Best Song: "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" (2019)

Scene from Rocketman

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now but wait until the bad years.

Legitimate Theater Bonus: #12. The Lion King (1997)

The Lion King

Welcome to Legitimate Theater: a column dedicated to movie-based stage musicals. The goal of this series is to explore those stories that originated in films and eventually worked their way onto Broadway and beyond. By the end of each entry, there will hopefully be a better understanding of this odd but rampant trend in modern entertainment. Are these stories really worth telling through song and dance? How can it even compare to the technical prowess of a camera and seamless editing? Join me on this quest as I explore the highs and lows of this trend on the third Wednesday of every month and hopefully answer what makes this Legitimate Theater.

Review: "Rocketman" is One of the Best Music Biopics in Years

Scene from Rocketman

If there was a better metaphor for a director Dexter Fletcher's career, it would be the opening scene of the Elton John biopic Rocketman. While his previous film Bohemian Rhapsody won four Oscars, it also received massive criticism for its depiction of Freddie Mercury. With many considering it one of the worst Best Picture nominees this decade and placed original director Bryan Singer in a heat of notoriety. Fletcher needed Rocketman more as a chance to prove himself as a filmmaker capable of doing a biopic right. It's why as John (Taron Egerton) sat down in the rehab chair, looking for a second chance at happiness, it feels like Fletcher sitting there in apology. Luckily it doesn't take long not only for him to repent, but prove himself to be a far more capable director than what was let on. Rocketman isn't just a vast improvement over Bohemian Rhapsody, it's one of the best biopics of the decade.

Best Song: "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" (1994)

Scene from The Lion King

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.