TOP GUN : MAVERICK, ELVIS, MRS HARRIS GOES TO PARIS, DON'T MAKE ME GO, DOWNTON ABBEY : A NEW ERA, CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH, MR. MALCOMB'S LIST, THE FORGIVEN, MONTANA STORY, FIRE OF LOVE, ABBY GIFFORD WON'T GIVE UP, DR STRANGE IN MULTIVERSE MADNESS, NOPE, plus Vintage films like MOUSE ON THE MOON and WHERE'S POPPA?

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.

          

       

 

 

CYRANO, LUCY AND DESI, THE NORTHMAN, PETITE MAMAN, POWER OF THE DOG (again), ALINE, THE OUTFIT, THE BATMAN, DEATH ON THE NILE, FATHER STU, HATCHING, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, FIREBIRD, THE DUKE, DOG, LOST CITY, ENCANTO, plus VINTAGE stuff like LIFEBOAT, MY OCTOPUS TEACHER, THE GLORIAS, and 44 films from Seattle International Film Festival

 The last two months have been a cinematic whirlwind, including the return in person (for me) of the Seattle International Film Festival.  I won't write about all the films seen until they actually open in Seattle area this coming year, but I will designate those films with a SIFF in the description.  Here, then are the regular films that I saw at theatres the last two months.

CYRANO--I was a bit skeptical when I realized this was a musical version of the classic novel, but director Joe Wright really knocked this one out of the park.  The costumes, setting, directon and photograpy all shine, as do the main characters, especially Peter Dinklage as Cyrano, so instead of having an ugly large nose he feels that being so short compared to the height of Roxanne is reason to feel insecure.  This devise works much better than the original and Dinklage is both modest and realistically sad.  I found the songs to be very moving, especially the last three, and they moved me to tears, and the tricky balcony scene impressed me.  I hope this film finds more of the audience that it deserves.          GRADE-------------A-

THE NORTHMAN--Violent but engrossing epic tale of a young Viking prince who spends 20 years trying to avenge the murder of his father by his uncle.  The film deals with witches, shamans, mythology, and a bit of sorcery.  It's heavy handed but powerful at times with some mystical happenings.  The excellent cast includes Alexander Skarsgard, Niocole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Bjork and Willem Dafoe.                      GRADE---------B+

POWER OF THE DOG--Viewed a second time for me, it felt masterful in its drama and symbolism, and was worth the direction Oscar that it received.             GRADE---------A-

LUCY AND DESI--This excellent documentary on the lives of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz was well directed by actor and comedienne Amy Poehler, and covered the long career of this popular couple, with the direct narration involvement of their daughter Lucie Arnaz and some excellent new footage of their life together.                 GRADE--A-

ALINE--This French language Canadian film is based on the life of Celine Dion, her family, her long marriage to her  much older manager, and life after his death.  The actress who plays her is quite good, although some early scenes seemed oddly amusing because her face is superimposed on a shorter, younger 12 year old body.  Still, this effective biopic works well and features a few of her popular songs.                   GRADE-------B+ 

THE OUTFIT--This tidy and effective little British thriller features Mark Rylance as a master British tailor who now lives in  Chicago, and one night must out wit some Chicago thugs who seek an incriminating tape at his store.                        GRADE--------------B+

FATHER STU--A rough and tumble ex-boxer falls for a highly religious Catholic girl, so throws himself into religion to win her, but finds himself wanting to become a priest.  Based on a true story.  Mel Gibson and Jackie Weaver play his divorced, atheistic parents.  The fast paced film covers maybe a dozen years, and is filmed with some witty barbs directed at religion, mostly from Gibson and Weaver, and make for an amusing experience.               GRADE-----------B+

PETITE MAMAN--From SIFF--Charming short story film of a young girl who meets what probably is her mother at the same age as herself while cleaning out her recently deceased grandmother's house.  An odd story of childhood, but handled with grace and curiosity.                 GRADE--------B

THE DUKE--A SIFF film.  British film based on a true story.  Lower middle class pensioners find trouble when husband Jim Broadbent steals a valuable painting and tries to hide it in his small row house.  Helen Mirren is amusing as his wife, and the supporting cast make for an entertaining if low key tale.              GRADE-----------------------B

THE HATCHING--SIFF film.  Smooth Finnish film of young teen girl who finds a large egg in the woods and takes it home to hatch after killing its injured mother.  The film works as a symbolic exercise as pressures from her own mother disrupts her own developing sexuality.            GRADE-------------B

DOG--Laid back performance by Channing Tatum and an amazing dog he is transporting to a funeral provide a lot entertainment in this moving road movie.            GRADE--------B

THE BATMAN--A literally Dark dark version of a Batman story, this film feels more like film noir than  anime with a moody Robert Pattinson  and saucy Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman.  The serial killer plot is depressing--I wish the film was easier on the eyes to watch (lighter and brighter) and it needed an injection of humor/wit and POW.  It is not boring but feels long.  Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright and Andy Sirkus seem to be having some fun with their roles.               GRADE-----------B

DEATH ON THE NILE--Competently directed by Kenneth Branaugh--he also plays master detective Hercule Poirot in this new version of Agatha Christie's classic murder mystery--the film is stylish and easy to watch, but suffers from giving too little importance to some soon to be killed supporting characters, therefore blunting the shock of their death.                GRADE----------B

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE--First the good news--Michelle Yeoh is magnificent.  The wild script has her through the paces as a haggard mom, laundry mat owner, and much more in this sci-fi fantasy.  Jamie Lee Curtis and the rest of the cast are also impressive, but the plotting/story is all over the map, and the camera work is chaotic and tiresome at best, and many themes keep repeating and repeating, the film goes on for 30 minutes longer than it should.  With cartoonish karate fighting, (but shown in live action) and the running, running, running around of all the characters, and the occasional lapses into bizarre animation, the film wears out it's welcome fast.  Creatively innovative at times, but it feels like over kill a lot.               GRADE----------B-

FIREBIRD--British film shot in Estonia, this great looking film is based on a true story--a tale of a forbidden menage a trois  between a jet flyer and an enlisted man and a woman they both have been dating and the two men trying to hide their attraction to one another--all set in the 1970's at a restrictive  communist base in Estonia during the cold war.  The plotting is a bit pedestrian,  but the film is lovely to look at.             GRADE--------------------   B-

UNCHARTED--Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland have some witty banter, but other wise this is a ho hum missing treasure in the jungle adventure.                 GRADE-----------B-

THE LOST CITY--Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum have a lot of amusing chemistry that helps compensate for the very familiar plot--in fact last summer's JUNGLE CRUISE had the charming duo of Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, and this past spring had the funny back and forth of Mark Wahlberg and  Tom Holland.  Thinking back these movies all had people searching the jungle for lost treasure and they are very similar.                 GRADE-------------------B-

THE HAND OF GOD--This Italian coming of age (of the director) film is nicely photographed but the characters are typical of young boys dealing with sex, nudity, death--in other words the realities of life.  The older characters seemed to be always screaming at them or each other (right--they are all Italian cliches) and they were familiar and mostly pathetic.  Netflix.              GRADE------------C+

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW--Gritty drama about ex-con trying to go straight, but he soon discovers a younger brother may be involved in murder.  The film's pacing is off and the film ran hot and cold for interest.  Stars Omar Epps, Michael Ealy and Glynn Turman needed more hot sauce poured into the screen play.                GRADE-------C+

UMMA--Sandra Oh stars as a middle aged woman "haunted" by her recently deceased mother, and this affects her relationship with her daughter.  Film is so low key that it doesn't have much impact in spite of a solid idea and set up.               GRADE---------C+

ALL THE OLD KNIVES--Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton play ex-lovers and ex-spies who meet up to try to find who was the leak in a CIA operation that caused dozens of people to lose their lives in an operation 8 years earlier.  Think novels by John le Carre, but not so involving or complicated.   Prime.           GRADE------------C+ 

I WANT YOU BACK--Two recently dumped twenty-somethings meet and vow revenge on the two who dumped them.  Sometimes I was charmed, sometimes I winced, sometimes the mechanics were unbelievable.   Prime.          GRADE-----------C

ENCANTO--A popular film hit, with colorful characters and visuals, and great songs by Lin-Manuel Mirando, but the story was the shits--unbelievable, chaotic, confusing and dumb.        GRADE------C

VINTAGE FILMS ON DVD/TV

LIFEBOAT 1944--I've been reading a biography of Tallulah Bankhead--a beautiful and controversial and talented mostly stage actress but one of her best known films was Alfred Hitchcock's clever and suspenseful story of survivors from a passenger ship that is sunk by the Nazis in WWII.  He gets his amusing cameo appearance by being on the back page of a newspaper in an ad to lose weight.  Her pithy remarks add some needed humor to the desperation felt by the nearly dozen fellow survivors, which include excellent turns by William Bendix, John Hodiak, Walter Slezak, Hume Croyn and Canada Lee (an ex-boxer who during this time period was one of the few significant black male actors to play some leading roles.)                            GRADE----------A-

MY OCTOPUS TEACHER 2020--Fascinating documentary about a skin diver/photographer who develops a strong relationship with a curious octopus in a South African kelp forest.  Very hopeful and moving.   Netflix.    GRADE----A-

THE GLORIAS 2020--Director Julie Taymor made this engrossing bio-pic based on the life of Gloria Steinmen's life and career.  Julianne Moore and Alicia Vikander play Gloria at various times in her life and Timothy Hutton plays her father.   Released just as covid was starting up, this fine film deserves a fresh look.   On Prime.                 GRADE-----------B+

WHO WE ARE: RACISM IN AMERICA 2021--Profound and insightful look at the history of racism in America, and what needs to be done about it.     Prime.         GRADE--------------B+

A SHOT IN THE DARK 1964--Delightful film directed by Blake Edwards which featured the first major appearance of clumsy Inspector Clouseau.  The driver has been murdered and the maid is found holding the gun.  Soon several murders follow the maid around Paris, and even though she is the likely murderer, Clouseau falls for her and thinks she is not the one.  Peter Sellers, Elke Sommer, Herbert Lom and George Sanders are featured along with some amusing slapstick scenes.  This is a sequel to the first PINK PANTHER movie (see below).            GRADE-------B+

BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY 2018--Cheerful documentary about musical plays that played only one or two times for a specific sales audience features songs and plots about certain items for purchase (like certain cars, or food stuff, or clothing brands etc),  With appearances by Martin Short, Chita Rivera and David Letterman and others.     Netflix.        GRADE------B 

BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMAR STORY 2017--Not only a lovely and talented actress but she was an inventor--her most popular was a security radio system that was the basis for today's blue tooth technology.     Prime.            GRADE---------B

THE STARLING 2021--Melissa McCarthy and Chris O'Dowd play a married couple struggling with tragedy, sending him to a mental home.  She tries to carry on with gardening, but a pesky starling keeps attaching her and she ends up being advised by Kevin Kline, now a vet. The film mixes sadness with humor, and I enjoyed it.                  GRADE-----------B  

THE PINK PANTHER 1963--Director Blake Edwards first PP film about a diamond thief trying to steal a priceless jewel (named the pink panther) and the clumsy detective Clouseau trying to find the thief, not realizing his wife is a lover of the thief.  The comedy moves slower than modern audiences are used to, in fact some sequences are downright boring, but every once in a while a slapstick sequences brightens up the viewing.  The cast is sparkling, and includes David Niven, Capucine, Robert Wagner, Claudia Cardinale, and introducing Peter Sellers as Clouseau.                            GRADE-------B-

PARIS BLUES 1961--Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier are handsome music playing friends living in Paris who meet US tourists Joanne Woodward and Dianann Carroll and the two couples fall in love, with the women hoping to bring the men back to the USA where they are from for marriage.   Louis Armstrong (playing himself) drops by in a few scenes to warm up the night clubs.  The men resist the women.  Paris in 1961 looks lovely and cool.                    GRADE------------B-

THE CASE AGAINST BROOKLYN 1958--This is a film noir crime story staring Darren McGavin as a young cop working to stop corruption in Brooklyn, even at the expense of neglecting his new wife and becoming involved with the widow of a possibly corrupt man.              GRADE---------------B-

BLACKMAIL 1925--Early Alfred Hitchcock film based on a London play which originally stared Tallullah Bankhead to great reviews.  Unfortunately she did not appear in the film. A policeman's girlfriend decides to date a stranger, but when he takes her home and tries to molest her, she kills him and leaves her gloves at the scene.  A friend of the killed man knows where she works and tries to blackmail her (he found a glove, as did her investigating boyfriend cop) and they play a game of cat and mouse.                      GRADE----------B-

EASY VIRTUE 1928--Another early Hitchcock film, this is mostly a soap opera of a woman who moves after a scandal involving the death of a painter to the south of France to live in obscurity, but meets a young man who becomes smitten.  They marry and he takes her home to meet his family but his mother thinks something is wrong with the new bride and hates her.  Before they can leave the mother discovers the scandal and wants the new bride out of his life. Noel Coward wrote the screenplay, but the film is rather predictable.              GRADE-----------C+

THE MARRIAGE FOOL 1998--When his longtime wife dies, Walter Matthau a depressed widower becomes interested again after meeting a vivacious widow Carol Burnett, but his adult son (John Stamos) isn't so sure.  Production values  are simple and low key for this  modest TV movie.        GRADE----C+ 

UNDER THE YUM YUM TREE 1963--Dated sex comedy about engaged couple who try to live platonically  before marriage, but are pestered by the lecher  manager of apartment building, Jack Lemmon who has designs on the woman.  Dean Jones and Carol Lynley are the couple, and Imogine Coco  and her milk toast husband Paul Lynde are the janitors--all wasted by the script.     GRADE-------------C

WHO SLEW AUNTIE ROO? 1972-- Low budget lame horror film watchable only for the extreme efforts of Shelley Winters as a rich widow who tries to adopt orphaned siblings who do not like her.  She keeps the corpse of her 20 years long dead daughter upstairs, the the kids have seen it.          GRADE-------C

 

 Brief SIFF note:  I saw 46 films at SIFF (including some seen after the festival).  Here are my top 10 films in no particular order--

WILDHOOD

EVERYTHING WENT FINE

BLIND MAN WHO DID NOT SEE TITANIC

LAST FILM SHOW

VOICE OF SILENCE

I LOVE MY DAD

CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH

FINLANDIA

MONEY BOYS

PHANTOM OF THE OPEN

I will be writing about these films when (and if) they open at theatres or on streaming.

 

 

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD, BEING THE RICARDOS, PARELLEL MOTHERS, TRAGEDY OF MACBETH, THE LOST DAUGHTER, TICK TICK BOOM, DON'T LOOK UP, LICORICE PIZZA, THE KING'S MAN, DRIVE MY CAR Plus Vintage films THE LONG HAUL, RIOT ON CELL BLOCK 11, LILIES OF THE FIELD, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIE FILM, TRY TO GET ME, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM etc. PLUS FAVORITE 2021 Films

BEING THE RICARDOS--I may have been prejudiced about the overused Nicole Kidman being chosen to portray Lucille Ball in a new film about Lucy and Dezi Arnaz and their private life, but I happily take back all my negative thoughts after seeing this first rate comedy drama, written by the great Aaron Sorkin, and loosely based on some real events that were transposed by movie magic to occur all within one wild week.  The fine cast also includes Javier Bordem as Desi, JK Simmons as Fred, and Nina Arianda as Ethel Mertz.  Kidman, Bordem and Simmons have all recieved well deserved acting Oscar nominations for their roles. And fortunately, in spite of the drama involved, the film has some well deserved laughs to balance out the tension.                                                   GRADE---------A-

 

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD--This Norwegian film (with subtitles) is not a comedy but rather an incisive drama about Julie, a young 30 something who at the start of the film is a mess.  She's not sure what to study, who she wants, what she wants, and unfortunately takes her uncertain actions out by hurting other people.  We all know people like that, but watching her mature as the film progresses is part of the pleasure of this well acted, affecting drama.   Nominated for best international feature and best original screenplay.                                 GRADE-------------A 

 

PARALLEL MOTHERS--The new Pedro Almodovar film is typical of his style.  His women have most of the screen time and importance to the story.  His cinematography is peppered with shiny art works and vivid colors, and he moves the melodrama along with overbaked flourishes and turgid plot twists.  Fortunately he has attractive casting, and long time favorite of his, Penelope Cruz, commands the screen with her intelligence and beauty.  For her efforts she is also an Oscar nominee.   In Spanish with subtitles.              GRADE-------B+

 

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH--Here is a stylistically sharp, black and white refilming  of the great Shakespeare drama about power, jealousy, guilt and murder.  Denzel Washington is an Oscar nominee, and together with Frances McDormand, they make a memorably evil couple.             GRADE-------B+

 

THE LOST DAUGHTER--Another vivid portrayal by Olivia Coleman as a middle aged academia scholar who while on vacation interacts with a young mother's missing daughter and that triggers flashbacks about her own life when she was just starting out and how she  (poorly) balanced her own family's needs.  Jessie Buckley did a fine job of the Coleman role as a younger version.  This film got Oscar nominations for Coleman, Buckley and best screenplay.                 GRADE------B+

 

TICK TICK BOOM--Lin-Manuel Miranda directed this story of Jonathon Larson's efforts to put on a play prior to his success with his smash hit RENT, before he passed away a few years later.  Andrew Garfield has received an Oscar nomination for this role, and while the supporting cast is excellent, Judith Light shines as his tough as nails agent, and Bradley Whitford as Stephen Sondheim surprised me just a day after Sondheim's death.  It's a thoughtful portrayal of a Broadway producer and his refusal to give up at all costs.                      GRADE--------B+

 

DON'T LOOK UP--Adam McKay wrote and directed this comedy satire about a couple of astronomers who go on a media tour trying to warn the public that a meteor is headed towards earth and will cause certain distruction.  It has a huge cast of actors including Meryl Streep, Mark Rylance, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence, Leo DiCaprio and others as it pokes fun at the non believers, who despite scientific proof refuse to believe something that is good for them.....Some of the portrayals are rude and over the top, and although the attitudes soured me, I give the film kudos for being lively and sometimes  down right hilarious.                        GRADE-----B+

 

LICORICE PIZZA--A comedy drama set in the early 1970's, this film was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and has Oscar nominations for best film, director and script.  It tells the story of a 15 year old teen who is infatuated with a 25 year old woman.  The first half is delightful, but the second half feels like a different film as the characters get involved with business and politics.  Still, likeable and easy to watch.    Cameo roles by Maya Randolph, Bradley Cooper (as Jon Peters),  Tom Waits, and Sean Penn (as William Holden.)               GRADE------B+

 

KING'S MAN--This action, spy thriller set just before and during WWI features Ralph Finnnes, Gemma Atherton, Djimon Hounson, Harris Dickinson, Matthew Goode, Colin Firth and Rhys Ians as Rasputin, and I enjoyed how it mixed fantasy, action and fact to tell the story of the start of a British world wide spy organization.  It plays like fine version of a James Bond thriller or a Mission Impossible film, but with historical resonance.  It is certainly a much better film than the last film in the series King's Men GOLDEN CIRCLE which I thought was lousy and unbelievably violent.           GRADE-------B+ 

 

THE TENDER BAR--A nostalgic, flashback film is highlighted by Ben Affleck's affecting performance as a bartender uncle who takes his young nephew under his wing, since the boy's absentee father makes only occasional visits to see his son.  Affleck gives the boy the encouragement and moral guidance that makes him become a writer--this is his story based on a novel.               GRADE-----------B

 

THE 355--An action spy thriller about 5 female agents all from different countries who end up working together to solve a mystery that takes them all over the world.  The action scenes are solid but the plotting may seem a bit familiar if you watch a lot of James Bond type films, but I enjoyed it anyway.  Jessica Chastain, Penelope Cruz, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong'o and Fan  Bing Bing and Sebastian Stan play the agents, and I would be happy to see them in sequel.                GRADE-------------B

 

FLEE--In Danish with English subtitles, this animated film about the true story of a family seeking to flee from Afghanistan to escape the war, has them first going to Russian (!) where they are abused and persecuted and then they try to move to Denmark as refugees.  The younger son narrates the story as an adult, and he is gay and about to marry his partner.  It is a good story but it needs some editing, and I felt that the pacing was too slow and repetitive.  It has been nominated for Best international film, best animated film and best documentary feature--the first time any film has been nominated in all three categories.         GRADE------------------B      

BLACKLIGHT--Liam Neeson is a government agent who discovers some corruption higher up in his organization.  There are no surprises in the plot for sure, but Neeson is still the man when it comes to fighting back and solving mysteries, so the film had it's minor pleasures for me.               GRADE---B-

 

DRIVE MY CAR--Anytime a critic calls a film "meditative" then you can assume slow and dull and long and that's exactly what I felt of this drama about an actor who loses his wife, throws himself into his work directing a new version of UNCLE VANYA and befriends a young female chauffeur.  There is a lot of symbolism and meaning here, but the pacing is extremely slow, and nearly half of the full 3 hour running time is taken up with shots of the many highways the red car travels on, and scenery shot through the windows and characters watching the scenery.  I think a full 90 minutes of extraneous scenery could have been cut from the film and still not taken away from the emotional truths the film ponders.  I'm not saying I hated this film, just wish it was more economical in presenting the plot twists and drama.                         GRADE------------C+

 

SPIDERMAN: NO WAY HOME---I've always enjoyed the Spiderman films, but this one seemed more chaotic than the others, and more in search of a decent plot.  Instead we have various villians popping up from different universes (!?) and then to help in the fight, all the old actors who have played spiderman in the past appear to join forces to defeat them.  What the heck.  I'm happy to see Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield again--god knows they need the paycheck--but what is the explaination for this meeting? These were all big leaps and stretches in logic for me which took some of the joy out of the plotting.           GRADE-------------C+

 

MATRIX: RESURRECTION--Well, the set design and special effects were interesting, but that plot was so bizarre that a month later I can hardly remember a single plot device.  I remember feeling the same way when I saw the first one MATRIX  a dozen years ago.  There is no humor--just a WTF experience.           GRADE-------------C

 

 

VINTAGE FILMS FROM DVD, TV and the FILM NOIR FESTIVAL

 

SHE PLAYED WITH FIRE 1957--Featuring Jack Hawkins and Arlene Dahl, this mystery thriller kept me guessing until the very end and contains some nifty chills.   An insurance agent tries to shield a past lover from arson, endangering his own career.  This smart thriller reminded me of some of Hitchcock's great British mystery dramas like REBECCA, SUSPICION and SABOTAGE.  My only complaint:  the final 5 minutes fall a bit flat.                GRADE------A-

THE LONG HAUL 1957--A married retired veteran (Victor Mature) leaves Germany for Great Britian, but taking a job as a trucker, becomes involved with corruption and the alluring girlfriend Diana Dors, of his boss.  The film has him torn between his wife and son, and his new lover, and the dangerous dance between smuggling and honesty.                  GRADE-------A-

RIOT ON CELL BLOCK 11 1954--One of the first great films of director Don Siegel who went on to direct many films with Clint Eastwood, this docu-drama illustrates the attempts by prisoners who have been abused and denied basic human rights to be treated humanely.                 GRADE---------A- 

LILIES OF THE FIELD 1963--Sidney Poitier makes a big impact on the movie screen as a handyman traveling through the southwest USA who stops for water at a small farm run by impoverished nuns who insist that he stay and help them with many projects, including building a church, all for free!  The likeable Poitier shows patience, humor and skill in handling the many obstacles facing him and the nuns, and was the popular winner of the the best actor Oscar that year for this role.           GRADE-------B+

BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIE FILM 2020--The Borat films are not for everyone, but I started this one thinking I'll give it 15 minutes, and I found it to be quite funny.  This time Borat is sent to America to present to Pence his 15 year old daughter as a child bride/bribe.  Crazy yes. The film spoofs Trump, Republicans, conservatives, sexual mores,  politicians in general, vaccination deniers, anti-maskers and many more.  Brilliant in its deviated and perverse mind.                GRADE------B+

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM 1966--This wild bedroom farce features the great Zero Mostel, with Buster Keaton, Phil Silvers, Michael Crawford and music by Stephen Sondheim (his second musical) and is directed by Richard Lester.  Set in ancient Rome, there are mistaken identities, doors being slammed, dozens of double entendres,  and sexy and skimpy costumes mostly worn by women.  And most of the jokes are incredibly sexist.  Still much is funny if you are quick enough to catch what was said or alluded to.  And watch Mostel's facial expressions: priceless!                GRADE---------B+

TRY TO GET ME 1950--Frank Lovejoy plays a down on his luck unemployed worker who comes under the spell of small time hustler Lloyd Bridges.  When their small time gas station jobs go south, they turn to kidnapping and murder.  The film has a final scene as disturbing as anything I've ever seen, especially so in context to January 6th 2021 riots.             GRADE----------B+

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE 1970--Michael York plays a bisexual hustler who worms his way into a butler position in a small castle headed by Austrian Angela Lansbury and her daughter Jane Carr by trying to appeal to whatever is needed for everyone, including sexual services.  This black comedy drama is interesting as far as it goes, and it does have a corker of an ending.                GRADE-------B

THREE GODFATHERS 1948--A John Ford western with 3 desperados bank robbers on the run from sheriff Ward Bond.  They come across a woman giving birth and agree to be the 3 godfathers to the newborn.  They are played by John Wayne, Harry Carey Jr. and Pedro Armendaris, and supposedly they are symbolic of the three wise men, since a few days later the film ends in a saloon on Christmas Day, but that's a stretch for me.               GRADE----------B

WHIRLPOOL 1958--Film noir about a woman who becomes hypnotized by man to stop her kleptomania only to become involved in his devious plot of murder.  The fine cast includes Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, Jose Ferrer and Charles Bickford, although the plot seemed a bit farfetched to me .  Would love to see this remade with more modern sensibilities.         GRADE----------B-

HIGH TIDE 1947-- Film noir has a detective involved with a gambler and a crusading newspaper editor, but the film didn't make much sense to me.                         GRADE--------C+

SHADOW ON A WINDOW 1951--Film noir has woman held hostage by some teen murderers while her traumatized son tries to lead her cop husband to her.  A remake would help the film feel more realistic.     GRADE------------------B-

PICK UP ALLEY aka INTERPOL 1957--Agent Victor Mature tracks smuggler Trevor Howard around Europe with the help of Anita Ekburg, Howard's ex girlfriend.              GRADE-------C+

ARGYLE MYSTERY 1948--Reporter with secret info is murdered in hospital room before the info can be shared.  Weird, dull film noir that made no sense to me.                   GRADE------C+

TIJUANA STORY 1957--Honest reporter tries to bring down corruption in border town but meets with much resistance.  Familiar story is sabotaged by poor production values and amateur acting.           GRADE----------C

LONDON ROAD 2015--Low budget musical based on true story of serial killer of women in London, of interest mainly for featuring an early role for Olivia Coleman and Tom Hardy.  Otherwise, forgettable.     GRADE---------C

 

 

FAVORITE FILMS FROM 2021  (O for Oscar nomination/s)

Last Night in Soho

Summer of Soul O--documentary

Power of the Dog O

West Side Story O

The Rescue--documentary

Pig

Worst Person in the World O

Bring Your Own Brigade--documentary

Nightmare Alley O

King Richard O

Being the Ricardos O

the above were rated A or A-

 

Following films were B+ in no particular order

The Sparks Brothers--documentary

Dune O

The Lost Daughter O

The King's Man

Dear Evan Hanson

Parallel Mothers O

In The Heights

Tragedy of Macbeth O

Nobody

Licorice Pizza O

Tick Tick Boom O

Cop Shop

I Care a Lot

The Card Counter

Stillwater

The Many Saints of Newark

The Tender Bar

Julia--documentary

Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It--documentary

Four Good Days

Plus I had a Good time with these films rated B

No Time to Die O

Eyes of Tammy Faye O

The Last Duel

Everyone's Talking About Jamie

Passing

The Green Knight O

Shang Chu and the Legend of the 10 Rings O

C'mon C'mon

Lamb

Spencer O

Chandigarah Kare Ashiqui

Cruella O

The Eternals

Marksman

Red Notice

Mitchells VS Machines O

 Peter Rabbit 2

Plus a few more decent films......

House of Gucci O

Flee O

Jungle Cruise

Old

Night House

The Courier 

Drive My Car O

 

Did NOT Like--

Matrix:Resurrection

Concrete Cowboy

Candyman

Supernova

The Harder They Fall

Road Runner: Anthony Bourdain

 

 

 

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, BELFAST, NIGHTMARE ALLEY, DUNE, WEST SIDE STORY, THE RESCUE, NIGHTMARE ALLEY, KING RICHARD, POWER OF THE DOG, THE ETERNALS, THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK, LAMB, THE LAST DUEL plus vintage films THE MUSIC MAN, CALIFORNIA SUITE, PLATINUM BLONDE

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO-- It may be a bit messy--after all it manages to be a murder mystery, ghost story, coming of age saga, fashionista fable, horror flick and a musical (it is steeped with mostly British pop songs from the 1960s including Cella Black, Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, The Who, Peter and Gordon, Sandie Shaw and others) but what a glorious mixture it is.  With it's swirl of neon colors and lights, the sparkling cast which includes Anna Taylor-Joy, Thomasin McKenzie,  Matt Smith, Terrance Stamp, Rita Tushingham, and especially the late Diana Rigg, who has a corker of a part, and the smashing retro music in nearly every scene, this film gave me more viewing pleasure than any other film I've seen this year.    Ideally this film is best enjoyed on a large screen, but I just heard LAST NIGHT IN SOHO will be streaming PRIME/ON DEMAND after Thanksgiving.        GRADE-------A-

WEST SIDE STORY--This is a creatively brilliant remake of one of the finest stage and movie productions of the last 60 years.  Director Steven Speilberg shows he's still in command, and the new young cast is perfectly cast and sung. Every song hits the high mark, and the tragic themes still resonate.  This is a strong contender for best of the year at the Oscars.               GRADE----------A                                                                

THE RESCUE--The finest, most thrilling documentary of the year, this is the true story of the young Thai boys soccer team that went exploring a long cave just hours before the raining season unexpectedly began, and which arrived several days early, trapping them nearly 2 miles underground.  It took an international effort to try to save them, and even if you know what happened, the film racks up tremendous suspense and fascination with the inclusion of never before seen video both inside and outside the cave opening.  Directed skillfully by the same team that made FREE SOLO 2018 about a young man who climbs the tallest peaks without any partners, this film reminded me of Billy Wilder's classic film about a man trapped in a cave, and the circus that the press made of that tragic situation--ACE IN THE HOLE 1951.                            GRADE----------------A

BELFAST--Director Kenneth Branagh's lovely semi-autobiographical film of his life in Northern Ireland in 1969 is made with tenderness and heart, and from a child's point of view.  It details some of the religious conflicts that tore Belfast apart for many years in the early 1970's, and features Judi Dench, Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dorman and the young Jude Hill and features 8 classic Van Morrison songs on the soundtrack.              GRADE------------A- 

NIGHTMARE ALLEY--Director Guillermo del Toro's newest film after his Oscar winning THE SHAPE OF WATER is even better--a dark, twisted film noir, partially set in a carnival of weirdness.  After introducing our lead, an excellent Bradley Cooper, who is shown killing his father and burning down the house, he hides out in a visually splendid carnival, learning about his co workers and picking up tricks of the trade, he later sets out with his new girl friend using mental "telepathy" to deceive the rich and famous out of their money, with a help of a truly wicked looking Cate Blanchet.  In spite of the grimness of the plot, this film gripped me from scene to scene--like a train wreck, I couldn't stop watching.  Wonderful art and set direction, photography, music, and the sparkling cast includes amazing turns from Rooney Mara, Toni Collette, David Strathairn, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman and Mary Steenburgen.            GRADE---------------A-

DUNE--I've not read the book or seen the earlier version, but this first half of the novel is easy to watch and exciting for what it is.  That is, half the story.  So it is hard to feel completely satisfied watching just the first half of what feels like an epic telling.  Denis Villeneuve directed and the wonderfully odd music score is by Hans Zimmer.  Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaac are effectively royal playing the leads in the science fiction story of a family who must move to a dangerous planet to keep their position and power.  I look forward to part two.          GRADE-----------B+

POWER OF THE DOG--Director Jane Campion thoughtfully films this moody, odd "western" set in 1925 Montana (but beautifully filmed in New Zealand) about two brothers who barely tolerate each other.  Jesse Plemons is the portly quiet brother who suddenly marries a lonely widow (Kristen Dunst) who has a sensitive teen aged son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and causes his caustic, bully brother (Benedict Cumberbatch) to set his sights to make lives miserable to the new wife and stepson.  The film is not what I expected--its far more nuanced and sensitive than I imagined, and contains, in its favor, a strong homosexual theme that creates a tension beyond any western you've ever seen.                      GRADE----------    B+    

KING RICHARD--When Venus and Serena were young, I can just imagine their father Richard talking and acting just like Will Smith in this new film.  It's a powerful, skillful performance, the best of Smith's long career, and it's a credit to him that many scenes  work as well as they do.  He had a 70 plus page plan for his daughters careers and he stuck to it.  Jon Bernthal is also intriguing as the coach who takes the entire Williams family under his wing providing for them the necessities of tennis training that make them what they have turned into today.  The film is engrossing, but it Will Smith who takes the film into a special level.                  GRADE-------------B+  

JULIA--Here's another fine documentary of cook Julia Child, who went to Paris with her husband, learned about French cooking, wrote a French cook book for Americans, and through her celebrity became a popular, entertaining TV chef, beloved and revered.                   GRADE---------B+ 

THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK--Written by David Chase, this works as a prequel to THE SOPRANOS TV series, especially since the lead  teen is portrayed by Michael Gandolfini, the son of Soparanos lead James Gandolfini.  This is a great film, with a splendid cast including Alexandro Nivoli, Vera Farminga, Ray Liotta, Leslie Odom Jr. and Jon Bernthal.  It viewed like a superior long episode of Sopranos, and made me think of rewatching that classic TV show.          GRADE-----------B+

THE ETERNALS-- This smoothly directed film by last year's Oscar director Chloe Zhao features a group of immortals with special powers who have lived secretly on earth for thousands of years but must come together to fight a deadly group of deviant monsters.  The cast is interesting, with Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Kamail Nanjiani and Harry Styles as the leads.  I look forward to the next film in the series.                      GRADE---------B

THE LAST DUEL--A strong film by Ridley Scott, this tells the true story of the last duel to the death in France, shown in three different versions.  Jodie Comer stars as the young noblewoman who is raped and seeks justice from her attacker (her husband's friend), who lies about the incident.  Matt Damon plays her soldier/husband who must believe his wife although he was away on business, to protect his honor.  Adam Driver plays his best friend who takes advantage of his friend's absence and sees the wife's smile and conversation as his  chance to find love--in a violent and forceful manner.                  GRADE----------B 

 LAMB--Icelandic film with Noomi Rapace. She and her husband are childless, so when a sheep gives birth to an odd human like lamb, she kills the mother and she and her husband raise the hybrid as their own child, but the arrival of the husband's irresponsible brother throws their happiness into a whirl.  The pacing is leisurely but sticks with you, and there is a bizarre, dark finale, but overall, this watchable, creative thriller is NOT BAAAAADDDD!             GRADE------------B

SINGLE ALL THE WAY--This Netflix Christmas film starts off with a tiresome and silly preamble, but after 20 minutes becomes a heartfelt and amusing story of a gay single man who convinces his best gay (platonic) friend to come home for Christmas pretending to be his newly engaged partner, not realizing that his mother has set him up with her gay gym trainer, and complications occur.  Barry Bostwick, Kathy Najimy and Jennifer Coolidge, gay icons all, have many amusing moments in this charming LGBTQ comedy about acceptance, family love and trusting friendship.                              GRADE-----------B

CHANDIGARH KARO AASHIQUI--Indian film in Hindi with subtitles, this comedy drama Bollywood features has an unusual plot to be sure.  A body builder trying to win a local title falls hard and fast for a new female Zumba teacher, who is a popular attraction to a gym that needs the business.  The man's family is desperate to get him married off since he is now 30 and never attached before, but a big secret is revealed that might get in the way of him marrying the new woman.  In spite of some serious themes and an LGBTQ subplot, you suspect that love will conquer all, and you might be right.  And of course, there are a couple of big reveals and a toe tapping dance that ends the film.  It may be superficial at times but it was just what I needed at the time.                   GRADE-------------B

PASSING--Set in NYC a few decades ago, two old Black friends meet by accident, and it is revealed that one of them is not only passing for white but she is married to a white man who has no idea of her racial identity. The film explores the consequences of living a lie and the possibilities of what friendship can do.  This is the first directorial effort by actor Rebecca Hall (THE NIGHT HOUSE) and she does very well sustaining tension and intrigue.               GRADE-------------B

LOVE HARD--This Netflix Christmas movie is not bad.  A young white woman hooks up on line with what she thinks is the man of her dreams, and after several months of intense texting, she decides it is time to meet, so she flies from California to the east coast to surprise him for Christmas week.  She soon discovers she has been "catfished"--that is deceived by a nerdy Asian man who has borrowed his friend's picture.  In an effort to make amends,  he agrees to set her up with the guy from the picture as it is an old friend of his anyway, but they keep the charade a secret from his prying family.  I especially liked the fact that in spite of the deception, everyone acts civilized, you get to know the entire Chinese family in an endearing manner without too many cliches, and the film has a nostalgic Christmas theme throughout.       GRADE----------------B

A BOY CALLED CALLED CHRISTMAS--Maggie Smith narrates this fantasy Christmas tale that is charming enough to keep your attention.  Wizards, witches and elves populate this story, and the film is acted with conviction by Jim Broadbent, Sally Hawkins, Kristen Wiig and others.         GRADE-------B

THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN--Prime Video is streaming this British film based on the life of Louis Wain,  a brilliant student of electricity in the early stages, but to please and distract his ailing wife, he starts to paint cats in a modern, and abstract manner, becoming know for his popular and unusual creations.  The film is mostly concerned with his wife's illness, and his mental failing, so that takes the pleasure out of his work for the viewer, but as usual, Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy are splendid as the loving couple.                GRADE--------B

14 PEAKS: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE--Documentary about Nimal Purja, a Nipaili mountaineer who decides to climb the 14 tallest peaks in Asia in about 7 months.  There's a lot of snowy scenes and some tension as he faces the elements and the resistant governments.  Engrossing.         GRADE-------B

HOUSE OF GUCCI--Based on a true story, this biographical filmed based on the murder of the Gucci patriarch features an interesting cast.  Lady Gaga comes off strongly as the willful wife,  Adam Driver is her quiet but forceful husband, his uncle is played broadly by Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons is his sickly father.  An over the top performance by Jared Leto as Pacino's wacky but dangerous son seems from another film all together, but I couldn't take my eyes off him.  Gaga is also fascinating as she worms her way into the family business, but the film directed by Ridley Scott, who makes intelligent, adult films in general (see THE LAST DUEL, above) seems a bit flat to me--for all the supposed money and glamour and backbiting and power grabbing, I wanted a bit more.......Fun! or slease! or energy!...............          GRADE----------------B-

RED NOTICE--A big hit for Netflix, this action comedy has some fun with some wild chases and switcheroos and the sparkling cast includes Dwayne Johnson, Gal Godot and Ryan Reynolds.  Johnson is the "good" guy, trying to stop top thief Reynolds, who gets all the funniest lines.  In an improbable plot twist, they work together to catch master jewel thief Gal Godot.  The film is easy to watch  and there are some good gags, but if you try to make sense of some of it, well good luck.          GRADE----------B-

BECOMING COUSTEAU--Jacques-Yves Cousteau was an ocean diver, photographer, ship captain, director of documentaries, inventor of ocean equipment, novelist, conservationist and other titles, but not a very good father and husband, mostly because he was always so involved with so many different projects his whole life.  The film presents, warts and all, the highs and lows of his illustrious career, using film clips and pictures from his past.  This dry, straight forward National Geographic film was missing some humanity for me.              GRADE---------B-

CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG-----A live action film based on series of books about a sweet red dog who as grown to a gargantuan becoming the talk of the town.  Some love him, others are afraid, and some hate him and want to capture and study/dispose of him, but the film remains charmingly simple and humorous.  The children are good, and the adults do what they can, including John Cleese and Jack Whitehall (who also played an amusing second fiddle brother to Emily Blunt in this years JUNGLE CRUISE).  The film serves its purpose, but isn't too memorable.          GRADE---------C+

AFTERLIFE OF THE PARTY--An obnoxious party girl dies after a drunken party in bizarre accident, and must "earn her wings" if she wants to make it to heaven.  She must make it right between herself and 3 people who she had been rude to in the past year, but the catch--no one can see her or talk to her except her put upon roommate.    Think HEAVEN CAN WAIT mixed with IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, but not nearly as classy.                    GRADE------C

THE MANOR---Barbara Hershey stars as a grandmother who has a small stroke, but decides to enter senior living at THE MANOR.  She soon discovers some otherworldly activities that make her fear for her life--and her only allay--her grandson. Also features Bruce Davidson as another resident.  It had its moments, but I wish it was better.         GRADE-----------C

UNFORGIVABLE--Sandra Bullock is looks grim and tries hard in this loaded and convoluted plot of a newly released convict trying to find the sister she had to leave behind when she is arrested for the murder of a policeman.  Unfortunately, there are too many coincidences and bad plot twist, and despite some interesting actors like Jon Bernthal, Viola Davis, Vincent D'Ofofrio, Richard Thomas and Linda Edmond, the film is unconvincing and forgettable.                      GRADE----------C-

A CASTLE FOR CHRISTMAS---A vanity project for Brooke Shields, who still looks lovely by the way, she plays an author who runs away after a book flop (heavens, she kills off the series hero, loosely based on her recently divorced husband!), going to Scotland to visit a castle that her father used to work at.  There she meets and despises the castle duke (Cary Ewles, who also still looks good, by the way) who needs to sell the castle because he is paying the mortgages for half the small town and is now broke!?! And she's going to unbelievably buy it, but first they must live together 3 months during escrow Lot's of unbelievable drama later, they decide to throw a big Christmas Eve party for the town, and come together wearing a slutty tartan dress to match his tartan suit.  Incredibly the rundown castle has been overly decorated by WHO? since no one seems to work there and no one has much money.  It it wasn't for the lovely Scottish scenery, I'd have turned it off half way through.             GRADE-----D+

THE HARDER THEY FALL--This nearly all black cast play both good and bad western characters, but comes with heavy doses of violence and sadism, continuous profanity and pretentious modern-style attitudes, all of which turned me off.  I lasted about 45 minutes.               GRADE---------D

 

VINTAGE FILMS from TV or DVD

PLATINUM BLONDE 1931--A spoiled rich young woman (Jean Harlow) impulsively marries a hardworking, simple news reporter (Robert Williams),  and each one thinks they can change the other.  Meanwhile, the girl next door type coworker (Loretta Young) longs to show her co-worker that he should be married to her.  This early Harlow film is soundly stolen by Harlow.         GRADE--------B

MUSIC MAN 1962--Meredith Wilson's classic musical has a plot that is often silly and lame, but I'd forgotten about all those great classic songs like 76 TROMBONES, GARY INDIANA, LIDA ROSE, PICK A LITTLE TALK A LITTLE, GOODNIGHT MY SOME ONE, and a song that the Beatles loved and recorded TIL THERE WAS YOU.  Robert Preston walks off with the movie because the part is so bravado but Shirley Jones gets the singing honors.  Buddy Hacket seems wasted, Hermione Gingold has a couple of great moments, especially singing PICK A LITTLE, and little Ron Howard (actor from Andy Griffith show and director of A BEAUTIFUL MIND etc) steals his scenes as the kid with the lisp.     GRADE---------B

CALIFORNIA SUITE 1978--Neil Simon's rapid style quips are pretty funny in two of the four playlets which are set in a fancy Los Angeles hotel.  Maggie Smith nearly steals the film with her acerbic reading of a nervous actress who has been nominated for an Oscar at a ceremony that night.  She attends with her bisexual husband (Micheal Caine) who throws back the quips equally well.  Smith won a supporting actress Oscar for her efforts.  Jane Fonda and Alan Alda are a smoothly sarcastic divorced couple who are arguing over their daughter's custody.  Unfortunately, the other two playlets depend on slapstick, and they have their moments.  Richard Prior and Bill Cosby play doctors who with their wives check in to find two rooms are now only one, and they play a wild and physical game of tennis that becomes personal and childish.  Walter Matthau wakes after a night of drinking to find a strange comatose prostitute in his bed and his wife (Elaine May) due to arrive at any moment.  Because they are so dependent on slapstick for laughs, it feels like these last two belong in a different film.      GRADE-----------B

THE TRAIN 1964--John Frankenheimer directed this intense drama based on a true story, about a Nazi (Paul Scofield) who tries to smuggle out of France a train loaded with stolen art masterpieces, and Burt Lancaster and Jeanne Moreau try to sabatoge that effort.       GRADE----------B

LOST LANGUAGE OF THE CRANES--1991--A British made for TV film, based on the 1986 novel, the film is low key and realistic.  When a young man comes out as gay to his middle class parents, his mother becomes distant, and his father becomes emotional.  It is soon revealed that the father has been struggling with his gayness for many years even though he's married for over 20 years.  I read the novel a few months before seeing the film, and oddly the film has been shifted from New York City to London, and it may not make much difference if you've never read the novel, but it was disconcerting to me because NYC is such a strong "character" in the story.                  GRADE-----------B-

MAKING OF A LADY 2014--This Masterpiece Theatre TV movie tells the story of a poor maid who ends up married to a gentlemen of means.  She does well until her husband must leave for a few months, and she becomes involved with his devious cousin.              GRADE---------B-

HOLIDATE 2020--This Netflix film is predictable but getting there is fun.  Two singles decide to be each others  platonic "plus one" for holidays and wedding and gatherings for a year, and over the course of a year, they begin to like each other.  Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey are the charming couple, and others including Kristen Chenowith as the inappropriate aunt and Manish Dayal as the serious doctor are tops in support.           GRADE-----------B-

CLASH OF THE TITANS 1981--Harry Hamlin is an attractive Perseus and Judi Bowker is his lover, if he defeats Medusa and the Kraken, and Laurence Olivier and Maggie Smith add some campy humor as two of the Gods.  The special effects are kind of hokey, but overall a good effort.     GRADE--------B-   

CLASH OF THE TITANS 2010--Sam Worthington and Gemma Arterton are Perseus and Andromeda, and Liam Neeson and Ralph Finnes are two Gods, but not so campy.  However the special effects are at a higher level.               GRADE-------B- 

HOUSE WITHOUT A CHRISTMAS TREE 1972--This made for TV film is simple yet effective.  The teen aged girl is denied a Christmas tree because her mother died at her birth and the father is still grieving that event.  With Jason Robards, Lisa Lucas and Mildred Natwick as grandma.        GRADE-------B-  

A THANKSGIVING TREASURE 1973--Both the above HOUSE and this story are based on a book.  In school she learns about friendship, so on Thanksgiving day she secretly takes a meal to an "enemy" of her father.  When the old man (Berenard Hughes) dies, her father becomes angry and threatens punishment.  Another simple but sweet story with Jason Robards, Lisa Lucas and Mildred Natwick as grandma.  This one was filmed on video so the photography is faded and poor.   HOUSE looks much betters since it was shot with actual film.      GRADE---B-

THE DOCTOR TAKES A WIFE 1940--Loretta Young is an independent book writer.  She runs into Ray Milland who has no interest in romance, but due to a mix-up in publicity they must pretend to be married for both their careers.  There is some clever plotting and attempts at screwball direction, but the humor is flat.  I wish it had a wittier script.              GRADE-------C+  

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER 1942--Loretta Young finds a charming basement apartment in NYC for her new husband to work in, but the first morning they find a dead body in the courtyard and try to find the murderer--from a list of suspects that all live in their apartment building.  Again, the wit and humor fall flat and the mystery becomes tiresome.           GRADE---------C+  

ONCE UPON A TIME 1944--On the street one night, a struggling Broadway producer (Cary Grant) meets a kid who has a dancing caterpillar that dances to "Yes sir, that's my Baby" --quickly he tries to make money off this sensational act against the boy's mother's wishes (Betsey Blair).  It is easy to see where this simple premise is going, but the film has some charm and innocence, in spite of the fact you can easily figure out the resolution.                 GRADE-----------C+    

THE CHRISTMAS EDITION 2020--I saw it streaming on Netflix, but this turned out to be a lame, unreleased Lifetime Movie from last year, and it is not very good.  A big time reporter is by passed for promotion so she packs her bags and heads for a small town newspaper in ALASKA! and runs the paper literally by herself with a photographer and a woman who runs a copy machine! and writes daily about all the Christmas events this small town likes to celebrate because living so close to the North Pole, well that's all the townspeople want to read about, right?  I have some big questions, like does she even get paid to put out a two page paper every day, and how can she afford the paper, and will she fall for what seems to be the only eligible single man in this small town, etc etc etc.  Trite, boring and predictable from scene to dull scene.   The only actor of note is Marie Osmond who I didn't recognize until the closing credits (she's got a lot of big hair that hides her face).  She was actually pretty funny as the news mogul trying to buy up the tiny paper in ALASKA!         GRADE-----   D+