Monday, May 18, 2020

JoJo Rabbit


Roman Griffin Davis as the 10 year old JoJo is so incredibly attractive that the movie is wonderful from the opening scenes.  The "Heil Hitler" montage at the beginning shows clearly how a country was taken captive by Hitler.  JoJo is ardently German, to the extent that he has a wonderful imaginary friendship with Adolf himself (played by director Taika Waititi).  

I have to admit that my damn hearing made it difficult to understand everything.  Usually I watch movies with closed captioning, but that was not available for this film, so I missed a lot, but still I got the gist of it.  An ardent Jew-hater, JoJo finds a Jewish girl hiding in the close of his late sister's bedroom and began to learn that they aren't all as bad as he was led to believe -- they don't all smell like broccoli and don't all have horns, for example.

The relationship between the two grows and strengthens when JoJo finds his mother hung in the public square. 

It's an entertaining film and easy to see why it was nominated for an Academy Award.

Friday, May 8, 2020

The Bookshop


This is a very British, slow moving, yet engrossing story, based on the book by the same name by Penelope Fitzgerald. 

Set in the 1950s, a war widow moves to a small town to open a book store in an abandoned building which has stood empty for many years.  For reasons that are never made very clear, everyone seems to hate the idea, particularly the rich bitch who suddenly decides she wants the building for an art center.  She has so much influence that she manages to get a special bill passed by the legislature which allows the building to be taken over by the government, and ultimately the widow loses everything, but manages to get back at the town and its residents for her treatment.

In between there are friendships, mentorships, and wonderful narration.  scenes between the widow and the town's male curmudgeon are marvelous. 

I'd probably give it a 3-1/2 out of  5.  Ned would not have liked it at all.

Thursday, May 7, 2020

Strike Up the Band


This is one of those movies where you roll your eyes on just about everything, since nothing is believable.  Still it's Mickey and Judy and it's fun to watch.

Teenage drummer Jimmy Connors (Mickey Rooney) dreams of winning the contest for school bands hosted by popular band leader Paul Whiteman (himself). In order to enter, Jimmy and his pals, including vocalist Mary Holden (Judy Garland), must accumulate $200 for the train ride to Chicago, where the contest will be held. Jimmy and his friends decide to put on an epic student play to raise the funds they need, but a sudden illness threatens to cost the band their chance.

The high school play is hilarious.  There must be 1,000 in the audience and the costumes would cost a fortune...and there is no question about whether or not Busby Berkley choreographed it!

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Rent


Rent is the only big show I have seen on Broadway.  We've been to New York a few times and usually see a show, but it's the off Broadway shows.  I can't remember when it was that we saw Rent, but when he learned we were coming to New York, my friend Ron was thrilled to buy us tickets to see the show, which he loved.  It was early in my life as part of the The Last Session group, where it seemed most of the people loved Rent as much as they loved The Last Session.  And I was excited to actually see a BIG Broadway show.

I hated it.  It's not my kind of music, I couldn't follow the plot and I had trouble staying awake.  I raved about it, of course, because Ron was so happy to share the show with us, but I did not like it.  (I can confess that now that Ron died a couple of years ago).

As a critic, I have reviewed Rent three times and it's a difficult review to write because I still don't like the show, still have difficulty following it, don't like the music.  But I decided to record the movie and watch it, carefully.

I loved it.  I don't know what it was about the movie vs. the stage show, but got involved in the various characters and remembered who was who.  I was so glad I had seen the movie and suspect I will have a completely different feel for it the next time I have to review it



Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Hail, Caesar


You look at pictures for this movie and you have the feeling i t's some biblical epic, but it's not.  It's about Hollywood with some great familiar scenes -- from Spartacus, an Ethel Williams take-off, a Gene Kelley/Frank Sinatra musical, and other scenes that will look very familiar.

It's really the story of the studio "fixer" and how he takes care of a pregnant star, a cowboy who can't act but has to be in a British drama, and his biggest star kidnapped by Communists (a very slight tribute to Wizard of Oz)

Anybody who loves old movies will love this film.

Friday, April 24, 2020

Lost in America


This is a 1985 comedy with Albert Brooks (David) and Julia Hagerty (Linda), co written by Brooks.

David and Linda are a yuppie couple living in Los Angeles, each with great jobs.  David is expecting to be made vice president of his company and they have sold their house and bought another multi million dollar home.  But not only is he not promoted, when hegets angry he is fired.  He convinces Linda to quit her job and when they liquidate all their assets they are able to buy a motor home and have enough of a "nest egg" to live for many years, driving around the country having adventures.

But their first stop is Las Vegas, where Linda gambles away alla but $800 of their money and they spend their time trying to find jobs in a small town (she works for a fast food joint whose manager is about15 years old; he works as a crossing guard for $5.50/hr).

What life decisions they make comprise the rest of this movie.  Not a knee slapper but mildly funny, and enjoyable.

Monday, April 20, 2020

Taxi Driver


Today is the 21st anniversary of Paul's death and this was the logical movie to watch.  It was his favorite movie and, in fact, his friend Paul K wanted to name his son after Paul, but since the name would have been the same his son's middle name became Travis, after Travis Bickle, Robert DeNiro's character.

DeNiro looks like a little kid in this 1976 movie, for which he won an Academy Award.  Bickle is an ex-marine, Vietnam veteran who writes notes and letters about his observations of New York City, which he finds ugly.  He wishes for a "real rain" to wash the "scum" off the streets..He is shy, but has no sense of how normal people live (he takes a lovely girl to the movies, a porn movie because he sees couples going in there and sees nothing wrong with it).

This is a brilliant movie, but it leaves out a lot of things.  It is not a story of Bickle, but more a series of days in his life without knowing what caused those days to happen.

Amazingly I had never seen this movie before and feel that today was the perfect day to watch it.

Ned fixed us clam dip and chips to eat and sushi for us to have afterwards, for dinner.

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Take Me Out to the Ball Game


1949 MGM musical starring Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly and directed by Busby Berkeley.  How could it be anything but wonderful.  Amazingly, it's terrible.  Frank and Gene are baseball players who play vaudeville in the off season.  Esther Willliams is the new owner of the baseball team (and just happens to live in a hotel with a swimming pool).  There are no familiar songs, other than the title song.  It was boring, boring, boring.  Lucky Ned--he had other things to do today!

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Hollywoodland


Did George Reeves kill himself...or was he murdered?  It is still a mystery today, despite the 2006 movie exploring the possibilities.  Ben Affleck is wonderful as Reeves in the many, many flashbacks that structure this film.

Adrien Brody is the investigator who sets out to disprove the suicide, but in the end the movie reached no definitive conclusions.  As Ned put it, just four possibilities and no answers. It was an OK film, but not one of the better ones.

Monday, April 13, 2020

Easter Parade


It's Easter.  You HAVE to watch Easter Parade on Easter.  I knew Ned wouldn't be interested so I thoroughly enjoyed it myself.  Fred Astaire, losing his dancing partner, Ann Miller, goes out and finds a girl in a chorus line (Judy Garland) and says he can teach her to dance.  After some difficulties finding the right style for her, they become big hits and after a romantic misunderstanding is solved, romantic partners as well.

The famous "We're a Couple of Swells" comes from this movie.


Saturday, April 11, 2020

Oddball


Oddball is based on a true story of a dog who learns how to protect a penguin sanctuary in Australia from the foxes who nearly killed thousands of penguins.  I watched this on Saturday, Ned's day to record his radio show, so I picked a movie I was sure I would love and he might not. 

Wikipedia summary:  In the early 2000's there was a thriving Little Penguin colony on Middle Island. Over a number of years foxes began to swim over and kill the penguins. So the Warnambool Coastcare Landcare Group took charge, hence The Middle Island Maremma Project began in 2006. Little Penguins on Middle Island where declining due to fox predation. Maremma Guardian dogs were trained and placed on Middle Island to protect the penguins from foxes. Hence this is where Oddball comes into it and saves the penguin's where he is a very mysterious and naughty dog back on land so this is his second chance to prove that he is a good dog.

Friday, April 10, 2020

Sherlock Holmes


It's difficult to review this movie.  Robert Downey, Jr. is wonderful, the recreation of the grim London of Victorian times is great, the fight choreography throughout the film is amazing, but, in all honesty, I had a terrible time following it.

I'm accustomed to closed captioning, especially in movies like this where the accents make it difficult to understand, even with my earphones, so I really don't know what this movie was actually ABOUT, but still it was great fun.

Thursday, April 9, 2020

Hotel Rwanda


Whenever someone says that the Holocaust should teach us to "never forget," I think of places like Rwanda, nearly 50 years after the concentration camps were liberated.  Hotel Rwanda is not a pretty movie (lord do I need a comedy tomorrow!), but tell os the genocide of the Tutsi people by the Hutu militia in Rwanda.

The real Rusesabangina
Don Cheadle plays Paul Rusesabangina,  the manager of a luxury Hotel des Milles Collines in Kigala, Rwanda, who sheltered more than 1200 Tutsi irefugees in his hotel and prevented them from being slaughtered, after they were abandoned by every United Nations nation.  The UN evacuated all the of UN people and left the Rwandans behind to be killed.

Both Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo, who plays his wife, were nominated for Academy Awards in 1994.  Cheadle won the Golden Globe for hisi performance.

The only good white guy in the film is Colonel Oliver (Nick Nolte), head of the UN Peacekeeping force, who tries as hard as he can to support Rusesabangina. 

There is no "down" time in this movie.  It starts with slaughter and is filled with one harrowing thing after another.

The thing about Rusesabangina (a Hutu married to a Tutsi, with three children) is that what perhaps made him so successful in saving as many people as he did was he never lost his self esteem, always remained a hotel manager, treated people as guests, and learned how to work the system to get protection from those in charge.

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Blasts from the Past



Calvin (Christopher Walken) is convinced the US is about to be bombed by the Russians and has built an extensive bomb shelter for himself and pregnant wife (Sissy Spacek).  There is no bomb, but a plane crashes into their house while they are in the shelter and he thinks that the bomb has surely exploded and sets the lock on the shelter for 35 years, after which it will be safe to emerge.

Son Adam (Brendan Fraser) is born in the shelter and raised there for 35 years, at which time the locks open and Adam emerges from the shelter to replenish the food for his family.  He knows nothing of the world of 1999 and manages to meet Eve (Alicia Silverstone).  All sorts of things happen, but she finally realizes that he 's telling the truth and he finally brings his family to the surface and all ends happily, though Dad still thinks the story about the plane was a hoax.

A fun comedy and I enjoyed it a lot.


Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Rocketman - Part 2

They finally stuck Rocketman OnDemand for a week and I grabbed it so we could finish watching it.


We had seen the first 58 minutes before the tape ended last week.  This picks up as Elton John's meteoric rise to stardom begins and covers his sold out shows, his drug and alcoholism and his self-destructive personality, which resulted in at least one suicide attempt. 

But it also covers his treatment (Betty Ford Center??) and recovery and, in notes at the end, accompanied by pictures of the real Elton John, a summary of all he has done since sobriety (28 years when the movie was made), his marriage, his sons, etc.  

I probably would have appreciated the film more if I had been a hard core Elton John fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway and am glad to have seen it.

Monday, April 6, 2020

The Firm

I had a friend who was a writer many years ago.  (Sadly, she died before she finished her novel).  What I remember clearly was visiting her office and seeing notes taped up all over the place with notes about this or that character.  I can only imagine what John Grisham's office looked like when he was writing "The Firm," today's movie selection.


The twists and turns and the tension throughout this 1993, 2-1/2 hour Tom Cruise movie will keep you on the edge of your seat.  Cruise is Mitch McDeere, about to graduate from Harvard Law School.  He is given an offer it is impossible to refuse from a small Memphis law firm.  It comes with a house, a car, payment of his college loans, and a 6-figure salary.

But as he begins to work for the company he realizes that things are not as they seem and it's hard to keep track of who kills whom, who is laundering money where, which are the bad guys and which are the good, who is sleeping with whom--and why, etc.  Somehow Mitch manages to settle everything legally, screw the FBI, get cozy with the mafia, get his brother released from jail with a hefty bankroll, and escape the clutches of the law firm which has a surprisingly high death rate, and start a new life, with a clean conscience.

Really an entertaining movie.  Good job, Ned.



Friday, April 3, 2020

Holiday in the Wild


Well, this was definitely my movie, but Ned was good and sat through it.

Kate (Kristin Davis) is jilted by her husband just as she is about to present him with a second honeymoon -- a trip to Africa.  He moves out and she goes on the trip by herself.  On the first day, on a flight to a fancy tourist settlement, the plane makes a stop to rescue an orphaned elephant, whose mother had been killed by poachers.  It was something that will change Kate's life.  The orphan elephant becomes her "second son."

Insead of going to the tourist place, she stays at the elephant orphanage, extends her stay past her date to return, and ultimately has an attraction to Derek (Rob Lowe), a conservation who lives at the facility, a widower whose wife died  15 years before.

Eventually Kate returns to New York, but realizes that her heart is really still in Africa, and so she returns, after taking up a collection which saves the orphanage, which was about to be closed, and marries Derek.

All very hokey and predictable, but great elephant shots, good message, and sniffles at the end.  I liked it.  I told Ned we can watch Fight Club tomorrow.

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Sweeney Todd

I have, of course, seen the stage production of Stephen Sondheim's dark story of revenge and murder, Sweeney Todd, and I've reviewed it twice.

But I had not seen the movie, with Johnny Depp in the title role and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs Lovett, who, in the movie is Todd's lover, but in  the original stage show was played by Angela Lansbury, no way the "lover" type character.

It was an interesting, if horrendously bloody movie and I enjoyed it and am embarrassed to admit that.  This is more gory than most movies I have seen...perhaps the very worst scenes dealing with grinding the murdered bodies into meat for Mrs. Lovett's meat pies.

(Thank goodness we had, at the same time, a squirrel circus going on outside the back door as a distraction!)

Alan Rickman is the judge who kidnaps Todd's wife and daughter and sends Todd into prison on a trumped up charge.  I've loved Rickman in everything and he is perfectly nasty and his death perhaps one of the bloodiest.

I don't know enough about special effects and directors choices and what means what, but I really liked the mix of black and white, color, muted color and one-color-only filming.  Not sure what I was supposed to glean from the way it appeared on my screen, but I at least noticed it!

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

The Farewell

Ned has been busy with other activities, so I decided to watch The Farewell on my own.


Billi is a young woman with a close relationship with her grandmother, NaiNai (who lives in China).  Their long distance relationship reminds me a lot of Jeri's relationship; with my mother.  When NaiNai is diagnosed with terminal cancer, the family agree that she should not be told, but they stage a mock wedding as an excuse for everyone to gather in China to say their goodbyes. Billi is the only one who disagrees but ultimately goes along with the family wishes.  There is an emotional goodbye as the family all return to the US.

This is based on a true story and it's nice that the very end of the movie is a fun video of the real NaiNai, still alive 6 years after her diagnosis.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

I really had zero expectations about this movie and other than knowing Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio were movie star and stuntman (and not knowing which was which), I came into this movie cold.  Also, Ned loves it and Marta thought it boring.

Of course, I fell asleep about 20 minutes in and woke up maybe 20 minutes later.  but I was determined to see the whole 3 hour movie, so fixed a pot of coffee.  About the  time I got to where I woke up after my brief nap is when I got hooked into the movie and by the end of it, I loved it.

I chose this photo because I've eaten at Musso & Frank's
without realizing what an iconic restaurant it is!


This movie is Quentin Tarantino's opportunity to examine what might have happened if the Manson family had gone to the wrong house, but it is filmed in such a way that all the way through the 3 hours you know that at the end Sharon Tate et al. are going to be murdered.

It tells the story of TV star Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his stunt man Cliff Booth (Pitt), as Dalton's career is starting to fade. It shows a lot of backstage Hollylwood, while filming is going on (cars driving through a western set, for example), Dalton's mental breakdown when he flubs lines, the rising little girl actress (Julia Butters), who is terrific as the actress and precocious little girl.

Booth visits the ranch where the Manson family lives, he accepts a challenge by Bruce Lee, convinced he can beat him up (he can't).

Just the whole thing is so Hollywood, and the ending totally unexpected.  As I said, I loved it.

Friday, March 27, 2020

Rocketman -- sort of

Today's movie was Rocketman, which I've been  wanting to see and which Ned had not seen.  A friend of his has what I  guess, are pirated movies on a hard drive.  That's how I was able to see Judy before the Oscar broadcast.

So we settled in to watch it.  I was never a big Elton John fan, but I just loved this movie.  I loved how it was shot, for one thing, and surprisingly I enjoyed the movie too.

We had been watching nearly an hour and Elton had just made a triumphant appearance at the Troubador in Los Angeles.


And the recording just stopped.  Apparently we only have half the movie.  Ned tried all the other sources for downloading the rest of it, unsuccessfully, unless we want to pay $12 to buy it.   So we had to call a halt to today's movie and will watch something different next time -- and keep our eyes out for when we can find the entire recording of Rocketman!

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Be Kind, Rewind

Ned knows more movies that I have never heard of!  Today's choice was Be Kind, Rewind, a 2008 comedy starring Jack Black, Mos Def, and Mia Farrow.  It was very funny. I didn't even fall asleep once.

This takes place in a video rental store (so old they only rent VHS tapes), condemned by the city and scheduled to be torn down.

Jack Black becomes magnetized while trying to sabotage a power station (nearly electrocuting himself) and he inadvertently erases all of the videotapes in the store, while the owner is out of town at a centennial celebration for Fats Domino, the owner's hero.

To keep from letting people know what he has done, Black and Mos Def decide to remake every movie with their own camera, starting with Ghostbusters.


They make other movies and claim they are "Sweded" versions, made in Sweden, so they charge $20 per rental.  Sooner or later they the feds find out and they are going to be sued for millions of dollars for copyright infringement, and the city is waiting with demolition equipment to demolish the building.

Ned tells me the interesting thing about this movie is that it was actually filmed in a run down neighborhood in New Jersey and all the extras in the film are actual people who live in the neighborhood, just like all of the "Sweded" movies are cast with actual people who live in the neighborhood. 

A very odd movie, but given Ned's love of making movies, I can see why this appeals to him -- and I laughed out loud several times (and I'm not particularly a "laugher.")

Critic rating:  4.5

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

The Trouble with Harry

What a cool movie day.  Ned made popcorn, which he fixed in bowls for each of us and we settled in to watch this 1954 Alfred Hithcock comedy/mystery, which introduced Shirley MacLean.

The trouble with Harry is that he is dead.  And nobody's quite sure what to do with the body.  Edmond Gwenn (Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street) is Captaini Wiles, who thinks he shot him accidentally while shooting at rabbits.  MacLean is the widow Jennifer Rogers (whose young son is Jerry Mathers before  there was Leave it to Beaver). Harry is her estranged husband, whom she hit over the head with a milk bottle and thinks that might have caused his death.  But Miss Gravely (Mildred Natwick) hit him with the heel of her shoe when he tried to attack her.

John Forsythe, as the artist Sam Marlowe, helps bury the body -- three times until the sheriff gets wind of a possible murder.

It's not as complicated as it sounds, with more humor than the usual Hitchcock tenseness. The ratings say it has "adult situations," but darned if I can figure out what that might be, except the Forsythe kissed MacLean...very chastely.

But it's a good movie and much more enjoyable to me than Memento.  And even Walt sat down and watched the whole thing.


Monday, March 23, 2020

Memento

This was our first movie and I can't give it a good review because I fell asleep before it was over.  I found it very confusing and even reading the synopsis on IMDB, I still couldn't figure it out.


He keeps lots of notes, including many tattoos.
 
Ned explained it to me and it was still confusing.  The description on IMDB reads:


Leonard (Guy Pearce) is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty, however, of locating his wife's killer is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.

There is apparently an important plot twist near the end that I know now, but I'm not sure I want to see the movie again just to get to that point.

Critic review:  3 stars (2 for the movie and 1 for its ability to give me a nice nap)

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Humor Me

 Ned had downloaded a movie called Humor Me from OnDemand and that was going to be our first movie, but Marta watched it on her own and I watched it over the weekend.  Ned still hasn't seen it.
This was made in 2017 and also has a cast of unknowns-to-me (Joey Slotnick, Bernie McInerney, Thor Feldman), but at least I knew Elliot Gould's name.  


Slotnick is a playwright with writer's block whose wife divorces him and leaves him without any money, so he moves in with his father in a senior facility.  It's labeled a comedy and it does have funny stuff in it, but it's more a dramady.  Looking for "something to do" at the facility, Slotnick is talked into directing their upcoming production, which happens to be The Mikado
 
We don't know if they do the whole Mikado or just "Three Little Maids," which is all we see.  But what a perfect movie for me.  I loved it, and especially the final version of "Three Little Maids," which is hilarious.  Having watched that number performed in every possible way imaginable in Lamplighters galas, this was perfect.


Saturday, March 21, 2020

Movie Marathon

While we are sheltering in place here in California, Ned and I are going to be watching a lot of movies together.  I decided to keep a list of the movies we watch, along with a review.