December slipped by so quickly I realized I hadn't posted for the month until this past week, so here goes.
I love a good, tough, smart script, and when it is headlined by one of the greatest living actors working today, an intensely angry, Oscar-worthy Frances McDormand, up pops THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI. Here is basically a revenge, character study thriller with lots of wicked humor to soften the edges, as McDormand plays an angry mother frustrated that the local police have not caught the man responsible for the rape and murder and burning of her teen age daughter. Woody Harrelson is the police chief, and he too is annoyed that he cannot find the killer, and horrified when McDormand purchases three old billboards to criticize the police for their lack of results. His racist, idiot deputy, played just this side of cariciture, is inhabited by the excellent character actor Sam Rockwell, who should get a well deserved supporting actor nomination for this role. Don't expect a tidy ending to this thriller, but there are quite a number of hilarious, outrageous, twistedly moving scenes along the way. GRADE-------------------A-
Disney's Pixar unit for animated films manages to top themselves with nearly each consecutive film, and the newest called COCO is again a marvel of animation, story, characters, music and color. My only objection would be that the ambitious plot and themes may tend to overwhelm the less sophisticated of audiences. In a small Mexican village, a young boy dreams of becoming a singer and guitar player, but his family actively prohibits this. Through some magical process during the Day of the Dead activities, he crosses a bridge to the Land of the Dead to find his singing ancestor and seek permission to play and sing, but finds that if he doesn't return before sunrise, he will join the Dead. Most of the animation is realistic and at times colorfully and beautifully surreal. The music is mostly charming, if a little old fashioned, and there's a lot of intriguing themes about death, life, dying, remembrances, customs and honor. In some ways COCO is the most challenging "family" film I've ever seen, in that it may be more enjoyable for adults than for some kids. GRADE-------------A-
When the sex scandals exploded across society this fall, the director Ridley Scott of the new thriller ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD decided to cut out of the finished film an accused actor Kevin Spacey, who played the major role of John Paul Getty, and replace him with Christopher Plummer. There were about 20 some scenes that had to be reshot to include Plummer, and I can report that they are seamlessly inserted into this engrossing, based on a true story thriller. Michelle Williams has the major role of Getty's son's divorced wife, Gail, as she tries to get back her kidnapped son. When the elder Getty refuses to pay the 17 million dollar ransom, she tries to negotiate with her ex-father in law, and ends up working through one of Getty's money men, played by a mellow Mark Wahlberg. In spite of the fascinating and effective story line, the film manages to also be a strong character study of a stingy, rich old man with only half a soul, and of a passionate, determined mother who was not afraid to stand up to wealth and power. GRADE-----------------B+
I saw this at VIFF in October, but the pleasures of the photography, music, actors and script have lingered in my mind more vividly than most any other film I've seen this year. CALL ME BY YOUR NAME is a lushly romantic "first love" story set in 1983 in Northern Italy, written by James Ivory (one of the best directors in the 1980's and 1990's for, among others----REMAINS OF THE DAY, HOWARD'S END, MAURICE, ROOM WITH A VIEW etc) that features a talented and mature teen age boy who becomes infatuated with an older (8 years) man during a dreamy summer in Italy. It's a simple story, but the direction by Luca Guadagnino, who also directed A BIGGER SPLASH last year, and I AM LOVE 2010 has engulfed this story in sunshine, mystery, intelligence, eroticism, innocence, longing and love. In spite of three previous Oscar nominations, I see an Oscar win for James Ivory's script coming soon. GRADE--------B+
It's playing in theatres in larger cities, but you can also catch this new film MUDBOUND on Netflix if you belong. This film about two poor families living on the same southern farm just after WW2 shows the different lives of a black veteran and a white veteran who have both just returned from war. Their war experiences have bound them together as friends, but the rest of the family members still struggle with prejudice and hatred, in spite of having more in common than you'd imagine. A large cast is perfectly in tune to the times, and the director expertly crosses their paths to compelling effect, and because of the frequent rain showers throughout the year, the film is called MUDBOUND, which is also symbolic of their struggles. GRADE------------------B+
Director Alexander Payne and writer Jim Taylor are nothing if not ambitious, and their new film DOWNSIZING is chock full of many fascinating ideas. Matt Damon plays a struggling middle class man who allows himself to be downsized--shrunk to just 5 inches tall, in order to live large on planet earth, which is quickly becoming over populated and polluted. There are however, no silly sight gags or looming cats chasing him around. Instead, the serious film shows us that the grass is not always greener, and Damon becomes dissatisfied with his new life, until he meets a political dissident from Vietnam who was forcibly shrunken, and realizes that her new life of human service is the life that is now attractive to him. Hong Chau plays this new woman, and she is the most humane character in the film, setting him on new adventures and life pursuits. The trailer stresses the comedy in the film, but the film raises some disturbing issues of trust, loyalty, politics and love. Some may be disappointed that the humor was not amplified, but let's leave that for another type of fantasy film.
GRADE---------------------B
This new film cannot decide whether or not it is a drama, thriller, comedy, satire, or docudrama--sometimes it is all the above. Based on the true story, I, TONYA tells of the events before and after the attack on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in the year 1994 leading up to and after the Olympic Games. The film is funny one scene, and then the next scene shows Harding as being shockingly abused by her husband (played well by Sebastian Stan) or tormented by her cruel mother (an extraordinarily effective and disturbing Alison Janney in fervor mode.) The plot is so weird as to be unbelievable. Harding is played fiercely by Margot Robbie, who may not look exactly like Harding, but captures the angry, hautie pout that this so called "trailer trash" girl exhibited. I did not enjoy watching some of this film, especially because of the cruelty, violence and abuse that she had to put up with, and because the audience feels uncertain how they are supposed to feel toward her, but I can safely say that I was not bored, either. GRADE--------------B
Not exactly animation, but a live action film where the film makers painted over every scene with oil based paints to make it all look like a van Gogh painting, LOVING VINCENT is an amazing visual experience to behold. Dramatically, however, the plot is based on a possible mystery about Vincent van Gogh's death, possibly suicide or murder, and the plot never resolves itself, and we really don't get to understand much about Vincent's life. Well worth seeing, especially for art and van Gogh fans, and those interested in visual creativity. GRADE-----B
Set in the early 1900's, this film THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, based on the life of P.T. Barnam feels schizophrenic from the start. The sets and costume design feel authentic, but this being a musical, every time someone opens their mouth to sing, the songs and choreography look and sound like music and movements from current pop culture today. In addition, the film feels forced to appear BIG--big moments, big drama, big feelings. There is very little subtlety in this film. BUT, that is not all bad, because I enjoyed the music and most of the songs were good. The cast, including the lead Hugh Jackman, preform with great conviction, and the small audience (10am on a Friday morning) I saw it with seemed to be really enjoying it. I'd label this one a solid guilty pleasure. GRADE----------B-
Based on a short period of Charles Dickens life when was having trouble with writer's block, THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS is a modest but likable film set just before Dickens wrote and published A CHRISTMAS CAROL. He meets and is inspired by some of the characters that populate A CHRISTMAS CAROL--some from his family, his publishers, his neighbors, and random street people. They in turn "hang around" in his mind while he struggles to write what some feel is his masterwork--a fiction that redefined the Christmas spirit. The film pleases on a sophisticated level, and the fine British cast includes Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) as Dickens, Christopher Plummer as Scrooge as well as stalwarts Jonathan Pryce and Miriam Margolyes, among many others. GRADE-----------------B-
MOVIES VIEWED ON DVD/TV-------------Mostly Christmas stuff!
SCROOGE (aka THE CHRISTMAS CAROL in the USA) 1951--Considered by many including myself that this is a superior version of the oft filmed THE CHRISTMAS CAROL, of which there are nearly a dozen versions. The highlight here is the daffy, lovable Alistair Sims as Scrooge, who makes you believe in the spirits that he meets and mostly you enjoy his conversion more than many. GRADE----------------A
LOVE ACTUALLY 2003--I've seen this film half a dozen times, and quite enjoy the large cast--in spite of the horrors that director Richard Curtis spent editing the huge plot and characters. (The amazing cast includes Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Martin Freeman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Keira Knightly, Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, Rodrigo Santaro, Alan Richman, Rowan Atkinson, Billy Bob Thornton and dozens of others!!!!!!) This time I realized just how sexist some of the story lines are--how smarmy and inappropriate some of the dialogue sounds--mostly because of the explosion of sexual harassment incidents in the media this fall. There's also a lot of scenes that don't make a lot of sense, logically. Still, because it is all set at Christmas, and there's a lot of music and comedy, this film is a guilty pleasure. GRADE---------B+
A CHRISTMAS MEMORY 1997--Based on a Truman Capote short story, this lovely film spends a great deal of screen time making and delivering 30 loaves of fruit cake to various friends and neighbors in the small southern town this story is set in. Patty Duke, Piper Laurie and Jeffrey DeMunn are featured in this version (there are more than three other versions that I could find) and the moving story ends when the 10 year old boy (based on Capote's life) is sent away to a boys boarding school. GRADE--------------B
CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT 1945--More than 30 years ago when I first saw this comedy screened as a Christmas special for the long defunct Seattle Film Society, I was underwhelmed, and at the time had not gained much insight into the sly and skillful Barbara Stanwyck style. I've seen it 7 or 8 times since then, and I have come to adore the clever plotting, the growing love affair between her and a dashing Dennis Morgan, and the wonderful supporting cast who handle the story like they were in a Feydeau bedroom farce. It's a wonderful Christmas movie treat. GRADE-----------B
REMEMBER THE NIGHT 1940--Featuring two strong leads Barbara Stanwyck and Fred McMurray just a couple of years before they made the classic DOUBLE INDEMNITY, they play a shoplifter and the lawyer who is trying to convict her. The case is on hold until after the holidays, and McMurray ends up taking her with him to visit his family for Christmas. There are many lovely scenes, especially at his mother's house, and the attraction to each other becomes pretty obvious to all concerned. The rapid fire dialogue was written by soon to be director Preston Sturges, and the comedy film features fine turns by Beulah Bondi (as mother, natch) and Sterling Holloway. GRADE------------B
A CHRISTMAS CAROL 1984--This version of the oft filmed Charles Dickens book features George C. Scott in the title role and features Frank Finley, Susannah York, David Warner and Roger Rees. It looks good, and there were things I like about it, but it is inferior to the 1951 versions on several levels. GRADE-----------------B-
NORA PRENTISS 1947--Ann Sheridan plays Nora, a night club singer who becomes involved with a married, straight laced doctor (Kent Smith) who loves her but cannot leave his wife and family. When a patient's fluke death gives him a change to fake his own death and leave his family, he does so, but finds that the grass is not always greener, and he becomes a suspect of his own death. Mildly entertaining, but predictable. GRADE-----------C+
coming soon----top films from 2017........
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