12/26/15 Jurassic World, not yet nominated, 2015
I liked the original Jurassic Park but not enough to watch the sequels, but based on my experience Jurassic World is probably in line for a couple of nominations for effects, editing, maybe score, maybe set design, so better to be prepared. I also like Chris Pratt who plays Owen Grady a velociraptor trainer at Jurassic Park. The plot isn't that complicated, kind of a variation on the theme on the original. The park is more advanced and the dinosaurs have been made into hybrids and there is a bad guy (Vincent D'Onofrio) who wants to use the dinosaurs, specifically the velociraptors, as weapons of war. The hybrid Indominus Rex escapes its enclosure and demonstrates an intelligence the humans had not anticipated. There's also a storyline where the operations manager of Jurassic World, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) is so focused on her job that she ignores her two nephews who come to visit (she hasn't seen them in eight years or something) (the children inserted into the story are reminiscent of the first movie as well). Pratt is good, but the fun is watching the raptors and the dinosaurs wreak havoc, the people are just a distraction.
12/26/15 Fantastic Four, not yet nominated, 2015
Well, the good news is that this wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be, certainly not worthy of the rating of the WORST FILM OF 2015. The bad news is that it really isn't great. And let's be clear on this point as well: it probably should not have been made in the first place. The two earlier Fantastic Four were not huge successes by superhero movie standards, so it didn't make sense to me to keep beating this thing to death. The variation on the theme is that the movie introduces us to a young Ben Grimm and Reed Richards as the two outsiders become friends and embark on scientific experiments. Grimm and Richards meet Franklin Storm and his two children, Johnny and Sue at a science fair and Richards joins a think tank overseen by Storm. So, let's back up a bit: in this telling, Sue has been adopted by Franklin, who is black, and Johnny is also black. There was a bit of whining from fans about this casting twist, but anyone who knows comics knows that almost anything is possible, super heroes die and get reinvented by someone else taking their powers; this was not an issue for me at all. My issue was actually making the characters so young; to me the characters are older, certainly not just out of their teens, and that I think there was some miscasting. I think Jamie Bell is a good actor, but there is no way I believed he was Ben Grimm/The Thing; Michael B. Jordan was Johnny/Human Torch, and I really like him, and I think he would have made a good version of Spider-Man. Miles Teller, who I enjoyed in Whiplash was not totally convincing as Reed; this is where I missed the maturity of the traditional Reed Richards. Kate Mara was Sue Storm/Invisible Girl and I think she was a ton better than Jessica Alba in the earlier films, but otherwise I was lukewarm. I have never heard of the actor who played Victor Von Doom, Toby Kebbell, and I thought he was so sulky; none of that smooth talking Doom from the other films. We only we get about twenty minutes of the heroes in battle, which is why we watch these movies. There could be some nominations for visual effects or sound effects. Overall the movie is very dark, not a lot of the humor (some, but not a lot of witty repartee), but also cinematography-wise, very dark, lots of shadows. I just do not think that moviegoers are as interested in the Fantastic Four as they are in the Avengers or X-Men or Spider-Man.
12/26/15 Love and Mercy, not yet nominated, 2015
Paul Dano and John Cusack share the role of Brian Wilson, singer/songwriter and leader of the Beach Boys. Director Bill Pohlad goes back and forth between the 1960s (Paul Dano) and the 1980s (John Cusack), showing Brian finding his voice and the unique sounds and musical concepts that created Pet Sounds as well as the clashes between the other Beach Boys and his father. The 1980s find Brian cut off from his family under the plan of Dr. Eugene Landy who controlled Brian using drugs and 'therapy'. Elizabeth Banks plays Melinda Ledbetter, a Cadillac saleswoman who catches Brian's eye and heart. Melinda fights Dr. Landy to release Brian from the controlling and mind-numbing lifestyle he is living. I enjoyed the interaction between Banks and Cusack (Banks is so hysterical and cutting in the Pitch Perfect movies, but she tones that down and is really good in this dramatic role), but I was more interested in the studio sessions with Brian and the musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. Based on what I learned in The Wrecking Crew documentary and what I have read elsewhere, Brian really did these things, including bringing in dogs to the studio and having every kind of instrument on the record. I would not say I'm a Beach Boys fan or expert, but I don't think you have to be to enjoy this movie; the acting is very good (Paul Giamatti is scary as Eugene Landy) and the music is fun.
12/27/15 Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, not yet nominated, 2015
I have never troubled myself with the plot lines of the Mission Impossible movies, for me they are about the action, which super spy is betraying his country or trying to kill a world leader is not my worry. Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt, Simon Pegg as Benji, computer/technology specialist, Ving Rhames as Luther and Jeremy Renner is William Brandt, now the Director of IMF Field Operations make up Hunt's team. Alec Baldwin is CIA Director Alan Huntley who wants to shut down the IMF program. The IMF program does get shut down which leaves Ethan out on his own in Europe. Lucky for him he meets Ilsa Faust (a wonderful Rebecca Ferguson) who is an MI6 agent undercover in the Syndicate, which is to say, the bad guys. There are some fabulous fight scenes, improbable, but fabulous; and Cruise isn't the only one to get into the action, in fact, Ferguson is right with him: riding motorcycles, using martial arts and shoot outs. There is also an underwater scene that is super intense. If you're looking for an action movie over the upcoming long weekend or any cold weekend this winter, I would totally say to get this movie. It's out at Redbox. Oh, are you wondering about the plot? Yeah, I don't know, some spies leaving their home agencies to join the Syndicate in a plot to take over the world. Ta-da.
Movies from 2015 Inside Out, Mr. Holmes, The Big Short
12/19/15 Lava, not yet nominated, 2015
I think it's fair to say that I have not been moved or thrilled with a lot of the animated films, including shorts, that I have seen recently. And when Lava started out, I thought, ugh, here we go again. It didn't take long (thank goodness, because it's only seven minutes) before it grew on me. It's the story of a growing Hawaiian volcano who sings a song about finding love. He sings it for what maybe hundreds or thousands of years without any success, until one day, beneath the ocean, another volcano hears his song. It may sound sappy, but I liked it and I think it was a million times better than Feast, the winner of the Oscar for Best Animated Short.
12/19/15 Inside Out, not yet nominated, 2015
I did like Home, which I watched not too long ago, but as I mentioned above, most animated films have left me feeling blah. I had heard good things about Inside Out and it had some of my favorite comedians, including Amy Poehler, Lewis Black, Paula Poundstone (in an all too brief appearance) and Bill Hader, so I was curious if nothing else. Inside Out is about the developing emotions of Riley, a young girl from Minnesota who moves with her family to San Francisco. The focus is on the emotions, who are led by Joy (Amy Poehler); Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Fear (Bill Hader) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) generally follow Joy's lead, but one day, things go askew when Sadness starts to touch 'core memories', making them tinged with sadness. This leads Joy and Sadness off on a tour of Riley's memories, going back through her childhood; they also meet other 'workers' in her subconscious and her dream world. The trauma of moving from one place to another is very real for a lot of kids, and trying to explain all those feelings is not very easy; actually, trying to explain feelings at any time can be challenging. I liked the way the movie anthropomorphized feelings, and giving them a voice (I will forever hear Lewis Black when I go on a rant). Sometimes I can't I understand why a movie is popular, but this time, I totally get why kids and adults would see this movie over and over (I may buy it myself). The cast was pretty much perfect, and the emotional responses were pretty on target as well. If you haven't seen it, I suggest you get it for a nice break from all the serious, gritty movies out this time of year.
12/22/15 Mr. Holmes, not yet nominated, 2015
There is something about Sherlock Holmes character that lends itself to all kinds of modifications, adaptations and extrapolations. In this interpretation, Ian McKellen plays an aged Sherlock Holmes in 1947, living in the country with his housekeeper, Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney) and her young son, Roger (Milo Parker). Holmes is in failing health, but his mind is still pretty agile, and he forms a bond with Roger, although he and Mrs. Munro quibble occasionally, mostly about his health. The film uses flashbacks to show the last case that Holmes worked on and why he quit detecting. The movie is a little over an hour and a half, and it took about 45 minutes for me to really get into it. It was more the pace of the story, I think, than the story itself, which is three stories in one, with some misdirection and a little mystery along the way. McKellen really could be Holmes, and I wouldn't mind some stories involving an older Holmes and Roger as his 'Watson'. But, I don't think that will happen, but it's a thought. I also don't think the movie will see too many nominations with so many bigger films out there, but you never know, there may be a costume or cinematography nomination in there somewhere.
12/23/15 Get Hard, 2015
I wanted funny, and with Kevin Hart and Will Farrell, I thought I would get pee in my pants funny. I got 'I'm glad the movie was free from the library' funny. I don't mind stupid funny, or even gross funny (sometimes), but I can't tell you what this was. Oh, I know, it was 'all the funny is in the trailers' funny. Will Farrell is sentenced to prison for fraud or something and he thinks that Kevin Hart's character has experience in prison and asks for some tips. Most of the movie is Farrell getting ready for prison. I am not going to the trouble to look up or confirm my information on Wikipedia. If you are looking for that mindless movie that you can watch, but also talk with your friends or do your taxes, you can watch this or Tammy.
12/24/15 The Big Short, not yet nominated, 2015
Warning: If you worked in the mortgage industry in the 2000s, you may not want to watch this, or go with friends who understand what we experienced. When I say 'we', I worked in the mortgage industry for twelve years at a company that was a leader in the securitization industry. I also watched as mortgage companies started to implode and then our own company caved in on itself as the financial services world was decimated and my friends lost their jobs. Sorry for the gloom, but as I noted to some friends on Facebook, the movie was too close to home. The Big Short features some big name actors (Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling) telling this very confusing story of mortgage-backed securities, CDOs, credit swaps, but in a nutshell, fraud by the largest financial institutions in the world. The movie is very good, but I think it may be too convoluted for most people to follow; I was in the business and my head was spinning. Maybe all the details aren't that important if you focus on the ultimate issue: fraud and deceit, and the fact that there were warning signs. The movie is about some of the real people who had the foresight to see the perils of the housing market and subprime loans and the impact on the worldwide economy; Dr. Michael Burry (Bale) started the ball rolling by looking for a huge return on an investment and created the first credit default swaps; Jared Vennett (Gosling) hears about them and tries to get other investors on board, and gets Mark Baum's (Carell) group to buy in as well. The difference about Baum is he is a crusader and realizes that when these securities go belly up, it's going to hurt the banks, which is what he wants. The movie uses a different narrative method, by having Vennett and other characters speak directly to the audience, occasionally bringing in real people, like Anthony Bourdain, Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez to explain some of the financial concepts. I found that to be annoying and not helpful, but perhaps that's just me. I liked the movie, and Carell was really good, so much better than in Foxcatcher in my opinion, Bale is also very good as the socially challenged, but insightful, Mike Burry. There is some Oscar buzz, but it would be hard to pick a Best Actor out of the ensemble, but perhaps a Best Supporting Actor, Best Writing, Best Editing. It might be helpful to watch the movie at home where it can be paused or rewound (so to speak), but it's a movie that should be seen because nobody of any significance was ever charged or sentenced; the banks, with the exception of Lehman Brothers, were rescued and bonuses were paid out; it seems like things may not have changed all that much, and the public should know.
12/24/15 Red Army, 2014
Like many people of my generation (oh my god, I sound ancient), I remember very clearly the game where the US beat the Soviet hockey team at home, in Lake Placid during the 1980 Olympics. Other than knowing that the Soviet hockey team was practically unbeatable, I knew very little about Soviet hockey, or hockey in general. Red Army gives the viewer a look inside the players who made up the Soviet team, focusing on Slava Fetisov, a defenseman who was also the captain of the Soviet team and a hero to his country, until he wanted to play in the US and keep all of his salary (there was an arrangement whereby players could play in the US, but they had to give up 50% of their salaries to the Soviet government). Fetisov became an outcast, losing friends and teammates. Eventually, perestroika came to the USSR and Fetisov played for the Detroit Red Wings, along with four of his countrymen, leading the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup Championship. The documentary focuses on what life was like in Russia, how important hockey was to the people and the different style that the Russian skaters used (more finesse and style than the brute strength of the NHL), as well as Fetisov himself. Any fan of hockey should see this movie, as well as any student of the Cold War, just to listen to Vladimir Pozner's observations and commentary.
I think it's fair to say that I have not been moved or thrilled with a lot of the animated films, including shorts, that I have seen recently. And when Lava started out, I thought, ugh, here we go again. It didn't take long (thank goodness, because it's only seven minutes) before it grew on me. It's the story of a growing Hawaiian volcano who sings a song about finding love. He sings it for what maybe hundreds or thousands of years without any success, until one day, beneath the ocean, another volcano hears his song. It may sound sappy, but I liked it and I think it was a million times better than Feast, the winner of the Oscar for Best Animated Short.
12/19/15 Inside Out, not yet nominated, 2015
I did like Home, which I watched not too long ago, but as I mentioned above, most animated films have left me feeling blah. I had heard good things about Inside Out and it had some of my favorite comedians, including Amy Poehler, Lewis Black, Paula Poundstone (in an all too brief appearance) and Bill Hader, so I was curious if nothing else. Inside Out is about the developing emotions of Riley, a young girl from Minnesota who moves with her family to San Francisco. The focus is on the emotions, who are led by Joy (Amy Poehler); Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Fear (Bill Hader) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) generally follow Joy's lead, but one day, things go askew when Sadness starts to touch 'core memories', making them tinged with sadness. This leads Joy and Sadness off on a tour of Riley's memories, going back through her childhood; they also meet other 'workers' in her subconscious and her dream world. The trauma of moving from one place to another is very real for a lot of kids, and trying to explain all those feelings is not very easy; actually, trying to explain feelings at any time can be challenging. I liked the way the movie anthropomorphized feelings, and giving them a voice (I will forever hear Lewis Black when I go on a rant). Sometimes I can't I understand why a movie is popular, but this time, I totally get why kids and adults would see this movie over and over (I may buy it myself). The cast was pretty much perfect, and the emotional responses were pretty on target as well. If you haven't seen it, I suggest you get it for a nice break from all the serious, gritty movies out this time of year.
12/22/15 Mr. Holmes, not yet nominated, 2015
There is something about Sherlock Holmes character that lends itself to all kinds of modifications, adaptations and extrapolations. In this interpretation, Ian McKellen plays an aged Sherlock Holmes in 1947, living in the country with his housekeeper, Mrs. Munro (Laura Linney) and her young son, Roger (Milo Parker). Holmes is in failing health, but his mind is still pretty agile, and he forms a bond with Roger, although he and Mrs. Munro quibble occasionally, mostly about his health. The film uses flashbacks to show the last case that Holmes worked on and why he quit detecting. The movie is a little over an hour and a half, and it took about 45 minutes for me to really get into it. It was more the pace of the story, I think, than the story itself, which is three stories in one, with some misdirection and a little mystery along the way. McKellen really could be Holmes, and I wouldn't mind some stories involving an older Holmes and Roger as his 'Watson'. But, I don't think that will happen, but it's a thought. I also don't think the movie will see too many nominations with so many bigger films out there, but you never know, there may be a costume or cinematography nomination in there somewhere.
12/23/15 Get Hard, 2015
I wanted funny, and with Kevin Hart and Will Farrell, I thought I would get pee in my pants funny. I got 'I'm glad the movie was free from the library' funny. I don't mind stupid funny, or even gross funny (sometimes), but I can't tell you what this was. Oh, I know, it was 'all the funny is in the trailers' funny. Will Farrell is sentenced to prison for fraud or something and he thinks that Kevin Hart's character has experience in prison and asks for some tips. Most of the movie is Farrell getting ready for prison. I am not going to the trouble to look up or confirm my information on Wikipedia. If you are looking for that mindless movie that you can watch, but also talk with your friends or do your taxes, you can watch this or Tammy.
12/24/15 The Big Short, not yet nominated, 2015
Warning: If you worked in the mortgage industry in the 2000s, you may not want to watch this, or go with friends who understand what we experienced. When I say 'we', I worked in the mortgage industry for twelve years at a company that was a leader in the securitization industry. I also watched as mortgage companies started to implode and then our own company caved in on itself as the financial services world was decimated and my friends lost their jobs. Sorry for the gloom, but as I noted to some friends on Facebook, the movie was too close to home. The Big Short features some big name actors (Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling) telling this very confusing story of mortgage-backed securities, CDOs, credit swaps, but in a nutshell, fraud by the largest financial institutions in the world. The movie is very good, but I think it may be too convoluted for most people to follow; I was in the business and my head was spinning. Maybe all the details aren't that important if you focus on the ultimate issue: fraud and deceit, and the fact that there were warning signs. The movie is about some of the real people who had the foresight to see the perils of the housing market and subprime loans and the impact on the worldwide economy; Dr. Michael Burry (Bale) started the ball rolling by looking for a huge return on an investment and created the first credit default swaps; Jared Vennett (Gosling) hears about them and tries to get other investors on board, and gets Mark Baum's (Carell) group to buy in as well. The difference about Baum is he is a crusader and realizes that when these securities go belly up, it's going to hurt the banks, which is what he wants. The movie uses a different narrative method, by having Vennett and other characters speak directly to the audience, occasionally bringing in real people, like Anthony Bourdain, Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez to explain some of the financial concepts. I found that to be annoying and not helpful, but perhaps that's just me. I liked the movie, and Carell was really good, so much better than in Foxcatcher in my opinion, Bale is also very good as the socially challenged, but insightful, Mike Burry. There is some Oscar buzz, but it would be hard to pick a Best Actor out of the ensemble, but perhaps a Best Supporting Actor, Best Writing, Best Editing. It might be helpful to watch the movie at home where it can be paused or rewound (so to speak), but it's a movie that should be seen because nobody of any significance was ever charged or sentenced; the banks, with the exception of Lehman Brothers, were rescued and bonuses were paid out; it seems like things may not have changed all that much, and the public should know.
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| Russian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Red Square, Moscow |
12/24/15 Red Army, 2014
Like many people of my generation (oh my god, I sound ancient), I remember very clearly the game where the US beat the Soviet hockey team at home, in Lake Placid during the 1980 Olympics. Other than knowing that the Soviet hockey team was practically unbeatable, I knew very little about Soviet hockey, or hockey in general. Red Army gives the viewer a look inside the players who made up the Soviet team, focusing on Slava Fetisov, a defenseman who was also the captain of the Soviet team and a hero to his country, until he wanted to play in the US and keep all of his salary (there was an arrangement whereby players could play in the US, but they had to give up 50% of their salaries to the Soviet government). Fetisov became an outcast, losing friends and teammates. Eventually, perestroika came to the USSR and Fetisov played for the Detroit Red Wings, along with four of his countrymen, leading the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup Championship. The documentary focuses on what life was like in Russia, how important hockey was to the people and the different style that the Russian skaters used (more finesse and style than the brute strength of the NHL), as well as Fetisov himself. Any fan of hockey should see this movie, as well as any student of the Cold War, just to listen to Vladimir Pozner's observations and commentary.
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| Stalin era Skyscraper, Moscow, Russia |
You can never have too many documentaries: The Wolfpack, Malala, The Square and Amy
If I had my way, I would watch four or five documentaries, then something 'silly' or fun, and then more documentaries. Rinse and repeat. And that's kind of what I did over the past week or so. Three of them have been shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar of 2015, so I feel prepared in that category. Even documentaries that I don't really like so much, many times it's the way the narrative is told, not always the subject. I would say that's the case here for the first two films. For other films, I want more; I don't care if that means it's three hours, I want more, more, more. That was definitely the case for He Named Me Malala.
12/9/15 The Wolfpack, 2015
The Wolfpack tells the story of seven children (the focus is on the six brothers) who were kept locked in the New York City apartment because their father is paranoid and controlling. The kids aren't 'abused' in the familiar sense of the word, but we learn that they are resentful of their father's actions and his control. We only meet the family because one of the brothers, Mukunda, sneaks out of the apartment to explore and on one of his trips he meets director Crystal Moselle. The director and Mukunda bond over their love of films. The boys are allowed to watch movies and they have adapted some so they can re-enact them and film them; it's very creative - they transcribe the script, come up with sound effects and costumes and make up. We see their version of Reservoir Dogs. When I first heard of this story, I was intrigued and fascinated, but seeing it on film, something was missing. The boys have very long hair for most of the movie and look very similar, but we don't get any subtitles to remind us who is who; it was very annoying. There is a brief interview with their father, but it's hard to tell if he's sober or drunk (apparently he drinks quite a lot and quite regularly) and I couldn't really follow what he was saying. There are also some moments with the kids' mother, and you get a sense of sadness since she has been cutoff from her family for over twenty years. The boys are very protective of her, especially when their dad loses his temper. It's an interesting story but didn't quite satisfy me.
12/17/15 Amy, not yet nominated, 2015
I wasn't a huge Amy Winehouse fan, although I did find "Rehab" infectious and bouncy, and I was a little sad when she died but quite frankly, any idiot could have seen that coming. The movie, including voice overs from her friends, manager and bodyguards, gives the impression that Amy loved to write songs and sing, but did not necessarily enjoy the other requisite stuff, like interviews and maybe not even recording. She succumbed to the attraction of drugs and alcohol, doing severe damage to her body along the way. Her father is not portrayed in the best light, in fact, you definitely get the idea he was riding the gravy train and may have coerced her into the last tour, which seemed doomed from the start. I don't know the facts, I'm not sure anyone does, but that is how it comes across on screen. One of the most heartbreaking moments was when Amy recorded a duet with Tony Bennett. She seemed so star-struck, to be singing with one of her idols; in fact, she kind of tries to walk away because she doesn't feel like she's singing well. Tony Bennett was so gracious and kind, trying to calm her down. If you're a fan, you might get more out of Amy than I did, but I found it very tabloid-y and focused on the negative, but just reading a bit on Wikipedia it seems like there was a lot more to her, she was very generous and did it without a lot of fanfare. It's a good, but not great documentary.
12/18/15 Best of Enemies, not yet nominated, 2015
Political wonks and television news historians may really enjoy this documentary about the debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr., held on ABC during the 1968 nominating conventions. One of the things that made these debates (between Vidal and Buckley, not the candidates) so popular or infamous, depending on your perspective, was that these two men loathed each other, they threw out caustic insults using the English language like doctor uses a scalpel. The movie generously uses footage from the debates and other contemporary interviews and tv shows. It's important to keep in mind that this is in the decades before social media, twenty-four hour news cycle and cable news channels. Both men were erudite, well-spoken and passionate about their point of view; they were also annoying. They were entertaining to watch for a short period of time, but I don't think I could listen or watch them for a long period of time. However, from an historical perspective, I found the men and their debates very interesting. I don't know if the film appeals to most movie goers (or will get more viewers if it gets nominated for the Oscar).
12/19/15 He Named Me Malala, not yet nominated 2015
I don't buy movies, mainly because I usually can't watch the same movie more than once. He Named Me Malala could be the exception. I can, and probably will, watch this more than once, and it may be the movie that I tell my friends they MUST watch. He Named Me Malala follows Malala Yousafzai as she travels around the world, speaking and inspiring world leaders and children, but also as she goes to school and struggles with her homework and teases her brothers. Davis Guggenheim does a wonderful job of showing a side of Malala that we haven't seen in the news, and it made me admire and like this young girl even more. Guggenheim also focuses on the father-daughter relationship, how they rely on each other. Malala seemingly bears no resentment or hate towards the men who shot her and her school friends; she seems at peace with what happened, and like a superhero, was made even stronger by the events. The story adds animation to tell of life in Pakistan before the Taliban moved into the Swat Valley; when Malala's father was a young boy, and when her mother went to school, but left to be with her friends. Many thoughts went through my head watching this, but one that persisted was that Malala and her family are essentially refugees living in England, and would they be allowed in the US under similar circumstances or would people be afraid they were terrorists? I think everyone should watch this movie, if you have children, watch it with them and talk about it. Malala's speech at the end to the children ambassadors (from UNICEF?) will make you pump your fist and maybe restore faith in humanity, if only for a little while.
12/19/15 The Square, nominated for Best Documentary, 2013
The Square is a documentary about the Egyptian Revolution which started in 2011 and turned into the Egyptian Crisis. The Revolution was successful in uniting different groups of people, Muslims hoping for a new future, the Muslim Brotherhood (known for being more radical), Christians, young and old Egyptians to overthrow Hosni Mubarek who essentially 'reigned' over Egypt for thirty years. Unfortunately, the revolution didn't end there, because promises that were made were not kept. The movie shows us the revolution from the perspective of Ahmed Hassan who is determined that the movement not turn into a strictly religious affair, with the Brotherhood imposing their will on the country; he calls Muslims and Christians brothers in this fight to bring democracy to Egypt. Khalid Abdalla was born in Scotland to Egyptian parents who fled Egypt but were anti-regime activists; Khalid returns to Egypt to join the protests in Tahrir Square. Magdy Ashour is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and joins the protests with Ahmed and his friends, and they have discussions about the reputation of the Brotherhood for forcing its beliefs on others; Magdy dismisses the criticism, indicating that he does not believe that, but some good can come from the Brotherhood. To me, he seems the most conflicted, not supporting the strong arm tactics of the Brotherhood, but believing that Morsi deserves a chance. Magdy was also imprisoned under the Mubarek and fears going back to prison. We see some of the revolutionaries getting beaten by the army, and run over by tanks, but they don't back down. What struck me, especially in this climate of fear and xenophobia and Islamaphobia, was that there was very little talk by most of the people we see on screen of imposing Islam on everyone; in fact Ahmed gets in many heated discussions about who is to tell whom about the right way to be a Muslim and that Egypt is for everyone, he embraces his Christian neighbors. I wish more people would see what these activists went through to try and make their lives better. Twenty Feet From Stardom won the Oscar this year for the Best Documentary, and while I loved that movie and found it uplifting, I have to wonder about the choice, because I think in terms of long-term importance, The Square is more valuable. That also may be the convenience of hindsight; nobody in 2014 could have really thought our country would have devolved to such a low level of discourse and a high level of racism. It took a long time for this movie to be released on DVD, but now that it's out, I strongly encourage you to watch this documentary. You may be surprised.
12/9/15 The Wolfpack, 2015
The Wolfpack tells the story of seven children (the focus is on the six brothers) who were kept locked in the New York City apartment because their father is paranoid and controlling. The kids aren't 'abused' in the familiar sense of the word, but we learn that they are resentful of their father's actions and his control. We only meet the family because one of the brothers, Mukunda, sneaks out of the apartment to explore and on one of his trips he meets director Crystal Moselle. The director and Mukunda bond over their love of films. The boys are allowed to watch movies and they have adapted some so they can re-enact them and film them; it's very creative - they transcribe the script, come up with sound effects and costumes and make up. We see their version of Reservoir Dogs. When I first heard of this story, I was intrigued and fascinated, but seeing it on film, something was missing. The boys have very long hair for most of the movie and look very similar, but we don't get any subtitles to remind us who is who; it was very annoying. There is a brief interview with their father, but it's hard to tell if he's sober or drunk (apparently he drinks quite a lot and quite regularly) and I couldn't really follow what he was saying. There are also some moments with the kids' mother, and you get a sense of sadness since she has been cutoff from her family for over twenty years. The boys are very protective of her, especially when their dad loses his temper. It's an interesting story but didn't quite satisfy me.
12/17/15 Amy, not yet nominated, 2015
I wasn't a huge Amy Winehouse fan, although I did find "Rehab" infectious and bouncy, and I was a little sad when she died but quite frankly, any idiot could have seen that coming. The movie, including voice overs from her friends, manager and bodyguards, gives the impression that Amy loved to write songs and sing, but did not necessarily enjoy the other requisite stuff, like interviews and maybe not even recording. She succumbed to the attraction of drugs and alcohol, doing severe damage to her body along the way. Her father is not portrayed in the best light, in fact, you definitely get the idea he was riding the gravy train and may have coerced her into the last tour, which seemed doomed from the start. I don't know the facts, I'm not sure anyone does, but that is how it comes across on screen. One of the most heartbreaking moments was when Amy recorded a duet with Tony Bennett. She seemed so star-struck, to be singing with one of her idols; in fact, she kind of tries to walk away because she doesn't feel like she's singing well. Tony Bennett was so gracious and kind, trying to calm her down. If you're a fan, you might get more out of Amy than I did, but I found it very tabloid-y and focused on the negative, but just reading a bit on Wikipedia it seems like there was a lot more to her, she was very generous and did it without a lot of fanfare. It's a good, but not great documentary.
12/18/15 Best of Enemies, not yet nominated, 2015
Political wonks and television news historians may really enjoy this documentary about the debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr., held on ABC during the 1968 nominating conventions. One of the things that made these debates (between Vidal and Buckley, not the candidates) so popular or infamous, depending on your perspective, was that these two men loathed each other, they threw out caustic insults using the English language like doctor uses a scalpel. The movie generously uses footage from the debates and other contemporary interviews and tv shows. It's important to keep in mind that this is in the decades before social media, twenty-four hour news cycle and cable news channels. Both men were erudite, well-spoken and passionate about their point of view; they were also annoying. They were entertaining to watch for a short period of time, but I don't think I could listen or watch them for a long period of time. However, from an historical perspective, I found the men and their debates very interesting. I don't know if the film appeals to most movie goers (or will get more viewers if it gets nominated for the Oscar).
12/19/15 He Named Me Malala, not yet nominated 2015
I don't buy movies, mainly because I usually can't watch the same movie more than once. He Named Me Malala could be the exception. I can, and probably will, watch this more than once, and it may be the movie that I tell my friends they MUST watch. He Named Me Malala follows Malala Yousafzai as she travels around the world, speaking and inspiring world leaders and children, but also as she goes to school and struggles with her homework and teases her brothers. Davis Guggenheim does a wonderful job of showing a side of Malala that we haven't seen in the news, and it made me admire and like this young girl even more. Guggenheim also focuses on the father-daughter relationship, how they rely on each other. Malala seemingly bears no resentment or hate towards the men who shot her and her school friends; she seems at peace with what happened, and like a superhero, was made even stronger by the events. The story adds animation to tell of life in Pakistan before the Taliban moved into the Swat Valley; when Malala's father was a young boy, and when her mother went to school, but left to be with her friends. Many thoughts went through my head watching this, but one that persisted was that Malala and her family are essentially refugees living in England, and would they be allowed in the US under similar circumstances or would people be afraid they were terrorists? I think everyone should watch this movie, if you have children, watch it with them and talk about it. Malala's speech at the end to the children ambassadors (from UNICEF?) will make you pump your fist and maybe restore faith in humanity, if only for a little while.
12/19/15 The Square, nominated for Best Documentary, 2013
The Square is a documentary about the Egyptian Revolution which started in 2011 and turned into the Egyptian Crisis. The Revolution was successful in uniting different groups of people, Muslims hoping for a new future, the Muslim Brotherhood (known for being more radical), Christians, young and old Egyptians to overthrow Hosni Mubarek who essentially 'reigned' over Egypt for thirty years. Unfortunately, the revolution didn't end there, because promises that were made were not kept. The movie shows us the revolution from the perspective of Ahmed Hassan who is determined that the movement not turn into a strictly religious affair, with the Brotherhood imposing their will on the country; he calls Muslims and Christians brothers in this fight to bring democracy to Egypt. Khalid Abdalla was born in Scotland to Egyptian parents who fled Egypt but were anti-regime activists; Khalid returns to Egypt to join the protests in Tahrir Square. Magdy Ashour is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and joins the protests with Ahmed and his friends, and they have discussions about the reputation of the Brotherhood for forcing its beliefs on others; Magdy dismisses the criticism, indicating that he does not believe that, but some good can come from the Brotherhood. To me, he seems the most conflicted, not supporting the strong arm tactics of the Brotherhood, but believing that Morsi deserves a chance. Magdy was also imprisoned under the Mubarek and fears going back to prison. We see some of the revolutionaries getting beaten by the army, and run over by tanks, but they don't back down. What struck me, especially in this climate of fear and xenophobia and Islamaphobia, was that there was very little talk by most of the people we see on screen of imposing Islam on everyone; in fact Ahmed gets in many heated discussions about who is to tell whom about the right way to be a Muslim and that Egypt is for everyone, he embraces his Christian neighbors. I wish more people would see what these activists went through to try and make their lives better. Twenty Feet From Stardom won the Oscar this year for the Best Documentary, and while I loved that movie and found it uplifting, I have to wonder about the choice, because I think in terms of long-term importance, The Square is more valuable. That also may be the convenience of hindsight; nobody in 2014 could have really thought our country would have devolved to such a low level of discourse and a high level of racism. It took a long time for this movie to be released on DVD, but now that it's out, I strongly encourage you to watch this documentary. You may be surprised.
Katyn, Zorba the Greek and South Pacific
Sometimes the selection of movies does not lend itself to rave reviews or in depth analysis. I'm afraid this is one of those times. My apologies.
11/28/15 Katyn, nominated for Best Foreign Film, 2007
For some reason, I thought this was a documentary, not a feature film. It was based on historical events, that of the Katyn massacre in 1940. This is one of those historical events that can be very confusing to untangle because there was confusion at the time it happened. According to records of the time, over 20,000 Polish officers and citizens were killed by the Soviet army as it advanced into Poland. The Soviets blamed the Germans, which would have made sense as well because the Germans also invaded Poland. Katyn, which was nominated for Best Foreign Film of 2007, tells the story of the massacre mainly from the perspective of different family members of the officers, oftentimes as they are fighting with either the Germans or the Russians for truth about their loved ones or just to survive under the occupation. It was a little hard to get into and occasionally hard to follow, but it tells a story that may not be very well known in America, and shows the brutality of the Soviet forces. It's worth investing the time.
12/12/15 Zorba the Greek, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction (B&W), Best Cinematography (B&W), 1964
Alan Bates and Anthony Quinn star in Zorba the Greek, although I think most people only think of Quinn, who plays the energetic and enthusiastic Zorba. Bates is Basil, a half Greek, half English writer who returns to a small village where his father owned some land. I don't think I saw Basil do any writing during the whole movie. Lila Kedrova won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress playing Madame Hortense, a lonely foreigner who runs a hotel and falls in love with Zorba. Both main characters undergo a metamorphosis, Basil loosens up a little (although one act of 'looseness' has fatal consequences) and Zorba experiences the darker side of the human condition. Things don't turn out exactly the way either two men hope, but the movie still ends on an up note. I didn't love it like some people do; this was the second time I have seen the movie, and I think I understood it a little better the second time around.
12/13/15 South Pacific, Best Sound, 1958
I am still watching South Pacific and I'm crying. Not because I'm moved or it's sad, but because I don't care. I don't care about the music, the characters or this ridiculous story, which is set on an island in the South Pacific during the Second World War. I don't even know what the story is, to be honest, there's some romance and people from different backgrounds that may or may not end up together. There is some annoying cinematography that uses filters and it seems to appear only during the musical numbers. There is still another 90 minutes to go (that should indicate that it's already been 90 minutes of torture), and I don't know if I can hang on. I suppose there are some classic songs like "Some Enchanted Evening" and "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right out of My Hair", but I don't care. I don't care about Nellie Forbush or Bali Hai or anything. To misappropriate Phil Collins "I Don't Care Anymore". It's off the list and that's my big accomplishment for the weekend.
Addendum: I'm hating my list right now. I'd rather watch highlights of the Cleveland Browns.
For a little levity and something different, please visit my blog on public transportation called Doing the Bus Run, observations on public transit and the people who take it.
11/28/15 Katyn, nominated for Best Foreign Film, 2007
For some reason, I thought this was a documentary, not a feature film. It was based on historical events, that of the Katyn massacre in 1940. This is one of those historical events that can be very confusing to untangle because there was confusion at the time it happened. According to records of the time, over 20,000 Polish officers and citizens were killed by the Soviet army as it advanced into Poland. The Soviets blamed the Germans, which would have made sense as well because the Germans also invaded Poland. Katyn, which was nominated for Best Foreign Film of 2007, tells the story of the massacre mainly from the perspective of different family members of the officers, oftentimes as they are fighting with either the Germans or the Russians for truth about their loved ones or just to survive under the occupation. It was a little hard to get into and occasionally hard to follow, but it tells a story that may not be very well known in America, and shows the brutality of the Soviet forces. It's worth investing the time.
12/12/15 Zorba the Greek, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction (B&W), Best Cinematography (B&W), 1964
Alan Bates and Anthony Quinn star in Zorba the Greek, although I think most people only think of Quinn, who plays the energetic and enthusiastic Zorba. Bates is Basil, a half Greek, half English writer who returns to a small village where his father owned some land. I don't think I saw Basil do any writing during the whole movie. Lila Kedrova won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress playing Madame Hortense, a lonely foreigner who runs a hotel and falls in love with Zorba. Both main characters undergo a metamorphosis, Basil loosens up a little (although one act of 'looseness' has fatal consequences) and Zorba experiences the darker side of the human condition. Things don't turn out exactly the way either two men hope, but the movie still ends on an up note. I didn't love it like some people do; this was the second time I have seen the movie, and I think I understood it a little better the second time around.
12/13/15 South Pacific, Best Sound, 1958
I am still watching South Pacific and I'm crying. Not because I'm moved or it's sad, but because I don't care. I don't care about the music, the characters or this ridiculous story, which is set on an island in the South Pacific during the Second World War. I don't even know what the story is, to be honest, there's some romance and people from different backgrounds that may or may not end up together. There is some annoying cinematography that uses filters and it seems to appear only during the musical numbers. There is still another 90 minutes to go (that should indicate that it's already been 90 minutes of torture), and I don't know if I can hang on. I suppose there are some classic songs like "Some Enchanted Evening" and "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right out of My Hair", but I don't care. I don't care about Nellie Forbush or Bali Hai or anything. To misappropriate Phil Collins "I Don't Care Anymore". It's off the list and that's my big accomplishment for the weekend.
Addendum: I'm hating my list right now. I'd rather watch highlights of the Cleveland Browns.
For a little levity and something different, please visit my blog on public transportation called Doing the Bus Run, observations on public transit and the people who take it.
Room and Suffragette - two movies with strong female leads and probable Oscar noms
I have started to go home to Cleveland to go to concerts (Steve Hackett, Joan Armatrading) and to go my favorite movie theater, the Cedar-Lee. And of course I get to spend time with my mom.
12/4/15 Room, not yet nominated, 2015
Wow. That's really all I could say when the movie was over. I had not heard a lot about the movie and I have not read the book upon which it was based, also called Room, so I really didn't know what to expect. What I got was a taut, tense, well-acted and emotional roller coaster of a movie. The movie is based on the 2010 book of the same name by Emma Donoghue; Donoghue also wrote the screenplay. I don't want to give too much away in case you have also not read the book. The movie opens in a room, with a little boy just waking up and greeting the day and shortly waking up his mother. It doesn't take us long to see that Room is fairly cramped and with only the essentials, a toilet, refrigerator, a tv (yes, that is essential), and to figure out that they cannot get out of Room. The first part of the movie focuses on life in Room. The mom, Joy, played brilliantly by Brie Larson, is young and stressed, but still able to enjoy the energy and life of her little boy, Jack, who is celebrating his fifth birthday. Jacob Tremblay as Jack is effortlessly natural, none of that precocious, 'look at me, I'm so cute' crap that annoys me; Jack has temper tantrums, argues with his mother, asks hard questions, is afraid, and willing to do anything for his mother. Joy and Jack are interdependent and have created a support and survival system while they are kept in Room by a man they only know as Old Nick; Old Nick regularly rapes Joy while Jack hides in a cupboard, but Jack is getting older and eventually ventures out to see Old Nick. I think this was the moment that Joy decided that they could no longer passively accept their current situation; perhaps if she was alone, she would have just lived with it, but having a child who was now curious and might be at risk of experiencing Old Nick's temper, the status quo is not okay. The two eventually get out and the second half of the movie focuses on Joy readjusting to the world, to her parents, and them adjusting to her; and of course, Jack has to learn about the world outside Room, in fact he has to wear a mask until his body acclimates to the atmosphere. As hard as it was watching Joy struggle to come back to the world, it was a joy to see Jack come out of his shell and form bonds with other adults and children and to show that independence that almost all kids develop. How Joy and Jack get from the first few minutes of the film to the end is the work of a great film and something you should experience for yourself. I will say that normally I just sit back in my chair and watch the movie, but I found myself leaning forward, almost trying to penetrate that 4th wall; that's how captivated I was. It was tough to watch at times, but Larson, Tremblay and Joan Allen who played Joy's mother, were tremendous. Room has already been nominated for many film awards, including Golden Globes, and I would expect it to receive several Oscar nominations, including in the Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and possibly Editing.
As a Clevelander, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the movie was set in Akron (although filmed elsewhere) and it had an eerie resemblance to the Ariel Castro kidnappings in Cleveland that were finally ended in 2013; the book was published in 2010 and based on a similar situation in Austria.
12/5/15 Suffragette, not yet nominated, 2015
Suffragette is a period piece set in the early 20th century in the heart of London and is about the fight to get women the right to vote. Carey Mulligan plays Maude Watts, a laundress who becomes politicized after a series of events make her reconsider her current situation. Watts, and most of the characters in the film are fictionalized, including Edith Ellyn by Helena Bonham Carter, and Brendan Gleeson's Inspector Steed. The historical figures in the movie are Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep for about 10 minutes), Emily Davison (Natalie Press) and David Lloyd George (Adrian Schiller). This is a coming of age story, Maude has been working in the laundry for most of her young life, and before she was working, she spent time as a baby sleeping under the equipment; until she meets some of the radical suffragettes by happenstance, she accepted her life as a fait accompli. Maude gets caught up in the increasingly radical suffrage movement, much to the dismay of her husband and the owner of the laundry. Maude meets Edith Ellyn who provides basic medical services, but isn't a doctor because her father didn't think a girl should have an advanced education; and Violet, a co-worker at the laundry who has far too many children but is dedicated to the work of the Women's Suffrage and Political Union, led by Emmeline Pankhurst. Maude is forced to choose between her family life and having a better life, even if that means sacrifice and force feedings and public humiliation. In a strange mirror on today's society we see how Maude becomes more and more dedicated to her cause as she loses her husband, child and home, her job; she sees girls preyed upon by men in powerful positions; and a new generation of girls destined to earn less wages, but work longer hours than their male counterparts; and women beaten (including herself) for holding a protest. The last ten to fifteen minutes of the movie are based on a real event at the Epsom Derby, with the King in attendance, where Emily Davison, a fervent suffragette, wanted to hang up a banner in an attempt to get more attention from the worldwide press. It did get a lot of attention, but not necessarily for the reason she hoped; she was killed by the King's horse as she stepped in to tie the banner to the horse. The film ends with newsreel footage of her funeral and the thousands of people, men and women, in attendance as well as a scroll of when women around the world were granted the vote. If you have watched "Upstairs, Downstairs", "Downton Abbey" or almost any British drama that focuses on that period, you may be somewhat familiar with the voting rights movement, but this is a little grittier than most of those representations. Mulligan and Bonham-Carter are very good, but so are Anne-Marie Duff who plays Violet, a tough, but vulnerable woman trying to improve her life and Gleeson as Steed, who tries to play hardball, but seems to have a soft spot for Maude, not in any sexual way, but in a paternal way. I liked the movie; I tend to like stories like this and characters like Maude, but I can't say I loved it. Maybe that's because the day before I saw Room and was biased by that. I think it is important that people see this movie though, because too many people take the right to vote as a given, and forget that many people fought very hard for that privilege. Everyone should have to see Selma, Suffragette and Ion Jawed Angels (about the suffragette movement in the US), to see what it means to have the ability to vote. There is some talk about Oscar nominations, and I think Mulligan may again be nominated for Best Actress and possibly a costume or cinematography award as well.
12/10/15 Pitch Perfect 2, not yet nominated, 2015
After watching so many heavy and dramatic films, it was nice to get Pitch Perfect 2 just for a laugh or two, and I heard some rumblings that there may be some award nominations in the future. Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow return as the Bellas and my favorites, Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins as the a capella commentators, who are so inappropriate and hilarious. For the past several years, the Bellas have been riding high, but the movie opens with them performing for the President of the United States when Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) has a wardrobe malfunction of global proportions, which takes them out of a world tour and out of competitions. They now have a new competitor, Das Sound Machine, from Germany; I have to say the exchanges between these two groups were my least favorite, except when Becca (Kendrick) got flustered by the sexually dominating Kommissar (Birgitte Hjort Sjrensen). Hailee Steinfeld is Emily "Legacy" Junk, an aspiring songwriter and new Bella because her mother, Katherine Junk (Katey Sagal) was a Bella years ago. Emily may have been introduced so they can make another movie, but otherwise, I didn't pay too much attention to the story line; I just like the comedy and the music, plot lines kind of pass me by. I liked the movie, and I would probably watch it again, but the first one is my favorite.
12/4/15 Room, not yet nominated, 2015
Wow. That's really all I could say when the movie was over. I had not heard a lot about the movie and I have not read the book upon which it was based, also called Room, so I really didn't know what to expect. What I got was a taut, tense, well-acted and emotional roller coaster of a movie. The movie is based on the 2010 book of the same name by Emma Donoghue; Donoghue also wrote the screenplay. I don't want to give too much away in case you have also not read the book. The movie opens in a room, with a little boy just waking up and greeting the day and shortly waking up his mother. It doesn't take us long to see that Room is fairly cramped and with only the essentials, a toilet, refrigerator, a tv (yes, that is essential), and to figure out that they cannot get out of Room. The first part of the movie focuses on life in Room. The mom, Joy, played brilliantly by Brie Larson, is young and stressed, but still able to enjoy the energy and life of her little boy, Jack, who is celebrating his fifth birthday. Jacob Tremblay as Jack is effortlessly natural, none of that precocious, 'look at me, I'm so cute' crap that annoys me; Jack has temper tantrums, argues with his mother, asks hard questions, is afraid, and willing to do anything for his mother. Joy and Jack are interdependent and have created a support and survival system while they are kept in Room by a man they only know as Old Nick; Old Nick regularly rapes Joy while Jack hides in a cupboard, but Jack is getting older and eventually ventures out to see Old Nick. I think this was the moment that Joy decided that they could no longer passively accept their current situation; perhaps if she was alone, she would have just lived with it, but having a child who was now curious and might be at risk of experiencing Old Nick's temper, the status quo is not okay. The two eventually get out and the second half of the movie focuses on Joy readjusting to the world, to her parents, and them adjusting to her; and of course, Jack has to learn about the world outside Room, in fact he has to wear a mask until his body acclimates to the atmosphere. As hard as it was watching Joy struggle to come back to the world, it was a joy to see Jack come out of his shell and form bonds with other adults and children and to show that independence that almost all kids develop. How Joy and Jack get from the first few minutes of the film to the end is the work of a great film and something you should experience for yourself. I will say that normally I just sit back in my chair and watch the movie, but I found myself leaning forward, almost trying to penetrate that 4th wall; that's how captivated I was. It was tough to watch at times, but Larson, Tremblay and Joan Allen who played Joy's mother, were tremendous. Room has already been nominated for many film awards, including Golden Globes, and I would expect it to receive several Oscar nominations, including in the Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and possibly Editing.
As a Clevelander, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the movie was set in Akron (although filmed elsewhere) and it had an eerie resemblance to the Ariel Castro kidnappings in Cleveland that were finally ended in 2013; the book was published in 2010 and based on a similar situation in Austria.
12/5/15 Suffragette, not yet nominated, 2015
Suffragette is a period piece set in the early 20th century in the heart of London and is about the fight to get women the right to vote. Carey Mulligan plays Maude Watts, a laundress who becomes politicized after a series of events make her reconsider her current situation. Watts, and most of the characters in the film are fictionalized, including Edith Ellyn by Helena Bonham Carter, and Brendan Gleeson's Inspector Steed. The historical figures in the movie are Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep for about 10 minutes), Emily Davison (Natalie Press) and David Lloyd George (Adrian Schiller). This is a coming of age story, Maude has been working in the laundry for most of her young life, and before she was working, she spent time as a baby sleeping under the equipment; until she meets some of the radical suffragettes by happenstance, she accepted her life as a fait accompli. Maude gets caught up in the increasingly radical suffrage movement, much to the dismay of her husband and the owner of the laundry. Maude meets Edith Ellyn who provides basic medical services, but isn't a doctor because her father didn't think a girl should have an advanced education; and Violet, a co-worker at the laundry who has far too many children but is dedicated to the work of the Women's Suffrage and Political Union, led by Emmeline Pankhurst. Maude is forced to choose between her family life and having a better life, even if that means sacrifice and force feedings and public humiliation. In a strange mirror on today's society we see how Maude becomes more and more dedicated to her cause as she loses her husband, child and home, her job; she sees girls preyed upon by men in powerful positions; and a new generation of girls destined to earn less wages, but work longer hours than their male counterparts; and women beaten (including herself) for holding a protest. The last ten to fifteen minutes of the movie are based on a real event at the Epsom Derby, with the King in attendance, where Emily Davison, a fervent suffragette, wanted to hang up a banner in an attempt to get more attention from the worldwide press. It did get a lot of attention, but not necessarily for the reason she hoped; she was killed by the King's horse as she stepped in to tie the banner to the horse. The film ends with newsreel footage of her funeral and the thousands of people, men and women, in attendance as well as a scroll of when women around the world were granted the vote. If you have watched "Upstairs, Downstairs", "Downton Abbey" or almost any British drama that focuses on that period, you may be somewhat familiar with the voting rights movement, but this is a little grittier than most of those representations. Mulligan and Bonham-Carter are very good, but so are Anne-Marie Duff who plays Violet, a tough, but vulnerable woman trying to improve her life and Gleeson as Steed, who tries to play hardball, but seems to have a soft spot for Maude, not in any sexual way, but in a paternal way. I liked the movie; I tend to like stories like this and characters like Maude, but I can't say I loved it. Maybe that's because the day before I saw Room and was biased by that. I think it is important that people see this movie though, because too many people take the right to vote as a given, and forget that many people fought very hard for that privilege. Everyone should have to see Selma, Suffragette and Ion Jawed Angels (about the suffragette movement in the US), to see what it means to have the ability to vote. There is some talk about Oscar nominations, and I think Mulligan may again be nominated for Best Actress and possibly a costume or cinematography award as well.
12/10/15 Pitch Perfect 2, not yet nominated, 2015
After watching so many heavy and dramatic films, it was nice to get Pitch Perfect 2 just for a laugh or two, and I heard some rumblings that there may be some award nominations in the future. Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow return as the Bellas and my favorites, Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins as the a capella commentators, who are so inappropriate and hilarious. For the past several years, the Bellas have been riding high, but the movie opens with them performing for the President of the United States when Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) has a wardrobe malfunction of global proportions, which takes them out of a world tour and out of competitions. They now have a new competitor, Das Sound Machine, from Germany; I have to say the exchanges between these two groups were my least favorite, except when Becca (Kendrick) got flustered by the sexually dominating Kommissar (Birgitte Hjort Sjrensen). Hailee Steinfeld is Emily "Legacy" Junk, an aspiring songwriter and new Bella because her mother, Katherine Junk (Katey Sagal) was a Bella years ago. Emily may have been introduced so they can make another movie, but otherwise, I didn't pay too much attention to the story line; I just like the comedy and the music, plot lines kind of pass me by. I liked the movie, and I would probably watch it again, but the first one is my favorite.
Two Days, One Night; God and Elvis; a visit to Chernobyl, Spy and the Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - a cinematic hotdish
There was actually going to be a plan to this entry, but that kind of went out the window pretty quickly as the movies piled up. There are one foreign film and three documentary shorts and then to throw you off balance, two comedies. It's a grab bag of cinema.
11/21/15 Two Days, One Night, nominated Best Actress, 2014
Several posts ago I mentioned that I had watched all but one of the nominees for last year. I lied. And I'm sorry. I had Two Days, One Night at home, but couldn't fit it in to my busy schedule. I finally did a couple of weeks ago and it was an interesting premise and I would like to state for the record now that I believe within five years this will be remade as an American film. The movie was a joint Belgian/French/Italian production set in Belgium. Marion Cotillard was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar, losing out to Julianne Moore in Still Alice. Marion is Sandra, a worker in a small solar panel factory in Seraing, a city near Liege, Belgium. When the movie starts Sandra is hoping to return to work after being gone for an unspecified reason (we are given clues along the way); unfortunately, the manager and owner learned that the the team could still meet all production demands being short one person. They are given the option of having Sandra back or getting a bonus; for some of the workers the bonus will have a huge impact on their quality of life. Sandra's friend, Juliette, has convinced the owner to hold a secret ballot after the weekend. This reprieve gives Sandra time to speak with everyone one on one and plead her case. She is reluctant, but her husband, Manu, tries to encourage her and support her. It's an emotional roller coaster as Sandra suffers rejection but also makes some conversions. I worried about her state of mind and tensed up as she made her plea. It didn't end like I thought it would, but I think it was better and more real. One thing I do want to say is that some of the workers made their decision based on the fact they would lose this bonus; but were they in such dire straits before Sandra left? And what makes them think they are safe and that management wouldn't see if they could do with one less person in six months? And (I guess that's three things) how come there was no union intervention? On that matter, I'm guessing because it was a small shop. I love Cotillard, I totally believed she was Sandra, the pain and angst and the love of her kids. She is amazing, although I think she is much better in French films, but perhaps I'm being a snob.
11/22/15 The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 2015
Movies are funny things. When you see a really good movie, you walk out and say, ooh, I hope they make a sequel. I loved The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, it featured some of the best British actors and actresses and it was on a beautiful location. Who wouldn't want a second movie? Most of the original cast returns: Dame Maggie Smith as Muriel Donnelly who now helps to run the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; Dame Judi Dench as Evelyn Greenslade who works sourcing original Indian cloths; Bill Nighy is Douglas Ainslie a sweet, fumbling guide who has unrequited feelings for Evelyn; Dev Patel returns as Sonny Kapoor, the ambitious and over the top entrepreneur who is preparing for his wedding; Richard Gere is the new face and he is a guest at the hotel and also very interested in Sonny's mother. You kind of need a scorecard to keep track of who is with whom and who does what. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is doing so well that guests never leave (until they permanently check out) so Sonny and Mrs. Donnelly set off to America to make a deal to start a Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. As with any ensemble film, there's a lot going on and some of it is more interesting or funny than other bits, and you find there are characters you would rather watch. Maggie Smith as Mrs. Donnelly is that person for me. In some ways she is like her curmudgeony character on Downton Abbey, dropping acerbic comments as effortlessly as rain falls in Seattle. There is a great Bollywood dance at the end, and other than that, the movie was okay, but not great, and I really hope they don't make a third best exotic marigold hotel.
11/26/15 Chernobyl Heart, winner Best Documentary Short, 2003
I may have to come up with a ratings system for documentaries; I think this would be five tear drops. I remember when the Chernobyl disaster happened; I had friends living in Sweden at the time and the news said that the radiation was blowing towards Sweden and the children were not supposed to play in the sand. It was crazy. It was in the news for a while and occasionally news would come out about what was happening, especially to the children. Seventeen years after the disaster, director Maryann DeLeo takes us to Chernobyl and surrounding villages and cities, to hospitals and orphanages. The number of birth defects has increased dramatically since the disaster, as has the number of cases of thyroid cancer and other diseases. The impacts on this generation of children is unfathomable. Our 'guide' for this visit is Adi Roche, a most amazing woman who founded Chernobyl Children International. The film was difficult to watch, frustrating and infuriating and yet Adi and her team and the doctors who come to perform surgeries for free give that ray of hope. The video is available on youtube and I strongly encourage you to watch it.
11/26/15 Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work Of Mark O'Brien, Best Documentary Short, 1996
Mark O'Brien was a poet who UC Berkeley, wrote several volumes of poetry and articles, all while being in an iron lung. O'Brien was stricken with polio when he was 6 years old. His parents didn't want to put him in a nursing home, so they kept him at home as long as they could, but then he went out on his own, attending college and graduate school. He has the help of attendants, but he uses a tool to type with his mouth. There are times he seems very lonely, but he still has a sense of humor and a sense of indignation when it comes to equal access and opportunity for disabled. His story was dramatized in Sessions which focused on his desire to experience sex. O'Brien died in 1999. The documentary is available on youtube and Sessions is available through the library or Netflix. I suggest seeing both.
11/26/15 God is the Bigger Elvis, nominated Best Documentary Short, 2011
I had no idea what this documentary was about until I watched it, I thought it was something to do with religion, but other than that, nada. Well, it has to do with God and Elvis. You movie buffs out there may know the name 'Dolores Hart' (I have to admit it didn't ring any bells with me, I'm sorry) from the 1950s, particularly Loving You with Elvis Presley. Dolores did not find the Hollywood lifestyle suitable to her and left to join a Benedictine order in Connecticut. The (now) Mother Prioress talks about her choice and others from the abbey about why they joined and what the Mother Prioress gives to them. I liked the documentary, it had a certain joie de vivre, but this was the year that Saving Face won and that was a hard one to beat, I think.
11/27/15 Spy, 2015
I really needed this movie after two days of intense movies (Secret in Their Eyes and Spotlight). There is no question that Melissa McCarthy has been in some hit or miss movies, but even if it's a 'miss', I almost always find something to laugh at; she is one funny lady. Spy isn't exactly a miss, but I didn't laugh as hard as I did during Bridesmaids, but I think that was a pretty rare occasion for me.
Spy is a comedic take on James Bond, featuring Jude Law as agent Bradley Fine; Jason Statham as his interdepartmental rival, Rick Ford; Rose Byrne as baddie Rayna Boyanov; Allison Janney as Director Elaine Crocker. The casting is pretty spot on: Statham shows he has a sense of humor about himself and his tough guy image by being the consummate 'top the topper', escaping death more times than it's possible to imagine; Janney is just so good in everything she does, she could teach a master class in line delivery and McCarthy is smooth moving from physical comedy to playing off of her co-stars (she and Byrne have this down to a science). McCarthy plays Susan Cooper a behind the scenes type of agent, providing the field agent, Fine, with escape routes and intel on the bad guys. Cooper and the rest of the agency are led to believe that Fine has been killed by Boyanov and that all of the field agents have been compromised, so they need someone unknown to the other side, and that would be Susan Cooper now Penny Morgan. Susan goes to Europe to stop the bad guys selling nuclear weapons (actually I wasn't really following the plot all that closely). Cooper proves to be lot more capable than anyone gave her credit for and she is assisted by Nancy (English actress Miranda Hart who has a great scene with 50 Cent). I think when Melissa McCarthy has a good script and a good director (Paul Feig, he directed Bridesmaids and Heat) good times can be had by all. McCarthy is one of the best comedic actresses and it's fun watching her do her thing.
11/21/15 Two Days, One Night, nominated Best Actress, 2014
Several posts ago I mentioned that I had watched all but one of the nominees for last year. I lied. And I'm sorry. I had Two Days, One Night at home, but couldn't fit it in to my busy schedule. I finally did a couple of weeks ago and it was an interesting premise and I would like to state for the record now that I believe within five years this will be remade as an American film. The movie was a joint Belgian/French/Italian production set in Belgium. Marion Cotillard was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar, losing out to Julianne Moore in Still Alice. Marion is Sandra, a worker in a small solar panel factory in Seraing, a city near Liege, Belgium. When the movie starts Sandra is hoping to return to work after being gone for an unspecified reason (we are given clues along the way); unfortunately, the manager and owner learned that the the team could still meet all production demands being short one person. They are given the option of having Sandra back or getting a bonus; for some of the workers the bonus will have a huge impact on their quality of life. Sandra's friend, Juliette, has convinced the owner to hold a secret ballot after the weekend. This reprieve gives Sandra time to speak with everyone one on one and plead her case. She is reluctant, but her husband, Manu, tries to encourage her and support her. It's an emotional roller coaster as Sandra suffers rejection but also makes some conversions. I worried about her state of mind and tensed up as she made her plea. It didn't end like I thought it would, but I think it was better and more real. One thing I do want to say is that some of the workers made their decision based on the fact they would lose this bonus; but were they in such dire straits before Sandra left? And what makes them think they are safe and that management wouldn't see if they could do with one less person in six months? And (I guess that's three things) how come there was no union intervention? On that matter, I'm guessing because it was a small shop. I love Cotillard, I totally believed she was Sandra, the pain and angst and the love of her kids. She is amazing, although I think she is much better in French films, but perhaps I'm being a snob.
11/22/15 The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 2015
Movies are funny things. When you see a really good movie, you walk out and say, ooh, I hope they make a sequel. I loved The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, it featured some of the best British actors and actresses and it was on a beautiful location. Who wouldn't want a second movie? Most of the original cast returns: Dame Maggie Smith as Muriel Donnelly who now helps to run the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; Dame Judi Dench as Evelyn Greenslade who works sourcing original Indian cloths; Bill Nighy is Douglas Ainslie a sweet, fumbling guide who has unrequited feelings for Evelyn; Dev Patel returns as Sonny Kapoor, the ambitious and over the top entrepreneur who is preparing for his wedding; Richard Gere is the new face and he is a guest at the hotel and also very interested in Sonny's mother. You kind of need a scorecard to keep track of who is with whom and who does what. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is doing so well that guests never leave (until they permanently check out) so Sonny and Mrs. Donnelly set off to America to make a deal to start a Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. As with any ensemble film, there's a lot going on and some of it is more interesting or funny than other bits, and you find there are characters you would rather watch. Maggie Smith as Mrs. Donnelly is that person for me. In some ways she is like her curmudgeony character on Downton Abbey, dropping acerbic comments as effortlessly as rain falls in Seattle. There is a great Bollywood dance at the end, and other than that, the movie was okay, but not great, and I really hope they don't make a third best exotic marigold hotel.
11/26/15 Chernobyl Heart, winner Best Documentary Short, 2003
I may have to come up with a ratings system for documentaries; I think this would be five tear drops. I remember when the Chernobyl disaster happened; I had friends living in Sweden at the time and the news said that the radiation was blowing towards Sweden and the children were not supposed to play in the sand. It was crazy. It was in the news for a while and occasionally news would come out about what was happening, especially to the children. Seventeen years after the disaster, director Maryann DeLeo takes us to Chernobyl and surrounding villages and cities, to hospitals and orphanages. The number of birth defects has increased dramatically since the disaster, as has the number of cases of thyroid cancer and other diseases. The impacts on this generation of children is unfathomable. Our 'guide' for this visit is Adi Roche, a most amazing woman who founded Chernobyl Children International. The film was difficult to watch, frustrating and infuriating and yet Adi and her team and the doctors who come to perform surgeries for free give that ray of hope. The video is available on youtube and I strongly encourage you to watch it.
11/26/15 Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work Of Mark O'Brien, Best Documentary Short, 1996
Mark O'Brien was a poet who UC Berkeley, wrote several volumes of poetry and articles, all while being in an iron lung. O'Brien was stricken with polio when he was 6 years old. His parents didn't want to put him in a nursing home, so they kept him at home as long as they could, but then he went out on his own, attending college and graduate school. He has the help of attendants, but he uses a tool to type with his mouth. There are times he seems very lonely, but he still has a sense of humor and a sense of indignation when it comes to equal access and opportunity for disabled. His story was dramatized in Sessions which focused on his desire to experience sex. O'Brien died in 1999. The documentary is available on youtube and Sessions is available through the library or Netflix. I suggest seeing both.
11/26/15 God is the Bigger Elvis, nominated Best Documentary Short, 2011
I had no idea what this documentary was about until I watched it, I thought it was something to do with religion, but other than that, nada. Well, it has to do with God and Elvis. You movie buffs out there may know the name 'Dolores Hart' (I have to admit it didn't ring any bells with me, I'm sorry) from the 1950s, particularly Loving You with Elvis Presley. Dolores did not find the Hollywood lifestyle suitable to her and left to join a Benedictine order in Connecticut. The (now) Mother Prioress talks about her choice and others from the abbey about why they joined and what the Mother Prioress gives to them. I liked the documentary, it had a certain joie de vivre, but this was the year that Saving Face won and that was a hard one to beat, I think.
11/27/15 Spy, 2015
I really needed this movie after two days of intense movies (Secret in Their Eyes and Spotlight). There is no question that Melissa McCarthy has been in some hit or miss movies, but even if it's a 'miss', I almost always find something to laugh at; she is one funny lady. Spy isn't exactly a miss, but I didn't laugh as hard as I did during Bridesmaids, but I think that was a pretty rare occasion for me.
Spy is a comedic take on James Bond, featuring Jude Law as agent Bradley Fine; Jason Statham as his interdepartmental rival, Rick Ford; Rose Byrne as baddie Rayna Boyanov; Allison Janney as Director Elaine Crocker. The casting is pretty spot on: Statham shows he has a sense of humor about himself and his tough guy image by being the consummate 'top the topper', escaping death more times than it's possible to imagine; Janney is just so good in everything she does, she could teach a master class in line delivery and McCarthy is smooth moving from physical comedy to playing off of her co-stars (she and Byrne have this down to a science). McCarthy plays Susan Cooper a behind the scenes type of agent, providing the field agent, Fine, with escape routes and intel on the bad guys. Cooper and the rest of the agency are led to believe that Fine has been killed by Boyanov and that all of the field agents have been compromised, so they need someone unknown to the other side, and that would be Susan Cooper now Penny Morgan. Susan goes to Europe to stop the bad guys selling nuclear weapons (actually I wasn't really following the plot all that closely). Cooper proves to be lot more capable than anyone gave her credit for and she is assisted by Nancy (English actress Miranda Hart who has a great scene with 50 Cent). I think when Melissa McCarthy has a good script and a good director (Paul Feig, he directed Bridesmaids and Heat) good times can be had by all. McCarthy is one of the best comedic actresses and it's fun watching her do her thing.
Trumbo - a history lesson for the times
11/29/15 Trumbo, not yet nominated, 2015
Trumbo was my third theatrical release in four days, not a record by any stretch, but one of two things was going to happen: I was going to fall asleep and experience burnout or I was going to get sucked into the movie and want it to never end. Thankfully, it was option number b. Bryan Cranston stars as the titular Trumbo, a Hollywood screenwriter for four decades. He was also blacklisted for ten years for his membership in the Communist party and his refusal to name names. Trumbo makes no effort to hide his political leanings, but to him and his friends, this is all well within their Constitutional rights and does not make them unpatriotic or un-American. Unfortunately, anti-Communist fervor is elevating to a fever pitch and Trumbo and some of his friends are sent to federal prison and blacklisted. Trumbo's nemesis is Hedda Hopper, a vile, venomous woman, who could make or break a Hollywood career with one gossip column or one night on her radio show. Hopper (the always fabulous Helen Mirren) is so right wing she makes Quisling look like Franklin Roosevelt. She has no compunction about threatening actors, writers or studio heads like Louis B. Mayer with a death knell on their careers if they do not bend to her whim to wipe out any leftist leanings (be they Communist or liberal Democrats). Just as Cranston 'owns' the role of Trumbo, Mirren 'owns' Hopper; I wanted to reach out and smack her. Diane Lane plays Cleo Trumbo, Trumbo's wife; even though Cleo is not a member of the Communist Party (this is made known when their eldest child, Nikola, asks Trumbo if she is a Communist and what a Communist is) she supports him through Congressional hearings, time in a federal prison in Kentucky and through his manic working schedule and demands and through his professional 'rehabilitation'. Unable to find work because of the blacklist, Trumbo starts writing scripts using pseudonyms or in the case of Roman Holiday, he asked his friend, Ian McLellan Hunter to 'front' for him. The movie won the Oscar for Best Story. Trumbo goes to work for the King brothers played perfectly by John Goodman and Stephen Root; it's a break from the seriousness going on and played with a comedic edge. It isn't until late 1959 when Kirk Douglas needs Trumbo's help in writing the script for Spartacus, and around the same time, Otto Preminger wants his help for Exodus. As it is told in the film, Trumbo plays one against the other, saying that each has agreed to give him full credit for writing, and they do. Nikola (Elle Fanning plays the older Nikola) has a special bond with her father; one that shows some strain as she gets older and wants to do some of the things she thought her father would support like voting rights marches. Trumbo is flawed and we see those flaws as he becomes increasingly self-centered as he takes on more and more screenplays to write and re-write; he rages against Nikola when she asks him to come out of the tub (one of his favorite places to work) to have birthday cake; he drinks and pops amphetamines to keep up with his overwhelming workload. He has a fight with Arlen Hird, another screenwriter and fellow Communist, except they have different ideas on how to accomplish their goals.
Director Jay Roach who directed the Austin Powers movies as well as Meet the Parents franchise movies does a good job of integrating contemporaneous newsreel footage into the story, including footage from the hearings and Academy Award clips. The movie mainly covers the 1950s and juxtaposes what was going on in Hollywood with what was going on in America with the Red Scare, the Rosenbergs, the early years of the Civil Rights movement. It's probably not going out on a limb to suggest that Cranston will be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar and Mirren will be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. I also think that Best Picture, Best Director, Best Costume and Best Editing nominations are possible. There should be a health warning for all of the smoking that is shown in the movie; I know it was common back then, but I walked out and swear I smelled like I smoked a pack of Marlboro Reds and drank a bottle of Scotch. That comment aside, I really enjoyed the movie. A few years ago I watched the documentary that Trumbo's son Chris put together, also called Trumbo, that featured letters, interviews and archival footage. I think in 'normal' times this would be a relevant film, but the timing couldn't be better in these turbulent times.
The frenzied scenes during the Congressional hearings from the 1940s and 1950s show that in sixty years, not much has changed with the way hearings are conducted, more a platform for Congressmen to shout at their witnesses if they do not want to hear real answers. In fact, it was kind of like watching the news of today with the fear-mongering and the threat of internment camps for Communists, similar to the suggested internment camp for Muslims. Fear and loathing being stirred up by columnists like Hedda Hopper and politicians looking to further their political ambitions. All hiding behind patriotism. It was shameful to watch it happening sixty years ago and it's still shameful.
Trumbo was my third theatrical release in four days, not a record by any stretch, but one of two things was going to happen: I was going to fall asleep and experience burnout or I was going to get sucked into the movie and want it to never end. Thankfully, it was option number b. Bryan Cranston stars as the titular Trumbo, a Hollywood screenwriter for four decades. He was also blacklisted for ten years for his membership in the Communist party and his refusal to name names. Trumbo makes no effort to hide his political leanings, but to him and his friends, this is all well within their Constitutional rights and does not make them unpatriotic or un-American. Unfortunately, anti-Communist fervor is elevating to a fever pitch and Trumbo and some of his friends are sent to federal prison and blacklisted. Trumbo's nemesis is Hedda Hopper, a vile, venomous woman, who could make or break a Hollywood career with one gossip column or one night on her radio show. Hopper (the always fabulous Helen Mirren) is so right wing she makes Quisling look like Franklin Roosevelt. She has no compunction about threatening actors, writers or studio heads like Louis B. Mayer with a death knell on their careers if they do not bend to her whim to wipe out any leftist leanings (be they Communist or liberal Democrats). Just as Cranston 'owns' the role of Trumbo, Mirren 'owns' Hopper; I wanted to reach out and smack her. Diane Lane plays Cleo Trumbo, Trumbo's wife; even though Cleo is not a member of the Communist Party (this is made known when their eldest child, Nikola, asks Trumbo if she is a Communist and what a Communist is) she supports him through Congressional hearings, time in a federal prison in Kentucky and through his manic working schedule and demands and through his professional 'rehabilitation'. Unable to find work because of the blacklist, Trumbo starts writing scripts using pseudonyms or in the case of Roman Holiday, he asked his friend, Ian McLellan Hunter to 'front' for him. The movie won the Oscar for Best Story. Trumbo goes to work for the King brothers played perfectly by John Goodman and Stephen Root; it's a break from the seriousness going on and played with a comedic edge. It isn't until late 1959 when Kirk Douglas needs Trumbo's help in writing the script for Spartacus, and around the same time, Otto Preminger wants his help for Exodus. As it is told in the film, Trumbo plays one against the other, saying that each has agreed to give him full credit for writing, and they do. Nikola (Elle Fanning plays the older Nikola) has a special bond with her father; one that shows some strain as she gets older and wants to do some of the things she thought her father would support like voting rights marches. Trumbo is flawed and we see those flaws as he becomes increasingly self-centered as he takes on more and more screenplays to write and re-write; he rages against Nikola when she asks him to come out of the tub (one of his favorite places to work) to have birthday cake; he drinks and pops amphetamines to keep up with his overwhelming workload. He has a fight with Arlen Hird, another screenwriter and fellow Communist, except they have different ideas on how to accomplish their goals.
Director Jay Roach who directed the Austin Powers movies as well as Meet the Parents franchise movies does a good job of integrating contemporaneous newsreel footage into the story, including footage from the hearings and Academy Award clips. The movie mainly covers the 1950s and juxtaposes what was going on in Hollywood with what was going on in America with the Red Scare, the Rosenbergs, the early years of the Civil Rights movement. It's probably not going out on a limb to suggest that Cranston will be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar and Mirren will be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. I also think that Best Picture, Best Director, Best Costume and Best Editing nominations are possible. There should be a health warning for all of the smoking that is shown in the movie; I know it was common back then, but I walked out and swear I smelled like I smoked a pack of Marlboro Reds and drank a bottle of Scotch. That comment aside, I really enjoyed the movie. A few years ago I watched the documentary that Trumbo's son Chris put together, also called Trumbo, that featured letters, interviews and archival footage. I think in 'normal' times this would be a relevant film, but the timing couldn't be better in these turbulent times.
The frenzied scenes during the Congressional hearings from the 1940s and 1950s show that in sixty years, not much has changed with the way hearings are conducted, more a platform for Congressmen to shout at their witnesses if they do not want to hear real answers. In fact, it was kind of like watching the news of today with the fear-mongering and the threat of internment camps for Communists, similar to the suggested internment camp for Muslims. Fear and loathing being stirred up by columnists like Hedda Hopper and politicians looking to further their political ambitions. All hiding behind patriotism. It was shameful to watch it happening sixty years ago and it's still shameful.
Sure to be nominated: Secret in Their Eyes and Spotlight
11/26/15 Secret in Their Eyes, not yet nominated, 2015
Julia Roberts, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nicole Kidman star in the remake/adaptation of the Argentinean film and Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Film from 2009. The name of the movie sounded familiar but it didn't really hit me until towards the end that this was a remake; not that it made a huge difference, just a fact. Another fact is I really liked this movie as well. The story is told using flashbacks (as the original did) and we first meet Ray (Ejiofor) as he is staring at a computer screen comparing faces from a database; and we then see him in Los Angeles waiting to meet with the District Attorney, Claire Sloan (Kidman). Jess (Roberts) walks in on them only to find that Ray is there because of an old case they worked on 13 years earlier. Flashback 13 years and we see Jess and Ray as they are working a post 9/11 joint terrorism task force in Los Angeles; Ray is on loan from the New York bureau of the FBI. Claire is a Philadelphia transplant to the DA's office. Michael Kelly plays Seifert, a pain in the ass member of the team who has a confidential informant who leads them to a local mosque and the promise of terrorist activity. All of these facts come crashing together when Jess's daughter, Carolyn, is found dead, after being brutally raped, behind the mosque. Going back to the future, Ray wants Claire to re-open the investigation and let him work it and follow his findings. The movie uses flashbacks wisely, and the tension builds to a crescendo, and there are a few red herrings. Roberts is really good here, the emotional pain she feels is palpable to the audience. Ejiofor and Kidman are good as well, although there is a romantic plot line that seems awkward and forced (perhaps that's intentional, since she is playing a Harvard educated lawyer who is engaged and later married and he is an investigator). Alfred Molina plays Martin Morales, the District Attorney when the movie opens, and there is something right away that is smarmy (that's really not giving anything away). This could get nominated for editing and Roberts could definitely get nominated for Best Actress. If you see this, I also recommend seeing the original.
11/27/15 Spotlight, not yet nominated, 2015
When the movie ended you could hear people sighing and making other sounds of knowing disbelief - they knew the story happened, but you simply could not believe it. Spotlight refers to a section of the Boston Globe that focused on investigative journalism, and in this case, the abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests in and around the Boston area. The film has a strong cast of actors including Michael Keaton as editor Walter "Robby" Robinson; Liev Schreiber (Best Supporting Actor?) as executive editor Marty Barron; Mark Ruffalo as Mike Rezendes and Rachel McAdams as Sacha Pfeiffer, two of the investigative reporters; and Stanley Tucci as quirky attorney Mitchell Garabedian. Some of the characters are based on real people and others are composite characters. I should also mention that John Slattery plays Ben Bradlee Jr., son of Ben Bradlee, the executive editor of the Washington Post during the Watergate scandal. It occasionally felt like this was a mini-Watergate or All the President's Men with the secrecy and conspiracy. Even if you followed the news back in 2002/2003, and I do remember when the report came out, the story behind the story is intriguing and well told. It was nice to see Keaton follow up his performance in Birdman with another powerful role as a man investigating his own 'family' (including a priest who taught at his high school and one of his closest friends for his role in the cover-up). Liev Schreiber as Barron, the outsider - not from Boston and Jewish, and it's at his instigation that the investigation takes the turn it does, which is a shift from the individual to a focus on the systemic cover-up and corruption; Schreiber does it in a very understated way, you can see him struggling to navigate the cronyism and insularity of the Roman Catholic Church. Stanley Tucci is Mitchell Garabedian (I don't know if he was a real person or a composite) but he comes off as paranoid, but ready to slay the dragon that is the Church. He is reluctant to let Mike Rezendes into his confidence, but he does when he finally believes that Rezendes and the team are sincere in search for truth and that using the press to expose what has been going on for over thirty years. Mark Ruffalo as Rezendes annoyed the crap out of me; I don't know if he was taking on Rezendes' real life quirks, but he kept talking out of the side of his mouth and he seemed very twitchy. The Spotlight team won a Pulitzer for their work on the story, and Spotlight will probably be nominated for a few Oscars (my opinion) - Best Supporting Actor - Liev Schreiber or Stanley Tucci; maybe Best Picture, Best Screenplay and possibly an editing nod. It's hard to say you 'enjoyed' a movie like this, but it did make an impact and it was extremely well done.
As a sidenote: being a records manager and recovering archivist, it was really gratifying to see the Spotlight team using the library to help in their research and to see the library team using: microfilm, newspaper clippings and computers to locate the needed information (as well as the obligatory trip to the dusty, smelly basement). Much more realistic than untrained personnel walking right up to the correct box of files or file drawers without so much as a barcode or other locator.
Julia Roberts, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nicole Kidman star in the remake/adaptation of the Argentinean film and Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Film from 2009. The name of the movie sounded familiar but it didn't really hit me until towards the end that this was a remake; not that it made a huge difference, just a fact. Another fact is I really liked this movie as well. The story is told using flashbacks (as the original did) and we first meet Ray (Ejiofor) as he is staring at a computer screen comparing faces from a database; and we then see him in Los Angeles waiting to meet with the District Attorney, Claire Sloan (Kidman). Jess (Roberts) walks in on them only to find that Ray is there because of an old case they worked on 13 years earlier. Flashback 13 years and we see Jess and Ray as they are working a post 9/11 joint terrorism task force in Los Angeles; Ray is on loan from the New York bureau of the FBI. Claire is a Philadelphia transplant to the DA's office. Michael Kelly plays Seifert, a pain in the ass member of the team who has a confidential informant who leads them to a local mosque and the promise of terrorist activity. All of these facts come crashing together when Jess's daughter, Carolyn, is found dead, after being brutally raped, behind the mosque. Going back to the future, Ray wants Claire to re-open the investigation and let him work it and follow his findings. The movie uses flashbacks wisely, and the tension builds to a crescendo, and there are a few red herrings. Roberts is really good here, the emotional pain she feels is palpable to the audience. Ejiofor and Kidman are good as well, although there is a romantic plot line that seems awkward and forced (perhaps that's intentional, since she is playing a Harvard educated lawyer who is engaged and later married and he is an investigator). Alfred Molina plays Martin Morales, the District Attorney when the movie opens, and there is something right away that is smarmy (that's really not giving anything away). This could get nominated for editing and Roberts could definitely get nominated for Best Actress. If you see this, I also recommend seeing the original.
11/27/15 Spotlight, not yet nominated, 2015
When the movie ended you could hear people sighing and making other sounds of knowing disbelief - they knew the story happened, but you simply could not believe it. Spotlight refers to a section of the Boston Globe that focused on investigative journalism, and in this case, the abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests in and around the Boston area. The film has a strong cast of actors including Michael Keaton as editor Walter "Robby" Robinson; Liev Schreiber (Best Supporting Actor?) as executive editor Marty Barron; Mark Ruffalo as Mike Rezendes and Rachel McAdams as Sacha Pfeiffer, two of the investigative reporters; and Stanley Tucci as quirky attorney Mitchell Garabedian. Some of the characters are based on real people and others are composite characters. I should also mention that John Slattery plays Ben Bradlee Jr., son of Ben Bradlee, the executive editor of the Washington Post during the Watergate scandal. It occasionally felt like this was a mini-Watergate or All the President's Men with the secrecy and conspiracy. Even if you followed the news back in 2002/2003, and I do remember when the report came out, the story behind the story is intriguing and well told. It was nice to see Keaton follow up his performance in Birdman with another powerful role as a man investigating his own 'family' (including a priest who taught at his high school and one of his closest friends for his role in the cover-up). Liev Schreiber as Barron, the outsider - not from Boston and Jewish, and it's at his instigation that the investigation takes the turn it does, which is a shift from the individual to a focus on the systemic cover-up and corruption; Schreiber does it in a very understated way, you can see him struggling to navigate the cronyism and insularity of the Roman Catholic Church. Stanley Tucci is Mitchell Garabedian (I don't know if he was a real person or a composite) but he comes off as paranoid, but ready to slay the dragon that is the Church. He is reluctant to let Mike Rezendes into his confidence, but he does when he finally believes that Rezendes and the team are sincere in search for truth and that using the press to expose what has been going on for over thirty years. Mark Ruffalo as Rezendes annoyed the crap out of me; I don't know if he was taking on Rezendes' real life quirks, but he kept talking out of the side of his mouth and he seemed very twitchy. The Spotlight team won a Pulitzer for their work on the story, and Spotlight will probably be nominated for a few Oscars (my opinion) - Best Supporting Actor - Liev Schreiber or Stanley Tucci; maybe Best Picture, Best Screenplay and possibly an editing nod. It's hard to say you 'enjoyed' a movie like this, but it did make an impact and it was extremely well done.
As a sidenote: being a records manager and recovering archivist, it was really gratifying to see the Spotlight team using the library to help in their research and to see the library team using: microfilm, newspaper clippings and computers to locate the needed information (as well as the obligatory trip to the dusty, smelly basement). Much more realistic than untrained personnel walking right up to the correct box of files or file drawers without so much as a barcode or other locator.
A documentary buffet featuring food, science, a Big Bird and a boxing legend
10/24/15 Deli Man, Documentary, 2015 not yet nominated
The title of the film, Deli Man, probably gives away the subject matter: the Jewish deli and its slow demise across America. I don't have too many hopes that the movie will be nominated for an Oscar, and with so many good documentaries out there, I'm not sure it should be nominated, but I want to support it because I did help to fund it on Kickstarter and it's an enjoyable movie. Deli Man gives us a little history of the Jewish deli, how immigrants brought over food from their home countries and the cultural aspect of food. Director Erik Greenberg Anjou uses Ziggy Gruber, a New York transplant in Houston and owner of Kenny and Ziggy's (I hope to visit on my trip to Houston), as the focal point. Ziggy grew up in delis and has a passion for the history of delis, which is also the history of his family. Watching Deli Man made me think of the delis at home in Cleveland, the delis I have visited in New York (service with a snarl) and the few I have experienced in the Twin Cities. There is something about the dish of kosher pickles and pickled tomatoes on the table, the familiarity of the dishes: latkes, knishes, corned beef (no thank you), challah and more. I get hungry just thinking about it. I wish the movie had smell-o-vision, but it did not. People gather around food and it's a great ice breaker, I mean who doesn't love matzo ball soup?
11/7/15 Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, 2015 not yet nominated
Going Clear received a lot of publicity even before it was released because of the subject matter: Scientology. Alex Gibney (Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine and many others) directed the movie and interviewed former members of Scientology's inner circle, but not some of its more famous members like John Travolta and Tom Cruise. There was this pervasive feeling of paranoia as I listened to all of the things that were being done or that was happening to believers of Scientology. It's a belief system (I hesitate to call it a 'religion', although the federal government recognizes it as a religion for tax purposes) that does not appear to value independence or free thought and perhaps has even gotten worse in the past two decades (or more) under David Miscavige who has a god complex (based only on the footage presented). I don't like to disparage people's beliefs, but this seems so obviously cult-like and absurd that it's hard to conceive of people giving thousands of dollars to it, much less submitting to the control alleged by those who have left. The movie gives an historical background on L. Ron Hubbard, the creator of Dyanetics and Scientology, and it does not necessarily paint him in a good light and includes background on the different levels in Scientology and interviews with former members. I thought this film was better done than Steve Jobs, and I cared more about the people in the film and I felt something, whereas in Steve Jobs I did not.
11/13/15 Merchants of Doubt, 2014
If you have a critical thinking bone in your body or brain, watching this movie will make you so angry at those people who can't look past the nose on their faces for the truth. It's scary and enraging. Merchants of Doubt refers to the people who work to cast doubt on scientific discovery, usually by disparaging and attacking the scientists personally since they really cannot factually dispute the science. The director, Robert Kenner, uses Naomi Oreskes, an historian of science and co-author of the book Merchants of Doubt, and Stanton Glantz, an activist for tobacco regulation, to give the background on these tactics, that go back to when the tobacco industry denied any harmful effects from smoking. Then, when it was proven that the tobacco industry KNEW there were negative effects from smoking, they tried to turn the tables and make it the smokers' fault. It's mind boggling. Oreskes has done a lot of research on the people behind these tactics and their anti-scientific approaches. One of the main topics examined in the film is global warming; and what is scary is how the deniers of global warming use fake science, misdirection and economic fear to sway people. Kenner interviews 'converts' those who didn't believe in global warming, thought it was a scare tactic by liberals but who have since read the scientific reports and now try to dispute the deniers. Bob Inglis, former Republican Congressman from Oklahoma, is one of those now trying to take the 'party politics' out of a very serious situation. He does it with grace and eloquence and a determination that is inspiring, even though he lost his seat to a candidate supported by the Tea Party. I cannot recommend this movie strongly enough. It presents the facts and evidence in a strong and convincing way, and the fact that many of the deniers say that yes, global warming is happening but we can't afford to do anything about it and it's government overreach, gives lie to their position. Kenner directed the Oscar-nominated documentary Food, Inc. which is about the food industry and made me not want to eat for a short period.
11/21/15 I am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story, 2015, not yet nominated
Who doesn't like Big Bird? He represents that little kid in all of us, he asked the questions we wanted to ask and did the silly things we liked to do. I am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story gives us a behind the scenes look at Caroll Spinney, the Muppeteer behind Big Bird and the yin to his yang, Oscar the Grouch. We gather from Spinney and the people who know him that he really was Big Bird, that with or without the 8 foot tall costume, he would still have that wonderment. We meet many of the cast from Sesame Street including Bob, Luis, Susan and Maria, and hear how they felt Big Bird represented the children who were watching, but also their thoughts about Caroll as a performer. There was a period of time where Big Bird was everywhere, going all over the world, including a newly opened China. Spinney has been playing Big Bird for forty years, and seems to have no immediate plans to retire, despite the fact that playing Big Bird can be physically exhausting. the magic does not diminish even though we learn how Big Bird works, we get an inside look into the feathery costumer. A story about Big Bird would not be complete without the father of the Muppets, Jim Henson making an appearance, and Spinney speaks of him with great affection and of how Henson believed in him, even when things got discouraging. I always liked Big Bird, but I think I love him, and Sesame Street, more now and have a great appreciation for the respect they have for their audience. As a documentary, I kept waiting for 'something', but I don't have words to describe what it was. I am so glad I saw it and I hope more people do, but I don't think it will be nominated for an Oscar. That doesn't diminish it in any way, though. Check it out.
11/21/15 Unforgivable Blackness, 2005
Jack Johnson (1878-1946) was the most dominant fighter of his time; he was also a black fighter during a period when some Americans still had bitter memories of Reconstruction and less than enlightened views of the black man. The Ken Burns documentary, based on the book of the same name by Geoffrey C. Ward, uses film footage and newspaper articles and first person accounts, including Johnson's. Burns places Johnson's story in an historical, sociological, cultural and sports context, and this gives you a sense of what it was like in the first two decades of the 20th century. While black men could box, it was often to entertain white men; the fighters might be blindfolded, among one variation; but they could not fight for the championship. It would never do to have a black man fight a white man (what if the Negro won?) and in fact the white heavyweight champion, James Jeffries refused to fight Johnson. Fights were stopped before Johnson could knock out his opponents (and he surely would have) because there was a fear of rioting if a white man was knocked out by a black man (fear seemed to be a common theme in the reactions to Johnson). Johnson looks massive in the century old footage in comparison to his opponents; much like Mike Tyson towered over his opponents. Back in the early days of boxing, matches could be scheduled for twenty rounds, in fact, one of Johnson's fights was scheduled to go 45 rounds, unimaginable today. Aside from his boxing prowess and physical strength, Johnson was an independent minded man, not really caring what anyone thought of him. He dated and lived with white women which in that time was scandalous; he openly said that nobody would tell him who he could love. He had impeccable taste in clothes and cars; he was well-spoken. If he was living in the 21st century, he would probably rub elbows with LeBron James and Floyd Mayweather, but he didn't live in 2015, he lived in 1915, and Johnson's confidence and bravado offended so many in the white establishment, and as the story unfolds, his overconfidence led to his slow downfall. Burns always does a great job of telling the story of America and her people and this is no different; Burns includes the inimitable James Earl Jones, who played Johnson in "The Great White Hope", Stanley Crouch, a writer, Bert Sugar, a boxing historian, among others to keep the viewer interested. You get a lesson in the racial climate of the US sneakily wrapped up in a history of boxing. Burns' guests do a better job than I can of encapsulating everything and they have a couple of hours to do it. It was uncomfortable watching and listening to some of the footage because the blatant, uncompromising racism and hatred toward Johnson is repugnant, especially when it seemed that he really didn't have those same feelings (perhaps he did, but it wasn't apparent to me), he just wanted to box and be the best and have fun doing it, and he was a little arrogant. Show me a boxer who isn't that way; in fact, James Earl Jones says that when Muhammad Ali came to see "The Great White Hope", he said if you substitute the issue of being with white women for religion, the story was Ali's. We don't hear a lot about Jack Johnson these days; I learned about him in college when I did an independent study, but otherwise, I don't think would have known about him. Johnson had his flaws, and he was a polarizing figure, but his story is definitely worth learning about.
Spectre and Get Low
11/15/15 Spectre, not yet nominated, 2015
It's funny, I would not consider myself a James Bond fan, and yet I have seen all of the Daniel Craig movies in the theater, usually in the first couple weeks. So, a couple friends and I went to the theater this past weekend and waited. They waited for him to take off his shirt and I, well, that's not why I was there. The movie opened with some incredible views of the Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City. That was pretty impressive. Then Bond goes off and does Bond things, like killing people and flying a helicopter dangerously low to the crowd. Upon his return to London, he is reprimanded by M, now played by Ralph Fiennes, and told to behave himself. It may take me a while to get used to Fiennes, as I really loved Judi Dench as M, a role she first played in 1995. M (Dench) left Bond a brief upon her demise and Bond heads off on a mission to Rome, driving a spectacular car. Christoph Waltz is Ernst Blofeld (a familiar character to Bonds fans), and he really is a great bad guy. Since the movie is still so new and there are more detailed synopses elsewhere, I will not dwell too much on the story. Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color) is Dr. Madeleine Swann, the daughter of one of Bonds's nemeses, and Bond has promised to protect her, even if she doesn't want him to. There are a couple of cool explosions, one was the largest explosion on a set (I'm pretty sure there will be some Oscar nominations for effects, sound and editing). There were a couple of story elements that I liked, they were a little unexpected and added a twist (no spoilers here). So, what about the song? Sam Smith co-wrote and performed "The Writing's on the Wall". It was fine; I have to admit that I have never heard him sing, so I didn't know what to expect, and I was surprised when he hit some very high notes. I think while Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger" is THE Bond song, Adele's "Skyfall" is right up there, and for those new to Bond films, it probably is THE song, so it must be hard to follow Adele. My guess is it will be nominated for an Oscar as well, and could be quite an interesting performance in 2016. The big question - did I like the movie? The movie ended and we looked at each other and kind of went, oh, okay, that was all right, but none of us left thinking that was the best movie, or even the best James Bond movie we'd seen. I wanted more gadgets from Q, I thought they were kind of lame and my friends wanted less clothes on Daniel Craig.
11/15/15 Get Low, 2009
I saw the trailer for Get Low a few times and thought it looked funny, Bill Murray is dry and cynical and Robert Duvall plays an enigmatic hermit in Tennessee in the 1930s. Felix Bush (Duvall) lives alone in the woods and decides to throw a funeral for himself and ask people to tell a story or memory about him. Frank Quinn (Murray) is the owner of the funeral home who sees a great opportunity to make some money and generate some publicity; his assistant, Buddy Robinson, is not so mercenary about it, and befriends Bush. Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek) is a contemporary of Bush, and we're not totally certain of their relationship until further in the movie. Get Low is a quirky little film, in some ways it reminded me of St. Vincent from a few years ago, which starred Bill Murray, you think it's going to be some gut busting hilarious movie, and it suckers you in, and then shows you a flawed man who has some demons. It kind of reminds you that everyone has a story and everyone has pain, some just bury it deeper than others. There are great performances from everyone, especially Duvall and Lucas Black who played Buddy.
It's funny, I would not consider myself a James Bond fan, and yet I have seen all of the Daniel Craig movies in the theater, usually in the first couple weeks. So, a couple friends and I went to the theater this past weekend and waited. They waited for him to take off his shirt and I, well, that's not why I was there. The movie opened with some incredible views of the Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City. That was pretty impressive. Then Bond goes off and does Bond things, like killing people and flying a helicopter dangerously low to the crowd. Upon his return to London, he is reprimanded by M, now played by Ralph Fiennes, and told to behave himself. It may take me a while to get used to Fiennes, as I really loved Judi Dench as M, a role she first played in 1995. M (Dench) left Bond a brief upon her demise and Bond heads off on a mission to Rome, driving a spectacular car. Christoph Waltz is Ernst Blofeld (a familiar character to Bonds fans), and he really is a great bad guy. Since the movie is still so new and there are more detailed synopses elsewhere, I will not dwell too much on the story. Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color) is Dr. Madeleine Swann, the daughter of one of Bonds's nemeses, and Bond has promised to protect her, even if she doesn't want him to. There are a couple of cool explosions, one was the largest explosion on a set (I'm pretty sure there will be some Oscar nominations for effects, sound and editing). There were a couple of story elements that I liked, they were a little unexpected and added a twist (no spoilers here). So, what about the song? Sam Smith co-wrote and performed "The Writing's on the Wall". It was fine; I have to admit that I have never heard him sing, so I didn't know what to expect, and I was surprised when he hit some very high notes. I think while Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger" is THE Bond song, Adele's "Skyfall" is right up there, and for those new to Bond films, it probably is THE song, so it must be hard to follow Adele. My guess is it will be nominated for an Oscar as well, and could be quite an interesting performance in 2016. The big question - did I like the movie? The movie ended and we looked at each other and kind of went, oh, okay, that was all right, but none of us left thinking that was the best movie, or even the best James Bond movie we'd seen. I wanted more gadgets from Q, I thought they were kind of lame and my friends wanted less clothes on Daniel Craig.
11/15/15 Get Low, 2009
I saw the trailer for Get Low a few times and thought it looked funny, Bill Murray is dry and cynical and Robert Duvall plays an enigmatic hermit in Tennessee in the 1930s. Felix Bush (Duvall) lives alone in the woods and decides to throw a funeral for himself and ask people to tell a story or memory about him. Frank Quinn (Murray) is the owner of the funeral home who sees a great opportunity to make some money and generate some publicity; his assistant, Buddy Robinson, is not so mercenary about it, and befriends Bush. Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek) is a contemporary of Bush, and we're not totally certain of their relationship until further in the movie. Get Low is a quirky little film, in some ways it reminded me of St. Vincent from a few years ago, which starred Bill Murray, you think it's going to be some gut busting hilarious movie, and it suckers you in, and then shows you a flawed man who has some demons. It kind of reminds you that everyone has a story and everyone has pain, some just bury it deeper than others. There are great performances from everyone, especially Duvall and Lucas Black who played Buddy.
Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies, vintage cartoons from the 1930s
With the exception of the first short reviewed, the rest are all from Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies series. Disney won five straight Oscars for his shorts that are mostly taken from fables or well-known children's stories. These are all available on Youtube.com.
11/10/15 Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase, Best Animated Short, 1991
This should have been in the last posting on animation, but I lost track of where I was. So here it is. The short takes the viewer through a history of art, although not necessarily in chronological order. We watch as a Da Vinci morphs into a Van Gogh into a Gaughin into a Picasso. It was fun to see if I recognized the art and the artist.
Silly Symphonies
Flowers and Trees, Best Animated Short, 1931/1932 - Something about this short reminded me of the scene in Fantasia with the alligators and ostriches dancing, except with plant life. I really enjoyed this as the flora in the forest came alive. Disney perfected anthropomorphic characters and you can see that here with mushrooms and lilies and trees stretching and dancing. There were some flowers that might have been black-eyed Susans, but they seemed like they were flowers in black face; I don't know if I made that up or not. That was the only moment of pause for me, otherwise, it's a fun short.
Three Little Pigs, Best Animated Short, 1932/1933, National Film Registry - No need to explain the plot here, pretty straightforward, it shows the three little pigs building their houses of hay, sticks and bricks, which results in the big bad wolf being very disappointed. One thing I noticed that made me laugh were the pictures of 'mom' and 'dad'; the picture of mom was a sow with piglets, but poor dad was a sausage link. That's the kind of humor that you may or may not notice, but when you do, it's funny.
The Tortoise and the Hare, Best Animated Short, 1933/1934 - This re-telling of Aesop's fable holds no surprises, but it was still fun to watch; and even though you know the hare is going to lose, you still root for the tortoise and cheer when he wins.
Three Orphan Kittens, Best Animated Short, 1935 - This could have been a Tom & Jerry cartoon (as could The Country Cousin) with the feline shenanigans. Three little kittens are dumped outside a home in a snowstorm and make their way inside. They start to explore and play. They make quite a fuss and are discovered by the housekeeper/maid, who in the style of the times (which were less enlightened than we might admit) is a a black woman with a 'Mammy' outfit and accent. I was disappointed (and more than a little naive) because I thought when she came on in the very beginning that it was her house, but it was not. Like I said, in 1935, that was acceptable, it's really not acceptable now and it took any fun or enjoyment away. Almost as annoying was the little girl of the house who dressed the kittens up as babies. This is one I could do without.
The Country Cousin, Best Animated Short, 1936- Sometimes the grass is not always greener, but we have to find that out for ourselves, don't we? In this animated version of the country mouse and town mouse, Abner, the country mouse, receives a telegram from his town cousin, Monty, telling him to come and live the high life with him (this is Tom & Jerry without Tom). Abner is very impressed with the set up, an incredible spread of food that would make Old Country Buffet blush, and he goes about trying to taste it, but he's too loud for Monty's liking, and eventually, too drunk. So, while Monty may have a never-ending buffet, he can't really enjoy it. Abner winds up heading back to the country where he can be loud, uncouth and happy.
The Ugly Duckling, Best Animated Short, 1938 - This is an animated version of Hans Christian Andersen's story. Aesop and Andersen created stories that still hold the for generations. The story of the ugly duckling, which at one very simply level is to not judge a book by its cover, is relevant today, and it's told with a little bit of a raspberry at the end. A mother duck and her drake are waiting for their ducklings to hatch; they all hatch except one, and then, when it does, the baby does not look anything like its parents. Instead of accepting this addition, the ducks make the ugly duckling very uncomfortable and he eventually swims away. He happens upon some other swimming birds, who instead of turning away or shunning him, they welcome him to the family (bevy). It turns out, he's just like them, a baby swan (cygnet). As the bevy swims past the ducks, the former ugly duckling looks proud and happy and gives a virtual finger to his first family (that's how I choose to interpret it).
11/10/15 Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase, Best Animated Short, 1991
This should have been in the last posting on animation, but I lost track of where I was. So here it is. The short takes the viewer through a history of art, although not necessarily in chronological order. We watch as a Da Vinci morphs into a Van Gogh into a Gaughin into a Picasso. It was fun to see if I recognized the art and the artist.
Silly Symphonies
Flowers and Trees, Best Animated Short, 1931/1932 - Something about this short reminded me of the scene in Fantasia with the alligators and ostriches dancing, except with plant life. I really enjoyed this as the flora in the forest came alive. Disney perfected anthropomorphic characters and you can see that here with mushrooms and lilies and trees stretching and dancing. There were some flowers that might have been black-eyed Susans, but they seemed like they were flowers in black face; I don't know if I made that up or not. That was the only moment of pause for me, otherwise, it's a fun short.
Three Little Pigs, Best Animated Short, 1932/1933, National Film Registry - No need to explain the plot here, pretty straightforward, it shows the three little pigs building their houses of hay, sticks and bricks, which results in the big bad wolf being very disappointed. One thing I noticed that made me laugh were the pictures of 'mom' and 'dad'; the picture of mom was a sow with piglets, but poor dad was a sausage link. That's the kind of humor that you may or may not notice, but when you do, it's funny.
The Tortoise and the Hare, Best Animated Short, 1933/1934 - This re-telling of Aesop's fable holds no surprises, but it was still fun to watch; and even though you know the hare is going to lose, you still root for the tortoise and cheer when he wins.
Three Orphan Kittens, Best Animated Short, 1935 - This could have been a Tom & Jerry cartoon (as could The Country Cousin) with the feline shenanigans. Three little kittens are dumped outside a home in a snowstorm and make their way inside. They start to explore and play. They make quite a fuss and are discovered by the housekeeper/maid, who in the style of the times (which were less enlightened than we might admit) is a a black woman with a 'Mammy' outfit and accent. I was disappointed (and more than a little naive) because I thought when she came on in the very beginning that it was her house, but it was not. Like I said, in 1935, that was acceptable, it's really not acceptable now and it took any fun or enjoyment away. Almost as annoying was the little girl of the house who dressed the kittens up as babies. This is one I could do without.
The Country Cousin, Best Animated Short, 1936- Sometimes the grass is not always greener, but we have to find that out for ourselves, don't we? In this animated version of the country mouse and town mouse, Abner, the country mouse, receives a telegram from his town cousin, Monty, telling him to come and live the high life with him (this is Tom & Jerry without Tom). Abner is very impressed with the set up, an incredible spread of food that would make Old Country Buffet blush, and he goes about trying to taste it, but he's too loud for Monty's liking, and eventually, too drunk. So, while Monty may have a never-ending buffet, he can't really enjoy it. Abner winds up heading back to the country where he can be loud, uncouth and happy.
The Ugly Duckling, Best Animated Short, 1938 - This is an animated version of Hans Christian Andersen's story. Aesop and Andersen created stories that still hold the for generations. The story of the ugly duckling, which at one very simply level is to not judge a book by its cover, is relevant today, and it's told with a little bit of a raspberry at the end. A mother duck and her drake are waiting for their ducklings to hatch; they all hatch except one, and then, when it does, the baby does not look anything like its parents. Instead of accepting this addition, the ducks make the ugly duckling very uncomfortable and he eventually swims away. He happens upon some other swimming birds, who instead of turning away or shunning him, they welcome him to the family (bevy). It turns out, he's just like them, a baby swan (cygnet). As the bevy swims past the ducks, the former ugly duckling looks proud and happy and gives a virtual finger to his first family (that's how I choose to interpret it).
Wait Wait, Paula Poundstone was in town
11/6/15 Paula Poundstone, The Sheldon Theater, Red Wing, MN
Paula Poundstone's mind goes a million miles a minute, she is quick on her feet. A friend and I traveled down to lovely Red Wing, Minnesota, to see Paula at the historic Sheldon Theater. As an aside, it's a nice little theater and any town would be lucky to have it; it needs a little loving, and it looks like there is a restoration project underway. Having traveled around to see different acts in different locations, I really have come to appreciate the importance of small, community theaters, whether they are of vintage design like the Sheldon or newer like the Hopkins Theater for the Arts. My friend and I were in the balcony in center seats, which is the perfect place as far as I'm concerned. Paula has a routine, jokes or stories that she tells regularly, referencing her three kids, sometimes her multitude of cats or her rant against too much computer/screen time, especially for kids. In between the regularly scheduled material, she is off and interacting with the audience members. If you sit in the front few rows, you REALLY have to be prepared to be part of the act. She started off with asking how many of the audience were native Minnesotans, and unfortunately, the gentleman in the front row was not from here, meaning he MOVED to Minnesota intentionally. He was from Atlanta, where he used to sell pool supplies; one of the reasons he gave for moving was the lack of Swedes in Atlanta. Paula just went to town. Even when she is just asking for clarification, it's never that easy. At some point during the evening, she met eyes with a woman in the front row who was very eager to contribute, and boy howdy, did she ever. She gave Paula the best bit she's had in a long time. The woman just recently retired from watching cheese being made and making sure it was okay to sell. I am not kidding. Paula just about fell over. The woman worked there for 28 years, and hated it. This distressed Paula no end. Then about 30 minutes later Paula asked another woman in the same row what SHE did, and she SOLD cheese. I wish the performance would have been recorded, because it was priceless, you really can't make that up. Apparently, they are sisters, and the one had NO idea that her sister was so miserable, and Paula read her the riot act. They were all great sports. Another woman (in the same row) was getting something out of her purse, and Paula asked her what she was doing. "Getting my birth control pill." For real. We laughed so hard we cried and my sides hurt. If you can catch Paula and her very bright suits, I strongly recommend it. If laughter is the best medicine, I won't get sick at all this winter.
We go from hilarious and intelligent to:
11/7/15 Unfinished Business, not yet nominated, 2015
I thought this Vince Vaughn movie would be funny, maybe not pee your pants funny, but a few good belly laughs. Sadly, the funny bits were in the trailers. Happily, I borrowed the movie from the library, so it was free AND I could give it back. I wanted to tape a warning on the case, but then thought, why should I suffer alone. Vince Vaughn plays Dan, a sales rep who sees his take get reduced by his manager. This leads Dan to quit and start his own company, and takes him on an impromptu adventure to Berlin (let's not start to question how one of his team received a passport on such short notice, or how they were able to afford international airfares on the same short notice). It seems like the movie couldn't really decide if it wanted to be a somewhat sentimental family comedy surrounded by adult problems, kind of like Couples Retreat which I do think is funny or if it wanted to be a more adult-oriented comedy with sexual references and scenes with a dash of family to make it 'heart-warming'. I'm not sure it matters. What was a little disturbing was how funny the cast thought the movie was; this was seen in the "Extras", and how they made it have a 'deeper' meaning than it did. Tom Wilkinson played Timothy, the finance guy on Dan's team. I love Tom Wilkinson and I have forever, from Prime Suspect (yes, he was in that with Helen Mirren) to The Full Monty (yes, he was in that too) to his over the edge character in Michael Clayton, but he cannot save this movie. And please don't get me wrong, I like Vince Vaughn; with the right set up (writing, directing and cast) he is hilarious and he always brings a human touch, but I just did not care at all about this movie. Maybe I am not the target demographic, and that's entirely possible, and in that case, I don't aspire to be either. So, the other good news is that if, in some bizarre instance of Oscar voting, this gets nominated for anything, I have already seen it.
Paula Poundstone's mind goes a million miles a minute, she is quick on her feet. A friend and I traveled down to lovely Red Wing, Minnesota, to see Paula at the historic Sheldon Theater. As an aside, it's a nice little theater and any town would be lucky to have it; it needs a little loving, and it looks like there is a restoration project underway. Having traveled around to see different acts in different locations, I really have come to appreciate the importance of small, community theaters, whether they are of vintage design like the Sheldon or newer like the Hopkins Theater for the Arts. My friend and I were in the balcony in center seats, which is the perfect place as far as I'm concerned. Paula has a routine, jokes or stories that she tells regularly, referencing her three kids, sometimes her multitude of cats or her rant against too much computer/screen time, especially for kids. In between the regularly scheduled material, she is off and interacting with the audience members. If you sit in the front few rows, you REALLY have to be prepared to be part of the act. She started off with asking how many of the audience were native Minnesotans, and unfortunately, the gentleman in the front row was not from here, meaning he MOVED to Minnesota intentionally. He was from Atlanta, where he used to sell pool supplies; one of the reasons he gave for moving was the lack of Swedes in Atlanta. Paula just went to town. Even when she is just asking for clarification, it's never that easy. At some point during the evening, she met eyes with a woman in the front row who was very eager to contribute, and boy howdy, did she ever. She gave Paula the best bit she's had in a long time. The woman just recently retired from watching cheese being made and making sure it was okay to sell. I am not kidding. Paula just about fell over. The woman worked there for 28 years, and hated it. This distressed Paula no end. Then about 30 minutes later Paula asked another woman in the same row what SHE did, and she SOLD cheese. I wish the performance would have been recorded, because it was priceless, you really can't make that up. Apparently, they are sisters, and the one had NO idea that her sister was so miserable, and Paula read her the riot act. They were all great sports. Another woman (in the same row) was getting something out of her purse, and Paula asked her what she was doing. "Getting my birth control pill." For real. We laughed so hard we cried and my sides hurt. If you can catch Paula and her very bright suits, I strongly recommend it. If laughter is the best medicine, I won't get sick at all this winter.
We go from hilarious and intelligent to:
11/7/15 Unfinished Business, not yet nominated, 2015
I thought this Vince Vaughn movie would be funny, maybe not pee your pants funny, but a few good belly laughs. Sadly, the funny bits were in the trailers. Happily, I borrowed the movie from the library, so it was free AND I could give it back. I wanted to tape a warning on the case, but then thought, why should I suffer alone. Vince Vaughn plays Dan, a sales rep who sees his take get reduced by his manager. This leads Dan to quit and start his own company, and takes him on an impromptu adventure to Berlin (let's not start to question how one of his team received a passport on such short notice, or how they were able to afford international airfares on the same short notice). It seems like the movie couldn't really decide if it wanted to be a somewhat sentimental family comedy surrounded by adult problems, kind of like Couples Retreat which I do think is funny or if it wanted to be a more adult-oriented comedy with sexual references and scenes with a dash of family to make it 'heart-warming'. I'm not sure it matters. What was a little disturbing was how funny the cast thought the movie was; this was seen in the "Extras", and how they made it have a 'deeper' meaning than it did. Tom Wilkinson played Timothy, the finance guy on Dan's team. I love Tom Wilkinson and I have forever, from Prime Suspect (yes, he was in that with Helen Mirren) to The Full Monty (yes, he was in that too) to his over the edge character in Michael Clayton, but he cannot save this movie. And please don't get me wrong, I like Vince Vaughn; with the right set up (writing, directing and cast) he is hilarious and he always brings a human touch, but I just did not care at all about this movie. Maybe I am not the target demographic, and that's entirely possible, and in that case, I don't aspire to be either. So, the other good news is that if, in some bizarre instance of Oscar voting, this gets nominated for anything, I have already seen it.
Veterans Day 2015
Veteran's Day comes around and I think of a couple of things, I guess. The first is, obviously, to think about the men and women who have served our country in the armed forces, and the few that I have known personally. I also think about World War I, the war to end all wars, which led to Armistice Day, later Veteran's Day, being designated. And then I think of Doc. I had the pleasure of working with Doc in his 4th career, after a career in the Navy (two tours in Vietnam as a medic); a nursing career; a records management career; and lastly, a career as my sparring partner and mentor. Doc was from a family of 17 who grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and regularly dispensed folksy wisdom as he tried to educate and cajole the 'kids' in the Records Center (my Records Center, as I like to refer to it). Anyway, I always think of Doc because he was born on Veteran's Day and left a great impression on so many of us.
So, in honor (which sounds so pretentious) I'm going to recap some of the military-themed movies I've reviewed over the past few years.
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short for 2014 and I couldn't agree more. The film focuses on the crisis center that responds to calls for help from veterans and their families. It's a powerful reminder that even those these men and women are more than 'willing' to fight and defend our country, they are not always able to cope with civilian life after their experiences. It's as much a look at the veterans calling in as it is a look at the responders, many of whom are veterans. This should be required viewing for any congressman/senator looking to cut funding for veterans' services.
The Invisible War was nominated for Best Documentary in 2012, and I believe it should have won. It takes a hard, unflinching look at sexual assault in the military. There is still so much work to be done in Congress (you know, when they're finished being asshats) and it may be a good time to watch this film and contact your Representative and Senators to ask them to support legislation from Senator Kirsten Gillebrand of New York.
All Quiet on the Western Front won Best Director and Best Production (Picture) in 1930. It's set during World War I and shows the conditions of trench warfare. Some older movies are tough to watch because the production quality is not what we're used to with our 21st century technology, but I think it's very good and overall the movie is worth watching.
Unbroken is a bio-pic about Louie Zamperini, an Olympic runner and World War II veteran and a survivor of Japanese prison camps. Zamperini was an amazing survivor, having to dig deep in his mental, emotional and physical reserves. Zamperini is opposite The Bird a sadistic camp sergeant who has made it his mission to destroy Zamperini. There is also a book of the same name, and I think they complement each other nicely, the book goes into more detail about Louie's life after he gets out of the camps and it's almost as difficult as it was during the war. It's just a different kind of difficult. I recommend watching the movie and reading the book.
Fury was not an Oscar-nominee, and I did think it should have been recognized for it's sound editing and effects. Fury focuses on tank warfare during World War II, and I don't think there are many movies that have done that. Tanks are similar to submarines in that they are self-contained fighting units, but they can also be fiery tombs under the wrong conditions. When used in movies, they also create a sense of claustrophobia and tension which is good for storytelling. My brother and I liked the movie; it was pretty action-packed from the beginning, taking a break to pursue a different storyline, but then back to the action.
Other movies to check out:
Mrs. Minver - set during WWII, starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon
The Best Years of Our Lives - set during WWII, this movie won seven Oscars and is a look at three WWII veterans as they try to fit into society after the war, starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March and Harold Russell, who was the first non-actor to win a competitive Oscar (Best Supporting Actor)
American Sniper - set during the war in Afghanistan and based on the life of Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL and sniper.
So, in honor (which sounds so pretentious) I'm going to recap some of the military-themed movies I've reviewed over the past few years.
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short for 2014 and I couldn't agree more. The film focuses on the crisis center that responds to calls for help from veterans and their families. It's a powerful reminder that even those these men and women are more than 'willing' to fight and defend our country, they are not always able to cope with civilian life after their experiences. It's as much a look at the veterans calling in as it is a look at the responders, many of whom are veterans. This should be required viewing for any congressman/senator looking to cut funding for veterans' services.
The Invisible War was nominated for Best Documentary in 2012, and I believe it should have won. It takes a hard, unflinching look at sexual assault in the military. There is still so much work to be done in Congress (you know, when they're finished being asshats) and it may be a good time to watch this film and contact your Representative and Senators to ask them to support legislation from Senator Kirsten Gillebrand of New York.
All Quiet on the Western Front won Best Director and Best Production (Picture) in 1930. It's set during World War I and shows the conditions of trench warfare. Some older movies are tough to watch because the production quality is not what we're used to with our 21st century technology, but I think it's very good and overall the movie is worth watching.
Unbroken is a bio-pic about Louie Zamperini, an Olympic runner and World War II veteran and a survivor of Japanese prison camps. Zamperini was an amazing survivor, having to dig deep in his mental, emotional and physical reserves. Zamperini is opposite The Bird a sadistic camp sergeant who has made it his mission to destroy Zamperini. There is also a book of the same name, and I think they complement each other nicely, the book goes into more detail about Louie's life after he gets out of the camps and it's almost as difficult as it was during the war. It's just a different kind of difficult. I recommend watching the movie and reading the book.
Fury was not an Oscar-nominee, and I did think it should have been recognized for it's sound editing and effects. Fury focuses on tank warfare during World War II, and I don't think there are many movies that have done that. Tanks are similar to submarines in that they are self-contained fighting units, but they can also be fiery tombs under the wrong conditions. When used in movies, they also create a sense of claustrophobia and tension which is good for storytelling. My brother and I liked the movie; it was pretty action-packed from the beginning, taking a break to pursue a different storyline, but then back to the action.
Other movies to check out:
Mrs. Minver - set during WWII, starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon
The Best Years of Our Lives - set during WWII, this movie won seven Oscars and is a look at three WWII veterans as they try to fit into society after the war, starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March and Harold Russell, who was the first non-actor to win a competitive Oscar (Best Supporting Actor)
American Sniper - set during the war in Afghanistan and based on the life of Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL and sniper.
Home and a variety of animated shorts including Munro (1960), Granny O'Grimm, La Maison en Petits Cubes
Some things about this blog are pretty random, and then other times, I have a plan or theme. In this case, this entry is all about animation. It finally dawned on me that Youtube.com might have some of the animated shorts I needed to see. Voila! Without further ado, I'll start with a feature film that hasn't been nominated yet, but it may be, and we'll go from there.
10/31/15 Home, not yet nominated, 2015
Home is an alien-meets girl film, starring Jim Parsons as Oh, a naive, but eager Boov; Rihanna as Tip, a young girl who moved to the US with her mom from Barbados; Steve Martin is the egotistical and incompetent leader of the Boovs, Captain Smek. The Boovs seem to be in a constant state of running away from the Gorgs, a seemingly violent and aggressive race of aliens. Captain Smek leads the Boovs to Earth, but first all of the humans need to be picked up and sent to Australia (it seems to take less than the normal 24+ hour flight, so that's a bonus, right?), but Tip manages to hide from them until she meets Oh, who has been ostracized from the Boovs because he sort of gave the Boovs' location to the Gorgs. The story follows Tip and Oh as they try to find Tip's mom (played by Jennifer Lopez). Along the way, Oh learns a little more about human ways and feelings (in some ways Oh is not all that different from Sheldon Cooper, Parsons' alter ego). Tip gets frustrated at Oh's lack of a sense of urgency to find her mom. There is some fun music, provided by Rihanna and JLo, there are some touching moments and an interesting twist at the end of the movie. So, did I like it? Yeah, I did, did I love it? I don't know. I guess not. I think it might be me; I used to love animated movies, run to the theater and now, I wait until they're on DVD. Maybe it's because the kids I used to take to see the movies are growing up (I'll need to find new friends with little kids, I suppose), or they just aren't that fabulous. Probably a combination of the two. Occasionally I'm asked what recent animated movie I really like and in the last couple of years I always come back to The Boxtrolls. That movie was very well done in so many ways. So, any way, I'll sign this entry "Scrooge'.
1960, Best Animated Short Film
Munro
I found this gem on youtube (actually all of the shorts listed below were on youtube if you want to check them out). Even though this short was done back in 1960, it seems timeless in portraying the incompetency of bureaucracy, whether it's military or governmental; I expected the script to be written by Franz Kafka. Munro is a little boy who is drafted into the army; he dutifully reports for his physical, all the while protesting that he's only four years old. Eventually he is recognized to be a child and goes back to his mother (you do have to wonder where his parents were throughout this, but perhaps this also reflects some of the writer's feelings about adults in general). Take a few minutes and find this online.
1997, Geri's Game, Winner for Best Animated Short Feature
Geri is playing a game of chess against himself. He takes off his glasses when he's on the other side, and as he is on the verge of check-mate, his other self, does the old switcheroo and turns the board around. This allows his 'real' self to win.
2007
La Maison en Petits Cubes, Winner for Best Animated Short Feature
Despite its French title this was actually done by a Japanese animation team; the animation looks hand-drawn as opposed to computer animation. It seems like a moving watercolor painting. There's no dialog, just a soundtrack. The film opens with what seems like a lake, but there are houses in it. We discover the unnamed main character in the top level of his house as the water begins to take over again. That's when we the extent to which the man has gone to stay in his home, as the many levels of his house are revealed. It kind of reminded me of the plot line in Tangerines and Ivo not wanting to leave his home, no matter what destruction crossed his threshold. It had a poignancy that I appreciated without beating me over the head or using overwrought emotions. It was beautiful in its simplicity.
Lavatory - Lovestory
This Russian entry has a bit of a cheekiness to it that was a total about face to La Maison en Petits Cubes. You may correctly infer that the film has something to do with a love story in a lavatory. It appears to be a lavatory in a bus or train station with a female attendant, even for the men's restroom. The woeful and lovelorn attendant reads her newspaper as the customers go in and out, but mysteriously, someone puts a small bouquet of flowers in her money jar. She tries to find who it is, and is somewhat frustrated by her efforts. She is determined and eventually meets her lavatory love. There is a sense of fun in the animation style that matches the narrative; I find that I mostly prefer the hand-drawn style than anything that resembles stereotypical computer animation (the 'hand-drawn' look may very well be achieved through computer animation, but I still like it better).
Oktapodi
This is just a fun, silly entry that is set in what looks like Santorini, Greece. An octopus is taken away from her mate (very possibly for someone else's meal) and her mate (I'm presuming on the gender of each octopus) escapes to rescue her. That's where the adventures begin, as the truck with the octopus flies through the hilly and angular streets of the village. It was fun, but didn't make any great impression on me.
Presto is a Pixar film that shows a magician in a contest with his magic hat and rabbit. I have the Marx brothers on my mind and it could have been a Marx brothers skit from 60 years ago. It was clever and fun, and sometimes you like to see the rabbit get the best of the magician, so that was kind of nice. Again, fun to watch, but it nothing too deep (and that's probably okay, but I think I need something to move my needle).
This Way Up
An English father and son pair of undertakers go through all kinds of extreme conditions to successfully complete the burial of their elderly 'customer'. This was also fun to watch, very little dialogue, but the story is conveyed well enough by the action.
2008, nominated for Best Animated Short Film
The winner for this year was Logorama which was a very well-done (computer-animated) film that poked vicious fun at different logos and branded characters.
French Roast is also computer-animated but resembles stop-action and is set in a French cafe where a patron finds that he is without his wallet. He somehow thinks that if he just keeps ordering espresso he'll be able to figure out a way to pay (I don't know how). A little old lady sits next to him and as she goes to the restroom, he discovers she has a bit of money and he thinks his troubles are solved. Of course, it's not as easy as that, especially when the little old lady is not everything she seems. The lesson here may be don't judge a book by its cover. I liked the strange twist.
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
Speaking of strange and twisted, don't let Granny O'Grimm put your kids to bed and don't be fooled by her Irish brogue, this woman is demented. Granny is putting her granddaughter to bed and tells her version of "Sleeping Beauty". It seems that Granny may have some unresolved issues. Okay, a lot of unresolved issues. There is something familiar about the animation style and the way the characters are portrayed (especially Granny) and perhaps it's the artists and I am unable to determine where I have seen it before. It's another CGI movie, but I like it when that is not the first thing I think about when watching a movie, but the humor and the story. It was pretty funny. I would actually like to hear Granny O'Grimm's take on a few more fairytales (kind of reminds me of "Fractured Fairytales" from "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show".
2009
Let's Pollute, nominated for Best Animated Short Film
The Lost Thing was the winner for this year, and I really like that film. Let's Pollute uses an animation style that is very similar to Munro, but a narrative style that is so ridiculously heavy handed, I wanted to go out and pollute just to be difficult. You may guess from the title that Let's Pollute is about how pollution has developed over the past century or so, since the industrial revolution, and how we can help increase pollution. Yes, satirical, but there is no subtly like in Swift's A Modest Proposal. It was 6 1/2 minutes long and it was annoying. But at least it wasn't 7 minutes.
2010
Wild Life, nominated for Best Animated Short Film
I wasn't really sure how I felt about Wild Life after I watched it. Part of me thought well, what an idiot, he deserved it, but then a part of me thought I was little harsh and judgmental. An unnamed young man from England makes his way to Albert, Canada in 1909 and he was provided for by his family back in England. Apparently, this was not an uncommon occurrence and there was even an name for men and women like him, "remittance man" (or "woman"). We see the man spending time in the local saloon or maybe enjoying the nature on the open plains. Except, something happens. A Canadian mountie is seen at the young man's property, and it seems quite mysterious. It appears that the young man had a suitcase (perhaps heading back home?) but he stopped to enjoy the beautiful night sky, but then did he freeze to death? It is clear that he was never really prepared to live out in the Canadian wild (at least it was to me). So, that's where I get conflicted. I don't know, I think it's worth seeing, but I feel confident that the winner for the year, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore was the correct choice.
10/31/15 Home, not yet nominated, 2015
Home is an alien-meets girl film, starring Jim Parsons as Oh, a naive, but eager Boov; Rihanna as Tip, a young girl who moved to the US with her mom from Barbados; Steve Martin is the egotistical and incompetent leader of the Boovs, Captain Smek. The Boovs seem to be in a constant state of running away from the Gorgs, a seemingly violent and aggressive race of aliens. Captain Smek leads the Boovs to Earth, but first all of the humans need to be picked up and sent to Australia (it seems to take less than the normal 24+ hour flight, so that's a bonus, right?), but Tip manages to hide from them until she meets Oh, who has been ostracized from the Boovs because he sort of gave the Boovs' location to the Gorgs. The story follows Tip and Oh as they try to find Tip's mom (played by Jennifer Lopez). Along the way, Oh learns a little more about human ways and feelings (in some ways Oh is not all that different from Sheldon Cooper, Parsons' alter ego). Tip gets frustrated at Oh's lack of a sense of urgency to find her mom. There is some fun music, provided by Rihanna and JLo, there are some touching moments and an interesting twist at the end of the movie. So, did I like it? Yeah, I did, did I love it? I don't know. I guess not. I think it might be me; I used to love animated movies, run to the theater and now, I wait until they're on DVD. Maybe it's because the kids I used to take to see the movies are growing up (I'll need to find new friends with little kids, I suppose), or they just aren't that fabulous. Probably a combination of the two. Occasionally I'm asked what recent animated movie I really like and in the last couple of years I always come back to The Boxtrolls. That movie was very well done in so many ways. So, any way, I'll sign this entry "Scrooge'.
1960, Best Animated Short Film
Munro
I found this gem on youtube (actually all of the shorts listed below were on youtube if you want to check them out). Even though this short was done back in 1960, it seems timeless in portraying the incompetency of bureaucracy, whether it's military or governmental; I expected the script to be written by Franz Kafka. Munro is a little boy who is drafted into the army; he dutifully reports for his physical, all the while protesting that he's only four years old. Eventually he is recognized to be a child and goes back to his mother (you do have to wonder where his parents were throughout this, but perhaps this also reflects some of the writer's feelings about adults in general). Take a few minutes and find this online.
1997, Geri's Game, Winner for Best Animated Short Feature
Geri is playing a game of chess against himself. He takes off his glasses when he's on the other side, and as he is on the verge of check-mate, his other self, does the old switcheroo and turns the board around. This allows his 'real' self to win.
2007
La Maison en Petits Cubes, Winner for Best Animated Short Feature
Despite its French title this was actually done by a Japanese animation team; the animation looks hand-drawn as opposed to computer animation. It seems like a moving watercolor painting. There's no dialog, just a soundtrack. The film opens with what seems like a lake, but there are houses in it. We discover the unnamed main character in the top level of his house as the water begins to take over again. That's when we the extent to which the man has gone to stay in his home, as the many levels of his house are revealed. It kind of reminded me of the plot line in Tangerines and Ivo not wanting to leave his home, no matter what destruction crossed his threshold. It had a poignancy that I appreciated without beating me over the head or using overwrought emotions. It was beautiful in its simplicity.
Lavatory - Lovestory
This Russian entry has a bit of a cheekiness to it that was a total about face to La Maison en Petits Cubes. You may correctly infer that the film has something to do with a love story in a lavatory. It appears to be a lavatory in a bus or train station with a female attendant, even for the men's restroom. The woeful and lovelorn attendant reads her newspaper as the customers go in and out, but mysteriously, someone puts a small bouquet of flowers in her money jar. She tries to find who it is, and is somewhat frustrated by her efforts. She is determined and eventually meets her lavatory love. There is a sense of fun in the animation style that matches the narrative; I find that I mostly prefer the hand-drawn style than anything that resembles stereotypical computer animation (the 'hand-drawn' look may very well be achieved through computer animation, but I still like it better).
Oktapodi
This is just a fun, silly entry that is set in what looks like Santorini, Greece. An octopus is taken away from her mate (very possibly for someone else's meal) and her mate (I'm presuming on the gender of each octopus) escapes to rescue her. That's where the adventures begin, as the truck with the octopus flies through the hilly and angular streets of the village. It was fun, but didn't make any great impression on me.
Presto is a Pixar film that shows a magician in a contest with his magic hat and rabbit. I have the Marx brothers on my mind and it could have been a Marx brothers skit from 60 years ago. It was clever and fun, and sometimes you like to see the rabbit get the best of the magician, so that was kind of nice. Again, fun to watch, but it nothing too deep (and that's probably okay, but I think I need something to move my needle).
This Way Up
An English father and son pair of undertakers go through all kinds of extreme conditions to successfully complete the burial of their elderly 'customer'. This was also fun to watch, very little dialogue, but the story is conveyed well enough by the action.
2008, nominated for Best Animated Short Film
The winner for this year was Logorama which was a very well-done (computer-animated) film that poked vicious fun at different logos and branded characters.
French Roast is also computer-animated but resembles stop-action and is set in a French cafe where a patron finds that he is without his wallet. He somehow thinks that if he just keeps ordering espresso he'll be able to figure out a way to pay (I don't know how). A little old lady sits next to him and as she goes to the restroom, he discovers she has a bit of money and he thinks his troubles are solved. Of course, it's not as easy as that, especially when the little old lady is not everything she seems. The lesson here may be don't judge a book by its cover. I liked the strange twist.
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
Speaking of strange and twisted, don't let Granny O'Grimm put your kids to bed and don't be fooled by her Irish brogue, this woman is demented. Granny is putting her granddaughter to bed and tells her version of "Sleeping Beauty". It seems that Granny may have some unresolved issues. Okay, a lot of unresolved issues. There is something familiar about the animation style and the way the characters are portrayed (especially Granny) and perhaps it's the artists and I am unable to determine where I have seen it before. It's another CGI movie, but I like it when that is not the first thing I think about when watching a movie, but the humor and the story. It was pretty funny. I would actually like to hear Granny O'Grimm's take on a few more fairytales (kind of reminds me of "Fractured Fairytales" from "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show".
2009
Let's Pollute, nominated for Best Animated Short Film
The Lost Thing was the winner for this year, and I really like that film. Let's Pollute uses an animation style that is very similar to Munro, but a narrative style that is so ridiculously heavy handed, I wanted to go out and pollute just to be difficult. You may guess from the title that Let's Pollute is about how pollution has developed over the past century or so, since the industrial revolution, and how we can help increase pollution. Yes, satirical, but there is no subtly like in Swift's A Modest Proposal. It was 6 1/2 minutes long and it was annoying. But at least it wasn't 7 minutes.
2010
Wild Life, nominated for Best Animated Short Film
I wasn't really sure how I felt about Wild Life after I watched it. Part of me thought well, what an idiot, he deserved it, but then a part of me thought I was little harsh and judgmental. An unnamed young man from England makes his way to Albert, Canada in 1909 and he was provided for by his family back in England. Apparently, this was not an uncommon occurrence and there was even an name for men and women like him, "remittance man" (or "woman"). We see the man spending time in the local saloon or maybe enjoying the nature on the open plains. Except, something happens. A Canadian mountie is seen at the young man's property, and it seems quite mysterious. It appears that the young man had a suitcase (perhaps heading back home?) but he stopped to enjoy the beautiful night sky, but then did he freeze to death? It is clear that he was never really prepared to live out in the Canadian wild (at least it was to me). So, that's where I get conflicted. I don't know, I think it's worth seeing, but I feel confident that the winner for the year, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore was the correct choice.
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Whiling away the time while staying at home
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