Before the dog days of summer engulf us, there are some pretty good films that I've seen during the first part of summer, as follows-----
DON'T MAKE ME GO---Actor John Cho (who is featured as Sulu in the recent STAR TREK films and appeared as co-lead in several HAROLD AND KUMAR films) has his best character yet as a single dad with a brain tumor and his precocious teen daughter Mia Isaac (new comer with a new film this month NOT OKAY on HULU) and both really make you believe in this charming road movie at they take a trip trying to meet up with the mother who left her as a child to be raised by her father. The characters are charming yet painfully real and the film contains several punches that you won't predict along with some heartwarming laughs. Streaming on PRIME. GRADE-------------A
MR. MALCOMB'S LIST---We are in Edwardian England here, with a very diverse cast, and Mr Malcomb has very high tastes in women. When early on he stops dating a dullard, she becomes furious and decides to have her single long time best friend seduce and then dump him (with her own priority list). Of course if you are a Jane Austin fan (think EMMA crossed with PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) you know that the plan they come with will have some kinks in it. Very likeable and funny. GRADE----------A-
THE FORGIVEN---The rich are different than you or I. British society couple played by Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain head out to a mountain resort in Morocco where another rich friend is throwing an all weekend debauched party. On the way a tragic accident affects the lives of all at the party. Director John Michael McDonagh excellent last film CALVERY 2014 was one of my favorites from that year. This new film features some unlikeable characters but the dialogue sears with pain, guilt and sorrow, all in a slow burn noir sort of way. There is tension in every scene. GRADE----------------A-
CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH--viewed at SIFF--Triple threat director/writer/lead actor Cooper Raiff does a likeable job in all three categories, and Dakota Johnson has never been smoother or more appealing. Raiff is a bar mitzvah party host who becomes involved with an older woman Johnson, with a special needs teen age daughter. The film is very pleasing, and surprises with a unique approach to each character. GRADE-----------------A-
DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA--If you loved the PBS series and the previous film, then you will love love love the movie. A silent movie crew moves into the mansion causing havoc, and half the upper class goes to the south of France to check out the summer villa that Lady Violet has inherited from a long ago admirer. Every single character gets a special scene and/or big moment, and it's a pleasure to watch it happen. GRADE------------A-
THE MONTANA STORY--viewed at SIFF--A modest, simple story of estranged siblings who come home for the death of their abusive father. The big question--how do you get the beloved horse back to New York City? An honest and straightforward drama. GRADE--------A-
FIRE OF LOVE---viewed at SIFF-- A lovely documentary about two French volcano scientists (volcanologists) and lovers who are killed the same day by an eruption they were too close to. They left thousands of photos and manuscripts--an extraordinary compilation of scientific study. Streaming soon on Disney +. GRADE---------A-
TOP GUN: MAVERICK--I didn't really like the first film some 35 years ago--too much macho posturing and it felt like an add for the air force/military in general. Now Tom Cruise is back in his 50's playing a trainer and the film feels a lot more relaxed and the aerial shots are (dare I say it) somewhat impressive--you get the feeling that you are there inside the cockpit. The plot is not great, but I enjoyed watching the more mature characters interact including Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm and Ed Harris. Surprisingly entertaining. GRADE----------B+
ELVIS--In the fictionalized biographical film about Elvis Presley, director Baz Luhrmann throws in every camera swirl and cut and aerial shot and close up and long shot and handheld shot he can think of, and the overly busy camera work annoyed me for the first 20 minutes, but newcomer Austin Butler is terrific as Presley and Tom Hanks as Colonel Parker and Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla mostly all hit their high marks in this engrossing musical drama. The classic songs are effectively used, and Priscilla and daughter Lisa Marie have all given a big thumbs up to the film's accuracy. GRADE---------B+
MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS--Apparently this film, based on a novel from the 1950's, has been made into a film before, but I'd never heard of it. (Turns out if was named after the novel "Mrs.'Arris Goes to Paris"--a TV movie-- and featured Angela Lansbury, Omar Sharif and Diana Rigg.) Lead Leslie Manville is perfect as a widowed helpful cleaning lady who stumbles across a Christian Dior dress and she wants one of her own, so she's off to Paris to buy one, having misadventures along the way. It's a true fantasy film if ever there was one. Jason Isaac and Isabelle Huppert and Lucas Bravo lend amusing support. GRADE---------B+
GABY GIFFORD WON'T GIVE UP--Documentary about congresswoman who was shot in the head in 2011 and her long road back to health, the film also shows the support she received from her astronaut husband who became an Arizona senator in 2020. Part of her recovery has to do with the program of gun legislation sponsored in her name--and attempt to regulate gun ownership to youth, criminals and mentally ill. It's a powerful and meaningful film. GRADE--------B+
VENGEANCE--A New York podcaster and journalist is conned into traveling to Texas to attend the funeral of a girl he had only occasionally hung out with, by her brother who insists she was murdered. The podcaster thinks there may be a story here, and the film works well as a mystery, clash of cultures and comedy/drama. Written and acted by B.J.Novak, with a smart supporting cast including Dove Cameron, Issa Rae, Boyd Holbrook, and a smoothly evil rendering by Ashton Kutcher as a drug dealer. GRADE---------B+
THE INNOCENT--viewed at SIFF--From Norway comes this chilling supernatural thriller about some children who discover they have some dark and dangerous powers, that sometimes cannot be controlled. Sort of a Nordic THE BAD SEED, the film keeps you gripped and strangely satisfied. GRADE-------------------B
THE WATCHER--(from SIFF) A new American bride who follows her husband to a new job in Bucharest becomes unnerved when she thinks she's being followed by serial killer/stalker. It's a thriller with some nifty twists and the lead Maika Monroe, who has been compared to a dramatic Marilyn Monroe, is fascinating to watch. GRADE-------------B
BENEDICTION--British biographical film about the life of Siegfried Sassoon, who was a soldier in WW1, was committed to a mental health hospital after the war and became an avid anti-war protester and published poet, writer and statesman. Director Terence Davis smoothly moves the film though the many parts of his life, and Sassoon is played by Jack Lowden (in his 20's and 30's) and Peter Capoldi in his final years. GRADE----------B
PHANTOM OF THE OPEN (viewed at SIFF)--British comedy drama based on a true story of a frustrated dock worker who decides to become a golfer because it looks so easy. He somehow gets into the British Open Golf tournament but is so bad that he becomes a sensation. Mark Rylance and Sally Hawkins are featured and the film is now available on Amazon, YouTube and Vudu. GRADE-------------B
NOPE-- Jordon Peele's new film after GET OUT and US is another sci-fi thriller about siblings who own a horse farm and are trying to get photographic proof of an alien ship that seems to be exploring the valley that they live near. Oscar winner Daniel Kaaluuya is moody but mumbles his dialogue like Marlon Brando used to do. Keke Palmer is very perky and interjects some humor, and Steven Yeun and Brandon Perea round out the cast, in this companion piece to CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. It features some awesomely beautiful special effects at the end. GRADE----------B
DR. STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS--This new Marvel film featuring Benedict Cumberbatch in a leading role is one hell of a ride. Directed by horror great Sam Raimi, the film features Rachel McAdams, Elizabeth Olsen and Xochiti Gomez in major roles as Strange jumps from different universes to protect earth from being destroyed, and to save a young child. Yep, it doesn't always make much sense, and he also encounters different versions of his self, but I just learned to roll with it and found it visually entertaining none the less. The special effects are truly bizarre and impressive at times and hopefully his next film won't be so convoluted. GRADE---------B
THE BLACK PHONE---When a 13 year old boy is kidnapped by a serial killer (Ethan Hawke), he discovers that a disconnected black phone on the wall of his basement room prison allows him to talk to the dead victims of the killer, and they all try to help him avoid their fate. In spite of a cliched set up, the film takes time to develop solid characters and it has some surprises, too. GRADE----------B
LIGHTYEAR--This Disney Pixar animated feature has the famous male toy from TOY STORY develop his own backstory which has nothing to do with TOY STORY. He's trapped on a strange planet with his crew and can go forward in time, ending up with his crew's next generation of characters. The animation is up to Disney standards, but the plot is ho hum. GRADE---------B
PERSUASION --New version of Jane Austin's final novel now streaming on Netflix. The casting is refreshingly racially mixed and overall the film captures the flavor of the times. I did have a small issue with the Dakota Johnson's lead character turning to address the camera a number of times, as if pandering to a modern audience was really necessary. Still, Austin's romantic notions and complex emotions come through well. GRADE---------------B
JAYESHGHAIR JORDAAR--This charming, silly, musical and comedy/drama film from India has a young man resisting his parents demands that this time his wife's pregnancy must be a male heir. He has learned that this, the 7th pregnancy, is again a girl, and he doesn't want his wife to have another abortion (!--apparently she's had six so far--!)). He plots to runaway to a village of mostly men who want to welcome any and all women to their population, but his parents are in pursuit. The humor is both slapstick and broad and sometimes sly, and there is a happy dance at the end, naturally. GRADE-----------B
I LOVE MY DAD--(Viewed at SIFF) Triple threat James Morosini wrote, directed and stars in this cringe worthy comedy about an obsessive father who is cut off from texting with his son, so he builds an alias and catfishes his son to stay in touch. Unfortunately the son falls for the catfished woman and seeks more.....Patton Oswald is very funny as the father, and if there is a complaint here, it's that the film is too clever for its own good. Still, very good for what it is. Still in theatres but coming soon to PRIME. GRADE---------------B
OPERATION: MINCEMEAT--A Netflix film, this true story has Allied forces trying to sell the story to Nazis (using a dead man!) that forces are changing to another country to keep Nazi forces away from where they are really attacking. Colin Firth, Kelly Macdonald, Mathew MacFayden, Jason Isaac and Penelope Wilton head an excellent cast. It's a tense, well done war film. GRADE--------B
EASTER SUNDAY--Comedian Jo Koy heads the cast of this feel good Filipino family comedy about feuding adult sisters and the big family event that brings them together on Easter Sunday. A couple times Koy breaks into his comedy routine ( an especially long routine in church!), but a subplot about stolen boxing gloves and gangsters seem gratuitous and dull, but overall this is mostly family humor and the production is bright and sunny. Also featured: Lou Diamond Phillips, Tia Carrera and a very funny Tiffany Haddish GRADE-----------B
MEMORY--One of my favorite action directors, Martin Cambell (GOLDENEYE, CASINO ROYALE, THE PROTEGE) takes on a remake of the Belgian crime thriller MEMORY OF A KILLER. This time the assassin is starting to loose his memory--he takes Alzheimer medication--and is played by Liam Neeson, who these days seems to make at least two action films a year--mostly forgettable. Good casting includes Monica Belluchi and Guy Pearce, and Campbell gets some stylish action sequences with Neeson. GRADE------------B
MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES--(viewed at SIFF)--Modest, low key animated film expanded from a short (which may have been more satisfying) about a small snail who lives alone in a huge house with his grandmother. He decides to try to find the rest of his family. Not a lot of a plot, but the voices are sweet (Jenny Slate is Marcel, Isabella Rosselini plays his grandmother, and Lesley Stahl plays herself when she comes to interview Marcel.) Too slow and dull for small children. GRADE----------B-
THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER--New Thor Marvel film is lively and sometimes funny, but sometimes too silly to get into. Russell Crowe has some fun playing Zeus and Christian Bale really gets into his bad guy character. Also featuring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Taika Waititi, who also directed with a lot of energy, but not always in a good way. GRADE----------B-
HUSTLE--This Netflix feel good sports movie features a likeable Adam Sandler who discovers a great basketball player in Spain (Juancho Hernangomez) and tries to leverage his self and the player into the NBA. There's not much depth and the characters are cliches, but everyone is very likeale, including co-star Queen Latifah. GRADE-----------B-
BULLIT TRAIN--This new film featuring a charming Brad Pitt has at least four or five big laughs, but nearly every scene depends on a violent confrontation as a half dozen assassins are on board a bullet train that no one can leave safely. The violence is tiresome and creepy, though the cast is attractive and game. GRADE-----------C+
MEN--This creepy thriller becomes a wierd, sick science fiction nightmare by the end, as a woman who witnessed the death of her partner goes on vacation in a rental home for a few weeks, only to be stalked by a series of men in this small village. Oddly, the men are all well played by the same actor Rory Kinnear, though it may take a while to figure that out. Jessie Buckley (last year's LOST DAUGHTER) is fine as the lead, but the finally is rather tasteless and I'm not sure what it is trying to say. GRADE---------C+
JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION--While it is temporarily pleasant to see some original actors back in scientific action, this lumbering sequel is completely forgettable, and I hope to never NEVER NEVER have to sit through another turgid sequel of dinosaurs again. GRADE-----------C
MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU--A little of the nonsensical chatterings go far with me, and the "plot" was a redo of an earlier film, and I had to fight off dozing through this film, waking three times for my grandson to go to the bathroom!?! To be fare, some groups of young people cheered wildly at certain chaotic sequences, and I wondered why. GRADE---------C
CRIMES OF THE FUTURE--Director David Cronenberg's latest film, about an artist who shows what happens when his organs start to regrow and reconfigure, but the film has little to say about the future of organ regrowth. It's moody, slow and visually odd but leaves you with a "so what?" feeling. GRADE---------------C
HANSAN: RISING DRAGON--In spite of some impressive visuals of warships smashing into each other, and great looking costumes, this war epic is a drag to sit through. Nearly a dozen men in full regalia with masks or bulky helmets are introduced but with knowing only their unrecognizable Korean names they were hard to remember who was who. And many Korean places were unfamiliar to modern day audiences or had changed their names since the 1500's--well I felt in the dark during most of the proceedings. This film is a lot like John Woo's RED CLIFFS saga, but much more complicated to understand. GRADE--------C
SUMMERING--Four 11 year old girls spend the final weekend of summer wandering through their small town, chatting about school and friends and parents and what to do about the dead man's body they have discovered in the woods. They do some detective work, but the low key film raises more questions than it answers, and the moms spend an afternoon wondering where they are. Lake Bell and Megan Mullally are the only known names playing moms, but they are so underplayed I didn't recognize them until the credits. I wanted this film to be better, but the low budget and murky camera work works against the film. GRADE-----------C
BRIAN AND CHARLES---A low budget, quirky British film about a loner who creates a robot out off a washing machine (?) has some modest charms but becomes unforgettable soon after viewing. GRADE----C
FANTASTIC BEASTS: SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE-- This dark and moody fantasy film is a bore and disappointment. The only thing I recall is that someone states that Dumbledore is gay, but nothing is made of this and it has no meaning as the film drags on. There are some sweet special effects, but otherwise, go back and watch the entire HARRY POTTER series again. GRADE------D+
-----OLDER VINTAGE FILMS ON DVD AND TV............
MOUSE ON THE MOON 1963--A quite funny film about a small European nation that manages to compete with the United States and Russia by sending a small spaceship to the moon first--one that was paid for by the U.S.! Margaret Rutherford, Terry Thomas and Ron Moody are especially amusing in this delightfully goofy gem. GRADE-------A-
THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN 1976--The third film after PINK PANTHER and SHOT IN THE DARK--finds ex-inspector Herbert Lom being released from a mental hospital after his run ins with the incompetent Peter Sellers, but soon he feels the need to kill Sellers by hiring two dozen assassin's from around the world. The film is pretty funny with a lot of physical slapstick and amusing jokes. Also featuring Lesley-Anne Downs and Omar Sharif as two assassins. GRADE-------B+
ALWAYS AT THE CARLYLE 2018--Documentary about the stylish Carlyle Hotel in New York City, with interviews and stories from workers and guests who have faithfully stayed there, including George Clooney, Anjelica Huston, Jack Nicholson, Lenny Kravitz, Woody Allen, Elaine Stritch and many others. GRADE-----------B
GEORGETOWN 2019--Set near Washington DC and based on a true story, this tells of a hustler Christopher Waltz who uses high society matron Vanessa Redgrave to climb his way into political money and power. Annette Bening plays Redgrave's suspicious daughter, and it is pretty fascinating. Waltz also directed this feature. GRADE----------B
THE CHAPERONE 2018--Based on a true story, Elizabeth McGovern stars as a mid west middle class woman who chaperones a younger teen , wanting to be an actress (Haley Lee Richardson plays a young Louise Brooks) to New York City and both characters find liberating ways to break from their shells. Set in the 1920's the interesting PBS film also features fine acting from Blythe Danner and Campbell Scott. GRADE------------------B
GET ON UP 2014--A biographical film about the early life and career of soul singer James Brown, his sad mother, and his first white manager, played by Chadwick Bozeman, Viola Davis and Dan Aykroyd, respectively. GRADE----------B
A CALL TO SPY--2019--Linus Roache stars as a man assigned by Churchill to start up a spy ring of women to serve in World War II in covert operations. An intriguing story based on true events. GRADE----------B
THE AMAZING ADVENTURE 1936--Cary Grant stars as a bored millionaire who complains to his doctor about his lethargy. The doctor tells him he needs to try to live off a few dollars a month--not from his estate--and that will cure him. He bets the doctor 50,000 pounds he can do it for a year, and then tries. Along the way he tries to sell stoves, very successfully, and later becomes driver for a taxi service, and falls in love with a secretary who has decided she must marry for money to protect her sister's illness. The film is a poor mans Preston Sturges film. It moves along quickly but mostly because the dialogue is rushed and no time is spent on character development. GRADE---------B-
WHERE'S POPPA?--1970-- A crude, rude, sometimes very funny black comedy by director Carl Reiner with dentist George Segal trying to unload his demanding, demented mother (Ruth Gordon) on his brother, so that he can court his new assistant Trish VanDevere. Some of the sick jokes are cringe worthy--some are very choice. GRADE---------------B-
3 HUSBANDS--1950--A man who has died and gone to heaven, asks for 24 hours to watch the reactions of three friends who are about to find out their wives have all been unfaithful with him. It's kind of a weird setup but is played mostly as a comedy. With Eve Arden, Ruth Warrick and Howard DeSilva. Sort of the anti thesis to a LETTER TO THREE WIVES but not as interesting or profound. GRADE---B-
JUNE AGAIN 2020-- Austrailian actress Noni Hazlehurst (A PLACE TO CALL HOME) is always effective as a dementia patient who suddenly gains back her senses and memory and tries to fix all the things that have gone wrong since she's been in her nursing home, and she nearly succeeds, but some plot twists don't always ring true. GRADE------------B-
FINGER OF GUILT 1956--Richard Basehart and Constance Cummings star in this mystery of a woman who turns up accusing a man of breaking off their affair --and he claims to not know who she is. The ending is not a surprise. GRADE-------C
THE SONG OF LUNCH 2019--Alan Rickman stars and narrates, and Emma Thompson is an old girl friend, and the film dialogue is all poetry about an afternoon together recalling a time a dozen years earlier. Unfortunately the Rickman character is a pompous fool and you can easily see why they are not together any longer.
My Favorite streaming programs from the past 3 months:
THE HOUR--British drama about putting on an hourly, weekly TV show about scandal and political intrigue set in the mid 1950's (a more serious 60 MINUTES) featuring Ben Whitshaw and Dominic West and Romola Garai. Unfortunately just two seasons, just when it was really getting juicy!!!!
THIS IS GOING TO HURT--Another British series with Ben Whitshaw as a gay baby doctor--the film has outrageous sarcasm and humor with explicit scenes of sex and blood and baby birthing---and it's pretty funny. A cross between MASH and HOSPITAL--but more manic. So far just one season but I can't wait.
TOTAL CONTROL--Political drama from Australia about a new comer who becomes a sensation after a shocking on line incident. I'm totally fascinated by the politics even though I knew nothing about Aussie government. Season 3 currently in production. Can't wait.
HIDDEN--Streaming Welsh cop show that spends a lot of time getting to know the private lives of the cops and the criminals. Slow moving at times but very intense and surprising. Three seasons so far but I think more is on the way.
UNCOUPLED--Neil Patrick Harris is very funny as a middle aged gay man in Manhattan who in the first scene is dumped after 17 years by his partner during a birthday celebration. The writer of SEX IN THE CITY and EMILY IN PARIS scores another sexy comedy winner. Season 1 available, season 2 on the way.
We've sampled a couple other series, but nothing felt good after one or two episodes----all the above are worth the efforts to watch.
