center of the Earth and the second was the threequel, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which essentially ended the franchise with a whimper.He never left acting though, but rather starred in much smaller roles and projects.The bulk of which was in TV, in series such as Texas Rising, The Affair and Condor.Things took a turn for the better in 2019 though, as he joined the cast of DC’s Doom Patrol.At 2022’s Venice Film Festival, Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale premiered, bringing Brendan back into the limelight.It’s just the beginning though, as he will appear alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.Brendan Fraser claims he is the victim

standing ovation at the Venice International Film Festival.Fraser, 53, broke down in happy tears on Sunday following a screening of his upcoming Darren Aronofsky movie, “The Whale.”His role as a 600-pound man in the drama has been widely praised before its official release later this year.Johnson, 50, tweeted a tribute to his friend on Sunday: “Man this makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan.“He supported me coming into his ‘Mummy Returns’ franchise for my first ever role, which kicked off my Hollywood career. Rooting for all your success brother and congrats to my bud Darren Aronofsky,” the former WWE star went on.Man this makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Francesco Zippel’s Sergio Leone doc, which premieres on Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival, is the first portrait of the Italian master made with full support of his children Raffaella and Andrea. Titled “Sergio Leone: The Man Who Invented America,” the high-profile doc is premiering in the Venice Classics section for docs on cinema. It features an impressive list of voices holding forth on what makes Leone special for them. Among these are: Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Giuseppe Tornatore, Frank Miller, Darren Aronofsky, Damien Chazelle and Robert De Niro (see clip). But aside from Leone’s visionary talent as a director what emerges is that as his career escalated from the so-called “Dollars Trilogy” to “Once Upon a Time in the West” through to his final masterpiece, “Once Upon a Time in America,” Leone’s life was steeped in two inextricably linked passions: film and family. 

Just over 20 years after one of Brendan Fraser's hit movies The Mummy Returns helped launch Dwayne Johnson's movie career, Johnson is praising Fraser's big comeback movie, The Whale.The 53-year-old Fraser made headlines over the holiday weekend for getting emotional during a six-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival for his upcoming film The Whale from director Darren Aronofsky.The 50-year-old Johnson shared a video of Fraser getting the standing ovation, while commenting on how he helped start his movie career. Whale: Just over 20 years after one of Brendan Fraser's hit movies The Mummy Returns helped launch Dwayne Johnson's movie career, Johnson is praising Fraser's big comeback movie, The Whale'Man this makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan,' Johnson began in his Twitter post. 'He supported me coming into his Mummy Returns franchise for my first ever role, which kicked off my Hollywood career,' he added.  'Rooting for all your success brother and congrats to my bud Darren Aronofsky,' he concluded, with the hashtag #TheWhale.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling” is a movie that, in recent weeks, has been besieged and consumed by offscreen dramas, none of which I’ll recount here, except to note that when a film’s lead actress seems actively reluctant to publicize the film in question, that’s a sign of some serious discord. Yet it would be hugely unfair to allow this tempest in a teapot of gossipy turmoil to influence one’s feelings about the movie. If you want to talk about problems related to “Don’t Worry Darling,” you need look no further than at what’s onscreen. The film, written by Katie Silberman, with the brilliant production design of Katie Byron, is a kind of candy-colored “Stepford Wives” in the Twilight Zone meets “The Handmaid’s Tale” for the age of torn-at-the-seams democracy. In theory, this should add up to a juicy watch. Wilde, whose first feature was the witty and vivacious 2019 girls-on-a-bender comedy “Booksmart” (this is her second film), is a gifted director who knows how to set a mood. In “Don’t Worry Darling,” she does that to the max, and for a while you get caught up in it (or, at least, I did). Between the pop ambition, the tasty dream visuals, and the presence of Harry Styles in his first lead role, “Don’t Worry Darling” should have no trouble finding an audience. But the movie takes you on a ride that gets progressively less scintillating as it goes along.

Dwayne Johnson is sharing his support of Brendan Fraser, following the premiere of Brendan‘s latest movie, The Whale, during the 2022 Venice Film Festival over the weekend.

Brendan Fraser on Twitter, following the first screening of his new film The Whale. The psychological drama from Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday (4 September).

The Whale at the Venice International Film Festival.The new film from Darren Aronofsky sees the actor play a reclusive English teacher who lives with life-threatening obesity.Since the film premiered over the weekend, footage has emerged of the audience giving Fraser a standing ovation, which reportedly lasted for six minutes. The star can also be seen to be tearful during the clip.The standing ovation for #TheWhale was so enthusiastic, Brendan Fraser tried to leave the theater but the crowd’s applause made him stay.