Lots of good stuff came out this holiday month, and here's my favorites......
THE FAVOURITE---A funny, farcical chamber comedy drama set in the court of Queen Anne of England during the early 18th century war between England and France. When a stranger (played by Emma Stone) arrives at court, she weasels her way into the favor of the Queen, much to the chagrin to the Queen's long time friend and lover (Rachel Weisz)--and the two of them play one upmanship games to win as the Queen's FAVOURITE. Anne is delightfully portrayed by Olivia Colman, and all three women are destined to be nominated for acting awards. Much of the humor is dry, cruel and unfair, but the actors keep the mood light and curious. GRADE-------A-
ROMA---A Mexican black and white film based on childhood memories of its director Alfonzo Cuaron (best director for GRAVITY) is wistful and engrossing as it follows the year in the life of a maid in the early 1970's. Many scenes have resonated in my memory over the last month--some curious, moving or just funny. GRADE----------A-
MARY POPPINS RETURNS----A delightful remake of the original 1964 film, with new and a few returning characters. The songs were written by one of the original song writers, and the film mixes whimsical sequences featuring charming songs, comedy, dancing and sight gags and animation. I had a big stupid grin on my face the entire film. GRADE--------A-
SPIDERMAN: INTO THE SPIDER VERSE---I had no interest in seeing another film about Spiderman--especially animated. But several months ago at the end of VENOM they screened a long 10minute clip of this new film, and I was intrigued. The animation allows the filmmakers to really do different things with the action, and it looks so wonderfully chic and modern. My only complaint to this version is the final 20 minutes which becomes so chaotically abstract that I lost my train of thought. Still, it is classically brilliant in an exciting new way-with it's hip soundtrack and graffiti images it heralds a new way of presenting animation. GRADE-----A-
THE SHOPLIFTERS---This Japanese film tells of a poor, make shift family created organically by strangers who band together, adults and children, living in an abandoned house, stealing food and supplies to get by, and creating a loving bond. The film is gentle and beautifully composed, with generous feelings of love in spite of the criminal activity that seems to be promoted. GRADE-----------A-
THE UPSIDE----This remake of THE INTOUCHABLES--a 2011 French film--works quite well for American audiences mainly due to the chemistry between a rich, white paraplegic man and the ex-con black man who "accidentally" becomes his care giver, and luckily the two leads are played by Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart, who finally gets a great part to match his sarcastic urban wit. I was moved and humored by the film, even though I'd seen the original French version twice, and the audience was having as good a time as I was. The film has become a surprise hit grossing over $20 million it's first weekend, finally bumping AQUAMAN off the number one slot after 4 weeks. If you are ready for a moving comedy, THE UPSIDE is the film for you. GRADE--------------A-
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK---This film version of James Baldwin's novel is a beautiful experience--the direction and script is smooth and insightful, with each character making a solid and vivid impression of their plight. Set in the late 60's, the film tells of two young black lovers who become pregnant just as the young man is imprisoned for a crime he clearly didn't commit and the two poor family's must struggle to free him. This director, of the luminous MOONLIGHT, Barry Jenkins gives his new film the same glow as before, and in spite of some tragic themes, ignites the film with hope and love and dignity. GRADE------------B+
AQUAMAN---The film has been receiving mixed reviews, but any film that features a 10 legged octopus playing the drum set and the bongos with all legs can't be all bad, right? There's an explosion or fight scene every couple minutes, and some of those long haired underwater heroes pop in and out of the water with a flick of the hair and some self deprecating movements make things pretty fun. The underwater world reminded me of the wonders of BLACK PANTHER--things I've never seen before. I had a lot of fun at this movie. It didn't matter to me that there was a lot of mambo jumbo political talk or the usual bad man trying to run the universe that every comic book movie seems to have. I just had a good time. GRADE---------B+
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS--Here's an engaging historical drama with two fine actors--Saoirse Ronan plays Mary, and Margot Robbie plays her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. The cinematography, music and costumes are a pleasure to watch. After viewing I read up on the history/story behind the production, and somethings I wasn't sure of--seems like they skipped and some things were made up, but the entertainment factor was there and I try to give the writers the benefit of the doubt----since who really can know exactly what was said or done with any specificity. GRADE---------B
THE MULE---I'm no fan of Clint Eastwood's politics, but I do know that he makes smooth, non fussy films as a director--he gets to the point and moves on, and as an actor he does the same, being cast in appropriate roles and making each characterization look simple. THE MULE is based on a true story and it is very effective as a film. Eastwood plays a 90 year old man who has been a loser as a provider for his family and has never been around for them. He "accidentally" takes a job as a mule for a drug cartel--transporting increasingly large amounts of drugs from place to place, with increasing tension. He always surrounds himself with good actors, in this case like Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishbourne, Michael Pena, Andy Garcia, and especially Dianne Weist, who manages to steal with great efficiency and emotion, the few scenes she has as his estranged ex-wife. GRADE--------B
MORTAL ENGINES--An awkward title for this science fiction film set in the apocalyptic future about a large mobile city London (!) that gobbles up small mobile towns. There's a complicated chase --something to do with a mad man trying to "rule the world" while trying to kill the girl whose mother he had killed.....any way, the film is rather unique in a lot of ways, mostly to do with special effects, and surprisingly engaging. It helps that the film was written and produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (LOTR director and writers) and filmed in the always beautiful and unusual New Zealand landscapes. A very solid guilty pleasure. GRADE-------B
PERFECTOS DESCONOCIDES (PERFECT STRANGERS)---This Spanish film is a big guilty pleasure--and I just realized it was directed by one of my favorite Spanish directors, Alex de la Iglesia. Seven friends at a dinner party agree to play a party game where all cell phones are in the center of the table, and all messages, tweets and calls are read aloud or listened to on speaker. This of course causes all sorts of misunderstandings, embarrassments and surprises, and although the mood starts out mostly light and amusing, as the game takes some serious turns and becomes almost cruel, the stakes become higher as secrets start to spill out. There are four or five serious twists and double twists by the end. Loved it. GRADE-----------B
AT ETERNITY"S GATE--This fictionalized documentary covers much the same ground as the specialized hand painted animated film from last year LOVE, VINCENT. In a strong performance, Willem Dafoe plays van Gogh, Rupert Friend plays brother Theo, and Oscar Isaac plays Gauguin. The director Julian Schnabel blurs some scenes purposefully at the top or bottom or in the middle (thought I'm not sure why--it just makes the film hard to watch at times) and uses a lot of hand held camera work, which I'm not a fan of, so my one great take away is Dafoe. GRADE-----B-
THE FRONT RUNNER---This low key film has some interesting moments--it is based on the true experience that candidate Gary Hart had while he was running for president in 1988. He is (falsely) accused of infidelity--the relationship blown out of proportion by the news media. He is forced to quit the race. Recent events have shown that the pictures that hit newsstands were fabricated--set up by political enemies to disgrace him. It's a sad story but the film makers don't give the film any punch, and as a viewer, we hardly care by the end. GRADE---------B-
VICE----The actors in this biographical drama are all excellent--too excellent. Christian Bale heads the film as Dick Cheney, Amy Adams is his wife, and Sam Rockwell plays Bush, all a little too well. This film brought back all the anger and hostility I had towards this administration, and by the end of this film I was wanting to yell profanities at the screen, which I had to keep in by biting my tongue. This film made be feel angry, betrayed, hostile, and itchy. I HATED WATCHING THIS FILM. (I'm sure I'll feel the same way in 5 years time when they make a TRUMP film. Hopefully it will be funny.) GRADE------------C
VOX LUX---There's an interesting film here struggling to get out. Two teen sisters live through a horrifying experience at school. A dozen years later one has achieved great personal success as a singer because of a song she wrote about her experience, but she has become a selfish, vain diva and takes her unhappiness out on all who try to help her. Natalie Portman gives it her all as the older diva,and Jude Law is almost unrecognizable (in a good way)as her manager. The film ends with a 20 minute concert that she pulls together after a wild scene of drugging and sex. It's not a likable film, but the music is a redeeming factor with several songs written (and sung) by the artist SIA.
GRADE-----------------C
BUMBLEBEE-- This new film is really a remake of the transformer stories from a few years ago, but softer, gentler, and with a girl teenager as the lead. It starts off nicely, as she is gifted a junker VW Bug as an 18 year birthday present, then discovers it will transform into a gentle giant machine, but it quickly becomes pretty predictable during the last half with a lot of screen time taken up with giant machine fighting even larger giant machine, and the military men very quick to shoot first and ask questions later. GRADE---------C
REISSUES, NETFLIX, DVD's, or shown on TV--------------------
SCHINDLER'S LIST 1993---This award winning Steven Spielberg film is 25 years old, and I saw a new reissue in glorious black and white (color would have made viewing it too painful) and on a large Dolby stereo screen, but unfortunately there were not many people watching with me. It was easier watching this second time--the first time I was so nervous and distressed. What really stood out for me was the fine actors Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley, and the beautiful John Williams score. There are some horrible scenes of Holocaust cruelty and violence , but many more memorable scenes of hope and dignity and faith. It's still a chilling, sober film very well done. GRADE-------------------A-
STRUGGLE: LIFE AND LOST ART OF SZUKALSKI--This Netflix original documentary was about the life of an artist and sculpturist from Poland who inadvertently becomes involved with the Nazi movement in the late 1930's before he is able to escape to the United States. Nearly all of his major pieces were destroyed or bombed in Germany, even though critics around the world labeled him a genius. He is little known today except through a few discovered works and some photographs. GRADE-------------------B+
HAROLD AND LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY 2017--This couple, the Michelson's, were married more than 60 years and worked together in Hollywood behind the scenes. Harold was a story boarder, who worked with Hitchcock, Polanski, Mel Brooks, Kubrick, and many others through most of his career, drawing picture story boards that led to directorial decisions. She became one of the first (and few) film research librarians, assisting directors, set designers, costumers, and others to find accuracy in costumes and sets for period pictures. For movie fans, this Netflix documentary film is fascinating. GRADE------------B
SANTA CHRONICLES--A new Netflix film featuring a jolly Kurt Russell as Santa whose sleigh gets damaged by two pre-teen kids who end up helping him beat the clock on Christmas Eve. It's harmless fun for all ages, with miniature elves, 50's music, bad guys, and a very sexy Mrs. Clause. I had a reasonably good time with this one. GRADE---------------B
DUMPLIN'--A new Netflix film has Jennifer Aniston playing the mother of a full size daughter who tries out for a beauty pageant, encouraging other "different" teens to also try out. The film is improved by six new Dolly Parton songs on the soundtrack, but this is still very familiar stuff. GRADE--------------B-
RUMOR HAS IT 2005--A modest comedy starring Jennifer Aniston who suspects her dead mother and her very alive grandmother (Shirley MacClaine) may be the basis for THE GRADUATE novel and movie (as Elaine and Mrs. Robinson characters) and sets out to find the Dustin Hoffman character, played by Kevin Costner. The film has some great laughs, but it remains modest in all respects. GRADE--------B-
THE DEAD POOL 1988---A modestly effective Clint Eastwood ("Dirty Harry")cop thriller set amongst the Hollywood scene. This has some early, amusing guest shots of a young Jim Carrey as an over the top rocker, and one of Patricia Clarkson's early roles as an ambitious reporter. GRADE------B-
THE WILD PARTY 1975--Based on a legendary party that ends in an orgy and murder and inspired by the Fatty Arbunckle scandal, this low budget production was an early film directed by James Ivory (HOWARD'S END, REMAINS OF THE DAY, MAURICE, etc.) and stars Raquel Welch, James Coco and Perry King. It's not very good, but it has some odd and curious scenes, and the three leads are very watchable. GRADE-------------B-
VALLEY OF DECISION 1945--A rich man and his poor maid fall in love, but their fathers are enemies, causing lots of tension and guilt. Greer Garson, Gregory Peck, Lionell Barrymore and Donald Crisp have key roles. Soapy and melodramatic at times, but the cast is interesting. GRADE---------B-
THE MAN WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS 2002--A made for TV movie with Jason Alexander as a pre-war toy maker who is convinced by the government to stop making toys and make weapons instead when WWI breaks out. He takes the blame for canceling Christmas, then must convince the president that toys are necessary. Slow and dull film tries hard to please. GRADE------------------C+
POTTERSVILLE 2017--Despite strong comic cast (Michael Shannon, Judy Greer, Ron Perlman, etc) this Netflix film made me wince many times, and moves too slow, and was not very festive in spite of being set at Christmas. Plus the plot was stupid. GRADE---------------D+
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